Gui. There is cold meat i' the cave; we'll browse on that, Whilst what we've kill'd be cook'd. Bel. Stay; come not in. [Looking into the cave. But that it eats our victuals, I should think Here were a fairy. Gui. What's the matter, sir? Bel. By Jupiter, an angel! or, if not, An earthly paragon! Behold divineness No elder than a boy ! Re-enter IMOGEN. Imo. Good masters, harm me not: T' have begg'd or bought what I have took good troth, Gui. Money, youth? Arv. All gold and silver rather turn to dirt! And 'tis no better reckon'd, but of those Who worship dirty gods. Imo. I see you're angry : Know, if you kill me for my fault, I should Have died had I not made it. Bel. Imo. To Milford-Haven. Whither bound? Bel. What's your name? 9 Whilst for till. Repeatedly so. See vol. xvii. page 58, note 5. 10 This use of in where we should use on was common. Prayer: "Thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven." So in the Lord's 11 Parted for departed; a frequent usage. See vol. x. page 226, note 16. Imo. Fidele, sir. I have a kinsman who Bel. Pr'ythee, fair youth, Think us no churls, nor measure our good minds Gui. Were you a woman, youth, I should woo hard but be your groom: in honesty, I bid for you as I do buy.13 Arv. I'll make't my comfort He is a man ; I'll love him as my brother; And such a welcome as I'd give to him After long absence, such is yours: most welcome! Imo. 14 'Mongst friends, If brothers. [Aside.] Would it had been so, that they Had been my father's sons! then had Been less; and so more equal ballasting To thee, Posthúmus. Bel. my prize He wrings 15 at some distress. Gui. Would I could free't! 12 The indiscriminate use of in and into has been repeatedly noted. 13 Something obscure, perhaps; but the meaning seems to be, "I am speaking sincerely and in good faith, and not by way of compliment or pastime; my heart is in my words; and, as when making an honest purchase, I mean as I say, and will pay what I offer." This explanation is, in substance, Mr. Joseph Crosby's. 14 Here, again, I give Mr. Crosby's explanation: "The metaphor is from a prize taken at sea: 'The prize thou hast mastered in me would have been less, and not have sunk thee, as I have done, by overloading." 15 To wring and to writhe have the same radical meaning. Arv. Or I; whate'er it be, What pain it cost, what danger! Gods! Bel. Imo. [Aside.] Great men, That had a court no bigger than this cave, Hark, boys. That did attend themselves, and had the virtue Could not out-peer these twain. Pardon me, gods ! Boys, we'll go dress our hunt. Fair youth, come in : We'll mannerly demand thee of thy story, So far as thou wilt speak it. Gui. Pray, draw near. Arv. The night to th' owl, the morn to th' lark, less welcome. Imo. Thanks, sir. Arv. I pray, draw near. [Exeunt. 16 Several explanations have been given of different in this place, such as wavering and many-headed. Imogen is contrasting the nobility of conscious virtue with the state of those who feed on the "bubble reputation " blown up by multitudes differing in mind and purpose, and therefore fickle, or, as we say, unreliable. And so Heath explains it: "The nothing-gift which the multitude are supposed to bestow is glory, reputation, which is a present of little value from their hands, as they are neither unanimous in giving it nor constant in continuing it." Enter two Senators and Tribunes. I Sen. This is the tenour of the Emperor's writ : And that the legions now in Gallia are I Tri. Remaining now in Gallia ? Ay. With those legions Which I have spoke of, whereunto your levy Must be supplyant: the words of your commission Of their dispatch. Clo. I am near to the place where they should meet, if Pisanio have mapp'd it truly. How fit his garments serve 17 Commends in the sense of commits. See vol. vii. page 183, note 16. me! Why should his mistress, who was made by Him that made the tailor, not be fit too? the rather - saving reverence of the word for 'tis said a woman's fitness comes by fits. Therein I must play the workman. I dare speak it to myself, for it is not vain-glory for a man and his glass to confer; in his own chamber, I mean, the lines of my body are as well drawn as his; no less young, more strong, not beneath him in fortunes, beyond him in the advantage of the time, above him in birth, alike conversant in general services, and more remarkable in single oppositions: yet this imperceiverant 2 thing loves him in my despite. What mortality is! -Posthumus, thy head, which now is growing upon thy shoulders, shall within this hour be off; thy mistress enforced; thy garments cut to pieces before her face and, all this done, spurn her home to her father; who may happily be a little angry for my so rough usage; but my mother, having power of his testiness, shall turn all into my commendations. My horse is tied up safe: out, sword, and to a sore purpose! Fortune, put them into my hand! This is the very description of their meeting-place; and the fellow dares not deceive me. [Exit. SCENE II. The Same. Before the Cave of BELARIUS. Enter, from the cave, BELARIUS, GUIDERIUS, ARVIRAGUS, and IMOGEN. Bel. [To IMOGEN.] You are not well: remain here in the cave; 1 In single combat. An opposite, in Shakespeare's age, was the common phrase for an antagonist. See vol. v. page 208, note 17. 2 Imperceiverant is undiscerning or unperceiving. The word, though now obsolete, was often used in the Poet's time. Dyce quotes the following apposite passage from The Widow, a play written by Jonson, Fletcher, and Middleton: "Methinks the words themselves should make him do't, had he but the perseverance of a Cock sparrow." |