Chapter 22 third act

The first Rome.street The senators, tribunes, and bailiffs bound Marcius and Quintas and marched to the execution ground; Titus went forward and begged. Titus Hear me, dignified fathers!Honorable tribunes, wait!Have pity on my age!I threw my youth on the perilous field, when you lay in peace; for the blood I shed in the great battles of Rome, for all the nights of frost and dew that I lay ready for battle, for what you see now , these bitter tears that fill the old wrinkles of my face, have mercy on my two condemned sons, whose souls are not so corrupt as you imagine.I have lost twenty-two sons, for whom I have shed no tears, for they died on glorious and noble beds.For these two, these two, tribunes, (throwing myself into the ground) I write in the clay the pain of my heart and the tears of sorrow of my soul.Let my tears quench the thirst of the earth, and the dear blood of my children will make it blush with shame. (Exit Senator, Tribune, etc., and the two prisoners) O earth!From these two ancient poppies of mine, I will pour out more rain on you than April in spring; I will continue to shower you in the dry summer; The light of spring stays on your face, as long as you refuse to drink the blood of my dear children.

Lucius drew his sword. O venerable tribune of Titus!Good parents!Loosen my children, and revoke the death sentence!Let me who has never shed tears say, my tears have now become eloquent debaters. Father Lucius, it is useless to weep like this; the tribunes hear you not, and no one is near; you tell your sorrows to a stone. O Titus!Lucius, let me plead for your brothers.Honorable Tribunes, I appeal to you once more— Father Lucius, no tribune is listening to you. Hi Titus, what does it matter?If they had heard, they would not have heeded my words; had they heeded my words, they would have had no mercy on me; yet I must cry out to them, though my petitions were in vain.So I tell my sorrow to the stones, they cannot relieve my pain, but they are better than the tribunes, because they don't interrupt me; when I cry, they humbly Bear my tears at my feet, as if weeping with me; if they were clothed with solemn vestments, no tribune in Rome could equal them: the stones are soft as wax, But a tribune's heart is harder than a stone; a stone is silent and harmless, but a tribune fiddles with their tongues, and pronounces death on the innocent. (rising) But why did you draw your sword and hold it in your hand?

Lucius I go to rescue my two brothers; the judges have pronounced me banishment for ever for my attempt. Titus O lucky man!They are taking care of you.Hey, stupid Lucius, don't you see that Rome is just a wild tiger infested?The tiger must be well fed; Rome has no other prey to fill their mouths but me and my family.How lucky you are now to be exiled from these man-eating beasts!But who came with my brother Max? Enter Max and Lavinia. Max Titus, prepare your old eyes to weep, or else, prepare your noble heart to break; I bring woe to ruin your old age. Titus Will it destroy me?Well let me see.

Max This is your daughter from the past. Titus Oh, Max, she's still my daughter. Lucius is miserable!I can't stand it. Titus Courageous child, rise up and look at her.Say, Lavinia, what accursed hand has made thee handless before thy father's eyes?What fool picks water and pours it into the sea, or throws a bunch of wood into the burning city of Troy?Before you came, my sorrow had reached its climax, and now it overflows like the Nile beyond all boundaries.Give me a sword, and I'll cut off my hands too; for they died for Rome, and gained nothing; It's of no use to me; the only thing I want them to do now is to have one hand cut that hand off.Lavinia, it's fine if you don't have hands, because hands that have served the country are not valued in Rome.

