TPTT The History of Troilus and Cressida: ACT III
Introduction
PROLOGUE
ACT I
ACT II
ACT III
SCENE I. Troy. Priam's palace.
SCENE II. The same. Pandarus' orchard.
SCENE III. The Grecian camp. Before Achilles' tent.
ACT IV
ACT V
About the Play
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SCENE I. Troy. Priam's palace.
Enter a Servant and PANDARUS
PANDARUS
      Friend, you! pray you, a word: do not you follow
      the young Lord Paris?
Servant
      Ay, sir, when he goes before me.
PANDARUS
      You depend upon him, I mean?
Servant
5     Sir, I do depend upon the lord.
PANDARUS
      You depend upon a noble gentleman; I must needs
      praise him.
Servant
      The lord be praised!
PANDARUS
      You know me, do you not?
Servant
10    Faith, sir, superficially.
PANDARUS
      Friend, know me better; I am the Lord Pandarus.
Servant
      I hope I shall know your honour better.
PANDARUS
      I do desire it.
Servant
      You are in the state of grace.
PANDARUS
15    Grace! not so, friend: honour and lordship are my titles.

Music within

      What music is this?
Servant
      I do but partly know, sir: it is music in parts.
PANDARUS
      Know you the musicians?
Servant
      Wholly, sir.
PANDARUS
20    Who play they to?
Servant
      To the hearers, sir.
PANDARUS
      At whose pleasure, friend
Servant
      At mine, sir, and theirs that love music.
PANDARUS
      Command, I mean, friend.
Servant
25    Who shall I command, sir?
PANDARUS
      Friend, we understand not one another: I am too
      courtly and thou art too cunning. At whose request
      do these men play?
Servant
      That's to 't indeed, sir: marry, sir, at the request
30    of Paris my lord, who's there in person; with him,
      the mortal Venus, the heart-blood of beauty, love's
      invisible soul,--
PANDARUS
      Who, my cousin Cressida?
Servant
      No, sir, Helen: could you not find out that by her
35    attributes?
PANDARUS
      It should seem, fellow, that thou hast not seen the
      Lady Cressida. I come to speak with Paris from the
      Prince Troilus: I will make a complimental assault
      upon him, for my business seethes.
Servant
40    Sodden business! there's a stewed phrase indeed!
Enter PARIS and HELEN, attended
PANDARUS
      Fair be to you, my lord, and to all this fair
      company! fair desires, in all fair measure,
      fairly guide them! especially to you, fair queen!
      fair thoughts be your fair pillow!
HELEN
45    Dear lord, you are full of fair words.
PANDARUS
      You speak your fair pleasure, sweet queen. Fair
      prince, here is good broken music.
PARIS
      You have broke it, cousin: and, by my life, you
      shall make it whole again; you shall piece it out
50    with a piece of your performance. Nell, he is full
      of harmony.
PANDARUS
      Truly, lady, no.
HELEN
      O, sir,--
PANDARUS
      Rude, in sooth; in good sooth, very rude.
PARIS
55    Well said, my lord! well, you say so in fits.
PANDARUS
      I have business to my lord, dear queen. My lord,
      will you vouchsafe me a word?
HELEN
      Nay, this shall not hedge us out: we'll hear you
      sing, certainly.
PANDARUS
60    Well, sweet queen. you are pleasant with me. But,
      marry, thus, my lord: my dear lord and most esteemed
      friend, your brother Troilus,--
HELEN
      My Lord Pandarus; honey-sweet lord,--
PANDARUS
      Go to, sweet queen, to go:--commends himself most
65    affectionately to you,--
HELEN
      You shall not bob us out of our melody: if you do,
      our melancholy upon your head!
PANDARUS
      Sweet queen, sweet queen! that's a sweet queen, i' faith.
HELEN
      And to make a sweet lady sad is a sour offence.
PANDARUS
70    Nay, that shall not serve your turn; that shall not,
      in truth, la. Nay, I care not for such words; no,
      no. And, my lord, he desires you, that if the king
      call for him at supper, you will make his excuse.
HELEN
      My Lord Pandarus,--
PANDARUS
75    What says my sweet queen, my very very sweet queen?
PARIS
      What exploit's in hand? where sups he to-night?
HELEN
      Nay, but, my lord,--
PANDARUS
      What says my sweet queen? My cousin will fall out
      with you. You must not know where he sups.
PARIS
80    I'll lay my life, with my disposer Cressida.
PANDARUS
      No, no, no such matter; you are wide: come, your
      disposer is sick.
PARIS
      Well, I'll make excuse.
PANDARUS
      Ay, good my lord. Why should you say Cressida? no,
85    your poor disposer's sick.
PARIS
      I spy.
PANDARUS
      You spy! what do you spy? Come, give me an
      instrument. Now, sweet queen.
HELEN
      Why, this is kindly done.
PANDARUS
90    My niece is horribly in love with a thing you have,
      sweet queen.
HELEN
      She shall have it, my lord, if it be not my lord Paris.
PANDARUS
      He! no, she'll none of him; they two are twain.
HELEN
      Falling in, after falling out, may make them three.
PANDARUS
95    Come, come, I'll hear no more of this; I'll sing
      you a song now.
HELEN
      Ay, ay, prithee now. By my troth, sweet lord, thou
      hast a fine forehead.
PANDARUS
      Ay, you may, you may.
HELEN
100   Let thy song be love: this love will undo us all.
      O Cupid, Cupid, Cupid!
PANDARUS
      Love! ay, that it shall, i' faith.
PARIS
      Ay, good now, love, love, nothing but love.
PANDARUS
      In good troth, it begins so.

