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Another room in the castle.
[Enter CLAUDIUS and LAERTES]
CLAUDIUS
,
, , ,
,
Now must | your con|science my | acquaint|ance seal,
, ,
, , ,
And you | must put | me in | your heart | for
friend,
,
, ,
, ,
Since^you | have heard,| and with | a know|ing
ear,
, , ,
, ,
That he | which hath | your nob|le fath|er slain,
, T T
Pursued | my life.
LAERTES
. T , ,
It well | appears.| but tell || me,
, 2
, ,
, ,
Why | you proceed|ed not | against | these feats,
, ,
, , 2 ,
So crime|ful, and | so cap/ital in | nature,
, 2 ,
, T T
T
As by your | safety,| wisdom,| all things else,
, , ,
You main|ly were / stirred up?
CLAUDIUS
2 ,
, ,
O for two | special | reasons; (tri with prev)
, 2 ,
, ,
,
Which may to | you (per|haps) seem | much
un|sinewed,
, ,
2 , ,
, ->
But yet | to me | they are strong.| The queen |
his moth||er,
, ,
2 , ,
,
Lives | almost | by his looks:| and for | myself,
, ,
, 2 , ,
My vir|tue or | my plague,| be it eith|er
which,
, , , ,
,
She's so | conjunct|ive to / my life | and soul;
, .
T T T
, ,
That as | the star moves not | but in | his
sphere,
, ,
, ,
x
I could | not but | by her.| The oth|er motive,
, 2 ,
, T T
T
Why to a | public | count I | might not go,
2 , ,
, 2 ,
,
Is the great | love the | general | gender |
bear him,
, ,
2 ,
, ,
Who dip/ping all his | faults in | their
af|fection,
T T .
T ,
, ,
Would like the spring | that turn|eth wood | to
stone,
, ,
x , 2
,
Convert | his gyves | to graces.| So that my
| arrows
, , , , ,
Too slight|ly tim|bered for / so loud | a wind,
,
, , ,
,
Would have | revert|ed to / my bow | again,
,
, ,
And not | where I | had aimed | them. \\
LAERTES
, ,
, ,
,
And so | have I | a nob|le fath|er lost,
, ,
, , 2
,
A sis|ter driv|en in|to desp|erate terms,
,
, , ,
,
Whose was |(if prais|es may | go back | again)
, ,
, ,
,
Stood chal/lenger | on mount | of all | the age
, ,
, 2 ,
,
For her | perfec|tions. But | my revenge | will
come.
CLAUDIUS
, ,
,
Break^not | your sleeps | for that,
, ,
You must /
not think
, ,
, ,
,
That we | are made | of stuff,| so flat,| and
dull,
, ,
, , ,
2->
That we | can let | our beard | be shook | with
dang||er, ??
,
, ,
, , ,
->
And think | it pas|time. You | shortly |
shall hear || more,
, ,
2 , ,
I | loved your | father,| and we love | ourself,
, ,
, , 2 ,
And that | I hope | will teach | you to
i|magine--
, ,
How now?| What news?
[Enter a Messenger]
MESSENGER
, ,
, ,
,
Letters | my lord | from Ham|let. This | to your
, , ,
___ oo
Maje|sty: this / to the | queen.|
CLAUDIUS
, ,
,
From Ham|let? Who | brought them? \\
MESSENGER
, ,
, , ,
Sailors | my lord | they say,| I saw | them not:
x
, , 2 ,
, 2->
They were / given me | by Claud|io, he | received
|| them.
CLAUDIUS
, , ,
Laert|es you | shall hear | them:
,
Leave | us.
[Exit Messenger. Reads:]
High and mighty, you shall know I am set naked on your kingdom. Tomorrow
shall I beg leave to see your kingly eyes. When I shall (first asking your
pardon thereunto) recount the occasion of my sudden, and more strange return.
Hamlet.
,
, , ,
,
What should | this mean?| Are all | the rest |
come^back?
