Enter Duke Senior, Amiens, Jaques, Orlando, Oliver,
and Celia as Aliena. DUKE SENIOR
Dost thou believe, Orlando, that the boy
Can do all this that he hath promisèd? ORLANDO
I sometimes do believe and sometimes do not,
As those that fear they hope, and know they fear. Enter Rosalind as Ganymede, Silvius, and Phoebe. ROSALIND, as Ganymede
Patience once more whiles our compact is urged. 5
To Duke. You say, if I bring in your Rosalind,
You will bestow her on Orlando here? DUKE SENIOR
That would I, had I kingdoms to give with her. ROSALIND, as Ganymede, to Orlando
And you say you will have her when I bring her? ORLANDO
That would I, were I of all kingdoms king. 10 ROSALIND, as Ganymede, to Phoebe
You say you’ll marry me if I be willing? PHOEBE
That will I, should I die the hour after. ROSALIND, as Ganymede
But if you do refuse to marry me,
You’ll give yourself to this most faithful shepherd? PHOEBE So is the bargain. 15 ROSALIND, as Ganymede, to Silvius
You say that you’ll have Phoebe if she will? SILVIUS
Though to have her and death were both one thing. ROSALIND, as Ganymede
I have promised to make all this matter even.
Keep you your word, O duke, to give your
daughter,— 20
You yours, Orlando, to receive his daughter.—
Keep you your word, Phoebe, that you’ll marry me,
Or else, refusing me, to wed this shepherd.—
Keep your word, Silvius, that you’ll marry her
If she refuse me. And from hence I go 25
To make these doubts all even. Rosalind and Celia exit. DUKE SENIOR
I do remember in this shepherd boy
Some lively touches of my daughter’s favor. ORLANDO
My lord, the first time that I ever saw him
Methought he was a brother to your daughter. 30
But, my good lord, this boy is forest-born
And hath been tutored in the rudiments
Of many desperate studies by his uncle,
Whom he reports to be a great magician
Obscurèd in the circle of this forest. 35 | Orlando and Duke Senior confer, each professing hope that Ganymede can keep all of his promises. Rosalind/Ganymede enters, and for dramatic effect, s/he makes Silvius, Phoebe, and Orlando promise to do what s/he says: Orlando must swear to marry Rosalind if Ganymede can produce her; Phoebe must promise to marry Silvius if she doesn't want to marry Ganymede; Silvius must swear that he will marry Phoebe if Phoebe will have him. As Rosalind/Ganymede leaves with Celia/Aliena, Orlando and Duke Senior note the resemblance between the Ganymede and Rosalind. How curious! |
Enter Touchstone and Audrey. JAQUES There is sure another flood toward, and these
couples are coming to the ark. Here comes a pair of
very strange beasts, which in all tongues are called
fools. TOUCHSTONE Salutation and greeting to you all. 40 JAQUES, to Duke Good my lord, bid him welcome.
