And never suffers matter of the world
Enter his thoughts, save such as doth revolve
And ruminate himself-shall he be worshipp'd
Of that we hold an idol more than he?
No, this thrice-worthy and right
valiant lord
Shall not so stale his palm, nobly acquir'd,
Nor, by my will, assubjugate his merit,
As amply titled as Achilles is,
By going to Achilles.
That were to enlard his fat-already pride,
And add more coals to Cancer when he burns
With entertaining great Hyperion.
This lord go to him! Jupiter forbid,
And say in
thunder 'Achilles go to him.'
NESTOR. [Aside] O, this is well! He rubs the vein of him.
DIOMEDES. [Aside] And how his silence drinks up this applause!
AJAX. If I go to him, with my armed fist I'll pash him o'er the
face.
AGAMEMNON. O, no, you shall not go.
AJAX. An 'a be proud with me I'll pheeze his pride.
Let me go to him.
ULYSSES. Not for the worth that hangs upon our quarrel.
AJAX. A paltry,
insolent fellow!
NESTOR. [Aside] How he describes himself!
AJAX. Can he not be sociable?
ULYSSES. [Aside] The raven chides blackness.
AJAX. I'll let his humours blood.
AGAMEMNON. [Aside] He will be the
physician that should be the
patient.
AJAX. An all men were a my mind-
ULYSSES. [Aside] Wit would be out of fashion.
AJAX. 'A should not bear it so, 'a should eat's words first.
Shall pride carry it?
NESTOR. [Aside] An 'twould, you'd carry half.
ULYSSES. [Aside] 'A would have ten shares.
AJAX. I will knead him, I'll make him supple.
NESTOR. [Aside] He's not yet through warm. Force him with praises;
pour in, pour in; his
ambition is dry.
ULYSSES. [To AGAMEMNON] My lord, you feed too much on this dislike.
NESTOR. Our noble general, do not do so.
DIOMEDES. You must prepare to fight without Achilles.
ULYSSES. Why 'tis this naming of him does him harm.
Here is a man-but 'tis before his face;
I will be silent.
NESTOR. Wherefore should you so?
He is not emulous, as Achilles is.
ULYSSES. Know the whole world, he is as
valiant.
AJAX. A whoreson dog, that shall palter with us thus!
Would he were a Troyan!
NESTOR. What a vice were it in Ajax now-
ULYSSES. If he were proud.
DIOMEDES. Or covetous of praise.
ULYSSES. Ay, or surly borne.
DIOMEDES. Or strange, or self-affected.
ULYSSES. Thank the heavens, lord, thou art of sweet composure
Praise him that gat thee, she that gave thee suck;
Fam'd be thy tutor, and thy parts of nature
Thrice-fam'd beyond, beyond all erudition;
But he that disciplin'd thine arms to fight-
Let Mars divide
eternity in twain
And give him half; and, for thy vigour,
Bull-bearing Milo his
addition yield
To sinewy Ajax. I will not praise thy wisdom,
Which, like a bourn, a pale, a shore, confines
Thy
spacious and dilated parts. Here's Nestor,
Instructed by the antiquary times-
He must, he is, he cannot but be wise;
But
pardon, father Nestor, were your days
As green as Ajax' and your brain so temper'd,
You should not have the
eminence of him,
But be as Ajax.
AJAX. Shall I call you father?
NESTOR. Ay, my good son.
DIOMEDES. Be rul'd by him, Lord Ajax.
ULYSSES. There is no tarrying here; the hart Achilles
Keeps
thicket. Please it our great general
To call together all his state of war;
Fresh kings are come to Troy. To-morrow
We must with all our main of power stand fast;
And here's a lord-come knights from east to west
And cull their flower, Ajax shall cope the best.
AGAMEMNON. Go we to council. Let Achilles sleep.
Light boats sail swift, though greater hulks draw deep.
Exeunt
ACT III. SCENE 1.
Troy. PRIAM'S palace
Music sounds within. Enter PANDARUS and a SERVANT
PANDARUS. Friend, you-pray you, a word. Do you not follow the young
Lord Paris?
SERVANT. Ay, sir, when he goes before me.
PANDARUS. You depend upon him, I mean?
SERVANT. Sir, I do depend upon the lord.
PANDARUS. You depend upon a
notable gentleman; I must needs praise
him.
SERVANT. The lord be praised!
PANDARUS. You know me, do you not?
SERVANT. Faith, sir, superficially.
PANDARUS. Friend, know me better: I am the Lord Pandarus.
SERVANT. I hope I shall know your honour better.
PANDARUS. I do desire it.
SERVANT. You are in the state of grace.
PANDARUS. Grace! Not so, friend; honour and
lordship are my titles.
