Berownnow proue
Prometheanfire.
Bachusgrosse in taste,
Hercules?
Hesporides.
Sphinx, as sweet and musicall,
Here you can read a digital edition of each play in various views.
Left Column
Right Column
I praise God for you sir, your reasons at dinner
haue beene sharpe & sententious: pleasant without scur
rillity, witty without affection, audacious without im
pudency, learned without opinion, and strange without
heresie: I did
conuerse this
quondam day with a
compa
nion of the Kings, who is intituled, nominated, or called,
Don Adriano de Armatho.
Noui hominum tanquam te, His humour is lofty,
his discourse peremptorie: his tongue filed, his eye
ambitious, his gate maiesticall, and his generall behaui
our vaine, ridiculous, and thrasonicall. He is too picked,
too spruce, too affected, too odde, as it were, too pere
grinat, as I may call it.
I praise God for you sir, your reasons at dinner
haue beene sharpe & sententious: pleasant without scur
rillity, witty without affection, audacious without im
pudency, learned without opinion, and strange without
heresie: I did
conuerse this
quondam day with a
compa
nion of the Kings, who is intituled, nominated, or called,
Don Adriano de Armatho.
Noui hominum tanquam te, His humour is lofty,
his discourse peremptorie: his tongue filed, his eye
ambitious, his gate maiesticall, and his generall behaui
our vaine, ridiculous, and thrasonicall. He is too picked,
too spruce, too affected, too odde, as it were, too pere
grinat, as I may call it.
He draweth out the thred of his verbositie, fi
ner then the staple of his argument. I abhor such pha
naticall phantasims, such insociable and poynt deuise
companions, such rackers of ortagriphie, as to speake
dout fine, when he should say doubt; det, when he shold
pronounce debt; debt, not det: he clepeth a Calf, Caufe:
halfe, haufe: neighbour
vocatur nebour; neigh abreuiated
ne: this is abhominable, which he would call abhomi
nable:
it insinuateth me of infamie:
ne inteligis
domine
, to
make franticke, lunaticke?
Laus deo, bene intelligo
Bome boon for boon prescian, a little
scratcht, 'twil
serue.
Vides ne quis venit?
Video, & gaudio.
Chirra.
Quari Chirra, not Sirra?
Men of peace well incountred.
Most millitarie sir salutation.
They haue beene at a great feast of Languages,
and stolne the scraps.
O they haue liu'd long on the almes‑basket of
words. I maruell thy M. hath not eaten thee for a word,
for thou art not so long by the head as honorificabilitu
dinitatibus: Thou art easier swallowed then a flapdra
gon.
Peace, the peale begins.
Mounsier, are you not lettred?
Yes, yes, he teaches boyes the Horne‑booke:
What is Ab speld backward with the horn on his head?
Ba,
puericia with a horne added.
Ba most seely Sheepe, with a horne: you heare
his learning.
Quis quis, thou Consonant?
The last of the fiue Vowels if You repeat them,
or the fift if I.
I will repeat them: a e I.
The Sheepe, the other two concludes it o u.
Now by the salt waue of the mediteranium, a
sweet tutch, a quicke vene we of wit, snip snap, quick &
home, it reioyceth my intellect, true wit.
Offered by a childe to an olde man: which is
wit‑old.
What is the figure? What is the figure?
Hornes.
Thou disputes like an Infant: goe whip thy
Gigge.
Lend me your Horne to make one, and I will
whip about your
Infamie
vnum cita a gigge of a
Cuck
olds horne.
And I had but one penny in the world, thou
shouldst haue it to buy Ginger bread: Hold, there is the
very Remuneration I had of thy Maister, thou halfpenny
purse of wit, thou Pidgeon‑egge of discretion. O & the
heauens were so pleased, that thou wert but my Bastard;
What a ioyfull father wouldst thou make mee? Goe to,
thou hast it
ad dungil, at the fingers ends, as they say.
Oh I smell false Latine,
dunghel for
vnguem.
Arts‑man preambulat, we will bee
singled from
the barbarous. Do you not educate youth at the Charg‑
house on the top of the Mountaine?
At your sweet pleasure, for the Mountaine.
I doe
sans question.
Sir, it is the Kings most sweet pleasure and af
fection, to congratulate the Princesse at her Pauilion, in
the
posteriors of this day, which the rude
multitude call
the after‑noone.
