章节正文
LORD JUSTICE
Count Maffio, have a care,
And you, sir. [To JEPPO.]
The first man who draws his sword
Upon the meanest officer of this Court,
Dies before nightfall.
DUCHESS
Sirs, put up your swords:
It is most meet that I should hear this man.
[Goes back to throne.]
MORANZONE
Now hast thou got thy enemy in thy hand.
LORD JUSTICE
[taking the time-glass up]
Guido Ferranti, while the crumbling sand
Falls through this time-glass, thou hast leave to speak.
This and no more.
GUIDO
It is enough, my lord.
LORD JUSTICE
Thou standest on the extreme verge of death;
See that thou speakest nothing but the truth,
Naught else will serve thee.
GUIDO
If I speak it not,
Then give my body to the headsman there.
LORD JUSTICE
[turns the time-glass]
Let there be silence while the prisoner speaks.
TIPSTAFF
Silence in the Court there.
GUIDO
My Lords Justices,
And reverent judges of this worthy court,
I hardly know where to begin my tale,
So strangelydreadful is this history.
First, let me tell you of what birth I am.
I am the son of that good Duke Lorenzo
Who was with damnedtreachery done to death
By a most wickedvillain, lately Duke
Of this good town of Padua.
LORD JUSTICE
Have a care,
It will avail thee nought to mock this prince
Who now lies in his coffin.
MAFFIO
By Saint James,
This is the Duke of Parma's rightful heir.
JEPPO
I always thought him noble.
GUIDO
I confess
That with the purport of a just revenge,
A most just vengeance on a man of blood,
I entered the Duke's household, served his will,
Sat at his board, drank of his wine, and was
His intimate: so much I will confess,
And this too, that I waited till he grew
To give the fondest secrets of his life
Into my keeping, till he fawned on me,
And trusted me in every private matter
Even as my noble father trusted him;
That for this thing I waited.
[To the Headsman.] Thou man of blood!
Turn not thine axe on me before the time:
Who knows if it be time for me to die?
Is there no other neck in court but mine?
LORD JUSTICE
The sand within the time-glass flows apace.
Come quickly to the murder of the Duke.
GUIDO
I will be brief: Last night at twelve o' the clock,
By a strong rope I scaled the palace wall,
With purport to revenge my father's murder -
Ay! with that purport I confess, my lord.
This much I will acknowledge, and this also,
That as with stealthy feet I climbed the stair
Which led unto the chamber of the Duke,
And reached my hand out for the scarlet cloth
Which shook and shivered in the gusty door,
Lo! the white moon that sailed in the great heaven
Flooded with silver light the darkened room,
Night lit her candles for me, and I saw
The man I hated, cursing in his sleep;
And thinking of a most dear father murdered,
Sold to the scaffold, bartered to the block,
I smote the treacherousvillain to the heart
With this same dagger, which by chance I found
Within the chamber.
DUCHESS
[rising from her seat]
Oh!
GUIDO
[hurriedly]
I killed the Duke.
Now, my Lord Justice, if I may crave a boon,
Suffer me not to see another sun
Light up the misery of this loathsome world.
LORD JUSTICE
Thy boon is granted, thou shalt die to-night.
Lead him away. Come, Madam
[GUIDO is led off; as he goes the DUCHESS stretches out her arms
and rushes down the stage.]
DUCHESS
Guido! Guido!
[Faints.]
Tableau
END OF ACT IV.
ACT V
SCENE
A dungeon in the public prison of Padua; Guido lies asleep on a
pallet (L.C.); a table with a goblet on it is set (L.C.); five
soldiers are drinking and playing dice in the corner on a stone
table; one of them has a lantern hung to his halbert; a torch is
set in the wall over Guido's head. Two grated windows behind, one
on each side of the door which is (C.), look out into the passage;
the stage is rather dark.
FIRST SOLDIER
[throws dice]
Sixes again! good Pietro.
SECOND SOLDIER
I' faith, lieutenant, I will play with thee no more. I will lose
everything.
THIRD SOLDIER
Except thy wits; thou art safe there!
