SCENE V.
A more remote Part of the Platform.
Re-enter Ghost, and Hamlet.
Ham.
Whither wilt thou lead me? speak, I'll go no further.
Ghost.
Mark me.
Ham.
I will.
Ghost.
My hour is almost come,
When I to sulphurous and tormenting flames
Must render up myself.
Ham.
Alas, poor ghost!
-- 215 --
Ghost.
Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing
To what I shall unfold.
Ham.
Speak, I am bound to hear.
Ghost.
So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear.
Ham.
What?
Ghost.
I am thy father's spirit;
Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night;
And, for the day, 1 note
confin'd to fast in fires,
'Till the foul crimes, done in my days of nature,
2 note
Are burnt and purg'd away. But that I am forbid
-- 216 --
To tell the secrets of my prison-house,
I could a tale unfold, whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul; freeze thy young blood;
Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres;
Thy knotty and combined locks to part,
And each particular hair to stand on end
Like quills upon the fretful porcupine3 note
:
But this eternal blazon must not be
To ears of flesh and blood:—List, list, O list!—
If thou did'st ever thy dear father love,—
Ham.
O heaven!
Ghost.
Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder4 note.
Ham.
Murder?
Ghost.
Murder most foul, as in the best it is;
But this most foul, strange, and unnatural.
-- 217 --
Ham.
Haste me to know it; that I, with wings as swift
5 note
As meditation, or the thoughts of love,
May sweep to my revenge.
Ghost.
I find thee apt;
6 note
And duller should'st thou be than the fat weed
7 note
That rots itself in ease on Lethe's wharf,
Wouldst thou not stir in this. Now, Hamlet, hear:
'Tis given out, that, sleeping in my orchard,
A serpent stung me; so the whole ear of Denmark
Is by a forged process of my death
Rankly abus'd: but know, thou noble youth,
The serpent, that did sting thy father's life,
Now wears his crown.
-- 218 --
Ham.
O, my prophetick soul! my uncle?
Ghost.
Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast,
With witchcraft of his wit, with traiterous gifts,
(O wicked wit, and gifts, that have the power
So to seduce!) won to his shameful lust
The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen:
O, Hamlet, what a falling-off was there!
From me, whose love was of that dignity,
That it went hand in hand even with the vow
I made to her in marriage; and to decline
Upon a wretch, whose natural gifts were poor
To those of mine!
But virtue, as it never will be mov'd,
Though lewdness court it in a shape of heaven;
So lust, though to a radiant angel link'd,
Will sate itself in a celestial bed,
And prey on garbage.
But, soft! methinks, I scent the morning air—
Brief let me be:—Sleeping within mine orchard8 note
,
My custom always of the afternoon,
Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole,
9 note
note). These qualities
have been confirmed by several cases related in modern observations.
In Wepser we have a good account of the various
effects of this root upon most of the members of a convent in
Germany, who eat of it for supper by mistake, mixed with succory;
—heat the throat, giddiness, dimness of sight, and delirium.
Cicut. Aquatic. c. 18.
Gray.
So in Drayton's Barons' Wars, p. 51.
“The pois'ning henbane, and the mandrake drad.”
Again, in the Philospher's 4th Satire of Mars, by Robert Anton, 1616:
“The poison'd Henbane whose cold juice doth kill.”
Again, in Glapthorne's Hollander, 1640:
“&lblank; these are tears
“Such as distill from Henbane full of poison.”
Again, in the Noble Soldier, 1634:
“Henbane and poppy, and that magical weed, &c.”
In Heywood's Jew of Malta note, 1633, the word is written in a different manner,
“&lblank; the blood of Hydra, Lerna's bane,
“The juice of Hebon, and Cocytus' breath.”
Steevens.With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial,
-- 219 --
And in the porches of mine ears did pour
The leperous distilment; whose effect
Holds such an enmity with blood of man,
That, swift as quick-silver, it courses through
The natural gates and alleys of the body;
And, with a sudden vigour, it doth posset
And curd, like eager droppings into milk,
The thin and wholesome blood: so did it mine;
And a most instant tetter bark'd about,
Most lazar-like, with vile and loathsome crust,
All my smooth body.
Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand,
Of life, of crown, of queen, 1 noteat once dispatch'd:
2 noteCut off even in the blossoms of my sin,
3 noteUnhousell'd 4 notedisappointed, 5 note
unaneal'd;
-- 220 --
No reckoning made, but sent to my account
With all my imperfections on my head:
-- 221 --
6 noteO, horrible! O, horrible! most horrible!
If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not;
-- 222 --
Let not the royal bed of Denmark be
7 note
A couch for luxury and damned incest.
But, howsoever thou pursu'st this act,
Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contri v
Against thy mother aught; leave her to he an,
And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge,
To prick and sting her. Fare thee well at once!
The glow-worm shews the matin to be near,
And 'gins to pale his uneffectual fire8 note
:
-- 223 --
Adieu, adieu, adieu!9 note
remember me.
[Exit.
Ham.
O all you host of heaven! O earth! What else?
