The Arden Shakespeare Complete Works

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The Arden Shakespeare Complete Works Page 512

by William Shakespeare


  toads.

  NESTOR [aside] Yet he loves himself. Is’t not strange?

  160

  ULYSSES Achilles will not to the field tomorrow.

  AGAMEMNON What’s his excuse?

  ULYSSES He doth rely on none,

  But carries on the stream of his dispose,

  Without observance or respect of any,

  In will peculiar and in self-admission.

  165

  AGAMEMNON Why, will he not, upon our fair request,

  Untent his person and share the air with us?

  ULYSSES

  Things small as nothing, for request’s sake only,

  He makes important. Possessed he is with greatness

  And speaks not to himself but with a pride

  170

  That quarrels at self-breath. Imagined worth

  Holds in his blood such swoll’n and hot discourse

  That ’twixt his mental and his active parts

  Kingdomed Achilles in commotion rages

  And batters down himself. What should I say?

  175

  He is so plaguy proud that the death-tokens of it

  Cry ‘No recovery’.

  AGAMEMNON Let Ajax go to him. –

  Dear lord, go you and greet him in his tent.

  ’Tis said he holds you well and will be led,

  At your request, a little from himself.

  180

  ULYSSES O Agamemnon, let it not be so!

  We’ll consecrate the steps that Ajax makes

  When they go from Achilles. Shall the proud lord

  That bastes his arrogance with his own seam

  And never suffers matter of the world

  185

  Enter his thoughts, save such as doth revolve

  And ruminate himself – shall he be worshipped

  Of that we hold an idol more than he?

  No; this thrice-worthy and right valiant lord

  Must not so stale his palm, nobly acquired,

  190

  Nor, by my will, assubjugate his merit,

  As amply titled as Achilles’ is,

  By going to Achilles.

  That were to enlard his fat-already pride,

  And add more coals to Cancer when he burns

  195

  With entertaining great Hyperion.

  This lord go to him? Jupiter forbid,

  And say in thunder: ‘Achilles, go to him’.

  NESTOR [aside to Diomedes]

  O, this is well. He rubs the vein of him.

  DIOMEDES [aside to Nestor]

  And how his silence drinks up this applause!

  200

  AJAX If I go to him, with my armed fist

  I’ll pash him o’er the face.

  AGAMEMNON O, no, you shall not go.

  AJAX An ’a be proud with me, I’ll feeze his pride.

  Let me go to him.

  205

  ULYSSES

  Not for the worth that hangs upon our quarrel.

  AJAX A paltry, insolent fellow!

  NESTOR [aside] How he describes himself!

  AJAX Can he not be sociable?

  ULYSSES [aside] The raven chides blackness.

  210

  AJAX I’ll let his humorous blood.

  AGAMEMNON [aside] He will be the physician that

  should be the patient.

  AJAX An all men were o’ my mind –

  ULYSSES [aside] Wit would be out of fashion.

  215

  AJAX – ’a should not bear it so. ’A should eat swords

  first. Shall pride carry it?

  NESTOR [aside] An ’twould, you’d carry half.

  ULYSSES [aside] ’A would have ten shares.

  AJAX I will knead him; I’ll make him supple.

  220

  NESTOR [aside] He’s not yet through warm. Farce him

  with praises. Pour in, pour in! His ambition is dry.

  ULYSSES [to Agamemnon]

  My lord, you feed too much on this dislike.

  NESTOR [to Agamemnon]

  Our noble general, do not do so.

  DIOMEDES [to Agamemnon]

  You must prepare to fight without Achilles.

  225

  ULYSSES Why, ’tis this naming of him does him harm.

  Here is a man – but ’tis before his face;

  I will be silent.

  NESTOR Wherefore should you so?

  He is not emulous, as Achilles is.

  ULYSSES Know the whole world, he is as valiant –

  230

  AJAX A whoreson dog, that shall palter thus with us!

  Would he were a Trojan!

  NESTOR What a vice were it in Ajax now –

  ULYSSES If he were proud –

  DIOMEDES Or covetous of praise –

  ULYSSES Ay, or surly borne –

  DIOMEDES Or strange, or self-affected.

  235

  ULYSSES [to Ajax]

  Thank the heavens, lord, thou art of sweet composure.

  Praise him that got thee, she that gave thee suck;

  Famed be thy tutor, and thy parts of nature

  Thrice-famed beyond, beyond all erudition!

  But he that disciplined thine arms to fight,

  240

  Let Mars divide eternity in twain

  And give him half; and for thy vigour,

  Bull-bearing Milo his addition yield

  To sinewy Ajax! I will not praise thy wisdom,

  Which, like a bourn, a pale, a shore, confines

  245

  Thy spacious and dilated parts. Here’s Nestor,

  Instructed by the antiquary times;

  He must, he is, he cannot but be wise.

  But pardon, father Nestor, were your days

  As green as Ajax’ and your brain so tempered,

  250

  You should not have the eminence of him,

  But be as Ajax.

  AJAX Shall I call you father?

  ULYSSES Ay, my good son.

  DIOMEDES Be ruled by him, Lord Ajax.

  ULYSSES There is no tarrying here; the hart Achilles

  Keeps thicket. Please it our great general

  255

  To call together all his state of war.

  Fresh kings are come to Troy; tomorrow

  We must with all our main of power stand fast.

  And here’s a lord – come knights from east to west,

  And cull their flower, Ajax shall cope the best.

