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Troilus and Cressida - Act 3, scene 1
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Troilus and Cressida - Act 3, scene 1Act 3, scene 1
⌜Scene 1⌝
Synopsis:
Pandarus asks Paris to make excuses for Troilus’s absence from his father Priam’s supper table that night. At Helen’s insistence, Pandarus sings about love.
⟨Music sounds within.⟩ Enter Pandarus ⌜and Paris’sServingman.⌝
PANDARUS 1488 Friend, you, pray you, a word. Do you not
1489 follow the young Lord Paris?
MAN 1490 Ay, sir, when he goes before me.
PANDARUS 1491 You depend upon him, I mean.
MAN 1492 5Sir, I do depend upon the Lord.
PANDARUS 1493 You depend upon a notable gentleman. I
1494 must needs praise him.
MAN 1495 The Lord be praised!
PANDARUS 1496 You know me, do you not?
MAN 1497 10Faith, sir, superficially.
PANDARUS 1498 Friend, know me better. I am the Lord
1499 Pandarus.
MAN 1500 I hope I shall know your Honor better.
PANDARUS 1501 I do desire it.
MAN 1502 15You are in the state of grace?
PANDARUS 1503 Grace? Not so, friend. “Honor” and “Lordship”
1504 are my titles. What music is this?
MAN 1505 I do but partly know, sir. It is music in parts.
PANDARUS 1506 Know you the musicians?
MAN 1507 20Wholly, sir.
PANDARUS 1508 Who play they to?
MAN 1509 To the hearers, sir.
PANDARUS 1510 At whose pleasure, friend?
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113
MAN
1511
At mine, sir, and theirs that love music.PANDARUS 1512 25Command, I mean, ⟨friend.⟩
MAN 1513 Who shall I command, sir?
PANDARUS 1514 Friend, we understand not one another. I
1515 am too courtly and thou ⟨art⟩ too cunning. At whose
1516 request do these men play?
MAN 1517 30That’s to ’t indeed, sir. Marry, sir, at the request of
1518 Paris my lord, who is there in person; with him the
1519 mortal Venus, the heart blood of beauty, love’s ⌜visible⌝
1520 soul.
PANDARUS 1521 Who, my cousin Cressida?
MAN 1522 35No, sir, Helen. Could not you find out that by her
1523 attributes?
PANDARUS 1524 It should seem, fellow, ⟨that⟩ thou hast not
1525 seen the Lady Cressid. I come to speak with Paris
1526 from the Prince Troilus. I will make a complimental
1527 40 assault upon him, for my business seethes.
MAN 1528 Sodden business! There’s a stewed phrase indeed.
Enter Paris and Helen ⌜with Attendants.⌝
PANDARUS 1529 Fair be to you, my lord, and to all this fair
1530 company! Fair desires in all fair measure fairly
1531 guide them!—Especially to you, fair queen, fair
1532 45 thoughts be your fair pillow!
HELEN 1533 Dear lord, you are full of fair words.
PANDARUS 1534 You speak your fair pleasure, sweet
1535 queen.—Fair prince, here is good broken music.
PARIS 1536 You have broke it, cousin, and, by my life, you
1537 50 shall make it whole again; you shall piece it out
1538 with a piece of your performance.
HELEN 1539 He is full of harmony.
PANDARUS 1540 Truly, lady, no.
HELEN 1541 O, sir—
PANDARUS 1542 55Rude, in sooth; in good sooth, very rude.
PARIS 1543 Well said, my lord; well, you say so in fits.
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115
PANDARUS
1544
I have business to my lord, dear queen.—1545 My lord, will you vouchsafe me a word?
HELEN 1546 Nay, this shall not hedge us out. We’ll hear you
1547 60 sing, certainly.
PANDARUS 1548 Well, sweet queen, you are pleasant with
1549 me.—But, marry, thus, my lord: my dear lord and
1550 most esteemed friend, your brother Troilus—
HELEN 1551 My Lord Pandarus, honey-sweet lord—
PANDARUS 1552 65Go to, sweet queen, go to—commends himself
1553 most affectionately to you—
HELEN 1554 You shall not bob us out of our melody. If you
1555 do, our melancholy upon your head!
PANDARUS 1556 Sweet queen, sweet queen, that’s a sweet
1557 70 queen, i’ faith—
HELEN 1558 And to make a sweet lady sad is a sour offence.
PANDARUS 1559 Nay, that shall not serve your turn, that
1560 shall it not, in truth, la. Nay, I care not for such
1561 words, no, no.—And, my lord, he desires you that
1562 75 if the King call for him at supper, you will make his
1563 excuse.