What music is this?
SERVANT. I do but
partly know, sir; it is music in parts.
PANDARUS. Know you the musicians?
SERVANT. Wholly, sir.
PANDARUS. Who play they to?
SERVANT. To the hearers, sir.
PANDARUS. At whose pleasure, friend?
SERVANT. At mine, sir, and
theirs that love music.
PANDARUS. Command, I mean, friend.
SERVANT. Who shall I command, sir?
PANDARUS. Friend, we understand not one another: I am to courtly,
and thou art too
cunning. At whose request do these men play?
SERVANT. That's to't, indeed, sir. Marry, sir, at the request of
Paris my lord, who is there in person; with him the
mortal Venus,
the heart-blood of beauty, love's
invisible soul-
PANDARUS. Who, my cousin, Cressida?
SERVANT. No, sir, Helen. Could not you find out that by her
attributes?
PANDARUS. It should seem, fellow, that thou hast not seen the Lady
Cressida. I come to speak with Paris from the Prince Troilus; I
will make a complimental
assault upon him, for my business
seethes.
SERVANT. Sodden business! There's a stew'd
phrase indeed!
Enter PARIS and HELEN, attended
PANDARUS. Fair be to you, my lord, and to all this fair company!
Fair desires, in all fair
measure, fairly guide them- especially
to you, fair queen! Fair thoughts be your fair pillow.
HELEN. Dear lord, you are full of fair words.
PANDARUS. You speak your fair pleasure, sweet queen. Fair
prince,
here is good broken music.
PARIS. You have broke it, cousin; and by my life, you shall make it
whole again; you shall piece it out with a piece of your
performance.
HELEN. He is full of harmony.
PANDARUS. Truly, lady, no.
HELEN. O, sir-
PANDARUS. Rude, in sooth; in good sooth, very rude.
PARIS. Well said, my lord. Well, you say so in fits.
PANDARUS. I have business to my lord, dear queen. My lord, will you
vouchsafe me a word?
HELEN. Nay, this shall not hedge us out. We'll hear you sing,
certainly-
PANDARUS. Well sweet queen, you are pleasant with me. But, marry,
thus, my lord: my dear lord and most esteemed friend, your
brother Troilus-
HELEN. My Lord Pandarus, honey-sweet lord-
PANDARUS. Go to, sweet queen, go to-commends himself most
affectionately to you-
HELEN. You shall not bob us out of our
melody. If you do, our
melancholy upon your head!
PANDARUS. Sweet queen, sweet queen; that's a sweet queen, i' faith.
HELEN. And to make a sweet lady sad is a sour offence.
PANDARUS. Nay, that shall not serve your turn; that shall it not,
in truth, la. Nay, I care not for such words; no, no. -And, my
lord, he desires you that, if the King call for him at supper,
you will make his excuse.
HELEN. My Lord Pandarus!
PANDARUS. What says my sweet queen, my very very sweet queen?
PARIS. What exploit's in hand? Where sups he to-night?
HELEN. Nay, but, my lord-
PANDARUS. What says my sweet queen?-My cousin will fall out with
you.
HELEN. You must not know where he sups.
PARIS. I'll lay my life, with my disposer Cressida.
PANDARUS. No, no, no such matter; you are wide. Come, your disposer
is sick.
PARIS. Well, I'll make's excuse.
PANDARUS. Ay, good my lord. Why should you say Cressida?
No, your poor disposer's sick.
PARIS. I spy.
PANDARUS. You spy! What do you spy?-Come, give me an instrument.
Now, sweet queen.
HELEN. Why, this is kindly done.
PANDARUS. My niece is
horribly in love with a thing you have, sweet
queen.
HELEN. She shall have it, my lord, if it be not my Lord Paris.
PANDARUS. He! No, she'll none of him; they two are twain.
HELEN. Falling in, after falling out, may make them three.
PANDARUS. Come, come. I'll hear no more of this; I'll sing you a
song now.
HELEN. Ay, ay, prithee now. By my troth, sweet lord, thou hast a
fine forehead.
PANDARUS. Ay, you may, you may.
HELEN. Let thy song be love. This love will undo us all. O Cupid,
Cupid, Cupid!
PANDARUS. Love! Ay, that it shall, i' faith.
PARIS. Ay, good now, love, love, nothing but love.
PANDARUS. In good troth, it begins so. [Sings]
Love, love, nothing but love, still love, still more!
For, oh, love's bow
Shoots buck and doe;
The shaft confounds
Not that it wounds,
But tickles still the sore.
These lovers cry, O ho, they die!
Yet that which seems the wound to kill
Doth turn O ho! to ha! ha! he!
So dying love lives still.
O ho! a while, but ha! ha! ha!