Two Gentlemen of Verona The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [9 vols.] · William Shakespeare
SCENE I. _The frontiers of Mantua. A forest._
_Enter certain _Outlaws_._ _First Out._ Fellows, stand fast; I see a passenger. _Sec. Out._ If there be ten, shrink not, but down with 'em. _Enter VALENTINE and SPEED._ _Third Out._ Stand, sir, and throw us that you have about ye: If not, we'll make you sit, and rifle you. _Speed._ Sir, we are undone; these are the villains 5 That all the travellers do fear so much. _Val._ My friends,-- _First Out._ That's not so, sir: we are your enemies. _Sec. Out._ Peace! we'll hear him. _Third Out._ Ay, by my beard, will we, for he's a proper man. 10 _Val._ Then know that I have little wealth to lose: A man I am cross'd with adversity; My riches are these poor habiliments, Of which if you should here disfurnish me, You take the sum and substance that I have. 15 _Sec. Out._ Whither travel you? _Val._ To Verona. _First Out._ Whence came you? _Val._ From Milan. _Third Out._ Have you long sojourned there? 20 _Val._ Some sixteen months, and longer might have stay'd, If crooked fortune had not thwarted me. _First Out._ What, were you banish'd thence? _Val._ I was. _Sec. Out._ For what offence? 25 _Val._ For that which now torments me to rehearse: I kill'd a man, whose death I much repent; But yet I slew him manfully in fight, Without false vantage or base treachery.
_Sec. Out._ Indeed, because you are a banish'd man, Therefore, above the rest, we parley to you: 60 Are you content to be our general? To make a virtue of necessity, And live, as we do, in this wilderness? _Third Out._ What say'st thou? wilt thou be of our consort? Say ay, and be the captain of us all: 65 We'll do thee homage and be ruled by thee, Love thee as our commander and our king. _First Out._ But if thou scorn our courtesy, thou diest. _Sec. Out._ Thou shalt not live to brag what we have offer'd. _Val._ I take your offer, and will live with you, 70 Provided that you do no outrages On silly women or poor passengers. _Third Out._ No, we detest such vile base practices. Come, go with us, we'll bring thee to our crews, And show thee all the treasure we have got; 75 Which, with ourselves, all rest at thy dispose. [_Exeunt._ Notes: IV, 1.
SCENE I. The frontiers ... forest.] Capell. A forest. Rowe. A forest leading towards Mantua. Warburton. 2: _shrink_] _shrinkd_ F2. 4: _sit_] F1 F2. _sir_ F3 F4. 5: _Sir_] _O sir_ Capell. 6: _do_] om. Pope, who prints lines 5 and 6 as prose. 9: _Peace!_] _Peace, peace!_ Capell. 11: _little wealth_] F1. _little_ F2 F3 F4. _little left_ Hanmer. 18: _Whence_] _And whence_ Capell, who reads 16-20 as two lines ending _came you? ... there?_ 35: _ I often had been_] F2. _I often had been often_ F1. _often had been_ (om. _I_) F3 F4. _I had been often_ Collier. 39, 40: _it's ... thievery_] Printed as a verse in Ff. _It is a kind of honourable thievery_ Steevens. 42: _thing_] F1. _things_ F2 F3 F4. 46: _awful_] _lawful_ Heath conj. 49: _An heir, and near allied_] Theobald. _And heire and Neece, allide_ F1 F2. _An heir, and Neice allide_ F3. _An Heir, and Neece alli'd_ F4. 51: _Who_] _Whom_ Pope. 60: _Therefore_] F1 F2. _There_ F3 F4. 63: _this_] F1. _the_ F2 F3 F4. 74: _crews_] F4. _crewes_ F1 F2 F3. _cave_ Collier MS. _caves_ Singer. _crew_ Delius conj. _cruives_ Bullock conj. 76: _all_] _shall_ Pope.
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