The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare (book suggestions TXT) 📖

is it that our bloods, Of colour, weight, and heat, pour’d all together, Would quite confound distinction, yet stand off In differences so mighty. If she be

All that is virtuous-save what thou dislik’st, A poor physician’s daughter-thou dislik’st Of virtue for the name; but do not so.

From lowest place when virtuous things proceed, The place is dignified by the doer’s deed; Where great additions swell’s, and virtue none, It is a dropsied honour. Good alone

Is good without a name. Vileness is so: The property by what it is should go, Not by the title. She is young, wise, fair; In these to nature she’s immediate heir; And these breed honour. That is honour’s scorn Which challenges itself as honour’s born And is not like the sire. Honours thrive When rather from our acts we them derive Than our fore-goers. The mere word’s a slave, Debauch’d on every tomb, on every grave A lying trophy; and as oft is dumb

Where dust and damn’d oblivion is the tomb Of honour’d bones indeed. What should be said?

If thou canst like this creature as a maid, I can create the rest. Virtue and she Is her own dower; honour and wealth from me.

BERTRAM. I cannot love her, nor will strive to do ‘t.

KING. Thou wrong’st thyself, if thou shouldst strive to choose.

HELENA. That you are well restor’d, my lord, I’m glad.

Let the rest go.

KING. My honour’s at the stake; which to defeat, I must produce my power. Here, take her hand, Proud scornful boy, unworthy this good gift, That dost in vile misprision shackle up My love and her desert; that canst not dream We, poising us in her defective scale, Shall weigh thee to the beam; that wilt not know It is in us to plant thine honour where We please to have it grow. Check thy contempt; Obey our will, which travails in thy good; Believe not thy disdain, but presently Do thine own fortunes that obedient right Which both thy duty owes and our power claims; Or I will throw thee from my care for ever Into the staggers and the careless lapse Of youth and ignorance; both my revenge and hate Loosing upon thee in the name of justice, Without all terms of pity. Speak; thine answer.

BERTRAM. Pardon, my gracious lord; for I submit My fancy to your eyes. When I consider What great creation and what dole of honour Flies where you bid it, I find that she which late Was in my nobler thoughts most base is now The praised of the King; who, so ennobled, Is as ‘twere born so.

KING. Take her by the hand,

And tell her she is thine; to whom I promise A counterpoise, if not to thy estate

A balance more replete.

BERTRAM. I take her hand.

KING. Good fortune and the favour of the King Smile upon this contract; whose ceremony Shall seem expedient on the now-born brief, And be perform’d tonight. The solemn feast Shall more attend upon the coming space, Expecting absent friends. As thou lov’st her, Thy love’s to me religious; else, does err.

Exeunt all but LAFEU and PAROLLES who stay behind, commenting of this wedding LAFEU. Do you hear, monsieur? A word with you.

PAROLLES. Your pleasure, sir?

LAFEU. Your lord and master did well to make his recantation.

PAROLLES. Recantation! My Lord! my master!

LAFEU. Ay; is it not a language I speak?

PAROLLES. A most harsh one, and not to be understood without bloody succeeding. My master!

LAFEU. Are you companion to the Count Rousillon?

PAROLLES. To any count; to all counts; to what is man.

LAFEU. To what is count’s man: count’s master is of another style.

PAROLLES. You are too old, sir; let it satisfy you, you are too old.

LAFEU. I must tell thee, sirrah, I write man; to which title age cannot bring thee.

PAROLLES. What I dare too well do, I dare not do.

LAFEU. I did think thee, for two ordinaries, to be a pretty wise fellow; thou didst make tolerable vent of thy travel; it might pass. Yet the scarfs and the bannerets about thee did manifoldly dissuade me from believing thee a vessel of too great a burden. I have now found thee; when I lose thee again I care not; yet art thou good for nothing but taking up; and that thou’rt scarce worth.

PAROLLES. Hadst thou not the privilege of antiquity upon thee-LAFEU. Do not plunge thyself too far in anger, lest thou hasten thy trial; which if-Lord have mercy on thee for a hen! So, my good window of lattice, fare thee well; thy casement I need not open, for I look through thee. Give me thy hand.

PAROLLES. My lord, you give me most egregious indignity.

LAFEU. Ay, with all my heart; and thou art worthy of it.

PAROLLES. I have not, my lord, deserv’d it.

LAFEU. Yes, good faith, ev’ry dram of it; and I will not bate thee a scruple.

PAROLLES. Well, I shall be wiser.

LAFEU. Ev’n as soon as thou canst, for thou hast to pull at a smack o’ th’ contrary. If ever thou be’st bound in thy scarf and beaten, thou shalt find what it is to be proud of thy bondage. I have a desire to hold my acquaintance with thee, or rather my knowledge, that I may say in the default ‘He is a man I know.’

PAROLLES. My lord, you do me most insupportable vexation.

LAFEU. I would it were hell pains for thy sake, and my poor doing eternal; for doing I am past, as I will by thee, in what motion age will give me leave. Exit PAROLLES. Well, thou hast a son shall take this disgrace off me: scurvy, old, filthy, scurvy lord! Well, I must be patient; there is no fettering of authority. I’ll beat him, by my life, if I can meet him with any convenience, an he were double and double a lord. I’ll have no more pity of his age than I would have of-I’ll beat him, and if I could but meet him again.

