Enter Pandarus and Cressida, weeping. PANDARUS
Be moderate, be moderate. CRESSIDA
Why tell you me of moderation?
The grief is fine, full, perfect that I taste,
And violenteth in a sense as strong
As that which causeth it. How can I moderate it? 5
If I could temporize with my affection
Or brew it to a weak and colder palate,
The like allayment could I give my grief.
My love admits no qualifying dross;
No more my grief in such a precious loss. 10 Enter Troilus. PANDARUS
Here, here, here he comes. Ah, sweet
ducks! CRESSIDA, embracing Troilus
O Troilus, Troilus! PANDARUS
What a pair of spectacles is here! Let me
embrace too. “O heart,” as the goodly saying is, 15
O heart, heavy heart,
Why sigh’st thou without breaking?
where he answers again,
Because thou canst not ease thy smart
By friendship nor by speaking. 20
There was never a truer rhyme. Let us cast away
nothing, for we may live to have need of such a
verse. We see it, we see it. How now, lambs? TROILUS
Cressid, I love thee in so strained a purity
That the blest gods, as angry with my fancy— 25
More bright in zeal than the devotion which
Cold lips blow to their deities—take thee from me. CRESSIDA Have the gods envy? PANDARUS
Ay, ay, ay, ay, ’tis too plain a case. CRESSIDA
And is it true that I must go from Troy? 30 TROILUS
A hateful truth. CRESSIDA
What, and from Troilus too? TROILUS
From Troy and Troilus. CRESSIDA
Is ’t possible? TROILUS
And suddenly, where injury of chance 35
Puts back leave-taking, jostles roughly by
All time of pause, rudely beguiles our lips
Of all rejoindure, forcibly prevents
Our locked embrasures, strangles our dear vows
Even in the birth of our own laboring breath. 40We two, that with so many thousand sighs
Did buy each other, must poorly sell ourselves
With the rude brevity and discharge of one.
Injurious Time now with a robber’s haste
Crams his rich thiev’ry up, he knows not how. 45
As many farewells as be stars in heaven,
With distinct breath and consigned kisses to them,
He fumbles up into a loose adieu
And scants us with a single famished kiss,
Distasted with the salt of broken tears. 50 AENEAS, within
My lord, is the lady ready? TROILUS
Hark, you are called. Some say the genius
Cries so to him that instantly must die.—
Bid them have patience. She shall come anon. PANDARUS
Where are my tears? Rain, to lay this wind, 55
or my heart will be blown up by the root. He exits. CRESSIDA
I must, then, to the Grecians? TROILUS
No remedy. CRESSIDA
A woeful Cressid ’mongst the merry Greeks.
When shall we see again? 60 TROILUS
Hear me, my love. Be thou but true of heart— CRESSIDA
I true? How now, what wicked deem is this? TROILUS
Nay, we must use expostulation kindly,
For it is parting from us.
I speak not “Be thou true” as fearing thee, 65
For I will throw my glove to Death himself
That there is no maculation in thy heart;
But “Be thou true,” say I, to fashion in
My sequent protestation: “Be thou true,
And I will see thee.” 70 CRESSIDA
O, you shall be exposed, my lord, to dangers
As infinite as imminent! But I’ll be true. TROILUS
And I’ll grow friend with danger. Wear this sleeve. CRESSIDA And you this glove. When shall I see you? They exchange love-tokens. | Inside the house, Pandarus tries to calm down Cressida.Troilus enters and breaks the bad news. He promises to love her forever as he holds her in his arms. (Even Pandarus is moved by this display of emotion.) Troilus and Cressida exchange love tokens. He gives her a "sleeve" and she gives him a glove. (Got those highlighters handy? These love tokens are important. Almost as important as the handkerchief that Othello gives Desdemona in Othello.) |
TROILUS
I will corrupt the Grecian sentinels, 75
To give thee nightly visitation.
But yet, be true. CRESSIDA
O heavens! “Be true” again? TROILUS Hear why I speak it, love.
The Grecian youths are full of quality, 80
Their loving well composed, with gift of nature
flowing,
And swelling o’er with arts and exercise.
How novelty may move, and parts with person,
Alas, a kind of godly jealousy— 85
Which I beseech you call a virtuous sin—
Makes me afeard. CRESSIDA
O heavens, you love me not! TROILUS
Die I a villain then!
