kind of burr; I shall stick. Exeunt
SCENE IV.
ANGELO'S house
Enter ANGELO and ESCALUS
ESCALUS. Every letter he hath writ hath disvouch'd other.
ANGELO. In most
uneven and distracted manner. His actions show much
like to
madness; pray heaven his
wisdom be not tainted! And why
meet him at the gates, and redeliver our authorities there?
ESCALUS. I guess not.
ANGELO. And why should we
proclaim it in an hour before his
ent'ring that, if any crave
redress of
injustice, they should
exhibit their petitions in the street?
ESCALUS. He shows his reason for that: to have a
dispatch of
complaints; and to deliver us from devices
hereafter, which
shall then have no power to stand against us.
ANGELO. Well, I
beseech you, let it be
proclaim'd;
Betimes i' th' morn I'll call you at your house;
Give notice to such men of sort and suit
As are to meet him.
ESCALUS. I shall, sir; fare you well.
ANGELO. Good night. Exit ESCALUS
This deed unshapes me quite, makes me unpregnant
And dull to all proceedings. A deflow'red maid!
And by an
eminent body that enforc'd
The law against it! But that her tender shame
Will not
proclaim against her
maiden loss,
How might she tongue me! Yet reason dares her no;
For my authority bears a so credent bulk
That no particular
scandal once can touch
But it confounds the breather. He should have liv'd,
Save that his riotous youth, with dangerous sense,
Might in the times to come have ta'en revenge,
By so receiving a dishonour'd life
With
ransom of such shame. Would yet he had liv'd!
Alack, when once our grace we have forgot,
Nothing goes right; we would, and we would not. Exit
SCENE V.
Fields without the town
Enter DUKE in his own habit, and Friar PETER
DUKE. These letters at fit time deliver me. [Giving letters]
The Provost knows our purpose and our plot.
The matter being afoot, keep your instruction
And hold you ever to our special drift;
Though sometimes you do blench from this to that
As cause doth
minister. Go, call at Flavius' house,
And tell him where I stay; give the like notice
To Valentinus, Rowland, and to Crassus,
And bid them bring the trumpets to the gate;
But send me Flavius first.
PETER. It shall be speeded well. Exit FRIAR
Enter VARRIUS
DUKE. I thank thee, Varrius; thou hast made good haste.
Come, we will walk. There's other of our friends
Will greet us here anon. My gentle Varrius! Exeunt
SCENE VI.
A street near the city gate
Enter ISABELLA and MARIANA
ISABELLA. To speak so
indirectly I am loath;
I would say the truth; but to
accuse him so,
That is your part. Yet I am advis'd to do it;
He says, to veil full purpose.
MARIANA. Be rul'd by him.
ISABELLA. Besides, he tells me that, if peradventure
He speak against me on the
adverse side,
I should not think it strange; for 'tis a physic
That's bitter to sweet end.
MARIANA. I would Friar Peter-
Enter FRIAR PETER
ISABELLA. O, peace! the friar is come.
PETER. Come, I have found you out a stand most fit,
Where you may have such
vantage on the Duke
He shall not pass you. Twice have the trumpets sounded;
The
generous and gravest citizens
Have hent the gates, and very near upon
The Duke is ent'ring;
therefore, hence, away. Exeunt
ACT V. SCENE I.
The city gate
Enter at several doors DUKE, VARRIUS, LORDS; ANGELO,
ESCALUS, Lucio, PROVOST, OFFICERS, and CITIZENS
DUKE. My very
worthy cousin, fairly met!
Our old and
faithful friend, we are glad to see you.
ANGELO, ESCALUS. Happy return be to your royal Grace!
DUKE. Many and
hearty thankings to you both.
We have made
inquiry of you, and we hear
Such
goodness of your justice that our soul
Cannot but yield you forth to public thanks,
Forerunning more requital.
ANGELO. You make my bonds still greater.
DUKE. O, your desert speaks loud; and I should wrong it
To lock it in the wards of
covert bosom,
When it deserves, with characters of brass,
A forted
residence 'gainst the tooth of time
And razure of
oblivion. Give me your hand.
And let the subject see, to make them know
That
outward courtesies would fain
proclaimFavours that keep within. Come, Escalus,
You must walk by us on our other hand,
And good supporters are you.
