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Measure for Measure - Act 3, scene 2
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Measure for Measure - Act 3, scene 2Act 3, scene 2
⌜Scene 2⌝
Synopsis:
Pompey is carried off to prison. Lucio refuses to provide bail money for him, and slanders the absent duke to the “Friar,” who warns Lucio that he will pay for his slander when the duke “returns.” The Bawd, also under arrest, tells Escalus that Lucio fathered an illegitimate child on Kate Keepdown. The “Friar” tells Escalus that Claudio is prepared to die, and has Escalus reassure him about the duke’s reputation.
Enter Elbow, ⌜Pompey, and⌝ Officers.ELBOW, ⌜to Pompey⌝ 1505 Nay, if there be no remedy for it
1506 but that you will needs buy and sell men and
1507 women like beasts, we shall have all the world drink
1508 brown and white bastard.
DUKE, ⌜as Friar, aside⌝ 1509 5O heavens, what stuff is here?
POMPEY 1510 ’Twas never merry world since, of two usuries,
1511 the merriest was put down, and the worser allowed
1512 by order of law a furred gown to keep him warm,
1513 and furred with fox and lambskins too, to signify
1514 10 that craft, being richer than innocency, stands for
1515 the facing.
ELBOW 1516 Come your way, sir.—Bless you, good father
1517 friar.
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1518 And you, good brother father. What
1519 15 offense hath this man made you, sir?
ELBOW 1520 Marry, sir, he hath offended the law; and, sir,
1521 we take him to be a thief too, sir, for we have found
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1522
upon him, sir, a strange picklock, which we have1523 sent to the Deputy.
DUKE, ⌜as Friar, to Pompey⌝
1524 20 Fie, sirrah, a bawd, a wicked bawd!
1525 The evil that thou causest to be done,
1526 That is thy means to live. Do thou but think
1527 What ’tis to cram a maw or clothe a back
1528 From such a filthy vice; say to thyself,
1529 25 From their abominable and beastly touches
1530 I drink, I eat, ⌜array⌝ myself, and live.
1531 Canst thou believe thy living is a life,
1532 So stinkingly depending? Go mend, go mend.
POMPEY 1533 Indeed, it does stink in some sort, sir. But yet,
1534 30 sir, I would prove—
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝
1535 Nay, if the devil have given thee proofs for sin,
1536 Thou wilt prove his.—Take him to prison, officer.
1537 Correction and instruction must both work
1538 Ere this rude beast will profit.
ELBOW 1539 35He must before the Deputy, sir; he has given
1540 him warning. The Deputy cannot abide a whoremaster.
1541 If he be a whoremonger and comes before
1542 him, he were as good go a mile on his errand.
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝
1543 That we were all, as some would seem to be,
1544 40 From our faults, as faults from seeming, free.
ELBOW 1545 His neck will come to your waist—a cord, sir.
Enter Lucio.
POMPEY 1546 I spy comfort, I cry bail. Here’s a gentleman
1547 and a friend of mine.
LUCIO 1548 How now, noble Pompey? What, at the wheels of
1549 45 Caesar? Art thou led in triumph? What, is there
1550 none of Pygmalion’s images, newly made woman,
1551 to be had now, for putting the hand in the pocket
1552 and extracting ⌜it⌝ clutched? What reply, ha? What
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1553
sayst thou to this tune, matter, and method? Is ’t not1554 50 drowned i’ th’ last rain, ha? What sayst thou, trot? Is
1555 the world as it was, man? Which is the way? Is it sad
1556 and few words? Or how? The trick of it?
DUKE, ⌜as Friar, aside⌝ 1557 Still thus, and thus; still worse.
LUCIO, ⌜to Pompey⌝ 1558 How doth my dear morsel, thy
1559 55 mistress? Procures she still, ha?
POMPEY 1560 Troth, sir, she hath eaten up all her beef, and
1561 she is herself in the tub.
