Sea that swels and rages breaking it 's billowes one against another the Ayre that darteth arrowes of lightning and is moued this way and that way the flames they cracke and sparkle forth their furie the windes are at perpetuall enmitie with themselues times with times doe contend one thing against another and all against vs We see that the Summer makes vs complaine of too much heate and the Winter of cold and sharpenesse of weather So that this which seemeth vnto vs a temporall reuolution this by which we are bred vp and nourished and liue if it once beginne to passe aboue it's proportion and to grow to a greater highth then vsuall it is no better then open warre And how much it ought to bee feared is manifested by those great earth-quakes and whirlewinds by those ship-wrackes and fires as well in the ayre as the earth by the sourse of water-courses and violence of inundations by those courses and recourses those rackings to and fro of the Clouds of whose open motions to know the secret cause from whence they proceed no lesse is the dissention of the Philosophers in the schooles then of the waues of the Sea Besides among your bruit beasts there is not any one of them that wants his warre be they Fishes Birds Beasts or Serpents whereof euery kinde persecuteth and pursueth one another The Lyon hee pursues the Wolfe the Wolfe the Kidde the Dog the Hare And if it might not be thought a fable or old wifes tale sitting by the fire side I should more fully inlarge this Theame The Elephant that is so powerfull and strong a beast is afraide and flies from the sight of a poore silly Mouse and no sooner heares him comming but hee quakes and trembles for feare Amongst Serpents Nature created the Basiliske so venomous and poysonfull and gaue him such a predominant power ouer all the rest that onely with his hissing he doth affright them with his comming put them to flight and disperseth some one way some another and with his sight kills and murders them The Viper a crawling creature and venomous Serpent at the time of ingendring the Male puts his head into the mouth of the Female and shee through the great delight and sweetnesse of her pleasure straines him so hard that she kills him And conceiuing her young the eldest or first of her brood breakes the barres of his mothers belly eates out his way thorow her bowels at which place all the rest issue forth whereof she dies hee doing this as a reuenger of his fathers death What greater conflict what greater contention or warre can there be then to conceiue that in her body which shall eate out her Intralls Againe no lesse naturall dissention can we suppose to be amongst fishes for most certaine it is that the Sea doth containe as many seuerall sorts of fishes as the earth and ayre do nourish bords and beasts and much more Aristotle and Pliny doe recount wonders of a little fish called Aecheneis how apt his nature is and how prone his propertie for diuers kindes of contentions especially this one that if hee cling to a shiper Carrack he will detaine and stop her in her course though she haue the winde in the poope of her and cut the Seas with neuer so stiffe a gale Whereof Lucan maketh mention saying Non puppim retinens Euro tendente rudentes In medijs Aecheneis aquis Nor Aecheneis whose strength though Eurus rise Can stay the course of shippes O naturall contention worthy of admiration that a little fish should be able to doe more then a great ship with all the force and strength of the winds Moreouer if we will discourse of birds and of their frequent enmities we may truly affirm that all things are created in a kind of contention Your greater liue of rapine as Eagles and Hawks and your crauen Kites presse vpon our Pullen insulting ouer them euen in our own houses and offring to take them euen from vnder the Hens wings Of a bird called Roque which is bred in the East Indian Sea it is said to be of an incredible greatnesse that the like hath neuer bin heard of and that with her beake she will hoyse vp into the ayre not only one man or ten but a whole ship laden with men and merchandise and how that these miserable passengers hanging thus in suspence in the ayre till her wings waxe weary she lets them fall and so they receiue their deaths But what shall we say of men to whom all the foresaid creatures are subiect Who can expresse their wars their iars their enmities their enuies their heats their broyles their brawles and their discontentments That change and alteration of fashions in their apparell That pulling downe and building vp of houses and many other sundry effects and varieties all of them proceeding from the feeble and weake condition of mans variable nature And because it is an old and ancient complaint and vsed heretofore time out of minde I will not much maruell if this present worke shall proue an instrument of war to its Readers putting strifes and differences amongst them euery one giuing his verdict and opinion thereupon according to the humour of his owne will Some perhaps may say that it is too long some too short others to be sweet and pleasant and other some to be darke and obscure So that to cut it out to the measure of so many and such different dispositions is onely appropriate to God Especially since that it together with all other things whatsoeuer are in this world march vnder the standard of this noble Sentence For euen the very life of men if we consider them from their first and tendeer age till they grow gray-headed is nothing else but a battell Children with their sports boyes with their bookes young men with their pleasures old men with a thousand sorts of infirmities skirmish and warre continually and these Papers with all ages The first blots