The
posterior of the day, most generous sir,
is lia
ble, congruent, and measurable for the after‑noone: the
word is well culd, chose, sweet, and apt I doe assure you
sir, I doe assure.
Sir, the King is a noble Gentleman, and my fa
miliar, I doe assure ye very good friend: for what is in
ward betweene vs, let it passe. I doe beseech thee re
member thy curtesie. I beseech thee apparell thy head:
and among other importunate & most serious designes,
and of great import indeed too: but let that passe, for I
must tell thee it will please his Grace (by the world)
sometime to leane vpon my poore shoulder, and with
his royall finger thus dallie with my excrement, with my
mustachio: but sweet heart let that passe. By the world
I recount no fable, some certaine speciall honours it
pleaseth his greatnesse to impart to
Armado a Souldier,
a man of trauell, that hath seene the world: but let that
passe; the very all of all is: but sweet heart I do implore
secrecie, that the King would haue mee present the
Princesse (sweet chucke) with some delightfull ostenta
tion, or show, or pageant, or anticke, or fire‑worke:
Now, vnderstanding that the Curate and your sweet self
are good at such eruptions, and sodaine breaking out of
myrth (as it were) I haue acquainted you withall, to
the end to craue your assistance.
Sir, you shall present before her the Nine Wor
thies. Sir
Holofernes, as concerning some
entertainment
of time, some show in the posterior of this day, to bee
rendred by our assistants the Kings command: and this
most gallant, illustrate and learned Gentleman, before
the Princesse: I say none so fit as to present the Nine
Worthies.
Where will you finde men worthy enough to
present them?
Iosua, your selfe: my selfe, and this gallant
gen
tleman
Iudas Machabeus; this
Swaine (because of his
great limme or ioynt) shall passe
Pompey the great, the
Page
Hercules.
Pardon sir, error: He is not quantitie enough
for that Worthies thumb, hee is not so big as the end of
his Club.
Shall I haue audience: he shall present
Hercules
in minoritie: his
enter and
exit shall bee strangling a
Snake; and I will haue an Apologie for that purpose.
An excellent deuice: so if any of the audience
hisse, you may
cry, Well done
Hercules, now thou
cru
shest the Snake; that is the way to make an offence gra
cious, though few haue the grace to doe it.
For the rest of the Worthies?
I will play three my selfe.
Thrice worthy Gentleman.
We attend.
We will haue, if this fadge not, an Antique. I
beseech you follow.
Via good‑man
Dull, thou hast spoken no word
all this while.
Alone, we will employ thee.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<div type="scene" n="1">
<head rend="italic center">Actus Quartus.</head>
<head type="supplied">[Act 5, Scene 1]</head>
<note type="editorial" resp="#LMC">Conventionally, this is start of Act 5, rather than Act 4, as printed.</note>
<stage rend="italic center" type="entrance">Enter the Pedant, Curate and Dull.</stage>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Pedant.</speaker>
<l n="1630">
<hi rend="italic">Satis quid sufficit.</hi>
</l>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-nat">
<speaker rend="italic">Curat.</speaker>
<p n="1631">I praise God for you sir, your reasons at dinner
<lb n="1632"/>haue beene sharpe & sententious: pleasant without scur
<lb n="1633"/>rillity, witty without affection, audacious without im
<lb n="1634"/>pudency, learned without opinion, and strange without
<lb n="1635"/>heresie: I did conuerse this<hi rend="italic">quondam</hi>day with a compa
<lb n="1636"/>nion of the Kings, who is intituled, nominated, or called,
<lb n="1637"/>
<hi rend="italic">Don Adriano de Armatho</hi>.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Ped.</speaker>
<p n="1638">
<hi rend="italic">Noui hominum tanquam te</hi>, His humour is lofty,
<lb n="1639"/>his discourse peremptorie: his tongue filed, his eye
<lb n="1640"/>ambitious, his gate maiesticall, and his generall behaui
<lb n="1641"/>our vaine, ridiculous, and thrasonicall. He is too picked,
<lb n="1642"/>too spruce, too affected, too odde, as it were, too pere
<lb n="1643"/>grinat, as I may call it.</p>
</sp>
<pb facs="FFimg:axc0156-0.jpg" n="136"/>
<cb n="1"/>
