ACT IV
Sc. II

refus'd, and upon the grief of this suddenly died.
Master Constable, let these men be bound, and brought
to Leonato's: I will go before, and shew him their
examination.
[exit.

DOG. Come, let them be opinion'd.

VERG. Let them be in the hands

CON. Off, coxcomb!

DOG. God's my life, where's the Sexton? let him write down the Prince's Officer coxcomb. Come, bind them. Thou naughty varlet!

CON. Away! you are an ass, you are an ass.
DOG. Dost thou not suspect my place? dost thou not
suspect my years? O, that he were here to write me
down an ass! But, Masters, remember that I am an
ass; though it be not written down, yet forget not that
I am an ass. No, thou villain, thou art full of piety,
as shall be prov'd upon thee by good witness. I am a
wise fellow; and, which is more, an Officer; and, which
is more, a householder; and, which is more, as pretty
a piece of flesh as any in Messina; and one that knows
the Law, go to; and a rich fellow enough, go to; and a
fellow that hath had losses; and one that hath two
gowns, and every thing handsome about him. Bring
him away. O, that I had been writ down an ass!

ACT V

SCENE I. LEONATO's Orchard.

Enter LEONATO and ANTONIO.

ANT. If you go on thus, you will kill yourself;
And 'tis not wisdom thus to second grief

pray thee, cease thy counsel,

Which falls into mine ears as profitless

As water in a sieve: give not me counsel;

Nor let no comforter delight mine ear

But such a one whose wrongs do suit with mine.

Bring me a father that so lov'd his child,
Whose joy of her is overwhelm'd like mine,
And bid him speak to me of patience;

Measure his woe the length and breadth of mine,
And let it answer every strain1 for strain,
As thus for thus, and such a grief for such,
In every lineament, branch, shape, and form:
If such a one will smile, and stroke his beard,
Bid Sorrow wag, cry hem when he should groan,
Patch grief with proverbs, make misfortune drunk
With candle-wasters3-bring him yet to me,
And I of him will gather patience.

4

But there is no such man: for, Brother, men
Can counsel and speak comfort to that grief
Which they themselves not feel; but, tasting it,
Their counsel turns to passion, which before
Would give preceptial medicine to the rage,
Fetter strong madness in a silken thread,
Charm ache with air, and agony with words.
No, no; 'tis all men's office to speak patience
To those that wring5 under the load of sorrow;
But no man's virtue nor sufficiency

To be so moral," when he shall endure

The like himself. Therefore give me no counsel:
My griefs cry louder than advertisement."
ANT. Therein do men from children nothing differ.
LEON. I pray thee, peace! I will be flesh and blood;
For there was never yet philosopher

8

That could endure the toothache patiently,
However they have writ the style of Gods,
And made a push at chance and sufferance."
ANT. Yet bend not all the harm upon yourself;
Make those that do offend you suffer too.
LEON. There thou speak'st reason: nay, I will do so.
My soul doth tell me Hero is belied,

And that shall Claudio know; so shall the Prince,
And all of them that thus dishonour her.

ANT. Here comes the Prince and Claudio hastily.

1 shade of feeling.

2 hence. 3 students of philosophy; book-comforters. 4 treat violent lunacy by remedial precepts, as opposed to force. 6 full of precepts. 7 admonishment. 8 pish!

5 writhe. 9 suffering.

ΙΟ

20

30

40

ACT V

Sc. I

ACT V

Sc. I

Enter DON PEDRO and CLAUDIO.

Good day to both of

D. PEDRO. Good den, good den.

CLAUD.
LEON. Hear you, my Lords-
D. PEDRO.

We have some haste, Leonato.

LEON. Some haste, my Lord! well, fare you well, my

Lord

Are you so hasty now? well, all is one!

D. PEDRO. Nay, do not quarrel with us, good old man.
ANT. If he could right himself with quarrelling,

Some of us would lie low.

CLAUD.

LEON.

Who wrongs him?