This is the motley-minded gentleman that I have so
often met in the forest. He hath been a courtier, he
swears. TOUCHSTONE If any man doubt that, let him put me to 45
my purgation. I have trod a measure. I have flattered
a lady. I have been politic with my friend,
smooth with mine enemy. I have undone three
tailors. I have had four quarrels, and like to have
fought one. 50 JAQUES And how was that ta’en up? TOUCHSTONE Faith, we met and found the quarrel was
upon the seventh cause. JAQUES How “seventh cause”?—Good my lord, like
this fellow. 55 DUKE SENIOR I like him very well. TOUCHSTONE God ’ild you, sir. I desire you of the like. I
press in here, sir, amongst the rest of the country
copulatives, to swear and to forswear, according as
marriage binds and blood breaks. A poor virgin, sir, 60
an ill-favored thing, sir, but mine own. A poor
humor of mine, sir, to take that that no man else
will. Rich honesty dwells like a miser, sir, in a poor
house, as your pearl in your foul oyster. DUKE SENIOR By my faith, he is very swift and 65
sententious. TOUCHSTONE According to the fool’s bolt, sir, and such
dulcet diseases. JAQUES But for the seventh cause. How did you find the
quarrel on the seventh cause? 70 TOUCHSTONE Upon a lie seven times removed.—Bear
your body more seeming, Audrey.—As thus, sir: I
did dislike the cut of a certain courtier’s beard. He
sent me word if I said his beard was not cut well, he
was in the mind it was. This is called “the retort 75
courteous.” If I sent him word again it was not well
cut, he would send me word he cut it to please
himself. This is called “the quip modest.” If again it
was not well cut, he disabled my judgment. This is
called “the reply churlish.” If again it was not well 80
cut, he would answer I spake not true. This is called
“the reproof valiant.” If again it was not well cut, he
would say I lie. This is called “the countercheck
quarrelsome,” and so to “the lie circumstantial,”
and “the lie direct.” 85 JAQUES And how oft did you say his beard was not well
cut? TOUCHSTONE I durst go no further than the lie circumstantial,
nor he durst not give me the lie direct, and
so we measured swords and parted. 90 JAQUES Can you nominate in order now the degrees of
the lie? TOUCHSTONE O sir, we quarrel in print, by the book, as
you have books for good manners. I will name you
the degrees: the first, “the retort courteous”; the 95
second, “the quip modest”; the third, “the reply
churlish”; the fourth, “the reproof valiant”; the
fifth, “the countercheck quarrelsome”; the sixth,
“the lie with circumstance”; the seventh, “the lie
direct.” All these you may avoid but the lie direct, 100
and you may avoid that too with an “if.” I knew
when seven justices could not take up a quarrel, but
when the parties were met themselves, one of them
thought but of an “if,” as: “If you said so, then I said
so.” And they shook hands and swore brothers. 105
Your “if” is the only peacemaker: much virtue in
“if.” JAQUES, to Duke Is not this a rare fellow, my lord?
He’s as good at anything and yet a fool. DUKE SENIOR He uses his folly like a stalking-horse, 110
and under the presentation of that he shoots his wit. Enter Hymen, Rosalind, and Celia. Still music. HYMEN
Then is there mirth in heaven
When earthly things made even
Atone together.
Good duke, receive thy daughter. 115
Hymen from heaven brought her,
Yea, brought her hither,
That thou mightst join her hand with his,
Whose heart within his bosom is. ROSALIND, to Duke
To you I give myself, for I am yours. 120
To Orlando. To you I give myself, for I am yours. DUKE SENIOR
If there be truth in sight, you are my daughter. ORLANDO
If there be truth in sight, you are my Rosalind. PHOEBE
If sight and shape be true,
Why then, my love adieu. 125 ROSALIND, to Duke
I’ll have no father, if you be not he.
To Orlando. I’ll have no husband, if you be not he,
To Phoebe. Nor ne’er wed woman, if you be not
she. | Now we get back to Jaques, who comments that a flood must be coming because of all the couples are pairing up just like the animals that entered Noah's ark in twosies. Touchstone and Audrey arrive. Jaques and Duke Senior talk about how witty Touchstone is. As they chatter, Hymen, goddess of marriage, enters with Rosalind and Celia, who have ditched their Ganymede and Aliena costumes and are ready to get hitched to their men. Let the recognition begin! Duke Senior recognizes his daughter, Orlando recognizes his love, and Phoebe recognizes that she has to marry either Silvius or a woman. |
HYMEN
Peace, ho! I bar confusion. 130
’Tis I must make conclusion
Of these most strange events.
Here’s eight that must take hands
To join in Hymen’s bands,
If truth holds true contents. 135
To Rosalind and Orlando.
You and you no cross shall part.
To Celia and Oliver.
You and you are heart in heart.
To Phoebe.
You to his love must accord
Or have a woman to your lord.
To Audrey and Touchstone.
You and you are sure together 140
As the winter to foul weather.
To All.
Whiles a wedlock hymn we sing,
Feed yourselves with questioning,
That reason wonder may diminish
How thus we met, and these things finish. 145 Song. "Wedding is great Juno’s crown,
O blessèd bond of board and bed.