Lucius said, gentle sister, who made you look like this? Max!That lovely organ, which was good at expressing her thoughts with cunning and quick eloquence, that tender bird which once captivated the ears of the world with its soft song, has been snatched from that beautiful cage. Lucius!You tell her, who did such a thing? Max!I saw her scurrying about in the woods, just as she is now, trying to hide herself like a deer with a fatal wound. Titus That's my pet; whoever hurts her hurts me more than kills me.Now I am like a man standing on a rock, surrounded by a vast ocean, the tide is rising higher and higher, and every second a relentless wave will roll him down into the white center of the wave.My unfortunate sons have gone this way to death; here stands my other son, a banished exile; here stands my brother, weeping over my doom; but the It was dear Lavinia, dearer than my soul, that struck my heart the hardest.If I saw you painted like this in a picture, I would be mad with rage; now that I see you in such a living state, what shall I do?You have no hands to wipe away your tears, nor tongue to tell me who hurt you.Your husband, he is dead, and for his death your brothers were condemned to death, and by this time they were already dead.look!Max; ah!Lucius, my son, look at her: when I speak of her brothers, fresh tears roll down her cheeks, Like dew on a weary lily that is plucked.

Max Maybe she shed tears because they killed her husband; maybe because she knew they were innocent. Titus If they do kill your husband, cheer up, for the law has punished them.No, no, they wouldn't do such vile things; see how their sister's heartbroken.Gentle Lavinia, let me kiss your lips, or show me how I may comfort you.Shall your good uncle, your brother Lucius, and you and I sit together by a pool, and look at our faces in the water, and see how they're stained with tears, like a flood After the new retreat, there is still a lot of wet clay left on the pasture?Shall we weep sadly over the water, and let the clear spring lose its cool taste and turn into a pool of salt water?Or shall we cut off our hands like yours?Or bite off our tongues and pass our loathsome days in wordless silence?What should we do?Let us tongue-twisters conspire to inflict some more misery on ourselves, and leave it for posterity to lament.

Lucius, good papa, don't weep; see my poor sister You make me sob again. Take it easy Max, dear niece.Good Titus, dry your eyes. O Titus!Max, Max, brother; I know your handkerchief won't hold a single tear from me, because you, poor man, have soaked it with your own tears. Lucius!My Lavinia, let me dry your face. Titus Look, Max, look!I understand what she means.If she could talk, she would say this to her brother now: his handkerchief is so full of tears of his sorrow that it cannot wipe the sorrow from her cheeks.well!Even if we love each other, there is nothing we can do to help, just as ghosts on the verge of hell can't hope for the happiness of heaven.

Enter Allen. Alan Titus Andronicus, by the emperor's command, I give you his will: If you love your two sons, let Max, Lucius, or yourself, young Any one of you, old Titus, cut off a hand, and bring it before the emperor, that he may pardon your sons' death, and send them back to you. Titus, merciful emperor!O good Ellen!Will the crow also sing the song of the lark to announce the good news of the sunrise?Very well, I am willing to offer my hand to the emperor.Good Alan, will you help me chop it down? Lucius wait a minute, father!Your noble hand has overthrown countless enemies. If it cannot be cut off, let my hand take its place.I'm younger and stronger than you, and it doesn't matter if I bleed a little, so let my hands redeem the lives of my brothers.

Max Which of your two hands has not defended Rome, swung high the bloody battle-axe, and written the fate of destruction on the enemy's fortress?what!Both of your hands have done great things, and my hand has done nothing, let it atone for my nephews; then I have made it do something worthwhile. Ellen, come, come, quickly decide whose hand to send, or they may be dead before the pardon is issued. Max sent my hand. Lucius, by heaven, it can't. Be quiet, Titus; for a woodcutter's ax and ax is fit for a woodcutter's axe, so give me my hand. Lucius Good father, if you acknowledge me as your son, let me redeem my brothers from death.

Max For the sake of our deceased parents, let me now offer you a fraternal fraternity. Titus Then you two decide!I just keep my hand. Lucius Then I'll find an axe. Max, but that ax is for me. (Exit Lucius and Max.) Titus come, Ellen; I'll trick them both.Help me and I'll give you my hand. Alan (aside) If that's deceit, I'd rather be an honest man for the rest of my life than deceive others like this; but I'll deceive you in another way, and you'll see it in half an hour . (Cuts off Titus' hand.) Re-enter Lucius and Max. Titus Now you don't have to argue, what should be done has been done.Good Ellen, give my hand to His Majesty, tell him it is a hand that has protected him from a thousand dangers, tell him to bury it; it deserves a greater honor, so Requests should not be refused.As for my sons, you say that I consider them cheap treasures, but because I bought their lives with my own flesh, they are still valuable.