and teares them the second knowes not well how to read them the third which is the cheerefull liuelihood of youth and set all vpon iollity doth vtterly dislike of them Some gnaw onely the bones but do not picke out the marrow saying there is no goodnesse in it that it is a History huddled I know not how together a kind of hodgepode or gallimaufrey not profiting themselues out of the particularities accounting it a fable or old wifes tale fitting for nothing saue only for to passe away the time vpon the way Others call out the witty conceits and common prouerbs highly commending them but slighting and neglecting that which makes more to the purpose and their profit But they for whose true pleasure it is wholy framed reiect the story it selfe as a vayne and idle subiect and gather out the pith and marrow of the matter for their owne good and benefit and laugh at those things that sauour onely of wit and pleasant conceite storing vp in their memorie
haue risen a little earlier Harke harke good Mistresse Melibea harke I say Melibea What does the foole there sneaking in the corner Lucrecia Come hither Madame and you shall heare how forward your father and mother are for to prouide you a husband you shall be married out of hand out of hand Madame Melibea For all loues sake speake softly they will heare you by and by let them talke on they beginne to doat for this month they haue had no other talke their minde hath runne on nothing else it may be their heart tels them of the great loue which I beare to Calisto as also of that which for this months space hath passed between vs I know not whether they haue had any inkling of our meeting or whether they haue ouer-heard vs nor can I deuise in the world what should be the reason why they should be so hot vpon the matter and more eager for the marrying of mee now then euer heeretofore but they shall misse of their purpose they shall labour it in vaine for to what vse serues the clapper in the Mil if the Miller be deafe Who is he that can remoue me from my glory Who can withdraw me from my pleasure Calisto is my Soule my Life my Lord on whom I haue set vp my rest and in whom I haue placed all my hopes I know that in him I cannot be deceiued And since that hee loues me with what other thing but loue can I requite him All the debts in the world receiue their payment in a diuers kind but loue admits no other payment but loue I glad my selfe in thinking on him I delight my selfe in seeing him and reioyce my selfe in hearing him Let him doe with mee what he will and dispose of me at his pleasure if he will goe to Sea I will goe with him if hee will round the world I will along with him if he will sell mee for a slaue in the enemies Countrey I will not resist his desire Let my Parents let me inioy him if they meane to inioy me let them not settle their thoughts vpon these vanities nor thinke no more vpon those their marriages For it is better to be well belou'd then ill married and a good friend is better then a bad husband Let them suffer mee to inioy the pleasure of my youth if they minde to iniov any quietnesse in their age if not they will but prepare destruction for me and for themselues a Sepulchre I grieue for nothing more then for the time that I haue lost in not inioying him any sooner and that hee did not know me as soone as he was knowne vnto me I will no husband I will not fully the knots of matrimony nor treade against the matrimoniall steppes of another man nor walke in the way of wedlocke with a stranger as I finde many haue done in those ancient bookes which I haue read which were farre more discreete and wiser then my selfe and more noble in their estate and Linage whereof some were held among the heathens for goddesses as was Venus the mother of Eneas and of Cupid the god of loue who being married broke her plighted troth of wedlocke as likewise diuers others who were inflamed with a greater fire and did commit most nefarious and incestuous errors as Myrrha with her father Semyramis with her sonne Canace with her brother others also in a more cruell and beastly fashion did transgresse the Law of Nature as Pasiphae the wife of King Minos with a Bull and these were Queenes and great Ladies vnder whose faults considering the foulnesse of them mine may passe as reasonable without note of shame or dishonesty My loue was grounded vpon a good and iust cause and a farre more lawfull ground I was wooed and sued vnto and captiuated by Calisto's good deserts being thereunto solicited by that subtil and cunning Mistris in her Art Dame Celestina who aduentured her selfe in many a dangerous Visit before that euer I would yeeld my selfe true prisoner to his loue And now for this month and more as you your selfe haue seene hee hath not failed no not so much as one night but hath still scaled our garden walls as if hee had come to the scaling of a fort and many times hath beene repulsed and assaulted it in vaine being driuen to withdraw his siege And yet for all this hee continued more constant and resolute still and neuer would giue ouer as one that thought his labour to be well bestowed For my sake his seruants haue beene slaine for my sake hee hath wasted and consumed his substance for my sake hee hath fayned absence with all his friends in the City and all day long hee hath had the patience to remaine close prisoner in his owne house and onely vpon hope wherein hee counted himselfe happy to see mee in the night Farre farre therefore from mee be all ingratitude farre be all flattery and dissimulation towards so true and faithfull a Louer for I regard in my regard to him neyther husband father nor kindred for in losing my Calisto I lose my life which life of mine doth therefore