LUCIO 1562 Why, ’tis good. It is the right of it. It must be so.
1563 Ever your fresh whore and your powdered bawd, an
1564 60 unshunned consequence; it must be so. Art going to
1565 prison, Pompey?
POMPEY 1566 Yes, faith, sir.
LUCIO 1567 Why, ’tis not amiss, Pompey. Farewell. Go say I
1568 sent thee thither. For debt, Pompey? Or how?
ELBOW 1569 65For being a bawd, for being a bawd.
LUCIO 1570 Well, then, imprison him. If imprisonment be
1571 the due of a bawd, why, ’tis his right. Bawd is he,
1572 doubtless, and of antiquity too. Bawd born.—
1573 Farewell, good Pompey. Commend me to the prison,
1574 70 Pompey. You will turn good husband now,
1575 Pompey; you will keep the house.
POMPEY 1576 I hope, sir, your good Worship will be my bail.
LUCIO 1577 No, indeed, will I not, Pompey; it is not the
1578 wear. I will pray, Pompey, to increase your bondage.
1579 75 If you take it not patiently, why, your mettle is
1580 the more. Adieu, trusty Pompey.—Bless you, friar.
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1581 And you.
LUCIO, ⌜to Pompey⌝ 1582 Does Bridget paint still, Pompey,
1583 ha?
ELBOW, ⌜to Pompey⌝ 1584 80Come your ways, sir, come.
POMPEY, ⌜to Lucio⌝ 1585 You will not bail me, then, sir?
LUCIO 1586 Then, Pompey, nor now.—What news abroad,
1587 friar? What news?
ELBOW, ⌜to Pompey⌝ 1588 Come your ways, sir, come.
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LUCIO
1589
85Go to kennel, Pompey, go.⌜Elbow, Pompey, and Officers exit.⌝
1590 What news, friar, of the Duke?
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1591 I know none. Can you tell me of any?
LUCIO 1592 Some say he is with the Emperor of Russia;
1593 other some, he is in Rome. But where is he, think
1594 90 you?
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1595 I know not where, but wheresoever, I
1596 wish him well.
LUCIO 1597 It was a mad fantastical trick of him to steal
1598 from the state and usurp the beggary he was never
1599 95 born to. Lord Angelo dukes it well in his absence.
1600 He puts transgression to ’t.
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1601 He does well in ’t.
LUCIO 1602 A little more lenity to lechery would do no harm
1603 in him. Something too crabbed that way, friar.
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1604 100It is too general a vice, and severity
1605 must cure it.
LUCIO 1606 Yes, in good sooth, the vice is of a great kindred;
1607 it is well allied, but it is impossible to extirp it quite,
1608 friar, till eating and drinking be put down. They say
1609 105 this Angelo was not made by man and woman after
1610 this downright way of creation. Is it true, think
1611 you?
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1612 How should he be made, then?
LUCIO 1613 Some report a sea-maid spawned him; some,
1614 110 that he was begot between two stockfishes. But it is
1615 certain that when he makes water, his urine is
1616 congealed ice; that I know to be true. And he is a
1617 motion generative, that’s infallible.
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1618 You are pleasant, sir, and speak apace.
LUCIO 1619 115Why, what a ruthless thing is this in him, for the
1620 rebellion of a codpiece to take away the life of a
1621 man! Would the duke that is absent have done this?
1622 Ere he would have hanged a man for the getting
1623 a hundred bastards, he would have paid for the
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1624
120 nursing a thousand. He had some feeling of the1625 sport, he knew the service, and that instructed him
1626 to mercy.
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1627 I never heard the absent duke much
1628 detected for women. He was not inclined that way.
LUCIO 1629 125O, sir, you are deceived.
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1630 ’Tis not possible.
LUCIO 1631 Who, not the Duke? Yes, your beggar of fifty;
1632 and his use was to put a ducat in her clack-dish. The
1633 Duke had crotchets in him. He would be drunk too,
1634 130 that let me inform you.
