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A hall in DUKE SOLINUS'S palace.
[Enter DUKE SOLINUS, AEGON, Jailer, Officers, and other Attendants]
AEGON
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Proceed | Soli|nus to | procure | my fall,
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And by | the doom | of death | end woes and
all.
DUKE SOLINUS
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Merchant | of Syr|acu|sa, plead | no more.
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I am | not part|ial to | infringe | our laws;
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The en|mity | and dis|cord which of late
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Sprung from | the ranc|orous out|rage of | your
duke,
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To merch|ants our / well-deal|ing count|rymen,
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Who^want|ing guild|ers to re//deem their lives,
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Have sealed | his rig|orous stat|utes with |
their bloods,
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Excludes | all pi/ty from | our threat|ening
looks:
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For since | the mort|al and | intes|tine jars
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'Twixt thy | sedi|tious count|rymen | and us,
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It hath | in sol|emn sy|nods been | decreed,
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Both by | the Syr|acu|sians and | ourselves,
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To admit | no traf/fic to our | adverse towns:
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Nay* more,| if an|y born | at Eph|esus
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Be seen | at an|y Syracu|sian marts | and fairs:
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Again,| if an|y Sy|racu|sian born
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Come to | the bay | of Eph|esus,| he dies:
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His goods | confi|scate to | the duke's |
dispose,
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Unless | a thous|and marks | be le/vied
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To || quit the | penal|ty, and | to rans|om
him:
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Thy sub|stance, val|ued at | the high|est rate,
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Cannot | amount | unto | a hund|red marks,
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Therefore | by law | thou art | condemned | to
die.
AEGON
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Yet this | my com|fort, when | your words | are
done,
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My woes | end likewise | with the eve|ning sun.
DUKE SOLINUS
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Well* Sy|racu|sian; say | in brief | the cause
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Why thou | depart|edst from | thy nat|ive home?
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And for | what cause | thou camst | to Eph|esus.
AEGON
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A heav|ier task | could not | have been |
imposed,
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Than I | to speak | my griefs | unspeak|able:
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Yet that | the world | may wit|ness that | my end
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Was wrought | by na|ture, not | by vile |
offense,
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I'll ut|ter what | my sor|rows give | me leave.
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In Sy|racu|sa was | I born,| and wed
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Unto | a wom|an, hap|py but | for me,
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And by | me; had | not our | hap been bad:
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With her | I lived | in joy,| our wealth |
increased
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By pros|perous voy|ages | I of|ten made
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To Ep|idam|ium, till | my fact|or's death,
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And the / great care | of goods | at rand|om
left,
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Drew me | from kind | embrace|ments of | my
spouse:
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From whom | my ab|sence was not | six months old,
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Before | herself |(almost at | fainting | under
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The pleas|ing pun|ishment | that wom|en bear)
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Had made | provis|ion for | her fol|lowing me,
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And soon,| and safe,| arriv|ed where | I was:
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There had | she not | been long,| but she |
became
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A joy|ful moth|er of / two good|ly sons:
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And, which^|was strange,| the one | so like | the
other,
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As could | not^be | distin|guished but | by
names.
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That ve|ry hour,| and in the | self-same inn,
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A mean | woman | was de|liver|ed
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Of || such a | burden | male, twins both |
alike:
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Those, for | their par|ents were | excee|ding
poor,
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I bought,| and brought | up to at|tend my sons.
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My wife,| not mean|ly proud | of two such boys,
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Made^dai|ly mo|tions for | our home | return:
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Unwil|ling I agreed,| alas,| too soon | we
came^aboard. ??
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A league | from Ep|idam|ium had | we sailed
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Before | the al|ways wind-|obey|ing deep
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Gave^an|y tra|gic inst|ance^of | our harm:
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But long|er did | we not | retain | much^hope;
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For what | obscur|ed light | the heavens | did
grant,
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Did but | convey | unto | our fear|ful minds
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A doubt|ful war|rant of | immed|iate death,
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Which^though | myself | would glad|ly have |
embraced,
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Yet the | inces|sant weep|ings of | my wife,
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Weeping | before | for what | she saw |
must^come,
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And pit|eous plain|ings of | the pret|ty babes
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That mourned | for fash|ion, ig|norant what | to
fear,
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Forced me | to seek | delays | for them | and me.
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And this | it was: |(for oth|er means | was none)
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The sail|ors sought | for safe|ty by | our boat,
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And left | the ship | then sink|ing-ripe | to us.
