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Paris
Aeneas is the Trojan lord and warrior who is entrusted with conveying Diomedes through Troy when the Greek warrior comes to return Antenor. The play depicts Aeneas as a noble and courteous man, quick to praise the prowess and strength of his enemy in times of truce, and equally quick to inflict damage on his enemies in times of war. He is also sympathetic to Troilus’s plight insofar as he helps Paris warn Troilus about Cressida’s impending removal from the city.
Aeneas Quotes in Troilus and Cressida
The Troilus and Cressida quotes below are all either spoken by Aeneas or refer to Aeneas. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Act 1, Scene 3 Quotes
AENEAS […] “If there be one among the fair’st of Greece
That holds his honor higher than his ease,
That seeks his praise more than he fears his peril,
That knows his valor and knows not his fear,
That loves his mistress more than in confession
With truant vows to her own lips he loves
And dare avow her beauty and her worth
In other arms than hers—to him this challenge.
Hector, in view of Trojans and of Greeks,
Shall make it good, or do his best to do it,
He hath a lady wiser, fairer, truer
Than ever Greek did couple in his arms
And will tomorrow with his trumpet call,
Midway between your tents and walls of Troy,
To rouse a Grecian that is true in love.
If any come, Hector shall honor him […]
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Act 4, Scene 1 Quotes
AENEAS And thou shalt hunt a lion that will fly
With his face backward. In human gentleness,
Welcome to Troy. Now, by Anchises’ life,
Welcome indeed. By Venus’ hand I swear
No an alive can love in such a sort
The thing he means to kill more excellently.
DIOMEDES We sympathize. Jove, let Aeneas live,
If to my sword his fate be not the glory,
A thousand complete courses of the sun!
But in mine emulous honor let him die
With every joint a wound and that tomorrow.
AENEAS We know each other well.
DIOMEDES We do, and long to know each other worse.
PARIS This is the most despiteful gentle greeting,
The noblest hateful love, that e’er I heard of.
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Act 4, Scene 2 Quotes
CRESSIDA I will not, uncle. I have forgot my father.
I know no touch of consanguinity,
No kin, no love, no blood, no soul so near me
As the sweet Troilus. O you gods divine,
Make Cressid’s name the very crown of falsehood
If ever she leave Troilus! Time, force, and death
Do to this body what extremes you can,
But the strong base and building of my love
Is as the very center of the earth,
Drawing all things to it. I’ll go in and weep—
PANDARUS Do, do.
CRESSIDA Tear my bright hair, and scratch my praisèd cheeks,
Crack my clear voice with sobs and break my heart
With sounding “Troilus.” I will not go from Troy.
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Aeneas Character Timeline in Troilus and Cressida
The timeline below shows where the character Aeneas appears in Troilus and Cressida. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1, Scene 1
There’s an outcry in the streets outside, soon after which Aeneas, another Trojan warrior, finds Troilus and informs him that Menelaus wounded Troilus’s brother, Paris, in...
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Act 1, Scene 2
...the battlefield. Pandarus and Cressida go to the window to watch the returning warriors. As Aeneas, Antenor, Hector, and Paris pass by, Pandarus declares each inferior to Troilus. When a bloodied...
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Act 1, Scene 3
A trumpet heralds the arrival of an envoy from Troy—Aeneas. He praises Agamemnon so effusively that Agamemnon begins to suspect he’s being mocked. But courtesy...
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Agamemnon and the others leave to escort Aeneas through the Greek camp as he announces his challenge, leaving Nestor and Ulysses behind. They...
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Act 4, Scene 1
...the early hours of the morning, Paris and a contingent of Trojan men come to Aeneas’s house with Diomedes. The Greek warrior has just returned Antenor to Troy and is ready...
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Paris pulls Aeneas aside and asks him to run ahead to Cressida’s house, where he has good reason...
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Act 4, Scene 2
Pandarus answers the door as Troilus and Cressida retreat into her bedroom. In answer to Aeneas’s queries, Pandarus initially tries to claim that Troilus isn’t there, but Aeneas insists on talking...
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Act 4, Scene 4
The sound of a trumpet draws the attention of Aeneas, Paris, and Deiphobus. Eager to watch Hector fight Ajax, they hurry off to prepare to...
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Act 4, Scene 5
Ulysses’ musings are interrupted by the arrival of Hector and his retinue, which includes Paris, Aeneas, Helenus, and Troilus. Aeneas approaches the Greeks to ask, on Hector’s behalf, whether the combat...
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Act 5, Scene 2
...Ulysses warns him to hush, lest he draw unwanted attention, but just at that moment, Aeneas stumbles upon the pair of them. He’s been looking for Troilus—it’s high time to return...
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Act 5, Scene 6
Troilus runs to Hector’s side to announce that Ajax has captured Aeneas. He’s going to free his friend, regardless of the danger this might pose to himself....
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Act 5, Scene 11
...side of the field, Troilus breaks the news of Hector’s death to the Trojans, including Aeneas, Paris, Antenor, and Deiphobus. He calls out to the gods to rain down vengeance on...
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