Cymbeline (21 page)

BELARIUS
    Is not this boy revived from death?

ARVIRAGUS
    One sand another

Not more resembles that sweet rosy lad

Who died, and was Fidele. What think you?

GUIDERIUS
    The same dead thing alive.

BELARIUS
    Peace, peace, see further: he
eyes
us not,
forbear.
¹⁴⁵

Creatures may be alike: were’t he, I am sure

He would have spoke to us.

GUIDERIUS
    
But we see him dead.
¹⁴⁸

BELARIUS
    Be silent: let’s see further.

PISANIO
    It is my mistress:

Since she is living, let the time run on

To good or bad.

CYMBELINE
    Come, stand thou by our side,

Make thy demand aloud.— Sir, step you forth,

Give answer to this boy, and do it freely

Or by our greatness and the grace of it,

Which is our honour, bitter torture shall

Winnow
¹⁵⁸
the truth from falsehood. On, speak to him.

INNOGEN
    My boon is that this gentleman may
render
¹⁵⁹

Of whom he had this ring.

POSTHUMUS
    What’s that to him?

CYMBELINE
    That diamond upon your finger, say,

How came it yours?

IACHIMO
    
Thou’lt torture me
¹⁶⁴
to leave unspoken that

Which to be spoke would torture thee.

CYMBELINE
    How? Me?

IACHIMO
    I am glad to be constrained to utter that

Which torments me to conceal. By villainy

I got this ring: ’twas Leonatus’ jewel,

Whom thou didst banish: and — which more may grieve thee,

As it doth me — a nobler sir ne’er lived

’Twixt sky and ground. Wilt thou hear more, my lord?

CYMBELINE
    
All that belongs to this.
¹⁷³

IACHIMO
    That paragon, thy daughter,

For whom my heart drops blood, and my false spirits

Quail to remember — give me leave, I faint.

CYMBELINE
    My daughter? What of her? Renew thy strength:

I had rather thou shouldst live
while nature will
¹⁷⁸

Than die
ere
¹⁷⁹
I hear more: strive, man, and speak.

IACHIMO
    Upon a time — unhappy was the clock

That struck the hour! — it was in Rome — accursed

The mansion where! — ’twas at a feast — O, would

Our
viands
¹⁸³
had been poisoned, or at least

Those which I
heaved to head!
¹⁸⁴
— the good Posthumus —

What should I say? He was too good to be

Where ill men were, and was the best of all

Amongst the
rar’st
of good ones — sitting
sadly
¹⁸⁷
,

Hearing us praise our loves of Italy

For beauty that
made barren
¹⁸⁹
the swelled boast

Of him that best could speak: for
feature
,
laming
¹⁹⁰

The
shrine
of
Venus
or
straight-pight
Minerva
¹⁹¹
,

Postures
beyond
brief nature
: for
condition
¹⁹²
,

A
shop
¹⁹³
of all the qualities that man

Loves woman for, besides that
hook of wiving
¹⁹⁴
,

Fairness which strikes the eye—

CYMBELINE
    
I stand on fire.
¹⁹⁶

Come to the
matter.
¹⁹⁷

IACHIMO
    All too soon I shall,

Unless thou wouldst grieve quickly. This Posthumus,

Most like a noble lord in love and one

That had a royal lover, took his
hint
²⁰¹
,

And not dispraising whom we praised — therein

He was as calm as virtue — he began

His mistress’ picture, which by his tongue being made,

And then a
mind put in’t
²⁰⁵
, either our brags

Were
cracked of
kitchen
-
trulls
²⁰⁶
, or his description

Proved us
unspeaking sots.
²⁰⁷

CYMBELINE
    Nay, nay,
to th’purpose.
²⁰⁸

IACHIMO
    Your daughter’s chastity — there it begins.

He spake of her
as Dian
had
hot
²¹⁰
dreams

And
she
alone were
cold
²¹¹
: whereat I, wretch,

Made
scruple
²¹²
of his praise, and wagered with him

Pieces of gold gainst this, which then he wore

Upon his honoured finger, to attain

In suit
²¹⁵
the place of’s bed and win this ring

By hers and mine adultery. He, true knight,

No lesser of her honour confident

Than I did truly find her, stakes this ring,

And would so had it been a
carbuncle
²¹⁹

Of Phoebus’ wheel
, and
might so
²²⁰
safely had it

Been all the worth
of’s car.
²²¹
Away to Britain

Post
²²²
I in this design: well may you, sir,

Remember me at court, where I was taught

Of
²²⁴
your chaste daughter the wide difference

’Twixt amorous and villainous. Being thus quenched

Of hope, not longing, mine Italian brain

’Gan in your
duller Britain
²²⁷
operate

Most vilely: for my
vantage
²²⁸
, excellent.

And, to be brief, my practice so prevailed

That I returned with
simular
²³⁰
proof enough

To make the noble Leonatus mad

By wounding his belief in her
renown
²³²

With tokens
thus, and thus
:
averring
²³³
notes

Of chamber-hanging, pictures, this her bracelet —

O, cunning, how I got it! — nay, some marks

Of secret on her person, that he could not

But think her bond of chastity quite
cracked
²³⁷
,

I having ta’en the
forfeit.
²³⁸
Whereupon —

Methinks I see him now—

POSTHUMUS
    Ay, so thou dost,

Italian fiend! Ay me, most credulous fool,

Egregious murderer, thief,
anything
²⁴²

That’s due to all the villains past,
in being
²⁴³
,

To come! O, give me
cord
²⁴⁴
, or knife, or poison,

Some upright
justicer!
²⁴⁵
Thou, king, send out

For torturers
ingenious
²⁴⁶
: it is I

That all
th’abhorrèd
things o’th’earth
amend
²⁴⁷

By being worse than they. I am Posthumus,

That killed thy daughter — villain-like, I lie —

That caused a lesser villain than myself,

A
sacrilegious thief
, to do’t. The
temple
²⁵¹

Of virtue was she; yea, and
she herself.
²⁵²

Spit, and throw stones, cast mire upon me, set

The dogs o’th’street to
bay
²⁵⁴
me: every villain

Be called Posthumus Leonatus, and

Be villainy less than ’twas!
²⁵⁶
O Innogen!