please me because it pleaseth him which I desire no longer to inioy then he shall ioy in it Lucrecia Peace Madame harke harke they continue in their discourse Pleberio Since wife mee thinkes you seeme to like well of this motion it is not amisse that wee make it knowne to our daughter wee may doe well to tell her how many doe desire her and what store of sutors would be willing to come vnto her to the end that she may the more willingly entertaine our desire and make choyce of him whom she liketh best For in this particular the Lawes allow both men and women though they be vnder paternall power for to make their owne choyce Alisa What doe you meane husband Why doe you talke and spend time in this Who shall be the messenger to acquaint our daughter Melibea with this strange newes and shall not affright her therewith Alasse doe you thinke that she can tell what a man meanes or what it is to marry or be married or whether by the coniunction of man and woman children are begot or no Doe you think that her simple and vnspotted Virginity can suggest vnto her any filthy desire of that which as yet she neither knowes nor vnderstandeth nor cannot so much as conceiue what it meanes It is the least part of her thought Beleeue it my Lord Pleberio she doth not so much as dreame on any such matter and assure your selfe be hee what hee will be eyther noble or base faire or soule we will make her to take whom it pleaseth vs whom we like him shall shee like shee shall confirme her will to ours and shall thinke that fit which wee thinke fit and no further for I know I trow how I haue bred and brought vp my daughter Melibea Lucrecia Lucrecia runne hye thee quickly and goe in by the backe doore in the hall
and mitigate my sorrow Pleberio This daughter shall presently be done I will goe my selfe and will it to be prouided Melibea Friend Lucrecia this place me thinkes is too high I am very loth to leaue my fathers company I prythee make a step down vnto him and intreat him to come to the foot of this Tower for I haue a word or two which I forgot to tell him that he should deliuer from me to my mother Lucrecia I goe Madame Melibea They haue all of them left me I am now alone by my selfe and no body with mee The manner of my death falls fit and pat to my minde it is some ease vnto mee that I and my beloued Calisto shall so soone meet againe I will shut and make fast the dore that no body may come vp to hinder my death nor disturbe my departure nor to stop me in my iourney wherin I purpose to poast vnto him not doubting but to visit him as well this very day as he did mee this last night All things fadge aright and haue falne out as luckily as I could wish it I shall now haue time and leysure enough to recount to my father Pleberio the cause of this my short and sudden end I confesse I shall much wrong his siluer hayres and offer much iniury to his elder yeers I shall work great wo vnto him by this my errour I shall leaue him in great heauinesse and desolation all the daies of his life But admit my death will be the death of my dearest parents and put case that the shortning of my daies will be the shortning of theirs who doth not know but that others haue beene more cruell to their parents then I am Prusias King of Bythinia without any cause not induring that paine which I doe slew his owne father Ptolomy King of Egypt slew both father and mother and brother and wife and all for the loue of his Mistris Orestes kil'd his mother Clytemnestar and that cruell Emperour Nero onely for the fulfilling of his pleasure murdred his owne mother These and such as they are worthy of blame These are true Parricides not I who with mine owne punishment and with mine owne death purge away the guilt which otherwise they might moe iustly lay vpon mee for their deaths There haue beene others far more cruell who haue slaine their own children and their owne brothers in comparison of whose errours mine is as nothing at least nothing so great Philip King of Macedon Herod King of Iuryne Constantine Emperour of Rome Laodice Queene of Cappadocea and Medea the Sorceresse all these slew their owne sonnes and dearest children and that without any reason or iust cause preseruing their owne persons still in safety To conclude that great cruelty of Phrâ—ates King of the Parthians occurres to my remembrance who because hee would haue no successour behinde him murdred Orodes his aged father as also his onely sonne besides some thirty more of his brethren These were delicts worthy blame indeed because they keeping their owne persons free from perill butchered their Ancestours their successours and their brethren True it is that though all this be so yet are we not to imitate them in those things wherein they did amisse but it is not in my power to doe otherwise And thou great Gouernour of the heauens who art witnesse to my words thou see'st the small power that I haue ouer my passion thou seest how my liberty is captiuated and how my senses are taken with that powerfull loue of that late deceased Gentleman who hath depriued mee of that loue which I beare to my liuing parents Pleberio Daughter Melibea what make you there alone what is it you would you haue with mee shall I come vp to you Melibea No good father content you where you are trouble not your selfe nor striue to come to me you shall but disturbe and interrupt that short speach which I am now to make vnto you Now by and by shalt thou be suddenly wounded thy heart shall presently be prickt with griefe and shall bleede abundantly to see the death of thy onely daughter My end drawes neere at hand is my rest and thy passion my ease and thy paine my houre of keeping company and thy time of solitarinesse You shall not need