Marked words are the most distinguishing words of T7: hector, troy, achilles, greeks, aeneas, priam, ulysses, troilus, trojan, trojans.
(Ajax) enough; Ulysses now begin: Desire (alas) being not effectual To raise from Cinders dead mortality, And make a living heir indubitate, Heaven saith, he shall remain ambiguous, Till you (great judges) do decide the strife, And so restore Achilles unto life: Which, because doubtful, I do challenge grace Of you my patrons, and this public place. The bragging fellow Ajax doth derive A long forgotten age from Telamon, Striving to fetch a foolish argument Of his renowned acts, from high descent, If which dead picture of king's pedigree, Could but infuse a fortune competent, And make that piercing wisdom of the soul A thing entitled to inheritance, I could produce a genealogy, From sacred Ioue, and subtle Mercury; But, may the best of all my stratagems, Which to thy sole advantage (happy Greece) I have invented; may they perish all When I assume the virtue of my sire, As agent for my hope, and chief desire. Who tempted brave Achilles to the siege When he (detained with fear of destiny) Was e'en excluded in a female rob? When he forgot to be pontifical, And was a true virago? did refuse Both weapons, and each little sound of war? I had a feeling of my country's cause, And drew Achilles to the Trojan wars; That mighty Captain of the Mermedons I drew to battle, made him disobey His mother-goddess, to advance the state Of weary toil, and trouble Pergamus: I put his armour on; gave weapons too; For what I gave (great Lords) I humbly woo. Speak, did not I encounter Telephon? Turn Thebes to ashes? conquer Tenedos? Chryses, and Scylla, Syron, Hector, Troy, All do acknowledge me; my valiant arm, My notable advice; all attribute The shameless ruin of subverted Troy To me, as author sole, and absolute Of such a safety to the commonweal; Which, notwithstanding (fathers) I renounce, And must acknowledge you the principals Of an achievement so perspicuous: And whatsoever the vain people's voice, captains report, and painful soldiers love, Doth by misguided error give to me, I render back with all humility. To urge my own directions, and advice In Architecture of that happy horse, That fatal fabric (being so fresh in thought) Were to condemn you (mindful countrymen) Of that which wisdom loathes, Ingratitude. To reckon up Minerva's image, bought With hazard of my breath, and precious limbs, When wedging bars flew from the Iron gates, And gave access unto that sacred spell, Might argue a most false oblivion In your quick wisdoms with strange impudence In my most bold surmise. But (Mighties all) May stupid Ajax his reproachful terms, (Without each scruple to your judging ears) Be twice retorted in his rotten teeth; So he may swallow down such base Rebukes, And make amends to me: for let him know, My suffering shoulders could sustain the load Not of Achilles' armour, but his lump Of solid, brawny flesh, both legs and arms, Nay the whole massy trunk trussed up in steel: I (Ajax) ay, that carcase once bestrid, Upon my shoulders took his heavy trunk
seed 43: T12 · seed 44: T11 — topic numbers are assigned independently in each run; equal or different numbers say nothing by themselves
Original spelling (EEBO-TCP, unregularized)
(Aiax) enough; Vlysses now begin: Desire (alas) being not effectuall To raise from Cinders dead mortality, And make a liuing heire indubitate, Heau'n saith, hee shall remaine ambiguous, Till you (great Iudges) doe decide the strife, And so restore Achilles vnto life: Which, because doubtfull, I doe challenge grace Of you my patrons, and this publicke place. The bragging fellow Aiax doth deriue A long forgotten age from Telamon, Striuing to fetch a foolish argument Of his renowned acts, from high discent, If which dead picture of Kings pedigree, Could but infuce a fortune competent, And make that piercing wisedome of the soule A thing intitled to inheritance, I could produce a genealogy, From sacred Ioue, and subtill Mercury; But, may the best of all my stratagems, Which to thy sole aduantage (happy Greece) I haue inuented; may they perish all When I assume the vertue of my sire, As agent for my hope, and chiefe desire. braue Achilles to the siege When hee (tain'd with feare of destiny) Was eeu'n excluded in a female robe? When hee forgot to be pontificall, And was a true virago? did refuse Both weapons, and each little sound of warre? I had a feeling of my countries cause, And drew Achilles to the Troian warres; That mighty Captaine of the Mermedons I drew to battell, made him disobey His mother-goddesse, to aduance the state Of weary toile, and trouble Pergamus: I put his armour on; gaue weapons too; For what I gaue (great Lords) I humbly wooe. Speake, did not I incounter Telephon? Turne Thebes to ashes? conquer Tenedos? Chryses, and Cylla, Syron, Hector, Troy, All do acknowledge me; my valiant arme, My notable aduice; all attribute The shamelesse ruine of subuerted Troy To me, as author sole, and absolute Of such a safety to the common-weale; Which, notwithstanding (fathers) I renounce, And must acknowledge you the principals Of an atchieuement so perspicuous: And whatsouer the vaine peoples voice, Captaines report, and painfull Souldiers loue, Doth by mis-guided error giue to mee, I render backe with all humility. To vrge my owne directions, and aduice In Architecture of that happy horse, That fatall fabricke (being so fresh in thought) Were to condemne you (mindfull country-men) Of that which wisedome loathes, Ingratitude. To reckon vp Minerua's image, bought With hazard of my breath, and precious limbs, Whn wedging barres flew from the Iron gates, And gaue accesse vnto that sacred spell, Might argue a most false obliuion In your quicke wisedomes with strange impudence In my most bold surmise. But (Mighties all) May stupid Aiax his reproachfull termes, (Without each scruple to your iudging eares) Be twice retorted in his rotten teeth; So hee may swallow downe such base Rebukes, And make amends to me: for let him know, My suffring shoulders could sustaine the load Not of Achilles armour, but his lumpe Of solid, brawny flesh, both legges and armes, Nay the whole massy trunke truss'd vp in steele: I (Aiax) I, that carkasse once be-stridde, Vpon my shoulders tooke his heauy trunke