The Two Gentlemen of Verona (7 page)

SILVIA
    Servant, you are sad.

VALENTINE
    Indeed, madam, I seem so.

TURIO
    Seem you
that
¹⁰
you are not?

VALENTINE
    Haply I do.

TURIO
    So do
counterfeits.
¹²

VALENTINE
    So do you.

TURIO
    What seem I that I am not?

VALENTINE
    Wise.

TURIO
    What
instance
¹⁶
of the contrary?

VALENTINE
    Your folly.

TURIO
    And how
quote
¹⁸
you my folly?

VALENTINE
    I quote it in your
jerkin.
¹⁹

TURIO
    My jerkin is a
doublet.
²⁰

VALENTINE
    Well, then, I’ll double your folly.

TURIO
    
How?
²²

SILVIA
    What, angry, Sir Turio? Do you change colour?

VALENTINE
    Give him leave, madam, he is a kind of chameleon.

TURIO
    That hath more mind to feed on your blood than
live
²⁵

in your air.

VALENTINE
    You have said, sir.

TURIO
    Ay, sir, and
done
too, for
this time.
²⁸

VALENTINE
    I know it well, sir: you always
end ere you begin.
²⁹

SILVIA
    A fine
volley
³⁰
of words, gentlemen, and quickly shot

off.

VALENTINE
    ’Tis indeed, madam, we thank the giver.

SILVIA
    Who is that, servant?

VALENTINE
    Yourself, sweet lady, for you gave
the fire.
³⁴
Sir Turio

borrows his wit from your ladyship’s looks, and spends what

he borrows
kindly
³⁶
in your company.

TURIO
    Sir, if you
spend
³⁷
word for word with me, I shall make

your wit bankrupt.

VALENTINE
    I know it well, sir: you have an
exchequer
³⁹
of words

and, I think, no other treasure to give your followers, for it

appears by their
bare liveries
⁴¹
that they live by your bare

words.

SILVIA
    No more, gentlemen, no more: here comes my

father.

DUKE
    Now, daughter Silvia, you are
hard beset.
⁴⁵

Sir Valentine, your father is in good health:

What say you to a letter from your friends

Of much good news?

VALENTINE
    My lord, I will be thankful

To any
happy messenger
⁵⁰
from thence.

DUKE
    Know ye Don Antonio, your
countryman?
⁵¹

VALENTINE
    Ay, my good lord, I know the gentleman

To be of
worth
and
worthy estimation,
⁵³

And not
without desert
⁵⁴
so well reputed.

DUKE
    Hath he not a son?

VALENTINE
    Ay, my good lord, a son that well deserves

The honour and regard of such a father.

DUKE
    You know him well?

VALENTINE
    I knew him as myself, for from our infancy

We have conversed and spent our hours together,

And though myself have been an idle truant,

Omitting
⁶²
the sweet benefit of time

To clothe mine
age
⁶³
with angel-like perfection,

Yet hath Sir Proteus — for that’s his name—

Made use and fair advantage of his days:

His years but young, but his experience old,

His head
unmellowed
but his judgement
ripe,
⁶⁷

And in a word — for far behind his worth

Comes all the praises that I now bestow—

He is
complete
in
feature
⁷⁰
and in mind,

With all good grace to grace a gentleman.

DUKE
    Beshrew me, sir, but if he
make this good,
⁷²

He is as worthy for an empress’ love,

As meet to be an emperor’s counsellor.

Well, sir, this gentleman is come to me,

With commendation from great
potentates,
⁷⁶

And here he means to spend his time awhile:

I think ’tis no unwelcome news to you.

VALENTINE
    Should I have wished a thing, it had been he.

DUKE
    Welcome him then according to his worth.

Silvia, I speak to you, and you, Sir Turio,

For Valentine, I need not
cite
⁸²
him to it:

I will send him hither to you presently.

VALENTINE
    This is the gentleman I told your ladyship

Had come
⁸⁵
along with me, but that his mistress

Did hold his eyes locked in her crystal
looks.
⁸⁶

SILVIA
    
Belike that
now she hath
enfranchised them
⁸⁷

Upon some other pawn for fealty.

VALENTINE
    Nay, sure, I think she holds them prisoners still.

SILVIA
    Nay, then he should be blind, and being blind,

How could he see his way to seek out you?

VALENTINE
    Why, lady, Love hath twenty pair of eyes.

TURIO
    They say that
Love hath not an eye at all.
⁹³

VALENTINE
    To see such lovers, Turio, as yourself:

Upon a
homely
object, Love can
wink.
⁹⁵

SILVIA
    Have done, have done: here comes the gentleman.

VALENTINE
    Welcome, dear Proteus! Mistress, I beseech you,

Confirm his welcome with some special favour.

SILVIA
    His worth is
warrant
⁹⁹
for his welcome hither,

If this be he you oft have wished to hear from.

VALENTINE
    Mistress, it is: sweet lady,
entertain
¹⁰¹
him

To be my fellow-servant to your ladyship.

SILVIA
    Too
low
a mistress for so
high
¹⁰³
a servant.

