II. 2.100Ang.I show it most of all when I show justice;For then I pity those I do not know,Which a dismiss’d offence would after gall;And do him right that, answering one foul wrong.Lives not to act another.Besatisfied;105Your brother dies to-morrow; be content.Isab.So you must be the first that gives this sentence.And he, that suffers. O,it isexcellentTo have a giant’s strength; butit istyrannousTo use it like a giant.Lucio.[Aside to Isab.] That’s well said.110Isab.Could great men thunderAs Jove himself does, Jove wouldne’erbe quiet,For every pelting, petty officerWoulduse his heaven for thunder.Nothing but thunder! MercifulHeaven,115Thou rather with thy sharp and sulphurous boltSplit’stthe unwedgeable and gnarled oakThan the soft myrtle:butman,proudman,Drest in a little brief authority,Most ignorant of what he’s most assured,120Hisglassyessence, like an angry ape,Plays such fantastic tricks before high heavenAs make the angels weep; who, with our spleens,Would all themselves laugh mortal.Lucio.[Aside to Isab.] O, to him, to him, wench! he will relent;He’s coming; I perceive’t.II. 2.125Prov.[Aside] Pray heaven she win him!Isab.We cannotweigh our brother withourself:Great men may jest withsaints; ’tis wit in them.But in the less foul profanation.Lucio.Thou’rti’ the right, girl; more o’ that.130Isab.That in the captain’s but a choleric word,Which in the soldier is flat blasphemy.Lucio.[Aside to Isab.] Artavisedo’ that?more on’t.Ang.Why do you put these sayings upon me?Isab.Because authority, though it err like others.135Hath yet a kind of medicine in itself,That skins the vice o’ the top. Go to your bosom;Knock there, and ask your heart what it doth knowThat’s like my brother’s fault: if it confessA natural guiltiness such as is his,140Let it not sound a thought uponyourtongueAgainst my brother’s life.Ang.[Aside] She speaks, and ’tisSuch sense, that my sensebreedswith it. Fare you well.Isab.Gentle my lord, turn back.Ang.I will bethink me: come again to-morrow.145Isab.Hark how I’ll bribe you: good my lord, turn back.Ang.How? bribe me?Isab.Ay, with such gifts that heaven shall share with you.Lucio.[Aside to Isab.] Yon had marr’d all else.Isab.Not with fondshekelsof the tested gold,II. 2.150Or stones whoserates areeither rich or poorAs fancy values them; but with true prayersThat shall be up at heaven and enter thereEre sun-rise, prayers from preserved souls,From fasting maids whose minds are dedicateTo nothing temporal.155Ang.Well; come to me to-morrow.Lucio.[Aside to Isab.] Go to; ’tis well; away!Isab.Heaven keep your honour safe!Ang.[Aside]Amen:For I am that way going to temptation,Whereprayers cross.Isab.At what hour to-morrowShall I attendyour lordship?160Ang.At any time ’fore noon.Isab.’Saveyour honour!Exeunt Isabella, Lucio, and Provost.Ang.From thee,—even from thy virtue!What’s this, what’s this? Is this her fault or mine?The tempter or the tempted, who sins most?Ha!165Not she; nor doth she tempt: but it is IThat, lyingbythe violet in the sun,Do as the carrion does, not as the flower,Corrupt with virtuous season. Can it beThat modesty may more betray our sense170Than woman’s lightness? Having waste ground enough,Shall we desire to raze the sanctuary,And pitch ourevilsthere? O, fie, fie, fie!What dost thou, or what art thou, Angelo?Dost thou desire her foully for those thingsII. 2.175That make her good? O, let her brother live:Thieves for their robbery have authorityWhen judges steal themselves. What, do I love her,That I desire to hear her speak again,And feast upon her eyes? What is’t I dream on?180O cunning enemy, that, to catch a saint,With saints dost bait thy hook! Most dangerousIs that temptation that doth goad us onTo sin in loving virtue:nevercould the strumpet,With all her double vigour, art and nature,185Once stir my temper; but this virtuous maidSubdues me quite.Ever till now,When men were fond, I smiled, and wonder’d how.Exit.II. 3Scene III.A room in a prison.Enter, severally,Dukedisguised as a friar, andProvost.Duke.Hail to you, provost!—so I think you are.Prov.I am the provost. What’s your will, good friar?Duke.Bound by my charity and my blest order,I come to visit the afflicted spirits5Here in the prison. Do me the common rightTo let me see them, and to make me knowThe nature of theircrimes, that I mayministerTo them accordingly.Prov.I would do more than that, if more were needful.EnterJuliet.10Look, here comes one: a gentlewoman of mine,Who, falling in theflawsof her own youth,Hath blister’d her report: she is with child;And he that got it, sentenced; a young manMore fit to do another such offence15Than die for this.Duke.When must he die?Prov.As I do think, to-morrow.I have provided for you: stay awhile,To Juliet.And you shall be conducted.Duke.Repent you, fair one, of the sin you carry?20Jul.I do; and bear the shame most patiently.Duke.I’ll teach you how you shall arraign your conscience,And try your penitence, if it be sound,Or hollowly put on.Jul.I’ll gladly learn.Duke.Love you the man that wrong’d you?II. 3.25Jul.Yes, as I love the woman that wrong’d him.Duke.So, then, it seems your mostoffencefulactWas mutually committed?Jul.Mutually.Duke.Then was your sin of heavier kind than his.Jul.I do confess it, and repent it, father.30Duke.’Tis meet so, daughter: butlest you do repent,As that the sin hath brought you to this shame,Which sorrow is always towards ourselves, not heaven,Showingwe would not spareheaven as we love it,But as we stand in fear,—35Jul.I do repent me, as it is an evil,And take the shame with joy.Duke.There rest.Your partner, as I hear, must die to-morrow,And I am going with instruction to him.Gracego with you,Benedicite!Exit.40Jul.Must die to-morrow! O injuriouslove,That respites me a life, whose very comfortIs still a dying horror!Prov.’Tis pity of him.Exeunt.II. 4Scene IV.A room inAngelo’shouse.EnterAngelo.Ang.When