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My wife,| more care/ful for | the lat|ter-born,
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Had fast|ened him | unto a | small spare mast,
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Such as seafar|ing men | provide | for storms:
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To him | one of | the oth|er twins | was bound,
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Whilst^I | had been | like heed/ful of the |
other.
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The child|ren thus | disposed,| my wife | and I,
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Fixing | our eyes | on whom | our care | was
fixed,
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Fastened | ourselves | at eith|er end | the mast,
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And float|ing straight,| obed|ient to | the
stream,
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Was car|ried to/wards Cor|inth, as | we thought,
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At length | the sun,| gazing | upon | the earth,
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Dispersed | those va/pors that | offend|ed us,
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And by | the ben|efit | of his wished light
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The seas | waxed calm, and | we di|scovered
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Two* ships | from far,| making | amain | to us:
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Of Cor|inth that,| of Ep|idaur|us this,
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But ere | they came,| oh let | me say | no more,
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Gather | the se|quel by / that went | before.
DUKE SOLINUS
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Nay for/ward old^|man, do | not break^|off so,
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For we | may pi|ty, though | not pard|on thee.
AEGON
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Oh had the | gods done so,| I had | not now
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Worthi|ly termed | them mer|ciless | to us:
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For ere the | ships could | meet by | twice five
leagues,
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We were | encount|ered by | a migh|ty rock,
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Which being vi|olent|ly borne | up,
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Our help|ful ship | was split|ted in | the midst;
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So that | in this | unjust | divorce | of us,
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Fortune | had left | to both | of us | alike,
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What to | delight | in, what | to sor|row for,
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Her part,| poor soul, seem|ing as | burdened
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With les|ser weight,| but not | with les|ser woe,
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Was car|ried with / more speed | before | the
wind,
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And in our | sight they three | were tak|en up
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By fish|ermen | of Cor|inth, as | we thought.
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At length | anoth|er ship | had seized | on us,
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And know|ing whom | it was | their hap | to save,
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Gave^health|ful wel|come to their | shipwrecked
guests,
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And would | have reft | the fish|ers of | their
prey,
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Had not | their bark | been ve|ry slow | of sail;
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And there|fore home|ward did | they bend | their
course.
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Thus have | you heard | me sev|ered from | my
bliss,
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That by | misfor|tunes was | my life | prolonged,
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To tell sad sto|ries of my // own mishaps.
DUKE SOLINUS
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And for | the sake | of them | thou sor|rowest
for,
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Do me | the fav|or to / dilate | at full,
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What hath | befallen | of them | and thee | till
now.
AEGON
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My young|est boy,| and yet | my eld|est care,
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At eigh|teen years | became | inqui|sitive
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After | his broth|er; and | impor/tuned me
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That his | attend|ant, so | his case | was like,
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Reft of | his broth|er, but | retained | his
name,
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Might bear | him comp|any | in the quest | of
him:
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Whom whilst | I lab|ored of | a love | to see,
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I haz|arded | the loss | of whom | I loved.
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Five sum/mers have | I spent | in fur|thest
Greece,
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Roaming | clean through the bounds | of A|sia,
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And coast|ing home|ward, came | to Eph|esus:
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Hopeless | to find,| yet loath | to leave |
unsought
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Or that,| or an|y place | that har|bors men:
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But here | must^end | the sto|ry of | my life,
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And hap|py were | I in | my time|ly death,
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Could^all | my trav|els war|rant me | they live.
DUKE SOLINUS
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Hapless | Aegon whom | the fates | have marked
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To bear | the extre|mity | of dire mishap:
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Now trust | me, were | it not | against | our
laws,
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Against | my crown,| my oath,| my dig|nity,
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Which princ|es would | they may | not dis|annul,
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My soul | would sue | as ad|vocate | for thee:
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But though | thou art | adjud|ged to | the death,
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And pas|sed sent|ence may | not be | recalled
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But to | our hon|or's great | dispa|ragement:
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Yet I | will fav|or thee | in what | I can;
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Therefore | merchant,| I'll lim|it thee |
this^day
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To seek | thy life | by ben|efic|ial help,
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Try^all | the friends | thou hast | in Eph|esus,
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Beg thou,| or bor|row, to / make up | the sum,
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And live:| if no,| then thou | art doomed | to
die:
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Jailer,| take him | to thy cus|tody.
JAILER
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I will | my lord.
AEGON
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T T T
Hopeless | and help|less doth | Aegon wend,
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But to | procras|tinate | his life|less end.
[Exeunt]