Jul.Counsel, Lucetta; gentle girl, assist me;And, even in kind love, I do conjure thee,Who art the table wherein all my thoughtsAre visibly character’d and engraved,5To lesson me; and tell me some good mean,How, with my honour, I may undertakeA journey to my loving Proteus.Luc.Alas, the way is wearisome and long!Jul.A true-devoted pilgrim is not weary10To measure kingdoms with his feeble steps;Much less shall she that hath Love’s wings to fly,And when the flight is made to one so dear,Of such divineperfection, as Sir Proteus.Luc.Better forbear till Proteus make return.15Jul.O, know’st thou not, his looks are my soul’s food?Pity the dearth that I have pined in,By longing for that food so long a time.Didst thou but know theinlytouch of love,Thou wouldst as soon go kindle fire with snow20As seek to quench the fire of love with words.Luc.I do not seek to quench your love’s hot fire,But qualify the fire’sextremerage,Lest it should burn above the bounds of reason.Jul.The more thou damm’st it up, the more it burns.II. 7.25The current that with gentle murmur glides,Thou know’st, being stopp’d, impatiently doth rage;But when his fair course is not hindered,He makes sweet music with the enamell’d stones,Giving a gentle kiss to every sedge30He overtaketh in his pilgrimage;And so by many winding nooks he strays,With willing sport, to thewildocean.Then let me go, and hinder not my course:I’ll be as patient as a gentle stream,35And make a pastime of each weary step,Till the last step have brought me to my love;And there I’ll rest, as after much turmoilA blessed soul doth in Elysium.Luc.But in what habit will you go along?40Jul.Not like a woman; for I would preventThe loose encounters of lascivious men:Gentle Lucetta, fit me with such weedsAs may beseem some well-reputed page.Luc.Why, then, your ladyship must cut your hair.45Jul.No, girl; I’ll knit it up in silken stringsWith twenty odd-conceited true-love knots.To befantasticmay become a youthOf greater time than I shall show to be.Luc.What fashion, madam, shall I make your breeches?II. 7.50Jul.That fits as well as, ‘Tell me, good my lord,What compass will you wear your farthingale?’Why even what fashion thou bestlikest, Lucetta.Luc.You must needs have them with a codpiece, madam.Jul.Out, out, Lucetta! that will be ill-favour’d.55Luc.A round hose, madam, now’s not worth a pin,Unless you have a codpiece to stick pins on.Jul.Lucetta, as thou lovest me, let me haveWhat thou think’st meet, and is most mannerly.But tell me, wench, how will the world repute me60For undertaking so unstaid a journey?I fear me, it will make me scandalized.Luc.If you think so, then stay at home, and go not.Jul.Nay, that I will not.Luc.Then never dream on infamy, but go.65If Proteus like your journey when you come,No matter who’s displeased when you are gone:I fear me, he will scarce be pleasedwithal.Jul.That is the least, Lucetta, of my fear:A thousand oaths, an ocean of his tears,70And instancesof infiniteof love,Warrant me welcome to my Proteus.Luc.All these are servants to deceitful men.Jul.Base men, that use them to so base effect!But truer stars did govern Proteus’ birth:II. 7.75His words are bonds, his oaths are oracles;His love sincere, his thoughts immaculate;His tears pure messengers sent from his heart;His heart as far from fraud as heaven from earth.Luc.Pray heaven he prove so, when you come to him!80Jul.Now, as thou lovest me, do him not that wrong,To bear a hard opinion of his truth:Only deserve my love by loving him;And presently go with me to my chamber,To take a note of what I stand in need of,85To furnish me upon mylongingjourney.All that is mine I leave at thy dispose,My goods, my lands, my reputation;Only, in lieu thereof, dispatch me hence.Come, answer not, butto itpresently!90I am impatient of my tarriance.Exeunt.ACT III.III. 1Scene I.Milan.Ante-roomin theDuke’spalace.EnterDuke, Thurio, andProteus.Duke.Sir Thurio, give us leave, I pray, awhile;We have some secrets to confer about.Exit Thu.Now, tell me, Proteus, what’s your will with me?Pro.My gracious lord, that which I would discover5The law of friendship bids me to conceal;But when I call to mind your gracious favoursDone to me, undeservingasI am,My duty pricks me on to utter thatWhich else no worldly good should draw from me.10Know, worthy prince, Sir Valentine, my friend,This night intends to steal away your daughter:Myself am one made privy to the plot.I know you have determined to bestow herOn Thurio, whom your gentle daughter hates;15And should she thus be stol’n away from you,It would be much vexation to your age.Thus, for my duty’s sake, I rather choseTo cross my friend in his intended driftThan, by concealing it, heap on your head20A pack of sorrows, which would press you down,Being unprevented, to your timeless grave.Duke.Proteus, I thank thee for thine honest care;Which to requite, command me while I live.This love of theirs myself have often seen,III. 1.25Haply when they have judged me fast asleep;And oftentimes have purposed to forbidSir Valentine her company and my court:But, fearing lest my jealous aim might err,And so, unworthily disgrace the man,30A rashness that I ever yet have shunn’d,I gave him gentle looks; thereby to findThat which thyselfhastnow disclosed to me.And,thatthou mayst perceive my fear of this,Knowing that tender youth is soon suggested,35I nightly lodge her in an upper tower,The key whereof myself have ever kept;And thence she cannot be convey’d away.Pro.Know, noble lord, they have devised a meanHow he her chamber-window will ascend,40And with a corded ladder fetch her down;For which the youthful lover now is gone,And this way comes he with it presently;Where, if it please you, you may intercept him.But, good my Lord, do it so cunningly45That my discovery be not aimed at;For, love of you, not hate unto my friend,Hath made me publisher of this pretence.Duke.Upon mine honour, he shall never knowThat I had any light from thee of this.III. 1.50Pro.Adieu, my Lord; Sir Valentine is coming.Exit.EnterValentine.Duke.Sir Valentine,whitheraway so fast?Val.Please it your grace, there is a messengerThat stays to bear my letters to my friends,And I am going to deliver them.55Duke.Be they of much import?Val.Thetenourof them doth but signifyMy health and happy being at your court.Duke.Nay then, no matter; stay with me awhile;I am to break with thee of some affairs60That touch me near, wherein thou must be secret.’Tis not unknown to thee that I have soughtTo match my friend Sir Thurio to my daughter.Val.I know it well, my Lord; and, sure, the matchWere rich and honourable; besides, the gentleman65Is full of virtue, bounty, worth and qualitiesBeseeming such a wife as your fair daughter:Cannot your Grace win her to fancy him?Duke.No, trust me; she is peevish, sullen, froward,Proud, disobedient, stubborn, lacking duty;70Neither regarding that she is my child,Nor fearing me as if I were her father:And,may Isay to thee, this pride of hers,Upon advice, hath drawn my love from her;And, where I thought the remnant of mine ageIII. 