I would pray and think, I think and prayTo several subjects. Heaven hath myemptywords;Whilst myinvention, hearing not my tongue,Anchors on Isabel:Heavenin my mouth,5As if I did but only chewhisname;And in my heart the strong and swelling evilOf my conception. The state, whereon I studied,Is like a good thing, being often read,Grownfear’dand tedious; yea, my gravity,10Wherein—let no man hear me—Itakepride,Could I with boot change for an idle plume,Which the air beatsfor vain. O place, O form,How often dost thou with thy case, thy habit,Wrench awe from fools, and tie the wiser souls15To thy false seeming! Blood,thou art blood:Let’s write good angel on the devil’s horn;’Tis notthe devil’s crest.Enter aServant.How now! who’s there?Serv.One Isabel, a sister,desiresaccess to you.Ang.Teach her the way. O heavens!20Why does my blood thus muster to my heart,Makingboth itunable for itself,And dispossessingallmy other partsOf necessary fitness?So play the foolish throngs with one that swoons:II. 4.25Come all to help him, and so stop the airBy which he should revive: and even soThe general,subjectto a well-wish’d king,Quit their ownpart, and in obsequious fondnessCrowd to his presence, where their untaught loveMust needs appear offence.EnterIsabella.30How now, fair maid?Isab.I am come to know your pleasure.Ang.That you might know it, would much better please meThan todemandwhat ’tis.Your brothercannot live.Isab.Even so.—Heaven keepyour honour!35Ang.Yet may he live awhile; and, it may be,As long as you or I: yet he must die.Isab.Under your sentence?Ang.Yea.Isab.When, I beseech you? that in his reprieve,40Longer or shorter, he may be so fittedThat his soul sicken not.Ang.Ha! fie, these filthy vices! It were as goodTo pardon him that hath from nature stolenA man already made, as to remit45Their saucysweetnessthat do coin heaven’s imageIn stamps that are forbid: ’tis all aseasyFalsely to take away a life true made,As to putmetalin restrainedmeansTo make a false one.II. 4.50Isab.’Tis set down so in heaven, but not in earth.Ang.Sayyou so? then I shall pose you quickly.Which had you rather,—that the most just lawNow took your brother’s life;or, to redeem him,Give up your body to such sweet uncleannessAs she that he hath stain’d?55Isab.Sir, believe this,I had rather give my body than my soul.Ang.I talk not of your soul: our compell’d sinsStand more for number thanfor accompt.Isab.How say you?Ang.Nay, I’ll not warrant that; for I can speak60Against the thing I say. Answer to this:—I, now the voice of the recorded law,Pronounce a sentence on your brother’s life:Might there not be a charity in sinTo save this brother’s life?Isab.Please you to do’t,65I’ll take it as a peril to my soul,It is no sin at all, but charity.Ang.Pleased you to do’t at peril of your soul,Were equal poise of sin and charity.Isab.That I do beg his life, if it be sin,70Heaven let me bear it! you grantingofmy suit,If that be sin, I’llmake it my morn prayerTo have it added to the faults of mine,And nothing ofyouranswer.Ang.Nay, but hear me.Your sense pursues not mine: either you are ignorant,II. 4.75Or seem so,craftily; and that’s not good.Isab.Letmebe ignorant, and in nothing good,But graciously to know I am no better.Ang.Thus wisdom wishes to appear most brightWhen it doth tax itself; as these black masks80Proclaim anenshieldbeauty ten times louderThan beauty could, display’d. Butmark me;To be received plain, I’ll speak more gross:Your brother is to die.Isab.So.85Ang.And his offence is so, as it appears,Accountant to the law upon that pain.Isab.True.Ang.Admit no other way to save his life,—As I subscribe not that, nor any other,90But in thelossof question,—that you, his sister,Finding yourself desired of such a person,Whose credit with the judge, or own great place,Could fetch your brother from the manaclesOf theall-buildinglaw; and that there were95No earthly mean to save him, but that eitherYou must lay down the treasures of your bodyTo this supposed, or elseto lethim suffer;What would you do?Isab.As much for my poor brother as myself:II. 4.100That is, were I under the terms of death,The impression of keen whips I’ld wear as rubies,And strip myself to death, as to a bedThat longinghavebeensickfor, ere I’ld yieldMy body up to shame.Ang.Then mustyour brother die.105Isab.And ’twere the cheaper way:Better it were a brother diedatonce,Than that a sister, by redeeming him,Should die for ever.Ang.Were not you, then, as cruel as the sentence110That you have slander’d so?Isab.Ignomy inransom and free pardonAre of two houses: lawfulmercyIs nothing kinto foul redemption.Ang.You seem’d of late to make the law a tyrant;115And rather proved the sliding of your brotherA merriment than a vice.Isab.O, pardon me, my lord; itoftfalls out,To have whatwe wouldhave, we speak not what we mean:I something do excuse the thing I hate,120For his advantage that I dearly love.Ang.We are all frail.Isab.Else let my brother die,If not afeodary, but only heOwe and succeedthy weakness.Ang.Nay, women are frail too.II. 4.125Isab.Ay, as the glasses where they view themselves;Which are as easy broke as theymakeforms.Women!—Help Heaven! mentheircreation marIn profiting by them. Nay, call us ten times frail;For we are soft as our complexions are,And credulous to false prints.130Ang.I think it well:And from this testimony of your own sex,—Since, I suppose, we are made to be no strongerThan faults may shake our frames,—let me be bold;—I do arrest your words. Be that you are,135That is, a woman; ifyou bemore, you’re none;If you be one,—as you are well express’dBy all external warrants,—show it now,By putting on the destined livery.Isab.I have no tongue but one: gentle my lord,140Let me entreat you speak theformerlanguage.Ang.Plainly conceive, I love you.Isab.My brother did love Juliet,And you tell me that he shall diefor it.Ang.He shall not, Isabel, if you give me love.145Isab.I know your virtue hath a license in’t,Which seems a little fouler than it is,To pluck on others.Ang.Believe me, on mine honour,My words express my purpose.Isab.Ha! little honour to be much believed,II. 4.150And most pernicious purpose!