Pericles, Prince of Tyre: Act 4, Prologue Translation

Enter Gower.

GOWER
Imagine Pericles arrived at Tyre,
Welcomed and settled to his own desire.
His woeful queen we leave at Ephesus,
Unto Diana there ’s a votaress.
Now to Marina bend your mind, 5
Whom our fast-growing scene must find
At Tarsus, and by Cleon trained
In music, letters; who hath gained
Of education all the grace
Which makes high both the art and place 10
Of general wonder. But, alack,
That monster envy, oft the wrack
Of earnèd praise, Marina’s life
Seeks to take off by treason’s knife.
And in this kind our Cleon hath 15
One daughter and a full grown wench,
Even ripe for marriage rite. This maid
Hight Philoten, and it is said
For certain in our story she
Would ever with Marina be. 20
Be ’t when they weaved the sleided silk
With fingers long, small, white as milk;
Or when she would with sharp needle wound
The cambric, which she made more sound
By hurting it; or when to the lute 25
She sung, and made the night bird mute,
That still records with moan; or when
She would with rich and constant pen
Vail to her mistress Dian, still
This Philoten contends in skill 30
With absolute Marina. So
With the dove of Paphos might the crow
Vie feathers white. Marina gets
All praises, which are paid as debts
And not as given. This so darks 35
In Philoten all graceful marks
That Cleon’s wife, with envy rare,
A present murderer does prepare
For good Marina, that her daughter
Might stand peerless by this slaughter. 40
The sooner her vile thoughts to stead,
Lychorida, our nurse, is dead,
And cursèd Dionyza hath
The pregnant instrument of wrath
Prest for this blow. The unborn event 45
I do commend to your content.
Only I carry wingèd Time
Post on the lame feet of my rhyme,
Which never could I so convey
Unless your thoughts went on my way. 50
Dionyza does appear,
With Leonine, a murderer.

He exits.