LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST. ACT I. SCENE I.-Navarre. A Park, with a Palace in it. Enter the King, BIRON, LONGAVILLE, and DUMAIN. King. LET fame, that all hunt after in their lives, Live register'd upon our brazen tombs, When, spite of cormorant devouring time, The endeavour of this present breath may buy That honour, which shall bate his scythe's keen edge, Therefore, brave conquerors !-for so you are, And the huge army of the world's desires,- Have sworn for three years' term to live with me, Your oaths are past, and now subscribe your names ; If you are arm'd to do, as sworn to do, Subscribe to your deep oath, and keep it too. Long. I am resolv'd: 'tis but a three years' fast ; Biron. I can but say their protestation over, King. Your oath is pass'd to pass away from these. And stay here in your court for three years' space. Long. You swore to that, Birón, and to the rest. Biron. By yea and nay, sir, then I swore in jest.What is the end of study? let me know. King. Why, that to know, which else we should not know. 1 With all these] i. e. the King, Biron, &c. Biron. Things hid and barr'd, you mean, from com mon sense? King. Ay, that is study's god-like recompense. Study knows that, which yet it doth not know: King. These be the stops that hinder study quite, } Biron. Why, all delights are vain; but that most vain, Which, with pain purchas'd, doth inherit pain: As, painfully to pore upon a book, To seek the light of truth; while truth the while Light, seeking light, doth light of light beguile : By fixing it upon a fairer eye; Who dazzling so, that eye shall be his heed, Doth falsely blind-] Falsely is here, and in many other places, the same as dishonestly or treacherously. 3 Who dazzling so, that eye shall be his heed, And give him light that was it blinded by.] This passage is unnecessarily obscure; the meaning is, that when he dazzles, that is, has his eye made weak, by fixing his eye upon a fairer eye, that fairer eye shall be his heed, his direction or lode-star, and give him light that was blinded by it. JOHNSON. Mr. Malone reads "it was." Study is like the heaven's glorious sun, That will not be deep-search'd with saucy looks; Small have continual plodders ever won, Save base authority from others' books. These earthly godfathers of heaven's lights, That give a name to every fixed star, Have no more profit of their shining nights, Than those that walk, and wot not what they are. Too much to know, is, to know nought but fame; And every godfather can give a name. King. How well he's read, to reason against reading! Dum. Proceeded well, to stop all good proceeding! Long. He weeds the corn, and still lets grow the weeding. Biron. The spring is near, when green geese are a breeding. Long. Birón is like an envious sneaping frost, That bites the first-born infants of the spring. Biron. Well, say I am; why should proud summer boast, Before the birds have any cause to sing? Why should I joy in an abortive birth? At Christmas I no more desire a rose, Than wish a snow in May's new-fangled shows'; So you, to study now it is too late, Climb o'er the house to unlock the little gate. 4 5 King. Well, sit you out: go home, Birón; adieu! sneaping frost,] To sneap is to check, or rebuke. } May's new-fangled shows;] By these shows the poet means Maygames, at which a snow would be very unwelcome and unexpected. It is only a periphrasis for May. 6 sit you out:] To sit out, is a term from the card-table. Biron. No, my good lord; I have sworn to stay with you: And, though I have for barbarism spoke more, And bide the penance of each three years' day. + And hath this been proclaim'd? Long. Biron. Let's see the penalty. Four days ago. [Reads.]—On pain of losing her tongue.— Long. Marry, that did I. Biron. Sweet lord, and why? Who devis'd this? Long. To fright them hence with that dread penalty. Biron. A dangerous law against gentility'. [Reads.] Item, If any man be seen to talk with a woman within the term of three years, he shall endure such publick shame as the rest of the court can possibly devise.— This article, my liege, yourself must break; For, well you know, here comes in embassy The French king's daughter, with yourself to speak,— A maid of grace, and cómplete majesty,— About surrender-up of Aquitain To her decrepit, sick and bed-rid father: Or vainly comes the admired princess hither. Biron. So study evermore is over-shot; While it doth study to have what it would, Mr. Malone omits And. "This penalty?"-MALONE. 7 A dangerous law against gentility.] Or urbanity. VOL. II. B b |