網頁圖片
PDF
ePub 版

Duke Sen. If that you were the good Sir Rowland's
Son,

As you have whisper'd faithfully you were,
And as mine eyes doth his effigies witnefs,
Moft truly limn'd, and living in your face,
Be truly welcome hither. I'm the Duke,
That lov'd your Father. The refidue of your fortune
Go to my cave and tell me. Good old Man,
Thou art right welcome, as thy mafter is.
-Support him by the arm; give me your hand,
And let me all your fortunes understand.

[Exeunt.

ACT III.

SCENE I.

[ocr errors]

The PALACE.

Enter Duke, Lords, and Oliver.

DUKE.

OT fee him fince?-Sir, Sir, that cannot be— But were I not the better part made mercy, Ifhould not feek an abfent argument 3

Of my revenge, the prefent: but look to it;
Find out thy brother, wherefoe'er he is;

Seek him with candle: bring him dead or living,
Within this twelvemonth; or turn thou no more
To feek a living in our territory.

Thy lands and all things that thou doft call thine,
Worth feizure, do we feize into our hands;
'Till thou canft quit thee by thy brother's mouth,
Of what we think against thee.

3 An abfent argument.] An argument is used for the contents of a book, thence Shakespeare con

fidered it as meaning the fulje, and then ufed it for jubject in yet another fenfe.

Oli. Oh, that your highness knew my heart in this : I never lov'd my brother in my life.

Duke. More villain thou. Well-Pufh him out of doors;

And let my officers of fuch a nature

Make an Extent upon his house and lands:
Do this expediently, and turn him going. [Exeunt.

Orla.

SCENE II.

Changes to the FOREST.

Enter Orlando.

ANG there, my verse, in witness of my love;

Hove

And thou, thrice-crowned Queen of night, furvey",
With thy chafte eye, from thy pale fphere above,
Thy huntress' name that my full life doth fway.
O Rofalind! thefe trees fhall be my books,

And in their barks my thoughts I'll character
That every eye, which in this Forest looks,
Shall fee thy virtue witnefs'd every where.
Run, run, Orlando, carve, on every tree,

;

The fair, the chafte, and unexpreffive She". [Exit.

[blocks in formation]

Cor. And how like you this fhepherd's life, Mr. Touchstone?

4 Expediently.] This is, expe- defs, and comprised in these meditionfly. morial lines:

5 Thrice-crowned Queen of night.] Alluding to the triple character of Projerpine, Cynthia, and Diana, given by fome Mythologifts to the fame God

Terret, luftrat, agit, Proferpi
na, Luna, Diana,
Ima, fuperna, feras, fceptro,
fulgore, fagittis.

• Unexpreflive, for inexpreffible.
Clo.

Clo. Truly, fhepherd, in respect of itself, it is a good life; but in refpect that it is a fhepherd's life, it is naugh. In refpect that it is folitary, I like it very well; but in refpect that it is private, it is a very vi e life. Now in refpect it is in the fields, it pleaseth me well; but in respect it is not in the Court, it is tedious. As it is a spare life, look you, it fits my humour well; but as there is no more plenty in it, it goes much against my stomach. Haft any philofophy in thee, fhepherd ?

Cor. No more, but that I know, the more one fickens, the worfe at eafe he is! and that he, that wants money, means, and content, is without three good friends. That the property of rain is to wet, and fire to burn: that good pafture makes fat fheep; and that a great cause of the night is lack of the Sun: that he, that hath learned no wit by nature nor art 7, may complain of good breeding, or comes of a very dull kindred.

Clo. Such a one is a natural philofopher. Wast ever in Court, fhepherd ?

4 He that bath learned no wit by nature or art, may complain of GOOD breeding, or comes of very dull kindred.] Common fenfe requires us to read,

may complain of GROSS breeding.

The Oxford Editor has greatly
improved this emendation by
reading,
bad breeding.

WARBURTON. I am in doubt whether the cuftom of the language in Shakepeare's time did not authorife this mode of fpeech, and make complain of good breeding the fame with complain of the want of good VOL. II.

Cor.

breeding. In the laft line of the Merchant of Venice we find that to fear the keeping is to fear the not keeping.

Such a one is a natural philoSopher. The fhepherd had faid, all the Philofophy he knew was the property of things, that rain wetted, fire burnt, &c. And the Clown's reply, in a fatire on Phyficks or Natural Philofophy, though introduced with a quibble, is extremely juft. For the Natural Philofopher is indeed as ignorant (notwithstanding all his parade of knowledge) of the efficient caufe of things as the Ruftic. It appears, from a thou

E

fand

Cor. No, truly.

Clo. Then thou art damn'd.

Cor. Nay, I hope—

Clo. Truly, thou art damn'd, like an ill-roasted egg, all on one fide.

Cor. For not being at Court? your reafon.

[ocr errors]

Clo. Why, if thou never wast at Court, thou never faw'ft good manners; if thou never faw'ft good manners, then thy manners must be wicked; and wickedness is fin, and fin is damnation: thou art in a parlous ftate, fhepherd.

Cer. Not a whit, Touchstone: thofe, that are good manners at the Court, are as ridiculous in the Country, as the behaviour of the Country is moft mockable at the Court. You told me, you falute not at the Court, but you kiss your hands; that courtefy would be uncleanly, if Courtiers were fhepherds.

Clo. Inftance, briefly; come, instance.

Cor. Why, we are still handling our ewes; and their fels, you know, are greafy.

Cle. Why, do not your Courtiers' hands fweat? and is not the greafe of a mutton as wholfome as the fweat of man? fhallow, fhallow!-a better inftance, I fay: come.

Cor. Befides, our hands are hard.

[blocks in formation]

Clo Your lips will feel them the fooner. Shallow again a more found inftance, come.

:—

Cor. And they are often tarr'd over with the furgery of our sheep; and would you have us kifs tarr? the Courtier's hands are perfumed with civet.

Clo. Moft fhallow man!-thou worms-meat, in refpect of a good piece of flesh-indeed!-learn of the wife, and perpend. Civet is of a bafer birth than tarr; the very uncleanly flux of a cat. Mend the inftance, fhepherd.

Cor. You have too courtly a wit for me; I'll rest. Clo. Wilt thou rest damn'd? God help thee, shallow man; God make incifion in thee 2, thou art raw.

Cor. Sir, I am a true labourer, I earn that I eat; get that I wear; owe no man hate, envy no man's happinefs; glad of other men's good, content with my harm; and the greatest of my pride is, to see my ewes graze, and my lambs fuck.

Clo. That is another fimple fin in you,, to bring the ewes and the rams together; and to offer to get your living by the copulation of cattle; to be a bawd to a bell-wether; and to betray a fhe-lamb of a twelvemonth to a crooked-pated old cuckoldry ram, out of all reasonable match. If thou be'ft not damn'd for this, the devil himself will have no fhepherds; I cannot fee else how thou shouldft 'scape.

Cor. Here comes young Mr. Ganimed, my new miftrefs's brother.

2 Make incifion in thee.] To make incifion was a proverbial expreffion then in vogue, for to make to understand. So in Beaumont and Fletcher's Humourous Lieutenant.

Angel-ey'd King, vouchsafe at
length thy favour;
And Jo proceeds to incifion.-

i. e. to make him understand
what he would be at.

WARBURTON. 3 Bawd to a Belwether.] We

Thus he begins, thou life and ther and Ram had anciently the

O excellent King,

light of creatures.

fame meaning.

[blocks in formation]
« 上一頁繼續 »