Authors: William Shakespeare
Exeunt
running scene 3
Enter Duke Senior, Amiens and two or three Lords, like
foresters
DUKE SENIOR
Now, my co-mates and brothers in exile,
Hath not
old custom
2
made this life more sweet
Than that of
painted pomp
3
? Are not these woods
More free from peril than the
envious
4
court?
Here feel we not the
penalty of Adam
5
,
The seasons’
difference
,
as
6
the icy fang
And
churlish chiding
7
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
11
persuade me what I am.’
Sweet are the
uses
12
of adversity,
Which, like the
toad, ugly and venomous
13
,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head.
And this our life
exempt from public haunt
15
Finds
tongues
16
in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones and good in everything.
AMIENS
I would not
change
18
it. Happy is your grace
That can
translate
19
the stubbornness of fortune
Into so quiet and so sweet a
style
20
.
DUKE SENIOR
Come, shall we go and kill us venison?
And yet it irks me the poor dappled
fools
22
,
Being native
burghers
of this
desert
23
city,
Should in their own
confines
with
forkèd heads
24
Have their round haunches gored.
FIRST LORD
Indeed, my lord,
The melancholy Jaques grieves at that,
And in that
kind
28
swears you do more usurp
Than doth your brother that hath banished you.
Today my Lord of Amiens and myself
Did steal behind him as he lay
along
31
Under an oak whose
antique
32
root peeps out
Upon the brook that
brawls
33
along this wood,
To the which place a poor
sequestered
34
stag
That from the hunter’s aim had ta’en a hurt,
Did come to languish; and indeed, my lord,
The wretched animal heaved forth such groans
That their discharge did stretch his leathern coat
Almost to bursting, and the big round tears
Coursed
40
one another down his innocent nose
In piteous chase: and thus the hairy fool
Much
markèd of
42
the melancholy Jaques,
Stood on th’
extremest verge
43
of the swift brook,
Augmenting it with tears.
DUKE SENIOR
But what said Jaques?
Did he not
moralize
46
this spectacle?
FIRST LORD
O, yes, into a thousand similes.
First, for his weeping into the
needless
48
stream;
‘Poor deer,’ quoth he, ‘thou mak’st a
testament
49
As
worldlings
do, giving thy
sum of more
50
To that which had too much.’ Then, being there alone,
Left and abandoned of his
velvet friend
52
,
‘ ’Tis right,’ quoth he, ‘thus misery doth
part
53
The
flux
of company.’
Anon
a
careless
54
herd,
Full of the pasture, jumps along by him
And never
stays
56
to greet him. ‘Ay,’ quoth Jaques,
‘Sweep on, you fat and
greasy
57
citizens,
’Tis just the fashion;
wherefore
58
do you look
Upon that poor and broken bankrupt there?’
Thus most
invectively
60
he pierceth through
The body of country, city, court,
Yea, and of this our life, swearing that we
Are
mere
63
usurpers, tyrants, and what’s worse,
To fright the animals and to kill them
up
64
In their assigned and native dwelling-place.
DUKE SENIOR
And did you leave him in this contemplation?
SECOND LORD
We did, my lord, weeping and
commenting
67
Upon the sobbing deer.
DUKE SENIOR
Show me the place.
I love to
cope
70
him in these sullen fits,
For then he’s full of
matter
71
.
FIRST LORD
I’ll bring you to him
straight
72
.
Exeunt
running scene 4
Enter Duke
[
Frederick
]
, with Lords
DUKE FREDERICK
Can it be possible that no man saw them?
It cannot be: some
villains
2
of my court
Are of consent and
sufferance
3
in this.
FIRST LORD
I cannot hear of any that did see her.
The ladies, her attendants of her chamber,
Saw her abed, and in the morning early
They found the bed
untreasured
7
of their mistress.
SECOND LORD
My lord, the
roynish
8
clown, at whom so oft
Your grace was
wont
9
to laugh, is also missing.
Hisperia, the princess’ gentlewoman,
Confesses that she secretly o’erheard
Your daughter and her cousin much commend
The
parts
13
and graces of the wrestler
That did but lately foil the sinewy Charles,
And she believes, wherever they are gone,
That youth is surely in their company.
DUKE FREDERICK
Send to his brother, fetch that
gallant
17
hither.
If he be absent, bring his brother to me.