—Seeming, seeming!—I will proclaim thee, Angelo; look for’t:Sign me a present pardon for my brother,Or with an outstretch’d throatI’ll tell the worldaloudWhat man thou art.Ang.Who will believe thee, Isabel?155My unsoil’d name, the austereness of my life,My vouch against you, and my place i’ the state,Will so your accusation overweigh,That you shall stifle in your own report,And smell of calumny. I have begun;160And now I give my sensual race the rein:Fit thy consent to my sharp appetite;Lay by all nicety and prolixious blushes,That banish what they sue for;redeemthy brotherBy yielding up thy body to my will;165Or else he must not only die the death,But thy unkindness shall his death draw outTo lingering sufferance. Answer me to-morrow.Or, by the affection that now guides me most,I’ll prove a tyrant to him. As for you,170Say what you can, my false o’erweighs your true.Exit.Isab.To whomshouldI complain? Did I tell this,Who would believe me? Operilousmouths,That bear in them one and the self-same tongue,Either of condemnation or approof;II. 4.175Bidding the law makecourt’syto their will;Hooking both right and wrong to the appetite,To follow as it draws! I’ll to my brother:Though he hath fall’n by prompture of the blood,Yet hath he in him such amindof honour,180That, had he twenty heads to tender downOn twenty bloody blocks, he’ld yield them up,Before his sister should her body stoopTo such abhorr’d pollution.Then, Isabel, live chaste, and, brother, die:185More than our brotheris our chastity.I’ll tell him yet of Angelo’s request,And fit his mind to death, for his soul’s rest.Exit.ACT III.III. 1Scene I.A room in the prison.EnterDukedisguised as before,Claudio, andProvost.Duke.So, then, you hopeofpardon from Lord Angelo?Claud.The miserable have no other medicineBut only hope:I’vehope to live, and am prepar’d to die.5Duke.Be absolute for death;eitherdeath or lifeShall thereby be the sweeter. Reason thus with life:If I do lose thee, I do lose a thingThat none but fools wouldkeep: a breath thou art,Servile to all the skyey influences.10Thatdostthis habitation, where thou keep’st,Hourly afflict: merely, thou art death’s fool;For him thou labour’st by thy flight to shun,And yet runn’st toward him still. Thou art not noble;For all the accommodations that thou bear’st15Are nursed by baseness. Thou’rt by no means valiant;For thou dost fear the soft and tender forkOf a poor worm. Thy best of rest is sleep,And that thou oft provokest; yet grossly fear’stThy death, which is no more. Thou art not thyself;20For thouexist’ston many a thousand grainsThat issue out of dust. Happy thou art not;For what thou hast not, still thou strivest to get.And what thou hast, forget’st. Thou art not certain;For thy complexion shifts to strangeeffects,III. 125After the moon.Ifthou art rich, thou’rt poor;For, like an ass whose back with ingots bows,Thou bear’st thy heavy riches but a journey,And deathunloadsthee. Friend hast thou none;For thine own bowels, which do call theesire,30The mere effusion of thy proper loins,Do curse the gout,serpigo, and the rheum,For ending thee no sooner. Thou hast nor youth nor age.But, as it were, an after-dinner’s sleep,Dreaming on both; forall thy blessedyouth35Becomesas aged, and doth beg the almsOf palsied eld; and when thou art old and rich,Thou hast neither heat, affection, limb, norbeauty,To make thy riches pleasant. What’syetin thisThat bears the name of life? Yet in this life40Lie hidmorethousand deaths: yet death we fear,That makes these odds all even.Claud.I humbly thank you.To sue to live, I find I seek to die;And, seeking death, find life: let it come on.Isab.[within] What, ho! Peace here; grace and good company!45Prov.Who’s there? come in: the wish deserves a welcome.Duke.Dearsir, ere long I’ll visit you again.Claud.Most holy sir, I thank you.EnterIsabella.Isab.My business is a word or two with Claudio.Prov.And very welcome.Look, signior, here’s yourIII. 150sister.Duke.Provost, a word with you.Prov.As many as you please.Duke.Bring me to hear them speak, where I may beconcealed.Exeunt Duke and Provost.55Claud.Now,sister, what’s the comfort?
II. 2.100Ang.I show it most of all when I show justice;For then I pity those I do not know,Which a dismiss’d offence would after gall;And do him right that, answering one foul wrong.Lives not to act another.Besatisfied;105Your brother dies to-morrow; be content.
II. 2.100Ang.I show it most of all when I show justice;
For then I pity those I do not know,
Which a dismiss’d offence would after gall;
And do him right that, answering one foul wrong.
Lives not to act another.Besatisfied;
105Your brother dies to-morrow; be content.
Isab.So you must be the first that gives this sentence.And he, that suffers. O,it isexcellentTo have a giant’s strength; butit istyrannousTo use it like a giant.
Isab.So you must be the first that gives this sentence.
And he, that suffers. O,it isexcellent
To have a giant’s strength; butit istyrannous
To use it like a giant.
Lucio.
[Aside to Isab.] That’s well said.
110Isab.Could great men thunderAs Jove himself does, Jove wouldne’erbe quiet,For every pelting, petty officerWoulduse his heaven for thunder.Nothing but thunder! MercifulHeaven,115Thou rather with thy sharp and sulphurous boltSplit’stthe unwedgeable and gnarled oakThan the soft myrtle:butman,proudman,Drest in a little brief authority,Most ignorant of what he’s most assured,120Hisglassyessence, like an angry ape,Plays such fantastic tricks before high heavenAs make the angels weep; who, with our spleens,Would all themselves laugh mortal.