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1635 You do him wrong, surely.
LUCIO 1636 Sir, I was an inward of his. A shy fellow was the
1637 Duke, and I believe I know the cause of his
1638 withdrawing.
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1639 135What, I prithee, might be the cause?
LUCIO 1640 No, pardon. ’Tis a secret must be locked within
1641 the teeth and the lips. But this I can let you
1642 understand: the greater file of the subject held the
1643 Duke to be wise.
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1644 140Wise? Why, no question but he was.
LUCIO 1645 A very superficial, ignorant, unweighing fellow.
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1646 Either this is envy in you, folly, or
1647 mistaking. The very stream of his life and the
1648 business he hath helmed must, upon a warranted
1649 145 need, give him a better proclamation. Let him be
1650 but testimonied in his own bringings-forth, and he
1651 shall appear to the envious a scholar, a statesman,
1652 and a soldier. Therefore you speak unskillfully. Or,
1653 if your knowledge be more, it is much darkened in
1654 150 your malice.
LUCIO 1655 Sir, I know him, and I love him.
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1656 Love talks with better knowledge, and
1657 knowledge with ⌜dearer⌝ love.
LUCIO 1658 Come, sir, I know what I know.
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1659 155I can hardly believe that, since you
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1660
know not what you speak. But if ever the Duke1661 return, as our prayers are he may, let me desire you
1662 to make your answer before him. If it be honest you
1663 have spoke, you have courage to maintain it. I am
1664 160 bound to call upon you, and, I pray you, your name?
LUCIO 1665 Sir, my name is Lucio, well known to the Duke.
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1666 He shall know you better, sir, if I may
1667 live to report you.
LUCIO 1668 I fear you not.
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1669 165O, you hope the Duke will return no
1670 more, or you imagine me too unhurtful an opposite.
1671 But indeed I can do you little harm; you’ll
1672 forswear this again.
LUCIO 1673 I’ll be hanged first. Thou art deceived in me,
1674 170 friar. But no more of this. Canst thou tell if Claudio
1675 die tomorrow or no?
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1676 Why should he die, sir?
LUCIO 1677 Why? For filling a bottle with a tundish. I would
1678 the Duke we talk of were returned again. This
1679 175 ungenitured agent will unpeople the province with
1680 continency. Sparrows must not build in his house
1681 eaves, because they are lecherous. The Duke yet
1682 would have dark deeds darkly answered. He would
1683 never bring them to light Would he were returned.
1684 180 Marry, this Claudio is condemned for untrussing.
1685 Farewell, good friar. I prithee pray for me. The
1686 Duke, I say to thee again, would eat mutton on
1687 Fridays. He’s now past it, yet—and I say to thee—
1688 he would mouth with a beggar though she smelt
1689 185 brown bread and garlic. Say that I said so. Farewell.
He exits.
DUKE
1690 No might nor greatness in mortality
1691 Can censure scape. Back-wounding calumny
1692 The whitest virtue strikes. What king so strong
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1693
Can tie the gall up in the slanderous tongue?1694 190 But who comes here?
Enter Escalus, Provost, ⌜Officers,⌝ and ⌜Mistress
Overdone, a⌝ Bawd.
ESCALUS, ⌜to Officers⌝ 1695 Go, away with her to prison.
BAWD 1696 Good my lord, be good to me. Your Honor is
1697 accounted a merciful man, good my lord.
ESCALUS 1698 Double and treble admonition, and still forfeit
1699 195 in the same kind? This would make mercy
1700 swear and play the tyrant.
PROVOST 1701 A bawd of eleven years’ continuance, may it
1702 please your Honor.
BAWD, ⌜to Escalus⌝ 1703 My lord, this is one Lucio’s information
1704 200 against me. Mistress Kate Keepdown was
1705 with child by him in the Duke’s time; he promised
1706 her marriage. His child is a year and a quarter old
1707 come Philip and Jacob. I have kept it myself, and see
1708 how he goes about to abuse me.
