The Complete Works of William ShakespeareShakespeare, William
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The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
Shakespeare, William
English drama -- Early modern and Elizabethan, 1500-1600
ROSALIND.
I pray thee, if it stand with honesty,
Buy thou the cottage, pasture, and the flock,
And thou shalt have to pay for it of us.
CELIA.
And we will mend thy wages. I like this place,
And willingly could waste my time in it.
CORIN.
Assuredly the thing is to be sold.
Go with me. If you like upon report
The soil, the profit, and this kind of life,
I will your very faithful feeder be,
And buy it with your gold right suddenly.
[_Exeunt._]
SCENE V. Another part of the Forest
Enter Amiens, Jaques and others.
AMIENS.
[_Sings_.]
Under the greenwood tree,
Who loves to lie with me
And turn his merry note
Unto the sweet bird’s throat,
Come hither, come hither, come hither!
Here shall he see
No enemy
But winter and rough weather.
JAQUES.
More, more, I prithee, more.
AMIENS.
It will make you melancholy, Monsieur Jaques.
JAQUES.
I thank it. More, I prithee, more. I can suck melancholy out of a song
as a weasel sucks eggs. More, I prithee, more.
AMIENS.
My voice is ragged. I know I cannot please you.
JAQUES.
I do not desire you to please me; I do desire you to sing. Come, more,
another _stanzo_. Call you ’em _stanzos?_
AMIENS.
What you will, Monsieur Jaques.
JAQUES.
Nay, I care not for their names. They owe me nothing. Will you sing?
AMIENS.
More at your request than to please myself.
JAQUES.
Well then, if ever I thank any man, I’ll thank you; but that they call
compliment is like th’ encounter of two dog-apes. And when a man thanks
me heartily, methinks I have given him a penny and he renders me the
beggarly thanks. Come, sing; and you that will not, hold your tongues.
AMIENS.
Well, I’ll end the song.—Sirs, cover the while. The Duke will drink
under this tree; he hath been all this day to look you.
JAQUES.
And I have been all this day to avoid him. He is too disputable for my
company. I think of as many matters as he, but I give heaven thanks and
make no boast of them. Come, warble, come.
AMIENS.
[_Sings_.]
Who doth ambition shun
And loves to live i’ th’ sun,
Seeking the food he eats
And pleased with what he gets,
Come hither, come hither, come hither.
Here shall he see
No enemy
But winter and rough weather.
JAQUES.
I’ll give you a verse to this note that I made yesterday in despite of
my invention.
AMIENS.
And I’ll sing it.
JAQUES.
Thus it goes:
If it do come to pass
That any man turn ass,
Leaving his wealth and ease
A stubborn will to please,
Ducdame, ducdame, ducdame;
Here shall he see
Gross fools as he,
An if he will come to me.
AMIENS.
What’s that “ducdame?”
JAQUES.
’Tis a Greek invocation to call fools into a circle. I’ll go sleep if I
can; if I cannot, I’ll rail against all the first-born of Egypt.
AMIENS.
And I’ll go seek the Duke; his banquet is prepared.
[_Exeunt severally._]
SCENE VI. Another part of the Forest
Enter Orlando and Adam.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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