HELEN 1564 My Lord Pandarus—
PANDARUS 1565 What says my sweet queen, my very, very
1566 sweet queen?
PARIS 1567 80What exploit’s in hand? Where sups he tonight?
HELEN 1568 Nay, but, my lord—
PANDARUS 1569 What says my sweet queen? My cousin will
1570 fall out with you.
HELEN, ⌜to Paris⌝ 1571 You must not know where he sups.
PARIS 1572 85I’ll lay my life, with my disposer Cressida.
PANDARUS 1573 No, no, no such matter; you are wide.
1574 Come, your disposer is sick.
PARIS 1575 Well, I’ll make ’s excuse.
PANDARUS 1576 Ay, good my lord. Why should you say Cressida?
1577 90 No, your ⟨poor⟩ disposer’s sick.
PARIS 1578 I spy.
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PANDARUS
1579
You spy? What do you spy?—Come, give me1580 an instrument. ⌜An Attendant gives him an instrument.⌝
1581 Now, sweet queen.
HELEN 1582 95Why, this is kindly done.
PANDARUS 1583 My niece is horribly in love with a thing you
1584 have, sweet queen.
HELEN 1585 She shall have it, my lord, if it be not my Lord
1586 Paris.
PANDARUS 1587 100He? No, she’ll none of him. They two are
1588 twain.
HELEN 1589 Falling in after falling out may make them
1590 three.
PANDARUS 1591 Come, come, I’ll hear no more of this. I’ll
1592 105 sing you a song now.
HELEN 1593 Ay, ay, prithee. Now, by my troth, sweet ⟨lord,⟩
1594 thou hast a fine forehead.
PANDARUS 1595 Ay, you may, you may.
HELEN 1596 Let thy song be love. “This love will undo us all.”
1597 110 O Cupid, Cupid, Cupid!
PANDARUS 1598 Love? Ay, that it shall, i’ faith.
PARIS 1599 Ay, good now, “Love, love, nothing but love.”
PANDARUS 1600 ⟨In good troth, it begins so.⟩
1601 Love, love, nothing but love, still love, still more!
1602 115 For, O, love’s bow
1603 Shoots buck and doe.
1604 The ⟨shaft confounds⟩
1605 Not that it wounds
1606 But tickles still the sore.
1607 120 These lovers cry “O ho!” they die,
1608 Yet that which seems the wound to kill
1609 Doth turn “O ho!” to “Ha ha he!”
1610 So dying love lives still.
1611 “O ho!” awhile, but “Ha ha ha!”
1612 125 “O ho!”groans out for “ha ha ha!”—Hey ho!
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HELEN
1613
In love, i’ faith, to the very tip of the nose.PARIS 1614 He eats nothing but doves, love, and that breeds
1615 hot blood, and hot blood begets hot thoughts, and
1616 hot thoughts beget hot deeds, and hot deeds is love.
PANDARUS 1617 130Is this the generation of love? Hot blood,
1618 hot thoughts, and hot deeds? Why, they are vipers.
1619 Is love a generation of vipers? Sweet lord, who’s
1620 afield today?
PARIS 1621 Hector, Deiphobus, Helenus, Antenor, and all the
1622 135 gallantry of Troy. I would fain have armed today,
1623 but my Nell would not have it so. How chance my
1624 brother Troilus went not?
HELEN 1625 He hangs the lip at something.—You know all,
1626 Lord Pandarus.
PANDARUS 1627 140Not I, honey sweet queen. I long to hear how
1628 they sped today.—You’ll remember your brother’s
1629 excuse?
PARIS 1630 To a hair.
PANDARUS 1631 Farewell, sweet queen.
HELEN 1632 145Commend me to your niece.
PANDARUS 1633 I will, sweet queen.⌜He exits.⌝
Sound a retreat.
PARIS
1634 ⟨They’re⟩ come from the field. Let us to Priam’s hall
1635 To greet the warriors. Sweet Helen, I must woo you
1636 To help unarm our Hector. His stubborn buckles,
1637 150 With ⟨these⟩ your white enchanting fingers touched,
1638 Shall more obey than to the edge of steel
1639 Or force of Greekish sinews. You shall do more
1640 Than all the island kings: disarm great Hector.
HELEN
1641 ’Twill make us proud to be his servant, Paris.
1642 155 Yea, what he shall receive of us in duty
1643 Gives us more palm in beauty than we have,
1644 Yea, overshines ourself.
PARIS 1645 Sweet, above thought I love ⟨thee.⟩
They exit.