Act3 Scene1 Two Gentlemen of Verona维洛那二绅士
ACT III SCENE I Milan. The Duke's Palace [Enter DUKE, THURIO, and PROTEUS]DUKESir Thurio, give us leave, I pray, awhile;We have some secrets to confer about.[Exit THURIO]Now, tell me, Proteus, what's your will with me?PROTEUSMy gracious lord, that which I would discoverThe law of friendship bids me to conceal;5But when I call to mind your gracious favoursDone to me, undeserving as I am,My duty pricks me on to utter thatWhich else no worldly good should draw from me.Know, worthy prince, Sir Valentine, my friend,10This night intends to steal away your daughter:Myself am one made privy to the plot.I know you have determined to bestow herOn Thurio, whom your gentle daughter hates;And should she thus be stol'n away from you,15It would be much vexation to your age.Thus, for my duty's sake, I rather choseTo cross my friend in his intended driftThan, by concealing it, heap on your headA pack of sorrows which would press you down,20Being unprevented, to your timeless grave.DUKEProteus, I thank thee for thine honest care;Which to requite, command me while I live.This love of theirs myself have often seen,Haply when they have judged me fast asleep,25And oftentimes have purposed to forbidSir Valentine her company and my court:But fearing lest my jealous aim might errAnd so unworthily disgrace the man,A rashness that I ever yet have shunn'd,30I gave him gentle looks, thereby to findThat which thyself hast now disclosed to me.And, that thou mayst perceive my fear of this,Knowing that tender youth is soon suggested,I nightly lodge her in an upper tower,35The key whereof myself have ever kept;And thence she cannot be convey'd away.PROTEUSKnow, noble lord, they have devised a meanHow he her chamber-window will ascendAnd with a corded ladder fetch her down;40For which the youthful lover now is goneAnd this way comes he with it presently;Where, if it please you, you may intercept him.But, good my Lord, do it so cunninglyThat my discovery be not aimed at;45For love of you, not hate unto my friend,Hath made me publisher of this pretence.DUKEUpon mine honour, he shall never knowThat I had any light from thee of this.PROTEUSAdieu, my Lord; Sir Valentine is coming.50[Exit][Enter VALENTINE]DUKESir Valentine, whither away so fast?VALENTINEPlease it your grace, there is a messengerThat stays to bear my letters to my friends,And I am going to deliver them.DUKEBe they of much import?55VALENTINEThe tenor of them doth but signifyMy health and happy being at your court.DUKENay then, no matter; stay with me awhile;I am to break with thee of some affairsThat touch me near, wherein thou must be secret.60'Tis not unknown to thee that I have soughtTo match my friend Sir Thurio to my daughter.VALENTINEI know it well, my Lord; and, sure, the matchWere rich and honourable; besides, the gentlemanIs full of virtue, bounty, worth and qualities65Beseeming such a wife as your fair daughter:Cannot your Grace win her to fancy him?DUKENo, trust me; she is peevish, sullen, froward,Proud, disobedient, stubborn, lacking duty,Neither regarding that she is my child70Nor fearing me as if I were her father;And, may I say to thee, this pride of hers,Upon advice, hath drawn my love from her;And, where I thought the remnant of mine ageShould have been cherish'd by her child-like duty,75I now am full resolved to take a wifeAnd turn her out to who will take her in:Then let her beauty be her wedding-dower;For me and my possessions she esteems not.VALENTINEWhat would your Grace have me to do in this?80DUKEThere is a lady in Verona hereWhom I affect; but she is nice and coyAnd nought esteems my aged eloquence:Now therefore would I have thee to my tutor--For long agone I have forgot to court;85Besides, the fashion of the time is changed--How and which way I may bestow myselfTo be regarded in her sun-bright eye.VALENTINEWin her with gifts, if she respect not words:Dumb jewels often in their silent kind90More than quick words