my most honoured father to seeke out any instruments of musick to asswage my sorrow nor vse any other sound saue the sound of bels for to ring my knell and bring my body to the graue And if thou canst harken vnto mee for teares if thine eyes will giue thine cares leaue to heare thou shalt heare the desperate cause of this my forced yet ioyfull departure see thou neyther speake nor weepe interrupt mee not eyther with teares or words vnlesse thou mean'st more heereafter to be tormented in not knowing why I doe kill my selfe then thou art now sorrowfull to see my death Neither aske nor answer mee any thing nor question me any further then what of mine owne accord I shall willingly tell thee for when the heart is surcharged with sorrow the eare is deafe to good counsell and at such a time good and wholsome words rather incense then allay rage Heare my aged father the last words that euer I shall speake vnto you And if you entertaine them as I hope you will you will rather excuse then condemne my errour I am sure you both well perceiue and heare that most sad and doleful lamentation which is made thorowout all this City I am sure you heare this great noyse and ringing of bells the skriking and cryings out of all sorts of people this howling and barking of dogges this noyse and clattering of Armour Of all this haue I beene the cause I euen this very day haue clothed the greater part of the Knights and Gentlemen of this City in mourning I euen this very day haue left many seruants orphaned and quite destitute of a Master I haue beene the cause that many a poore soule hath now lost it 's almes and reliefe I haue beene the occasion that the dead should haue the company of the most complete Gentleman for his good graces and qualities that euer was borne I haue beene the occasion that the liuing haue lost the onely Patterne and Paragon of courtesie of gallant inuentions of witty deuices of neatnesse and decency in his cloathes of speech of gate of kindnesse and of vertue I haue beene the occasion that the earth doth now inioy the most noble body and the freshest flowre of youth that euer was created in this age of ours And because you may stand amazed and astonished at the sound of these my vnusuall and vnaccustomed crimes I will open the businesse and make this matter appeare more cleare vnto you It is now deare father many dayes since that a Gentleman called Calisto whom you well knew as likewise his Ancestors and noble Linage did languish and pine away for my loue As for his vertues and goodnesse they were generally knowne to the
old age hath made me lose my hearing for not onely that which I see heare and know but euen the very inward secrets of thy heart and thoughts I search into and pierce to the full with these my intellectuall eyes these eies of my vnderstanding I would haue thee to know Permeno that Calisto is loue-sicke sicke euen to the death Nor art thou for this to censure him to be a weak and foolish man for vnresistable loue subdueth all things Besides I would haue thee to know if thou knowst it not already that there are these two conclusions that are euermore infallibly true The first is that euery man must of force loue a woman and euery woman loue a man The second is that he who truely loues must of necessity be much troubled mou'd with the sweetnes of that superexcellent delight which was ordain'd by him that made all things for the perpetuating of mankind without which it must needs perish and not only in humane kind but also in fishes birds beasts all creatures that creepe and crawle vpon the earth Likewise in your soules vegetatiue some plants haue the same inclination disposition that without the interpositioÌ„ of any other thing they be planted in some little distance one of another and it is determined and agreed vpon by the generall-consent of your Gardeners and husband-men to be Make and Female How can you answer this Parmeno Now my pretty 〈◊〉 foole you mad wagge my soules sweet Genius my Pearle 〈…〉 well my honest poore silly Lad my pretty little Monky-face come hither you little whoreson Alack how I pitty thy simplicity thou knowst nothing of the world nor of it's delights Let me run mad and dye in that fit if I suffer thee to come neere me as old as I am Thou hast a harsh and ill fauourd hoarse voyce by thy brizzled beard it is easily guest what manner of man you are Tell mee is all quiet beneath No motions at all to make in Venus Court Sempr. O! As quiet as the taile of a Scorpion Celest. It were well and it were no worse Parme. Ha ha he Celest. Laugh'st thou thou pocky rogue Parme. Nay mother be quiet hold your peace I pray Doe not blame me and doe not hold mee though I am but young for a foole I loue Calisto tyed thereunto out of that true and honest fidelity which euery seruant owes vnto his Master for the breeding that he hath giuen me for the benefit which I receiue from him as also because I am well respected and kindely intreated by him which is the strongest chaine that linkes the loue of the seruant to the seruice of his Master As the contrary is the breaking of it I see hee is out of the right way and hath wholly lost himselfe and nothing can befall a man worse in this world then to hunt after his desire without hope of a good and happy end especially he thinking to recouer his game which himselfe holdeth so hard and difficult a pursuite by the vaine aduice and foolish reasons of that beast Sempronio which is all one as if he should goe about with the broade end of a Spade to dig liâ—le wormes out of a mans hand I hate it I abhorre it It is abominable and with griefe I speake it I doe much lament it Celestina Knowst thou not Parmeno that it is an absolute folly or meere simplicity