SECOND SOLDIER
Ay, ay, he cannot take them from me.
THIRD SOLDIER
No; for thou hast no wits to give him.
THE SOLDIERS
[loudly]
Ha! ha! ha!
FIRST SOLDIER
Silence! You will wake the prisoner; he is asleep.
SECOND SOLDIER
What matter? He will get sleep enough when he is buried. I
warrant he'd be glad if we could wake him when he's in the grave.
THIRD SOLDIER
Nay! for when he wakes there it will be judgment day.
SECOND SOLDIER
Ay, and he has done a grievous thing; for, look you, to murder one
of us who are but flesh and blood is a sin, and to kill a Duke goes
being near against the law.
FIRST SOLDIER
Well, well, he was a wicked Duke.
SECOND SOLDIER
And so he should not have touched him; if one meddles with wicked
people, one is like to be tainted with their wickedness.
THIRD SOLDIER
Ay, that is true. How old is the prisoner?
SECOND SOLDIER
Old enough to do wrong, and not old enough to be wise.
FIRST SOLDIER
Why, then, he might be any age.
SECOND SOLDIER
They say the Duchess wanted to pardon him.
FIRST SOLDIER
Is that so?
SECOND SOLDIER
Ay, and did much entreat the Lord Justice, but he would not.
FIRST SOLDIER
I had thought, Pietro, that the Duchess was omnipotent.
SECOND SOLDIER
True, she is well-favoured; I know none so comely.
THE SOLDIERS
Ha! ha! ha!
FIRST SOLDIER
I meant I had thought our Duchess could do anything.
SECOND SOLDIER
Nay, for he is now given over to the Justices, and they will see
that justice be done; they and stout Hugh the headsman; but when
his head is off, why then the Duchess can pardon him if she likes;
there is no law against that.
FIRST SOLDIER
I do not think that stout Hugh, as you call him, will do the
business for him after all. This Guido is of gentle birth, and so
by the law can drink poison first, if it so be his pleasure.
THIRD SOLDIER
And if he does not drink it?
FIRST SOLDIER
Why, then, they will kill him.
[Knocking comes at the door.]
FIRST SOLDIER
See who that is.
[Third Soldier goes over and looks through the wicket.]
THIRD SOLDIER
It is a woman, sir.
FIRST SOLDIER
Is she pretty?
THIRD SOLDIER
I can't tell. She is masked, lieutenant.
FIRST SOLDIER
It is only very ugly or very beautiful women who ever hide their
faces. Let her in.
[Soldier opens the door, and the DUCHESS masked and cloaked
enters.]
DUCHESS
[to Third Soldier]
Are you the officer on guard?
FIRST SOLDIER
[coming forward]
Count Maffio, have a care,
And you, sir. [To JEPPO.]
The first man who draws his sword
Upon the meanest officer of this Court,
Dies before nightfall.
DUCHESS
Sirs, put up your swords:
It is most meet that I should hear this man.
[Goes back to throne.]
MORANZONE
Now hast thou got thy enemy in thy hand.
LORD JUSTICE
[taking the time-glass up]
Guido Ferranti, while the crumbling sand
Falls through this time-glass, thou hast leave to speak.
This and no more.
GUIDO
It is enough, my lord.
LORD JUSTICE
Thou standest on the extreme verge of death;
See that thou speakest nothing but the truth,
Naught else will serve thee.
GUIDO
If I speak it not,
Then give my body to the headsman there.
LORD JUSTICE
[turns the time-glass]
Let there be silence while the prisoner speaks.
TIPSTAFF
Silence in the Court there.
GUIDO
My Lords Justices,
And reverent judges of this worthy court,
I hardly know where to begin my tale,
So strangelydreadful is this history.
First, let me tell you of what birth I am.
I am the son of that good Duke Lorenzo
Who was with damnedtreachery done to death
By a most wickedvillain, lately Duke
Of this good town of Padua.
LORD JUSTICE
Have a care,
It will avail thee nought to mock this prince
Who now lies in his coffin.
MAFFIO
By Saint James,
This is the Duke of Parma's rightful heir.
