Whether aught, to us unknown, afflicts him thus,
That, open'd, lies within our remedy.

Queen. Good gentlemen, he hath much talk'd of you;
And sure I am two men there are not living

To whom he more adheres. If it will please you
To show us so much gentry and good will2
As to expend your time with us awhile,
For the supply and profit of our hope,3
Your visitation shall receive such thanks
As fits a king's remembrance.

Both your Majesties

Ros.
Might, by the sovereign power you have of us,
Put your dread pleasures more into command
Than to entreaty.

Guil.

But we both obey;

And here give up ourselves, in the full bent,
To lay our service freely at your feet,

To be commanded.

King. Thanks, Rosencrantz and gentle Guildenstern. Queen. Thanks, Guildenstern and gentle Rosencrantz: And I beseech you instantly to visit

My too-much-changed son. - Go, some of you,

And bring these gentlemen where Hamlet is.

Guil. Heavens make our presence and our practices Pleasant and helpful to him!

Queen.

Ay, amen!

[Exeunt Ros., GUIL., and some Attendants. Enter POLONIUS.

Pol. Th' ambassadors from Norway, my good lord,
Are joyfully return'd.

King. Thou still hast been the father of good news.
Pol. Have I, my lord? Assure you, my good liege,

I hold my duty, as I hold my soul,

Both to my God and to my gracious King:*

And I do think (or else this brain of mine

Hunts not the trail of policy so sure

As it hath us'd to do) that I have found

The very cause of Hamlet's lunacy.

King. O, speak of that; that do I long to hear.
Pol. Give, first, admittance to th' ambassadors;

My news shall be the fruit to that great feast.

King. Thyself do grace to them, and bring them in. —

2 Gentry for gentle courtesy.

[Exit POLONIUS

8 "The supply and profit" is the feeding and realizing.

4 I hold my duty both to my God and to my King, as I do my soul.

He tells me, my sweet Queen, that he hath found
The head and source of all your son's distemper.

Queen. I doubt it is no other but the main;
His father's death, and our o'erhasty marriage.
King. Well, we shall sift him.-

Re-enter POLONIUS, with VOLTIMAND and CORNELIUS.

Welcome, my good friends!

Say, Voltimand, what from our brother Norway?

Vol. Most fair return of greetings and desires.

Upon our first, he sent out to suppress

His nephew's levies; which to him appear'd
To be a preparation 'gainst the Polack;
But, better look'd into, he truly found

It was against your Highness: whereat griev'd,-
That so his sickness, age, and impotence,
Was falsely borne in hand,*

sends out arrests

On Fortinbras; which he, in brief, obeys;
Receives rebuke from Norway; and, in fine,
Makes vow before his uncle never more

To give th' assay of arms against your Majesty.
Whereon old Norway, overcome with joy,
Gives him three thousand crowns in annual fee,"
And his commission to employ those soldiers,
So levied as before, against the Polack:
With an intreaty, herein further shown,
That it might please you to give quiet pass
Through your dominions for this enterprise;
On such regards of safety and allowance
As therein are set down.

King.

It likes us well;"

And at our more consider'd time we'll read,

Answer, and think upon this business:

[Giving a Paper.

Meantime we thank you for your well-took labour.

Go to your rest; at night we'll feast together:

Most welcome home!

Pol.

[Exeunt VOLTIMAND and CORNELIUS. This business is well ended.

My Liege, and Madam, to expostulate 8
What Majesty should be, what duty is,

5 To bear in hand is to lead along by false assurances or expectations. See page 347, note 7.

Fee was often used for fee-simple, which is the strongest tenure in English law, and means an estate held in absolute and perpetual right.

This phrase was continually used for "it pleases us," or "we like it." 8 Expostulate here has the right Latin sense of inquire.

Why day is day, night night, and time is time,
Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time.
Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,

And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
I will be brief. Your noble son is mad:
Mad call I it; for, to define true madness.
What is't but to be nothing else but mad?
But let that go.

Queen.

More matter, with less art.
Pol. Madam, I swear I use no art at all.
That he is mad, 'tis true: 'tis true, 'tis pity;
And pity 'tis, 'tis true: a foolish figure;
But farewell it, for I will use no art.

Mad let us grant him, then; and now remains
That we find out the cause of this effect;
Or rather say, the cause of this defect,
For this effect defective comes by cause:
Thus it remains, and the remainder thus.
Perpend:

9

I have a daughter, — have, whilst she is mine,—
Who in her duty and obedience, mark,

Hath given me this: Now gather and surmise.

[Reads.] To the celestial and my soul's idol, the most beautified Ophelia, That's an ill phrase, a vile phrase; beautified is a vile phrase; but you shall hear.- Thus: In her excellent

white bosom, these, &c.10

Queen. Came this from Hamlet to her?