to bewaile that which by wayling cannot bee holpen Parme. And therefore doe I wayle because it cannot be holpen For if by wayling and weeping it were posible to worke some remedy for my Master so great would the contentment of that hope be that for very ioy I should not haue the power to weepe But because I see all hope thereof to be vtterly lost with it haue I lost all my ioy and for this cause doe I weepe Celest. Thou weepest in vaine for that which cannot by weeping be auoyded thou canst not turne the istreame of his violent passion and therefore maist truly presume that he is past allâ—re Tell mee Parmeno hath not the like happened to others as well as to him Parme. Yes But I would not haue my Master through mourning and grieuing languish and grow sicke Celestina Thy Master is well inough He is not sicke and were hee neuer so sicke neuer so much payned and grieued I my selfe am able to cure him I haue the power to doe it Parme. I regard not what thou saist For in good things better is the Act then the Power And in bad things better the Power then the Act So that it is beter to be well then an the way to bee well And better is the possibility of being sicke then to be sicke indeed and therefore Power in ill is better then the Act Celest. O thou wicked villaine How Idly dost thou talke as if thou didst not vnderstand thy selfe It seemes thou dost not know his disease What hast thou hitherto said What wouldst thou haue What is 't that grieues you Sir Why lamentest thou Be you dispos'd to jest and make your selfe merry or are you in good earnest and would'st faine face out truth with falsehood Beleeue you what you list I am sure hee is sicke and that in Act and that the Power to make him whole lyes wholly in the hands of this weake old woman Parme. Nay rather of this weake old Whore Celest. Now the Hang-man be thy ghostly father my little rascall my pretty villaine how dar'st thou be so bold with me Parme. How as though I did not know thee Celest. And who art thou Parm. Who marry I am Parmeno sonne to Alberto thy gossip who liu'd some little while with thee for my mother recommended mee vnto thee when thou dwelt'st close by the riuers side in Tanners row Celest. Good Lord and art thou Parmeno Claudina's sonne Parm. The very same Celest. Now the fire of the pockes consume thy bones for thy mother was an old whore as my selfe Why dost thou persecute me Parmeno It is he in good truth it is hee Come hither vnto mee come I say many a good jerke and many a cuffe on the eare haue I giuen thee in my daies and as many kisses too A you little rogue dost thou remember sirrha when thou lay'st at my beds feet Parm. Passing well and sometimes also though I was then but a little Apish boy how you would take me vp to your pillow and there lye hugging of me in your armes and because you sauour'd somewhat of old age I remember how I would fling and flye from you Celest. A pocks on you for a rogue Our impudent art thou not ashamed to talke thus But to leaue off all jesting and to come to plaine earnest Heare me now my childe and hearken what I shall say vnto thee For though I am called hither for one end I am come for another And albeit I haue made my selfe a stranger vnto thee and as though I knew thee not yet thou wast
benefit both profit and pleasure is proposed I haue heard tell that a man should beleeue his betters and those whose yeers carry authority with them Now What is it she aduiseth me vnto To be at peace with Sempronio and to peace no man ought to be opposite For blessed are the peacefull Loue and charity towards our brethren that is not to be shunned and auoided by vs and few are they that will forgoe their profit I will therefore seeke to please her and hearken vnto her Mother a master ought not be offended with his Schollers ignorance at least very seldome in matters of depth and knowledge For though knowledge in its owne nature be communicable vnto all yet is it infused but into few And therefore I pray pardon me and speake a new vnto me For I will not only heare and beleeue thee but receiue thy councell as a singular kindnesse and a token of thy great fauour and especiall loue towards mee Nor yet would I that you should thanke mee for this Because the praise and thankes of euery action ought rather to be attributed to the giuer then to the receiuer Command mee therefore for to your commandements shall I euer be willing that my consent submit it selfe Celest. It is proper to a man to erre but to a beast to perseuere in an errour It doth much glad me Parmeno that thou hast clear'd thosee thicke clouds which darkened thy eye-sight and hast answered mee according to the wisedome discretion and sharpe wit of thy father whose person now representing it selfe fresh to my remembrance doth make my tender eyes to melt into teares which thou seest in such abundance to trickle downe my cheeks He sometimes would maintaine hard and strange propositions but would presently such was the goodnesse of his nature see his errour and imbrace the truth I sweare vnto thee that in thus seeing thee to thwart the truth and then suddenly vpon it laying down all contradiction and to be conformable to that which was reason me thinks I doe as liuely now behold thy father as if he now were liuing and present heere before mee O what a man he was how proper in his person how able in his actions what a part did he beare and what a venerall and reuerend countenance did hee carry But hush I heare Calisto comming and thy new friend Sempronio whose reconcilement with him I referre to some fitter opportunity For two liuing in one heart are more powerfull both for action and vnderstanding Calisto Deare mother I did much doubt considering my misfortunes