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Troilus and Cressida (Folio 1, 1623)

Author: William Shakespeare
Editor: W. L. Godshalk
Peer Reviewed
The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida.
79
It is too staru'd a subiect for my Sword,
But Pandarus: O Gods! How do you plague me?
I cannot come to Cressid but by Pandar,
130And he's as teachy to be woo'd to woe,
As she is stubborne, chast, against all suite.
Tell me Apollo for thy Daphnes Loue
What Cressid is, what Pandar, and what we:
Her bed is India, there she lies, a Pearle,
135Between our Ilium, and where shee recides
Let it be cald the wild and wandring flood,
Our selfe the Merchant, and this sayling Pandar,
Our doubtfull hope, our conuoy and our Barke.
Alarum. Enter Æneas.
140Æne. How now Prince Troylus?
Wherefore not a field?
Troy. Because not there; this womans answer sorts.
For womanish it is to be from thence:
What newes Æneas from the field to day?
145Æne. That Paris is returned home, and hurt.
Troy. By whom Æneas?
Æne. Troylus by Menelaus.
Troy. Let Paris bleed, 'tis but a scar to scorne.
Paris is gor'd with Menelaus horne.
Alarum.
150Æne. Harke what good sport is out of Towne to day.
Troy. Better at home, if would I might were may:
But to the sport abroad, are you bound thither?
Æne. In all swift hast.
Troy. Come goe wee then togither.
Exeunt.
155
Enter Cressid and her man.
Cre. Who were those went by?
Man. Queene Hecuba, and Hellen.
Cre. And whether go they?
Man. Vp to the Easterne Tower,
160Whose height commands as subiect all the vaile,
To see the battell: Hector whose pacience,
Is as a Vertue fixt, to day was mou'd:
He chides Andromache and strooke his Armorer,
And like as there were husbandry in Warre
165Before the Sunne rose, hee was harnest lyte,
And to the field goe's he; where euery flower
Did as a Prophet weepe what it forsaw,
In Hectors wrath.
Cre. What was his cause of anger?
170Man. The noise goe's this;
There is among the Greekes,
A Lord of Troian blood, Nephew to Hector,
They call him Aiax.
Cre. Good; and what of him?
175Man. They say he is a very man per se and stands alone.
Cre. So do all men, vnlesse they are drunke, sicke, or
haue no legges.
Man. This man Lady, hath rob'd many beasts of their
particular additions, he is as valiant as the Lyon, churlish
180as the Beare, slow as the Elephant: a man into whom
nature hath so crowded humors, that his valour is crusht
into folly, his folly sauced with discretion: there is no
man hath a vertue, that he hath not a glimpse of, nor a-
ny man an attaint, but he carries some staine of it. He is
185melancholy without cause, and merry against the haire,
hee hath the ioynts of euery thing, but euery thing so
out ot ioynt, that hee is a gowtie Briareus, many hands
and no vse; or purblinded Argus, all eyes and no sight.
Cre. But how should this man that makes me smile,
190make Hector angry?
Man. They say he yesterday cop'd Hector in the bat-
tell and stroke him downe, the disdaind & shame where-
of, hath euer since kept Hector fasting and waking.
Enter Pandarus.
195Cre. Who comes here?
Man. Madam your Vncle Pandarus.
Cre. Hectors a gallant man.
Man. As may be in the world Lady.
Pan. What's that? what's that?
200Cre. Good morrow Vncle Pandarus.
Pan. Good morrow Cozen Cressid: what do you talke
of? good morrow Alexander: how do you Cozen? when
were you at Illium?
Cre. This morning Vncle.
205Pan. What were you talking of when I came? Was
Hector arm'd and gon ere yea came to Illium? Hellen was
not vp? was she?
Cre. Hector was gone but Hellen was not vp?
Pan. E'ene so; Hector was stirring early.
210Cre. That were we talking of, and of his anger.
Pan. Was he angry?
Cre. So he saies here.
Pan. True he was so; I know the cause too, heele lay
about him to day I can tell them that, and there's Troylus
215will not come farre behind him, let them take heede of
Troylus; I can tell them that too.
Cre. What is he angry too?
Pan. Who Troylus?
Troylus is the better man of the two.
220Cre. Oh Iupiter; there's no comparison.
Pan. What not betweene Troylus and Hector? do you
know a man if you see him?
Cre. I, if I euer saw him before and knew him.
Pan. Well I say Troylus is Troylus.
225Cre. Then you say as I say,
For I am sure he is not Hector.
Pan. No not Hector is not Troylus in some degrees.
Cre. 'Tis iust, to each of them he is himselfe.
Pan. Himselfe? alas poore Troylus I would he were.
230Cre. So he is.
Pan. Condition I had gone bare-foote to India.
Cre. He is not Hector.
Pan. Himselfe? no? hee's not himselfe, would a were
himselfe: well, the Gods are aboue, time must friend or
235end: well Troylus well, I would my heart were in her bo-
dy; no, Hector is not a better man then Troylus.
Cre. Excuse me.
Pan. He is elder.
Cre. Pardon me, pardon me.
240Pan. Th'others not come too't, you shall tell me ano-
ther tale when th'others come too't: Hector shall not
haue his will this yeare.
Cre. He shall not neede it if he haue his owne.
Pan. Nor his qualities.
245Cre. No matter.
Pan. Nor his beautie.
Cre. 'Twould not become him, his own's better.
Pan. You haue no iudgement Neece; Hellen her selfe
swore th'other day, that Troylus for a browne fauour (for
250so 'tis I must confesse) not browne neither.
Cre. No, but browne.
Pan. Faith to say truth, browne and not browne.
Cre. To say the truth, true and not true.
Pan. She prais'd his complexion aboue Paris.
255Cre. Why Paris hath colour inough.
Pan. So he has.
Cre. Then Troylus should haue too much, if she prasi'd
him aboue, his complexion is higher then his, he hauing
colour