Tro. Oh! that I thought it could be in a As new into the world, strange, unacquainted : woman, (As, if it can, I will presume in you,) To feed for aye her lamp and flames of love; I am as true as truth's simplicity, When right with right wars who shall be most True swains in love, shall in the world to come, Full of protest, of oath, and big compare, t As iron to adamant, as earth to the centre,- As true as Troilus shall crown up the verse, Cres. Prophet may you be! If I be false, or swerve a hair from truth, When waterdrops have worn the stones of Troy, And blind oblivion swallow'd cities up, From false to false, among false maids in love, As air, as water, wind, or sandy earth, Pan. Go to, a bargain made: seal it, seal it; I'll be the witness.-Here I hold your hand; bere, my cousin's. If ever you prove false one to another, since I have taken such pains to bring you together, let all pitiful goers-between be called to the world's end after my name, call them all-Pandars: let all constant men be Troiluses, all false women Cressids, and all brokers-between Pandars! say, amen. Tro. Amen. Cres. Amen. Pan. Amen. Whereupon I will show you a chamber and a bed; which bed, because it shall not speak of your pretty encounters, press it to death away. And Cupid grant ail tongue-tied maidens here, [Exeunt. I do beseech you, as in way of taste, Out of those many register'd in promise, Cal. You have a Trojan prisoner, call'd An Desir'd my Cressid in right great exchange, tenor, I know, is such a wrest in their affairs sence Shall quite strike off all service I have done, Agam. Let Diomedes hear him, And bring us Cressid hither: Calchas shall have [Exeunt DIOMEDES and CALCHAS. Enter ACHILLES and PATROCLUS, before their Tent. Ulyss. Achilles stands i'the entrance of his Please it our general to pass strangely + by him, If so, I have derision med'cinable, put on and A form of strangeness as we pass along ;- more Achil. What, comes the general to speak You know my mind, I'll fight no more 'gainst Agam. What says Achilles? would he ought with us? Nest. Would you, my lord, aught with the general? Achil. No. Nest. Nothing, my lord. Agam. The better. [Exeunt AGAMEMNON and NEStor. Achil. Good day, good day. Men. How do you? how do you? [Frit MENELAUS. Achil. What, does the cuckold scoru me ? Ajax. Ha? Achil. Good morrow. Ajax. Ay, and good next day too. [Exit AJAX. Achil. What mean these fellows? Know they not Achilles ? Patr. They pass by strangely they were us'd to bend, • An instrument for tuning harps, &c. ↑ Shyly. To send their smiles before them to Achilles ; Achil. What, am I poor of late? 'Tis certain, greatness, once fallen out with fortune, [mer; Achil. I do believe it; for they pass'd by me, A great-sized monster of ingratitudes; Must fall out with men too: What the declin'd is, Which when they fall, as being slippery standers, Something not worth in me such rich beholding How now, Ulysses? Ulyss. Now great Thetis' son? Writes me, That man-how dearly ever parted, Cannot make boast to have that which he hath, Achil. This is not strange, Ulysses. Till it hath travell'd, and is married there Ulyss. I do not strain at the position; Till he communicate his parts to others: The voice again or like a gate of steel [this; Heavens, what a man is there! a very horse; things there are, what Most abject in regard, and dear in use! Or, like a gallant horse fallen in first rank, Though less than your's in past, must o'ertop hand, And with his arms out-stretch'd, as he would fly, Remuneration for the thing it was; For beauty, wit, High birth, vigour of bone, desert in service, To envious and calumniating time. One touch of nature makes the whole world kin,- And give to dust, that is a little gilt, I have strong reasons. Ulyss. But 'gainst your privacy Achil. Ha! known? Ulyss. Is that a wonder? The providence that's in a watchful state, gods, Does thoughts unveil in their dumb cradles. Great Hector's sister did Achilles win; Shall from your neck unloose his amorous fold, Achil. Shall Ajax fight with Hector? Achil. I see my reputation is at stake; My fame is shrewdly gor'd. Patr. Oh! then beware; [selves : Those wounds heal ill, that men do give them-catlings on. Patro I'll send the fool to Ajax, and desire him [longing, Achil. How so? Ther. He must fight singly to-morrow with Ilector; and is so prophetically proud of an heroical cudgelling, that he raves in saying nothing. Achil. How can that be? Ther. Why, he stalks up and down like a peacock, a stride, and a stand: ruminates, like an hostess, that hath no arithmetic but her brain to set down her reckoning: bites his lip with a politic regard, as who should say-there were wit in this head, an 'twould out; and so there is; bat it lies as coldly in him as fire in a flint, which will not show without knocking. The man's undone for ever; for if Hector break not his neck i'the combat, he'll break it himself in vain-glory. He knows not me: I said, Goodmorrow, Ajax; and he replies, Thanks, Agamemnon. What think you of this man, that takes me for the general? He is grown a very landfisb, languageless, a monster. A plague of opinion! a man may wear it on both sides, like a leather jerkin. Achil. Thou must be my ambassador to him, Thersites. Ther. Who, I why, he'll answer nobody; he professes not answering; speaking is for beggars; he wears his tongue in his arms. I will put on his presence; let Patroclus make demands to me, you shall see the pageant of Ajax. Achil. To him, Patroclus: Tell him,-I humbly desire the valiant Ajax, to invite the most valorous Hector to come unarm'd to my tent; and to procure safe conduct for his person, of the magnanimous and most illustrious six-orseven-times-honoured captain general of the Grecian army, Agamemnon. Do this. Patr. Jove bless great Ajax. Ther. Humph! Patr I come from the worthy Achilles, • Friend. Ther. Let me bear another to his horse; for that's the more capable + creature. Achil. My mind is troubled, like a fountain stirr'd; And I myself see not the bottom of it. [Exeunt ACHILLES and PATROCLUS. Ther. 