<sp who="#F-lll-nat">
<speaker rend="italic">Curat.</speaker>
<l n="1644">A most singular and choise Epithat,</l>
</sp>
<stage rend="italic rightJustified">Draw out his Table‑booke.</stage>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Peda.</speaker>
<p n="1645">He draweth out the thred of his verbositie, fi
<lb n="1646"/>ner then the staple of his argument. I abhor such pha
<lb n="1647"/>naticall phantasims, such insociable and poynt deuise
<lb n="1648"/>companions, such rackers of ortagriphie, as to speake
<lb n="1649"/>dout fine, when he should say doubt; det, when he shold
<lb n="1650"/>pronounce debt; debt, not det: he clepeth a Calf, Caufe:
<lb n="1651"/>halfe, haufe: neighbour<hi rend="italic">vocatur</hi>nebour; neigh abreuiated
<lb n="1652"/>ne: this is abhominable, which he would call abhomi
<lb n="1653"/>nable: it insinuateth me of infamie:<hi rend="italic">ne inteligis domine</hi>, to
<lb n="1654"/>make franticke, lunaticke?</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-nat">
<speaker rend="italic">Cura.</speaker>
<p n="1655">
<hi rend="italic">Laus deo, bene intelligo</hi>
</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Peda.</speaker>
<p n="1656">
<hi rend="italic">Bome boon for boon prescian</hi>, a little scratcht, 'twil
<lb n="1657"/>serue.</p>
</sp>
<stage rend="italic center" type="entrance">Enter Bragart, Boy.</stage>
<sp who="#F-lll-nat">
<speaker rend="italic">Curat.</speaker>
<p n="1658">
<hi rend="italic">Vides ne quis venit?</hi>
</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Peda.</speaker>
<p n="1659">
<hi rend="italic">Video, & gaudio.</hi>
</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-adr">
<speaker rend="italic">Brag.</speaker>
<p n="1660">Chirra.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Peda.</speaker>
<p n="1661">
<hi rend="italic">Quari</hi>Chirra, not Sirra?</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-adr">
<speaker rend="italic">Brag.</speaker>
<p n="1662">Men of peace well incountred.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Ped.</speaker>
<p n="1663">Most millitarie sir salutation.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-mot">
<speaker rend="italic">Boy.</speaker>
<p n="1664">They haue beene at a great feast of Languages,
<lb n="1665"/>and stolne the scraps.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-cos">
<speaker rend="italic">Clow.</speaker>
<p n="1666">O they haue liu'd long on the almes‑basket of
<lb n="1667"/>words. I maruell thy M. hath not eaten thee for a word,
<lb n="1668"/>for thou art not so long by the head as honorificabilitu
<lb n="1669"/>dinitatibus: Thou art easier swallowed then a flapdra
<lb n="1670"/>gon.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-mot">
<speaker rend="italic">Page.</speaker>
<p n="1671">Peace, the peale begins.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-adr">
<speaker rend="italic">Brag.</speaker>
<p n="1672">Mounsier, are you not lettred?</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-mot">
<speaker rend="italic">Page.</speaker>
<p n="1673">Yes, yes, he teaches boyes the Horne‑booke:
<lb n="1674"/>What is Ab speld backward with the horn on his head?</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Peda.</speaker>
<p n="1675">Ba,<hi rend="italic">puericia</hi>with a horne added.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-mot">
<speaker rend="italic">Pag.</speaker>
<p n="1676">Ba most seely Sheepe, with a horne: you heare
<lb n="1677"/>his learning.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Peda.</speaker>
<p n="1678">
<hi rend="italic">Quis quis</hi>, thou Consonant?</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-mot">
<speaker rend="italic">Pag.</speaker>
<p n="1679">The last of the fiue Vowels if You repeat them,
<lb n="1680"/>or the fift if I.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Peda.</speaker>
<p n="1681">I will repeat them: a e I.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-mot">
<speaker rend="italic">Pag.</speaker>
<p n="1682">The Sheepe, the other two concludes it o u.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-adr">
<speaker rend="italic">Brag.</speaker>
<p n="1683">Now by the salt waue of the mediteranium, a
