PANDARUS. You have no judgment, niece: Helen herself swore th' other day, that Troilus, for a brown favour-for so 'tis, I must confess,-not brown neither, CRESSIDA. No, but brown. 99 PANDARUS. Faith, to say truth, brown and not brown. CRESSIDA. To say the truth, true and not true. PANDARUS. She prais'd his complexion above Paris. CRESSIDA. Why, Paris hath colour enough. PANDARUS. So he has. CRESSIDA. 104 Then Troilus should have too much: if she praised him above, his complexion is higher than his: he having colour enough, and the other higher, is too flaming a praise for a good complexion. I had as lief Helen's golden tongue had commended Troilus for a copper nose. III PANDARUS. I swear to you, I think Helen loves him better than Paris. CRESSIDA. Then she's a merry Greek indeed. PANDARUS. Nay, I am sure she does. She came to him th' other day into the compassed window, and, you know, he has not past three or four hairs on his chin,— CRESSIDA. Indeed, a tapster's arithmetic may soon bring his particulars therein to a total. 119 PANDARUS. Why, he is very young; and yet will he, within three pound, lift as much as his brother Hector. CRESSIDA. Is he so young a man, and so old a lifter? PANDARUS. But to prove to you that Helen loves him: she came and puts me her white hand to his cloven chin, 125 CRESSIDA. Juno have mercy! how came it cloven? PANDARUS. Why, you know, 'tis dimpled. I think his smiling becomes him better than any man in all Phrygia. 129 CRESSIDA. O! he smiles valiantly. PANDARUS. Does he not ? 131 CRESSIDA.. O! yes, an 'twere a cloud in autumn. PANDARUS. Why, go to, then. But to prove to you that Helen loves Troilus, CRESSIDA. Troilus will stand to the proof, if you'll prove it so. PANDARUS. 136 Troilus! why, he esteems her no more than I esteem an addle egg. CRESSIDA. If you love an addle egg as well as you love an idle head, you would eat chickens i' the shell. 141 PANDARUS. I cannot choose but laugh, to think how she tickled his chin: indeed, she has a marvell's white hand, I must needs confess, 144 CRESSIDA. Without the rack. PANDARUS. And she takes upon her to spy a white hair on his chin. 147 CRESSIDA. Alas! poor chin! many a wart is richer. PANDARUS. But there was such laughing: Queen Hecuba laughed that her eyes ran o'er. CRESSIDA. With millstones. PANDARUS. CRESSIDA. And Cassandra laughed. 152 But there was more temperate fire under the pot of her eyes: did her eyes run o'er too PANDARUS. : CRESSIDA. And Hector laughed. At what was all this laughing ? 156 PANDARUS. Marry, at the white hair that Helen spied on Troilus' chin. CRESSIDA. An't had been a green hair, I should have laughed too. 160 PANDARUS. They laughed not so much at the hair as at his pretty answer. CRESSIDA. What was his answer? PANDARUS. Quoth she, Here's but one-and-fifty hairs on your chin, and one of them is white.' CRESSIDA. PANDARUS. This is her question. 165 That 's true; make no question of that. 'One-and-fifty hairs,' quoth he, and one white: that white hair is my father, and all the rest are his sons.' 'Jupiter!' quoth she, which of these hairs is Paris, my husband?' The forked one,' quoth he; pluck 't out, and give it him.' But there was such laughing, and Helen so blushed, and Paris so chafed, and all the rest so laughed, that it passed. CRESSIDA. So let it now, for it has been a great while going by. 176 PANDARUS. Well, cousin, I told you a thing yesterday; think on't. CRESSIDA. So I do. PANDARUS. I'll be sworn 'tis true: he will weep you, an 'twere a man born in April. 181 CRESSIDA. And I'll spring up in his tears, an 'twere a nettle against May. [A retreat sounded. · PANDARUS. Hark! they are coming from the field. Shall we stand up here, and see them as they pass toward Ilium? good niece, do; sweet niece, Cressida. CRESSIDA. At your pleasure. 