As many other manish cowards have, ACT II. SOLITUDE PREFERRED to a court LIFE, AND THE ADVANTAGES of adversity. Now, my co-mates, and brothers in exile, Hath not old custom made this life more sweet Than that of painted pomp? are not these woods More free from peril than the envious court? Here feel we but the penalty of Adam, The seasons' difference; as the icy fang, And churlish chiding of the winter's wind; Which, when it bites and blows upon my body, Even till I shrink with cold, I smile, and say, This is no flattery: these are counsellors That feelingly persuade me what I am. Sweet are the uses of adversity; Which, like the toad, ugly and venemous, REFLECTIONS ON THE WOUNDED STAG. Duke S. Come, shall we go and kill us venison? And yet it irks me, the poor dappled fools,Being native burghers of this desert city,Should, in their own confines, with forked heads,* Have their round haunches gor'd. 1 Lord. Indeed, my lord, The melancholy Jaques grieves at that; The wretched animal heav'd forth such groans, Duke S. But what said Jaques? Did he not moralize this spectacle? 1 Lord. O, yes, into a thousand similes. First, for his weeping in the needless stream; Poor deer, quoth he, thou makʼst a testament As worldlings do, giving thy sum of more To that which had too much: Then, being alone, Left and abandon'd of his velvet friends; 'Tis right, quoth he; this misery doth part The flux of company; Anon, a careless herd, Full of the pasture, jumps along by him, And never stays to greet him; Ay, quoth Jaques, Sweep on, you fat and greasy citizens; 'Tis just the fashion: Wherefore do you look Upon that poor and broken bankrupt there? GRATITUDE IN AN OLD SERVANT. But do not so: I have five hundred crowns, I'll do the service of a younger man DESCRIPTION OF A LOVER. O, thou didst then ne'er love so heartily: If thou remember'st not the slightest folly That ever love did make thee run into, Thou hast not lov'd: Or if thou hast not sat as I do now, Wearying thy hearer in thy mistress' praise, Or if thou hast not broke from company, DESCRIPTION OF A FOOL, AND HIS MORALIZING ON TIME. Good-morrow, fool, quoth I: No, sir, quoth he, Thus may we see, quoth he, how the world wags: Jaq. O worthy fool!-One that hath been a courtier; And says if ladies be but young, and fair, They have the gift to know it: and in his brain,Which is as dry as the remainder biscuit coat. The fool was anciently dressed in a party-coloured In our heart's fable;* heart, too capable COWARDICE. I know him a notorious liar, Think him a great way fool, solely a coward; That they take place, when virtue's steely bones THE REMEDY OF EVILS GENERALLY IN Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie, CHARACTER OF A NOBLE COURTIER. In his youth He had the wit, which I can well observe And bow'd his eminent top to their low ranks, Such a man Might be a copy to these younger times. *Helena considers her heart as the tablet on which his resemblance was pourtrayed. † Peculiarity of feature. § His is put for its. +Countenance. ACT II. HONOUR DUE TO PERSONAL VIRTUE ONLY, NOT TO BIRTH. From lowest place when virtuous things proceed, The place is dignified by the doer's deed: Where great additions* swell, and virtue none, It is a dropsied honour: good alone go, Is good, without a name; vileness is so:† Where dust and damn'd oblivion, is the tomb ACT III. SELF-ACCUSATION OF TOO GREAT LOVE. Poor Lord! is't I That chase thee from thy country, and expose Of the non-sparing war? and is it I That drive thee from the sportive court, where thou Wast shot at with fair eyes, to be the mark Of smoky muskets? O you leaden messengers, my lord! That ride upon the violent speed of fire, * Titles. ↑ Good is good independent of any worldly distinction and so is vileness vile. |