Pericles by William Shakespeare
Act 2 - Scene 2
The same. A public way or platform leading to the
Simonides : Are the knights ready to begin the triumph?
First Lord : They are, my liege;
[p]And stay your coming to present themselves.
Simonides : Return them, we are ready; and our daughter,
[p]In honour of whose
birth these triumphs are,
[p]Sits here, like beauty's child, whom
nature gat
[p]For men to see, and seeing wonder at.
Thaisa : It pleaseth you, my royal father, to express
[p]My commendations
great, whose merit's less.
Simonides : It's fit it should be so; for princes are
[p]A model which heaven
makes like to itself:
[p]As jewels lose their glory if
neglected,
[p]So princes their renowns if not respected.
[p]'Tis now
your honour, daughter, to explain
[p]The labour of each knight in his
device.
Thaisa : Which, to preserve mine honour, I'll perform.
[p][Enter a Knight; he
passes over, and his Squire]
[p]presents his shield to the Princess]
Simonides : Who is the first that doth prefer himself?
Thaisa : A knight of Sparta, my renowned father;
[p]And the device he bears
upon his shield
[p]Is a black Ethiope reaching at the sun
[p]The word,
'Lux tua vita mihi.'
Simonides : He loves you well that holds his life of you.
[p][The Second Knight
passes over]
[p]Who is the second that presents himself?
Thaisa : A prince of Macedon, my royal father;
[p]And the device he bears upon
his shield
[p]Is an arm'd knight that's conquer'd by a lady;
[p]The
motto thus, in Spanish, 'Piu por dulzura que por fuerza.'
Simonides : And what's the third?
Thaisa : The third of Antioch;
[p]And his device, a wreath of chivalry;
[p]The
word, 'Me pompae provexit apex.'
Simonides : What is the fourth?
Thaisa : A burning torch that's turned upside down;
[p]The word, 'Quod me alit,
me extinguit.'
Simonides : Which shows that beauty hath his power and will,
[p]Which can as well
inflame as it can kill.
Thaisa : The fifth, an hand environed with clouds,
[p]Holding out gold that's
by the touchstone tried;
[p]The motto thus, 'Sic spectanda fides.'
Simonides : And what's
[p]The sixth and last, the which the knight himself
[p]With
such a graceful courtesy deliver'd?
Thaisa : He seems to be a stranger; but his present is
[p]A wither'd branch,
that's only green at top;
[p]The motto, 'In hac spe vivo.'
Simonides : A pretty moral;
[p]From the dejected state wherein he is,
[p]He hopes
by you his fortunes yet may flourish.
First Lord : He had need mean better than his outward show
[p]Can any way speak in
his just commend;
[p]For by his rusty outside he appears
[p]To have
practised more the whipstock than the lance.
Second Lord : He well may be a stranger, for he comes
[p]To an honour'd triumph
strangely furnished.
Third Lord : And on set purpose let his armour rust
[p]Until this day, to scour it
in the dust.
Simonides : Opinion's but a fool, that makes us scan
[p]The outward habit by the
inward man.
[p]But stay, the knights are coming: we will
withdraw
[p]Into the gallery.
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Next: Act 2 - Scene 3