In this I do not call your faith in question 90
So mainly as my merit. I cannot sing,
Nor heel the high lavolt, nor sweeten talk,
Nor play at subtle games—fair virtues all,
To which the Grecians are most prompt and pregnant.
But I can tell that in each grace of these 95
There lurks a still and dumb-discursive devil
That tempts most cunningly. But be not tempted. CRESSIDA
Do you think I will? TROILUS
No.
But something may be done that we will not, 100
And sometimes we are devils to ourselves
When we will tempt the frailty of our powers,
Presuming on their changeful potency. AENEAS, within
Nay, good my lord— TROILUS
Come, kiss, and let us part. 105 They kiss. PARIS, within
Brother Troilus! TROILUS, calling
Good brother, come you hither,
And bring Aeneas and the Grecian with you. CRESSIDA My lord, will you be true? TROILUS
Who, I? Alas, it is my vice, my fault. 110
Whiles others fish with craft for great opinion,
I with great truth catch mere simplicity.
Whilst some with cunning gild their copper crowns,
With truth and plainness I do wear mine bare.
Fear not my truth. The moral of my wit 115
Is “plain and true”; there’s all the reach of it. Enter Aeneas, Paris, Antenor, Deiphobus, and
Diomedes. Welcome, Sir Diomed. Here is the lady
Which for Antenor we deliver you.
At the port, lord, I’ll give her to thy hand
And by the way possess thee what she is. 120
Entreat her fair and, by my soul, fair Greek,
If e’er thou stand at mercy of my sword,
Name Cressid, and thy life shall be as safe
As Priam is in Ilium. DIOMEDES
Fair Lady Cressid, 125
So please you, save the thanks this prince expects.
The luster in your eye, heaven in your cheek,
Pleads your fair usage, and to Diomed
You shall be mistress and command him wholly. | As our lovebirds say goodbye, Troilus keeps asking Cressida to be faithful to him and promises to come see her that night. Cressida worries that he doesn't trust her and Troilus promises that it's not her he's worried about—it's those young Greek guys who are the problem. You know. Oh, and just in case she was wondering, he's totally not going to cheat on her, either. Aeneas and Diomedes say it's time for Cressida to go. Troilus begs Diomedes to "entreat her fair"... or else. (Whoops! Troilus means he wants Cressida to be treated well but the phrase he uses makes it sound like he's giving the Greeks permission to "use her" sexually.) Diomedes snickers and promises that they'll take great care of her. (If you know what we mean.) |
TROILUS
Grecian, thou dost not use me courteously, 130
To shame the zeal of my petition to thee
In praising her. I tell thee, lord of Greece,
She is as far high-soaring o’er thy praises
As thou unworthy to be called her servant.
I charge thee use her well, even for my charge, 135
For, by the dreadful Pluto, if thou dost not,
Though the great bulk Achilles be thy guard,
I’ll cut thy throat. DIOMEDES
O, be not moved, Prince Troilus.
Let me be privileged by my place and message 140
To be a speaker free. When I am hence,
I’ll answer to my lust, and know you, lord,
I’ll nothing do on charge. To her own worth
She shall be prized; but that you say “Be ’t so,”
I speak it in my spirit and honor: “no.” 145 TROILUS
Come, to the port. I’ll tell thee, Diomed,
This brave shall oft make thee to hide thy head.—
Lady, give me your hand, and, as we walk,
To our own selves bend we our needful talk. Cressida, Diomedes, and Troilus exit. Sound trumpet within. PARIS
Hark, Hector’s trumpet. 150 AENEAS
How have we spent this
morning!
The Prince must think me tardy and remiss
That swore to ride before him to the field. PARIS
’Tis Troilus’ fault. Come, come to field with him. 155 DEIPHOBUS
Let us make ready straight. AENEAS
Yea, with a bridegroom’s fresh alacrity
Let us address to tend on Hector’s heels.
The glory of our Troy doth this day lie
On his fair worth and single chivalry. 160 They exit. | Troilus is pretty miffed when Diomedes intentionally misinterprets his words, so he tells him if he touches Cressida, he'll cut his throat. That should be pretty clear. As Troilus walks with Cressida and Diomedes to the port, a trumpet announces that Hector and Ajax are about to rumble. Hm, sounds like the plots might be about to converge. Paris and Aeneas run off to watch the two guys throw down. |