And shall I couple hell?—O fie!—Hold, hold, my heart;
And you, my sinews, grow not instant old,
But bear me stiffly up!—Remember thee?
Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat
In this distracted globe.1 note Remember thee?
Yea, from the table of my memory 9Q1167
I'll wipe away all trivial fond records,
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past,
That youth and observation copied there;
And thy commandment all alone shall live
Within the book and volume of my brain,
Unmix'd with baser matter: yes, by heaven.
O most pernicious woman!
O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!
My tables,—meet it is, I set it down2 note
,
-- 224 --
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain;
At least, I am sure, it may be so in Denmark: [Writing.]
So, uncle, there you are. 3 note
Now to my word;
It is, Adieu, adieu! remember me.
I have sworn it.
Hor.
My lord, my lord,—
[Within.
Mar.
Lord Hamlet,—
[Within.
Hor.
Heaven secure him!
[Within.
Ham.
So be it!
Mar.
Illo, ho, ho, my lord!
[Within.
Ham.
Hillo, ho, ho, boy! 4 note
come, bird, come.
Enter Horatio, and Marcellus.
Mar.
How is't, my noble lord?
Hor.
What news, my lord?
Ham.
O, wonderful!
Hor.
Good my lord, tell it.
Ham.
No; you will reveal it.
Hor.
Not I, my lord, by heaven.
Mar.
Nor I, my lord.
Ham.
How say you then; would heart of man once think it?—
But you'll be secret,—
Both.
Ay, by heaven, my lord.
Ham.
There's ne'er a villain, dwelling in all Denmark,
But he's an arrant knave.
-- 225 --
Hor.
5 noteThere needs no ghost, my lord, come from the grave,
To tell us this.
Ham.
Why, right; you are in the right;
And so, without more circumstance at all,
I hold it fit, that we shake hands, and part:
You, as your business, and desire, shall point you;—
For every man hath business, and desire,
Such as it is,—and, for my own poor part,
Look you, I will go pray.
Hor.
These are but wild and whirling words, my lord.
Ham.
I am sorry they offend you, heartily;
Yes 'faith, heartily.
Hor.
There's no offence, my lord.
Ham.
Yes, 6 note
by saint Patrick, but there is, Horatio,
And much offence too. Touching this vision here,—
It is an honest ghost, that let me tell you:
For your desire to know what is between us,
O'er-master it as you may. And now, good friends,
As you are friends, scholars, and soldiers,
Give me one poor request.
Hor.
What is't, my lord? we will.
Ham.
Never make known what you have seen to-night.
Both.
My lord, we will not.
Ham.
Nay, but swear it.
Hor.
In faith, my lord, not I.
Mar.
Nor I, my lord, in faith.
-- 226 --
Ham.
Upon my sword.
Mar.
We have sworn, my lord, already.
Ham.
Indeed, upon my sword, indeed.
Ghost. [beneath]
Swear.
Ham.
Ha, ha, boy! say'st thou so? art thou there, true-penny7 note
?
Come on,—you hear this fellow in the cellaridge,—
Consent to swear.
Hor.
Propose the oath, my lord.
Ham.
Never to speak of this that you have seen,
8 note
Swear by my sword.
-- 227 --
Ghost. [beneath]
Swear.
Ham.
Hic & ubique? then we'll shift our ground:—
Come hither, gentlemen,
And lay your hands again upon my sword:
Swear by my sword,
Never to speak of this that you have heard.
Ghost. [beneath]
Swear by his sword.
Ham.
Well said, old mole! can'st work i'the earth so fast?
A worthy pioneer!—Once more remove, good friends.
Hor.
O day and night, but this is wondrous strange!
Ham.
9 noteAnd therefore as a stranger give it welcome.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
But come;—
Here, as before, never, so help you mercy!
How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself,—
As I, perchance, hereafter shall think meet
To put an antick disposition on,—
That you, at such times seeing me, never shall,
-- 228 --
(With arms encumber'd thus; or this head-shake;
Or by pronouncing of some doubtful phrase,
As, Well, well, we know;—or, We could, an if we
would;—or, If we list to speak;—or, There be, an if
they might;—
Or such ambiguous giving out) denote1 note
That you know aught of me: 2 noteThis do ye swear,
So grace and mercy at your most need help you!
Swear.
Ghost. [beneath]
Swear.
Ham.
Rest, rest, perturbed spirit!—So, gentlemen,
With all my love I do commend me to you:
And what so poor a man as Hamlet is
May do, to express his love and friending to you,
God willing, shall not lack. Let us go in together;
And still your fingers on your lips, I pray.
The time is out of joint;—O cursed spight!
That ever I was born to set it right!—
Nay, come, let's go together.
[Exeunt.
-- 229 --
Samuel Johnson [1778], The plays of William Shakspeare. In ten volumes. With the corrections and illustrations of various commentators; to which are added notes by Samuel Johnson and George Steevens. The second edition, Revised and Augmented (Printed for C. Bathurst [and] W. Strahan [etc.], London) [word count] [S10901].