Marry, thou dost wrong me; thou dissembler, thou!
Nay, never lay thy hand upon thy sword;

If it should give your age such cause of fear!
In faith, my hand meant nothing to my sword.
LEON. Tush, tush, man; never fleer1 and jest at me:
I speak not like a dotard nor a fool,
As, under privilege of age, to brag

What I have done being young, or what would do
Were I not old. Know, Claudio, to thy head,2
Thou hast so wrong'd mine innocent child and me
That I am forc'd to lay my reverence by,

And, with grey hairs and bruise of many days,
Do challenge thee to trial of a man.

I

say

thou hast belied mine innocent child;

Thy slander hath gone through and through her
heart,

And she lies buried with her ancestors-
O, in a tomb where never scandal slept
Save this of her's, fram'd by thy villainy!
CLAUD. My villainy!

LEON.

Thine, Claudio; thine, I say.
D. PEDRO. You say not right, old man.
LEON.

I'll prove it on his body, if he dare,

1 jeer.

My Lord, my Lord,

2 face.

Despite his nice fence and his active practice,
His May of youth and bloom of lustihood.

CLAUD. Away! I will not have to do with you.
LEON. Canst thou so daff me? Thou hast kill'd my

child:

80

If thou kill'st me, Boy, thou shalt kill a man.
ANT. He shall kill two of us, and men indeed:
But that's no matter; let him kill one first;
Win me and wear me-let him answer me.
Come, follow me, Boy; come, Sir Boy, come follow me:
Sir Boy, I'll whip you from your foining1 fence;

Nay, as I am a gentleman, I will.

LEON. Brother

ANT. Content yourself. God knows I lov'd my niece;
And she is dead, slander'd to death by villains,

That dare as well answer a man indeed

As I dare take a serpent by the tongue; Boys, braggarts, apes, jacks, milksops!— LEON.

Brother Antony

ANT. Hold you content. What, man! I know them,

yea,

And what they weigh, even to the utmost scruple—

2

Scambling, out-facing, fashion-monging boys,

That lie, and cog,3 and flout, deprave,1 and slander,

Go anticly," shew outward hideousness,

And speak off half a dozen dangerous words,

How they might hurt their enemies, if they durst;

your

D. PEDRO. Gentlemen both, we will not wake

passions.

My heart is sorry for your daughter's death:

But, on my honour, she was charg'd with nothing

But what was true, and very full of proof.

LEON. My Lord, my Lord

D. PEDRO.

LEON.

I will not hear you.

Come, Brother, away!-I will be heard.

No?

1 thrusting as opposed to the swashing of the older sword-and-buckler play. 2 self-shifting. 3 cheat. 4 traduce. 5 like antics=buffoons. 61

ACT V
Sc. I

ACT V
Sc. I

ANT.

Or some of us will smart for it.

D. PEDRO. See, see; here comes the man we went to

CLAUD. NOW, Signior, what news?

BENE. Good day, my Lord.

D. PEDRO. Welcome, Signior: you are almost come to part almost a fray.

CLAUD. We had like to have had our two noses snapp'd off with1 two old men without teeth.

D. PEDRO. Leonato and his brother. What think'st thou? Had we fought, I doubt we should have been too young for them.

BENE. In a false quarrel there is no true valour. I came
to seek you both.
CLAUD. We have been up and down to seek thee; for
we are high-proof" melancholy, and would fain have it
beaten away. Wilt thou use thy wit?

BENE. It is in my scabbard: shall I draw it?

D. PEDRO. Dost thou wear thy wit by thy side?

CLAUD. Never any did so, though very many have been beside their wit. I will bid thee draw as we do the minstrels; draw to pleasure us.

D. PEDRO. AS I am an honest man, he looks pale. Art thou sick, or angry?

CLAUD. What, courage, man! What though care kill'd
a cat, thou hast mettle enough in thee to kill care.
BENE. Sir, I shall meet your wit in the career, an you
charge it against me. I pray you, choose another
subject.

CLAUD. Nay, then give him another staff: this last was
broke cross.⭑*

D. PEDRO. By this light, he changes more and more: I
think he be angry indeed.

CLAUD. If he be, he knows how to turn his girdle."
BENE. Shall I speak a word in your ear?

CLAUD. God bless me from a challenge!

BENE. [aside to CLAUDIO.] You are a villain; I jest not:

1 by.