do move a woman's mind.DUKEBut she did scorn a present that I sent her.VALENTINEA woman sometimes scorns what best contents her.Send her another; never give her o'er;For scorn at first makes after-love the more.95If she do frown, 'tis not in hate of you,But rather to beget more love in you:If she do chide, 'tis not to have you gone;For why, the fools are mad, if left alone.Take no repulse, whatever she doth say;100For 'get you gone,' she doth not mean 'away!'Flatter and praise, commend, extol their graces;Though ne'er so black, say they have angels' faces.That man that hath a tongue, I say, is no man,If with his tongue he cannot win a woman.105DUKEBut she I mean is promised by her friendsUnto a youthful gentleman of worth,And kept severely from resort of men,That no man hath access by day to her.VALENTINEWhy, then, I would resort to her by night.110DUKEAy, but the doors be lock'd and keys kept safe,That no man hath recourse to her by night.VALENTINEWhat lets but one may enter at her window?DUKEHer chamber is aloft, far from the ground,And built so shelving that one cannot climb it115Without apparent hazard of his life.VALENTINEWhy then, a ladder quaintly made of cords,To cast up, with a pair of anchoring hooks,Would serve to scale another Hero's tower,So bold Leander would adventure it.120DUKENow, as thou art a gentleman of blood,Advise me where I may have such a ladder.VALENTINEWhen would you use it? pray, sir, tell me that.DUKEThis very night; for Love is like a child,That longs for every thing that he can come by.125VALENTINEBy seven o'clock I'll get you such a ladder.DUKEBut, hark thee; I will go to her alone:How shall I best convey the ladder thither?VALENTINEIt will be light, my lord, that you may bear itUnder a cloak that is of any length.130DUKEA cloak as long as thine will serve the turn?VALENTINEAy, my good lord.DUKEThen let me see thy cloak:I'll get me one of such another length.VALENTINEWhy, any cloak will serve the turn, my lord.135DUKEHow shall I fashion me to wear a cloak?I pray thee, let me feel thy cloak upon me.What letter is this same? What's here? 'To Silvia'!And here an engine fit for my proceeding.I'll be so bold to break the seal for once.140[Reads]'My thoughts do harbour with my Silvia nightly,And slaves they are to me that send them flying:O, could their master come and go as lightly,Himself would lodge where senseless they are lying!My herald thoughts in thy pure bosom rest them:145While I, their king, that hither them importune,Do curse the grace that with such grace hath bless'd them,Because myself do want my servants' fortune:I curse myself, for they are sent by me,That they should harbour where their lord would be.'150What's here?'Silvia, this night I will enfranchise thee.''Tis so; and here's the ladder for the purpose.Why, Phaeton,--for thou art Merops' son,--Wilt thou aspire to guide the heavenly car155And with thy daring folly burn the world?Wilt thou reach stars, because they shine on thee?Go, base intruder! overweening slave!Bestow thy fawning smiles on equal mates,And think my patience, more than thy desert,160Is privilege for thy departure hence:Thank me for this more than for all the favoursWhich all too much I have bestow'd on thee.But if thou linger in my territoriesLonger than swiftest expedition165Will give thee time to leave our royal court,By heaven! my wrath shall far exceed the loveI ever bore my daughter or thyself.Be gone! I will not hear thy vain excuse;But, as thou lovest thy life, make speed from hence.170[Exit]VALENTINEAnd why not death rather than living torment?To die is to be banish'd from myself;And Silvia is myself: banish'd from herIs self from self: a deadly banishment!What light is light, if Silvia be not seen?175What joy is joy, if Silvia be not by?Unless it be to think that she is byAnd feed upon the shadow of perfectionExcept I be by Silvia in the night,There is no music in the nightingale;180Unless I look on Silvia in the day,There is no day for me to look upon;She is my essence, and I leave to be,If I be not by her fair influenceFoster'd, illumined, cherish'd, kept alive.185I fly not death, to fly his deadly doom:Tarry I here, I but attend on death:But, fly I hence, I fly away from life.