Now pile your dust upon the quick and dead,
Till of this flat a mountain you have made 240
To o'ertop old Pelion or the skyish head[2105]
Of blue Olympus.[2106][2107]
Ham. [Advancing] What is he whose grief[2107]
Bears such an emphasis? whose phrase of sorrow[2108]
Conjures the wandering stars and makes them stand
Like wonder-wounded hearers? This is I,[2109] 245
Hamlet the Dane. [Leaps into the grave.
Laer. The devil take thy soul!
[Grappling with him.[2110]
Ham. Thou pray'st not well.[2111]
I prithee, take thy fingers from my throat;[2111]
For, though I am not splenitive and rash,[2112]
Yet have I in me something dangerous,[2113] 250
Which let thy wisdom fear. Hold off thy hand.[2114]
King. Pluck them asunder.
Queen. Hamlet, Hamlet!
All. Gentlemen,—
Hor. Good my lord, be quiet.
[The Attendants part them, and they come out of the grave.[2115]
Ham. Why, I will fight with him upon this theme[2116]
Until my eyelids will no longer wag. 255
Queen. O my son, what theme?
Ham. I loved Ophelia: forty thousand brothers
Could not, with all their quantity of love,[2117]
Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her?
King. O, he is mad, Laertes. 260
Queen. For love of God, forbear him.
Ham. 'Swounds, show me what thou'lt do:[2118]
Woo't weep? woo't fight? woo't fast? woo't tear thyself?[2119][2120]
Woo't drink up eisel? eat a crocodile?[2119][2121]
I'll do't. Dost thou come here to whine?[2122] 265
To outface me with leaping in her grave?[2123]
Be buried quick with her, and so will I:
And, if thou prate of mountains, let them throw
Millions of acres on us, till our ground,
Singeing his pate against the burning zone,[2124] 270
Make Ossa like a wart! Nay, an thou'lt mouth,[2125]
I'll rant as well as thou.
Queen. This is mere madness:[2126][2127]
And thus awhile the fit will work on him;[2128]
Anon, as patient as the female dove[2127][2129]
When that her golden couplets are disclosed,[2130] 275
His silence will sit drooping.
Ham. Hear you, sir;
What is the reason that you use me thus?
I loved you ever: but it is no matter;[2131]
Let Hercules himself do what he may,
The cat will mew, and dog will have his day. [Exit.[2132] 280
King. I pray thee, good Horatio, wait upon him.
[Exit Horatio.[2133]
[To Laertes] Strengthen your patience in our last night's speech;[2134]
We'll put the matter to the present push.
Good Gertrude, set some watch over your son.
This grave shall have a living monument: 285
An hour of quiet shortly shall we see;[2135]
Till then, in patience our proceeding be. [Exeunt.[2136]
Scene II. A hall in the castle.[2137]
Enter Hamlet and Horatio.
Ham. So much for this, sir: now shall you see the other;[2138]
You do remember all the circumstance?[2139]
Hor. Remember it, my lord!
Ham. Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting,
That would not let me sleep: methought I lay[2140] 5
Worse than the mutines in the bilboes. Rashly,[2141][2142]
And praised be rashness for it, let us know,[2142][2143][2144][2145]
Our indiscretion sometime serves us well[2144][2145][2146]
When our deep plots do pall; and that should learn us[2144][2147]
There's a divinity that shapes our ends,[2144] 10
Rough-hew them how we will.[2144]
Hor. That is most certain.
Ham. Up from my cabin,
My sea-gown scarf'd about me, in the dark[2148]
Groped I to find out them; had my desire,[2149]
Finger'd their packet, and in fine withdrew 15
To mine own room again; making so bold,[2150][2151]
My fears forgetting manners, to unseal[2151][2152]
Their grand commission; where I found, Horatio,—
O royal knavery!—an exact command,[2153]
Larded with many several sorts of reasons,[2154] 20
Importing Denmark's health and England's too,
With, ho! such bugs and goblins in my life,[2155]
That, on the supervise, no leisure bated,
No, not to stay the grinding of the axe,[2156]
My head should be struck off.[2157]
Hor. Is't possible? 25
Ham. Here's the commission: read it at more leisure.
