And Cytherea all in sedges hid; ACT 1. WOMAN'S TONGUE. Think you, a little din can daunt mine ears? you me of a woman's tongue; That gives not half so great a blow to the ear, As will a chesnut in a farmer's fire? ACT III. A MAD WEDDING. a When the priest Should ask if Katherine should be his wife, Ay, by gogs-wouns, quoth he; and swore so loud, That, all amaz'd, the priest let fall the book: And, as he stoop'd again to take it up, The mad-brain'd bridegroom took him such a cuff, That down fell priest and book, and book and priest; Now take them up, quoth he, if any list. Tra. What said the wench, when he arose again? Gre. Trembled and shook; for why, he stamp'd, and swore, As if the vicar meant to cozen him. But after many ceremonies done, He calls for wine:-A health, quoth he;' as if a ACT IV. THE MIND ALONE VALUABLE. For 'tis the mind that makes thé body rich; And as the sun breaks through the darkest clouds, So honour peeretht in the meanest habit. What, is the jay more precious than the lark, Because his feathers are more beautiful? Or is the adder better than the eel, Because his painted skin contents the eye? O, no, good Kate; neither art thou the worse For this poor furniture and mean array. ACTV. THE WIFE'S DUTY TO HER HUSBAND. Fie, fie! unknit that threat'ning unkind brow; And dart not scornful glances from those eyes, To wound thy lord, thy king, thy governor: It blots thy beauty, as frosts bite the meads; Confounds thy fame, as whirlwinds shake fair buds; * It was the custom for the company present to drink wine immediately after the marriage ceremony. + Appeareth. a And in no sense is meet or amiable. A woman mov'd, is like a fountain troubled, Muddy, ill-seeming, thick, bereft of beauty; And while it is so, none so dry or thirsty Will deign to sip, or touch one drop of it. Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, Thy head, thy sovereign; one that cares for thee, And for thy maintenance: commits his body To painful labour, both by sea and land; To watch the night in storms, the day in cold, While thou liest warm at home, secure and safe, And craves no other tribute at thy hands, But love, fair looks, and true obedience; Too little payment for so great a debt. Such duty as the subject owes the prince, Even such, a woman oweth to her husband: And, when she's froward, peevish, sullen, sour, And not obedient to his honest will, What is she, but a foul contending rebel, And graceless traitor to her loving lord?I am asham'd, that women are so simple To offer war, where they should kneel for peace; Or seek for rule, supremacy, and sway, When they are bound to serve, love, and obey. Why are our bodies soft, and weak, and smooth, Unapt to toil and trouble in the world; But that our soft conditions* and our hearts, Should well agree with our external parts ? * Gentle tempers. TEMPEST. ACTI. AN USURPING SUBSTITUTE COMPARED TO IVY. That now he was I boarded the king's ship; now on the beak, -Not a soul, But felt a fever of the mad, and play'd Some tricks of desperation: All, but mariners, Plung'd in the foaming brine, and quit the vessel, Then all a-fire with me: the king's son, Ferdinand, With hair up-staring (then like reeds, not hair), Was the first man that leap'd; cried, Hell is empty, And all the devils are here. a PROSPERO REPROVING ARIEL. To do me business in the veins o’the earth, CALIBAN'S CURSES. Cal. As wicked dew as e'er my mother brush'd With raven's feather from unwholesome fen, Drop on you both! a south-west blow on ye, And blister you all o'er! Pro. For this, be sure, to-night thou shalt have cramps, Side-stitches that shall pen thy breath up; urchins* Shall, for that vast of night that they may work, All exercise on thee: thou shalt be pinch'd As thick as honeycombs, each pinch more stinging Than bees that make them. Cal. I must eat my dinner. This island's mine, by Sycorax my mother, Which thou tak'st from me. When thou camest first, Thou strok’dst me, and mad'st much of me; would'st give me Water with berries in't; and teach me how To name the bigger light, and how the less, That burn by day and night: and then I lov'd thee, And show'd thee all the qualities o'the isle, [tile; The fresh springs, brine pits, barren place, and ferCursed be I that did so! All the charms Of Sycorax, toads, beetles, bats, light on you! For I am all the subjects that you have, [me Which first was mine own king: and here you sty In this hard rock, whiles you do keep from me The rest of the island. CALIBAN'S EXULTATION AFTER PROSPERO TELLS HIM HE SOUGHT TO VIOLATE THE HONOUR OF HIS CHILD. O ho, O ho!-would it had been done! * Fairies. |