| [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, 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 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. |
| 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 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 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; 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, 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 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.' |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| [Exeunt] | |
| [Great shouts within and all cry 'The mean knight!'] |