Exit [Edgar].
Alarum and
retreat within. Enter Edgar,
Edg. Away, old man! give me thy hand! away!
King Lear hath lost, he and his daughter ta'en.
Give me thy hand! come on!
Glou. No further, sir. A man may rot even here.
Edg. What, in ill thoughts again? Men must endure
Their going hence, even as their coming
hither;
Ripeness is all. Come on.
Glou. And that's true too. Exeunt.
Scene III.
The British camp, near Dover.
Enter, in
conquest, with Drum and Colours, Edmund; Lear
and Cordelia as prisoners; Soldiers, Captain.
Edm. Some officers take them away. Good guard
Until their greater pleasures first be known
That are to
censure them.
Cor. We are not the first
Who with best meaning have incurr'd the worst.
For thee, oppressed king, am I cast down;
Myself could else outfrown false Fortune's frown.
Shall we not see these daughters and these sisters?
Lear. No, no, no, no! Come, let's away to prison.
We two alone will sing like birds i' th' cage.
When thou dost ask me
blessing, I'll kneel down
And ask of thee
forgiveness. So we'll live,
And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh
At gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues
Talk of court news; and we'll talk with them too-
Who loses and who wins; who's in, who's out-
And take upon 's the
mystery of things,
As if we were God's spies; and we'll wear out,
In a wall'd prison, packs and sects of great ones
That ebb and flow by th' moon.
Edm. Take them away.
Lear. Upon such sacrifices, my Cordelia,
The gods themselves throw
incense. Have I caught thee?
He that parts us shall bring a brand from heaven
And fire us hence like foxes. Wipe thine eyes.
The goodyears shall
devour 'em, flesh and fell,
Ere they shall make us weep! We'll see 'em starv'd first.
Come. Exeunt [Lear and Cordelia, guarded].
Edm. Come
hither, Captain; hark.
Take thou this note [gives a paper]. Go follow them to prison.
One step I have advanc'd thee. If thou dost
As this instructs thee, thou dost make thy way
To noble fortunes. Know thou this, that men
Are as the time is. To be tender-minded
Does not become a sword. Thy great employment
Will not bear question. Either say thou'lt do't,
Or
thrive by other means.
Capt. I'll do't, my lord.
Edm. About it! and write happy when th' hast done.
Mark-I say,
instantly" target="_blank" title="ad.立即,立刻">
instantly; and carry it so
As I have set it down.
Capt. I cannot draw a cart, nor eat dried oats;
If it be man's work, I'll do't. Exit.
Flourish. Enter Albany, Goneril, Regan, Soldiers.
Alb. Sir, you have show'd to-day your
valiant strain,
And fortune led you well. You have the captives
Who were the opposites of this day's strife.
We do require them of you, so to use them
As we shall find their merits and our safety
May
equally determine.
Edm. Sir, I thought it fit
To send the old and
miserable King
To some retention and a
pointed guard;
Whose age has charms in it, whose title more,
To pluck the common bosom on his side
And turn our impress'd lances in our eyes
Which do command them. With him I sent the Queen,
My reason all the same; and they are ready
To-morrow, or at further space, t' appear
Where you shall hold your
session. At this time
We sweat and bleed: the friend hath lost his friend;
And the best quarrels, in the heat, are curs'd
By those that feel their sharpness.
The question of Cordelia and her father
Requires a fitter place.
Alb. Sir, by your patience,
I hold you but a subject of this war,
Not as a brother.
Reg. That's as we list to grace him.
Methinks our pleasure might have been demanded
Ere you had spoke so far. He led our powers,
Bore the
commission of my place and person,
The which immediacy may well stand up
And call itself your brother.
Gon. Not so hot!
In his own grace he doth exalt himself
More than in your addition.
Reg. In my rights
By me invested, he compeers the best.
Gon. That were the most if he should husband you.
Reg. Jesters do oft prove prophets.
Gon. Holla, holla!
That eye that told you so look'd but asquint.
Reg. Lady, I am not well; else I should answer
From a full-flowing
stomach. General,
Take thou my soldiers, prisoners, patrimony;
Dispose of them, of me; the walls are thine.
Witness the world that I create thee here
My lord and master.
Gon. Mean you to enjoy him?
