SCENE III.
The Same. A Hall of State.—A Banquet prepared.
Enter Simonides, Thaisa, Lords, Knights, and Attendants.
Sim.
Knights,
To say you are welcome, were superfluous.
To place upon the volume of your deeds5 note,
As in a title-page, your worth in arms,
Were more than you expect, or more than's fit,
Since every worth in show commends itself.
Prepare for mirth, for mirth becomes a feast:
You are princes and my guests6 note
.
-- 78 --
Thai.
But you, my knight and guest;
To whom this wreath of victory I give,
And crown you king of this day's happiness.
Per.
'Tis more by fortune, lady, than my merit7 note.
Sim.
Call it by what you will, the day is yours;
And here, I hope, is none that envies it.
In framing artists8 note
, art hath thus decreed,
To make some good, but others to exceed;
And you're her labour'd scholar. Come, queen o' the feast9 note
,
(For, daughter, so you are,) here take your place:
Marshal the rest, as they deserve their grace.
Knights.
We are honour'd much by good Simonides.
Sim.
Your presence glads our days; honour we love,
For who hates honour, hates the gods above.
Marsh.
Sir, yond's your place.
Per.
Some other is more fit.
1 Knight.
Contend not, sir; for we are gentlemen,
That neither in our hearts, nor outward eyes,
Envy the great, nor do the low despise1 note
.
-- 79 --
Per.
You are right courteous knights.
Sim.
Sit, sit, sir; sit.
Per.
By Jove, I wonder, that is king of thoughts,
These cates resist me, she not thought upon2 note
.
-- 80 --
Thai.
By Juno, that is queen
Of marriage, all the viands that I eat
-- 81 --
Do seem unsavoury, wishing him my meat!
Sure he's a gallant gentleman.
Sim.
He's but a country gentleman;
He has done no more than other knights have done;
Broken a staff, or so; so let it pass.
Thai.
To me he seems like diamond to glass.
Per.
Yon king's to me, like to my father's picture,
Which tells me in that glory once he was;
Had princes sit2 note
, like stars, about his throne,
And he the sun, for them to reverence.
None that beheld him, but like lesser lights,
Did vail their crowns to his supremacy;
Where now his son's a glow-worm in the night3 note
,
The which hath fire in darkness, none in light;
Whereby I see that Time's the king of men,
For he's their parent, and he is their grave4 note
,
And gives them what he will, not what they crave.
-- 82 --
Sim.
What, are you merry, knights?
1 Knight.
Who can be other, in this royal presence?
Sim.
Here, with a cup that's stor'd unto the brim7 note
,
(As you do love, fill to your mistress' lips8 note
,)
We drink this health to you.
Knights.
We thank your grace.
Sim.
Yet pause a while;
Yon knight, methinks, doth sit too melancholy,
As if the entertainment in our court
Had not a show might countervail his worth.
Note it not you, Thaisa?
Thai.
What is it
To me, my father?
Sim.
O, attend, my daughter;
Princes, in this, should live like gods above,
Who freely give to every one that comes
To honour them: and princes, not doing so,
-- 83 --
Are like to gnats, which make a sound, but kill'd
Are wonder'd at9 note
.
Therefore to make his entrance more sweet1 note
,
Here say we drink this standing-bowl of wine to him2 note.
Thai.
Alas, my father, it befits not me
Unto a stranger knight to be so bold;
He may my proffer take for an offence,
Since men take women's gifts for impudence.
Sim.
How!
Do as I bid you, or you'll move me else.
-- 84 --
Thai.
Now, by the gods, he could not please me better3 note.
[Aside.
Sim.
And further tell him, we desire to know,
Of whence he is, his name and parentage4 note
.
Thai.
The king my father, sir, has drunk to you.
Per.
I thank him.
Thai.
Wishing it so much blood unto your life.
Per.
I thank both him and you, and pledge him freely.
Thai.
And further he desires to know of you,
Of whence you are, your name and parentage.
Per.
A gentleman of Tyre—(my name, Pericles;
My education being in arts and arms5 note;)—
Who looking for adventures in the world,
Was by the rough seas reft of ships and men,
And, after shipwreck, driven upon this shore.
Thai.
He thanks your grace; names himself Pericles,
A gentleman of Tyre, who only by
Misfortune of the seas has been bereft
Of ships and men, and cast upon this shore.
Sim.
Now by the gods, I pity his misfortune,
And will awake him from his melancholy.
-- 85 --
Come, gentlemen, we sit too long on trifles,
And waste the time, which looks for other revels.
Even in your armours, as you are address'd,
Will very well become a soldier's dance6 note
.
I will not have excuse, with saying, this
Loud musick is too harsh7 note
for ladies' heads;
Since they love men in arms, as well as beds.
[The Knights dance.
So, this was well ask'd, 'twas so well perform'd8 note.
Come, sir;
Here is a lady that wants breathing too:
And I have often heard9 note, you knights of Tyre
Are excellent in making ladies trip;
And that their measures are as excellent.
-- 86 --
Per.
In those that practise them, they are, my lord.
Sim.
O, that's as much, as you would be denied
[The Knights and Ladies dance.
Of your fair courtesy.—Unclasp, unclasp;
Thanks, gentlemen, to all; all have done well,
But you the best. [To Pericles.] Pages and lights, conduct1 note
These knights unto their several lodgings: Yours, sir,
We have given order to be next our own2 note
.
Per.
I am at your grace's pleasure.
Sim.
Princes, it is too late to talk of love,
For that's the mark I know you level at:
Therefore each one betake him to his rest;
To-morrow, all for speeding do their best.
[Exeunt.
James Boswell [1821], The plays and poems of William Shakspeare, with the corrections and illustrations of various commentators: comprehending A Life of the Poet, and an enlarged history of the stage, by the late Edmond Malone. With a new glossarial index (J. Deighton and Sons, Cambridge) [word count] [S10201].