JEPPO
I always thought him noble.
GUIDO
I confess
That with the purport of a just revenge,
A most just vengeance on a man of blood,
I entered the Duke's household, served his will,
Sat at his board, drank of his wine, and was
His intimate: so much I will confess,
And this too, that I waited till he grew
To give the fondest secrets of his life
Into my keeping, till he fawned on me,
And trusted me in every private matter
Even as my noble father trusted him;
That for this thing I waited.
[To the Headsman.] Thou man of blood!
Turn not thine axe on me before the time:
Who knows if it be time for me to die?
Is there no other neck in court but mine?
LORD JUSTICE
The sand within the time-glass flows apace.
Come quickly to the murder of the Duke.
GUIDO
I will be brief: Last night at twelve o' the clock,
By a strong rope I scaled the palace wall,
With purport to revenge my father's murder -
Ay! with that purport I confess, my lord.
This much I will acknowledge, and this also,
That as with stealthy feet I climbed the stair
Which led unto the chamber of the Duke,
And reached my hand out for the scarlet cloth
Which shook and shivered in the gusty door,
Lo! the white moon that sailed in the great heaven
Flooded with silver light the darkened room,
Night lit her candles for me, and I saw
The man I hated, cursing in his sleep;
And thinking of a most dear father murdered,
Sold to the scaffold, bartered to the block,
I smote the treacherousvillain to the heart
With this same dagger, which by chance I found
Within the chamber.
DUCHESS
[rising from her seat]
Oh!
GUIDO
[hurriedly]
I killed the Duke.
Now, my Lord Justice, if I may crave a boon,
Suffer me not to see another sun
Light up the misery of this loathsome world.
LORD JUSTICE
Thy boon is granted, thou shalt die to-night.
Lead him away. Come, Madam
[GUIDO is led off; as he goes the DUCHESS stretches out her arms
and rushes down the stage.]
DUCHESS
Guido! Guido!
[Faints.]
Tableau
END OF ACT IV.
ACT V
SCENE
A dungeon in the public prison of Padua; Guido lies asleep on a
pallet (L.C.); a table with a goblet on it is set (L.C.); five
soldiers are drinking and playing dice in the corner on a stone
table; one of them has a lantern hung to his halbert; a torch is
set in the wall over Guido's head. Two grated windows behind, one
on each side of the door which is (C.), look out into the passage;
the stage is rather dark.
FIRST SOLDIER
[throws dice]
Sixes again! good Pietro.
SECOND SOLDIER
I' faith, lieutenant, I will play with thee no more. I will lose
everything.
THIRD SOLDIER
Except thy wits; thou art safe there!
SECOND SOLDIER
Ay, ay, he cannot take them from me.
THIRD SOLDIER
No; for thou hast no wits to give him.
THE SOLDIERS
[loudly]
Ha! ha! ha!
FIRST SOLDIER
Silence! You will wake the prisoner; he is asleep.
SECOND SOLDIER
What matter? He will get sleep enough when he is buried. I
warrant he'd be glad if we could wake him when he's in the grave.
THIRD SOLDIER
Nay! for when he wakes there it will be judgment day.
SECOND SOLDIER
Ay, and he has done a grievous thing; for, look you, to murder one
of us who are but flesh and blood is a sin, and to kill a Duke goes
being near against the law.
FIRST SOLDIER
Well, well, he was a wicked Duke.
SECOND SOLDIER
And so he should not have touched him; if one meddles with wicked
people, one is like to be tainted with their wickedness.
THIRD SOLDIER
Ay, that is true. How old is the prisoner?
SECOND SOLDIER
Old enough to do wrong, and not old enough to be wise.
FIRST SOLDIER
Why, then, he might be any age.
SECOND SOLDIER
They say the Duchess wanted to pardon him.
FIRST SOLDIER
Is that so?
SECOND SOLDIER
Ay, and did much entreat the Lord Justice, but he would not.
FIRST SOLDIER
I had thought, Pietro, that the Duchess was omnipotent.
SECOND SOLDIER
True, she is well-favoured; I know none so comely.
