Read Cymbeline Online

Authors: William Shakespeare

Cymbeline (22 page)

To the Guard

Had ever scar for.
359
— Let his arms alone,

They were not born for bondage.

CYMBELINE
    Why, old soldier,

Wilt thou undo the
worth thou art unpaid for
362

By
tasting of
363
our wrath? How of descent

As good as we?

ARVIRAGUS
    In that he spake too far.

CYMBELINE
    And
thou
366
shalt die for’t.

BELARIUS
    We will die all three,

But I will
prove that two
on’s
368
are as good

As I have
given out him.
369
My sons, I must

For mine own part unfold a dangerous speech
370
,

Though
haply
well for
371
you.

ARVIRAGUS
    Your danger’s ours.

GUIDERIUS
    And our good his.

BELARIUS
    Have at it then,
by leave.
374

Thou hadst, great king, a subject who

Was called Belarius.

CYMBELINE
    What of him? He is

A banished traitor.

BELARIUS
    He it is that hath

Assumed this age
380
: indeed, a banished man,

I know not how a traitor.

CYMBELINE
    Take him hence,

The whole world shall not save him.

BELARIUS
    Not too
hot
384
:

First pay me for the nursing of thy sons,

And let
it
be
confiscate all
so
386
soon

As I have received it.

CYMBELINE
    Nursing of my sons?

Kneels

BELARIUS
    I am too blunt and
saucy
389
, here’s my knee:

Ere I arise I will
prefer
390
my sons,

Then spare not the old father. Mighty sir,

These two young gentlemen that call me father,

And think they are my sons, are none of mine.

They are the issue of your loins, my liege,

And
blood
395
of your begetting.

CYMBELINE
    How, my issue?

BELARIUS
    So sure as you your father’s. I, old Morgan,

Am that Belarius whom you
sometime
398
banished:

Your pleasure was my
mere
399
offence, my punishment

Itself, and all my treason.
That I suffered
400

Was all the harm I did. These gentle princes —

For such and so they are — these twenty years

Have I trained up: those arts they have as I

Could
put into
404
them. My breeding was, sir,

As your highness knows. Their nurse, Euriphile,

Whom for the theft I wedded, stole these children

Upon my banishment: I
moved
407
her to’t,

Having received the punishment before
408

For that which I did then.
Beaten
409
for loyalty

Excited
410
me to treason. Their dear loss,

The more
of
you ’twas felt, the more it
shaped
411

Unto my
end of
412
stealing them. But, gracious sir,

Here are your sons again, and I must lose

Two of the sweet’st companions in the world.

The benediction of these covering heavens

Fall on their heads like dew, for they are worthy

To inlay heaven with stars.

CYMBELINE
    Thou weep’st, and speak’st:

The
service
419
that you three have done is more

Unlike
420
than this thou tell’st. I lost my children:

If these be they, I know not how to wish

A pair of worthier sons.

BELARIUS
    
Be pleased awhile.
423

This gentleman, whom I call Polydore,

Most worthy prince,
as yours
425
, is true Guiderius:

This gentleman, my Cadwal, Arviragus,

Your younger princely son. He, sir, was
lapped
427

In a most
curious
428
mantle, wrought by th’hand

Of his queen mother, which for more
probation
429

I can with ease produce.

CYMBELINE
    Guiderius had

Upon his neck a mole, a
sanguine
432
star.

It was a mark of wonder.

BELARIUS
    This is he,

Who hath upon him still that
natural stamp
435
:

It was wise nature’s
end in the donation
436

To be his evidence now.

CYMBELINE
    O, what am I?

A mother to the birth of three? Ne’er mother

Rejoiced
deliverance
more: blest
pray
440
you be,

That, after this strange
starting from your orbs
441
,

You may reign in them now! O Innogen,

Thou hast lost by this a kingdom.
443

INNOGEN
    No, my lord:

I have got two worlds by’t. O my gentle brothers,

Have we thus met? O, never say hereafter

But
447
I am truest speaker. You called me brother

When I was but your sister: I you brothers,

When ye were so indeed.

CYMBELINE
    Did you e’er meet?

ARVIRAGUS
    Ay, my good lord.

GUIDERIUS
    And at first meeting loved,

Continued so until we thought he died.

CORNELIUS
    By the queen’s dram she swallowed.

CYMBELINE
    O
rare
455
instinct!

When shall I hear all through? This
fierce abridgement
456

Hath to it circumstantial
branches
457
, which

Distinction should be rich in.
458
Where? How lived you?

And when came you to serve our Roman captive?

How parted with your brothers? How first met them?