My queen, my life, my wife: O Innogen,

Innogen, Innogen!

INNOGEN
    Peace, my lord, hear, hear.

POSTHUMUS
    
Shall’s have
²⁶⁰
a play of this? Thou scornful page,

There lie thy part.
²⁶¹

PISANIO
    O, gentlemen, help!

Mine and your mistress: O, my lord Posthumus,

You ne’er killed Innogen till now. Help, help!

Mine honoured lady.

CYMBELINE
    Does the world go round?

POSTHUMUS
    How comes these
staggers
²⁶⁷
on me?

PISANIO
    Wake, my mistress!

CYMBELINE
    If this be so, the gods do mean to strike me

To death with
mortal
²⁷⁰
joy.

PISANIO
    How fares my mistress?

INNOGEN
    O, get thee from my sight,

Thou gavest me poison: dangerous fellow, hence!

Breathe not where princes are.

CYMBELINE
    The
tune
²⁷⁵
of Innogen.

PISANIO
    Lady, the gods throw
stones of sulphur
²⁷⁶
on me if

That box I gave you was not thought by me

A precious thing: I had it from the queen.

CYMBELINE
    New matter still.

INNOGEN
    It poisoned me.

CORNELIUS
    O gods!

I left out one thing which the queen confessed,

Which must
approve
²⁸³
thee honest. ‘If Pisanio

Have’, said she, ‘given his mistress that
confection
²⁸⁴

Which I gave him
for cordial
²⁸⁵
, she is served

As I would serve a rat.’

CYMBELINE
    What’s this, Cornelius?

CORNELIUS
    The queen, sir, very oft importuned me

To
temper
poisons for her,
still pretending
²⁸⁹

The satisfaction of her knowledge only

In killing creatures vile, as cats and dogs,

Of no
esteem.
²⁹²
I, dreading that her purpose

Was of more danger, did compound for her

A certain stuff which, being ta’en, would
cease
²⁹⁴

The present power of life, but in short time

All
offices of nature
²⁹⁶
should again

Do their due functions. Have you ta’en of it?

INNOGEN
    
Most like
²⁹⁸
I did, for I was dead.

BELARIUS
    My boys,

There was our error.

GUIDERIUS
    This is
sure
³⁰¹
Fidele.

INNOGEN
    Why did you throw your wedded lady from you?

Think that you are upon a rock, and now

Throw me again.

POSTHUMUS
    Hang there like fruit, my soul,

Till
the tree
³⁰⁶
die.

CYMBELINE
    How now, my flesh, my child?

What,
mak’st thou me a dullard in this act?
³⁰⁸

Wilt thou not speak to me?

INNOGEN
    Your blessing, sir.

BELARIUS
    Though you did love this youth, I blame ye not.

You had a
motive
³¹²
for’t.

CYMBELINE
    My tears that fall

Prove holy water on thee! Innogen,

Thy
mother’s
³¹⁵
dead.

INNOGEN
    I am sorry for’t, my lord.

CYMBELINE
    O, she was
naught
, and
long of
³¹⁷
her it was

That we meet here so
strangely
³¹⁸
: but her son

Is gone, we know not how nor where.

PISANIO
    My lord,

Now fear is from me, I’ll speak troth. Lord Cloten,

Upon my lady’s
missing
³²²
, came to me

With his sword drawn, foamed at the mouth, and swore,

If I
discovered
³²⁴
not which way she was gone,

It was my instant death. By
accident
³²⁵
,

I had a
feignèd letter
³²⁶
of my master’s

Then in my pocket, which directed him

To seek her on the mountains near to Milford,

Where in a frenzy, in my master’s garments,

Which he
enforced
from me, away he
posts
³³⁰

With unchaste purpose, and with oath to violate

My lady’s honour. What became of him

I further know not.

GUIDERIUS
    Let me end the story:

I slew him there.

CYMBELINE
    Marry, the gods
forfend!
³³⁶

I would not thy good deeds should from my lips

Pluck a hard sentence: prithee, valiant youth,

Deny’t again.
³³⁹

GUIDERIUS
    I have spoke it, and I did it.

CYMBELINE
    
He was a prince.
³⁴¹

GUIDERIUS
    A most
incivil
³⁴²
one. The wrongs he did me

Were nothing prince-like, for he did provoke me

With language that would make me spurn the sea,

If it could so roar to me. I cut off’s head,

And am right glad he is not standing here

To tell this tale of mine.
³⁴⁷

CYMBELINE
    I am
sorrow
³⁴⁸
for thee:

By thine own tongue thou art condemned, and must

Endure our law: thou’rt
dead.
³⁵⁰

INNOGEN
    That headless man

I thought had been my lord.

CYMBELINE
    Bind the offender,

And take him from our presence.

BELARIUS
    Stay, sir king.

This man is better than the man he slew,

As well descended
³⁵⁷
as thyself, and hath

More
of
thee
merited
³⁵⁸
than a band of Clotens