But wilt thou hear now how I did proceed?[2158]
Ham. Being thus be-netted round with villanies,—[2160][2161]
Or I could make a prologue to my brains,[2160][2162] 30
They had begun the play,—I sat me down;[2160][2163]
Devised a new commission; wrote it fair:
I once did hold it, as our statists do,
A baseness to write fair, and labour'd much[2164]
How to forget that learning; but, sir, now 35
It did me yeoman's service: wilt thou know[2165]
The effect of what I wrote?[2166]
Hor. Ay, good my lord.
Ham. An earnest conjuration from the king,
As England was his faithful tributary,
As love between them like the palm might flourish,[2167] 40
As peace should still her wheaten garland wear
And stand a comma 'tween their amities,[2168]
And many such-like 'As'es of great charge,[2169]
That, on the view and knowing of these contents,[2170]
Without debatement further, more or less, 45
He should the bearers put to sudden death,[2171]
Not shriving-time allow'd.[2172]
Hor. How was this seal'd?
Ham. Why, even in that was heaven ordinant.[2173]
I had my father's signet in my purse,
Which was the model of that Danish seal: 50
Folded the writ up in the form of the other;[2174]
Subscribed it; gave't the impression; placed it safely,[2175]
The changeling never known. Now, the next day[2176]
Was our sea-fight; and what to this was sequent[2177]
Thou know'st already.[2178] 55
Hor. So Guildenstern and Rosencrantz go to't.[2179]
Ham. Why, man, they did make love to this employment;[2180]
They are not near my conscience; their defeat[2181]
Does by their own insinuation grow:[2182]
'Tis dangerous when the baser nature comes[2183] 60
Between the pass and fell incensed points[2184]
Of mighty opposites.
Hor. Why, what a king is this!
Ham. Does it not, thinks't thee, stand me now upon—[2185]
He that hath kill'd my king, and whored my mother;[2186]
Popp'd in between the election and my hopes;[2187] 65
Thrown out his angle for my proper life,[2188]
And with such cozenage—is't not perfect conscience,[2189]
To quit him with this arm? and is't not to be damn'd,[2190][2191]
To let this canker of our nature come[2190]
In further evil?[2190][2192] 70
Hor. It must be shortly known to him from England[2190]
What is the issue of the business there.[2190]
Enter Osric.
Osr. Your lordship is right welcome back to Denmark.[2198][2199]
Ham. I humbly thank you, sir. Dost know this water-fly?[2200][2201]
Ham. Thy state is the more gracious, for 'tis a vice to[2201]
know him. He hath much land, and fertile: let a beast be[2201] 85
lord of beasts, and his crib shall stand at the king's mess:[2201]
'tis a chough, but, as I say, spacious in the possession of dirt.[2201][2202]
Osr. Sweet lord, if your lordship were at leisure, I[2203]
should impart a thing to you from his majesty.
Ham. I will receive it, sir, with all diligence of spirit.[2204] 90
Put your bonnet to his right use; 'tis for the head.[2205]
Osr. I thank your lordship, it is very hot.[2206]
Ham. No, believe me, 'tis very cold; the wind is
northerly.
Osr. It is indifferent cold, my lord, indeed. 95
Osr. Exceedingly, my lord; it is very sultry, as 'twere,—I[2209]
cannot tell how. But, my lord, his majesty bade me[2210]
signify to you that he has laid a great wager on your head:[2211] 100
sir, this is the matter—[2212]
Ham. I beseech you, remember—[2213]
[Hamlet moves him to put on his hat.