[Enter PROTEUS and LAUNCE]PROTEUSRun, boy, run, run, and seek him out.LAUNCESoho, soho!190PROTEUSWhat seest thou?LAUNCEHim we go to find: there's not a hair on's headbut 'tis a Valentine.PROTEUSValentine?VALENTINENo.195PROTEUSWho then? his spirit?VALENTINENeither.PROTEUSWhat then?VALENTINENothing.LAUNCECan nothing speak? Master, shall I strike?200PROTEUSWho wouldst thou strike?LAUNCENothing.PROTEUSVillain, forbear.LAUNCEWhy, sir, I'll strike nothing: I pray you,--PROTEUSSirrah, I say, forbear. Friend Valentine, a word.205VALENTINEMy ears are stopt and cannot hear good news,So much of bad already hath possess'd them.PROTEUSThen in dumb silence will I bury mine,For they are harsh, untuneable and bad.VALENTINEIs Silvia dead?210PROTEUSNo, Valentine.VALENTINENo Valentine, indeed, for sacred Silvia.Hath she forsworn me?PROTEUSNo, Valentine.VALENTINENo Valentine, if Silvia have forsworn me.215What is your news?LAUNCESir, there is a proclamation that you are vanished.PROTEUSThat thou art banished--O, that's the news!--From hence, from Silvia and from me thy friend.VALENTINEO, I have fed upon this woe already,220And now excess of it will make me surfeit.Doth Silvia know that I am banished?PROTEUSAy, ay; and she hath offer'd to the doom--Which, unreversed, stands in effectual force--A sea of melting pearl, which some call tears:225Those at her father's churlish feet she tender'd;With them, upon her knees, her humble self;Wringing her hands, whose whiteness so became themAs if but now they waxed pale for woe:But neither bended knees, pure hands held up,230Sad sighs, deep groans, nor silver-shedding tears,Could penetrate her uncompassionate sire;But Valentine, if he be ta'en, must die.Besides, her intercession chafed him so,When she for thy repeal was suppliant,235That to close prison he commanded her,With many bitter threats of biding there.VALENTINENo more; unless the next word that thou speak'stHave some malignant power upon my life:If so, I pray thee, breathe it in mine ear,240As ending anthem of my endless dolour.PROTEUSCease to lament for that thou canst not help,And study help for that which thou lament'st.Time is the nurse and breeder of all good.Here if thou stay, thou canst not see thy love;245Besides, thy staying will abridge thy life.Hope is a lover's staff; walk hence with thatAnd manage it against despairing thoughts.Thy letters may be here, though thou art hence;Which, being writ to me, shall be deliver'd250Even in the milk-white bosom of thy love.The time now serves not to expostulate:Come, I'll convey thee through the city-gate;And, ere I part with thee, confer at largeOf all that may concern thy love-affairs.255As thou lovest Silvia, though not for thyself,Regard thy danger, and along with me!VALENTINEI pray thee, Launce, an if thou seest my boy,Bid him make haste and meet me at the North-gate.PROTEUSGo, sirrah, find him out. Come, Valentine.260VALENTINEO my dear Silvia! Hapless Valentine![Exeunt VALENTINE and PROTEUS]LAUNCEI am but a fool, look you; and yet I have the wit tothink my master is a kind of a knave: but that'sall one, if he be but one knave. He lives not nowthat knows me to be in love; yet I am in love; but a265team of horse shall not pluck that from me; nor who'tis I love; and yet 'tis a woman; but what woman, Iwill not tell myself; and yet 'tis a milkmaid; yet'tis not a maid, for she hath had gossips; yet 'tisa maid, for she is her master's maid, and serves for270wages. She hath more qualities than a water-spaniel;which is much in a bare Christian.[Pulling out a paper]Here is the cate-log of her condition.'Imprimis: She can fetch and carry.' Why, a horsecan do no more: nay, a horse cannot fetch, but only275carry; therefore is she better than a jade. 