EDGAR Take heed o’ the foul fiend: obey thy parents;
keep thy word justly; swear not; commit not with
man’s sworn spouse; set not thy sweet heart on proud
array. Tom’s a-cold.
KING LEAR What hast thou been?
EDGAR A serving-man, proud in heart and mind; that curled
my hair; wore gloves in my cap; served the lust of
my mistress’ heart, and did the act of darkness with
her; swore as many oaths as I spake words, and
broke them in the sweet face of heaven: one that
slept in the contriving of lust, and waked to do it:
wine loved I deeply, dice dearly: and in woman
out-paramoured the Turk: false of heart, light of
ear, bloody of hand; hog in sloth, fox in stealth,
wolf in greediness, dog in madness, lion in prey.
Let not the creaking of shoes nor the rustling of
silks betray thy poor heart to woman: keep thy foot
out of brothels, thy hand out of plackets, thy pen
from lenders’ books, and defy the foul fiend.
Still through the hawthorn blows the cold wind:
Says suum, mun, ha, no, nonny.
Dolphin my boy, my boy, sessa! let him trot by.
Storm still
KING LEAR Why, thou wert better in thy grave than to answer
with thy uncovered body this extremity of the skies.
Is man no more than this? Consider him well. Thou
owest the worm no silk, the beast no hide, the sheep
no wool, the cat no perfume. Ha! here’s three on
‘s are sophisticated! Thou art the thing itself:
unaccommodated man is no more but such a poor bare,
forked animal as thou art. Off, off, you lendings!
come unbutton here.
Tearing off his clothes
Fool Prithee, nuncle, be contented; ’tis a naughty night
to swim in. Now a little fire in a wild field were
like an old lecher’s heart; a small spark, all the
rest on’s body cold. Look, here comes a walking fire.
Enter GLOUCESTER, with a torch
EDGAR This is the foul fiend Flibbertigibbet: he begins
at curfew, and walks till the first cock; he gives
the web and the pin, squints the eye, and makes the
hare-lip; mildews the white wheat, and hurts the
poor creature of earth.
S. Withold footed thrice the old;
He met the night-mare, and her nine-fold;
Bid her alight,
And her troth plight,
And, aroint thee, witch, aroint thee!
KENT How fares your grace?
KING LEAR What’s he?
KENT Who’s there? What is’t you seek?
GLOUCESTER What are you there? Your names?
EDGAR Poor Tom; that eats the swimming frog, the toad,
the tadpole, the wall-newt and the water; that in
the fury of his heart, when the foul fiend rages,
eats cow-dung for sallets; swallows the old rat and
the ditch-dog; drinks the green mantle of the
standing pool; who is whipped from tithing to
tithing, and stock- punished, and imprisoned; who
hath had three suits to his back, six shirts to his
body, horse to ride, and weapon to wear;
But mice and rats, and such small deer,
Have been Tom’s food for seven long year.
Beware my follower. Peace, Smulkin; peace, thou fiend!
GLOUCESTER What, hath your grace no better company?
EDGAR The prince of darkness is a gentleman:
Modo he’s call’d, and Mahu.
GLOUCESTER Our flesh and blood is grown so vile, my lord,
That it doth hate what gets it.
EDGAR Poor Tom’s a-cold.
GLOUCESTER Go in with me: my duty cannot suffer
To obey in all your daughters’ hard commands:
Though their injunction be to bar my doors,
And let this tyrannous night take hold upon you,
Yet have I ventured to come seek you out,
And bring you where both fire and food is ready.
KING LEAR First let me talk with this philosopher.
What is the cause of thunder?
KENT Good my lord, take his offer; go into the house.
KING LEAR I’ll talk a word with this same learned Theban.
What is your study?
EDGAR How to prevent the fiend, and to kill vermin.
KING LEAR Let me ask you one word in private.
KENT Importune him once more to go, my lord;
His wits begin to unsettle.
GLOUCESTER Canst thou blame him?
Storm still
His daughters seek his death: ah, that good Kent!
He said it would be thus, poor banish’d man!
Thou say’st the king grows mad; I’ll tell thee, friend,
I am almost mad myself: I had a son,
Now outlaw’d from my blood; he sought my life,
But lately, very late: I loved him, friend;
No father his son dearer: truth to tell thee,
The grief hath crazed my wits. What a night’s this!