1.75Should have been cherish’d by her child-like duty,I now am full resolved to take a wife,And turn her out to who will take her in:Then let her beauty be her wedding-dower;For me and my possessions she esteems not.80Val.What would your Grace have me to do in this?Duke.There is a ladyin VeronahereWhom I affect; but she is nice and coy,Andnoughtesteems my aged eloquence:Now, therefore, would I have thee to my tutor,—85For long agone I have forgot to court;Besides, the fashion of the time is changed,—How and which way I may bestow myself,To be regarded in her sun-bright eye.Val.Win her with gifts, if sherespectnot words:90Dumb jewels often in their silent kindMore than quick words do move a woman’s mind.Duke.But she did scorn a presentthat I sent her.Val.A woman sometimes scorns what bestcontentsher.Send her another; never give her o’er;95For scorn at first makes afterlove the more.If she do frown, ’tis not in hate of you,But rather to beget more love in you:If she do chide,’tisnot to have you gone;For why, thefools are mad, if left alone.III. 1.100Take no repulse, whatever she doth say;For ‘get you gone,’ she doth not mean ‘away!’Flatter and praise, commend, extol their graces;Though ne’er so black, say they have angels’ faces.That man that hath a tongue, I say, is no man,105Ifwithhis tongue he cannot win a woman.Duke.But she I mean is promised by her friendsUnto a youthful gentleman of worth;And kept severely from resort of men,That no man hath access by day to her.110Val.Why, then, I would resort to her by night.Duke.Ay, but the doors be lock’d, and keys kept safe,That no man hath recourse to her by night.Val.What lets but one may enter at her window?Duke.Her chamber is aloft, far from the ground,115And built so shelving, that one cannot climb itWithout apparent hazard of his life.Val.Why, then, a ladder, quaintly made of cords,To cast up, with a pair of anchoring hooks,Would serve to scale another Hero’s tower,120So bold Leander would adventure it.Duke.Now, as thou art a gentleman of blood,Advise me where I may have such a ladder.Val.When would you use it? pray, sir, tell me that.Duke.This very night; for Love is like a child,III. 1.125That longs for every thing that he can come by.Val.By seven o’clock I’ll get you such a ladder.Duke.But, hark thee; I will go to her alone:How shall I best convey the ladder thither?Val.It will be light, my lord, that you may bear it130Under a cloak that is of any length.Duke.A cloak as long as thine will serve the turn?Val.Ay, my good lord.Duke.Then let me see thy cloak:I’ll get me one of such another length.Val.Why, any cloak will serve the turn, my lord.135Duke.How shall I fashion me to wear a cloak?I pray thee, let me feel thy cloak upon me.What letter is this same? What’s here? ‘To Silvia’!And here an engine fit for my proceeding.I’ll be so bold to break the seal for once.Reads.140‘My thoughts do harbour with my Silvia nightly;And slaves they are to me, that send them flying:O, could their master come and go as lightly,Himself would lodge where senseless they are lying!My herald thoughts in thy pure bosom rest them;145While I, their king, that thither them importune,Do curse the grace that with such grace hath bless’d them,Because myself do want my servants’ fortune:I curse myself, for they are sent by me,That they should harbour where their lordwould be.III. 1.150What’s here?‘Silvia, this nightI willenfranchise thee.’’Tis so; and here’s the ladder for the purpose.Why, Phaethon,—for thou art Merops’ son,—Wilt thou aspire to guide the heavenlycar,155And with thy daring folly burn the world?Wilt thou reach stars, because they shine on thee?Go, base intruder! overweening slave!Bestow thy fawning smiles on equal mates;And think my patience, more than thy desert,160Is privilege for thy departure hence:Thank me for this more than for all the favours,Which all too much I have bestow’d on thee.But if thou linger in my territoriesLonger than swiftest expedition165Will give thee time to leave our royal court,By heaven! my wrath shall far exceed the loveI ever bore my daughter or thyself.Be gone! I will not hear thy vain excuse;But, as thou lovest thy life, make speed from hence.Exit.170Val.And why not death rather than living torment?To die is to be banish’d from myself;And Silvia is myself: banish’d from her,Is self from self: a deadly banishment!What light is light, if Silvia be not seen?III. 1.175What joy is joy, if Silvia be not by?Unless it be to think that she is by,And feed upon the shadow of perfection.Except I be by Silvia in the night,There is no music in the nightingale;180Unless I look on Silvia in the day,There is no day for me to look upon:She is my essence; and I leave to be,If I be not by her fair influenceFoster’d, illumined, cherish’d, kept alive.185I fly not death, to fly his deadly doom:Tarry I here, I but attend on death:But, fly I hence, I fly away from life.EnterProteusandLaunce.Pro.Run, boy, run, run, and seek him out.Launce.Soho, soho!190Pro.What seest thou?Launce.Him we go to find: there’s not a hair on’s head but ’tis a Valentine.Pro.Valentine?Val.No.195Pro.Who then? his spirit?Val.Neither.Pro.What then?Val.Nothing.Launce.Can nothing speak? Master, shall I strike?III. 1.200Pro.Whowouldst thou strike?Launce.Nothing.Pro.Villain, forbear.Launce.Why, sir, I’ll strike nothing: I pray you,—Pro.Sirrah, I say, forbear. Friend Valentine, a word.205Val.My ears are stopt, and cannot hear good news,So much of bad already hath possess’d them.Pro.Then in dumb silence will I bury mine,For they are harsh, untuneable, and bad.Val.Is Silvia dead?210Pro.No, Valentine.Val.No Valentine, indeed, for sacred Silvia.Hath she forsworn me?Pro.No, Valentine.Val.No Valentine, if Silvia have forsworn me.215What is your news?Launce.Sir, there is a proclamation that you arevanished.Pro.That thou artbanished—O, that’sthe news!—From hence, from Silvia, and from me thy friend.Val.O, I have fed upon this woe already,220And now excess of it will make me surfeit.Doth Silvia know that I am banished?Pro.Ay, ay; and she hath offer’d to the doom—Which, unreversed, stands in effectual force—A sea of melting pearl, which some call tears:III. 1.225Those at her father’s churlish feet she tender’d;With them, upon her knees, her humble self;Wringing her hands, whose whiteness so became themAs if but now they waxed pale for woe:But neither bended knees, pure hands held up,230Sad sighs, deep groans, nor silver-shedding tears,Could penetrate her uncompassionate sire;But Valentine, if he be ta’en, must die.Besides, her intercession chafed him so,When she for thy repeal was suppliant,235That to close prison he commanded her,With many bitter threats of biding there.Val.No more; unless the next word that thou speak’stHave some malignant power upon my life:If so, I pray thee, breathe it in mine ear,240As ending anthem of my endless dolour.Pro.Cease to lament for that thou canst not help,And study help for that which thou lament’st.Time is the nurse and breeder of all good.Here if thou stay, thou canst not see thy love;245Besides, thy staying will abridge thy life.Hope is a lover’s