Alan I go, Andronicus; sacrifice a hand, and wait for it to buy your two sons. (Narrator) I mean their heads.what!When I think of this evil plan, I feel all right.Let the fools do good, let the handsome men flatter the gods, Alan would rather have his soul as black as his face. (Down.) O Titus!I lift up this hand to heaven, and bow this old wreck to the earth: if any god have mercy on the tears of my wretched man, I pray to him! (to Lavinia) What!Do you want to kneel with me too?Very well, my dear, for Heaven will hear our prayers, or we'll grow into a mist with our sighs, And darken the sky, And make the sun lose its splendor, As clouds sometimes embrace it. Oh Max!Brother, don't talk such crazy nonsense; it's so confusing. Titus What is my grief to say?Might as well let me mourn to the end. Max should also let reason control your grief. Titus If reason could explain to me all these woes, I might restrain my grief.When heaven weeps, won't the earth be flooded with water?When the wind howls, does not the sea go mad, and puff up its cheeks to threaten the sky?Do you want to know why I'm making such a fuss?I am the sea; hear how strong the wind is blowing with her sighs; she is the weeping sky, and I am the earth; this sea of ​​mine cannot but be stirred by her sighs, this earth cannot but be flooded with her constant tears Sinking because my stomach can't hold her bitterness and I have to vomit them out like a drunk.So leave it to me, because the losers must be given permission to vent their grievances with angry words. One envoy holds two heads and one hand. Messenger, noble Andronicus, you have sacrificed a useless sacrifice by chopping off a good hand and offering it to the Emperor.Here are the heads of your two good sons, and here are your own hands, which, for your mockery's sake, they tell me to give back to you.Your sorrows are their jokes, and your resolutions they tease; I am saddened to think of your misfortunes, than to remember my father's death. (Down.) Max now let Etna cool in Sicily, let my heart be a hell that burns forever!These disasters cannot be endured by human beings.To shed tears with a weeping man may give him some comfort, but being ridiculed for being full of bitterness is a double death sentence. Oh Lucius!Such a tragic situation can break the heart and soul, but the hateful life still clings to this skin and refuses to escape; life has lost its meaning, but it still wants to breathe this breath in this world, and be a dead ghost who suffers alive. (Lavinia kisses Titus.) Max Oh, poor man!This kiss was like sending a piece of ice into the mouth of a hungry snake, and it did not comfort him at all. When will this dreadful nightmare of Titus be over? Max didn't have to lie to himself now.Die, Andronicus; you are not dreaming.Behold, the heads of your two sons, and your sword-wielding hands, here is your slain daughter; your exiled son, looking at this cruel scene, has turned pale; Your brother, I, too, is speechless and frozen like a stone statue.what!Now I will not advise you to restrain your sorrow.Tear off your silver hair, and bite your remaining hand with your teeth; let this desolate sight shut our dying eyes!Now is the time to raise the storm, why are you silent? Titus Hahaha! Max why are you laughing?This is not appropriate now. Titus Hey, my tears are exhausted; and this sorrow is an enemy, that steals my watery eyes, and blinds my sight with a rain of tears, so that I cannot see the path of vengeance.For these two heads seem to speak to me, threatening me that if I do not allow those who have wronged us to experience for themselves all the misery we are suffering, I shall never enjoy the happiness of heaven.Come, let me think about how I should go about my work.You melancholy ones, gather around me, and to each of you I swear by my soul that I will avenge you.My oath has been sworn.Come, brother, you take a head; I take that head with this hand.Lavinia, do us something too, and put my hand in your mouth, my boy.As for you, child, get out of my sight; you are an outcast, and you cannot stay here.Go to the Goths and raise an army.If you love me, let's kiss goodbye, because we have a lot of things to do. (Exeunt Titus, Max, and