Imatges de pàgina
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the degrees. The firft, the Retort courteous; the fecond, the Quip modeft; the third, the Reply churlifh; the fourth, the Reproof valiant; the fifth, the Countercheck quarrelfome; the fixth, the Lye with circumftance; the feventh, the Lye direct. All these you may avoid, but the Lye direct; and you may avoid that too, with an If. I knew, when seven Juftices could not take up a quarrel; but when the parties were met themfelves, one of them thought but of an If; as, if you faid fo, then I faid fo; and they fhook hands, and fwore brothers. Your If is the only peace-maker; much virtue in If.

Jaq. Is not this a rare fellow, my Lord? he's good at any thing, and yet a fool.

Duke Sen. He uses his folly like a ftalking horse, and under the prefentation of that he fhoots his wit.

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Enter Hymen, Rofalind in woman's cloaths,
and Celia.

STILL MUSICK.

Hym. Then is there mirth in heav'n,
When earthly things made even
Atone together.

Good Duke, receive thy daughter,
Hymen from heaven brought her,
Yea, brought her hither:

That thou might'ft join her hand with his,
Whofe heart within his bofom is.

Rof. To you I give myself; for I am yours.

To the Duke..

To you I give myself; for I am yours. [To Orlando.

Enter Hymen.] Rofalind is imagined by the rest of the company to be brought by enchant

ment, and is therefore introduced by a fuppofed aerial being in the character of Hymen.

Duke

Duke Sen. If there be truth in fight, you are my daughter.

Orla. If there be truth in fight*, you are my Refa

lind.

Phe. If fight and shape be true,

Why, then my love adieu!

Rof. I'll have no father, if you be not he.

I'll have no husband, if you. be not he.
Nor ne'er wed woman, if you be not the.
Hym. Peace, hoa! I bar confufion:
'Tis I must make conclusion.

Of these most strange events:
Here's eight that must take hands,
To join in Hymen's bands,

If truth holds true contents *. You and you no Cross shall part;

[To the Duke. [To Orlando. [To Phebe.

[To Orlando and Rosalind.

You and you are heart in heart;

You to his love must accord,
Or have a woman to your lord.
You and you are fure together,
As the winter to foul weather:

[To Oliver and Celia.

[To Phebe.

[To the Clown and Audrey.

Whiles a wedlock-hymn we fing,
Feed yourselves with questioning:
That reafon wonder may diminish,
How thus we meet, and these things finish.

If there be truth in fight.] The answer of Phebe makes it probable that Orlando fays, if there be truth in fhape: that is, if a form may be trufted; if one

cannot ufurp the form of another.

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+ If truth holds true contents.] That is, if there be truth in truth, unless truth fails of vera. city.

SONG.

SONG..

Wedding is great Juno's Crown,
O bleffed bond of board and bed!
'Tis Hymen peoples every town,
High wedlock then be honoured:
Honour, high honour and renown
To Hymen, God of every town!

Duke Sen. O my dear niece, welcome thou art to me, Ev'n daughter-welcome, in no lefs degree.

Phe. I will not eat my word—now thou art mine, Thy faith my fancy to thee doth combine.

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Enter Jaques de Boys.

Jaq. de B. Let me have audience for a word or

two

I am the fecond fon of old Sir Rowland,

That bring these tidings to this fair affembly.
Duke Frederick, hearing how that every day
Men of great worth reforted to this forest,
Addrefs'd a mighty power, which were on foot
In his own conduct purposely to take
His brother here, and put him to the fword:
And to the skirts of this wild wood he came,
Where meeting with an old religious man,
After fome question with him, was converted
Both from his enterprize, and from the world;
His Crown bequeathing to his banish'd brother,
And all their lands reftor'd to them again,
That were with him exil'd.

I do engage my life.

This to be true,

Duke Sen. Welcome, young man:

Thou offer'ft fairly to thy brothers' wedding;
To one, his lands with-held; and to the other,

A land

A land itself at large, a potent Dukedom.
First, in this foreft, let us do thofe ends
That here were well begun, and well begot:
And, after, every of this happy number,
That have endur'd fhrewd days and nights with us,
Shall fhare the good of our returned fortune,
According to the meafure of their states.
Mean time, forget this new-fall'n dignity,
And fall into our ruftick revelry:

Play, musick; and you brides and bridegrooms all,
With measure heap'd in joy, to th' meafures fall.
Jaq. Sir, by your patience: if I heard you rightly,
The Dake hath put on a religious life,

And thrown into neglect the pompous Court.
Jaq. de B. He hath.

Jaq. To him will I: out of thefe convertites
There is much matter to be heard and learn'd.
You to your former Honour I bequeath. [To the Duke.
Your patience and your virtue well deferve it.
You to a love, that your' true faith doth merit;

[To Orla.

You to your land, and love, and great allies;

You to a long and well-deferved bed;
And you to wrangling; for thy loving yoyage

[To Oli.

[To Silv.

[To the Clowne Is but for two months victual'd-fo to your pleafures: I am for other than for dancing measures. Duke Sen. Stay, Jaques, stay.

Jaq. To fee no paflime, I-what you would have, i ftay to know at your abandon'd Cave.

[Exit. Duke Sen. Proceed, proceed; we will begin thefe

rites;

As, we do truft, they'll end, in true delights.

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Rof. It is not the fashion to fee the lady the Epilogue; but it is no more unhandfome, than to fee the lord the Prologue. If it be true, that good wine needs no bufb, 'tis true, that a good Play needs no Epilogue. Yet to good wine they do ufe good bushes; and good Plays prove the better by the help of good Epilogues. What a cafe am I in then '; that am neither a good Epilogue, nor can infinuate with you in the behalf of a good Play? I am not furnish'd like a beggar'; therefore to beg will not become me. My way is to conjure you, and I'll begin with the women. I charge. you, O women, for the love you bear to men, to like as much of this Play as pleases you: and I charge you, O men, for the love you bear to women (as I perceive by your fimpring, none of you hate them)

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What a cafe am I in then, &c.] Here feems to be a chaẩm, or fome other depravation, which defroys the fentiment here intended. The reasoning probably ftood thus, Good wine needs no bufb, good plays need no epilogue, but bad wine requires a good bufh, and a bad play a good Epilogue. What cafe am I in then? To refore the words is impoffible; all that can be done without copies is, to note the fault.

6-furnish'd like a beggar;] That is, dreffed: fo before, he was furnished like a huntsman.

men, for the love you bear to men, to like as much of this play as pleases THEM: and I charge you, O men, for the love you bear to women, TO LIKE AS MUCH AS PLEASES THEM, that between you and the women, &c. Without the alteration of You into Them, the invocation is nonsense; and without the addition of the words, to like as much as pleases them, the inference of, that between you and the women the play may pafs, would be unfupported by any precedent premises. The words feem to have been ftruck out by some senseless Player, as a vicious redundancy.

WARBURTON.

1-1 charge you, O women, for the love you bear to men, to like as much of this play as pleases YOU: and I charge you, O men, The words you and ym written for the love you bear to women,— as was the cultom in that time, that between you and the women, were in manufcript fcarcely di&c.] This paffage fhould be flinguifhable. The emendation read thus, I charge you, O wo- is very judicious and probable.

that

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