Alb. The let-alone lies not in your good will.
Edm. Nor in thine, lord.
Alb. Half-blooded fellow, yes.
Reg. [to Edmund] Let the drum strike, and prove my title thine.
Alb. Stay yet; hear reason. Edmund, I
arrest thee
On capital
treason; and, in thine attaint,
This gilded
serpent [points to Goneril]. For your claim, fair
sister,
I bar it in the interest of my wife.
'Tis she is subcontracted to this lord,
And I, her husband,
contradict your banes.
If you will marry, make your loves to me;
My lady is bespoke.
Gon. An interlude!
Alb. Thou art arm'd, Gloucester. Let the
trumpet sound.
If none appear to prove upon thy person
Thy heinous,
manifest, and many
treasons,
There's my
pledge [throws down a glove]! I'll prove it on thy
heart,
Ere I taste bread, thou art in nothing less
Than I have here proclaim'd thee.
Reg. Sick, O, sick!
Gon. [aside] If not, I'll ne'er trust medicine.
Edm. There's my exchange [throws down a glove]. What in the world
he is
That names me
traitor, villain-like he lies.
Call by thy
trumpet. He that dares approach,
On him, on you, who not? I will
maintainMy truth and honour firmly.
Alb. A
herald, ho!
Edm. A
herald, ho, a
herald!
Alb. Trust to thy single
virtue; for thy soldiers,
All levied in my name, have in my name
Took their discharge.
Reg. My
sickness grows upon me.
Alb. She is not well. Convey her to my tent.
[Exit Regan, led.]
Enter a Herald.
Come
hither,
herald. Let the
trumpet sound,
And read out this.
Capt. Sound,
trumpet! A
trumpet sounds.
Her. (reads) 'If any man of quality or degree within the lists of
the army will
maintain upon Edmund,
supposed Earl of Gloucester,
that he is a
manifoldtraitor, let him appear by the third sound
of the
trumpet. He is bold in his defence.'
Edm. Sound! First
trumpet.
Her. Again! Second
trumpet.
Her. Again! Third
trumpet.
Trumpet answers within.
Enter Edgar, armed, at the third sound, a Trumpet before him.
Alb. Ask him his purposes, why he appears
Upon this call o' th'
trumpet.
Her. What are you?
Your name, your quality? and why you answer
This present summons?
Edg. Know my name is lost;
By
treason's tooth bare-gnawn and canker-bit.
Yet am I noble as the adversary
I come to cope.
Alb. Which is that adversary?
Edg. What's he that speaks for Edmund Earl of Gloucester?
Edm. Himself. What say'st thou to him?
Edg. Draw thy sword,
That, if my speech
offend a noble heart,
Thy arm may do thee justice. Here is mine.
Behold, it is the
privilege of mine honours,
My oath, and my
profession. I protest-
Maugre thy strength, youth, place, and eminence,
Despite thy
victor sword and fire-new fortune,
Thy
valour and thy heart-thou art a
traitor;
False to thy gods, thy brother, and thy father;
Conspirant 'gainst this high
illustrious prince;
And from th' extremest
upward of thy head
To the
descent and dust beneath thy foot,
A most toad-spotted
traitor. Say thou 'no,'
This sword, this arm, and my best spirits are bent
To prove upon thy heart, whereto I speak,
Thou liest.
Edm. In
wisdom I should ask thy name;
But since thy outside looks so fair and warlike,
And that thy tongue some say of
breeding breathes,
What safe and
nicely I might well delay
By rule of
knighthood, I
disdain and spurn.
Back do I toss those
treasons to thy head;
With the hell-hated lie o'erwhelm thy heart;
Which-for they yet glance by and scarcely bruise-
This sword of mine shall give them
instant way
Where they shall rest for ever. Trumpets, speak!
Alarums. Fight. [Edmund falls.]
Alb. Save him, save him!
Gon. This is mere practice, Gloucester.
By th' law of arms thou wast not bound to answer
An unknown opposite. Thou art not vanquish'd,
But cozen'd and beguil'd.
Alb. Shut your mouth, dame,
Or with this paper shall I stop it. [Shows her her letter to
Edmund.]-[To Edmund]. Hold, sir.