Lavinia.) Lucius Farewell, Andronicus, my noble father, most unfortunate man in Rome!Farewell, proud Rome!Lucius abandoned his dearer than life, and one day he will return.Farewell, Lavinia, my virtuous sister; ah!May you still be the same as before!But now both Lucius and Lavinia must be forgotten, and live in bitter sorrow.Had Lucius not died, he would have avenged you, and made proud Saturninus and his queen beg before Rome.Now I will go to the Goths and raise an army to avenge this great hatred against Rome and Saturninus. (Down.) The second game is the same as before.A room in Titus' home, with dishes on the table Enter Titus, Max, Lavinia, and little Lucius. Titus Well, well, sit down now; Eat not too much, But keep us strong enough to avenge our great hatred.Max, let go of your hands that are tangled with grief; your niece and I, poor things, are handless, and cannot express our tenfold sorrow with folded arms.All I have left is this poor right hand, which I flaunt on my breast; when my heart beats wildly in the prison of my body because it cannot bear such pain, my hand It will be beaten down hard. (to Lavinia) You wretch incarnate, do you speak to us with your looks?You mean you can't beat your poor heart to still when it's beating wildly.Stab it with a sigh, boy, and kill it with a groan; or take a penknife with your teeth, and cut a hole in your heart, and let the tears that flow from your poor eyes Roll in this hole, and let the weeping fool drown in bitter tears. Max, my brother, my brother!Don't teach her to use such ruthless hands to destroy her delicate life. What about Titus!Has sorrow bewildered you?Hi Max, no one should be crazy except me.What evil hands could she do to destroy her own life?what!Why do you have to mention the word "hand"?Will you make Aeneas tell the story of the burning of Troy from the beginning?what!Don't talk about this subject, don't talk about hands, so that we will always remember that we are people without hands.Pooh!Pooh!I'm talking some crazy stuff, like if Max doesn't say "hands" we'll forget we don't have hands.Come, let's all eat; good daughter, eat this.There is no wine here either.Listen, Max, what she says; I can explain the signs of her crippled body: she says her only drink is the tears that drip down her cheeks with sorrow .Wordless complainer, I will know your thoughts as well as a begging hermit knows his prayers; whether you utter a sigh, or lift your broken Eyes, nodding, kneeling, or making any symbol, I will try my best to find out its meaning, and use patient study to find a proper explanation. Little Lucius, good grandpa, don't weep so often; tell a funny story to make my aunt happy. Oh Max!The little child was also moved, and shed tears seeing his grandfather's sad appearance. Titus Don't ring, little one; you're fashioned from tears, and tears will soon melt your life. (Max strikes the bowl with the knife) Max, what are you hacking with the knife? Max A fly, brother; I've killed it. Titus damned murderer!You have stabbed me in the heart.My eyes are full of ferocious atrocities; killing innocents is not worthy of Titus' brother.Get out, I don't want to be with you. Oh Max!Brother, I just killed a fly. Titus But suppose the fly has a father and a mother?Poor good flies!It flew here to entertain us with its lovely humming chants, and you beat it to death! Max Forgive me, brother; it was a black, hideous fly, something like the Moor around the queen, That's why I killed it. Titus oh oh oh!So please forgive me, I wronged you, because what you did was a good thing.Give me thy knife, and I'll insult and insult it; and deceive myself with false imaginings, as if it were the Moor that came to poison me.This knife is for yourself, this knife is for Tamora, oh boy!But have we grown so cowardly, To kill a fly with two men's strength, merely because it is shaped like a coal-black Moor? Max Oh, poor man!Sorrow had tortured him to such an extent that he believed phantoms to be real. Come Titus, take these things down.Lavinia, come with me to your boudoir; I'll read with you some old sad tales.Come, boy, come with me; your eyes are bright, and when mine are dim, you read on with me. (same below.)