| ACT II SCENE II | The same. A public way or platform leading to the
lists. A pavilion by the side of it for the reception of King, Princess, Lords, &c. |
| [Enter SIMONIDES, THAISA, Lords, and Attendants] |
| SIMONIDES | Are the knights ready to begin the triumph? |
| First Lord | They are, my liege; |
| And stay your coming to present themselves. |
| SIMONIDES | Return them, we are ready; and our daughter, |
| In honour of whose birth these triumphs are, | 5 |
| Sits here, like beauty's child, whom nature gat |
| For men to see, and seeing wonder at. |
| [Exit a Lord] |
| THAISA | It pleaseth you, my royal father, to express |
| My commendations great, whose merit's less. |
| SIMONIDES | It's fit it should be so; for princes are | 10 |
| A model which heaven makes like to itself: |
| As jewels lose their glory if neglected, |
| So princes their renowns if not respected. |
| 'Tis now your honour, daughter, to explain |
| The labour of each knight in his device. | 15 |
| THAISA | Which, to preserve mine honour, I'll perform. |
| [
Enter a Knight; he passes over, and his Squire
presents his shield to the Princess
] |
| SIMONIDES | Who is the first that doth prefer himself? |
| THAISA | A knight of Sparta, my renowned father; |
| And the device he bears upon his shield |
| Is a black Ethiope reaching at the sun | 20 |
| 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? |
| THAISA | A prince of Macedon, my royal father; |
| And the device he bears upon his shield | 25 |
| 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? |
| THAISA | The third of Antioch; |
| And his device, a wreath of chivalry; | 30 |
| The word, 'Me pompae provexit apex.' |
| [The Fourth Knight passes over] |
| SIMONIDES | What is the fourth? |
| THAISA | 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, | 35 |
| Which can as well inflame as it can kill. |
| [The Fifth Knight passes over] |
| THAISA | The fifth, an hand environed with clouds, |
| Holding out gold that's by the touchstone tried; |
| The motto thus, 'Sic spectanda fides.' |
| [The Sixth Knight, PERICLES, passes over] |
| SIMONIDES | And what's | 40 |
| The sixth and last, the which the knight himself |
| With such a graceful courtesy deliver'd? |
| THAISA | 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.' | 45 |
| 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; | 50 |
| 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 | 55 |
| Until this day, to scour it in the dust. |
| SIMONIDES | Opinion's but a fool, that makes us scan |
| The outward habit by the inward man. |
| But stay, the knights are coming: we will withdraw |
| Into the gallery. | 60 |
| [Exeunt] |
| [Great shouts within and all cry 'The mean knight!'] |
Shakespeare's Sources for Pericles