staff; walk hence with that,And manage it against despairing thoughts.Thy letters may be here, though thou art hence;Which, being writ to me, shall be deliver’dIII. 1.250Even in the milk-white bosom of thy love.The time now serves not to expostulate:Come, I’ll convey thee through the city-gate;And, ere I part with thee, confer at largeOf all that may concern thy love-affairs.255As thou lovest Silvia, though not for thyself,Regard thy danger, and along with me!Val.I pray thee, Launce, an if thou seest my boy,Bid him make haste, and meet me at the North-gate.Pro.Go, sirrah, find him out. Come, Valentine.260Val.O my dear Silvia! Hapless Valentine!Exeunt Val. and Pro.Launce.I am but a fool, look you; and yet I have the wit to think my master is a kind of a knave: but that’s all one, if he be butone knave. He lives not now that knows me to be in love; yet I am in love; but a team of horse265shall not pluck that from me; nor who ’tis I love; and yet ’tis a woman; but what woman, I will not tell myself; and yet ’tis a milkmaid; yet ’tis not a maid, for she hath had gossips; yet ’tis a maid, for she is her master’s maid, and serves for wages. She hath more qualities than a water-spaniel,—270which is much in a bare Christian.[Pulling out a paper.]Here is thecate-logof hercondition. ‘Imprimis: She can fetch and carry.’ Why, a horse can do no more: nay, a horse cannot fetch, but only carry; therefore is she better than a jade. ‘Item: She canmilk;’ look you,aIII. 1.275sweet virtue in a maid with clean hands.EnterSpeed.Speed.How now, Signior Launce! what news with your mastership?Launce.With mymaster’s ship? why, it is at sea.Speed.Well, your old vice still; mistake the word.280What news, then, in your paper?Launce.The blackest news that ever thou heardest.Speed.Why, man, how black?Launce.Why, as black as ink.Speed.Let me read them.285Launce.Fie on thee, jolt-head! thou canst not read.Speed.Thou liest; I can.Launce.I will try thee. Tell me this: who begot thee?Speed.Marry, the son of my grandfather.Launce.O illiterate loiterer! it was the son of thy grandmother:290this proves that thou canst not read.Speed.Come, fool, come; try me in thy paper.Launce.There; and Saint Nicholas be thy speed!Speed[reads]. ‘Imprimis: She can milk.’Launce.Ay, that she can.295Speed.‘Item: She brews good ale.’Launce.And thereof comes the proverb: ‘Blessing of your heart, you brew good ale.’Speed.‘Item: She can sew.’Launce.That’s as much as to say, Can she so?III. 1.300Speed.‘Item: She can knit.’Launce.What need a man care for a stock with a wench, when she can knit him a stock?Speed.‘Item: She can wash and scour.’Launce.A special virtue; for then sheneed not be305washed and scoured.Speed.‘Item: She can spin.’Launce.Then may I set the world on wheels, when she can spin for her living.Speed.‘Item: She hath many nameless virtues.’310Launce.That’s as much as to say, bastard virtues; that, indeed, know not their fathers, and therefore have no names.Speed.‘Herefollowher vices.’Launce.Close at the heels of her virtues.315Speed.‘Item: She is not to bekissedfasting, in respect of her breath.’Launce.Well, that fault may be mended with a breakfast. Read on.Speed.‘Item: She hath a sweet mouth.’320Launce.That makes amends for her sour breath.Speed.‘Item: She doth talk in her sleep.’Launce.It’s no matter for that, so shesleepnot in her talk.Speed.‘Item: She is slow in words.’III. 1.325Launce.O villain, that set thisdown among her vices! To be slow in words is a woman’s only virtue: I pray thee, out with’t, and place it for her chief virtue.Speed.‘Item: She is proud.’Launce.Out with that too; it was Eve’s legacy, and330cannot be ta’en from her.Speed.‘Item: She hath no teeth.’Launce.I care not for that neither, because I love crusts.Speed.‘Item: She is curst.’335Launce.Well, the best is, she hath no teeth to bite.Speed.‘Item: She will often praise her liquor.’Launce.If her liquor be good, she shall: if she will not, I will; for good things should be praised.Speed.‘Item: She is too liberal.’340Launce.Of her tongue she cannot, for that’s writ down she is slow of; of her purse she shall not, for that I’ll keep shut: now, of another thing she may, and thatcannot Ihelp. Well, proceed.Speed.‘Item: She hath morehairthan wit, and more345faults than hairs, and more wealth than faults.’Launce.Stop there; I’ll have her: she was mine, and not mine, twice or thrice inthat lastarticle. Rehearse that once more.Speed.‘Item: She hath more hair than wit,’—III. 1.350Launce.More hair than wit?It may be; I’ll prove it. The cover of the salt hides the salt, and therefore it is more than the salt; the hair that covers the wit is more than the wit, for the greater hides the less. What’s next?Speed.‘And more faults than hairs,’—355Launce.That’s monstrous: O, that that were out!Speed.‘And more wealth than faults.’Launce.Why, that word makes the faults gracious.Well, I’ll have her: and if it be a match, as nothing is impossible,—360Speed.What then?Launce.Why, then will I tell thee—that thy master stays for thee at the North-gate?Speed.For me?Launce.For thee! ay, who art thou? he hath stayed365for a better man than thee.Speed.And must I go to him?Launce.Thou must run to him, for thou hast stayed so long, that going will scarce serve the turn.Speed.Why didst not tell me sooner? poxofyour370love-letters!Exit.Launce.Now will he be swinged for reading my letter,—an unmannerly slave, that will thrust himself into secrets!I’ll after, to rejoice in the boy’s correction.Exit.III. 2Scene II.The same. TheDuke’spalace.EnterDukeandThurio.Duke.Sir Thurio, fear not but that she will love you,Now Valentine is banish’d from her sight.Thu.Since his exile she hath despised me most.Forsworn my company, and rail’d at me,5That I am desperate of obtaining her.Duke.This weak impress of love is as a figureTrenched in ice, which with an hour’s heatDissolves to water, and doth lose his form.A little time will melt her frozen thoughts,10And worthless Valentine shall be forgot.EnterProteus.How now, Sir Proteus! Is your countryman,According to our proclamation, gone?Pro.Gone, my good lord.Duke.My daughter takes his goinggrievously.15Pro.A little time, my lord, will kill that grief.Duke.So I believe; but Thurio thinks not so.Proteus, the good conceit I hold of thee—For thou hast shownsomesign of good desert—Makes me thebetterto confer with thee.20Pro.Longer than I proveloyalto your GraceLet me not live to look uponyour Grace.Duke.Thou know’st how willingly I would effectThe match between Sir Thurio and my daughter.Pro.I do, my lord.III. 2.25Duke.And also,I think, thou art not ignorantHow she opposes her against my will.Pro.She did, my lord, when Valentine was here.Duke.Ay, and perversely sheperseversso.What might we do to make the girl forget30The love of Valentine, and love Sir Thurio?
Jul.Counsel, Lucetta; gentle girl, assist me;And, even in kind love, I do conjure thee,Who art the table wherein all my thoughtsAre visibly character’d and engraved,5To lesson me; and tell me some good mean,How, with my honour, I may undertakeA journey to my loving Proteus.
