King Lear (11 page)

LEAR
    ’Tis strange that
they
¹⁸⁸
should so depart from home

And not send back my messengers.

GENTLEMAN
    As I learned,

The night before there was no purpose in them

Of this remove.

KENT
    Hail to thee, noble master!

LEAR
    Ha? Mak’st thou this shame thy pastime?

KENT
    No, my lord.

FOOL
    Ha, ha, he wears
cruel
¹⁹⁶
garters. Horses are tied by

the heads, dogs and bears by th’neck, monkeys by th’loins,

and men by th’legs: when a man’s
over-lusty at legs
¹⁹⁸
, then he

wears wooden
nether-stocks
¹⁹⁹
.

LEAR
    What’s he that hath so much thy
place
²⁰⁰
mistook

To
²⁰¹
set thee here?

KENT
    It is both he and she:

Your
son
²⁰³
and daughter.

LEAR
    No.

KENT
    Yes.

LEAR
    No, I say.

KENT
    I say, yea.

LEAR
    By Jupiter, I swear, no.

KENT
    By
Juno
²⁰⁹
, I swear, ay.

LEAR
    They durst not do’t:

They could not, would not do’t: ’tis worse than murder

To do
upon respect
²¹²
such violent outrage.

Resolve
me with all
modest
haste
which way
²¹³

Thou might’st deserve or they impose this
usage
²¹⁴
,

Coming from us
²¹⁵
.

KENT
    My lord, when at their home

I did
commend
²¹⁷
your highness’ letters to them,

Ere I was risen from the place that showed

My duty kneeling, came there a
reeking
post
²¹⁹
,

Stewed
²²⁰
in his haste, half breathless, panting forth

From Goneril his mistress salutations,

Delivered letters,
spite of intermission
²²²
,

Which
presently
²²³
they read: on those contents

They summoned up their
meiny
,
straight
²²⁴
took horse,

Commanded me to follow and
attend
²²⁵

The leisure of their answer, gave me cold looks:

And meeting here the other messenger,

Whose welcome I perceived had poisoned mine —

Being the very fellow which of late

Displayed so saucily against
²³⁰
your highness —

Having more
man than wit
about me,
drew
²³¹
.

He raised the house with loud and coward cries:

Your son and daughter found this trespass worth

The shame which here it suffers.

FOOL
    
Winter’s not gone yet if the wild geese fly that way
²³⁵
.

    Fathers that wear rags

    Do make their children
blind
²³⁷
,

    But fathers that bear
bags
²³⁸

    Shall see their children kind.

    Fortune, that
arrant
²⁴⁰
whore,

    Ne’er
turns the key
²⁴¹
to th’poor.

But, for all this, thou shalt have as many
dolours
²⁴²
for thy

    daughters as thou canst
tell
²⁴³
in a year.

LEAR
    O, how this
mother
²⁴⁴
swells up toward my heart!

Hysterica passio
²⁴⁵
, down, thou climbing sorrow:

Thy
element
’s
below
²⁴⁶
!— Where is this daughter?

KENT
    With the earl, sir, here within.

LEAR
    Follow me not: stay here.

GENTLEMAN
    Made you no more offence but what you speak of?

KENT
    None. How chance the king comes with so small a

number?

FOOL
    An thou had’st been set i’th’stocks for that

question, thou’dst well deserved it.

KENT
    Why, fool?

FOOL
    We’ll set thee
to school to
an
ant to teach thee
²⁵⁵

there’s no labouring i’th’winter. All that follow their noses

are led by their eyes but blind men, and there’s not a nose

among twenty but can smell him that’s
stinking
²⁵⁸
. Let go thy

hold when a great wheel runs down a hill lest it break thy

neck with following: but the great one that goes upward, let

him draw thee after. When a wise man gives thee better

counsel, give me mine
again
²⁶²
: I would have none but knaves

follow it, since a fool gives it.

    That
sir
²⁶⁴
which serves and seeks for gain,

    And follows but for
form
²⁶⁵
,

    Will
pack
²⁶⁶
when it begins to rain,

    And leave thee in the storm.

    But I will tarry, the fool will stay,

    And let the wise man fly:

    The knave turns fool that runs away,

    The fool no knave,
perdy
²⁷¹
.

KENT
    Where learned you this, fool?

FOOL
    Not i’th’stocks, fool.

LEAR
    
Deny
²⁷⁴
to speak with me? They are sick, they are weary,

They have travelled all the night? Mere
fetches
²⁷⁵
,

The images of revolt and
flying off
²⁷⁶
.

Fetch me a better answer.

GLOUCESTER
    My dear lord,

You know the fiery quality of the duke,

How unremovable and fixed he is

In his own course.

LEAR
    Vengeance, plague, death,
confusion
²⁸²
!

Fiery? What quality? Why, Gloucester, Gloucester,

I’d speak with the Duke of Cornwall and his wife.

GLOUCESTER
    Well, my good lord, I have informed them so.

LEAR
    Informed them? Dost thou understand me, man?

GLOUCESTER
    Ay, my good lord.

LEAR
    The king would speak with Cornwall: the dear father

Would with his daughter speak, commands,
tends
²⁸⁹
, service.