PROTEUS
    Not so, sweet lady: but too
mean
¹⁰⁴
a servant

To have a look of such a worthy mistress.

VALENTINE
    
Leave off discourse of disability:
¹⁰⁶

Sweet lady, entertain him for your servant.

PROTEUS
    My
duty
¹⁰⁸
will I boast of, nothing else.

SILVIA
    And duty never yet did
want his meed.
¹⁰⁹

Servant, you are welcome to a worthless mistress.

PROTEUS
    I’ll
die
on him that says so
but
¹¹¹
yourself.

SILVIA
    That you are welcome?

PROTEUS
    That you are worthless.

TURIO
    Madam, my lord your father would speak with you.

SILVIA
    I wait upon his pleasure. Come, Sir Turio,

Go with me. Once more, new servant, welcome.

I’ll leave you to confer of home affairs:

When you have done, we look to hear from you.

PROTEUS
    We’ll both attend upon your ladyship.

VALENTINE
    Now, tell me: how do all from whence you came?

PROTEUS
    Your friends are well and have
them much commended.
¹²¹

VALENTINE
    And how do yours?

PROTEUS
    I left them all in health.

VALENTINE
    How does your lady? And how thrives your love?

PROTEUS
    My tales of love
were wont to
¹²⁵
weary you:

I know you joy not in a love discourse.

VALENTINE
    Ay, Proteus, but that life is altered now.

I have done penance for
contemning
¹²⁸
Love,

Whose high
imperious
¹²⁹
thoughts have punished me

With bitter fasts, with
penitential
¹³⁰
groans,

With nightly tears and daily heart-sore sighs:

For in revenge of my contempt of love,

Love hath chased sleep from my
enthrallèd
¹³³
eyes,

And made them
watchers of
¹³⁴
mine own heart’s sorrow.

O gentle Proteus, Love’s a mighty lord,

And hath so humbled me, as I confess,

There is
no woe to his correction,
¹³⁷

Nor
to
¹³⁸
his service no such joy on earth.

Now no discourse, except it be of love:

Now can I break my fast, dine, sup and sleep

Upon the
very naked
¹⁴¹
name of love.

PROTEUS
    Enough: I read your fortune in your eye.

Was
this
¹⁴³
the idol that you worship so?

VALENTINE
    
Even she
¹⁴⁴
; and is she not a heavenly saint?

PROTEUS
    No, but she is an earthly
paragon.
¹⁴⁵

VALENTINE
    Call her divine.

PROTEUS
    I will not flatter her.

VALENTINE
    O, flatter me, for love delights in praises.

PROTEUS
    When I was
sick
, you gave me
bitter pills,
¹⁴⁹

And I must
minister the like
¹⁵⁰
to you.

VALENTINE
    Then speak the truth
by
¹⁵¹
her; if not divine,

Yet let her be a
principality,
¹⁵²

Sovereign to all the creatures on the earth.

PROTEUS
    Except my mistress.

VALENTINE
    
Sweet
¹⁵⁵
, except not any,

Except
thou wilt
except against
¹⁵⁶
my love.

PROTEUS
    Have I not reason to prefer mine own?

VALENTINE
    And I will help thee to
prefer
¹⁵⁸
her too:

She shall be dignified with this high honour,

To bear my lady’s train, lest the base earth

Should
from her vesture chance to steal a kiss,
¹⁶¹

And of so great a favour growing proud,

Disdain to root the summer-swelling flower
¹⁶³

And make rough winter everlastingly.

PROTEUS
    Why, Valentine, what
braggardism
¹⁶⁵
is this?

VALENTINE
    Pardon me, Proteus: all I
can
¹⁶⁶
is nothing

To
her whose worth makes other
worthies
¹⁶⁷
nothing.

She is
alone.
¹⁶⁸

PROTEUS
    Then let her alone.

VALENTINE
    Not for the world: why, man, she is mine own,

And I as rich in having such a jewel

As twenty seas, if all their sand were pearl,

The water nectar, and the rocks pure gold.

Forgive me that I do not
dream on thee,
¹⁷⁴

Because thou see’st me
dote upon
¹⁷⁵
my love.

My foolish rival, that her father likes—

Only
for
¹⁷⁷
his possessions are so huge—

Is gone with her along, and I must after:

For love, thou know’st, is full of jealousy.

PROTEUS
    But she loves you?

VALENTINE
    Ay, and we are betrothed: nay, more, our marriage-hour,

With all the cunning manner of our flight,
¹⁸²

Determined of
¹⁸³
: how I must climb her window,

The ladder made of cords, and all the means

Plotted and
’greed
¹⁸⁵
on for my happiness.

Good Proteus, go with me to my chamber,

In these affairs to aid me with thy counsel.

PROTEUS
    Go on before: I shall
inquire you forth.
¹⁸⁸

I must unto the road, to
disembark
¹⁸⁹

Some
necessaries
¹⁹⁰
that I needs must use,

And then I’ll presently attend you.

VALENTINE
    Will you make haste?

PROTEUS
    I will.