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ACT IV..... SCENE I.

Without the Florentine Camp.

Enter first Lord, with five or six Soldiers in ambush.

1 Lord. He can come no other way but by this hedge' corner: When you sally upon him, speak what terrible language you will; though you understand it not yourselves, no matter: for we must not seem to understand him; unless some one among us, whom we must produce for an interpreter.

1 Sold. Good captain, let me be the interpreter.

1 Lord. Art not acquainted with him? Knows he not thy voice?

1 Sold. No, sir, I warrant you.

1 Lord. But what linsy-woolsy hast thou to speak to us again?

1 Sold. Even such as you speak to me.

1 Lord. He must think us some band of strangers i' the adversary's entertainment.2 Now he hath a smack of all neighbouring languages; therefore we must every one be a man of his own fancy, not to know what we speak one to another; so we seem to know, is to know straight our purpose: 3 chough's language, gabble

The first line relates to Bertram. The deed was lawful, as being the duty of marriage, owed by the husband to the wife; but his meaning was wicked, because he intended to commit adultery. The second line relates to Helena; whose meaning was lawful, in as much as she intended to reclaim her husband, and demanded only the rights of a wife. The act or deed was lawful for the reason already given. The subsequent line relates to them both. The fact was sinful, as far as Bertram was concerned, because he intended to commit adultery; yet neither he nor Helena actually sinned: not the wife, because both her intention and action were innocent; not the husband, because he did not accomplish his intention; he did not commit adultery.-This note is partly Mr. Heath's. Malone.

2 some band of strangers i' the adversary's entertainment.] That is, foreign troops in the enemy's pay. Johnson.

3 — so we seem to know, is to know &c.] I think the meaning is,-Our seeming to know what we speak one to another, is to make him to know our purpose immediately; to discover our design to him. To know, in the last instance, signifies to make

enough, and good enough. As for you, interpreter, you must seem very politick. But couch, ho! here he comes; to beguile two hours in a sleep, and then to return and swear the lies he forges.

Enter PAROLLES.

Par. Ten o'clock: within these three hours 'twill be time enough to go home. What shall I say I have done? It must be a very plausive invention that carries it: They begin to smoke me; and disgraces of late knocked too often at my door. I find, my tongue is too fool-hardy; but my heart hath the fear of Mars before it, and of his creatures, not daring the reports of my tongue.

1 Lord. This is the first truth that e'er thine own tongue was guilty of. [Aside.

Par. What the devil should move me to undertake the recovery of this drum; being not ignorant of the impossibility, and knowing I had no such purpose? I must give myself some hurts, and say, I got them in exploit: Yet slight ones will not carry it: They will say, Came you off with so little? and great ones I dare not give. Wherefore? what's the instance?5 Tongue, I must put you into a butter-woman's mouth, and buy another of Bajazet's mule, if you prattle me into these perils.

known. Sir T. Hanmer very plausibly reads-to show straight our purpose. Malone.

The sense of this passage with the context I take to be thisWe must each fancy a jargon for himself, without aiming to be understood by one another, for provided we appear to understand, that will be sufficient for the success of our project. Henley.

4

5

6

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of Bajazet's mule,] Dr. Warburton would read-mute. Malone.

As a mule is as dumb by nature, as the mute is by art, the reading may stand. In one of our old Turkish histories, there is a pompous description of Bajazet riding on a mule to the Divan. Steevens.

Perhaps there may be here a reference to the following apologue mentioned by Maitland, in one of his despatches to Secre. tary Cecil: "I think yow have hard the apologue off the Philosopher who for th' emperor's plesure tooke upon him to make a

1 Lord. Is it possible, he should know what he is, and be that he is? [Aside. Par. I would the cutting of my garments would serve the turn; or the breaking of my Spanish sword. 1 Lord. We cannot afford you so.

[Aside. Par. Or the baring of my beard; and to say, it was in stratagem.

1 Lord. 'Twould not do.

[Aside. Par. Or to drown my clothes, and say, I was stripped. 1 Lord. Hardly serve.

[Aside.

Par. Though I swore I leaped from the window of the citadel

1 Lord. How deep?

Par. Thirty fathom.

[Aside.

1 Lord. Three great oaths would scarce make that be believed.

Par. I would, I had any drum of the enemy's;

I would swear, I recovered it.