Jul.Counsel, Lucetta; gentle girl, assist me;
And, even in kind love, I do conjure thee,
Who art the table wherein all my thoughts
Are visibly character’d and engraved,
5To lesson me; and tell me some good mean,
How, with my honour, I may undertake
A journey to my loving Proteus.
Luc.Alas, the way is wearisome and long!
Jul.A true-devoted pilgrim is not weary10To measure kingdoms with his feeble steps;Much less shall she that hath Love’s wings to fly,And when the flight is made to one so dear,Of such divineperfection, as Sir Proteus.
Jul.A true-devoted pilgrim is not weary
10To measure kingdoms with his feeble steps;
Much less shall she that hath Love’s wings to fly,
And when the flight is made to one so dear,
Of such divineperfection, as Sir Proteus.
Luc.Better forbear till Proteus make return.
15Jul.O, know’st thou not, his looks are my soul’s food?Pity the dearth that I have pined in,By longing for that food so long a time.Didst thou but know theinlytouch of love,Thou wouldst as soon go kindle fire with snow20As seek to quench the fire of love with words.
15Jul.O, know’st thou not, his looks are my soul’s food?
Pity the dearth that I have pined in,
By longing for that food so long a time.
Didst thou but know theinlytouch of love,
Thou wouldst as soon go kindle fire with snow
20As seek to quench the fire of love with words.
Luc.I do not seek to quench your love’s hot fire,But qualify the fire’sextremerage,Lest it should burn above the bounds of reason.
Luc.I do not seek to quench your love’s hot fire,
But qualify the fire’sextremerage,
Lest it should burn above the bounds of reason.
Jul.The more thou damm’st it up, the more it burns.II. 7.25The current that with gentle murmur glides,Thou know’st, being stopp’d, impatiently doth rage;But when his fair course is not hindered,He makes sweet music with the enamell’d stones,Giving a gentle kiss to every sedge30He overtaketh in his pilgrimage;And so by many winding nooks he strays,With willing sport, to thewildocean.Then let me go, and hinder not my course:I’ll be as patient as a gentle stream,35And make a pastime of each weary step,Till the last step have brought me to my love;And there I’ll rest, as after much turmoilA blessed soul doth in Elysium.
Jul.The more thou damm’st it up, the more it burns.
II. 7.25The current that with gentle murmur glides,
Thou know’st, being stopp’d, impatiently doth rage;
But when his fair course is not hindered,
He makes sweet music with the enamell’d stones,
Giving a gentle kiss to every sedge
30He overtaketh in his pilgrimage;
And so by many winding nooks he strays,
With willing sport, to thewildocean.
Then let me go, and hinder not my course:
I’ll be as patient as a gentle stream,
35And make a pastime of each weary step,
Till the last step have brought me to my love;
And there I’ll rest, as after much turmoil
A blessed soul doth in Elysium.
Luc.But in what habit will you go along?
40Jul.Not like a woman; for I would preventThe loose encounters of lascivious men:Gentle Lucetta, fit me with such weedsAs may beseem some well-reputed page.
40Jul.Not like a woman; for I would prevent
The loose encounters of lascivious men:
Gentle Lucetta, fit me with such weeds
As may beseem some well-reputed page.
Luc.Why, then, your ladyship must cut your hair.
45Jul.No, girl; I’ll knit it up in silken stringsWith twenty odd-conceited true-love knots.To befantasticmay become a youthOf greater time than I shall show to be.
45Jul.No, girl; I’ll knit it up in silken strings
With twenty odd-conceited true-love knots.
To befantasticmay become a youth
Of greater time than I shall show to be.
Luc.What fashion, madam, shall I make your breeches?
II. 7.50Jul.That fits as well as, ‘Tell me, good my lord,What compass will you wear your farthingale?’Why even what fashion thou bestlikest, Lucetta.
II. 7.50Jul.That fits as well as, ‘Tell me, good my lord,
What compass will you wear your farthingale?’
Why even what fashion thou bestlikest, Lucetta.
Luc.You must needs have them with a codpiece, madam.
Jul.Out, out, Lucetta! that will be ill-favour’d.
55Luc.A round hose, madam, now’s not worth a pin,Unless you have a codpiece to stick pins on.
55Luc.A round hose, madam, now’s not worth a pin,
Unless you have a codpiece to stick pins on.
Jul.Lucetta, as thou lovest me, let me haveWhat thou think’st meet, and is most mannerly.But tell me, wench, how will the world repute me60For undertaking so unstaid a journey?I fear me, it will make me scandalized.
Jul.Lucetta, as thou lovest me, let me have
What thou think’st meet, and is most mannerly.
But tell me, wench, how will the world repute me
60For undertaking so unstaid a journey?
I fear me, it will make me scandalized.
Luc.If you think so, then stay at home, and go not.
Jul.Nay, that I will not.
Luc.Then never dream on infamy, but go.65If Proteus like your journey when you come,No matter who’s displeased when you are gone:I fear me, he will scarce be pleasedwithal.
Luc.Then never dream on infamy, but go.
65If Proteus like your journey when you come,
No matter who’s displeased when you are gone:
I fear me, he will scarce be pleasedwithal.
Jul.That is the least, Lucetta, of my fear:A thousand oaths, an ocean of his tears,70And instancesof infiniteof love,Warrant me welcome to my Proteus.
Jul.That is the least, Lucetta, of my fear:
A thousand oaths, an ocean of his tears,
70And instancesof infiniteof love,
Warrant me welcome to my Proteus.
Luc.All these are servants to deceitful men.
Jul.Base men, that use them to so base effect!But truer stars did govern Proteus’ birth:II. 7.75His words are bonds, his oaths are oracles;His love sincere, his thoughts immaculate;His tears pure messengers sent from his heart;His heart as far from fraud as heaven from earth.
Jul.Base men, that use them to so base effect!
But truer stars did govern Proteus’ birth:
II. 7.75His words are bonds, his oaths are oracles;
His love sincere, his thoughts immaculate;
His tears pure messengers sent from his heart;
His heart as far from fraud as heaven from earth.
Luc.Pray heaven he prove so, when you come to him!
80Jul.Now, as thou lovest me, do him not that wrong,To bear a hard opinion of his truth:Only deserve my love by loving him;And presently go with me to my chamber,To take a note of what I stand in need of,85To furnish me upon mylongingjourney.All that is mine I leave at thy dispose,My goods, my lands, my reputation;Only, in lieu thereof, dispatch me hence.Come, answer not, butto itpresently!90I am impatient of my tarriance.Exeunt.
80Jul.Now, as thou lovest me, do him not that wrong,
To bear a hard opinion of his truth:
Only deserve my love by loving him;
And presently go with me to my chamber,
To take a note of what I stand in need of,
85To furnish me upon mylongingjourney.
All that is mine I leave at thy dispose,
My goods, my lands, my reputation;
Only, in lieu thereof, dispatch me hence.
