Ros. Thou speak'st wiser than thou art 'ware of. Touch. Nay, I shall ne'er be 'ware of mine own wit till I break my shins against it. Ros. Jove, Jove! this shepherd's passion Is much upon my fashion. Touch. And mine; but it grows something stale with me. Cel. I pray you, one of you question yond man, If he for gold will give us any food: I faint almost to death. Touch. Holla, you clown! Ros. Cor. Who calls? Peace, Fool: he's not thy kinsman. Touch. Your betters, sir. Cor. Ros. Peace, I say. Else are they very wretched. Good even to you, friend. Cor. And to you, gentle sir, and to you all. Ros. I pr'ythee, shepherd, if that love or gold Can in this desert7 place buy entertainment, Bring us where we may rest ourselves and feed: Here's a young maid with travel much oppress'd, And faints for succour. Cor. Fair sir, I pity her, And wish, for her sake more than for mine own, My fortunes were more able to relieve her; But I am shepherd to another man, And do not shear the fleeces that I graze : My master is of churlish disposition, And little recks 8 to find the way to Heaven By doing deeds of hospitality : or with the sense of excessive. So I have often heard such phrases as tal great" and "mortal tall." 7 Desert was used of any wild or uninhabited place. 8 Little cares. The sense of reck appears in our word reckless. Besides, his cote,9 his flocks, and bounds of feed, Ros. What is he that shall buy his flock and pasture? Cor. That young swain that you saw here but erewhile, That little cares for buying any thing. Ros. I pray thee, if it stand with honesty, Buy thou the cottage, pasture, and the flock, And thou shalt have to pay for it of us. Cel. And we will mend thy wages. I like this place, And willingly could waste my time in it. 11 Cor. Assuredly the thing is to be sold: Ami. Under the greenwood tree Who loves to lie with me, And tune his merry note Unto the sweet bird's throat, Come hither, come hither, come hither: Here shall he see no enemy But Winter and rough weather. [Exeunt. 9 That is, cot or cottage; the word is still used in its compound form, as sheepcote in the next line. 10 "As far as my voice has the power to bid you welcome." 11 Waste for pass or spend. See vol. iii., page 184, note 3. Jaq. More, more, I pr'ythee, more. Ami. It will make you melancholy, Monsieur Jaques. Jaq. I thank it. More, I pr'ythee, more. I can suck melancholy out of a song, as a weasel sucks eggs. More, I pr'ythee, more. Ami. My voice is ragged: I know I cannot please you. Jaq. I do not desire you to please me; I do desire you to sing. Come, more; another stanza: call you 'em stanzas? Ami. What you will, Monsieur Jaques. Jaq. Nay, I care not for their names; they owe me nothing. Will you sing? Ami. More at your request than to please myself. Jaq. Well, then, if ever I thank any man, I'll thank you : but that they call compliment is like the encounter of two dog-apes; and when a man thanks me heartily, methinks I have given him a penny, and he renders me the beggarly thanks. Come, sing; and you that will not, hold your tongues. Ami. Well, I'll end the song.- Sirs, cover3 the while; the Duke will drink under this tree. — He hath been all this day to look you.4 Jaq. And I have been all this day to avoid him. He is too disputable 5 for my company: I think of as many matters 1 In Latin, nomina facere means to enter an account, because not only the sums, but the names of the parties, are entered. Cicero uses nomina facere for to lend money, and nomen solvere for to pay a debt; and in Livy we have nomen transcribere in alium for to transfer a debt to another. 2 Dog-apes are dog-faced baboons. 3 Cover refers to the forthcoming banquet, and seems to be an order for setting out and preparing the table. Accordingly, at the close of the scene, we have "his banquet is prepared." See vol. iii., page 188, note 5. 4 The Poet repeatedly uses look thus as a transitive verb; equivalent to look for. So in the The Merry Wives, iv. 2: "Mistress Page, I will look some linen for your head." See vol. iv., page 82, note II. 5 Disputable for disputatious; according to the indifferent use of active and passive forms then so common. See vol. i., page 235, note 28; also vol. iv., page 193, note 11. as he; but I give Heaven thanks, and make no boast of them. Come, warble, come. SONG. All. Who doth ambition shun, And loves to live i the sun, And pleased with what he gets, Here shall he see no enemy But Winter and rough weather. Jaq. I'll give you a verse to this note, that I made yesterday in despite of my invention.6 Ami. And I'll sing it. Jaq. Thus it goes: If it do come to pass That any man turn ass, A stubborn will to please, Ducadme, ducadme, ducadme:7 Here shall he see gross fools as he, An if he will come to me. Ami. What's that ducadme? Jaq. 'Tis a Greek invocation,8 to call fools into a circle. 6 Note is here put for tune. -"In despite of my invention" probably means "in despite of my lack of invention." Such elliptical expressions are not uncommon in Shakespeare. So in iii. 2, of this play: "He that hath learned no wit by nature nor art may complain of good breeding"; which evidently means "may complain of want of good breeding." 7 Ducadme is three Latin words, duc ad me, compressed into one, and means bring him to me. 8 The invocation is Latin, not Greek. Of course the Poet knew this. Perhaps Mr. White explains it rightly: "That the cynical Jaques should pass off his Latin for Greek upon Amiens, is but in character." I'll go sleep, if I can; if I cannot, I'll rail against all the first-born of Egypt.9 Ami. And I'll go seek the Duke: his banquet is prepar'd. [Exeunt severally. SCENE VI. Another Part of the Forest. Enter ORLANDO and ADAM. Adam. Dear master, I can go no further: O, I die for food! Here lie I down, and measure out my grave. Farewell, kind master. Orl. Why, how now, Adam! no greater heart in thee? Live a little; comfort a little; cheer thyself a little. If this uncouth forest yield any thing savage, I will either be food for it, or bring it for food to thee. Thy conceit 2 is nearer death than thy powers. For my sake be comfortable; 3 hold death awhile at the arm's end: I will be here with thee presently; and if I bring thee not something to eat, I will give thee leave to die: but if thou diest before I come, thou art a mocker of my labour. Well said! 4 thou look'st cheerly; and I'll be with thee quickly. Yet thou liest in the bleak air: come, I will bear thee to some shelter; and thou shalt not die for lack of a dinner, if there live any thing in this desert. Cheerly, good Adam ! -- A proverbial expression for high-born persons. [Exeunt. 1 Uncouth properly means unknown; hence strange, wild, or savage. 2 Conceit, as usual, for conception, thought, or apprehension. 8 Be comfortable for be comforted, or take comfort. The Poet has many like instances of the endings -able and -ed used indiscriminately. 4 Well said was a common colloquial phrase for well done. |