 

Re-enter LAFEU

 

LAFEU. Sirrah, your lord and master’s married; there’s news for you; you have a new mistress.

PAROLLES. I most unfeignedly beseech your lordship to make some reservation of your wrongs. He is my good lord: whom I serve above is my master.

LAFEU. Who? God?

PAROLLES. Ay, sir.

LAFEU. The devil it is that’s thy master. Why dost thou garter up thy arms o’ this fashion? Dost make hose of thy sleeves? Do other servants so? Thou wert best set thy lower part where thy nose stands. By mine honour, if I were but two hours younger, I’d beat thee. Methink’st thou art a general offence, and every man should beat thee. I think thou wast created for men to breathe themselves upon thee.

PAROLLES. This is hard and undeserved measure, my lord.

LAFEU. Go to, sir; you were beaten in Italy for picking a kernel out of a pomegranate; you are a vagabond, and no true traveller; you are more saucy with lords and honourable personages than the commission of your birth and virtue gives you heraldry. You are not worth another word, else I’d call you knave. I leave you.

Exit

 

Enter BERTRAM

 

PAROLLES. Good, very, good, it is so then. Good, very good; let it be conceal’d awhile.

BERTRAM. Undone, and forfeited to cares for ever!

PAROLLES. What’s the matter, sweetheart?

BERTRAM. Although before the solemn priest I have sworn, I will not bed her.

PAROLLES. What, what, sweetheart?

BERTRAM. O my Parolles, they have married me!

I’ll to the Tuscan wars, and never bed her.

PAROLLES. France is a dog-hole, and it no more merits The tread of a man’s foot. To th’ wars!

BERTRAM. There’s letters from my mother; what th’ import is I know not yet.

PAROLLES. Ay, that would be known. To th’ wars, my boy, to th’

wars!

He wears his honour in a box unseen

That hugs his kicky-wicky here at home, Spending his manly marrow in her arms, Which should sustain the bound and high curvet Of Mars’s fiery steed. To other regions!

France is a stable; we that dwell in’t jades; Therefore, to th’ war!

BERTRAM. It shall be so; I’ll send her to my house, Acquaint my mother with my hate to her, And wherefore I am fled; write to the King That which I durst not speak. His present gift Shall furnish me to those Italian fields Where noble fellows strike. War is no strife To the dark house and the detested wife.

PAROLLES. Will this capriccio hold in thee, art sure?

BERTRAM. Go with me to my chamber and advise me.

I’ll send her straight away. Tomorrow I’ll to the wars, she to her single sorrow.

PAROLLES. Why, these balls bound; there’s noise in it. ‘Tis hard: A young man married is a man that’s marr’d.

Therefore away, and leave her bravely; go.

The King has done you wrong; but, hush, ‘tis so. Exeunt

ACT II. SCENE 4.

Paris. The KING’S palace

 

Enter HELENA and CLOWN

 

HELENA. My mother greets me kindly; is she well?

CLOWN. She is not well, but yet she has her health; she’s very merry, but yet she is not well. But thanks be given, she’s very well, and wants nothing i’ th’ world; but yet she is not well.

HELENA. If she be very well, what does she ail that she’s not very well?

CLOWN. Truly, she’s very well indeed, but for two things.

HELENA. What two things?

CLOWN. One, that she’s not in heaven, whither God send her quickly!

The other, that she’s in earth, from whence God send her quickly!

 

Enter PAROLLES

 

PAROLLES. Bless you, my fortunate lady!

HELENA. I hope, sir, I have your good will to have mine own good fortunes.

PAROLLES. You had my prayers to lead them on; and to keep them on, have them still. O, my knave, how does my old lady?

CLOWN. So that you had her wrinkles and I her money, I would she did as you say.

PAROLLES. Why, I say nothing.

CLOWN. Marry, you are the wiser man; for many a man’s tongue shakes out his master’s undoing. To say nothing, to do nothing, to know nothing, and to have nothing, is to be a great part of your title, which is within a very little of nothing.

PAROLLES. Away! th’art a knave.

CLOWN. You should have said, sir, ‘Before a knave th’art a knave’; that’s ‘Before me th’art a knave.’ This had been truth, sir.

PAROLLES. Go to, thou art a witty fool; I have found thee.

CLOWN. Did you find me in yourself, sir, or were you taught to find me? The search, sir, was profitable; and much fool may you find in you, even to the world’s pleasure and the increase of laughter.

PAROLLES. A good knave, i’ faith, and well fed.

Madam, my lord will go away tonight: A very serious business calls on him.

The great prerogative and rite of love, Which, as your due, time claims, he does acknowledge; But puts it off to a compell’d restraint; Whose want, and whose delay, is strew’d with sweets, Which they distil now in the curbed time, To make the coming hour o’erflow with joy And pleasure drown the brim.

HELENA. What’s his else?

PAROLLES. That you will take your instant leave o’ th’ King, And make this haste as your own good proceeding, Strength’ned with what apology you think May make it probable need.

HELENA. What more commands he?

PAROLLES. That, having this obtain’d, you presently Attend his further pleasure.

HELENA. In everything I wait upon his will.

PAROLLES. I shall report it so.

HELENA. I pray you. Exit PAROLLES

Come, sirrah. Exeunt

ACT II. SCENE 5.

Paris. The KING’S palace