Come, answer not, butto itpresently!
90I am impatient of my tarriance.Exeunt.
Duke.Sir Thurio, give us leave, I pray, awhile;We have some secrets to confer about.Exit Thu.Now, tell me, Proteus, what’s your will with me?
Duke.Sir Thurio, give us leave, I pray, awhile;
We have some secrets to confer about.Exit Thu.
Now, tell me, Proteus, what’s your will with me?
Pro.My gracious lord, that which I would discover5The law of friendship bids me to conceal;But when I call to mind your gracious favoursDone to me, undeservingasI am,My duty pricks me on to utter thatWhich else no worldly good should draw from me.10Know, worthy prince, Sir Valentine, my friend,This night intends to steal away your daughter:Myself am one made privy to the plot.I know you have determined to bestow herOn Thurio, whom your gentle daughter hates;15And should she thus be stol’n away from you,It would be much vexation to your age.Thus, for my duty’s sake, I rather choseTo cross my friend in his intended driftThan, by concealing it, heap on your head20A pack of sorrows, which would press you down,Being unprevented, to your timeless grave.
Pro.My gracious lord, that which I would discover
5The law of friendship bids me to conceal;
But when I call to mind your gracious favours
Done to me, undeservingasI am,
My duty pricks me on to utter that
Which else no worldly good should draw from me.
10Know, worthy prince, Sir Valentine, my friend,
This night intends to steal away your daughter:
Myself am one made privy to the plot.
I know you have determined to bestow her
On Thurio, whom your gentle daughter hates;
15And should she thus be stol’n away from you,
It would be much vexation to your age.
Thus, for my duty’s sake, I rather chose
To cross my friend in his intended drift
Than, by concealing it, heap on your head
20A pack of sorrows, which would press you down,
Being unprevented, to your timeless grave.
Duke.Proteus, I thank thee for thine honest care;Which to requite, command me while I live.This love of theirs myself have often seen,III. 1.25Haply when they have judged me fast asleep;And oftentimes have purposed to forbidSir Valentine her company and my court:But, fearing lest my jealous aim might err,And so, unworthily disgrace the man,30A rashness that I ever yet have shunn’d,I gave him gentle looks; thereby to findThat which thyselfhastnow disclosed to me.And,thatthou mayst perceive my fear of this,Knowing that tender youth is soon suggested,35I nightly lodge her in an upper tower,The key whereof myself have ever kept;And thence she cannot be convey’d away.
Duke.Proteus, I thank thee for thine honest care;
Which to requite, command me while I live.
This love of theirs myself have often seen,
III. 1.25Haply when they have judged me fast asleep;
And oftentimes have purposed to forbid
Sir Valentine her company and my court:
But, fearing lest my jealous aim might err,
And so, unworthily disgrace the man,
30A rashness that I ever yet have shunn’d,
I gave him gentle looks; thereby to find
That which thyselfhastnow disclosed to me.
And,thatthou mayst perceive my fear of this,
Knowing that tender youth is soon suggested,
35I nightly lodge her in an upper tower,
The key whereof myself have ever kept;
And thence she cannot be convey’d away.
Pro.Know, noble lord, they have devised a meanHow he her chamber-window will ascend,40And with a corded ladder fetch her down;For which the youthful lover now is gone,And this way comes he with it presently;Where, if it please you, you may intercept him.But, good my Lord, do it so cunningly45That my discovery be not aimed at;For, love of you, not hate unto my friend,Hath made me publisher of this pretence.
Pro.Know, noble lord, they have devised a mean
How he her chamber-window will ascend,
40And with a corded ladder fetch her down;
For which the youthful lover now is gone,
And this way comes he with it presently;
Where, if it please you, you may intercept him.
But, good my Lord, do it so cunningly
45That my discovery be not aimed at;
For, love of you, not hate unto my friend,
Hath made me publisher of this pretence.
Duke.Upon mine honour, he shall never knowThat I had any light from thee of this.
Duke.Upon mine honour, he shall never know
That I had any light from thee of this.
III. 1.50Pro.Adieu, my Lord; Sir Valentine is coming.Exit.
Duke.Sir Valentine,whitheraway so fast?
Val.Please it your grace, there is a messengerThat stays to bear my letters to my friends,And I am going to deliver them.
Val.Please it your grace, there is a messenger
That stays to bear my letters to my friends,
And I am going to deliver them.
55Duke.Be they of much import?
Val.Thetenourof them doth but signifyMy health and happy being at your court.
Val.Thetenourof them doth but signify
My health and happy being at your court.
Duke.Nay then, no matter; stay with me awhile;I am to break with thee of some affairs60That touch me near, wherein thou must be secret.’Tis not unknown to thee that I have soughtTo match my friend Sir Thurio to my daughter.
Duke.Nay then, no matter; stay with me awhile;
I am to break with thee of some affairs
60That touch me near, wherein thou must be secret.
’Tis not unknown to thee that I have sought
To match my friend Sir Thurio to my daughter.
Val.I know it well, my Lord; and, sure, the matchWere rich and honourable; besides, the gentleman65Is full of virtue, bounty, worth and qualitiesBeseeming such a wife as your fair daughter:Cannot your Grace win her to fancy him?
Val.I know it well, my Lord; and, sure, the match
Were rich and honourable; besides, the gentleman
65Is full of virtue, bounty, worth and qualities
Beseeming such a wife as your fair daughter:
Cannot your Grace win her to fancy him?
Duke.No, trust me; she is peevish, sullen, froward,Proud, disobedient, stubborn, lacking duty;70Neither regarding that she is my child,Nor fearing me as if I were her father:And,may Isay to thee, this pride of hers,Upon advice, hath drawn my love from her;And, where I thought the remnant of mine ageIII. 1.75Should have been cherish’d by her child-like duty,I now am full resolved to take a wife,And turn her out to who will take her in:Then let her beauty be her wedding-dower;For me and my possessions she esteems not.
Duke.No, trust me; she is peevish, sullen, froward,
Proud, disobedient, stubborn, lacking duty;
70Neither regarding that she is my child,
Nor fearing me as if I were her father:
And,may Isay to thee, this pride of hers,
Upon advice, hath drawn my love from her;
And, where I thought the remnant of mine age
III. 1.75Should have been cherish’d by her child-like duty,
I now am full resolved to take a wife,
And turn her out to who will take her in:
Then let her beauty be her wedding-dower;
For me and my possessions she esteems not.
80Val.What would your Grace have me to do in this?
Duke.There is a ladyin VeronahereWhom I affect; but she is nice and coy,Andnoughtesteems my aged eloquence:Now, therefore, would I have thee to my tutor,—85For long agone I have forgot to court;Besides, the fashion of the time is changed,—How and which way I may bestow myself,To be regarded in her sun-bright eye.
Duke.There is a ladyin Veronahere
Whom I affect; but she is nice and coy,
Andnoughtesteems my aged eloquence:
Now, therefore, would I have thee to my tutor,—
85For long agone I have forgot to court;
Besides, the fashion of the time is changed,—
How and which way I may bestow myself,
To be regarded in her sun-bright eye.
