As banks of Libya,-though, Apollo knows, "T is dry enough,-will, with great speed of judgment, Ay, with celerity, find Hector's purpose Pointing on him. ULYSS. And wake him to the answer, think you? Yes, It is most meet: Whom may you else oppose, For here the Trojans taste our dear'st repute In this wild action: for the success, And in such indexes, although small pricks Of things to come at large. It is suppos'd, As 't were from forth us all, a man distill'd What heart from hence receives the conquering part, Which entertain'd, limbs are his instruments, ULYSS. Give pardon to my speech ; Therefore 't is meet, Achilles meet not Hector. The lustre of the better yet to show Shall show the better a. Do not consent That ever Hector and Achilles meet; For both our honour and our shame, in this, Are dogg'd with two strange followers. NEST. I see them not with my old eyes; what are they? ULYSS. What glory our Achilles shares from Hector, a The quarto reads "The lustre of the better shall exceed, By showing the worst first." Were he not proud, we all should wear a with him: And we were better parch in Afric sun, Than in the pride and salt scorn of his eyes, In taint of our best man. No, make a lottery; That we have better men. But, hit or miss, To Agamemnon: go we to him straight. a Wear in the folio-in the quarto, share. [Exeunt. THER. Agamemnon-how if he had boils? full, all over, generally? AJAX. Thersites, THER. And those boils did run?-Say so,-did not the general run? were not that a botchy core? AJAX. Dog, [Strikes him. THER. Then would come some matter from him; I see none now. head AJAX. Speak then, thou vinew'desta leaven, speak: I will beat thee into hand someness. Thou THER. I shall sooner rail thee into wit and holiness; but I think thy horse AJAX. Toadstool, learn me the proclamation. THER. Dost thou think I have no sense, thou strik'st me thus? AJAX. The proclamation,— THER. Thou art proclaimed a fool, I think. AJAX. Do not, porcupine, do not; my fingers itch. THER. I would thou didst itch from head to foot, and I had the scratching of thee; I would make thee the loathsomest scab in Greece. [When thou art forth in the incursions, thou strikest as slow as another."] AJAX. I say, the proclamation, THER. Thou grumblest and railest every hour on Achilles; and thou art as full of envy at his greatness, as Cerberus is at Proserpina's beauty, ay, that thou bark'st at him. AJAX. Mistress Thersites ! THER. Thou shouldst strike him. AJAX. Cobloaf! THER. He would pun thee into shivers with his fist, as a sailor breaks a biscuit. AJAX. You whoreson cur! THER. Do, do. [Beating him. AJAX. Thou stool for a witch! AJAX. You dog! THER. You scurvy lord! AJAX. You cur! THER. Mars his idiot! do, rudeness; do, camel; do, do. [Beating him. Enter ACHILLES and PATROCLUS. ACHIL. Why, how now, Ajax? wherefore do you this? How now, Thersites? what's the matter, man? THER. You see him there, do you? a Vinew'dest-vinewed-vinny-signifies decayed, mouldy; the word in the text is the superlative of vinewed. The modern editors have retained "unsalted," from the quarto. In the preface to our translation of the Bible we have "fenewed traditions." These words are not in the folio. e Pun-pound. d Assinego-an ass. ⚫ But. Both the quarto and folio so read; but put has crept into modern editions. ACHIL. Ay; what 's the matter? THER. Nay, look upon him. ACHIL. So I do; what 's the matter? THER. Nay, but regard him well. ACHIL. Well! why I do so. THER. But yet you look not well upon him: for whosoever you take him to be, he is Ajax. ACHIL. I know that, fool. THER. Ay, but that fool knows not himself. AJAX. Therefore I beat thee. THER. Lo, lo, lo, lo, what modicums of wit he utters! his evasions have ears thus long. I have bobbed his brain more than he has beat my bones: I will buy nine sparrows for a penny, and his pia mater is not worth the ninth part of a sparrow. This lord, Achilles, Ajax,-who wears his wit in his belly, and his guts in his head,—I'll tell you what I say of him. ACHIL. What? THER. I say, this Ajax ACHIL. Nay, good Ajax. THER. Has not so much wit ACHIL. Nay, I must hold you. [AJAX offers to strike him, ACHILLES interposes. THER. As will stop the eye of Helen's needle, for whom he comes to fight. THER. I would have peace and quietness, but the fool will not: he there; that he; look you there. AJAX. O thou damned cur! I shall ACHIL. Will you set your wit to a fool's? THER. No, I warrant you; for a fool's will shame it. PATR. Good words, Thersites. ACHIL. What's the quarrel? AJAX. I bade the vile owl go learn me the tenor of the proclamation, and he rails upon me. THER. I serve thee not. AJAX. Well, go to, go to. THER. I serve here voluntary. ACHIL. Your last service was sufferance, 't was not voluntary; no man is beaten voluntary; Ajax was here the voluntary, and you as under an impress. THER. E'en so; a great deal of your wit too lies in your sinews, or else there be liars. Hector shall have a great catch if he knock out either of your brains; 'a were as good crack a fusty nut with no kernel. ACHIL. What, with me too, Thersites ? THER. There's Ulysses and old Nestor,-whose wit was mouldy ere your grandsires had nails on their toes,-yoke you like draught oxen, and make you plough up the war. ACHIL. What, what? THER. Yes, good sooth. To Achilles! to Ajax! to! |