110Isab.Could great men thunder
As Jove himself does, Jove wouldne’erbe quiet,
For every pelting, petty officer
Woulduse his heaven for thunder.
Nothing but thunder! MercifulHeaven,
115Thou rather with thy sharp and sulphurous bolt
Split’stthe unwedgeable and gnarled oak
Than the soft myrtle:butman,proudman,
Drest in a little brief authority,
Most ignorant of what he’s most assured,
120Hisglassyessence, like an angry ape,
Plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven
As make the angels weep; who, with our spleens,
Would all themselves laugh mortal.
Lucio.[Aside to Isab.] O, to him, to him, wench! he will relent;He’s coming; I perceive’t.
Lucio.[Aside to Isab.] O, to him, to him, wench! he will relent;
He’s coming; I perceive’t.
II. 2.125Prov.
[Aside] Pray heaven she win him!
Isab.We cannotweigh our brother withourself:Great men may jest withsaints; ’tis wit in them.But in the less foul profanation.
Isab.We cannotweigh our brother withourself:
Great men may jest withsaints; ’tis wit in them.
But in the less foul profanation.
Lucio.Thou’rti’ the right, girl; more o’ that.
130Isab.That in the captain’s but a choleric word,Which in the soldier is flat blasphemy.
130Isab.That in the captain’s but a choleric word,
Which in the soldier is flat blasphemy.
Lucio.[Aside to Isab.] Artavisedo’ that?more on’t.
Ang.Why do you put these sayings upon me?
Isab.Because authority, though it err like others.135Hath yet a kind of medicine in itself,That skins the vice o’ the top. Go to your bosom;Knock there, and ask your heart what it doth knowThat’s like my brother’s fault: if it confessA natural guiltiness such as is his,140Let it not sound a thought uponyourtongueAgainst my brother’s life.
Isab.Because authority, though it err like others.
135Hath yet a kind of medicine in itself,
That skins the vice o’ the top. Go to your bosom;
Knock there, and ask your heart what it doth know
That’s like my brother’s fault: if it confess
A natural guiltiness such as is his,
140Let it not sound a thought uponyourtongue
Against my brother’s life.
Ang.[Aside] She speaks, and ’tisSuch sense, that my sensebreedswith it. Fare you well.
Ang.
[Aside] She speaks, and ’tis
Such sense, that my sensebreedswith it. Fare you well.
Isab.Gentle my lord, turn back.
Ang.I will bethink me: come again to-morrow.
145Isab.Hark how I’ll bribe you: good my lord, turn back.
Ang.How? bribe me?
Isab.Ay, with such gifts that heaven shall share with you.
Lucio.[Aside to Isab.] Yon had marr’d all else.
Isab.Not with fondshekelsof the tested gold,II. 2.150Or stones whoserates areeither rich or poorAs fancy values them; but with true prayersThat shall be up at heaven and enter thereEre sun-rise, prayers from preserved souls,From fasting maids whose minds are dedicateTo nothing temporal.
Isab.Not with fondshekelsof the tested gold,
II. 2.150Or stones whoserates areeither rich or poor
As fancy values them; but with true prayers
That shall be up at heaven and enter there
Ere sun-rise, prayers from preserved souls,
From fasting maids whose minds are dedicate
To nothing temporal.
155Ang.
Well; come to me to-morrow.
Lucio.[Aside to Isab.] Go to; ’tis well; away!
Isab.Heaven keep your honour safe!
Ang.[Aside]Amen:For I am that way going to temptation,Whereprayers cross.
Ang.
[Aside]Amen:
For I am that way going to temptation,
Whereprayers cross.
Isab.At what hour to-morrowShall I attendyour lordship?
Isab.
At what hour to-morrow
Shall I attendyour lordship?
160Ang.
At any time ’fore noon.
Isab.’Saveyour honour!
Exeunt Isabella, Lucio, and Provost.
Ang.From thee,—even from thy virtue!What’s this, what’s this? Is this her fault or mine?The tempter or the tempted, who sins most?Ha!165Not she; nor doth she tempt: but it is IThat, lyingbythe violet in the sun,Do as the carrion does, not as the flower,Corrupt with virtuous season. Can it beThat modesty may more betray our sense170Than woman’s lightness? Having waste ground enough,Shall we desire to raze the sanctuary,And pitch ourevilsthere? O, fie, fie, fie!What dost thou, or what art thou, Angelo?Dost thou desire her foully for those thingsII. 2.175That make her good? O, let her brother live:Thieves for their robbery have authorityWhen judges steal themselves. What, do I love her,That I desire to hear her speak again,And feast upon her eyes? What is’t I dream on?180O cunning enemy, that, to catch a saint,With saints dost bait thy hook! Most dangerousIs that temptation that doth goad us onTo sin in loving virtue:nevercould the strumpet,With all her double vigour, art and nature,185Once stir my temper; but this virtuous maidSubdues me quite.Ever till now,When men were fond, I smiled, and wonder’d how.Exit.
Ang.
From thee,—even from thy virtue!
What’s this, what’s this? Is this her fault or mine?
The tempter or the tempted, who sins most?
Ha!
165Not she; nor doth she tempt: but it is I
That, lyingbythe violet in the sun,
Do as the carrion does, not as the flower,
Corrupt with virtuous season. Can it be
That modesty may more betray our sense
170Than woman’s lightness? Having waste ground enough,
Shall we desire to raze the sanctuary,
And pitch ourevilsthere? O, fie, fie, fie!
What dost thou, or what art thou, Angelo?
Dost thou desire her foully for those things
II. 2.175That make her good? O, let her brother live:
Thieves for their robbery have authority
When judges steal themselves. What, do I love her,
That I desire to hear her speak again,
And feast upon her eyes? What is’t I dream on?