Val.Win her with gifts, if sherespectnot words:90Dumb jewels often in their silent kindMore than quick words do move a woman’s mind.
Val.Win her with gifts, if sherespectnot words:
90Dumb jewels often in their silent kind
More than quick words do move a woman’s mind.
Duke.But she did scorn a presentthat I sent her.
Val.A woman sometimes scorns what bestcontentsher.Send her another; never give her o’er;95For scorn at first makes afterlove the more.If she do frown, ’tis not in hate of you,But rather to beget more love in you:If she do chide,’tisnot to have you gone;For why, thefools are mad, if left alone.III. 1.100Take no repulse, whatever she doth say;For ‘get you gone,’ she doth not mean ‘away!’Flatter and praise, commend, extol their graces;Though ne’er so black, say they have angels’ faces.That man that hath a tongue, I say, is no man,105Ifwithhis tongue he cannot win a woman.
Val.A woman sometimes scorns what bestcontentsher.
Send her another; never give her o’er;
95For scorn at first makes afterlove the more.
If she do frown, ’tis not in hate of you,
But rather to beget more love in you:
If she do chide,’tisnot to have you gone;
For why, thefools are mad, if left alone.
III. 1.100Take no repulse, whatever she doth say;
For ‘get you gone,’ she doth not mean ‘away!’
Flatter and praise, commend, extol their graces;
Though ne’er so black, say they have angels’ faces.
That man that hath a tongue, I say, is no man,
105Ifwithhis tongue he cannot win a woman.
Duke.But she I mean is promised by her friendsUnto a youthful gentleman of worth;And kept severely from resort of men,That no man hath access by day to her.
Duke.But she I mean is promised by her friends
Unto a youthful gentleman of worth;
And kept severely from resort of men,
That no man hath access by day to her.
110Val.Why, then, I would resort to her by night.
Duke.Ay, but the doors be lock’d, and keys kept safe,That no man hath recourse to her by night.
Duke.Ay, but the doors be lock’d, and keys kept safe,
That no man hath recourse to her by night.
Val.What lets but one may enter at her window?
Duke.Her chamber is aloft, far from the ground,115And built so shelving, that one cannot climb itWithout apparent hazard of his life.
Duke.Her chamber is aloft, far from the ground,
115And built so shelving, that one cannot climb it
Without apparent hazard of his life.
Val.Why, then, a ladder, quaintly made of cords,To cast up, with a pair of anchoring hooks,Would serve to scale another Hero’s tower,120So bold Leander would adventure it.
Val.Why, then, a ladder, quaintly made of cords,
To cast up, with a pair of anchoring hooks,
Would serve to scale another Hero’s tower,
120So bold Leander would adventure it.
Duke.Now, as thou art a gentleman of blood,Advise me where I may have such a ladder.
Duke.Now, as thou art a gentleman of blood,
Advise me where I may have such a ladder.
Val.When would you use it? pray, sir, tell me that.
Duke.This very night; for Love is like a child,III. 1.125That longs for every thing that he can come by.
Duke.This very night; for Love is like a child,
III. 1.125That longs for every thing that he can come by.
Val.By seven o’clock I’ll get you such a ladder.
Duke.But, hark thee; I will go to her alone:How shall I best convey the ladder thither?
Duke.But, hark thee; I will go to her alone:
How shall I best convey the ladder thither?
Val.It will be light, my lord, that you may bear it130Under a cloak that is of any length.
Val.It will be light, my lord, that you may bear it
130Under a cloak that is of any length.
Duke.A cloak as long as thine will serve the turn?
Val.Ay, my good lord.
Duke.Then let me see thy cloak:I’ll get me one of such another length.
Duke.
Then let me see thy cloak:
I’ll get me one of such another length.
Val.Why, any cloak will serve the turn, my lord.
135Duke.How shall I fashion me to wear a cloak?I pray thee, let me feel thy cloak upon me.What letter is this same? What’s here? ‘To Silvia’!And here an engine fit for my proceeding.I’ll be so bold to break the seal for once.Reads.
135Duke.How shall I fashion me to wear a cloak?
I pray thee, let me feel thy cloak upon me.
What letter is this same? What’s here? ‘To Silvia’!
And here an engine fit for my proceeding.
I’ll be so bold to break the seal for once.Reads.
140‘My thoughts do harbour with my Silvia nightly;And slaves they are to me, that send them flying:O, could their master come and go as lightly,Himself would lodge where senseless they are lying!My herald thoughts in thy pure bosom rest them;145While I, their king, that thither them importune,Do curse the grace that with such grace hath bless’d them,Because myself do want my servants’ fortune:I curse myself, for they are sent by me,That they should harbour where their lordwould be.
140‘My thoughts do harbour with my Silvia nightly;
And slaves they are to me, that send them flying:
O, could their master come and go as lightly,
Himself would lodge where senseless they are lying!
My herald thoughts in thy pure bosom rest them;
145While I, their king, that thither them importune,
Do curse the grace that with such grace hath bless’d them,
Because myself do want my servants’ fortune:
I curse myself, for they are sent by me,
That they should harbour where their lordwould be.
III. 1.150What’s here?
‘Silvia, this nightI willenfranchise thee.’
‘Silvia, this nightI willenfranchise thee.’
’Tis so; and here’s the ladder for the purpose.Why, Phaethon,—for thou art Merops’ son,—Wilt thou aspire to guide the heavenlycar,155And with thy daring folly burn the world?Wilt thou reach stars, because they shine on thee?Go, base intruder! overweening slave!Bestow thy fawning smiles on equal mates;And think my patience, more than thy desert,160Is privilege for thy departure hence:Thank me for this more than for all the favours,Which all too much I have bestow’d on thee.But if thou linger in my territoriesLonger than swiftest expedition165Will give thee time to leave our royal court,By heaven! my wrath shall far exceed the loveI ever bore my daughter or thyself.Be gone! I will not hear thy vain excuse;But, as thou lovest thy life, make speed from hence.Exit.
’Tis so; and here’s the ladder for the purpose.
Why, Phaethon,—for thou art Merops’ son,—
Wilt thou aspire to guide the heavenlycar,
155And with thy daring folly burn the world?
Wilt thou reach stars, because they shine on thee?
Go, base intruder! overweening slave!
Bestow thy fawning smiles on equal mates;
And think my patience, more than thy desert,
160Is privilege for thy departure hence:
Thank me for this more than for all the favours,
Which all too much I have bestow’d on thee.
But if thou linger in my territories
Longer than swiftest expedition
165Will give thee time to leave our royal court,
By heaven! my wrath shall far exceed the love
I ever bore my daughter or thyself.
Be gone! I will not hear thy vain excuse;
But, as thou lovest thy life, make speed from hence.Exit.
