As You Like It (Folio 1, 1623)
Peer Reviewed
¶
Scena Tertia.
¶
Enter Orlando and Adam.
¶Orl. Who's there?
¶Of old Sir Rowland; why, what make you here?
¶Why are you vertuous? Why do people loue you?
¶And wherefore are you gentle, strong, and valiant?
710Why would you be so fond to ouercome
¶The bonnie priser of the humorous Duke?
¶Their graces serue them but as enemies,
715No more doe yours: your vertues gentle Master
¶Are sanctified and holy traitors to you:
¶Oh what a world is this, when what is comely
¶Enuenoms him that beares it?
¶Why, what's the matter?
720Ad. O vnhappie youth,
¶Come not within these doores: within this roofe
¶The enemie of all your graces liues
¶Your brother, no, no brother, yet the sonne
725Of him I was about to call his Father,
¶Hath heard your praises, and this night he meanes,
¶To burne the lodging where you vse to lye,
¶And you within it: if he faile of that
¶He will haue other meanes to cut you off;
730I ouerheard him: and his practises:
¶This is no place, this house is but a butcherie;
¶Abhorre it, feare it, doe not enter it.
¶A theeuish liuing on the common rode?
¶This I must do, or know not what to do:
¶Yet this I will not do, do how I can,
740I rather will subiect me to the malice
¶Of a diuerted blood, and bloudie brother.
¶The thriftie hire I saued vnder your Father,
¶And vnregarded age in corners throwne,
¶Take that, and he that doth the Rauens feede,
¶Yea prouidently caters for the Sparrow,
¶Be comfort to my age: here is the gold,
750All this I giue you, let me be your seruant,
¶For in my youth I neuer did apply
¶Hot, and rebellious liquors in my bloud,
¶Nor did not with vnbashfull forehead woe,
¶Therefore my age is as a lustie winter,
¶Frostie, but kindely; let me goe with you,
¶Ile doe the seruice of a yonger man
760Orl. Oh good old man, how well in thee appeares
¶Where none will sweate, but for promotion,
765And hauing that do choake their seruice vp,
¶Euen with the hauing, it is not so with thee:
¶But poore old man, thou prun'st a rotten tree,
¶In lieu of all thy paines and husbandrie,
770But come thy waies, weele goe along together,
¶And ere we haue thy youthfull wages spent,
¶Here liued I, but now liue here no more
¶But at fourescore, it is too late a weeke,
¶Yet fortune cannot recompence me better
780Then to die well, and not my Masters debter.
Exeunt.
