The Duchess of Malfi John Webster (intellectual books to read TXT) đ
- Author: John Webster
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About them goes to wrack forât. Silvio
Whatâs that Bosola?
Delio I knew him in Paduaâ âa fantastical scholar, like such who study to know how many knots was in Herculesâ club, of what colour Achillesâ beard was, or whether Hector were not troubled with the toothache. He hath studied himself half blear-eyed to know the true symmetry of Caesarâs nose by a shoeing-horn; and this he did to gain the name of a speculative man. PescaraMark Prince Ferdinand:
A very salamander lives inâs eye,
To mock the eager violence of fire.
The Lord Ferdinand laughs.
DelioLike a deadly cannon
That lightens ere it smokes.
These are your true pangs of death,
The pangs of life, that struggle with great statesmen.
In such a deformed silence witches whisper their charms.
CardinalDoth she make religion her riding-hood
To keep her from the sun and tempest?
That, that damns her. Methinks her fault and beauty,
Blended together, show like leprosy,
The whiter, the fouler. I make it a question
Whether her beggarly brats were ever christâned.
I will instantly solicit the state of Ancona
To have them banishâd.
You are for Loretto:
I shall not be at your ceremony; fare you well.â â
Write to the Duke of Malfi, my young nephew
She had by her first husband, and acquaint him
Withâs motherâs honesty.
I will.
FerdinandAntonio!
A slave that only smellâd of ink and counters,
And never inâs life lookâd like a gentleman,
But in the audit-time.â âGo, go presently,
Draw me out an hundred and fifty of our horse,
And meet me at the footbridge.
I have not seen a goodlier shrine than this;
Yet I have visited many.
The Cardinal of Arragon
Is this day to resign his cardinalâs hat:
His sister duchess likewise is arrivâd
To pay her vow of pilgrimage. I expect
A noble ceremony.
No question.â âThey come.
Here the ceremony of the Cardinalâs instalment, in the habit of a soldier, performâd in delivering up his cross, hat, robes, and ring, at the shrine, and investing him with sword, helmet, shield, and spurs; then Antonio, the Duchess and their children, having presented themselves at the shrine, are, by a form of banishment in dumb-show expressed towards them by the Cardinal and the state of Ancona, banished: during all which ceremony, this ditty is sung, to very solemn music, by diverse churchmen: and then exeunt all except the Two Pilgrims.Arms and honours deck thy story,
To thy fameâs eternal glory!
Adverse fortune ever fly thee;
No disastrous fate come nigh thee!
I alone will sing thy praises,
Whom to honour virtue raises,
And thy study, that divine is,
Bent to martial discipline is,
Lay aside all those robes lie by thee;
Crown thy arts with arms, theyâll beautify thee.
O worthy of worthiest name, adornâd in this manner,
Lead bravely thy forces on under warâs warlike banner!
O, mayst thou prove fortunate in all martial courses!
Guide thou still by skill in arts and forces!
Victory attend thee nigh, whilst fame sings loud thy powers;
Triumphant conquest crown thy head, and blessings pour down showers!84
Hereâs a strange turn of state! who would have thought
So great a lady would have matchâd herself
Unto so mean a person? Yet the cardinal
Bears himself much too cruel.
They are banishâd.
First PilgrimBut I would ask what power hath this state
Of Ancona to determine of a free prince?
They are a free state, sir, and her brother showâd
How that the Pope, fore-hearing of her looseness,
Hath seizâd into thâ protection of the church
The dukedom which she held as dowager.
But by what justice?
Second PilgrimSure, I think by none,
Only her brotherâs instigation.
What was it with such violence he took
Off from her finger?
âTwas her wedding-ring;
Which he vowâd shortly he would sacrifice
To his revenge.
Alas, Antonio!
If that a man be thrust into a well,
No matter who sets hand toât, his own weight
Will bring him sooner to thâ bottom. Come, letâs hence.
Fortune makes this conclusion general,
All things do help thâ unhappy man to fall.
Near Loretto.
Enter Duchess, Antonio, Children, Cariola, and Servants. DuchessBanishâd Ancona!
AntonioYes, you see what power
Lightens in great menâs breath.
Is all our train
Shrunk to this poor remainder?
These poor men
Which have got little in your service, vow
To take your fortune: but your wiser buntings,85
Now they are fledgâd, are gone.
They have done wisely.
This puts me in mind of death: physicians thus,
With their hands full of money, use to give oâer
Their patients.
Right the fashion of the world:
From decayâd fortunes every flatterer shrinks;
Men cease to build where the foundation sinks.
I had a very strange dream tonight.
AntonioWhat wasât?
DuchessMethought I wore my coronet of state,
And on a sudden all the diamonds
Were changâd to pearls.
My interpretation
Is, youâll weep shortly; for to me the pearls
Do signify your tears.
The birds that live iâ thâ field
On the wild benefit of nature live
Happier than we; for they may choose their mates,
And carol their sweet pleasures to the spring.
You are happily oâertaâen.
DuchessFrom my brother?
BosolaYes, from the Lord Ferdinand your brother
All love and safety.
Thou dost blanch mischief,
Wouldâst make it white. See, see, like to calm weather
At sea before a tempest, false hearts speak fair
To those they intend most mischief.
Reads. âSend Antonio to me; I want his head in a business.â
A politic equivocation!
He doth not want your counsel, but your head;
That is, he cannot sleep till you be dead.
And hereâs another pitfall
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