Authors: William Shakespeare
Cymbeline and Innogen converse apart
BELARIUS
Is not this boy revived from death?
ARVIRAGUS
One sand another
Not more resembles that sweet rosy lad
Who died, and was Fidele. What think you?
GUIDERIUS
The same dead thing alive.
BELARIUS
Peace, peace, see further: he
eyes
us not,
forbear.
145
Creatures may be alike: were’t he, I am sure
He would have spoke to us.
GUIDERIUS
But we see him dead.
148
BELARIUS
Be silent: let’s see further.
Aside
PISANIO
It is my mistress:
Since she is living, let the time run on
To good or bad.
Cymbeline and Innogen come forward
CYMBELINE
Come, stand thou by our side,
To Iachimo
Make thy demand aloud.— Sir, step you forth,
Give answer to this boy, and do it freely
Or by our greatness and the grace of it,
Which is our honour, bitter torture shall
Winnow
158
the truth from falsehood. On, speak to him.
INNOGEN
My boon is that this gentleman may
render
159
Points to the ring
Of whom he had this ring.
Aside
POSTHUMUS
What’s that to him?
To Iachimo
CYMBELINE
That diamond upon your finger, say,
How came it yours?
IACHIMO
Thou’lt torture me
164
to leave unspoken that
Which to be spoke would torture thee.
CYMBELINE
How? Me?
IACHIMO
I am glad to be constrained to utter that
Which torments me to conceal. By villainy
I got this ring: ’twas Leonatus’ jewel,
Whom thou didst banish: and — which more may grieve thee,
As it doth me — a nobler sir ne’er lived
’Twixt sky and ground. Wilt thou hear more, my lord?
CYMBELINE
All that belongs to this.
173
IACHIMO
That paragon, thy daughter,
For whom my heart drops blood, and my false spirits
Quail to remember — give me leave, I faint.
CYMBELINE
My daughter? What of her? Renew thy strength:
I had rather thou shouldst live
while nature will
178
Than die
ere
179
I hear more: strive, man, and speak.
IACHIMO
Upon a time — unhappy was the clock
That struck the hour! — it was in Rome — accursed
The mansion where! — ’twas at a feast — O, would
Our
viands
183
had been poisoned, or at least
Those which I
heaved to head!
184
— the good Posthumus —
What should I say? He was too good to be
Where ill men were, and was the best of all
Amongst the
rar’st
of good ones — sitting
sadly
187
,
Hearing us praise our loves of Italy
For beauty that
made barren
189
the swelled boast
Of him that best could speak: for
feature
,
laming
190
The
shrine
of
Venus
or
straight-pight
Minerva
191
,
Postures
beyond
brief nature
: for
condition
192
,
A
shop
193
of all the qualities that man
Loves woman for, besides that
hook of wiving
194
,
Fairness which strikes the eye—
CYMBELINE
I stand on fire.
196
Come to the
matter.
197
IACHIMO
All too soon I shall,
Unless thou wouldst grieve quickly. This Posthumus,
Most like a noble lord in love and one
That had a royal lover, took his
hint
201
,
And not dispraising whom we praised — therein
He was as calm as virtue — he began
His mistress’ picture, which by his tongue being made,
And then a
mind put in’t
205
, either our brags
Were
cracked of
kitchen
-
trulls
206
, or his description
Proved us
unspeaking sots.
207
CYMBELINE
Nay, nay,
to th’purpose.
208
IACHIMO
Your daughter’s chastity — there it begins.
He spake of her
as Dian
had
hot
210
dreams
And
she
alone were
cold
211
: whereat I, wretch,
Made
scruple
212
of his praise, and wagered with him
Pieces of gold gainst this, which then he wore
Upon his honoured finger, to attain
In suit
215
the place of’s bed and win this ring
By hers and mine adultery. He, true knight,
No lesser of her honour confident
Than I did truly find her, stakes this ring,
And would so had it been a
carbuncle
219
Of Phoebus’ wheel
, and
might so
220
safely had it
Been all the worth
of’s car.
221
Away to Britain
Post
222
I in this design: well may you, sir,
Remember me at court, where I was taught
Of
224
your chaste daughter the wide difference
’Twixt amorous and villainous. Being thus quenched
Of hope, not longing, mine Italian brain
’Gan in your
duller Britain
227
operate
Most vilely: for my
vantage
228
, excellent.
And, to be brief, my practice so prevailed
That I returned with
simular
230
proof enough
To make the noble Leonatus mad
By wounding his belief in her
renown
232
With tokens
thus, and thus
:
averring
233
notes
Of chamber-hanging, pictures, this her bracelet —
Shows the bracelet
O, cunning, how I got it! — nay, some marks
Of secret on her person, that he could not
But think her bond of chastity quite
cracked
237
,
I having ta’en the
forfeit.
238
Whereupon —
Methinks I see him now—
Comes forward
POSTHUMUS
Ay, so thou dost,
Italian fiend! Ay me, most credulous fool,
Egregious murderer, thief,
anything
242
That’s due to all the villains past,
in being
243
,
To come! O, give me
cord
244
, or knife, or poison,
Some upright
justicer!