180O cunning enemy, that, to catch a saint,
With saints dost bait thy hook! Most dangerous
Is that temptation that doth goad us on
To sin in loving virtue:nevercould the strumpet,
With all her double vigour, art and nature,
185Once stir my temper; but this virtuous maid
Subdues me quite.Ever till now,
When men were fond, I smiled, and wonder’d how.Exit.
Duke.Hail to you, provost!—so I think you are.
Prov.I am the provost. What’s your will, good friar?
Duke.Bound by my charity and my blest order,I come to visit the afflicted spirits5Here in the prison. Do me the common rightTo let me see them, and to make me knowThe nature of theircrimes, that I mayministerTo them accordingly.
Duke.Bound by my charity and my blest order,
I come to visit the afflicted spirits
5Here in the prison. Do me the common right
To let me see them, and to make me know
The nature of theircrimes, that I mayminister
To them accordingly.
Prov.I would do more than that, if more were needful.
10Look, here comes one: a gentlewoman of mine,Who, falling in theflawsof her own youth,Hath blister’d her report: she is with child;And he that got it, sentenced; a young manMore fit to do another such offence15Than die for this.
10Look, here comes one: a gentlewoman of mine,
Who, falling in theflawsof her own youth,
Hath blister’d her report: she is with child;
And he that got it, sentenced; a young man
More fit to do another such offence
15Than die for this.
Duke.When must he die?
Prov.As I do think, to-morrow.I have provided for you: stay awhile,To Juliet.And you shall be conducted.
Prov.
As I do think, to-morrow.
I have provided for you: stay awhile,To Juliet.
And you shall be conducted.
Duke.Repent you, fair one, of the sin you carry?
20Jul.I do; and bear the shame most patiently.
Duke.I’ll teach you how you shall arraign your conscience,And try your penitence, if it be sound,Or hollowly put on.
Duke.I’ll teach you how you shall arraign your conscience,
And try your penitence, if it be sound,
Or hollowly put on.
Jul.
I’ll gladly learn.
Duke.Love you the man that wrong’d you?
II. 3.25Jul.Yes, as I love the woman that wrong’d him.
Duke.So, then, it seems your mostoffencefulactWas mutually committed?
Duke.So, then, it seems your mostoffencefulact
Was mutually committed?
Jul.
Mutually.
Duke.Then was your sin of heavier kind than his.
Jul.I do confess it, and repent it, father.
30Duke.’Tis meet so, daughter: butlest you do repent,As that the sin hath brought you to this shame,Which sorrow is always towards ourselves, not heaven,Showingwe would not spareheaven as we love it,But as we stand in fear,—
30Duke.’Tis meet so, daughter: butlest you do repent,
As that the sin hath brought you to this shame,
Which sorrow is always towards ourselves, not heaven,
Showingwe would not spareheaven as we love it,
But as we stand in fear,—
35Jul.I do repent me, as it is an evil,And take the shame with joy.
35Jul.I do repent me, as it is an evil,
And take the shame with joy.
Duke.There rest.Your partner, as I hear, must die to-morrow,And I am going with instruction to him.Gracego with you,Benedicite!Exit.
Duke.
There rest.
Your partner, as I hear, must die to-morrow,
And I am going with instruction to him.
Gracego with you,Benedicite!Exit.
40Jul.Must die to-morrow! O injuriouslove,That respites me a life, whose very comfortIs still a dying horror!
40Jul.Must die to-morrow! O injuriouslove,
That respites me a life, whose very comfort
Is still a dying horror!
Prov.
’Tis pity of him.
Exeunt.
Ang.When I would pray and think, I think and prayTo several subjects. Heaven hath myemptywords;Whilst myinvention, hearing not my tongue,Anchors on Isabel:Heavenin my mouth,5As if I did but only chewhisname;And in my heart the strong and swelling evilOf my conception. The state, whereon I studied,Is like a good thing, being often read,Grownfear’dand tedious; yea, my gravity,10Wherein—let no man hear me—Itakepride,Could I with boot change for an idle plume,Which the air beatsfor vain. O place, O form,How often dost thou with thy case, thy habit,Wrench awe from fools, and tie the wiser souls15To thy false seeming! Blood,thou art blood:Let’s write good angel on the devil’s horn;’Tis notthe devil’s crest.Enter aServant.How now! who’s there?
Ang.When I would pray and think, I think and pray
To several subjects. Heaven hath myemptywords;
Whilst myinvention, hearing not my tongue,
Anchors on Isabel:Heavenin my mouth,
5As if I did but only chewhisname;
And in my heart the strong and swelling evil
Of my conception. The state, whereon I studied,
Is like a good thing, being often read,
Grownfear’dand tedious; yea, my gravity,
10Wherein—let no man hear me—Itakepride,
Could I with boot change for an idle plume,
Which the air beatsfor vain. O place, O form,
How often dost thou with thy case, thy habit,
Wrench awe from fools, and tie the wiser souls
15To thy false seeming! Blood,thou art blood:
Let’s write good angel on the devil’s horn;
’Tis notthe devil’s crest.
How now! who’s there?
Serv.One Isabel, a sister,desiresaccess to you.
Ang.Teach her the way. O heavens!20Why does my blood thus muster to my heart,Makingboth itunable for itself,And dispossessingallmy other partsOf necessary fitness?So play the foolish throngs with one that swoons:II. 4.25Come all to help him, and so stop the airBy which he should revive: and even soThe general,subjectto a well-wish’d king,Quit their ownpart, and in obsequious fondnessCrowd to his presence, where their untaught loveMust needs appear offence.EnterIsabella.30How now, fair maid?
Ang.Teach her the way. O heavens!
20Why does my blood thus muster to my heart,
Makingboth itunable for itself,
And dispossessingallmy other parts
Of necessary fitness?