I’ll make him find him. Do this
suddenly
19
,
And let not search and inquisition
quail
20
Exeunt
To bring
again
21
these foolish runaways.
running scene 5
Enter Orlando and Adam
, [
meeting
]
ORLANDO
Who’s there?
ADAM
What, my young master? O, my gentle master!
O my sweet master! O you
memory
3
Of old Sir Rowland! Why, what
make you
4
here?
Why are you virtuous? Why do people love you?
And wherefore are you gentle, strong and valiant?
Why would you be so
fond
7
to overcome
The
bonny priser
of the
humorous
8
duke?
Your praise is come too swiftly home before you.
Know you not, master, to some kind of men
Their graces serve them but as enemies?
No
more
12
do yours: your virtues, gentle master,
Are
sanctified
13
and holy traitors to you.
O, what a world is this, when what is
comely
14
Envenoms
15
him that bears it!
ORLANDO
Why, what’s the matter?
ADAM
O, unhappy youth,
Come not within these doors! Within this roof
The enemy of all your graces lives:
Your brother — no, no brother, yet the son —
Yet not the son, I will not call him son —
Of him I was about to call his father —
Hath heard
your praises
23
, and this night he means
To burn the lodging where you
use
24
to lie
And you within it. If he fail
of
25
that,
He will have other means to
cut you off
26
;
I overheard him and his
practices
27
.
This is no
place
, this house is but a
butchery
28
;
Abhor it, fear it, do not enter it.
ORLANDO
Why, whither, Adam, wouldst thou have me go?
ADAM
No matter whither,
so
31
you come not here.
ORLANDO
What, wouldst thou have me go and beg my food?
Or with a base and
boist’rous
sword
enforce
33
A thievish living on the
common
34
road?
This I must do, or know not what to do:
Yet this I will not do, do how I can.
I rather will subject me to the malice
Of a
diverted blood
38
and bloody brother.
ADAM
But do not so. I have five hundred crowns,
The
thrifty hire
40
I saved under your father,
Which I did store to be my
foster-nurse
41
When
service should in my old limbs lie lame
42
And
unregarded
43
age in corners thrown.
Take that, and he that doth the ravens feed,
Yea, providently caters for the sparrow,
Gives gold
Be comfort to my age. Here is the gold,
All this I give you. Let me be your servant.
Though I look old, yet I am strong and
lusty
48
;
For in my youth I never did apply
Hot and rebellious liquors in my blood,
Nor did not with
unbashful forehead
51
woo
The means of weakness and debility:
Therefore my age is as a lusty winter,
Frosty
, but
kindly
54
. Let me go with you.
I’ll do the service of a younger man
In all your business and necessities.
ORLANDO
O good old man, how well in thee appears
The
constant
58
service of the antique world,
When service
sweat
for duty, not for
meed
59
!
Thou art not for the fashion of these times,
Where none will sweat but for promotion,
And having that, do
choke their service up
62
Even with the having: it is not so with thee.
But, poor old man, thou prun’st a rotten tree,
That cannot so much as a blossom yield
In lieu of
all thy pains and
husbandry
66
.
But
come thy ways
67
, we’ll go along together,
And ere we have thy youthful wages spent,
We’ll light upon some settled
low content
69
.
ADAM
Master, go on, and I will follow thee
To the last gasp with truth and loyalty.
From seventeen years till now almost
fourscore
72
Here livèd I, but now live here no more.
At seventeen years many their fortunes seek,
But at fourscore it is
too late a week
75
.
Yet fortune cannot recompense me better
Than to die well and not my master’s debtor.
Exeunt
running scene 6
Enter Rosalind
for
Ganymede, Celia for Aliena, and Clown
alias
Touchstone
ROSALIND
O
Jupiter
1
, how merry are my spirits!
TOUCHSTONE
I care not for my spirits, if my legs were not weary.
Aside?
ROSALIND
I could find in my heart to disgrace my
man’s apparel and to cry like a woman, but I must comfort
the
weaker vessel
, as
doublet and hose
5
ought to show itself
courageous to petticoat: therefore courage, good Aliena!
CELIA
I pray you bear with me. I cannot go no further.
TOUCHSTONE
For my part, I had rather bear with you than bear
you: yet I should bear no
cross
9
if I did bear you, for I think
you have no money in your purse.
ROSALIND
Well, this is the Forest of Arden.
TOUCHSTONE
Ay, now am I in Arden, the more fool I. When I
was at home, I was in a better place, but travellers must be
content.