I do beseech your grace,–
KING LEAR O, cry your mercy, sir.
Noble philosopher, your company.
EDGAR Tom’s a-cold.
GLOUCESTER In, fellow, there, into the hovel: keep thee warm.
KING LEAR Come let’s in all.
KENT This way, my lord.
KING LEAR With him;
I will keep still with my philosopher.
KENT Good my lord, soothe him; let him take the fellow.
GLOUCESTER Take him you on.
KENT Sirrah, come on; go along with us.
KING LEAR Come, good Athenian.
GLOUCESTER No words, no words: hush.
EDGAR Child Rowland to the dark tower came,
His word was still,–Fie, foh, and fum,
I smell the blood of a British man.
Exeunt
Scene 5
Gloucester’s castle.
Enter CORNWALL and EDMUND
CORNWALL I will have my revenge ere I depart his house.
EDMUND How, my lord, I may be censured, that nature thus
gives way to loyalty, something fears me to think
of.
CORNWALL I now perceive, it was not altogether your
brother’s evil disposition made him seek his death;
but a provoking merit, set a-work by a reprovable
badness in himself.
EDMUND How malicious is my fortune, that I must repent to
be just! This is the letter he spoke of, which
approves him an intelligent party to the advantages
of France: O heavens! that this treason were not,
or not I the detector!
CORNWALL o with me to the duchess.
EDMUND If the matter of this paper be certain, you have
mighty business in hand.
CORNWALL True or false, it hath made thee earl of
Gloucester. Seek out where thy father is, that he
may be ready for our apprehension.
EDMUND [Aside]
If I find him comforting the king, it will
stuff his suspicion more fully.–I will persevere in
my course of loyalty, though the conflict be sore
between that and my blood.
CORNWALL I will lay trust upon thee; and thou shalt find a
dearer father in my love.
Exeunt
Scene 6
A chamber in a farmhouse adjoining the castle.
Enter GLOUCESTER, KING LEAR, KENT, Fool, and EDGAR
GLOUCESTER Here is better than the open air; take it
thankfully. I will piece out the comfort with what
addition I can: I will not be long from you.
KENT All the power of his wits have given way to his
impatience: the gods reward your kindness!
Exit GLOUCESTER
EDGAR Frateretto calls me; and tells me
Nero is an angler in the lake of darkness.
Pray, innocent, and beware the foul fiend.
Fool Prithee, nuncle, tell me whether a madman be a
gentleman or a yeoman?
KING LEAR A king, a king!
Fool No, he’s a yeoman that has a gentleman to his son;
for he’s a mad yeoman that sees his son a gentleman
before him.
KING LEAR To have a thousand with red burning spits
Come hissing in upon ’em,–
EDGAR The foul fiend bites my back.
Fool He’s mad that trusts in the tameness of a wolf, a
horse’s health, a boy’s love, or a whore’s oath.
KING LEAR It shall be done; I will arraign them straight.
To EDGAR
Come, sit thou here, most learned justicer;
To the Fool
Thou, sapient sir, sit here. Now, you she foxes!
EDGAR Look, where he stands and glares!
Wantest thou eyes at trial, madam?
Come o’er the bourn, Bessy, to me,–
Fool Her boat hath a leak,
And she must not speak
Why she dares not come over to thee.
EDGAR The foul fiend haunts poor Tom in the voice of a
nightingale. Hopdance cries in Tom’s belly for two
white herring. Croak not, black angel; I have no
food for thee.
KENT How do you, sir? Stand you not so amazed:
Will you lie down and rest upon the cushions?
KING LEAR I’ll see their trial first. Bring in the evidence.
To EDGAR
Thou robed man of justice, take thy place;
To the Fool
And thou, his yoke-fellow of equity,
Bench by his side:
To KENT
you are o’ the commission,
Sit you too.
EDGAR Let us deal justly.
Sleepest or wakest thou, jolly shepherd?
Thy sheep be in the corn;
And for one blast of thy minikin mouth,
Thy sheep shall take no harm.
Pur! the cat is gray.
KING LEAR Arraign her first; ’tis Goneril. I here take my
oath before this honourable assembly, she kicked the
poor king her father.