to finde you aliue but maruaile more considering my desire that my selfe come aliue vnto you Receiue this poore gift of him who with it offers thee his life Celest. As in your finest gold that is wrought by the hand of your cunningest and curiosest Artificer the workemanship oftentimes doth farre surpasse the matter So the fashion of your faire liberality doth much exceed the greatnesse of your gift And questionlesse a kindnesse that is quickely conferr'd redoubles it's effect for hee that slacketh that which he promiseth seemeth in a manner to deny it and to repent himselfe of his promised fauour Parme. Sempronio what hath hee giuen her Sempr. A hundred crownes in good gold Parme. Ha ha ha Sempr. Hath my mother talk't with thee Parme. Peace shee hath Sempr. How is it then with vs Parme. As thou wilt thy selfe Yet for all this mee thinkes I am still afraid Sempr. No more Be silent I feare mee I shall make thee twice as much afraide e'r I haue done with thee Parm. Now fie vpon it I perceiue there can be no greater plague nor no greater enemy to a man then those of his owne house Calisto Now mother goe your wayes get you home and cheere vp your owne house and when you haue done that I pray hasten hither and cheere vp ours Celestina Good chance attend you Calisto And you too and so farewell The end of the first Act ACTVS II. THE ARGVMENT CELESTINA being departed from Calisto and gone home to her owne house Calisto continues talking with Sempronio his seruant who like one that is put in some good hope thinking all speed too slow sends away Sempronio to Celestina to solicit her for the quicker dispatch of his conceiued businesse Calisto and Parmeno in the meane while reasoning together INTERLOCVTORS Calisto Sempronio Parmeno CAlisto Tell me my Masters The hundred crownes which I gaue yonder old Bel-dame are they well bestowed or no Sempr. Yes Sir exceeding well For besides the sauing of your life you haue gained much honour by it And for what end is fortune fauourable and prosperous but to be a handmaide to our honour and to wayte thereon which of all worldly goods is the greatest For honor is the reward and recompence of vertue and for this cause wee giue it vnto the Diuine Essence because wee haue not any thing greater to giue him The best part whereof consisteth in liberality and bounty and this close-fistednes and vncommunicated treasure doth eclypse and darken whereas magnificence and liberality doth gaine and highly extoll it What good is it for a man to keep that to himselfe which in the keeping of it does himselfe no good I tell you Sir and what I speake is truth Better is the vse of riches then the possessing of them O how glorious a thing is it to giue and how miserable to receiue See how much better action is then passion so much more noble is the giuer then the receiuer Amongst the Elements the fire because it is more actiue is the more noble and therefore placed in the Spheares in the noblest place And some say that noblenesse is a praise proceeding from the merit and antiquity of our Ancesters But I am of opinion that another mans light can neuer make you shine vnlesse you haue some of your owne And therefore doe not glory in the noblenesse of your father who was so magnificent a Gentleman but in your owne Shine not out of his but your owne light and so shall you get your selfe honour which is mans greatest outward good Wherefore not the bad but the good such as your selfe are worthy to partake of so perfect a vertue And besides I must tell you that perfect vertue doth not suppose that Honour hath it's fellow and therefore reioce with your selfe that you haue beene so magnificent and so bountifull And thus Sir hauing told you my minde let mee now aduise you that you would be pleased to returne backe to your chamber and there take some rest sithence that your businesse is deposited in such hands assuring your selfe that the beginning being so good the end will be much better and so let vs goe presently to your chamber where I shall treate more at large with you concerning this businesse Calisto Me thinkes Sempronio it is no good counsell that I shouldest heere accompanied and that shee should goe all alone who seekes to cure my ill it were better that thou
leaue other mens thoughts and cares to themselues and let vs go sleepe for it is time and a good sound sleepe without feare will fat me more and doe me more good then all the Treasure and wealth or Venice ACTVS VIIJ THE ARGVMENT THe day appeares Parmeno departs and takes his leaue of Areusa and goes to his Master Calisto He findes Sempronio at the doore they enter into amitie goe ioyntly to Calisto's chamber they finde him talking with himselfe being risen hee goes to Church INTERLOCVTORS Parmeno Areusa Calisto Sempronio PArmeno It is day O what a spight is this Whence is it that it is so light in the chamber Areusa What doe you talke of day Sleepe Sir and take your rest for it is but euen now since we lay down I haue scarce shut mine eyes yet would you haue it to be day I pray you open the window by you the window there by your beds head and you shall then see whether it be so or no Parm. Gentlewoman I am in the right it is day I see it is day I am not deceiued No no I knew it was broad day when I saw the light come thorow the chinks of the doore O what a Villaine am I Into how great a fault am I falne with my Master I am worthy of much punishment O how farre daies is it Areusa Farre daies Parme. I farre daies very farre daies Areusa Neuer trust mee Alas I am not eased of my Mother yet It paines me still I know not what should be the reason of it Parmeno Deare loue what wouldst thou haue mee to doe Areusa That wee talke a little on the matter concerning