Enter FRIAR PETER and ISABELLA
PETER. Now is your time; speak loud, and kneel before him.
ISABELLA. Justice, O royal Duke! Vail your regard
Upon a wrong'd- I would fain have said a maid!
O
worthy Prince, dishonour not your eye
By throwing it on any other object
Till you have heard me in my true complaint,
And given me justice, justice, justice, justice.
DUKE. Relate your wrongs. In what? By whom? Be brief.
Here is Lord Angelo shall give you justice;
Reveal yourself to him.
ISABELLA. O
worthy Duke,
You bid me seek redemption of the devil!
Hear me yourself; for that which I must speak
Must either
punish me, not being believ'd,
Or wring
redress from you. Hear me, O, hear me, here!
ANGELO. My lord, her wits, I fear me, are not firm;
She hath been a
suitor to me for her brother,
Cut off by course of justice-
ISABELLA. By course of justice!
ANGELO. And she will speak most
bitterly and strange.
ISABELLA. Most strange, but yet most truly, will I speak.
That Angelo's forsworn, is it not strange?
That Angelo's a
murderer, is't not strange?
That Angelo is an adulterous thief,
An
hypocrite, a virgin-violator,
Is it not strange and strange?
DUKE. Nay, it is ten times strange.
ISABELLA. It is not truer he is Angelo
Than this is all as true as it is strange;
Nay, it is ten times true; for truth is truth
To th' end of reck'ning.
DUKE. Away with her. Poor soul,
She speaks this in th'
infirmity of sense.
ISABELLA. O Prince! I
conjure thee, as thou believ'st
There is another comfort than this world,
That thou
neglect me not with that opinion
That I am touch'd with
madness. Make not impossible
That which but seems
unlike: 'tis not impossible
But one, the wicked'st caitiff on the ground,
May seem as shy, as grave, as just, as absolute,
As Angelo; even so may Angelo,
In all his dressings, characts, titles, forms,
Be an arch-villain. Believe it, royal Prince,
If he be less, he's nothing; but he's more,
Had I more name for badness.
DUKE. By mine honesty,
If she be mad, as I believe no other,
Her
madness hath the oddest frame of sense,
Such a dependency of thing on thing,
As e'er I heard in
madness.
ISABELLA. O
gracious Duke,
Harp not on that; nor do not
banish reason
For inequality; but let your reason serve
To make the truth appear where it seems hid,
And hide the false seems true.
DUKE. Many that are not mad
Have, sure, more lack of reason. What would you say?
ISABELLA. I am the sister of one Claudio,
Condemn'd upon the act of fornication
To lose his head; condemn'd by Angelo.
I, in probation of a sisterhood,
Was sent to by my brother; one Lucio
As then the messenger-
LUCIO. That's I, an't like your Grace.
I came to her from Claudio, and desir'd her
To try her
gracious fortune with Lord Angelo
For her poor brother's
pardon.
ISABELLA. That's he, indeed.
DUKE. You were not bid to speak.
LUCIO. No, my good lord;
Nor wish'd to hold my peace.
DUKE. I wish you now, then;
Pray you take note of it; and when you have
A business for yourself, pray heaven you then
Be perfect.
LUCIO. I
warrant your honour.
DUKE. The
warrant's for yourself; take heed to't.
ISABELLA. This gentleman told somewhat of my tale.
LUCIO. Right.
DUKE. It may be right; but you are i' the wrong
To speak before your time. Proceed.
ISABELLA. I went
To this
pernicious caitiff deputy.
DUKE. That's somewhat madly spoken.
ISABELLA. Pardon it;
The
phrase is to the matter.
DUKE. Mended again. The matter- proceed.
ISABELLA. In brief- to set the
needless process by,
How I persuaded, how I pray'd, and kneel'd,
How he refell'd me, and how I replied,
For this was of much length- the vile conclusion
I now begin with grief and shame to utter:
He would not, but by gift of my
chaste body
To his concupiscible intemperate lust,
Release my brother; and, after much debatement,
My sisterly
remorse confutes mine honour,
And I did yield to him. But the next morn betimes,
His purpose surfeiting, he sends a
warrantFor my poor brother's head.
DUKE. This is most likely!
ISABELLA. O that it were as like as it is true!
DUKE. By heaven, fond
wretch, thou know'st not what thou speak'st,