187 PANDÁRUS. Here, here; here's an excellent place : here we may see most bravely. I'll tell you them all by their names as they pass by, but mark Troilus above the rest. CRESSIDA. Speak not so loud. ENEAS passes over the stage. 192 PANDARUS. That's Æneas: is not that a brave man? he's one of the flowers of Troy, I can tell you: but mark Troilus; you shall see anon. CRESSIDA. ANTENOR passes over. Who's that? 196 That's Antenor: he has a shrewd wit, I can tell you; and he's a man good enough: he's one o' the soundest judgments in Troy, whosoever, and a proper man of person. When comes Troilus? I'll show you Troilus anon: if he see me, you shall see him nod at me. CRESSIDA. Will he give you the nod? CRESSIDA. If he do, the rich shall have more. 204 PANDARUS. That's Hector, that, that, look you, that; there's a fellow! Go thy way, Hector: There's a brave man, niece. O brave Hector! Look how he looks! there's a countenance! Is't not a brave man ? CRESSIDA. O a brave man.. ? 211 PANDARUS.. Is a' not? It does a man's heart good. Look you what hacks are on his helmet! look you yonder, do you see? look you there? there's no jesting; there 's laying on, take 't off who will, as they say there be hacks! CRESSIDA, Be those with swords? 216 PANDARUS. Swords? any thing, he cares not; an the devil come to him, it's all one: by God's lid, it does one's heart good. Yonder comes Paris, yonder comes Paris. PARIS crosses over. 221 Look ye yonder, niece: is 't not a gallant man too, is 't not? Why, this is brave now. Who said he came hurt home to-day? he's not hurt: why, this will do Helen's heart good now, ha! Would I could see Troilus now! You shall see Troilus anon. CRESSIDA. Who's that?, HELENUS passes over. 226 PANDARUS. That's Helenus. I marvel where Troilus is. That's Helenus. I think he went not forth to-day. That''s Helenus." CRESSIDA. Can Helenus fight, uncle? PANDARUS. 231 Helenus? no, yes, he'll fight indifferent well. I marvel where Troilus is. Hark! do you not hear the people cry, 'Troilus'? Helenus is a priest. CRESSIDA. What sneaking fellow comes yonder ? ་་་་ CLE TROILUS passes over. :,་།་ PANDARUS. Where ? yonder? that's Deiphobus. 'Tis Troilus! there's a man, niece! Hem! Brave Troilus! the prince of chivalry! CRESSIDA. Peace! for shame, peace! 239 PANDARUS. Mark him; note him: O brave Troilus ! look well upon him, niece: look you how his sword is bloodied, and his helmet more hacked than Hector's ; and how he looks, and how he goes! O admirable youth! he ne'er saw three-and-twenty. Go thy way, Troilus, go thy way! Had I a sister were a grace, or a daughter a goddess, he should take his choice. O admirable man! Paris? Paris is dirt to him; and, I warrant, Helen, to change, would give an eye to boot. CRESSIDA. Here come more. Soldiers pass over. 249 PANDARUS. Asses, fools, dolts! chaff and bran, chaff and bran! porridge after meat! I could live and die i' the eyes of Troilus. Ne'er look, ne'er look; the eagles are gone: crows and daws, crows and daws! I had rather be such a man as Troilus than Agamemnon and all Greece. 255 CRESSIDA. There is among the Greeks Achilles, a better man than Troilus. 2 PANDARUS. Achilles! a drayman, a porter, a very camel. CRESSIDA. Well, well. 260 "PANDARUS. 'Well, well! Why, have you any discretion? have you any eyes? Do you know what a man is? Is not birth, beauty, good shape, discourse, manhood, learning, gentleness, virtue, youth, liberality, and so forth, the spice and salt that season a man ? CRESSIDA. Ay, a minced man: and then to be baked with no date in the pie, for then the man's date's out. PANDARUS. 268 You are such a woman! one knows not at what ward you lie. CRESSIDA. Upon my back, to defend my belly; upon my wit, to defend my wiles; upon my secrecy, to defend mine honesty; my mask, to defend my beauty; and you, to defend all these: and at all these wards I lie, at a thousand watches. 276 PANDARUS. Say one of your watches. |