English drama -- 17th century; Retribution -- Drama; Siblings -- Drama; Tragedies (Drama)
BOSOLA. I would have you curse yourself now, that your bounty
(Which makes men truly noble) e'er should make me
A villain. O, that to avoid ingratitude
For the good deed you have done me, I must do
All the ill man can invent! Thus the devil
Candies all sins o'er; and what heaven terms vile,
That names he complimental.
FERDINAND. Be yourself;
Keep your old garb of melancholy; 'twill express
You envy those that stand above your reach,
Yet strive not to come near 'em. This will gain
Access to private lodgings, where yourself
May, like a politic dormouse----
BOSOLA. As I have seen some
Feed in a lord's dish, half asleep, not seeming
To listen to any talk; and yet these rogues
Have cut his throat in a dream. What 's my place?
The provisorship o' the horse? Say, then, my corruption
Grew out of horse-dung: I am your creature.
FERDINAND. Away!
[Exit.]
BOSOLA. Let good men, for good deeds, covet good fame,
Since place and riches oft are bribes of shame.
Sometimes the devil doth preach.
[Exit.]
[Scene III][17]
[Enter FERDINAND, DUCHESS, CARDINAL, and CARIOLA]
CARDINAL. We are to part from you; and your own discretion
Must now be your director.
FERDINAND. You are a widow:
You know already what man is; and therefore
Let not youth, high promotion, eloquence----
CARDINAL. No,
Nor anything without the addition, honour,
Sway your high blood.
FERDINAND. Marry! they are most luxurious[18]
Will wed twice.
CARDINAL. O, fie!
FERDINAND. Their livers are more spotted
Than Laban's sheep.[19]
DUCHESS. Diamonds are of most value,
They say, that have pass'd through most jewellers' hands.
FERDINAND. Whores by that rule are precious.
DUCHESS. Will you hear me?
I 'll never marry.
CARDINAL. So most widows say;
But commonly that motion lasts no longer
Than the turning of an hour-glass: the funeral sermon
And it end both together.
FERDINAND. Now hear me:
You live in a rank pasture, here, i' the court;
There is a kind of honey-dew that 's deadly;
'T will poison your fame; look to 't. Be not cunning;
For they whose faces do belie their hearts
Are witches ere they arrive at twenty years,
Ay, and give the devil suck.
DUCHESS. This is terrible good counsel.
FERDINAND. Hypocrisy is woven of a fine small thread,
Subtler than Vulcan's engine:[20] yet, believe 't,
Your darkest actions, nay, your privat'st thoughts,
Will come to light.
CARDINAL. You may flatter yourself,
And take your own choice; privately be married
Under the eaves of night----
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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