Cymbeline (13 page)

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Authors: William Shakespeare

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Draws sword and gives it to Pisanio

I draw the sword myself: take it, and hit

The innocent
mansion
69
of my love, my heart.

Fear not, ’tis empty of all things but grief:

Thy master is not there, who was indeed

The riches of it. Do his bidding, strike.

Thou mayst be valiant in a better cause,

But now thou seem’st a coward.

PISANIO
    Hence,
vile instrument
75
,

Throws away sword

Thou shalt not damn my hand!

INNOGEN
    Why, I must die:

And if I do not by thy hand, thou art

No servant of thy master’s. Against
self-slaughter
79

There is a prohibition so divine

That
cravens
81
my weak hand. Come, here’s my heart:

Something’s
afore’t
:
soft
, soft,
we’ll no defence
82
,

Obedient as the scabbard.
83
What is here?

Takes letters from her bosom

The
scriptures of the loyal Leonatus
84
,

All turned to heresy? Away, away,

Throws letters away

Corrupters of my
faith
86
, you shall no more

Be
stomachers
87
to my heart! Thus may poor fools

Believe false teachers: though those that are betrayed

Do feel the treason sharply, yet the traitor

Stands in worse case of woe.
90
And thou, Posthumus,

That didst
set up
91
my disobedience gainst the king

My father, and make me put into contempt the
suits
92

Of
princely
93
fellows, shalt hereafter find

It is no act of common passage, but
94

A strain of rareness: and I grieve myself

To think, when thou shalt be
disedged
96
by her

That now thou
tirest
97
on, how thy memory

Will then be
panged
by me.
Prithee
dispatch
98
,

The lamb entreats the butcher. Where’s thy knife?

Thou art too slow to do thy master’s bidding

When I desire it too.

PISANIO
    O gracious lady:

Since I received command to do this business

I have not slept one wink.

INNOGEN
    Do’t, and to bed then.

PISANIO
    I’ll
wake mine eyeballs out first.
106

INNOGEN
    Wherefore then

Didst undertake it? Why hast thou
abused
108

So many miles with a pretence? This place?

Mine action and thine own? Our horses’ labour?

The time
inviting thee?
111
The perturbed court

For my being absent,
whereunto
112
I never

Purpose
113
return? Why hast thou gone so far

To
be unbent
when thou hast ta’en thy
stand
114
,

Th’elected
115
deer before thee?

PISANIO
    But to win time

To lose so bad employment, in the which

I have considered of a
course
118
: good lady,

Hear me with patience.

INNOGEN
    Talk thy tongue weary, speak:

I have heard I am a
strumpet
121
, and mine ear,

Therein false struck
, can
take
122
no greater wound,

Nor
tent
to
bottom
123
that. But speak.

PISANIO
    Then, madam,

I thought you would not
back
125
again.

INNOGEN
    
Most like
126
,

Bringing me here to kill me.

PISANIO
    Not so, neither:

But if I were as wise as honest, then

My
purpose would prove
130
well: it cannot be

But that my master is
abused.
131
Some villain,

Ay, and
singular
132
in his art, hath done you both

This cursèd injury.

INNOGEN
    Some Roman
courtesan.
134

PISANIO
    No, on my life:

I’ll give but notice you are dead, and send him

Some bloody sign of it, for ’tis commanded

I should do so: you shall be missed at court,

And that will well confirm it.

INNOGEN
    Why, good fellow,

What shall I do the while? Where
bide?
141
How live?

Or in my life what comfort, when I am

Dead to my husband?

PISANIO
    If you’ll back to th’court—

INNOGEN
    No court, no father, nor no more ado

With that harsh, noble, simple nothing,

That Cloten, whose love-suit hath been to me

As fearful as a siege.

PISANIO
    If not at court,

Then not in Britain must you bide.

INNOGEN
    Where then?

Hath Britain all the sun that shines? Day? Night?

Are they
not but
in Britain?
I’th’world’s volume
153

Our Britain seems as of it, but not in’t:

In a great pool a
swan’s nest.
155
Prithee, think

There’s
livers
156
out of Britain.

PISANIO
    I am most glad

You think of other place: th’ambassador,

Lucius the Roman, comes to Milford Haven

Tomorrow. Now, if you could
wear a mind
160

Dark as your fortune is, and but disguise

That
162
which, t’appear itself, must not yet be

But by
self-danger
163
, you should tread a course

Pretty and full of
view
: yea,
haply
164
, near

The residence of Posthumus; so
nigh
165
, at least,

That though his actions were not visible, yet

Report should
render
167
him hourly to your ear

As truly as he moves.