my indisposition Parme. What should we talke Loue any more if that which hath been said already be not sufficient excuse that in me which is more necessary for it is now almost high noone and if I stay any longer I shall not be welcome to my Master To morrow is a new day and then I will come to see you againe and as often afterwards as you please and therefore was one day made after another because that which could not be performed in one day might bee done in another as also because wee should see one another the oftener In the meane while let me intreate you to doe mee the fauour that you will come and dine with vs to day at Celestina's house Areusa With all my heart and I thanke you too Fare-well good lucke be with you I pray pull the doore after you Par. And fare you well too O singular pleasure O singular ioy What man liues there this day that can say he is more fortunate then I am Can any man be more happy any more successefull then my selfe that I should enioy so excellent a gift so curious a creature and no sooner aske then haue Beleeue me if my heart could brooke this old womans treasons I could creepe vpon my knees to doe her a kindnesse How shall I bee able to requite her O heauens To whom shall I impart this my ioy To whom shall I discouer so great a secret To whom shall I discouer some part of my glorie It is true that the old woman told mee That of no prosperitie the possession can be good without company and that pleasure not communicated is no pleasure O! who can haue so true a feeling of this my happinesse as my selfe But lo yonder is Sempronio standing at our doore hee hath beene stirring betimes I shall haue a pittious life with my Master if he be gone abroad but I hope hee is not if hee be hee hath left his old wont But being he is not now himselfe no maruell if he breake custome Sempr. Brother Parmeno if I knew that countrey where a man might get wages by sleeping it should goe hard but I would make a shift to get thither For I would not then come short of any man I would scorne to be put downe but would gaine as much as another man be hee who hee will be that beares a head But what is the matter that thou like a carelesse and retchles fellow loytring I know not where hast been so negligent and slow in thy returne I cannot deuise what should be the cause of this thy so long stay vnlesse it were to giue old Celestina a warming to night or to rub her feete as you were wont to doe when you were a Little-one Parme. O Sempronio my good friend I pray thee doe not interrupt or rather corrupt my pleasure Doe not intermix thy anger with my patience doe not inuolue thy discontentment with my quiet Doe not soyle with such troubled water the cleare liquor of those gladsome thoughts which I harbour in my heart Doe not sowre with thy malicious taunts and hatefully reprehensions the sweetnesse of my delight Receiue me cheerefull imbrace me with ioy and I shall tell thee wonders of my late happy proceedings Sempr. Come out with it out with it Is it any thing touching Melibea Say Lad hast thou seene her Parm. What talk'st thou to me of Melibea It is touching another that I wish better vnto then Melibea And such a one if I be not deceiued as may compare with her both in handsomnes and beauty Melibea Why she is not worthy to carry her shooes after her as though forsooth the world and all that therein is be it beauty or otherwise were onely inclosed in Melibea Sempr. What meanes this fellow Is hee mad I would fayne laugh but I cannot Now I see wee are all in loue the world is at an end Calisto loues Melibea I Elicia and thou out of meere enuy hast found out some one with whom thou might'st lose that little wit thou hast Parm. Is it folly say you to loue Then am I a foole But if foolishnesse were a paine some in euery house would complaine Sempr. I appeale to thy selfe by thine owne iudgement thou art no better For my selfe haue heard thee giue vaine and foolish counsell to Calisto and to crosse Celestina in euery word shee spake to the hinderance of both our profits O Sir you were glad of this it was meate alone to you Who you No not for a world would you beare a part with vs But since I haue caught you in my clutches I will hamper you yfaith Now that thou art in those hands that may hurt thee they shall doe it assure thy selfe they shall Parm. It is not Sempronio true courage nor manly valour to hurt or hinder any man but to doe good to heale and helpe him and farre greater is it to be willing so to doe I haue euermore made reckoning of thee as of mine owne brother Let not that be verified of thee which is commonly spoken amongst vs that a slight cause should part true friends I tell you you doe not vse me well Nay you deale very ill with mee I know not whence this rancor should arise Doe not vexe me Sempronio Torment me not with these thy wounding words And shall I tell
