PERICLES PRINCE OF TYRE
Page: 17

[Enter a Knight; he passes over, and his Squire presents his
shield to the Princess.]

SIMONIDES.
Who is the first that doth prefer himself?

THALIARD.
A knight of Sparta, my renowned father;
And the device he bears upon his shield
Is a black Ethiope reaching at the sun:
The word, 'Lux tua vita mihi.'

SIMONIDES.
He loves you well that holds his life of you.

[The Second Knight passes over.]

Who is the second that presents himself?

THALIARD.
A prince of Macedon, my royal father;
And the device he bears upon his shield
Is an arm'd knight that's conquer'd by a lady;
The motto thus, in Spanish, 'Piu por dulzura que por fuerza.'

[The Third Knight passes over.]

SIMONIDES.
And what's the third?

THALIARD.
The third of Antioch;
And his device, a wreath of chivalry;
The word, 'Me pompae provexit apex.'

[The Fourth Knight passes over.]

SIMONIDES.
What is the fourth?

THALIARD.
A burning torch that's turned upside down;
The word, 'Quod me alit, me extinguit.'

SIMONIDES.
Which shows that beauty hath his power and will,
Which can as well inflame as it can kill.

[The Fifth Knight passes over.]

THALIARD.
The fifth, an hand environed with clouds,
Holding out gold that's by the touchstone tried;
The motto thus, 'Sic spectanda fides.'

[The Sixith Knight, Pericles, passes over.]

SIMONIDES.
And what's
The sixth and last, the which the knight himself
With such a graceful courtesy deliver'd?

THALIARD.
He seems to be a stranger; but his present is
A wither'd branch, that's only green at top;
The motto, 'In hac spe vivo.'

SIMONIDES.
A pretty moral;
From the dejected state wherein he is,
He hopes by you his fortunes yet may flourish.

FIRST LORD.
He had need mean better than his outward show
Can any way speak in his just commend;
For by his rusty outside he appears
To have practised more the whipstock than the lance.

SECOND LORD.
He well may be a stranger, for he comes
To an honour'd triumph strangely furnished.

THIRD LORD.
And on set purpose let his armour rust
Until this day, to scour it in the dust.