My tongue hath wrong'd him; if it do him right, Enter ORLANDO, with his sword drawn. Orl. Forbear, and eat no more. Jaq. Why, I have eat none yet. Orl. Nor shalt not, till necessity be serv'd. Jaq. Of what kind should this cock come of? Duke S. Art thou thus bolden'd, man, by thy distress; Or else a rude despiser of good manners, That in civility thou seem'st so empty? Orl. You touch'd my vein at first; the thorny point Of bare distress hath ta'en from me the show Of smooth civility; yet am I inland bred, 2 And know some nurture3: But forbear, I say; Till I and my affairs are answered. Jaq. An you will not be answered with reason, I must die. Duke S. What would you have? Your gentleness shall force, More than your force move us to gentleness. Orl. I almost die for food, and let me have it. Duke S. Sit down and feed, and welcome to our table. Orl. Speak you so gently? Pardon me, I pray you: I thought, that all things had been savage here; And therefore put I on the countenance Of stern commandment: But whate'er you are, Under the shade of melancholy boughs, Lose and neglect the creeping hours of time; 2 inland bred,] Inland here, and elsewhere in this play, is the opposite to outland, or upland. Orlando means to say, that he had not been bred among clowns. 3 And know some nurture:] Nurture is education, breeding. If have look'd on better days; ever you If ever been where bells have knoll'd to church; If ever from your eye-lids wip'd a tear, 4 Orl. Then, but forbear your food a little while, Duke S. Go find him out, And we will nothing waste till you return. Orl. I thank ye; and be bless'd for your good comfort! [Exit. Duke S. Thou seest, we are not all alone unhappy: This wide and universal theatre Presents more woeful pageants than the scene All the world's a stage, Jaq. 5 4 And take upon command-] At your own command. 3 His acts being seven ages.] I have seen, more than once, an old print, entitled The Stage of Man's Life, divided into seven ages. As emblematical representations of this sort were formerly stuck up, Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms; Even in the cannon's mouth: And then, the justice; With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut, Re-enter ORLANDO, with ADAM. Duke S. Welcome: Set down your venerable burden And let him feed. both for ornament and instruction, in the generality of houses, it is more probable that Shakspeare took his hint from thence, than from Hippocrates or Proclus, who are quoted by Mr. Malone. 6 HENLEY. - and bearded like a pard,] Beards of different cut were appropriated in our author's time to different characters and professions. The soldier had one fashion, the judge another, the bishop different from both, &c. 7 sudden and quick-] Lest it should be supposed that these epithets are synonymous, it is necessary to be observed that one of the ancient senses of sudden is violent. ୪ modern instances,] Modern means trite, common. Orl. I thank you most for him. Adam. So had you need; I scarce can speak to thank you for myself. you Heigh, ho! sing, heigh, ho! unto the green holly: Heigh, ho! II. Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky, Though thou the waters warp, As friend remember'd not.2 9 Thou art not so unkind, &c.] That is, thy action is not so contrary to thy kind, or to human nature, as the ingratitude of man. Thy tooth is not so keen, Because thou art not seen,] It is the opinion of the best commentators, that this can only be tortured into a meaning. Dr. Johnson paraphrases thus:-Thou winter wind, thy rudeness gives the less pain, as thou art not seen, as thou art an enemy that dost not brave us with thy presence, and whose unkindness is therefore not aggravated by insult. 2 As friend remember'd not.] Remember'd for remembering. Duke S. If that you were the good sir Rowland's son, As you have whisper'd faithfully, you were; And as mine eye doth his effigies witness That lov'd your father: The residue of your fortune, Thou art right welcome as Good old man, thy master is: Support him by the arm. Give me your hand, [Exeunt. Enter Duke FREDERICK, OLIVER, Lords, and Duke F. Not see him since? Sir, sir, that cannot be: But were I not the better part made mercy, I should not seek an absent argument3 Of my revenge, thou present: But look to it; Seek him with candle; bring him dead or living, Thy lands, and all things that thou dost call thine, Oli. O, that your highness knew my heart in this! I never lov'd my brother in my life. 3 an absent argument-] An argument is used for the contents of a book, thence Shakspeare considered it as meaning the subject, and then used it for subject in yet another sense. |