Wall. Thus have I, Wall, my part discharged so; And, being done, thus Wall away doth go. [Exit. The. Now is the mural down between the two neighbours. Dem. No remedy, my lord, when walls are so 210 wilful to hear without warning. Hip. This is the silliest stuff that ever I heard. The. The best in this kind are but shadows; and the worst are no worse, if imagination amend them. Hip. It must be your imagination then, and not theirs. The. If we imagine no worse of them than they of themselves, they may pass for excellent Here come two noble beasts in, a man and a 220 men. lion. Re-enter LION and MOONSHINE. Lion. You, ladies, you, whose gentle hearts do fear The smallest monstrous mouse that creeps on floor, May now perchance both quake and tremble here, A lion fell, nor else no lion's dam; For, if I should as lion come in strife Into this place, 'twere pity on my life. The. A very gentle beast, and of a good con- 230 science. 208. mural, partition. 227. A lion fell, i.e. no lion fell, the negative being understood from the following nor. This, though harsh, is more in keeping with the style than the Camb. editors, Then know that I, one Snug the joiner, am | A lion-fell.' Dem. The very best at a beast, my lord, that e'er I saw. Lys. This lion is a very fox for his valour. The. True; and a goose for his discretion. Dem. Not so, my lord; for his valour cannot carry his discretion; and the fox carries the goose. It is The. His discretion, I am sure, cannot carry his valour; for the goose carries not the fox. well leave it to his discretion, and let us listen to the moon. Moon. This lanthorn doth the horned moon present ; Dem. He should have worn the horns on his head. The. He is no crescent, and his horns are invisible within the circumference. Moon. This lanthorn doth the horned moon present; Myself the man i' the moon do seem to be. 240 The. This is the greatest error of all the rest: 250 the man should be put into the lanthorn. it else the man i' the moon? How is Dem. He dares not come there for the candle; for, you see, it is already in snuff. Hip. I am aweary of this moon: would he would change! The. It appears, by his small light of discretion, that he is in the wane; but yet, in courtesy, in all reason, we must stay the time. Lys. Proceed, Moon. Moon. All that I have to say, is, to tell you that the lanthorn is the moon; I, the man in the 232. at a beast, in representing a beast. There is a quibble, the two words being sounded nearly alike. 260 254. in snuff, angry (with a quibble). moon; this thorn-bush, my thorn-bush; and this dog, my dog. Dem. Why, all these should be in the lanthorn ; for all these are in the moon. But, silence! here comes Thisbe. Re-enter THISBE. This. This is old Ninny's tomb. Where is my love? Lion. [Roaring] Oh Dem. Well roared, Lion. The. Well run, Thisbe. Hip. Well shone, Moon. shines with a good grace. [Thisbe runs off. 270 Truly, the moon [The Lion shakes Thisbe's mantle, and exit The. Well moused, Lion. Lys. And so the lion vanished. Dem. And then came Pyramus. Re-enter PYRAMUS. Pyr. Sweet Moon, I thank thee for thy sunny I thank thee, Moon, for shining now so bright; But stay, O spite! But mark, poor knight, What dreadful dole is here! Eyes, do you see? How can it be? O dainty duck! O dear! What, stain'd with blood! 280 O Fates, come, come, Cut thread and thrum; Quail, crush, conclude, and quell! The. This passion, and the death of a dear friend, would go near to make a man look sad. Hip. Beshrew my heart, but I pity the man. Pyr. O wherefore, Nature, didst thou lions frame? Since lion vile hath here deflower'd my dear : Which is no, no-which was the fairest dame That lived, that loved, that liked, that look'd with cheer. Come, tears, confound; Out, sword, and wound The pap of Pyramus; Ay, that left pap, Where heart doth hop: [Stabs himself. Thus die I, thus, thus, thus. Now am I dead, Now am I fled; My soul is in the sky: Tongue, lose thy light; 290 300 Moon, take thy flight: [Exit Moonshine. 310 Now die, die, die, die, die. [Dies. Dem. No die, but an ace, for him; for he is but one. Lys. Less than an ace, man; for he is dead; he is nothing. The. With the help of a surgeon he might yet recover, and prove an ass. 291. thrum, the tufted end of the thread in weaving. 292. quail, quell. The two verbs were equally used in the transitive sense. 309. lose thy light, a forced expression for become silent.' 'Sun' has been proposed for 'tongue,' plausibly enough; but Pyramus' verses evade critical canons. 317. ass, with a play on ace, then nearly equivalent in pronunciation. 2 C Hip. How chance Moonshine is gone before Thisbe comes back and finds her lover? The. She will find him by starlight. Here 320 she comes; and her passion ends the play. Re-enter THISBE. Hip. Methinks she should not use a long one for such a Pyramus: I hope she will be brief. Dem. A mote will turn the balance, which Pyramus, which Thisbe, is the better; he for a man, God warrant us; she for a woman, God bless us. Lys. She hath spied him already with those sweet eyes. Dem. And thus she means, videlicet : What, dead, my dove? O Pyramus, arise! Speak, speak. Quite dumb? Dead, dead? A tomb Must cover thy sweet eyes. These lily lips, This cherry nose, These yellow cowslip cheeks, Are gone, are gone: His eyes were green as leeks. O Sisters Three, Come, come to me, With hands as pale as milk; Lay them in gore, Since you have shore With shears his thread of silk. 330 340 330. means, utters her complaint; a formal and archaic use of the word, with which the 'videlicet' is in keeping. |