ESCALUS 1709 205That fellow is a fellow of much license. Let
1710 him be called before us. Away with her to prison.—
1711 Go to, no more words.⌜Officers exit with Bawd.⌝
1712 Provost, my brother Angelo will not be altered.
1713 Claudio must die tomorrow. Let him be furnished
1714 210 with divines and have all charitable preparation. If
1715 my brother wrought by my pity, it should not be so
1716 with him.
PROVOST 1717 So please you, this friar hath been with him,
1718 and advised him for th’ entertainment of death.
ESCALUS 1719 215Good even, good father.
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1720 Bliss and goodness on you.
ESCALUS 1721 Of whence are you?
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝
1722 Not of this country, though my chance is now
1723 To use it for my time. I am a brother
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1724
220 Of gracious order, late come from the See1725 In special business from his Holiness.
ESCALUS 1726 What news abroad i’ th’ world?
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1727 None but that there is so great a fever
1728 on goodness that the dissolution of it must cure it.
1729 225 Novelty is only in request, and it is as dangerous to
1730 be aged in any kind of course as it is virtuous to be
1731 constant in any undertaking. There is scarce truth
1732 enough alive to make societies secure, but security
1733 enough to make fellowships accursed. Much upon
1734 230 this riddle runs the wisdom of the world. This news
1735 is old enough, yet it is every day’s news. I pray you,
1736 sir, of what disposition was the Duke?
ESCALUS 1737 One that, above all other strifes, contended
1738 especially to know himself.
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1739 235What pleasure was he given to?
ESCALUS 1740 Rather rejoicing to see another merry than
1741 merry at anything which professed to make him
1742 rejoice—a gentleman of all temperance. But leave
1743 we him to his events, with a prayer they may prove
1744 240 prosperous, and let me desire to know how you find
1745 Claudio prepared. I am made to understand that
1746 you have lent him visitation.
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1747 He professes to have received no
1748 sinister measure from his judge but most willingly
1749 245 humbles himself to the determination of justice. Yet
1750 had he framed to himself, by the instruction of his
1751 frailty, many deceiving promises of life, which I, by
1752 my good leisure, have discredited to him, and now
1753 is he resolved to die.
ESCALUS 1754 250You have paid the heavens your function and
1755 the prisoner the very debt of your calling. I have
1756 labored for the poor gentleman to the extremest
1757 shore of my modesty, but my brother justice have I
1758 found so severe that he hath forced me to tell him
1759 255 he is indeed Justice.
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DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝
1760
If his own life answer the straitness of1761 his proceeding, it shall become him well; wherein if
1762 he chance to fail, he hath sentenced himself.
ESCALUS 1763 I am going to visit the prisoner. Fare you well.
DUKE, ⌜as Friar⌝ 1764 260Peace be with you.
⌜Escalus and Provost exit.⌝
⌜DUKE⌝
1765 He who the sword of heaven will bear
1766 Should be as holy as severe,
1767 Pattern in himself to know,
1768 Grace to stand, and virtue go;
1769 265 More nor less to others paying
1770 Than by self-offenses weighing.
1771 Shame to him whose cruel striking
1772 Kills for faults of his own liking.
1773 Twice treble shame on Angelo,
1774 270 To weed my vice, and let his grow.
1775 O, what may man within him hide,
1776 Though angel on the outward side!
1777 How may likeness made in crimes,
1778 Making practice on the times,
1779 275 To draw with idle spiders’ strings
1780 Most ponderous and substantial things.
1781 Craft against vice I must apply.
1782 With Angelo tonight shall lie
1783 His old betrothèd but despisèd.
1784 280 So disguise shall, by th’ disguisèd,
1785 Pay with falsehood false exacting
1786 And perform an old contracting.
He exits.