245
Thou, king, send out
For torturers
ingenious
246
: it is I
That all
th’abhorrèd
things o’th’earth
amend
247
By being worse than they. I am Posthumus,
That killed thy daughter — villain-like, I lie —
That caused a lesser villain than myself,
A
sacrilegious thief
, to do’t. The
temple
251
Of virtue was she; yea, and
she herself.
252
Spit, and throw stones, cast mire upon me, set
The dogs o’th’street to
bay
254
me: every villain
Be called Posthumus Leonatus, and
Be villainy less than ’twas!
256
O Innogen!
My queen, my life, my wife: O Innogen,
Innogen, Innogen!
She runs to him?
INNOGEN
Peace, my lord, hear, hear.
POSTHUMUS
Shall’s have
260
a play of this? Thou scornful page,
He strikes her and she falls
PISANIO
O, gentlemen, help!
Mine and your mistress: O, my lord Posthumus,
You ne’er killed Innogen till now. Help, help!
Mine honoured lady.
CYMBELINE
Does the world go round?
POSTHUMUS
How comes these
staggers
267
on me?
PISANIO
Wake, my mistress!
CYMBELINE
If this be so, the gods do mean to strike me
To death with
mortal
270
joy.
PISANIO
How fares my mistress?
INNOGEN
O, get thee from my sight,
Thou gavest me poison: dangerous fellow, hence!
Breathe not where princes are.
CYMBELINE
The
tune
275
of Innogen.
PISANIO
Lady, the gods throw
stones of sulphur
276
on me if
That box I gave you was not thought by me
A precious thing: I had it from the queen.
CYMBELINE
New matter still.
INNOGEN
It poisoned me.
CORNELIUS
O gods!
I left out one thing which the queen confessed,
Which must
approve
283
thee honest. ‘If Pisanio
Have’, said she, ‘given his mistress that
confection
284
Which I gave him
for cordial
285
, she is served
As I would serve a rat.’
CYMBELINE
What’s this, Cornelius?
CORNELIUS
The queen, sir, very oft importuned me
To
temper
poisons for her,
still pretending
289
The satisfaction of her knowledge only
In killing creatures vile, as cats and dogs,
Of no
esteem.
292
I, dreading that her purpose
Was of more danger, did compound for her
A certain stuff which, being ta’en, would
cease
294
The present power of life, but in short time
All
offices of nature
296
should again
Do their due functions. Have you ta’en of it?
INNOGEN
Most like
298
I did, for I was dead.
BELARIUS
My boys,
There was our error.
GUIDERIUS
This is
sure
301
Fidele.
INNOGEN
Why did you throw your wedded lady from you?
Think that you are upon a rock, and now
Embraces him
Throw me again.
POSTHUMUS
Hang there like fruit, my soul,
Till
the tree
306
die.
CYMBELINE
How now, my flesh, my child?
What,
mak’st thou me a dullard in this act?
308
Wilt thou not speak to me?
Kneels
INNOGEN
Your blessing, sir.
To Guiderius and Arviragus
BELARIUS
Though you did love this youth, I blame ye not.
You had a
motive
312
for’t.
CYMBELINE
My tears that fall
Prove holy water on thee! Innogen,
Thy
mother’s
315
dead.
INNOGEN
I am sorry for’t, my lord.
CYMBELINE
O, she was
naught
, and
long of
317
her it was
That we meet here so
strangely
318
: but her son
Is gone, we know not how nor where.
PISANIO
My lord,
Now fear is from me, I’ll speak troth. Lord Cloten,
Upon my lady’s
missing
322
, came to me
With his sword drawn, foamed at the mouth, and swore,
If I
discovered
324
not which way she was gone,
It was my instant death. By
accident
325
,
I had a
feignèd letter
326
of my master’s
Then in my pocket, which directed him
To seek her on the mountains near to Milford,
Where in a frenzy, in my master’s garments,
Which he
enforced
from me, away he
posts
330
With unchaste purpose, and with oath to violate
My lady’s honour. What became of him
I further know not.
GUIDERIUS
Let me end the story:
I slew him there.
CYMBELINE
Marry, the gods
forfend!
336
I would not thy good deeds should from my lips
Pluck a hard sentence: prithee, valiant youth,
GUIDERIUS
I have spoke it, and I did it.
CYMBELINE
He was a prince.
341
GUIDERIUS
A most
incivil
342
one. The wrongs he did me
Were nothing prince-like, for he did provoke me
With language that would make me spurn the sea,
If it could so roar to me. I cut off’s head,
And am right glad he is not standing here
CYMBELINE
I am
sorrow
348
for thee:
By thine own tongue thou art condemned, and must
Endure our law: thou’rt
dead.
350
INNOGEN
That headless man
I thought had been my lord.
CYMBELINE
Bind the offender,
And take him from our presence.
BELARIUS
Stay, sir king.
This man is better than the man he slew,
As well descended
357
as thyself, and hath
More
of
thee
merited
358
than a band of Clotens