whole world So great was his loue-torment and so little both place and opportunity to speake with me that he was driuen to discouer his passion to a crafty and subtill woman named Celestina which Celestina comming as a suiter vnto mee in his behalfe drew my secret loue from forth my bosome and made mee to manifest that vnto her which I concealed from mine own mother she found the meanes to win me to her will shee made the match betweene vs shee plotted how his desire and mine should take effect And if hee dearely loued me I was not therein deceiued shee made vp that sad conclusion of that sweete and vnfortunate execution of his will and thus being ouer-come with the loue of Calisto I gaue him entrance into your house hee scaled your walls with ladders and brake into your garden brake my chaste purpose by taking from mee the flowre of my Virginity And thus almost this moneth haue wee liu'd in this delightfull errour of loue And as he came this lastnight vnto mee as hee was wont to doe e'en iust about the time that he should haue returned home as ill fortune would haue it who in the mutability of her nature ordereth and disposeth all things according to her disordered custome the walls being high the night darke the ladder light and weake his seruants that brought it vnacquainted with that kinde of seruice hee going downe somewhat hastily to see a fray which he heard in the streete betweene his seruants and some others that then passed by being in choller making more haste then good speed thinking he should neuer come soone enough not eying well his steps he sets his foot quite besides the rounds and so fell downe and with that wofull and vnfortunate fall hee pitcht vpon his head and had his braines beaten out and dasht in pieces against the stones and pauement of the streete Thus did the destinies cut off his thred thus cut off his life without confession cut off my hope cut off my glory cut off my company Things therefore being thus tell me father What cruelty were it in me he dying disbrained that I should liue pained all the daies of my life His death inuiteth mine inuiteth nay inforceth mee that it be speedily effected and without delay it teacheth mee that I should also fall headlong down that I may imitate him in all things It shall not be said of mee that those that are dead and gone are soone forgotten And therefore I will seeke to content him in my death since I had not time to giue him content in my life O my Loue and deare Lord Calisto expect mee for now I come But stay a little though thou dost expect mee and be not angry I prythee that I delay thee being that I am now paying my last debt and giuing it my finall account to my aged father to whom I owe much more O my best beloued father I beseech you if euer you did loue mee in this painefull forepassed life that we may both be interred in one Tombe and both our Obsequies be solemnized together I would faine speake some words of comfort vnto you before this my gladsome and well-pleasing end gathered and collected out of those ancient bookes which for the bettering of my wit and vnderstanding you willed me to reade were it not that my memory failes me being troubled and disquieted with the losse and death of my Loue as also because I see your ill indured teares trickle so fast downe your wrinckled cheekes Recommend mee to my most deare and best-beloued mother and doe you informe her at large of the dolefull occasion of my death I am glad with all my heart that shee is not heere present with you for her sight would but increase my sorrow Take aged father the gifts of old age for in large daies large griefes are to be endured Receiue the pledge and earnest of thy reuerend age receiue it at the hands of thy beloued daughter I sorrow much for my selfe more for you but most for my aged mother and so I recommend me to you both and both of you vnto your more happinesse to whom I offer vp my soule leauing the care to you to couer this body that is now comming downe vnto you ACTVS XXI THE ARGVMENT PPLEBERIO returning weeping to his chamber his wife Alisa demands the cause of this so sudden an ill Hee relates vnto her the death of her daughter Melibea shewing vnto her her bruised body and so making lamentation for her hee giues a conclusion to this Tragick Comedy INTERLOCVTORS Alisa Pleberio ALisa Why Pleberio my Lord what 's the matter why doe you weepe and snobbe and take on in such extreme and violent manner I haue lyen euer since in a dead swound so was I ouercome with griefe when I heard that our daughter was so ill And now hearing your pittifull lamentations your loude cryings your vnaccustomed complaints your mournings and great anguish they haue so pierced my very bowels made so quicke a passage to my heart and haue so quickned and reuiued my troubled and benummed senses that I haue now put away the griefe which I entertained thus one griefe driues out another and sorrow expelleth sorrow Tell mee the cause of your complaint Why doe you curse your honorable old age Why do you desire death Why doe you teare your milke-white hayres vp by the roates Why doe you scratch and rend your reuerend face Is any ill befalne Melibea For I pray you tell mee for if shee be not well I cannot liue Pleberio Out alas Ay mee my most noble wife Our solace is in the suds our ioy is turn'd into annoy all our conceiued hopes are vtterly lost all our happinesse is quite ouerthrowne let vs now no longer desire to liue And because vnexpected sorrowes leaue a greater impression of griefe and because they may bring thee the sooner to thy graue as also that I may not alone by my selfe bewayle that heauy losse which belongs to vs both looke out and behold her whom thou broughtst forth and I begot dash't and broken all to pieces The cause I vnderstood from her selfe but layd open more at large by this her sadde and sorrowfull seruant Helpe to lament these our latter daies which are now growing to an end O yee good people who come to behold my sorrowes and you Gentlemen my louing friends doe you also assist to bewayle my misery O my daughter and my onely good it were cruelty in mee that I should out-liue thee My threescore yeeres were fitter for the graue then thy twenty but the order of my dying was altred by that extremity of griefe which did hasten thy end O yee my boary hayres growne foorth to no other end saue sorrow it would better haue suted with you to haue beene buryed in the earth then with these golden tresses which lye heere before mee Too too many are the dayes that I haue yet to liue I will complaine and cry out