Are they informed of this? My breath and blood!

Fiery? The fiery duke? Tell the hot duke that —

No, but not yet: maybe he is not well.

Infirmity doth still neglect all office
²⁹³

Whereto our health is bound: we are not ourselves

When nature, being
oppressed
²⁹⁵
, commands the mind

To suffer with the body. I’ll forbear,

And am
fallen out with my more headier will
²⁹⁷
,

To take the indisposed and sickly fit

For the
sound
man. Death on
my state
²⁹⁹
! Wherefore

Should he sit here? This act persuades me

That this
remotion
³⁰¹
of the duke and her

Is
practice
only.
Give me my servant forth
³⁰²
.

Go tell the duke
and’s
³⁰³
wife I’d speak with them,

Now, presently: bid them come forth and hear me,

Or at their chamber-door I’ll beat the drum

Till it cry sleep to death.

GLOUCESTER
    I would have all well betwixt you.

LEAR
    O me, my heart, my rising heart! But, down!

FOOL
    Cry to it, nuncle, as the
cockney
³⁰⁹
did to the eels when

she put ’em
i’th’paste alive
: she
knapped
’em
o’th’coxcombs
³¹⁰

with a stick and cried ‘Down,
wantons
³¹¹
, down!’ ’Twas her

brother that, in pure kindness to his horse,
buttered his hay
³¹²
.

LEAR
    Good morrow to you both.

CORNWALL
    Hail to your grace!

REGAN
    I am glad to see your highness.

LEAR
    Regan, I think you are. I know what reason

I have to think so: if thou shouldst not be glad,

I would divorce me from thy mother’s tomb,

Sepulch’ring
an
adult’ress
³¹⁹
.— O, are you free?

Some other time for that.— Belovèd Regan,

Thy sister’s
naught
³²¹
: O Regan, she hath tied

Sharp-toothed unkindness, like a
vulture
³²²
, here.

Points to his heart

I can scarce speak to thee. Thou’lt not believe

With how depraved a quality — O Regan!

REGAN
I pray you, sir, take patience: I have hope

You less know how to value her desert
³²⁶

Than she to scant her duty.

LEAR
    Say? How is that?

REGAN
    I cannot think my sister in the least

Would fail her obligation: if, sir, perchance

She have restrained the riots of your followers,

’Tis on such ground and to such wholesome end

As clears her from all blame.

LEAR
    My curses on her!

REGAN
    O, sir, you are old:

Nature in you stands on the very
verge
³³⁶

Of her confine: you should be ruled and led

By some
discretion
that discerns your
state
³³⁸

Better than you yourself. Therefore, I pray you,

That to our sister you do make return:

Say you have wronged her.

LEAR
    Ask her forgiveness?

Do you but mark how this
becomes the house
³⁴³
:

Dear daughter, I confess that I am old;

Kneels

Age is
unnecessary
³⁴⁵
. On my knees I beg

That you’ll
vouchsafe
me
raiment
³⁴⁶
, bed and food.

REGAN
    Good sir, no more: these are unsightly tricks:

Return you to my sister.

LEAR
    Never, Regan:

She hath
abated
³⁵⁰
me of half my train,

Looked black upon me, struck me with her tongue

Most serpent-like upon the very heart.

All the stored vengeances of heaven fall

On her ingrateful
top
³⁵⁴
! Strike her young bones,

You
taking
³⁵⁵
airs, with lameness—

CORNWALL
    Fie, sir, fie!

LEAR
    You nimble lightnings, dart your blinding flames

Into her scornful eyes! Infect her beauty,

You
fen-sucked fogs drawn by the powerful sun
³⁵⁹

To fall and blister!

REGAN
    O the blest gods! So will you wish on me

When the rash mood is on.

LEAR
    No, Regan, thou shalt never have my curse:

Thy
tender-hafted
³⁶⁴
nature shall not give

Thee o’er to harshness. Her eyes are fierce, but thine

Do comfort and not burn. ’Tis not in thee

To grudge my pleasures, to cut off my train,

To bandy hasty words, to
scant my sizes
³⁶⁸
,

And, in conclusion, to
oppose the bolt
³⁶⁹

Against my coming in: thou better know’st

The
offices of nature
³⁷¹
, bond of childhood,

Effects
³⁷²
of courtesy, dues of gratitude:

Thy half o’th’kingdom hast thou not forgot,

Wherein I thee endowed.

REGAN
    Good sir,
to th’purpose
³⁷⁵
.

LEAR
    Who put my man i’th’stocks?

CORNWALL
    What trumpet’s that?

REGAN
    I know’t my sister’s: this
approves
³⁷⁸
her letter,

That she would soon be here.— Is your lady come?

LEAR
    This is a slave, whose
easy-borrowed
³⁸⁰
pride

Dwells in the
sickly
grace
³⁸¹
of her he follows.—

Out, varlet, from my sight!

CORNWALL
    What means your grace?

LEAR
    Who stocked my servant? Regan, I have good hope

Thou didst not know
on’t
³⁸⁵
. Who comes here? O heavens,

If you do love old men, if your sweet
sway
³⁸⁶

Allow
³⁸⁷
obedience, if you yourselves are old,

Make it your cause, send down, and take my part!—