1 Lord. You shall hear one anon.

Par. A drum now of the enemy's!

[Aside.

[Aside.

[Alarum within.

1 Lord. Throca movousus, cargo, cargo, cargo. All. Cargo, cargo, villianda par corbo, cargo.

Par. O! ransome, ransome:-Do not hide mine eyes. [They seize him and blindfold him.

1 Sold. Boskos thromuldo boskos.

Par. I know you are the Muskos' regiment. And I shall lose my life for want of language: If there be here German, or Dane, low Dutch, Italian, or French, let him speak to me,

I will discover that which shall undo

The Florentine.

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I understand thee, and can speak thy tongue :-
Kerelybonto:- -Sir,

Betake thee to thy faith, for seventeen poniards
Are at thy bosom.

Moyle speak: In many yeares the lyke may yet be, eyther that the Moyle, the Philosopher, or Eamperor may dye before the tyme be fully ronne out." Haynes's Collection, 369. Parolles probably means, he must buy a tongue which has still to learn the use of speech, that he may run himself into no more difficulties by his loquacity. Reed.

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1 Sold. The general is content to spare thee yet;
And, hood-wink'd as thou art, will lead thee on
To gather from thee: haply, thou may'st inform
Something to save thy life.

Par.

O, let me live,
And all the secrets of our camp I'll show,
Their force, their purposes: nay, I'll speak that
Which you will wonder at.

1 Sold. But wilt thou faithfully?
Par. If I do not, damn me.
1 Sold.

Come on, thou art granted space.

Acordo linta.

[Exit, with PAR. guarded.

1 Lord. Go, tell the count Rousillon, and my brother, We have caught the woodcock, and will keep him muffled, Till we do hear from them.

2 Sold.

Captain, I will. 1 Lord. He will betray us all unto ourselves;— Inform 'em that.

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1 Lord. Till then, I'll keep him dark, and safely

lock'd.

SCENE IL

[Exeunt.

Florence. A Room in the Widow's House.

Enter BERTRAM and DIANA.

Ber. They told me, that your name was Fontibell. Dia. No, my good lord, Diana.

Ber.

Titled goddess;
And worth it, with addition! But, fair soul,
In your fine frame hath love no quality?
If the quick fire of youth light not your mind,
You are no maiden, but a monument:

When you are dead, you should be such a one

6 Inform 'em -] Old copy-Inform on. Corrected by Mr.. Rowe.

Malone.

As you are now, for you are cold and stern;7
And now you should be as your mother was,
When your sweet self was got.

Dia. She then was honest.

Ber.

Dia.

So should you be.

No:

My mother did but duty; such, my lord,
As you owe to your wife.

Ber.

No more of that!

I pr'ythee, do not strive against my vows:

I was compell'd to her; but I love thee

By love's own sweet constraint, and will for ever
Do thee all rights of service.

Ay, so you serve us,

Dia.
Till we serve you: but when you have our roses,
You barely leave our thorns to prick ourselves,
And mock us with our bareness.

Ber.

How have I sworn?

Dia. 'Tis not the many oaths, that make the truth; But the plain single vow, that is vow'd true.

What is not holy, that we swear not by,"

7 You are no maiden, but a monument:

for you are cold and stern;] Our author had here, propably, in his thoughts some of the stern monumental figures with which many churches in England were furnished by the rude sculptors of his own time. He has again the same allusion in Cymbeline:

"And be her sense but as a monument,

"Thus in a chapel lying." Malone.

I believe the epithet stern refers only to the severity often impressed by death on features which, in their animated state, were of a placid turn. Steevens.

8 No more of that!

I prythee, do not strive against my vows:

I was compell'd to her;] Against his vows, I believe, means— against his determined resolution never to cohabit with Helena; and this vow, or resolution, he had very strongly expressed in his leta ter to the Countess. Steevens.

So, in Vittoria Corombona, a tragedy, by Webster, 1612: "Henceforth I'll never lie with thee,

"My vow is fix'd." Malone.

9 What is not holy, that we swear not by,] The sense is-We never swear by what is not holy, but swear by, or take to witness, the Highest, the Divinity. The tenor of the reasoning contained in the following lines perfectly corresponds with this:

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