o the house of
Philodemus, and finding the maiden prostrate at her father's
feete weeping, her head in his lappe with taunting voice and
threatning woordes commaunded presently without longer delay she
should ryse and go with him: She refusing his hasty request, and
crying out for Father's help, who (God wot) durst not resist,
stoode still and would not goe: Lucius seeing hir refusal ful of
furie and proude disdaine, began furiously to hale hir by the
garments, vpon whose struggling he tare hir kirtle and
furnitures of hir head and shoulders, that hir alablaster necke
and bosome appeared naked, and without compassion tare and
whipte hir flesh on euery side, as the bloud ranne downe,
beating that tendre flesh of hirs with manifold and greuous
blowes. O vile tirant, more wood and sauage than the desert
beast or mountaine Tigre: could cruelty be so deepely rooted in
the hart of man which by nature is affected with reason's
instinct, as without pity to lay handes, and violently to hurt
the tendre body of a harmlesse Maidee? Can such inhumanity
harbor in any that beareth aboute him the shape of man? But what
did this martyred maiden for all this force? Did she yeld to
violence, or rendre hir self to the disposition of this
mercilesse man? No surely. But with so great stoutnesse of mind,
she suffred those impressed wounds, that no one word sounding of
sorrow, or womanly shriech was heard to sound from hir delicate
mouth: howbeit the pore father and miserable mother at that
rueful and lamentable sight, moued with inward grief and natural
pity, cried out aloude. But when they sawe that neyther playnt
nor fayre speech coulde deliuer their Daughter out of the hands
of that cruell monster, they began with open cryes and horrible
exclamation to implore helpe and succour at the handes of the
immortall Gods, thinking that they were vnworthely plaged and
tormented. Then the proud and most barbarous wretch, moued and
disquieted by cholers rage and fume of chafinge Wyne, sodaynly
catched the most constant virgin by the hayre of the head, and
in her father's Lap did cut her white and tender throte.
O detestable fact, right worthy iust reuenge. But what did this
vnfaythfull and cruell Tyrant Aristotimus, when by the
blustering bruit of people's rage he heard of this vengeable
murder, not only he shewed himselfe contented wyth the fact, but
had him in greater regard than before, and towards them which
made complaint hereof, greater crue