168

Thy faith my fancy to thee doth combine.

Enter Second Brother [Jaques de Boys]. Jaq. de B. Let me have audience for a word or two: I am the second son of old Sir Rowland, That bring these tidings to this fair assembly. 160 Duke Frederick, hearing how that every day Men of great worth resorted to this forest, Address'd a mighty power, which were on foot In his own conduct, purposely to take

164 His brother here and put him to the sword: And to the skirts of this wild wood he came, Where, meeting with an old religious man, After some question with him, was converted Both from his enterprise and from the world; His crown bequeathing to his banish'd brother, And all their lands restor'd to them again That were with him exil'd. This to be true, 172 I do engage my life. Duke S.

Welcome, young man; Thou offer'st fairly to thy brothers' wedding: To one, his lands withheld; and to the other A land itself at large, a potent dukedom. First, in this forest, let us do those ends That here were well begun and well begot; And after, every of this happy number That have endur'd shrewd days and nights with

us, Shall share the good of our returned fortune, According to the measure of their states. Meantime, forget this new-fall’n dignity, 157 combine: bind

163 Address'd: prepared 164 conduct: guidance 168 question: talk 173 engage: pledge 174 offer'st fairly: makest generous offerings 177 do . . . ends: complete those purposes 180 shrewd: grievous

176

180

pow

184

188

192

And fall into our rustic revelry.
Play, music! and you, brides and bridegrooms all,
With measure heap'd in joy, to the measures fall.

Jaq. Sir, by your patience. If I heard you rightly,
The duke hath put on a religious life,
And thrown into neglect the pompous court?

Jaq. de B. He hath.

Jaq. To him will I: out of these convertites There is much matter to be heard and learn'd. [To Duke S.] You to your former honour I be

queath; Your patience and your virtue well deserve it: [To Orlando.] You to a love that your true faith

doth merit: [To Oliver.] You to your land, and love, and great

allies : [To Silvius.] You to a long and well-deserved bed: [To Touchstone.] And you to wrangling; for thy lov

ing voyage Is but for two months victual’d. So, to your pleas

196

ures:

I am for other than for dancing measures.

200 Duke S. Stay, Jaques, stay.

Jaq. To see no pastime, I: what you would have I'll stay to know at your abandon’d cave. Exit. Duke S. Proceed, proceed: we will begin these

rites, As we do trust they'll end, in true delights.

204

[EPILOGUE.

SPOKEN BY ROSALIND.] It is not the fashion to see the lady the epilogue; but it is no more unhandsome than to see the lord the prologue. If it be true that good wine needs no bush, 'tis true that a good play needs no epilogue; yet to good wine they 5 do use good bushes, and good plays prove the better by the help of good epilogues. What a case am I in then, that am neither a good epilogue, nor cannot insinuate with you in the behalf of a good play! I am not furnished like a 10 beggar, therefore to beg will not become me: my way is, to conjure you; and I'll begin with the

I charge you, O women! for the love you bear to men, to like as much of this play as please you: and I charge you, O men! for the 18 love you bear to women, -as I perceive by your simpering none of you hate them, -that between you and the women, the play may please. If I were a woman I would kiss as many of you as had beards that pleased me, complexions that 20 liked me, and breaths that I defied not; and, I am sure, as many as have good beards, or good faces, or sweet breaths, will, for my kind offer, when I make curtsy, bid me farewell.

NOTES

I. i. 2. The nominative ‘he' is often omitted when it may be readily inferred from the context, as in this instance before 'bequeathed.' There are numerous other unnecessary conjectures and emendations of the text. The sentence is abrupt, but its meaning is clear.

I. i. 5. Jaques. Jaques de Boys, who appears in V. iv. Not to be confused with the follower of Duke Senior, the 'melancholy.Jaques.'

I. i. 27 S. d. A return has been made to the 'anticipatory entrances' of the First Folio. In nearly every case the entrance is placed earlier in the First Folio than in modern editions. Time is required for the actor to cross the stage, hence the entrances of the First Folio correspond to the necessities of stage representation.

I. i. 41. prodigal portion. A reference to the Biblical story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15).

I. i. 55. reverence. I.e., 'as the first-born you should stand nearer the inheritance of reverence derived from the head of the family.' It is the irony in Orlando's tone as he says this which angers Oliver.

I. i. 112. duke's daughter. I.e., Rosalind is daughter to Duke Senior, Celia to Duke Frederick.

I. i. 122. forest of Arden. The scene of Lodge's novel is laid in France and therefore the literal minded have suggested that by the forest of Arden Shakespeare meant the forest of the Ardennes in northeastern France. There is, however, a forest of Arden in Warwickshire. Needless to say, the forests of neither locality contain either palm or olive trees, to say nothing of lions. Shakespeare himself has sufficiently identified his forest as a place where men may ‘fleet the time carelessly, as they did in the golden world. It is an Arcadia inhabited by shepherds and shepherdesses, a never-never land whose exact location is in the uncharted seas of a poet's imagination.

I. i. 127. golden world. According to classical mythology, the first inhabitants of the world lived together in innocence and happiness under the natural laws of truth and right. The earth brought forth all man's necessities, without labor, and strife was unknown. For a description of the golden world and man's successive departures from an age of innocence see Ovid's Metamorphoses, Book I.

I. ii. 4. I. The addition of 'I' is Rowe's emendation (1709), accepted by later authorities as necessary.

I. ii. 36. Fortune ... wheel. Fortune's emblem was a wheel which symbolized the instability of her favors. A good housewife also had a wheel, but one of another kind, namely, a spinning wheel.

Celia jestingly likens Fortune's wheel to the housewife's, and proposes to drive this housewife Fortune from her wheel by wit to prevent her hereafter from being inconstant.

I. ii. 90. Cel. The First Folio assigns this speech to Rosalind. In that case it would be necessary to infer that both the Dukes were named Frederick. As they were brothers, this would not be probable.

I. ii. 96. fools . . . silenced. Wright believes this to be a reference to some recent inhibition of the players; Fleay, 'probably to the burning of satirical books by public authority 1st June, 1599. If the latter were true it would be an important indication of the date of the play.

I. ii. 108. Sport. Le Beau probably pronounces ‘sport so that it sounds like 'spot.' Hence Celia's quibble.

I. ii. 112. Destinies. There were three Destinies