'Item:She can milk;' look you, a sweet virtue in a maidwith clean hands.[Enter SPEED]SPEEDHow now, Signior Launce! what news with yourmastership?280LAUNCEWith my master's ship? why, it is at sea.SPEEDWell, your old vice still; mistake the word. Whatnews, then, in your paper?LAUNCEThe blackest news that ever thou heardest.SPEEDWhy, man, how black?285LAUNCEWhy, as black as ink.SPEEDLet me read them.LAUNCEFie on thee, jolt-head! thou canst not read.SPEEDThou liest; I can.LAUNCEI will try thee. Tell me this: who begot thee?290SPEEDMarry, the son of my grandfather.LAUNCEO illiterate loiterer! it was the son of thygrandmother: this proves that thou canst not read.SPEEDCome, fool, come; try me in thy paper.LAUNCEThere; and St. Nicholas be thy speed!295SPEED[Reads] 'Imprimis: She can milk.'LAUNCEAy, that she can.SPEED'Item: She brews good ale.'LAUNCEAnd thereof comes the proverb: 'Blessing of yourheart, you brew good ale.'300SPEED'Item: She can sew.'LAUNCEThat's as much as to say, Can she so?SPEED'Item: She can knit.'LAUNCEWhat need a man care for a stock with a wench, whenshe can knit him a stock?305SPEED'Item: She can wash and scour.'LAUNCEA special virtue: for then she need not be washedand scoured.SPEED'Item: She can spin.'LAUNCEThen may I set the world on wheels, when she can310spin for her living.SPEED'Item: She hath many nameless virtues.'LAUNCEThat's as much as to say, bastard virtues; that,indeed, know not their fathers and therefore have no names.SPEED'Here follow her vices.'315LAUNCEClose at the heels of her virtues.SPEED'Item: She is not to be kissed fasting in respectof her breath.'LAUNCEWell, that fault may be mended with a breakfast. Read on.SPEED'Item: She hath a sweet mouth.'320LAUNCEThat makes amends for her sour breath.SPEED'Item: She doth talk in her sleep.'LAUNCEIt's no matter for that, so she sleep not in her talk.SPEED'Item: She is slow in words.'LAUNCEO villain, that set this down among her vices! To325be slow in words is a woman's only virtue: I praythee, out with't, and place it for her chief virtue.SPEED'Item: She is proud.'LAUNCEOut with that too; it was Eve's legacy, and cannotbe ta'en from her.330SPEED'Item: She hath no teeth.'LAUNCEI care not for that neither, because I love crusts.SPEED'Item: She is curst.'LAUNCEWell, the best is, she hath no teeth to bite.SPEED'Item: She will often praise her liquor.'335LAUNCEIf her liquor be good, she shall: if she will not, Iwill; for good things should be praised.SPEED'Item: She is too liberal.'LAUNCEOf her tongue she cannot, for that's writ down sheis slow of; of her purse she shall not, for that340I'll keep shut: now, of another thing she may, andthat cannot I help. Well, proceed.SPEED'Item: She hath more hair than wit, and more faultsthan hairs, and more wealth than faults.'LAUNCEStop there; I'll have her: she was mine, and not345mine, twice or thrice in that last article.Rehearse that once more.SPEED'Item: She hath more hair than wit,'--LAUNCEMore hair than wit? It may be; I'll prove it. Thecover of the salt hides the salt, and therefore it350is more than the salt; the hair that covers the witis more than the wit, for the greater hides theless. What's next?SPEED'And more faults than hairs,'--LAUNCEThat's monstrous: O, that that were out!355SPEED'And more wealth than faults.'LAUNCEWhy, that word makes the faults gracious. Well,I'll have her; and if it be a match, as nothing isimpossible,--SPEEDWhat then?360LAUNCEWhy, then will I tell thee--that thy master staysfor thee at the North-gate.SPEEDFor me?LAUNCEFor thee! ay, who art thou? he hath stayed for abetter man than thee.365SPEEDAnd must I go to him?LAUNCEThou must run to him, for thou hast stayed so longthat going will scarce serve the turn.SPEEDWhy didst not tell me sooner? pox of your love letters![Exit]LAUNCENow will he be swinged for reading my letter; an370unmannerly slave, that will thrust himself intosecrets! I'll after, to rejoice in the boy's correction.[Exit]