170Val.And why not death rather than living torment?To die is to be banish’d from myself;And Silvia is myself: banish’d from her,Is self from self: a deadly banishment!What light is light, if Silvia be not seen?III. 1.175What joy is joy, if Silvia be not by?Unless it be to think that she is by,And feed upon the shadow of perfection.Except I be by Silvia in the night,There is no music in the nightingale;180Unless I look on Silvia in the day,There is no day for me to look upon:She is my essence; and I leave to be,If I be not by her fair influenceFoster’d, illumined, cherish’d, kept alive.185I fly not death, to fly his deadly doom:Tarry I here, I but attend on death:But, fly I hence, I fly away from life.
170Val.And why not death rather than living torment?
To die is to be banish’d from myself;
And Silvia is myself: banish’d from her,
Is self from self: a deadly banishment!
What light is light, if Silvia be not seen?
III. 1.175What joy is joy, if Silvia be not by?
Unless it be to think that she is by,
And feed upon the shadow of perfection.
Except I be by Silvia in the night,
There is no music in the nightingale;
180Unless I look on Silvia in the day,
There is no day for me to look upon:
She is my essence; and I leave to be,
If I be not by her fair influence
Foster’d, illumined, cherish’d, kept alive.
185I fly not death, to fly his deadly doom:
Tarry I here, I but attend on death:
But, fly I hence, I fly away from life.
Pro.Run, boy, run, run, and seek him out.
Launce.Soho, soho!
190Pro.What seest thou?
Launce.Him we go to find: there’s not a hair on’s head but ’tis a Valentine.
Pro.Valentine?
Val.No.
195Pro.Who then? his spirit?
Val.Neither.
Pro.What then?
Val.Nothing.
Launce.Can nothing speak? Master, shall I strike?
III. 1.200Pro.Whowouldst thou strike?
Launce.Nothing.
Pro.Villain, forbear.
Launce.Why, sir, I’ll strike nothing: I pray you,—
Pro.Sirrah, I say, forbear. Friend Valentine, a word.
205Val.My ears are stopt, and cannot hear good news,So much of bad already hath possess’d them.
205Val.My ears are stopt, and cannot hear good news,
So much of bad already hath possess’d them.
Pro.Then in dumb silence will I bury mine,For they are harsh, untuneable, and bad.
Pro.Then in dumb silence will I bury mine,
For they are harsh, untuneable, and bad.
Val.Is Silvia dead?
210Pro.No, Valentine.
Val.No Valentine, indeed, for sacred Silvia.Hath she forsworn me?
Val.No Valentine, indeed, for sacred Silvia.
Hath she forsworn me?
Pro.No, Valentine.
Val.No Valentine, if Silvia have forsworn me.215What is your news?
Val.No Valentine, if Silvia have forsworn me.
215What is your news?
Launce.Sir, there is a proclamation that you arevanished.
Pro.That thou artbanished—O, that’sthe news!—From hence, from Silvia, and from me thy friend.
Pro.That thou artbanished—O, that’sthe news!—
From hence, from Silvia, and from me thy friend.
Val.O, I have fed upon this woe already,220And now excess of it will make me surfeit.Doth Silvia know that I am banished?
Val.O, I have fed upon this woe already,
220And now excess of it will make me surfeit.
Doth Silvia know that I am banished?
Pro.Ay, ay; and she hath offer’d to the doom—Which, unreversed, stands in effectual force—A sea of melting pearl, which some call tears:III. 1.225Those at her father’s churlish feet she tender’d;With them, upon her knees, her humble self;Wringing her hands, whose whiteness so became themAs if but now they waxed pale for woe:But neither bended knees, pure hands held up,230Sad sighs, deep groans, nor silver-shedding tears,Could penetrate her uncompassionate sire;But Valentine, if he be ta’en, must die.Besides, her intercession chafed him so,When she for thy repeal was suppliant,235That to close prison he commanded her,With many bitter threats of biding there.
Pro.Ay, ay; and she hath offer’d to the doom—
Which, unreversed, stands in effectual force—
A sea of melting pearl, which some call tears:
III. 1.225Those at her father’s churlish feet she tender’d;
With them, upon her knees, her humble self;
Wringing her hands, whose whiteness so became them
As if but now they waxed pale for woe:
But neither bended knees, pure hands held up,
230Sad sighs, deep groans, nor silver-shedding tears,
Could penetrate her uncompassionate sire;
But Valentine, if he be ta’en, must die.
Besides, her intercession chafed him so,
When she for thy repeal was suppliant,
235That to close prison he commanded her,
With many bitter threats of biding there.
Val.No more; unless the next word that thou speak’stHave some malignant power upon my life:If so, I pray thee, breathe it in mine ear,240As ending anthem of my endless dolour.
Val.No more; unless the next word that thou speak’st
Have some malignant power upon my life:
If so, I pray thee, breathe it in mine ear,
240As ending anthem of my endless dolour.
Pro.Cease to lament for that thou canst not help,And study help for that which thou lament’st.Time is the nurse and breeder of all good.Here if thou stay, thou canst not see thy love;245Besides, thy staying will abridge thy life.Hope is a lover’s staff; walk hence with that,And manage it against despairing thoughts.Thy letters may be here, though thou art hence;Which, being writ to me, shall be deliver’dIII. 1.250Even in the milk-white bosom of thy love.The time now serves not to expostulate:Come, I’ll convey thee through the city-gate;And, ere I part with thee, confer at largeOf all that may concern thy love-affairs.255As thou lovest Silvia, though not for thyself,Regard thy danger, and along with me!
Pro.Cease to lament for that thou canst not help,
And study help for that which thou lament’st.
Time is the nurse and breeder of all good.
Here if thou stay, thou canst not see thy love;
245Besides, thy staying will abridge thy life.
Hope is a lover’s staff; walk hence with that,
And manage it against despairing thoughts.
Thy letters may be here, though thou art hence;
Which, being writ to me, shall be deliver’d
III. 1.250Even in the milk-white bosom of thy love.
The time now serves not to expostulate:
Come, I’ll convey thee through the city-gate;
And, ere I part with thee, confer at large
Of all that may concern thy love-affairs.
255As thou lovest Silvia, though not for thyself,
Regard thy danger, and along with me!
Val.I pray thee, Launce, an if thou seest my boy,Bid him make haste, and meet me at the North-gate.
Val.I pray thee, Launce, an if thou seest my boy,
Bid him make haste, and meet me at the North-gate.
Pro.Go, sirrah, find him out. Come, Valentine.
260Val.O my dear Silvia! Hapless Valentine!Exeunt Val. and Pro.
Launce.I am but a fool, look you; and yet I have the wit to think my master is a kind of a knave: but that’s all one, if he be butone knave. He lives not now that knows me to be in love; yet I am in love; but a team of horse265shall not pluck that from me; nor who ’tis I love; and yet ’tis a woman; but what woman, I will not tell myself; and yet ’tis a milkmaid; yet ’tis not a maid, for she hath had gossips; yet ’tis a maid, for she is her master’s maid, and serves for wages. She hath more qualities than a water-spaniel,—270which is much in a bare Christian.[Pulling out a paper.]Here is thecate-logof hercondition. ‘Imprimis: She can fetch and carry.’ Why, a horse can do no more: nay, a horse cannot fetch, but only carry; therefore is she better than a jade. ‘Item: She canmilk;’ look you,aIII. 1.275sweet virtue in a maid with clean hands.