, ,
, ,
,
Or is | it some | abuse?| Or no | such thing?
LAERTES
Know you the hand?
CLAUDIUS
'Tis Hamlet's character, naked and in a postscript here he says alone: can
you advise me?
LAERTES
, ,
, ,
,
I'm lost | in it | my lord;| but let | him come,
, ,
, ,
,
It warms | the ve|ry sick|ness in | my heart,
,
, , ,
,
That I | shall live | and tell | him to | his
teeth,
T T
T
Thus didst thou. \\
CLAUDIUS
x
,
, x ,
If it be*| so Laer/tes, as | how* should it | be* so: ??
,
, ,
, ,
How^oth|erwise | will you | be ruled | by me?
LAERTES
, , ,
, ,
If so | you'll not | orerule | me to | a peace.
CLAUDIUS
, ,
, ,
,
To thine^/own peace:| If he | be now | returned,
, ,
, ,
2 ,
As check|ing at | his voy|age, and | that he
means
T T .
T
x , ,
No more to und|ertake it;| I will | work him
2 ,
T T T ,
,
To an ex|ploit now ripe | in my | device,
, ,
, , ,
Under | the which | he shall | not choose | but
fall;
, , ,
, ,
And for | his death | no^wind | of blame | shall
breathe,
x
, 2 , , ,
But even | his moth|er shall un|charge the |
practice,
, ,
3 3
And call | it ac|cident*:
[[[[LAERTES
, ,
,
My lord,| I will | be ruled;
, , , , ,
The rath|er, if | you could | devise | it so
, , ,
That I | might be | the org|an.
CLAUDIUS
, ,
It / falls right.
, 2
T T T ,
,
You have been | talked of since | your trav|el
much,
, ,
, ,
, 3 3->
And that | in Ham|let's hear|ing, for | a
qual||ity
, ,
, , ,
Wherein | they say | you shine:| your sum | of
parts
, ,
, , ,
2->
Did not | togeth|er pluck | such en|vy from || him
, T T . T
, ,
As did | that one, and that,| in my | regard,
3 3 , 2 ,
Of the unworth|iest siege.
LAERTES
, ,
,
What part | is that | my lord?
CLAUDIUS
, ,
, ,
,
A ve|ry rib|and in | the cap | of youth,
, ,
, ,
,
Yet need|ful too;| for youth | no less | becomes
, ,
, 2 ,
,
The light | and care|less liv|ery that | it wears
, ,
, ,
,
Than set|tled age | his sab|les and | his weeds,
,
, , ,
,
Import|ing health | and grave|ness.]]]] Some two | months^hence
,
, ,
, ,
Here was | a gent|leman | of Norm|andy,
, ,
, ,
,
I've seen | myself,| and served | against | the French,
. T T T ,
T . T Tx
And they ran well | on horse|back; but this gallant
, x
, , ,
Had witch|craft^in it;| he grew | unto | his seat,
, , , , ,
And to / such wond|rous do|ing brought | his
horse,
, 2 ,
, , ,
As he had | been in|corpsed and | demi-|natured
, ,
, , ,
With the / brave beast,| so far | he topped | my
thought,
, ,
, ,
,
That I | in for|gery | of shapes | and tricks,
,
, T T
Come* short | of what | he did.
LAERTES
. T
x
A Nor|man was it?
CLAUDIUS
,
A Nor|man. \\
LAERTES
,
, ,
Upon | my
life | Lamond.
CLAUDIUS
, ,
The ve|ry same.
LAERTES
, , ,
,
,
I know | him well,| he is | the brooch | indeed,
,
, ,
, oo
And gem | of all | the na|tion.|
CLAUDIUS
, , ,
, oo
He made | confes|sion | of you,|
, ,
, , ,
And gave | you such | a mast|erly | report,
, ,
, ,
,
For art | and ex|ercise | in your | defense;
, , 2
, , ,
And for | your rap|ier most | espe|cially,
, , ,
, ,
That he / cried out,| 'twould be | a sight | indeed,
, ,
, ,
3 3 ,
If one | could match | you sir. [[[[the | scrimers of
their | nation, ??