Sings

105   Love, love, nothing but love, still more!
      For, O, love's bow
      Shoots buck and doe:
      The shaft confounds,
      Not that it wounds,
110   But tickles still the sore.
      These lovers cry Oh! oh! they die!
      Yet that which seems the wound to kill,
      Doth turn oh! oh! to ha! ha! he!
      So dying love lives still:
115   Oh! oh! a while, but ha! ha! ha!
      Oh! oh! groans out for ha! ha! ha!
      Heigh-ho!
HELEN
      In love, i' faith, to the very tip of the nose.
PARIS
      He eats nothing but doves, love, and that breeds hot
120   blood, and hot blood begets hot thoughts, and hot
      thoughts beget hot deeds, and hot deeds is love.
PANDARUS
      Is this the generation of love? hot blood, hot
      thoughts, and hot deeds? Why, they are vipers:
      is love a generation of vipers? Sweet lord, who's
125   a-field to-day?
PARIS
      Hector, Deiphobus, Helenus, Antenor, and all the
      gallantry of Troy: I would fain have armed to-day,
      but my Nell would not have it so. How chance my
      brother Troilus went not?
HELEN
130   He hangs the lip at something: you know all, Lord Pandarus.
PANDARUS
      Not I, honey-sweet queen. I long to hear how they
      sped to-day. You'll remember your brother's excuse?
PARIS
      To a hair.
PANDARUS
      Farewell, sweet queen.
HELEN
135   Commend me to your niece.
PANDARUS
      I will, sweet queen.
Exit
A retreat sounded
PARIS
      They're come from field: let us to Priam's hall,
      To greet the warriors. Sweet Helen, I must woo you
      To help unarm our Hector: his stubborn buckles,
140   With these your white enchanting fingers touch'd,
      Shall more obey than to the edge of steel
      Or force of Greekish sinews; you shall do more
      Than all the island kings,--disarm great Hector.
HELEN
      'Twill make us proud to be his servant, Paris;
145   Yea, what he shall receive of us in duty
      Gives us more palm in beauty than we have,
      Yea, overshines ourself.
PARIS
      Sweet, above thought I love thee.
Exeunt
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