Cel. You know my Father hath no childe, but I, nor none is like to haue; and truely when he dies, thou shalt be his heire; for what hee hath taken away from thy father perforce, I will render thee againe in affection: by mine honor I will, and when I breake that oath, let mee turne monster: therefore my sweet Rose, my deare Rose, be merry
Ros. From henceforth I will Coz, and deuise sports: let me see, what thinke you of falling in Loue? Cel. Marry I prethee doe, to make sport withall: but loue no man in good earnest, nor no further in sport neyther, then with safety of a pure blush, thou maist in honor come off againe
Ros. What shall be our sport then? Cel. Let vs sit and mocke the good houswife Fortune from her wheele, that her gifts may henceforth bee bestowed equally
Ros. I would wee could doe so: for her benefits are mightily misplaced, and the bountifull blinde woman doth most mistake in her gifts to women
Cel. 'Tis true, for those that she makes faire, she scarce makes honest, & those that she makes honest, she makes very illfauouredly
Ros. Nay now thou goest from Fortunes office to Natures: Fortune reignes in gifts of the world, not in the lineaments of Nature. Enter Clowne.
Cel. No; when Nature hath made a faire creature, may she not by Fortune fall into the fire? though nature hath giuen vs wit to flout at Fortune, hath not Fortune sent in this foole to cut off the argument? Ros. Indeed there is fortune too hard for nature, when fortune makes natures naturall, the cutter off of natures witte
Cel. Peraduenture this is not Fortunes work neither, but Natures, who perceiueth our naturall wits too dull to reason of such goddesses, hath sent this Naturall for our whetstone: for alwaies the dulnesse of the foole, is the whetstone of the wits. How now Witte, whether wander you? Clow. Mistresse, you must come away to your father
Cel. Were you made the messenger? Clo. No by mine honor, but I was bid to come for you Ros. Where learned you that oath foole? Clo. Of a certaine Knight, that swore by his Honour they were good Pan-cakes, and swore by his Honor the Mustard was naught: Now Ile stand to it, the Pancakes were naught, and the Mustard was good, and yet was not the Knight forsworne
Cel. How proue you that in the great heape of your knowledge? Ros. I marry, now vnmuzzle your wisedome
Clo. Stand you both forth now: stroke your chinnes, and sweare by your beards that I am a knaue
Cel. By our beards (if we had them) thou art
Clo. By my knauerie (if I had it) then I were: but if you sweare by that that is not, you are not forsworn: no more was this knight swearing by his Honor, for he neuer had anie; or if he had, he had sworne it away, before euer he saw those Pancakes, or that Mustard
Cel. Prethee, who is't that thou means't? Clo. One that old Fredericke your Father loues
Ros. My Fathers loue is enough to honor him enough; speake no more of him, you'l be whipt for taxation one of these daies
Clo. The more pittie that fooles may not speak wisely, what Wisemen do foolishly
Cel. By my troth thou saiest true: For, since the little wit that fooles haue was silenced, the little foolerie that wise men haue makes a great shew; Heere comes Monsieur the Beu. Enter le Beau.
Ros. With his mouth full of newes
Cel. Which he will put on vs, as Pigeons feed their young
Ros. Then shal we be newes-cram'd
Cel. All the better: we shalbe the more Marketable. Boon-iour Monsieur le Beu, what's the newes? Le Beu. Faire Princesse, you haue lost much good sport
Cel. Sport: of what colour? Le Beu. What colour Madame? How shall I aunswer you? Ros. As wit and fortune will
Clo. Or as the destinies decrees
Cel. Well said, that was laid on with a trowell
Clo. Nay, if I keepe not my ranke
Ros. Thou loosest thy old smell
Le Beu. You amaze me Ladies: I would haue told you of good wrastling, which you haue lost the sight of
Ros. Yet tell vs the manner of the Wrastling
As You Like It · The Wunder Library — complete classics, free to read, with narration.