THE SOLDIERS
Ha! ha! ha!
FIRST SOLDIER
I meant I had thought our Duchess could do anything.
SECOND SOLDIER
Nay, for he is now given over to the Justices, and they will see
that justice be done; they and stout Hugh the headsman; but when
his head is off, why then the Duchess can pardon him if she likes;
there is no law against that.
FIRST SOLDIER
I do not think that stout Hugh, as you call him, will do the
business for him after all. This Guido is of gentle birth, and so
by the law can drink poison first, if it so be his pleasure.
THIRD SOLDIER
And if he does not drink it?
FIRST SOLDIER
Why, then, they will kill him.
[Knocking comes at the door.]
FIRST SOLDIER
See who that is.
[Third Soldier goes over and looks through the wicket.]
THIRD SOLDIER
It is a woman, sir.
FIRST SOLDIER
Is she pretty?
THIRD SOLDIER
I can't tell. She is masked, lieutenant.
FIRST SOLDIER
It is only very ugly or very beautiful women who ever hide their
faces. Let her in.
[Soldier opens the door, and the DUCHESS masked and cloaked
enters.]
DUCHESS
[to Third Soldier]
Are you the officer on guard?
FIRST SOLDIER
[coming forward]
- extreme [ik´stri:m]
a.尽头的 n.极端 (初中英语单词) - worthy [´wə:ði] a.有价值的；值得的 (初中英语单词)
- strangely [´streindʒli] ad.奇怪地；陌生地 (初中英语单词)
- dreadful [´dredful] a.可怕的；讨厌的 (初中英语单词)
- wicked [´wikid] a.邪恶的；不道德的 (初中英语单词)
- lately [´leitli] ad.近来，不久前 (初中英语单词)
- intimate [´intimit] a.亲密的 n.知己 (初中英语单词)
- revenge [ri´vendʒ] vt.报复 n.报仇；报复 (初中英语单词)
- confess [kən´fes] vt.供认；坦白；承认 (初中英语单词)
- acknowledge [ək´nɔlidʒ] vt.(公开)承认；感谢 (初中英语单词)
- scarlet [´skɑ:lit] n.猩红色 a.猩红的 (初中英语单词)
- misery [´mizəri] n.痛苦；悲惨；穷困 (初中英语单词)
- lieutenant [lef´tenənt] n.陆军中尉；代理；副手 (初中英语单词)
- pardon [´pɑ:dən] n.&vt.原谅；饶恕；赦免 (初中英语单词)
- poison [´pɔizən] n.毒物 v.毒害 a.有毒的 (初中英语单词)
- damned [dæmd] a.该死的 ad.非常，极 (高中英语单词)
- treachery [´tretʃəri] n.背叛；背信弃义 (高中英语单词)
- vengeance [´vendʒəns] n.报复，复仇 (高中英语单词)
- chamber [´tʃeimbə] n.房间；议院；会议室 (高中英语单词)
- treacherous [´tretʃərəs] a.虚伪的；不忠的 (高中英语单词)
- duchess [´dʌtʃis] n.公爵夫人；女公爵 (高中英语单词)
- dungeon [´dʌndʒən] n.地牢，土牢 (高中英语单词)
- lantern [´læntən] n.灯笼；提灯 (高中英语单词)
- villain [´vilən] n.坏人；恶棍；反面角色 (英语四级单词)
- nought [nɔ:t] n.=naught (英语四级单词)
- dagger [´dægə] n.短剑，匕首 (英语四级单词)
- goblet [´gɔblit] n.高脚玻璃杯 (英语四级单词)
- grievous [´gri:vəs] a.痛苦的；严重的 (英语四级单词)
- entreat [in´tri:t] vt.恳求，恳请 (英语四级单词)
- rightful [´raitfəl] a.正义的；合法的 (英语六级单词)
- purport [´pə:pɔ:t, -pət] n.意义 vt.意味着 (英语六级单词)
- loathsome [´ləuðsəm] a.讨厌的，令人作呕的 (英语六级单词)
文章标签:名著
章节正文
京公网安备 11011202003401号