So play the foolish throngs with one that swoons:
II. 4.25Come all to help him, and so stop the air
By which he should revive: and even so
The general,subjectto a well-wish’d king,
Quit their ownpart, and in obsequious fondness
Crowd to his presence, where their untaught love
Must needs appear offence.
30How now, fair maid?
Isab.I am come to know your pleasure.
Ang.That you might know it, would much better please meThan todemandwhat ’tis.Your brothercannot live.
Ang.That you might know it, would much better please me
Than todemandwhat ’tis.Your brothercannot live.
Isab.Even so.—Heaven keepyour honour!
35Ang.Yet may he live awhile; and, it may be,As long as you or I: yet he must die.
35Ang.Yet may he live awhile; and, it may be,
As long as you or I: yet he must die.
Isab.Under your sentence?
Ang.Yea.
Isab.When, I beseech you? that in his reprieve,40Longer or shorter, he may be so fittedThat his soul sicken not.
Isab.When, I beseech you? that in his reprieve,
40Longer or shorter, he may be so fitted
That his soul sicken not.
Ang.Ha! fie, these filthy vices! It were as goodTo pardon him that hath from nature stolenA man already made, as to remit45Their saucysweetnessthat do coin heaven’s imageIn stamps that are forbid: ’tis all aseasyFalsely to take away a life true made,As to putmetalin restrainedmeansTo make a false one.
Ang.Ha! fie, these filthy vices! It were as good
To pardon him that hath from nature stolen
A man already made, as to remit
45Their saucysweetnessthat do coin heaven’s image
In stamps that are forbid: ’tis all aseasy
Falsely to take away a life true made,
As to putmetalin restrainedmeans
To make a false one.
II. 4.50Isab.’Tis set down so in heaven, but not in earth.
Ang.Sayyou so? then I shall pose you quickly.Which had you rather,—that the most just lawNow took your brother’s life;or, to redeem him,Give up your body to such sweet uncleannessAs she that he hath stain’d?
Ang.Sayyou so? then I shall pose you quickly.
Which had you rather,—that the most just law
Now took your brother’s life;or, to redeem him,
Give up your body to such sweet uncleanness
As she that he hath stain’d?
55Isab.Sir, believe this,I had rather give my body than my soul.
55Isab.
Sir, believe this,
I had rather give my body than my soul.
Ang.I talk not of your soul: our compell’d sinsStand more for number thanfor accompt.
Ang.I talk not of your soul: our compell’d sins
Stand more for number thanfor accompt.
Isab.
How say you?
Ang.Nay, I’ll not warrant that; for I can speak60Against the thing I say. Answer to this:—I, now the voice of the recorded law,Pronounce a sentence on your brother’s life:Might there not be a charity in sinTo save this brother’s life?
Ang.Nay, I’ll not warrant that; for I can speak
60Against the thing I say. Answer to this:—
I, now the voice of the recorded law,
Pronounce a sentence on your brother’s life:
Might there not be a charity in sin
To save this brother’s life?
Isab.Please you to do’t,65I’ll take it as a peril to my soul,It is no sin at all, but charity.
Isab.
Please you to do’t,
65I’ll take it as a peril to my soul,
It is no sin at all, but charity.
Ang.Pleased you to do’t at peril of your soul,Were equal poise of sin and charity.
Ang.Pleased you to do’t at peril of your soul,
Were equal poise of sin and charity.
Isab.That I do beg his life, if it be sin,70Heaven let me bear it! you grantingofmy suit,If that be sin, I’llmake it my morn prayerTo have it added to the faults of mine,And nothing ofyouranswer.
Isab.That I do beg his life, if it be sin,
70Heaven let me bear it! you grantingofmy suit,
If that be sin, I’llmake it my morn prayer
To have it added to the faults of mine,
And nothing ofyouranswer.
Ang.Nay, but hear me.Your sense pursues not mine: either you are ignorant,II. 4.75Or seem so,craftily; and that’s not good.
Ang.
Nay, but hear me.
Your sense pursues not mine: either you are ignorant,
II. 4.75Or seem so,craftily; and that’s not good.
Isab.Letmebe ignorant, and in nothing good,But graciously to know I am no better.
Isab.Letmebe ignorant, and in nothing good,
But graciously to know I am no better.
Ang.Thus wisdom wishes to appear most brightWhen it doth tax itself; as these black masks80Proclaim anenshieldbeauty ten times louderThan beauty could, display’d. Butmark me;To be received plain, I’ll speak more gross:Your brother is to die.
Ang.Thus wisdom wishes to appear most bright
When it doth tax itself; as these black masks
80Proclaim anenshieldbeauty ten times louder
Than beauty could, display’d. Butmark me;
To be received plain, I’ll speak more gross:
Your brother is to die.
Isab.So.
85Ang.And his offence is so, as it appears,Accountant to the law upon that pain.
85Ang.And his offence is so, as it appears,
Accountant to the law upon that pain.
Isab.True.
Ang.Admit no other way to save his life,—As I subscribe not that, nor any other,90But in thelossof question,—that you, his sister,Finding yourself desired of such a person,Whose credit with the judge, or own great place,Could fetch your brother from the manaclesOf theall-buildinglaw; and that there were95No earthly mean to save him, but that eitherYou must lay down the treasures of your bodyTo this supposed, or elseto lethim suffer;What would you do?
Ang.Admit no other way to save his life,—
As I subscribe not that, nor any other,
90But in thelossof question,—that you, his sister,
Finding yourself desired of such a person,
Whose credit with the judge, or own great place,
Could fetch your brother from the manacles
Of theall-buildinglaw; and that there were
95No earthly mean to save him, but that either
You must lay down the treasures of your body
To this supposed, or elseto lethim suffer;
What would you do?
Isab.As much for my poor brother as myself:II. 4.100That is, were I under the terms of death,The impression of keen whips I’ld wear as rubies,And strip myself to death, as to a bedThat longinghavebeensickfor, ere I’ld yieldMy body up to shame.
