strength; if you saw yourself with your eyes, or knew yourself with your judgment, the fear of your adventure would counsel you to a more equal enterprise. We pray you, for your own sake, to embrace your own safety, and give over this attempt. Ros. Do, young sir; your reputation shall not therefore be misprised; we will make it our suit to the duke, that the wrestling might not go forward. Orl. I beseech you, punish me not with your hard thoughts; wherein1 I confess me much guilty, to deny so fair and excellent ladies any thing. But let your fair eyes and gentle wishes go with me to my trial; wherein, if I be foiled, there is but one shamed that was never gracious; if killed, but one dead that is willing to be so. I shall do my friends no wrong, for I have none to lament me; the world no injury, for in it I have nothing, only in the world I fill up a place, which may be better supplied when I have made it empty. Ros. The little strength that I have, I would it were with you. Cel. And mine, to eke out hers. Ros. Fare you well. Pray Heaven, I be deceived in you! Cel. Your heart's desires be with you. Cha. Come, where is this young gallant, that is so desirous to lie with his mother earth? Orl. Ready, sir; but his will hath in it a more modest working. Duke F. You shall try but one fall. Cha. No, I warrant your grace; you shall not entreat him to a second, that have so mightily persuaded him from a first. Orl. You mean to mock me after; you should not have mocked me before; but come your ways. 1 Johnson thought we should read "therein." Mason proposed to read herein. 2 Gracious was anciently used in the sense of the Italian gratiato i. e. graced, favored, countenanced; as well as for graceful, comely, well favored, in which sense Shakspeare uses it in other places. Ros. Now, Hercules be thy speed, young man! Cel. I would I were invisible, to catch the strong fellow by the leg. [CHA. and ORL. wrestle. Ros. O excellent young man! Cel. If I had a thunderbolt in mine eye, I can tell who should down. [CHARLES is thrown. Shout. Duke F. No more, no more. Orl. Yes, I beseech your grace; I am not yet well breathed. Duke F. How dost thou, Charles? Le Beau. He cannot speak, my lord. Duke F. Bear him away. [CHARLES is borne out.] What is thy name, young man? Orl. Orlando, my liege; the youngest son of sir Rowland de Bois. Duke F. I would thou hadst been son to some man else. The world esteemed thy father honorable, But I did find him still mine enemy. Thou shouldst have better pleased me with this deed, [Exeunt DUKE FRED., Train, and LE BEAU. Ros. My father loved sir Rowland as his soul, Cel. Gentle cousin, Let us go thank him, and encourage him. My father's rough and envious disposition Sticks me at heart.-Sir, you have well deserved; 1 Calling here means appellation; a very unusual if not unprecedented use of the word. If you do keep your promises in love But justly, as you have exceeded all promise, Ros. Gentleman, [Giving him a chain from her neck. Wear this for me; one out of suits with fortune;1 That could give more, but that her hand lacks means.Shall we go, coz? Cel. Ay.-Fare you well, fair gentleman. Orl. Can I not say, I thank you? My better parts Are all thrown down, and that which here stands up, Is but a quintain,2 a mere lifeless block. Ros. He calls us back; my pride fell with my fortunes; I'll ask him what he would.-Did you call, sir?- More than your enemies. Cel. Will you go, coz? Ros. Have with you.-Fare you well. [Exeunt ROSALIND and CELIA Orl. What passion hangs these weights upon my tongue ? I cannot speak to her, yet she urged conference. Re-enter LE BEAU. O poor Orlando! Thou art overthrown ; Orl. I thank you, sir; and, pray you, tell me this; 1 Out of suits appears here to signify out of favor, discarded by fortune. To suit with anciently signified to agree with. 2 His better parts, i. e. his spirits or senses. A quintain was a figure set up for tilters to run at in mock resemblance of a tournament. 3 i. e. temper, disposition. Humorous is capricious. Which of the two was daughter of the duke, Le Beau. Neither his daughter, if we judge by manners; But yet, indeed, the smaller1 is his daughter. But that the people praise her for her virtues, I shall desire more love and knowledge of you. [Exit. SCENE III. A Room in the Palace. Enter CELIA and ROSALIND. Cel. Why, cousin; why, Rosalind ;-Cupid have mercy!-Not a word? Ros. Not one to throw at a dog. Cel. No, thy words are too precious to be cast away upon curs; throw some of them at me; come, lame me with reasons. Ros. Then there were two cousins laid up; when the one should be lamed with reasons, and the other mad without any. 1 The old copy reads taller, which is evidently wrong. Pope altered it to shorter. The present reading is Malone's. Cel. But is all this for your father? Ros. No, some of it for my child's father. O how full of briers is this working-day world! Cel. They are but burs, cousin, thrown upon thee in holiday foolery; if we walk not in the trodden paths, our very petticoats will catch them. Ros. I could shake them off my coat; these burs are in my heart. Cel. Hem them away. Ros. I would try; if I could cry hem, and have him. Cel. Come, come, wrestle with thy affections. Ros. O, they take the part of a better wrestler than myself. Cel. O, a good wish upon you! You will try in time, in despite of a fall.-But turning these jests out of service, let us talk in good earnest. Is it possible, on such a sudden, you should fall into so strong a liking with old sir Rowland's youngest son? Ros. The duke, my father, loved his father dearly. Cel. Doth it therefore ensue, that you should love his son dearly? By this kind of chase, I should hate him, for my father hated his father dearly; yet I hate not Orlando. 2 Ros. No, 'faith, hate him not, for my sake. Cel. Why should I not? Doth he not deserve well? 3 Ros. Let me love him for that; and do you love him, because I do.-Look, here comes the duke. Cel. With his eyes full of anger. Enter DUKE FREDERICK, with Lords. Duke F. Mistress, despatch you with your safest haste, And get you from our court. 1 i. e. for him whom she hopes to marry. So Theobald explains this passage. Some of the modern editions read, "my father's child.” 2 Shakspeare's apparent use of dear in a double sense, has been already illustrated. 3 Celia answers as if Rosalind had said, "love him, for my sake," which is the implied sense of her words. |