Speed.How now, Signior Launce! what news with your mastership?
Launce.With mymaster’s ship? why, it is at sea.
Speed.Well, your old vice still; mistake the word.280What news, then, in your paper?
Launce.The blackest news that ever thou heardest.
Speed.Why, man, how black?
Launce.Why, as black as ink.
Speed.Let me read them.
285Launce.Fie on thee, jolt-head! thou canst not read.
Speed.Thou liest; I can.
Launce.I will try thee. Tell me this: who begot thee?
Speed.Marry, the son of my grandfather.
Launce.O illiterate loiterer! it was the son of thy grandmother:290this proves that thou canst not read.
Speed.Come, fool, come; try me in thy paper.
Launce.There; and Saint Nicholas be thy speed!
Speed[reads]. ‘Imprimis: She can milk.’
Launce.Ay, that she can.
295Speed.‘Item: She brews good ale.’
Launce.And thereof comes the proverb: ‘Blessing of your heart, you brew good ale.’
Speed.‘Item: She can sew.’
Launce.That’s as much as to say, Can she so?
III. 1.300Speed.‘Item: She can knit.’
Launce.What need a man care for a stock with a wench, when she can knit him a stock?
Speed.‘Item: She can wash and scour.’
Launce.A special virtue; for then sheneed not be305washed and scoured.
Speed.‘Item: She can spin.’
Launce.Then may I set the world on wheels, when she can spin for her living.
Speed.‘Item: She hath many nameless virtues.’
310Launce.That’s as much as to say, bastard virtues; that, indeed, know not their fathers, and therefore have no names.
Speed.‘Herefollowher vices.’
Launce.Close at the heels of her virtues.
315Speed.‘Item: She is not to bekissedfasting, in respect of her breath.’
Launce.Well, that fault may be mended with a breakfast. Read on.
Speed.‘Item: She hath a sweet mouth.’
320Launce.That makes amends for her sour breath.
Speed.‘Item: She doth talk in her sleep.’
Launce.It’s no matter for that, so shesleepnot in her talk.
Speed.‘Item: She is slow in words.’
III. 1.325Launce.O villain, that set thisdown among her vices! To be slow in words is a woman’s only virtue: I pray thee, out with’t, and place it for her chief virtue.
Speed.‘Item: She is proud.’
Launce.Out with that too; it was Eve’s legacy, and330cannot be ta’en from her.
Speed.‘Item: She hath no teeth.’
Launce.I care not for that neither, because I love crusts.
Speed.‘Item: She is curst.’
335Launce.Well, the best is, she hath no teeth to bite.
Speed.‘Item: She will often praise her liquor.’
Launce.If her liquor be good, she shall: if she will not, I will; for good things should be praised.
Speed.‘Item: She is too liberal.’
340Launce.Of her tongue she cannot, for that’s writ down she is slow of; of her purse she shall not, for that I’ll keep shut: now, of another thing she may, and thatcannot Ihelp. Well, proceed.
Speed.‘Item: She hath morehairthan wit, and more345faults than hairs, and more wealth than faults.’
Launce.Stop there; I’ll have her: she was mine, and not mine, twice or thrice inthat lastarticle. Rehearse that once more.
Speed.‘Item: She hath more hair than wit,’—
III. 1.350Launce.More hair than wit?It may be; I’ll prove it. The cover of the salt hides the salt, and therefore it is more than the salt; the hair that covers the wit is more than the wit, for the greater hides the less. What’s next?
Speed.‘And more faults than hairs,’—
355Launce.That’s monstrous: O, that that were out!
Speed.‘And more wealth than faults.’
Launce.Why, that word makes the faults gracious.
Well, I’ll have her: and if it be a match, as nothing is impossible,—
360Speed.What then?
Launce.Why, then will I tell thee—that thy master stays for thee at the North-gate?
Speed.For me?
Launce.For thee! ay, who art thou? he hath stayed365for a better man than thee.
Speed.And must I go to him?
Launce.Thou must run to him, for thou hast stayed so long, that going will scarce serve the turn.
Speed.Why didst not tell me sooner? poxofyour370love-letters!Exit.
Launce.Now will he be swinged for reading my letter,—an unmannerly slave, that will thrust himself into secrets!
I’ll after, to rejoice in the boy’s correction.Exit.
Duke.Sir Thurio, fear not but that she will love you,Now Valentine is banish’d from her sight.
Duke.Sir Thurio, fear not but that she will love you,
Now Valentine is banish’d from her sight.
Thu.Since his exile she hath despised me most.Forsworn my company, and rail’d at me,5That I am desperate of obtaining her.
Thu.Since his exile she hath despised me most.
Forsworn my company, and rail’d at me,
5That I am desperate of obtaining her.
Duke.This weak impress of love is as a figureTrenched in ice, which with an hour’s heatDissolves to water, and doth lose his form.A little time will melt her frozen thoughts,10And worthless Valentine shall be forgot.EnterProteus.How now, Sir Proteus! Is your countryman,According to our proclamation, gone?
Duke.This weak impress of love is as a figure
Trenched in ice, which with an hour’s heat
Dissolves to water, and doth lose his form.
A little time will melt her frozen thoughts,
10And worthless Valentine shall be forgot.
How now, Sir Proteus! Is your countryman,
According to our proclamation, gone?
Pro.Gone, my good lord.
Duke.My daughter takes his goinggrievously.
15Pro.A little time, my lord, will kill that grief.
Duke.So I believe; but Thurio thinks not so.Proteus, the good conceit I hold of thee—For thou hast shownsomesign of good desert—Makes me thebetterto confer with thee.
Duke.So I believe; but Thurio thinks not so.
Proteus, the good conceit I hold of thee—
For thou hast shownsomesign of good desert—
Makes me thebetterto confer with thee.
20Pro.Longer than I proveloyalto your GraceLet me not live to look uponyour Grace.
20Pro.Longer than I proveloyalto your Grace
Let me not live to look uponyour Grace.
Duke.Thou know’st how willingly I would effectThe match between Sir Thurio and my daughter.
Duke.Thou know’st how willingly I would effect
The match between Sir Thurio and my daughter.
Pro.I do, my lord.
III. 2.25Duke.And also,I think, thou art not ignorantHow she opposes her against my will.
III. 2.25Duke.And also,I think, thou art not ignorant
How she opposes her against my will.
Pro.She did, my lord, when Valentine was here.
Duke.Ay, and perversely sheperseversso.What might we do to make the girl forget30The love of Valentine, and love Sir Thurio?
Duke.Ay, and perversely sheperseversso.
What might we do to make the girl forget
30The love of Valentine, and love Sir Thurio?