'Would the fountain of your mind were clear again, that I might water an ass at it! I had rather be a tick in a sheep, than such a valiant ignorance. [Exit, Par. A valiant Greek, Æneas; take his hand : Witness the process of your speech, wherein You told-how Diomed, a whole week by days, Did haunt you in the field. Ene. Health to you, valiant Sir, During all question of the gentle truce: But when I meet you arm'd, as black defiance As heart can think, or courage execute. Dio. The one and other Diomed embraces. Our bloods are now in calm; and, so long, health: But when contention and occasion meet, Ene. And thou shalt hunt a lion, that will fly Dio. We sympathize :-Jove, let Eneas live, If to my sword his fate be not the glory, A thousand complete courses of the sun! But, in mine emulous honour, let him die, With every joint a wound; and that to-mor row ! Ene. We know each other well. worse. Par. This is the most despiteful gentle greeting, The noblest hateful love, that e'er I heard of.What business, lord, so early? Ene. I was sent for to the king; but why, I know not. Par. His purpose meets you; 'Twas to bring this Greek To Calchas' house; and there to render him, My brother Troilus lodges there to-night; Ene. That I assure you; Troilus had rather Troy were borne to Greece, Than Cressid borne from Troy. Par. There is no help; The bitter disposition of the time Will have it so. On, lord; we'll follow you. [Exit. Par. And tell me, noble Diomed; 'faith, tell me true, Even in the soul of sound good-fellowship,- Dio. Both alike: He merits well to have her, that doth seek her more; But he as he, the heavier for a whore. Par. You are too bitter to your countrywo man. Dio. She's bitter to her country: Hear me, Paris, For every false drop in her bawdy veins A Grecian's life hath sunk; for every scruple Of her contaminated carrion weight, A Trojan hath been slain; since she could speak, She hath not given so many good words breath, SCENE II.-The same.-Court before the Enter TROILUS and CRESSIDA. Tro. Dear, trouble not yourself the morn is cold. Cres. Then, sweet my lord, I'll call mine uncle down; He shall unbolt the gates. Tro. Trouble him not; To bed, to bed: Sleep kill those pretty eyes, Cres. Good morrow then. Tro. 'Pr'ythee now, to bed. Cres. Are you aweary of me? Tro. O Cressida! but that the busy day, Wak'd by the lark, hath rous'd the ribald crows, • Lewd, noisy. Cres. A pestilence on him! now will he be mocking: I shall have such a life, Pan. How now, how now? how go maidenheads?-Here, vou maid! where's my cousin Cressid? Cres. Go hang yourself, you naughty mocking uncle ! You bring me to do, and then you flout me too. Pan. To do what? to do what ?-let her say what: what have I brought you to do? Cres. Come, come; beshrew your heart! you'll ne'er be good, Nor suffer others. Ene. Good morrow, lord, good morrow. Pan. Who's there? my lord Eneas? By my troth, I knew you not: what news with you so early? Ene. Is not prince Troilus here? Ene. Come, he is here, my lord, do not deny It doth import him much, to speak with me. Pan. Is he here, say you? 'tis more than I know. I'll be sworn-For my own part, I came in What should he do here? [late: Ene. Who!-nay, then :Come, come, you'll do him wrong ere you are 'ware: You'll be so true to him, to be false to him: As PANDARUS is going out, enter TROILUS. My matter is so rash: There is at hand Cres. Good uncle, I beseech you on my knees, I beseech you, what's the matter? Pan. Thou must be gone, wench, thou must be gone; thou art changed for Antenor: thou must to thy father, and begone from Troilus; 'twill be his death; 'twill be his bane; he cannot bear it. Cres. O you immortal gods !—I will not go. Cres. I will not, uncle: I have forgot my I know no touch of consanguinity; No kin, no love, no blood, no soul so near me, If ever she leave Troilus! Time, force, and death, Pan. Do, do. and Cres. Tear my bright hair, and scratch my praised cheeks, Crack my clear voice with sobs, and break my heart SCENE IV.-The same.--A Room in PANDA- Enter PANDARUS and CRESSIDA. Pan. Be moderate, be moderate. As that which causeth it: How can I moderate Pan. Here, here, here he comes.-Ah! sweet ducks! Cres. O Troilus! Troilus ! [Embracing him. Pan. What a pair of spectacles is here! Let me embrace too: O heart,-as the goodly say. ing is, -O heart, O heavy heart, Why sigh'st thou without breaking? where he answers again, Because thou canst not ease thy smart, By friendship, nor by speaking. There never was a truer rhyme. Let us cast away nothing, for we may live to have need of such a verse; we see it, we see it.-How now, lambs ? Tro. And suddenly; where injury of chance Our lock'd embrasures, strangles our dear vows Even in the birth of our own labouring breath : We two, that with so many thousand sighs Did buy each other, must poorly sell ourselves With the rude brevity and discharge of one. Injurious time now, with a robber's haste, Crams his rich thievery up, he knows not how : As many farewells as be stars in heaven, With distinct breath and consign'd kisses to He fumbles up into a loose adieu; [them, SCENE III.-The same.-Before PANDARUS' Distasted with the salt of broken + tears. And scants us with a single famish'd kiss, With sounding Troilus. I will not go from Troy. [Exeunt. House. Enter PARIS, TROILUS, ENEAS, DEIPHOBUS, Ene. [Within.] My lord! is the lady ready? Cries, Come! to him that instantly must die. Par. It is great morning; and the hour pre- Bid them have patience; she shall come anon. |