Osr. Nay, good my lord; for mine ease, in good faith.[2214]
Sir, here is newly come to court Laertes; believe me, an absolute[2215]
gentleman, full of most excellent differences, of very[2215][2216] 105
soft society and great showing: indeed, to speak feelingly of[2215][2217]
him, he is the card or calendar of gentry, for you shall find[2215][2218]
in him the continent of what part a gentleman would see.[2215][2219]
Ham. Sir, his definement suffers no perdition in you;[2215]
though, I know, to divide him inventorially would dizzy the[2215][2220] 110
arithmetic of memory, and yet but yaw neither, in respect[2215][2221]
of his quick sail. But in the verity of extolment, I take[2215]
him to be a soul of great article, and his infusion of such[2215][2222]
dearth and rareness, as, to make true diction of him, his[2215]
semblable is his mirror, and who else would trace him, his[2215] 115
umbrage, nothing more.[2215]
Osr. Your lordship speaks most infallibly of him.[2215]
Ham. The concernancy, sir? why do we wrap the[2215][2223]
gentleman in our more rawer breath?[2215]
Ham. What imports the nomination of this gentleman?[2215]
Hor. His purse is empty already; all's golden words[2215] 125
are spent.[2215]
Ham. I would you did, sir; yet, in faith, if you did, it[2215]
would not much approve me. Well, sir?[2215][2230] 130
Osr. You are not ignorant of what excellence Laertes is—[2215][2231]
Ham. I dare not confess that, lest I should compare[2215]
with him in excellence; but, to know a man well, were to[2215][2232]
know himself.[2215]
Osr. I mean, sir, for his weapon; but in the imputation[2215][2233] 135
laid on him by them, in his meed he's unfellowed.[2215][2234]
Ham. What's his weapon?
Osr. Rapier and dagger.
Ham. That's two of his weapons: but, well.
Osr. The king, sir, hath wagered with him six Barbary[2235] 140
horses: against the which he has imponed, as I take it, six[2236]
French rapiers and poniards, with their assigns, as girdle,
hanger, and so: three of the carriages, in faith, are very[2237]
dear to fancy, very responsive to the hilts, most delicate
carriages, and of very liberal conceit. 145
Ham. What call you the carriages?
Hor. I knew you must be edified by the margent ere[2238]
you had done.[2238]
Osr. The carriages, sir, are the hangers.[2239]
Ham. The phrase would be more germane to the[2240] 150
matter if we could carry a cannon by our sides: I would[2241]
it might be hangers till then. But, on: six Barbary horses[2242]
against six French swords, their assigns, and three liberal-conceited
carriages; that's the French bet against the[2243][2244]
Danish. Why is this 'imponed,' as you call it?[2244][2245] 155
Osr. The king, sir, hath laid, sir, that in a dozen[2246]
passes between yourself and him, he shall not exceed you[2247]
three hits: he hath laid on twelve for nine; and it would[2248]
come to immediate trial, if your lordship would vouchsafe
the answer. 160
Ham. How if I answer 'no'?
Osr. I mean, my lord, the opposition of your person
in trial.
Ham. Sir, I will walk here in the hall: if it please his[2249]
majesty, it is the breathing time of day with me; let the[2249][2250] 165
foils be brought, the gentleman willing, and the king hold[2251]
his purpose, I will win for him an I can; if not, I will gain[2252]
nothing but my shame and the odd hits.
Osr. Shall I redeliver you e'en so?[2253]
Ham. To this effect, sir, after what flourish your nature[2254] 170
will.
Osr. I commend my duty to your lordship.[2255]
Ham. Yours, yours. [Exit Osric.] He does well to[2256]
commend it himself; there are no tongues else for's turn.[2257]
Hor. This lapwing runs away with the shell on his[2258] 175
head.
Ham. He did comply with his dug before he sucked[2259]
it. Thus has he—and many more of the same breed that[2260]
I know the drossy age dotes on—only got the tune of the
time and outward habit of encounter; a kind of yesty collection,[2261][2262] 180
which carries them through and through the most[2261]
fond and winnowed opinions; and do but blow them to[2263]
their trial, the bubbles are out.[2264]
Enter a Lord.[2265]