<lb n="1684"/>sweet tutch, a quicke vene we of wit, snip snap, quick &
<lb n="1685"/>home, it reioyceth my intellect, true wit.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-mot">
<speaker rend="italic">Page.</speaker>
<p n="1686">Offered by a childe to an olde man: which is
<lb n="1687"/>wit‑old.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Peda.</speaker>
<p n="1688">What is the figure? What is the figure?</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-mot">
<speaker rend="italic">Page.</speaker>
<p n="1689">Hornes.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Peda.</speaker>
<p n="1690">Thou disputes like an Infant: goe whip thy
<lb n="1691"/>Gigge.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-mot">
<speaker rend="italic">Pag.</speaker>
<p n="1692">Lend me your Horne to make one, and I will
<lb n="1693"/>whip about your Infamie<hi rend="italic">vnum cita</hi>a gigge of a Cuck
<lb n="1694"/>olds horne.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-cos">
<speaker rend="italic">Clow.</speaker>
<p n="1695">And I had but one penny in the world, thou
<lb n="1696"/>shouldst haue it to buy Ginger bread: Hold, there is the
<lb n="1697"/>very Remuneration I had of thy Maister, thou halfpenny
<lb n="1698"/>purse of wit, thou Pidgeon‑egge of discretion. O & the
<lb n="1699"/>heauens were so pleased, that thou wert but my Bastard;
<lb n="1700"/>What a ioyfull father wouldst thou make mee? Goe to,
<lb n="1701"/>thou hast it<hi rend="italic">ad dungil</hi>, at the fingers ends, as they say.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Peda.</speaker>
<p n="1702">Oh I smell false Latine,<hi rend="italic">dunghel</hi>for<hi rend="italic">vnguem</hi>.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-adr">
<speaker rend="italic">Brag.</speaker>
<p n="1703">
<hi rend="italic">Arts‑man preambulat</hi>, we will bee singled from
<lb n="1704"/>the barbarous. Do you not educate youth at the Charg‑
<lb n="1705"/>house on the top of the Mountaine?</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Peda.</speaker>
<l n="1706">Or<hi rend="italic">Mons</hi>the hill.</l>
</sp>
<cb n="2"/>
<sp who="#F-lll-adr">
<speaker rend="italic">Brag.</speaker>
<p n="1707">At your sweet pleasure, for the Mountaine.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Peda.</speaker>
<p n="1708">I doe<hi rend="italic">sans question</hi>.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-adr">
<speaker rend="italic">Bra.</speaker>
<p n="1709">Sir, it is the Kings most sweet pleasure and af
<lb n="1710"/>fection, to congratulate the Princesse at her Pauilion, in
<lb n="1711"/>the<hi rend="italic">posteriors</hi>of this day, which the rude multitude call
<lb n="1712"/>the after‑noone.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Ped.</speaker>
<p n="1713">The<hi rend="italic">posterior</hi>of the day, most generous sir, is lia
<lb n="1714"/>ble, congruent, and measurable for the after‑noone: the
<lb n="1715"/>word is well culd, chose, sweet, and apt I doe assure you
<lb n="1716"/>sir, I doe assure.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-adr">
<speaker rend="italic">Brag.</speaker>
<p n="1717">Sir, the King is a noble Gentleman, and my fa
<lb n="1718"/>miliar, I doe assure ye very good friend: for what is in
<lb n="1719"/>ward betweene vs, let it passe. I doe beseech thee re
<lb n="1720"/>member thy curtesie. I beseech thee apparell thy head:
<lb n="1721"/>and among other importunate & most serious designes,
<lb n="1722"/>and of great import indeed too: but let that passe, for I
<lb n="1723"/>must tell thee it will please his Grace (by the world)
<lb n="1724"/>sometime to leane vpon my poore shoulder, and with
<lb n="1725"/>his royall finger thus dallie with my excrement, with my
<lb n="1726"/>mustachio: but sweet heart let that passe. By the world
<lb n="1727"/>I recount no fable, some certaine speciall honours it
<lb n="1728"/>pleaseth his greatnesse to impart to<hi rend="italic">Armado</hi>a Souldier,
<lb n="1729"/>a man of trauell, that hath seene the world: but let that
<lb n="1730"/>passe; the very all of all is: but sweet heart I do implore
<lb n="1731"/>secrecie, that the King would haue mee present the