, , 2
, ,
,
He swore,| had had | neither mo|tion, guard,| nor eye,
, , ,
2 , ,
If you | opposed | them Sir.]]]] This report | of
his
, , , 2
, ,
Did Ham|let so | enven|om with his / envy,
, , ,
, ,
That he | could noth|ing do | but wish | and beg,
T Tx T , ,
,
Your sudden com|ing ore | to play | with him;
, ,
Now^out | of this.
LAERTES
,
, ,
Why out | of this,| my lord?
CLAUDIUS
, ,
, , ,
Laert|es was | your fath|er dear | to you?
, , , , ,
Or are | you like | the pain|ting of a | sorrow,
??
, ,
,
A face | without | a heart?
LAERTES
,
,
Why^ask | you this?
CLAUDIUS
, 2
, , ,
,
Not that I | think you | did not | love your |
father,
, , ,
, ,
But that | I know | love is | begun | by time:
, , ,
, ,
And that | I see,| in pas|sages | of proof,
T T . T
, , ,
Time qualifies | the spark | and fire | of it:
, ,
, , ,
[[[[There lives | within | the ve|ry flame | of love
, ,
, ,
x
A kind | of wick | or snuff | that will | abate
it,
, , , , ,
And noth|ing is | at a / like good|ness still,
, ,
, , ,
For good|ness grow|ing to | a plur|isy,
,
, , ,
,
Dies in | his own | too much:| that we | would do
, ,
, 2 ,
,
We should | do when | we would,| for this would | changes
, , ,
, , 2->
And hath | abate|ments and | delays | as ma||ny
, ,
, , ,
As there | are tongues,| are hands,| are
ac|cidents;
, ,
, , ,
And then | this should | is like | a
spend|thrift^sigh,
,
, , 2 ,
2 , ->
That hurts | by eas|ing. But | to the quick | of
the ul||cer]]]]
, T T T
2 , ,
Hamlet | comes back: what | would you und|ertake,
, , ,
, ,
To show | yourself | your fath|er's son | in deed,
,
,
More than | in words?
LAERTES
,
, 2
,
To cut | his throat | in the church.
CLAUDIUS
, ,
, , 2 ,
No place | indeed | should murd|er sanct|uarize;
, , ,
, 2 ,
Revenge | should have / no bounds:| But good La|ertes
,
, , , 2 ,
Will you | do this, | keep close / within your |
chamber,
,
, , ,
,
Hamlet | returned,| shall know | you are / come
home:
,
, , , ,
We'll put | on those | shall praise | your
ex|cellence,
, , , ,
,
And set | a doub|le varn|ish on | the fame
, ,
, 2 ,
, 2->
The French|man gave | you, bring | you in fine | togeth||er,
, , , ,
2 ,
And wag|er on | your heads,| he being | remiss,
, ,
, , ,
Most gene/rous, and | free from | all con|triving,
, , ,
, ,
Will not | peruse | the foils?| So that | with
ease,
, , , ,
,
Or with | a lit|tle shuf|fling, you | may choose
, , ,
2 , , 2->
A sword | unbat|ed, and | in a pass | of prac||tice,
??
, ,
,
Requite | him for | your fath|er.
LAERTES
,
x
I | will do it,
, ,
, ,
,
And for | that pur|pose I'll | anoint | my sword:
, ,
, , ,
I bought | an un|ction of | a mount|ebank
, , ,
, ,
So mort|al, I | but dip | a knife | in it,
, ,
, x ,
Where it / draws blood,| no cat|aplasm | so rare,
, 2 , ,
, ,
Collec|ted from all | simples | that have |
virtue
, ,
, , ,
Under | the moon,| can save | the thing | from
death,
, ,
, ,
,
That is | but scratched | withal:| I'll touch |
my point,
, ,
, 2 ,
, 2->
With this | contag|ion, that | if I gall | him slight||ly,
??