Isab.As much for my poor brother as myself:
II. 4.100That is, were I under the terms of death,
The impression of keen whips I’ld wear as rubies,
And strip myself to death, as to a bed
That longinghavebeensickfor, ere I’ld yield
My body up to shame.
Ang.
Then mustyour brother die.
105Isab.And ’twere the cheaper way:Better it were a brother diedatonce,Than that a sister, by redeeming him,Should die for ever.
105Isab.And ’twere the cheaper way:
Better it were a brother diedatonce,
Than that a sister, by redeeming him,
Should die for ever.
Ang.Were not you, then, as cruel as the sentence110That you have slander’d so?
Ang.Were not you, then, as cruel as the sentence
110That you have slander’d so?
Isab.Ignomy inransom and free pardonAre of two houses: lawfulmercyIs nothing kinto foul redemption.
Isab.Ignomy inransom and free pardon
Are of two houses: lawfulmercy
Is nothing kinto foul redemption.
Ang.You seem’d of late to make the law a tyrant;115And rather proved the sliding of your brotherA merriment than a vice.
Ang.You seem’d of late to make the law a tyrant;
115And rather proved the sliding of your brother
A merriment than a vice.
Isab.O, pardon me, my lord; itoftfalls out,To have whatwe wouldhave, we speak not what we mean:I something do excuse the thing I hate,120For his advantage that I dearly love.
Isab.O, pardon me, my lord; itoftfalls out,
To have whatwe wouldhave, we speak not what we mean:
I something do excuse the thing I hate,
120For his advantage that I dearly love.
Ang.We are all frail.
Isab.Else let my brother die,If not afeodary, but only heOwe and succeedthy weakness.
Isab.
Else let my brother die,
If not afeodary, but only he
Owe and succeedthy weakness.
Ang.Nay, women are frail too.
II. 4.125Isab.Ay, as the glasses where they view themselves;Which are as easy broke as theymakeforms.Women!—Help Heaven! mentheircreation marIn profiting by them. Nay, call us ten times frail;For we are soft as our complexions are,And credulous to false prints.
II. 4.125Isab.Ay, as the glasses where they view themselves;
Which are as easy broke as theymakeforms.
Women!—Help Heaven! mentheircreation mar
In profiting by them. Nay, call us ten times frail;
For we are soft as our complexions are,
And credulous to false prints.
130Ang.I think it well:And from this testimony of your own sex,—Since, I suppose, we are made to be no strongerThan faults may shake our frames,—let me be bold;—I do arrest your words. Be that you are,135That is, a woman; ifyou bemore, you’re none;If you be one,—as you are well express’dBy all external warrants,—show it now,By putting on the destined livery.
130Ang.
I think it well:
And from this testimony of your own sex,—
Since, I suppose, we are made to be no stronger
Than faults may shake our frames,—let me be bold;—
I do arrest your words. Be that you are,
135That is, a woman; ifyou bemore, you’re none;
If you be one,—as you are well express’d
By all external warrants,—show it now,
By putting on the destined livery.
Isab.I have no tongue but one: gentle my lord,140Let me entreat you speak theformerlanguage.
Isab.I have no tongue but one: gentle my lord,
140Let me entreat you speak theformerlanguage.
Ang.Plainly conceive, I love you.
Isab.My brother did love Juliet,And you tell me that he shall diefor it.
Isab.My brother did love Juliet,
And you tell me that he shall diefor it.
Ang.He shall not, Isabel, if you give me love.
145Isab.I know your virtue hath a license in’t,Which seems a little fouler than it is,To pluck on others.
145Isab.I know your virtue hath a license in’t,
Which seems a little fouler than it is,
To pluck on others.
Ang.Believe me, on mine honour,My words express my purpose.
Ang.
Believe me, on mine honour,
My words express my purpose.
Isab.Ha! little honour to be much believed,II. 4.150And most pernicious purpose!—Seeming, seeming!—I will proclaim thee, Angelo; look for’t:Sign me a present pardon for my brother,Or with an outstretch’d throatI’ll tell the worldaloudWhat man thou art.
Isab.Ha! little honour to be much believed,
II. 4.150And most pernicious purpose!—Seeming, seeming!—
I will proclaim thee, Angelo; look for’t:
Sign me a present pardon for my brother,
Or with an outstretch’d throatI’ll tell the worldaloud
What man thou art.
Ang.Who will believe thee, Isabel?155My unsoil’d name, the austereness of my life,My vouch against you, and my place i’ the state,Will so your accusation overweigh,That you shall stifle in your own report,And smell of calumny. I have begun;160And now I give my sensual race the rein:Fit thy consent to my sharp appetite;Lay by all nicety and prolixious blushes,That banish what they sue for;redeemthy brotherBy yielding up thy body to my will;165Or else he must not only die the death,But thy unkindness shall his death draw outTo lingering sufferance. Answer me to-morrow.Or, by the affection that now guides me most,I’ll prove a tyrant to him. As for you,170Say what you can, my false o’erweighs your true.Exit.
Ang.
Who will believe thee, Isabel?
155My unsoil’d name, the austereness of my life,
My vouch against you, and my place i’ the state,
Will so your accusation overweigh,
That you shall stifle in your own report,
And smell of calumny. I have begun;
160And now I give my sensual race the rein:
Fit thy consent to my sharp appetite;
Lay by all nicety and prolixious blushes,
That banish what they sue for;redeemthy brother
By yielding up thy body to my will;
165Or else he must not only die the death,
But thy unkindness shall his death draw out
To lingering sufferance. Answer me to-morrow.
Or, by the affection that now guides me most,
I’ll prove a tyrant to him. As for you,
170Say what you can, my false o’erweighs your true.Exit.
