SCENE II.
Ephesus. A room in Cerimon's house.
Enter Cerimon, a Servant, and some persons who have been shipwrecked.
Cer.
Philemon, ho!
Enter Philemon.
Phil.
Doth my lord call?
Cer.
Get fire and meat for these poor men;
It hath been a turbulent and stormy night.
Ser.
I have been in many; but such a night as this,
Till now, I ne'er endur'd2 note
.
Cer.
Your master will be dead ere you return;
There's nothing can be minister'd to nature,
-- 82 --
That can recover him. Give this to the 'pothecary3 note,
And tell me how it works.
[To Philemon.
Enter two Gentlemen.
1 Gent.
Good morrow.
2 Gent.
Good morrow to your lordship.
Cer.
Gentlemen, why do you stir so early?
1 Gent.
Sir, our lodgings, standing bleak upon the sea,
Shook as the earth did quake4 note
;
The very principals did seem to rend,
And all to topple5 note
: pure surprise and fear
Made me to leave the house.
2 Gent.
That is the cause we trouble you so early;
'Tis not our husbandry.
Cer.
O you say well.
1 Gent.
But I much marvel that your lordship, having
-- 83 --
Rich tire about you6 note, should at these early hours
Shake off the golden slumber of repose:
It is most strange,
Nature should be so conversant with pain,
Being thereto not compell'd.
Cer.
I held it ever,
Virtue and cunning7 note were endowments greater
Than nobleness and riches: careless heirs
May the two latter darken and expend;
But immortality attends the former,
Making a man a god. 'Tis known, I ever
Have studied physick, through which secret art,
By turning o'er authorities, I have
(Together with my practice) made familiar
To me and to my aid, the blest infusions
That dwell in vegetives, in metals, stones8 note
;
And I can speak of the disturbances
That nature works, and of her cures; which gives me
A more content in course of true delight
-- 84 --
Than to be thirsty after tottering honour,
Or tie my pleasure up in silken bags,
To please the fool and death9 note
.
2 Gent.
Your honour hath through Ephesus pour'd forth
Your charity, and hundreds call themselves
Your creatures, who by you have been restor'd:
And not your knowledge, your personal pain, but even
Your purse, still open, hath built lord Cerimon
Such strong renown as time shall never—
Enter two Servants with a Chest.
Ser.
So; lift there.
Cer.
What's that?
Ser.
Sir,
Even now did the sea toss upon our shore
This chest; 'tis of some wreck.
Cer.
Set it down, let us
Look upon it.
2 Gent.
'Tis like a coffin, sir.
Cer.
Whate'er it be,
'Tis wondrous heavy. Wrench it open straight;
If the sea's stomach be o'er-charg'd with gold,
It is a good constraint of Fortune, it
Belches upon us.
2 Gent.
It is so, my lord.
Cer.
How close 'tis caulk'd and bittum'd1 note! Did the sea
Cast it up?
-- 85 --
Ser.
I never saw so huge a billow, sir,
As toss'd it upon shore.
Cer.
Wrench it open;
Soft, soft—it smells most sweetly in my sense.
2 Gent.
A delicate odour.
Cer.
As ever hit my nostril; so,—up with it.
Oh you most potent gods! what's here? a corse!
1 Gent.
Most strange!
Cer.
Shrowded in cloth of state!
Balm'd and entreasur'd with full bags of spices!
A passport too! Apollo, perfect me
In the characters2 note
!
Here I give to understand,
[He reads out of a scrowl.
(If e'er this coffin drive a-land)
I king Pericles have lost
This queen, worth all our mundane cost3 note.
Who finds her, give her burying,
She was the daughter of a king4 note
:
Besides this treasure for a fee,
The gods requite his charity!
If thou liv'st, Pericles, thou hast a heart
That even cracks for woe5 note
! This chanc'd to-night.
-- 86 --
2 Gent.
Most likely, sir.
Cer.
Nay, certainly to-night;
For look how fresh she looks!—They were too rough* note
That threw her in the sea. Make a fire within;
Fetch hither all my boxes in my closet.
Death may usurp on nature many hours,
And yet the fire of life kindle again
The o'er-prest spirits. I have heard of an
Egyptian that had nine hours lien dead6 note
,
Who was by good appliance recovered.
Enter a Servant with napkins and fire.
Well said, well said; the fire and the cloths.—
The rough and woeful musick that we have,
Cause it to sound, 'beseech you7 note
.
The vial once more;—How thou stir'st, thou block?—
The musick there8 note
.—I pray you give her air;—
-- 87 --
Gentlemen, this queen will live: Nature awakes;
A warmth breathes out of her9 note
; she hath not been
Entranc'd above five hours. See how she 'gins
To blow into life's flower again!
1 Gent.
The heavens,
Through you, encrease our wonder, and set up
Your fame for ever.
Cer.
She is alive; behold,
Her eye-lids, cases to those heavenly jewels1 note
Which Pericles hath lost,
Begin to part their fringes of bright gold2 note
;
-- 88 --
The diamonds of a most praised water
Do appear, to make the world twice rich. O live,
And make us weep to hear your fate, fair creature,
Rare as you seem to be!
[She moves.
Thai.
O dear Diana,
Where am I? Where's my lord? What world is this3 note
?
2 Gent.
Is not this strange?
1 Gent.
Most rare.
Cer.
Hush, my gentle neighbours;
Lend me your hands: to the next chamber bear her.
Get linen; now this matter must be look'd to,
For her relapse is mortal. Come, come, come,
And Esculapius guide us!
[Exeunt, carrying her away.
Edmond Malone [1780], Supplement to the edition of Shakspeare's plays published in 1778 By Samuel Johnson and George Steevens. In two volumes. Containing additional observations by several of the former commentators: to which are subjoined the genuine poems of the same author, and seven plays that have been ascribed to him; with notes By the editor and others (Printed for C. Bathurst [and] W. Strahan [etc.], London) [word count] [S10911].