Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 5.djvu/589

 .V.JUNE 23, 1906.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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to be no friend to the author ; and in the following year (1589) a passage by Nashe in his Epistle prefixed to Greene's ' Menaphon ' (Grosart's 'Nashe,' i. xx) was "surely intended as a counterblast to the Prologue of ' Taraburlaine ' " (Bullen). These passages are quoted by all the authorities, and I refer to them because there is another in Greene that does not seem to have been mentioned- It is in his * Menaphon ' (vi. 84) : " Melicertus, might not a stranger crave your Mistris' name ?.,.... Stand not in doubt, man, for be she base, I read e that mightieTamberlaine after his wife Zenocrate (the world's fair eye) past out of the theater of this mortall life, he chose stigmaticall trulls to please his humorous fancie." Let me notice here that Menaphon is the name of a Persian lord in Marlowe's play. This is an interesting passage of Greene's, since it is a direct quotation from the ' Second Part of Tambur- laine,' Act I. sc. iii., which begins : "Now, bright Zenocrate, the world's fair eye, Whose beams illuminate the lamps of Heaven." If 'Menaphon' appeared earlier than 1589 (as many authorities assert), then so did the second part of Marlowe's play. But what about the latter statement with regard to Tamburlaine 1 It is entirely con- trary to Marlowe's version. Even admitting that Greene is capable of reproducing what he reads in a very distorted fashion, this cannot apply here. Greene had almost surely seen the play. He was certainly familiar with it. I apprehend that here, although quoting Marlowe, he does not refer to his play as that which he reads (not " sees "), but alludes to some authority on Timour's history, with the express intention of rejecting Marlowe's conclusion. Who is that authority 1 Not Primaudaye, certainly. I suppose it is not Mexia, since we are told Marlowe follows 'The Foreste' story; Marlowe's hero's last act is to have "the hearse of fair Zenocrate" placed by his death- bed ; and when the Syrian concubines are brought to him as prisoners (Part II., IV. iv.), he distributes them amongst his soldiers, replying to the remonstrances of Orcanes, King of Natolia : "Live continent then, ye slaves, and meet not me With troops of harlots at your slothful heels " ; and on the next page Theridamas calls them "trulls," ^as Greene does. But I cannot read even a hint of such a falling-away in Tamburlaine's career after the death of the divine Zenocrate. I should mention here that there is no evidence that 'Tamburlaine' was printed before 1590 (both parts) ; which strengthens the assumption that Greene had been

44 reading " somewhere else. With regard to Bajazet's iron cage, a particular discredited by some modern historians, Gibbon's re- searches seem to establish its truth.

Primaudaye has two passages concerning Tamburlaine. His spelling of the name is that of Marlowe, with the " b " ; Mexia's is not. Primaudaye's passages are brief enough to be quoted, and as the latter is the more important, I give it first. It is from chap. xliv. ' Of Fortune ' (p. 475), which, as I have already noted, is bodily used up by Greene, the passage I am about to quote being the one remarkable omision :

" Will you see a most wonderful effect of fortune ? Look upon the proceedings of that great Tambur- lane, who, being a pesant's son and keeping cattel, corrupted 500 sheepheards his companions. These men, selling their cattel, betook them to armes, robbed the merchants of that country, and watched the highways. Which when the King of Persia understood of, he sent a captaine with a 1,000 horse to discomfit them. But Tamburlane delt so with him, that ioining both togither they wrought many incredible feates of armes. And when civil warre grew betwixt the king and his brother, Tainburlane entred into the brother's pay, who obtained the victory by his means, and thereupon made him his lieutenant general. [The Persian king is Mycetes ; his brother. Cosroe ; the Captain, Theri- damas.] But he not long after spoiled the new King, weakened and subdued the whole kingdom of Persia. And when he saw himselfe captain of an army of 400,000 horsemen, and 600,000 footmen, he made warre with Baiazet, emperor of the Turkes, overcame him in battel, and tqoke him prisoner. He obtained also a great victorie against the Souldan of Egypt and the King of Arabia. This good successe (which is most to be marvelled at and very rare) accompanied him always untill his death, in so much that he ended his days amongst his children, as a peaceable governor of innumer- able countries. From him descended the great Sophy who raigneth at this day, and is greatly feared and redoubted of the Turke. But that miserable Baiazet, who had conquered before so many peoples, and subdued innumerable cities, ended his dayes in an iron cage, wherein being prisoner, and overcome with griefe to see his wife shamefully handled, in waiting at Tamburlane's table with hir gowue cut downe to hir Navell, so that hir secrete partes were seene, this unfortunate Turke beate his head so often agaynst the Cage that he ended his lyfe. But what neede we drawe out this dis- course further to shewe the strange dealinges and marvellous chaunges of fortune in the particular estates and conditions of men ?"

The other passage is from chap, xxiii., ' Of Glory, Praise, Honor, and Pride,' p. 253 :

" The Great Tamburlane being puffed up exceed- ingly, bicause of a Peasant's sonne he attained to so greate a Monarchy, used farre greater and more barbarous severitie towards Baiazet, Emperour of the Turks, whome, after he had overcome him and made him his prisoner, he caused to be ledde about with him in a cage wheresoever he went, feeding him ouely with the crums that fell under his table ;