Isab.To whomshouldI complain? Did I tell this,Who would believe me? Operilousmouths,That bear in them one and the self-same tongue,Either of condemnation or approof;II. 4.175Bidding the law makecourt’syto their will;Hooking both right and wrong to the appetite,To follow as it draws! I’ll to my brother:Though he hath fall’n by prompture of the blood,Yet hath he in him such amindof honour,180That, had he twenty heads to tender downOn twenty bloody blocks, he’ld yield them up,Before his sister should her body stoopTo such abhorr’d pollution.Then, Isabel, live chaste, and, brother, die:185More than our brotheris our chastity.I’ll tell him yet of Angelo’s request,And fit his mind to death, for his soul’s rest.Exit.
Isab.To whomshouldI complain? Did I tell this,
Who would believe me? Operilousmouths,
That bear in them one and the self-same tongue,
Either of condemnation or approof;
II. 4.175Bidding the law makecourt’syto their will;
Hooking both right and wrong to the appetite,
To follow as it draws! I’ll to my brother:
Though he hath fall’n by prompture of the blood,
Yet hath he in him such amindof honour,
180That, had he twenty heads to tender down
On twenty bloody blocks, he’ld yield them up,
Before his sister should her body stoop
To such abhorr’d pollution.
Then, Isabel, live chaste, and, brother, die:
185More than our brotheris our chastity.
I’ll tell him yet of Angelo’s request,
And fit his mind to death, for his soul’s rest.Exit.
Duke.So, then, you hopeofpardon from Lord Angelo?
Claud.The miserable have no other medicineBut only hope:I’vehope to live, and am prepar’d to die.
Claud.The miserable have no other medicine
But only hope:
I’vehope to live, and am prepar’d to die.
5Duke.Be absolute for death;eitherdeath or lifeShall thereby be the sweeter. Reason thus with life:If I do lose thee, I do lose a thingThat none but fools wouldkeep: a breath thou art,Servile to all the skyey influences.10Thatdostthis habitation, where thou keep’st,Hourly afflict: merely, thou art death’s fool;For him thou labour’st by thy flight to shun,And yet runn’st toward him still. Thou art not noble;For all the accommodations that thou bear’st15Are nursed by baseness. Thou’rt by no means valiant;For thou dost fear the soft and tender forkOf a poor worm. Thy best of rest is sleep,And that thou oft provokest; yet grossly fear’stThy death, which is no more. Thou art not thyself;20For thouexist’ston many a thousand grainsThat issue out of dust. Happy thou art not;For what thou hast not, still thou strivest to get.And what thou hast, forget’st. Thou art not certain;For thy complexion shifts to strangeeffects,III. 125After the moon.Ifthou art rich, thou’rt poor;For, like an ass whose back with ingots bows,Thou bear’st thy heavy riches but a journey,And deathunloadsthee. Friend hast thou none;For thine own bowels, which do call theesire,30The mere effusion of thy proper loins,Do curse the gout,serpigo, and the rheum,For ending thee no sooner. Thou hast nor youth nor age.But, as it were, an after-dinner’s sleep,Dreaming on both; forall thy blessedyouth35Becomesas aged, and doth beg the almsOf palsied eld; and when thou art old and rich,Thou hast neither heat, affection, limb, norbeauty,To make thy riches pleasant. What’syetin thisThat bears the name of life? Yet in this life40Lie hidmorethousand deaths: yet death we fear,That makes these odds all even.
5Duke.Be absolute for death;eitherdeath or life
Shall thereby be the sweeter. Reason thus with life:
If I do lose thee, I do lose a thing
That none but fools wouldkeep: a breath thou art,
Servile to all the skyey influences.
10Thatdostthis habitation, where thou keep’st,
Hourly afflict: merely, thou art death’s fool;
For him thou labour’st by thy flight to shun,
And yet runn’st toward him still. Thou art not noble;
For all the accommodations that thou bear’st
15Are nursed by baseness. Thou’rt by no means valiant;
For thou dost fear the soft and tender fork
Of a poor worm. Thy best of rest is sleep,
And that thou oft provokest; yet grossly fear’st
Thy death, which is no more. Thou art not thyself;
20For thouexist’ston many a thousand grains
That issue out of dust. Happy thou art not;
For what thou hast not, still thou strivest to get.
And what thou hast, forget’st. Thou art not certain;
For thy complexion shifts to strangeeffects,
III. 125After the moon.Ifthou art rich, thou’rt poor;
For, like an ass whose back with ingots bows,
Thou bear’st thy heavy riches but a journey,
And deathunloadsthee. Friend hast thou none;
For thine own bowels, which do call theesire,
30The mere effusion of thy proper loins,
Do curse the gout,serpigo, and the rheum,
For ending thee no sooner. Thou hast nor youth nor age.
But, as it were, an after-dinner’s sleep,
Dreaming on both; forall thy blessedyouth
35Becomesas aged, and doth beg the alms
Of palsied eld; and when thou art old and rich,
Thou hast neither heat, affection, limb, norbeauty,
To make thy riches pleasant. What’syetin this
That bears the name of life? Yet in this life
40Lie hidmorethousand deaths: yet death we fear,
That makes these odds all even.
Claud.I humbly thank you.To sue to live, I find I seek to die;And, seeking death, find life: let it come on.
Claud.
I humbly thank you.
To sue to live, I find I seek to die;
And, seeking death, find life: let it come on.
Isab.[within] What, ho! Peace here; grace and good company!
45Prov.Who’s there? come in: the wish deserves a welcome.
Duke.Dearsir, ere long I’ll visit you again.
Claud.Most holy sir, I thank you.
Isab.My business is a word or two with Claudio.
Prov.And very welcome.Look, signior, here’s yourIII. 150sister.
Duke.Provost, a word with you.
Prov.As many as you please.
Duke.Bring me to hear them speak, where I may beconcealed.
Exeunt Duke and Provost.
55Claud.Now,sister, what’s the comfort?