<lb n="1732"/>Princesse (sweet chucke) with some delightfull ostenta
<lb n="1733"/>tion, or show, or pageant, or anticke, or fire‑worke:
<lb n="1734"/>Now, vnderstanding that the Curate and your sweet self
<lb n="1735"/>are good at such eruptions, and sodaine breaking out of
<lb n="1736"/>myrth (as it were) I haue acquainted you withall, to
<lb n="1737"/>the end to craue your assistance.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Peda.</speaker>
<p n="1738">Sir, you shall present before her the Nine Wor
<lb n="1739"/>thies. Sir<hi rend="italic">Holofernes</hi>, as concerning some entertainment
<lb n="1740"/>of time, some show in the posterior of this day, to bee
<lb n="1741"/>rendred by our assistants the Kings command: and this
<lb n="1742"/>most gallant, illustrate and learned Gentleman, before
<lb n="1743"/>the Princesse: I say none so fit as to present the Nine
<lb n="1744"/>Worthies.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-nat">
<speaker rend="italic">Curat.</speaker>
<p n="1745">Where will you finde men worthy enough to
<lb n="1746"/>present them?</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Peda.</speaker>
<p n="1747">
<hi rend="italic">Iosua</hi>, your selfe: my selfe, and this gallant gen
<lb n="1748"/>tleman<hi rend="italic">Iudas Machabeus</hi>; this Swaine (because of his
<lb n="1749"/>great limme or ioynt) shall passe<hi rend="italic">Pompey</hi>the great, the
<lb n="1750"/>Page<hi rend="italic">Hercules</hi>.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-adr">
<speaker rend="italic">Brag.</speaker>
<p n="1751">Pardon sir, error: He is not quantitie enough
<lb n="1752"/>for that Worthies thumb, hee is not so big as the end of
<lb n="1753"/>his Club.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Peda.</speaker>
<p n="1754">Shall I haue audience: he shall present<hi rend="italic">Hercules</hi>
<lb n="1755"/>in minoritie: his<hi rend="italic">enter</hi>and<hi rend="italic">exit</hi>shall bee strangling a
<lb n="1756"/>Snake; and I will haue an Apologie for that purpose.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-mot">
<speaker rend="italic">Pag.</speaker>
<p n="1757">An excellent deuice: so if any of the audience
<lb n="1758"/>hisse, you may cry, Well done<hi rend="italic">Hercules</hi>, now thou cru
<lb n="1759"/>shest the Snake; that is the way to make an offence gra
<lb n="1760"/>cious, though few haue the grace to doe it.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-adr">
<speaker rend="italic">Brag.</speaker>
<p n="1761">For the rest of the Worthies?</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Peda.</speaker>
<p n="1762">I will play three my selfe.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-mot">
<speaker rend="italic">Pag.</speaker>
<p n="1763">Thrice worthy Gentleman.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-adr">
<speaker rend="italic">Brag.</speaker>
<l n="1764">Shall I tell you a thing?</l>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Peda.</speaker>
<p n="1765">We attend.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-adr">
<speaker rend="italic">Brag.</speaker>
<p n="1766">We will haue, if this fadge not, an Antique. I
<lb n="1767"/>beseech you follow.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Ped.</speaker>
<p n="1768">
<hi rend="italic">Via</hi>good‑man<hi rend="italic">Dull</hi>, thou hast spoken no word
<lb n="1769"/>all this while.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-dul">
<speaker rend="italic">Dull.</speaker>
<l n="1770">Nor vnderstood none neither sir.</l>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Ped.</speaker>
<p n="1771">Alone, we will employ thee.</p>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-dul">
<speaker rend="italic">Dull.</speaker>
<l n="1772">Ile make one in a dance, or so: or I will play</l>
<pb facs="FFimg:axc0157-0.jpg" n="137"/>
<cb n="1"/>
<l n="1773">On the taber to the Worthies, & let them dance the hey.</l>
</sp>
<sp who="#F-lll-hol">
<speaker rend="italic">Ped.</speaker>
<l n="1774">Most<hi rend="italic">Dull</hi>, honest<hi rend="italic">Dull</hi>, to our sport away.</l>
</sp>
<stage rend="italic inline" type="exit">Exit.</stage>
</div>