Pol. Good Madam, stay awhile; I will be faithful.

[Reads.] Doubt thou the stars are fire;

Doubt that the Sun doth move;

Doubt truth to be a liar;

But never doubt I love.

O dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers; I have not art to reckon my groans: but that I love thee best, O most best, believe it.

Adieu.

Thine evermore, most dear lady, whilst

this machine is to him, HAMLET

This in obedience hath my daughter shown me;
And, more above, hath his solicitings,

As they fell out by time, by means, and place,
All given to mine ear.

King.

Receiv'd his love?

But how hath she

9 Perpend is weigh or consider.

10 The word these was usually added at the end of the superscription of letters.

Pol.
King. As of a man faithful and honourable.
Pol. I would fain prove so.

What do you think of me?

But what might you think,

When I had seen this hot love on the wing,
(As I perceiv'd it, I must tell you that,
Before my daughter told me,) what might you,
Or my dear Majesty your Queen here, think,
If I had play'd the desk or table-book;

11

12

13

Or given my heart a winking, mute and dumb;
Or look'd upon this love with idle sight;
What might you think? No, I went round to work, 18
And my young mistress thus did I bespeak:
Lord Hamlet is a prince, out of thy star;

14

This must not be: and then I precepts gave her,
That she should lock herself from his resort,
Admit no messengers, receive no tokens.
Which done, she took the fruits of my advice;
And he, repulsed, (a short tale to make,)
Fell into a sadness; then into a fast;
Thence to a watch; thence into a weakness;
Thence to a lightness; and, by this declension,
Into the madness wherein now he raves,

And all we wail for.

King.

Do you think 'tis this? Queen. It may be, very likely.

Pol. Hath there been such a time - I'd fain know thatThat I have positively said 'Tis so,

When it prov'd otherwise?

King.

Not that I know.

Pol. [Pointing to his Head and Shoulder.] Take this from this, if this be otherwise:

If circumstances lead me, I will find

Where truth is hid, though it were hid indeed

How may we try it further?

sometimes he walks four hours together 15

So he does, indeed.

Pol. At such a time I'll loose my daughter to him:

11 By keeping dark about the matter. A desk or table-book does not prate of what it contains. A table-book is a case or set of tablets, to carry in the pocket, and write memoranda upon. See page 542, note 14. 12 If I had given my heart a hint to be mute about their passion. niventia, a winking at; a sufferance; a feigning not to see or know." 18 To be round is to be plain, downright, outspoken.

"Con

14 Not within thy destiny; alluding to the supposed influence of the stars on the fortune of life.

15 I have little doubt that this should read "walks for hours together."

Be you and I behind an arras then; 16
Mark the encounter: if he love her not,
And be not from his reason fall'n thereon,
Let me be no assistant for a State,

But keep a farm and carters.

King.

We will try it.

Queen. But, look, where sadly the poor wretch comes read

ing.17

Pol. Away! I do beseech you, both away:

I'll board him presently: 18 O, give me leave.

[Exeunt King, Queen, and Attendants.

Enter HAMLET, reading.

How does my good Lord Hamlet?
Ham. Well, God-'a-mercy.

Pol. Do you know me, my lord?

Ham. Excellent well; you're a fishmonger.19

Pol. Not I, my lord.

Ham. Then I would you were so honest a man.

Pol. Honest, my lord!

Ham. Ay, sir; to be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man pick'd out of ten thousand.

Pol. That's very true, my lord.

Ham. [Pretending to read.] For if the Sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a god kissing carrion,20-Have you a daughter?

Pol. I have, my lord.

Ham. Let her not walk i' the Sun:-friend, look to't.

Pol. How say you by that?-[Aside.] Still harping on my daughter: yet he knew me not at first; he said I was a fishmonger. He is far gone, far gone: and truly in my youth

16 In Shakespeare's time the chief rooms of houses were lined with tapestry hangings, which were suspended on frames some distance from the walls, to keep them from being rotted by the damp. See page 291, note 51. These tapestries were called arras from the town Arras, in France, where they were made.

17 Wretch was the strongest term of endearment in the language; generally implying, however, a dash of pity. So, in Othello, iii. 3, the hero, speaking of Desdemona, exclaims in a rapture of tenderness, "Excellent wretch, perdition catch my soul, but I do love thee!"

18 To board him is to accost or address him. See page 180, note 10. 19 Fishmonger meant an angler as well as a dealer in fish. Hamlet probably means that Polonius has come to fish out his secret.

20 The old copies have good instead of god; but god is probably right, as the Poet elsewhere speaks of the Sun as Titan, "kissing a dish of butter," and as common-kissing Titan." - A great deal of ink has been spent in trying to explain the passage; but the true explanation is, that it is not meant to be understood. Hamlet is merely bantering and tantalizing the old man.