  260

  AGAMEMNON Go we to council. Let Achilles sleep.

  Light boats sail swift, though greater hulks draw deep.

  Exeunt.

  3.1 Music sounds within. Enter PANDARUS and a Servant.

  PANDARUS Friend, you, pray you, a word. Do not you

  follow the young Lord Paris?

  SERVANT Ay, sir, when he goes before me.

  PANDARUS You depend upon him, I mean.

  SERVANT Sir, I do depend upon the Lord.

  5

  PANDARUS You depend upon a notable gentleman; I

  must needs praise him.

  SERVANT The Lord be praised!

  PANDARUS You know me, do you not?

  SERVANT Faith, sir, superficially.

  10

  PANDARUS Friend, know me better: I am the Lord

  Pandarus.

  SERVANT I hope I shall know your honour better.

  PANDARUS I do desire it.

  SERVANT You are in the state of grace?

  15

  PANDARUS Grace? Not so, friend. ‘Honour’ and

  ‘lordship’ are my titles. What music is this?

  SERVANT I do but partly know, sir: it is music in parts.

  PANDARUS Know you the musicians?

  SERVANT Wholly, sir.

  20

  PANDARUS Who play they to?

  SERVANT To the hearers, sir.

  PANDARUS At whose pleasure, friend?

  SERVANT At mine, sir, and theirs that love mus
ic.

  PANDARUS ‘Command’, I mean, friend.

  25

  SERVANT Who shall I command, sir?

  PANDARUS Friend, we understand not one another: I am

  too courtly and thou too cunning. At whose request do

  these men play?

  SERVANT That’s to’t indeed, sir. Marry, sir, at the

  30

  request of Paris my lord, who is there in person; with

  him, the mortal Venus, the heart-blood of beauty,

  love’s visible soul –

  PANDARUS Who, my cousin Cressida?

  SERVANT No, sir, Helen. Could not you find out that by

  35

  her attributes?

  PANDARUS It should seem, fellow, thou hast not seen the

  Lady Cressid. I come to speak with Paris from the

  Prince Troilus. I will make a complimental assault

  upon him, for my business seethes.

  40

  SERVANT Sodden business! There’s a stewed phrase

  indeed.

  Enter PARIS and HELEN attended by musicians.

  PANDARUS Fair be to you, my lord, and to all this fair

  company! Fair desires, in all fair measure, fairly guide

  them! – especially to you, fair queen. Fair thoughts be

  45

  your fair pillow!

  HELEN Dear lord, you are full of fair words.

  PANDARUS You speak your fair pleasure, sweet queen.

  [to Paris] Fair prince, here is good broken music.

  PARIS You have broke it, cousin, and, by my life, you shall

  50

  make it whole again; you shall piece it out with a piece

  of your performance. – Nell, he is full of harmony.

  PANDARUS Truly, lady, no.

  HELEN O, sir!

  PANDARUS Rude, in sooth; in good sooth, very rude.

  55

  PARIS Well said, my lord. Well, you say so in fits.

  PANDARUS I have business to my lord, dear queen. – My

  lord, will you vouchsafe me a word?

  HELEN Nay, this shall not hedge us out. We’ll hear you

  sing, certainly.

  60

  PANDARUS Well, sweet queen, you are pleasant with me.

  – But, marry, thus, my lord: my dear lord and most

  esteemed friend, your brother Troilus –

  HELEN My Lord Pandarus, honey-sweet lord –

  PANDARUS Go to, sweet queen, go to – commends

  65

  himself most affectionately to you.

  HELEN You shall not bob us out of our melody. If you

  do, our melancholy upon your head!

  PANDARUS Sweet queen, sweet queen, that’s a sweet

  queen, i’faith –

  70

  HELEN And to make a sweet lady sad is a sour offence.

  PANDARUS Nay, that shall not serve your turn, that shall

  it not, in truth, la. Nay, I care not for such words, no,

  no. – And, my lord, he desires you that if the King call

  for him at supper, you will make his excuse.

  75

  HELEN My Lord Pandarus –

  PANDARUS What says my sweet queen, my very very

  sweet queen?

  PARIS What exploit’s in hand? Where sups he tonight?

  HELEN Nay, but, my lord –

  80

  PANDARUS What says my sweet queen? My cousin will

  fall out with you.

  HELEN [to Paris] You must not know where he sups.

  PARIS I’ll lay my life, with my disposer Cressida.

  PANDARUS No, no, no such matter, you are wide. Come,

  85

  your disposer is sick.

  PARIS Well, I’ll make’s excuse.

  PANDARUS Ay, good my lord. Why should you say

  Cressida? No, your poor disposer’s sick.

  PARIS I spy.

  90

  PANDARUS You spy? What do you spy? – Come, give me

  an instrument. [He is handed a musical instrument.]

  Now, sweet queen.

  HELEN Why, this is kindly done.

  PANDARUS My niece is horribly in love with a thing you

  95

  have, sweet queen.

  HELEN She shall have it, my lord, if it be not my Lord

  Paris.

  PANDARUS He? No, she’ll none of him. They two are

  twain.

  100

  HELEN Falling in after falling out may make them three.

  PANDARUS Come, come, I’ll hear no more of this. I’ll

  sing you a song now.

  HELEN Ay, ay, prithee. Now by my troth, sweet lord,

  thou hast a fine forehead.

  105

  PANDARUS Ay, you may, you may.

  HELEN Let thy song be love. ‘This love will undo us all.’

 

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