PERSONS REPRESENTED. Ferdinand, King of Navarre. Longaville, } Lords, attending on the King, Dumain, Boyet, Mercade, Lords, attending on the Princess of France. Don Adriano de Armado, a fantastical Spaniard. Holofernes, a Schoolmaster. Costard, a Clown. Moth, Page to Armado Officers, and others, attendants on the King SCENE, Navarre. " 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, And then grace us in the disgrace of death; When, spite of cormorant devouring time, The endeavour of this present breath may buy That honour, which shall bate his scythe's keen edge, And make us heirs of all eternity. Therefore, brave conquerors!-for so you are, Have sworn for three years' term to live with me, My fellow-scholars, and to keep those statutes, That are recorded in this schedule here: B Your oaths are past, and now subscribe your names; If you are arm'd to do, as sworn to do, Long. I am resolv'd: 'tis but a three years' fast; The mind shall banquet, though the body pine: Fat paunches have lean pates; and dainty bits Make rich the ribs, but bank'rout quite the wits. Dum. My loving lord, Dumain is mortified; The grosser manner of these world's delights He throws upon the gross world's baser slaves: To love, to wealth, to pomp, I pine and die; With all these living in philosophy. Biron. I can but say their protestation over, So much, dear liege, I have already sworn, That is, To live and study here three years. But there are other strict observances: As, not to see a woman in that term; Which, I hope well, is not enrolled there: And, one day in a week to touch no food; And but one meal on every day beside; The which, I hope, is not enrolled there: And then, to sleep but three hours in the night,\ And not be seen to wink of all the day; (When I was wont to think no harm all night, And make a dark night too of half the day;) Which, I hope well, is not enrolled there. ›› O, these are barren tasks, too hard to keep; Not to see ladies, study, fast, not sleep. King. Your oath is pass'd to pass away from these. Biron. Let me say, no, my liege, an if you please; I only swore, to study with your grace, King. Why, that to know, which else we should not know. Biron. Things hid and barr'd, you mean, from common sense? King. Ay, that is study's god-like recompense. Biron. Come on then, I will swear to study so, To know the thing I am forbid to know: As thus,-To study where I well may dine, When I to feast expressly am forbid; Or, study where to meet some mistress fine, When mistresses from common sense are hid: Or, having sworn too hard-a-keeping oath, Study to break it, and not break my troth. If study's gain be thus, and this be so, Study knows that, which yet it doth not know: Swear me to this, and I will ne'er say, no. King. These be the stops that hinder study quite, And train our intellects to vain delight. Biron. Why, all delights are vain; but that most Which, with pain purchas'd, doth inherit pain: To seek the light of truth; while truth the while Doth falsely blind the eyesight of his look: Light, seeking light, doth light of light beguile : So, ere you find where light in darkness lies, Your fight grows dark by losing of your eyes. Study me how to please the eye indeed, By fixing it upon a fairer eye; Who dazzling so, that eye shall be his heed, 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 proceed ing! Long. He weeds the corn, and still lets grow weeding. the Biron. The spring is near, when green geese are a breeding. Dum. How follows that? Biron. Fit in his place and time. Something then in rhyme. Dum. In reason nothing. Before the birds have any cause to sing? |