Why fled you from the court? And whither? These,

And
your three motives to
462
the battle, with

I know not how much more, should be
demanded
463
,

And all the other
by-dependences
464
,

From
chance
to chance. But
nor
465
the time nor place

Will serve
our long
interrogatories.
466
See,

Posthumus
anchors
467
upon Innogen,

And she, like harmless lightning,
throws her eye
468

On him, her brothers, me, her master, hitting

Each object with a joy: the
counterchange
470

Is severally in all. Let’s
quit this ground
471
,

And
smoke
472
the temple with our sacrifices.—

To Belarius

Thou art my brother, so we’ll
hold
473
thee ever.

INNOGEN
    You are my father too, and did
relieve me
474

To see this
gracious season.
475

CYMBELINE
    All o’erjoyed,

Save
477
these in bonds: let them be joyful too,

For they shall
taste our comfort.
478

INNOGEN
    My good master,

I will yet do you service.

LUCIUS
    Happy be you!

CYMBELINE
    The
forlorn
482
soldier, that so nobly fought,

He would have well
becomed
this place, and
graced
483

The thankings of a king.

POSTHUMUS
    I am, sir,

The soldier that did
company
486
these three

In poor
beseeming
: ’twas a
fitment
487
for

The purpose I then followed. That I was he,

Speak, Iachimo: I had you down, and might

Have made
you finish.
490

Kneels

IACHIMO
    I am down again:

But now my heavy conscience
sinks
492
my knee,

As then your force did. Take that life, beseech you,

Which I so
often
494
owe: but your ring first,

And here the bracelet of the truest princess

That ever swore her faith.

POSTHUMUS
    Kneel not to me:

The power that I have on you is to spare you:

The malice towards you to forgive you. Live,

And deal with others better.

CYMBELINE
    Nobly
doomed!
501

We’ll learn our
freeness
502
of a son-in-law:

Pardon’s the word to all.

ARVIRAGUS
    You
holp
504
us, sir,

As
505
you did mean indeed to be our brother.

Joyed
506
are we that you are.

POSTHUMUS
    Your servant, princes. Good my lord of Rome,

Call forth your soothsayer: as I slept, methought

Great Jupiter,
upon his eagle backed
509
,

Appeared to me, with other
spritely shows
510

Of mine own kindred. When I waked I found

This
label
on my bosom, whose
containing
512

Is
so from sense in hardness
513
that I can

Make no
collection of
514
it. Let him show

His skill in the
construction.
515

LUCIUS
    
Philharmonus.
516

SOOTHSAYER
    Here, my good lord.

LUCIUS
    Read, and declare the meaning.

SOOTHSAYER
    
Reads
‘Whenas a lion’s
whelp
519
shall, to himself

unknown, without seeking find, and be embraced by a piece

of tender air: and when from a stately cedar shall be lopped

branches, which being dead many years, shall after revive,

be jointed to the old stock, and freshly grow, then shall

Posthumus end his miseries, Britain be fortunate and

flourish in peace and plenty.’

Thou, Leonatus, art the lion’s whelp:

The fit and apt construction of thy name,

Being
leo-natus
, doth
import
528
so much.—

To Cymbeline

The piece of tender air, thy virtuous daughter,

Which we call

mollis aer
530
’;
and
‘mollis aer’

We term it
‘mulier’
.— Which
‘mulier’
I
divine
531

Is this most constant wife, who even now,

Answering the letter of the oracle,

Unknown to you, unsought, were
clipped about
534

With this most tender air.

CYMBELINE
    This hath some
seeming.
536

SOOTHSAYER
    The lofty
cedar
537
, royal Cymbeline,

Personates
thee: and thy lopped branches
point
538

Thy two sons forth, who by Belarius stol’n,

For many years thought dead, are now revived,

To the majestic cedar joined, whose
issue
541

Promises Britain peace and plenty.

CYMBELINE
    Well,

My peace we will begin.— And, Caius Lucius,

Although the victor, we submit to Caesar

And to the Roman empire, promising

To pay our
wonted
547
tribute, from the which

We were dissuaded by our wicked queen,

Whom
549
heavens in justice both on her and hers

Have laid most heavy hand.

SOOTHSAYER
    The fingers of the powers above do tune

The harmony of this peace. The vision

Which I made known to Lucius ere the
stroke
553

Of this yet scarce-cold battle, at this instant

Is full accomplished. For the Roman eagle,

From south to west on wing soaring aloft,

Lessened herself
557
, and in the beams o’th’sun

So vanished; which foreshowed our princely eagle,

Th’imperial Caesar, should again unite

His favour with the radiant Cymbeline,

Which shines here in the
west.
561

CYMBELINE
    
Laud
562
we the gods,

And let our
crookèd
563
smokes climb to their nostrils

From our blest altars.
Publish
564
we this peace

To all our subjects.
Set we forward
565
: let

A Roman and a British
ensign
566
wave

Friendly together: so through Lud’s town march,

And in the temple of great Jupiter

Our peace we’ll ratify,
seal
569
it with feasts.

Set on there!
570
Never was a war did cease,

Ere bloody hands were washed, with such a peace.

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