,
,
It may | be death.
CLAUDIUS
, , ,
Let's^furth|er think | of this,
,
, , ,
,
Weigh what | conven|ience both | of time | and
means
, ,
, , ,
May fit | us to | our shape,| if this | should
fail;
, 2 , ,
, ,
And that our | drift look^|through our | bad per|formance,
x , ,
, ,
'Twere better | not as|sayed; there|fore this |
project
, ,
,
, ,
Should have | a back | or sec|ond, that / might
hold,
, ,
, ,
,
If this | should blast | in proof:| Soft, let |
me see
,
x , , ,
We'll make | a solemn | wager | on your |
cunnings,
x ,
2 , 2 , ,
I have it:| When in your | motion | you are hot | and dry,
, ,
, , 2 ,
As make | your bouts | more vi/olent to | that end,
, ,
, , 2
,
And that | he calls | for drink;| I'll have
pre|pared him
x
, , , ,
A chalice | for the | nonce; where|on but
| sipping,
, ,
, , ,
If he | by chance | escape | your ven|omed stuck,
, , ,
, ,
Our pur|pose may / hold there;| How now | sweet* queen.
[Enter GERTRUDE]
GERTRUDE
, , ,
, ,
One^woe | doth tread | upon | anoth|er's heel,
, ,
o , , ,
o ->
So fast | they fol|low: | your sis|ter's
drowned || Laert|es.
LAERTES
___
, oo
Drowned!| O where?|
GERTRUDE
, , ,
, ,
There is | a wil|low grows | aslant | a brook,
, ,
, , ,
That shows | his hoar | leaves in | the
glas|sy stream:
,
, , ,
,
There with | fantas|tic garl|ands did | she come,
. T Tx Tx
,
, ,
Of crow-flowers, nettles,| daisies,| and long |
purples,
, 2 , ,
, ,
That lib|eral shep|herds give | a gros|ser name;
2 ,
, T T T
, ->
But our cold | maids do | dead men's fing|ers
call || them:
,
2 , , ,
2 ,
There | on the pend|ent boughs,| her cor|onet weeds
, 2 , ,
2 , ,
Clambering | to hang;| an env|ious sliv|er broke,
,
, , ,
,
When down | her wee|dy troph|ies, and | herself,
, 2 ,
, T
T T
Fell in the | weeping | brook, her | clothes
spread wide,
, ,
, , ,
And mer|maid^like,| awhile | they bore | her up,
, , , , ,
Which time | she chant|ed snatch|es of / old
tunes,
, , ,
2 , ,
As one | incap|able | of her own | distress,
, , , ,
,
Or like | a creat|ure nat|ive, and | indued
, 2 , 2 , ,
,
Unto that | element:| but long | it could | not
be,
,
, , , ,
Till that | her gar|ments, hea|vy with | their
drink,
,
, , ,
2 x
Pulled the | poor wretch / from her | melod|ious
buoy,
, ,
To mud|dy death. \\
LAERTES
,
, ,
Alas | then, is | she drowned?
GERTRUDE
___
___
Drowned,| drowned.
LAERTES
,
x ,
, ,
2
Too much | of water | hast thou | poor O|phelia,
, , ,
, ,
And there|fore I | forbid | my tears:| but yet
, ,
, , ,
It is | our trick,| nature | her cust|om holds,
, ,
, , ,
Let shame | say what | it will;| when these | are
gone,
, , , ,
,
The wom|an will | be out:| Adieu | my lord,
, ,
, , ,
I have | a speech | of fire,| that fain | would
blaze,
,
, x
But that | this fol|ly doubts it. \\
[Exit]
CLAUDIUS
, ,
__
Let's^fol|low, Gert|rude: \\
,
, , , ,
How much | I had | to do | to calm | his rage?
,
, , , ,
Now fear | I this | will give | it start | again;
T T T ,
Therefore let's | follow. \\
[Exeunt]