’Tis Hymen peoples every town.
High wedlock then be honorèd.
Honor, high honor, and renown 150
To Hymen, god of every town." DUKE SENIOR, to Celia
O my dear niece, welcome thou art to me,
Even daughter, welcome in no less degree. PHOEBE, to Silvius
I will not eat my word. Now thou art mine,
Thy faith my fancy to thee doth combine. 155 | Hymen pronounces that the four couples—Orlando and Rosalind, Oliver and Celia, Silvius and Phoebe, and Touchstone and Audrey—will all be joined in marriage. Then she sings them a nice song. |
Enter Second Brother, Jaques de Boys. SECOND BROTHER
Let me have audience for a word or two.
I am the second son of old Sir Rowland,
That bring these tidings to this fair assembly.
Duke Frederick, hearing how that every day
Men of great worth resorted to this forest, 160
Addressed a mighty power, which were on foot
In his own conduct, purposely to take
His brother here and put him to the sword;
And to the skirts of this wild wood he came,
Where, meeting with an old religious man, 165
After some question with him, was converted
Both from his enterprise and from the world,
His crown bequeathing to his banished brother,
And all their lands restored to them again
That were with him exiled. This to be true 170
I do engage my life. DUKE SENIOR Welcome, young man.
Thou offer’st fairly to thy brothers’ wedding:
To one his lands withheld, and to the other
A land itself at large, a potent dukedom.— 175
First, in this forest let us do those ends
That here were well begun and well begot,
And, after, every of this happy number
That have endured shrewd days and nights with us
Shall share the good of our returnèd fortune 180
According to the measure of their states.
Meantime, forget this new-fall’n dignity,
And fall into our rustic revelry.—
Play, music.—And you brides and bridegrooms all,
With measure heaped in joy to th’ measures fall. | Before the crowd can celebrate by eating wedding cake and doing the chicken dance, Jaques de Boys, brother to Orlando and Oliver, makes a dramatic entrance. Jaques de Boys (not to be confused with just plain Jaques the moody clown) delivers some good news: Duke Frederick had raised an army, intending to murder and pillage Duke Senior's forest hideaway. No, that's not the good news. The good news is that just as Duke Frederick was leading that army to the forest, he stopped and had a chat with an old religious man. The man instantly convinced Frederick not to murder his brother in cold blood, and to leave the courtly world and give up all his worldly possessions. Well, Duke Senior gets his dukedom back, which Orlando will now inherit because he's marrying into the family. Oliver also gets his land and title back, which is good. Now everyone, including Duke Senior, can return to the court and get out of that forest. Before they return, though, they agree to party like it's 1599. |
JAQUES, to Second Brother
Sir, by your patience: if I heard you rightly,
The Duke hath put on a religious life
And thrown into neglect the pompous court. SECOND BROTHER He hath. JAQUES
To him will I. Out of these convertites 190
There is much matter to be heard and learned.
To Duke. You to your former honor I bequeath;
Your patience and your virtue well deserves it.
To Orlando. You to a love that your true faith doth
merit. 195
To Oliver. You to your land, and love, and great
allies.
To Silvius. You to a long and well-deservèd bed.
To Touchstone. And you to wrangling, for thy
loving voyage 200
Is but for two months victualled.—So to your
pleasures.
I am for other than for dancing measures. DUKE SENIOR Stay, Jaques, stay. JAQUES
To see no pastime, I. What you would have 205
I’ll stay to know at your abandoned cave. He exits. DUKE SENIOR
Proceed, proceed. We’ll begin these rites,
As we do trust they’ll end, in true delights.
Dance. All but Rosalind exit. | Jaques, still melancholy, doesn't join the dance but goes instead to join Duke Frederick in the religious life. This is fitting, because if anyone deserves to be harassed by the melancholy Jaques, it's good ol' Duke Frederick. Everyone goes back to dancing and general merriment until they all exit, leaving only Rosalind on the stage. |