INNOGEN
    O, for such means,

Though peril to my
modesty
, not
death on’t
170
,

I would
adventure.
171

PISANIO
    Well then, here’s the point:

You must forget to be a woman: change

Command into obedience
, fear and
niceness
174

The
handmaids
175
of all women, or more truly

Woman
it
pretty self — into a
waggish
176
courage,

Ready in gibes
,
quick-answered
177
, saucy and

As
quarrellous
178
as the weasel: nay, you must

Forget
that
rarest treasure of your cheek
179
,

Exposing it — but O, the harder heart!

Alack, no remedy — to the greedy touch

Of
common-kissing Titan
182
, and forget

Your
laboursome and dainty trims
183
, wherein

You made great
Juno
184
angry.

INNOGEN
    Nay, be brief.

I see into thy
end
186
, and am almost

A man already.

PISANIO
    First, make yourself but like one.

Forethinking
this, I have already
fit
189


Gives a bag of clothes

’Tis in my cloak-bag —
doublet
, hat,
hose
190
, all

That
answer to
them: would you
in their serving
191
,

And with what imitation you can borrow

From youth of such a
season
193
, ’fore noble Lucius

Present yourself, desire
his service
194
: tell him

Wherein you’re happy
— which will
make him know
195
,

If that his head have ear in music
196
— doubtless

With joy he will embrace you, for he’s honourable,

And, doubling that, most holy. Your
means abroad
198
:

You have me rich, and I will never fail

Beginning nor supplyment.
200

INNOGEN
    Thou art all the comfort

The gods will
diet
202
me with. Prithee away,

There’s more to be considered: but we’ll
even
203

All that good time will give us. This attempt

I am
soldier to
, and will
abide
205
it with

A prince’s courage. Away, I prithee.

PISANIO
    Well, madam, we must take a
short
207
farewell,

Lest being missed, I be suspected of

Your carriage
209
from the court. My noble mistress,

Here is a box, I had it from the queen,

What’s in’t is precious: if you are sick at sea,

Or stomach-qualmed at land, a dram of this

Will drive away
distemper.
To some
shade
213
,

And
fit you
214
to your manhood: may the gods

Direct you to the best.

INNOGEN
    Amen: I thank thee.

Exeunt

Act 3 Scene 5

running scene 10

Enter Cymbeline, Queen, Cloten, Lucius and Lords

CYMBELINE
    
Thus far
1
, and so farewell.

LUCIUS
    Thanks, royal sir:

My emperor hath wrote, I must from hence,

And am right sorry that I must report ye

My master’s enemy.

CYMBELINE
    Our subjects, sir,

Will not endure his yoke; and for
ourself
7

To show less sovereignty than they,
must needs
8

Appear unkinglike.

LUCIUS
    
So
10
, sir: I desire of you

A
conduct
11
over land, to Milford Haven.

Madam, all joy
befall
12
your grace, and you.

CYMBELINE
    My lords, you are appointed for that
office
13
:

The due of
honour
in no
point
14
omit.

So farewell, noble Lucius.

LUCIUS
    Your hand, my lord.

CLOTEN
    Receive it friendly: but from this time forth

I wear it as your enemy.

LUCIUS
    Sir, the
event
19

Is yet to name the winner. Fare you well.

CYMBELINE
    Leave not the worthy Lucius, good my lords,

Till he have crossed the
Severn.
22
Happiness.

Exeunt Lucius and others

QUEEN
    He goes hence frowning: but
it honours us
23

That we have given him
cause.
24

CLOTEN
    ’Tis all the better,

Your valiant Britons have their wishes in it.

CYMBELINE
    Lucius hath wrote already to the emperor

How it goes here. It
fits us
therefore
ripely
28

Our chariots and our horsemen be in readiness:

The powers that he already hath in Gallia

Will soon be
drawn to head
31
, from whence he moves

His war for Britain.

QUEEN
    ’Tis not sleepy business,

But must be looked to speedily and strongly.

CYMBELINE
    Our expectation that it would be thus

Hath made us
forward.
36
But, my gentle queen,

Where is our daughter? She hath not appeared

Before the Roman, nor to us hath tendered

The
duty of the day.
She
looks us
39
like

A thing more made of malice than of duty,

We have noted it. Call her before us, for

We have been too
slight in sufferance.
42

[
Exit one or more
]

QUEEN
    Royal sir,

Since the exile of Posthumus, most
retired
44

Hath her life been: the cure whereof, my lord,

’Tis time must do. Beseech your majesty,

Forbear
47
sharp speeches to her. She’s a lady

So
tender of
48
rebukes that words are strokes,

And strokes death to her.

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