But, to my mind, though I am native here,
And to the manner born,-it is a custom
More honour'd in the breach, than the observance.
This heavy-headed revel, east and west,
Makes us traduc'd, and tax'd of other nations: 5
They clepe us drunkards, and with swinish phrase
Soil our addition; and, indeed, it takes
From ouratchievements, tho' perform'd at height,
The pith and marrow of our attribute.
So, oft it chances in particular men,

That, for some vicious mole of nature in them,
As, in their birth (wherein they are not guilty,
Since nature cannot choose his origin),

By the o'er-growth of some complexion1,

And for my soul, what can it do to that,
Being a thing immortal as itself?

It waves me forth again;-I'll follow it.

Hor. What, if it tempt you toward the flood,

my lord?

Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff,
That beetles o'er his base into the sea?
And there assume some other horrible form,
Which might deprive your sovereignty of reason,

10 And draw you into madness? think of it:
The very place puts toys of desperation,
Without more motive, into every brain,
That looks so many fathoms to the sea,
And hears it roar beneath.

Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason; 15 Ham. It waves me still:

these men,

Or by some habit, that too much o'er-leavens
The form of plausive manners;-that
Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect;
Being wature's livery, or fortune's star,-
Their virtues else (be they as pure as grace,
As infinite as man may undergo)

Shall in the general censure take corruption
From that particular fault: The dram of base
Doth all the noble substance of worth out2,
To his own scandal.

Go on, I'll follow thee.

Mar. You shall not go, my lord.
Ham. Hold off your hands.

Hor. Be rul'd, you shall not go.

20 Ham. My fate cries out,

And makes each petty artery in this body
As hardy as the Nemean lion's nerve.-
Still am I call'd-unhand me, gentlemen;

[Breaking from them.

25 By heaven, I 'll make a ghost of him that lets 1o me: I say, away:-Go on; I'll follow thee.

Enter Ghost.

Hor. Look, my lord, it comes!

Ham. Angels and ministers of grace defend us! Be thou a spirit of health, or goblin damn'd; [hell;

Be thy intents wicked, or charitable,

Thou com'st in such a questionable shape',

[Exeunt Ghost, and Hamlet.

Hor. He waxes desperate with imagination.
Mar. Let's follow; 'tis not fit thus to obey him.

Hath op'd his ponderous and marble jaws,

Bring with thee airs from heaven, or blasts from 30 Hor. Haveafter: ---To what issue will this come?

That I will speak to thee; I'll call thee, Hamlet,

King, father, royal Dane: O, answer me!
Let ine not burst in ignorance! but tell,
Why thy canoniz'd bones, hearsed in death,
Have burst their cearments? why the sepulchre,
Wherein we saw thee quietly in-urn'd,

To cast thee up again? What may this mean, - 40

SCENE V.

A more remote Part of the Platform.

Re-enter Ghost, and Hamlet.

Ham. Whither wilt thou lead me? speak, I'll go no further.

35

That thou, dead corse, again, in complete steel,

Revisit'st thus the glimpses of the moon,

Making night hideous; and we fools of nature'

So horridly to shake our disposition,

Ghost. Mark me.

With thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls? 45 Must render up myself.

Say, why is this? wherefore? what should we do

Mar. Look, with what courteous action It waves you to a more removed ground: But do not go with it.

Hor. No, by no means.

Ham. It will not speak; then I will follow it.
Hor. Do not, my lord.

Ham. Why, what should be the fear?

I do not set my life at a pin's fee';

Ghost. Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing

Ghost. So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt
Ham. What?

Ghost. I am thy father's spirit;

Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night;
And, for the day, confin'd to fast in fires,

55 'Till the foul crimes, done in my days of nature,
Are burnt and purg'd away. But that I am forbid
To tell the secrets of my prison-house,

i.e. humour; as sanguine, melancholy, phlegmatic, &c. 2 The dram of base means the least alloy of baseness or vice: To do a thing out, is to extinguish it, or to efface or obliterate any thing painted or written. 3 i. e. in a shape or form capable of being conversed with. -To question, certanly, in our author's time signified to converse. 4 It was the custom of the Danish kings to be buried in that manner The expression is fine, as intimating we were only kept (as formerly, tools in a great family) to make sport for nature, who lay hid only to mock and laugh at us, for our

And duller should'st thou be than the fat weed
That rots itself in ease on Lethe's wharf,

[That, swift, as quicksilver, it courses through
The natural gates and alleys of the body;
And, with a sudden vigour, it doth posset
And curd, like eager droppings into milk,
5 The thin and wholesome blood: so did it mine;
And a most instant tetter bark'd about,
Most lazar-like, with vile and loathsome crust,
All my smooth body.

Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand,
10 Of life, of crown, of queen, at once dispatch'd':
Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin,
Unhousell'd', disappointed, unaneal'd';
No reckoning made, but sent to my account
With all my imperfections on my head:
150 horrible! O horrible! most horrible!
If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not;
Let not the royal bed of Denmark be
A couch for luxury and damned incest.
But, howsoever thou pursu'st this act,
20 l'aint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive
Against thy mother aught; leave her to heaven,
neav
And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge,
To prick and sting her. Fare thee well at once!
The glow-worm shews the matin to be near,
And 'gins to pale his uneffectual fire :
Adieu, adieu, adieu! remember me.
Ham. O all you host of heaven! O earth! What
[heart:
And shall I couple hell?-O fie!-Hold, hold, my
30 And you, my sinews, grow not instant old,
But bear me stiflly up!-Remember thee?
Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat
In this distracted globe 10. Remember thee?
Yea, from the table of my memory

Would'st thou not stir in this. Now, Hamlet, hear:
'Tis given out, that, sleeping in my orchard,
A serpent stung me; so the whole ear of Den-25
Is by a forged process of my death
[mark
Rankly abus'd: but know, thou noble youth,
The serpent, that did sting thy father's life,
Now wears his crown.

Ham. O, my prophetic soul! my uncle?
Ghost. Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast,
With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts,
(O wicked wit, and gifts, that have the power
So to seduce!) won to his shameful lust
The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen :
O, Hamlet, what a falling-off was there!
From me, whose love was of that dignity,
That it went hand in hand even with the vow
I made to her in marriage; and to decline
Upon a wretch, whose natural gifts were poor
To those of mine!

But virtue, as it never will be mov'd,
Though lewdness court it in a shape of heaven;
So lust, though to a radiant angel link'd,
Will sate itself in a celestial bed,

And prey on garbage.

else?

[Exit.

35 I'll wipe away all trivial fond records,
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past,
That youth and observation copied there;
And thy commandment all alone shall live
Within the book and volume of my brain,
40 Unmix'd with baser matter: yes, by heaven.
O most pernicious woman!

O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!
My tables, meet it is, I set it down,
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain:

45 At least, I am sure, it may be so in Denmark :

[Writing.

So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word";

But soft! methinks, I scent the morning air-
Brief let me be: -Sleeping within mine orchard2,

It is, Adieu, adicu! remember me.

My custom always of the afternoon,

I have sworn it.

Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole,
With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial,
And in the porches of mine ears did pour
The leperous distilment; whose effect

Holds such an enmity with blood of man,

This similitude is extremely beautiful.. The word meditation is consecrated, by the mystics, to signify that stretch and flight of mind which aspires to the enjoyment of the supreme good: So that Hamlet, considering with what to compare the swiftness of his revenge, chooses two of the most rapid things in nature, the ardency of divine and human passion, in an enthusiast and a lover.

2 Orchard for garden. That is, henbane. * Dispatch'd for bereft. 'i. e. without the sacrament taken; from the old Saxon word for the sacrament, housel. * Disappointed is the same as unappointed; and may be properly explained unprepared. i. e. unanointed, not having the extreme unction. i. e. for lewdness. i. e. fire that is no longer seen when the light of morning approaches. 10 i. e. in this head confused with thought. 11 Hamlet alludes to the watch-word given every day

in the military service, which at this time he says is, Adieu, adieu, remember

Hor. Good my lord, tell it.

Ham. No; you will reveal it.

Hor. Not I, my lord, by heaven.

Mar. Nor I, my lord.

Ham. Hic & ubique? then we'll shift our

Ham. How say you then; would heart of man 10 Come hither, gentlemen,

once think it?

But you'll be secret,

Boh. Ay, by heaven, my lord.

And lay your hands again upon my sword:
Swear by my sword,

Ham. There'sne'era villain, dwelling in

But he's an arrant knave.

Hor. There needs no ghost, my lord, come from

the grave,

To tell us this.

Ham. Why, right; you are in the right;
And so, without more circumstance at all,
I hold it fit, that we shake hands, and part :
You, as your business and desire, shall point you;-
For every man hath business and desire,
Such as it is, and, for my own poor part,
Look you, I will go pray.

Hor. These are but wild and whirling words,

my lord.

Never to speak of this that you have heard.
Ghost. [beneath.] Swear by his sword.

15 Ham. Well said, old mole! can'st work i' the

20

earth so fast?

strange!

[friends.
A worthy pioneer! - Once more remove, good
Hor. O day and night, but this is wondrous
[come.
Ham. And therefore as a stranger give it wel-
There are more things in heaven and earth, Hora-
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. [tio,
But come;

Here, as before, never, so help you mercy!
25 How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself,-
As I, perchance, hereafter shall think meet
To put an antick disposition on, —

Ham. I am sorry they offend you, heartily;

Yes 'faith, heartily.

That you, at such times seeing me, never shall
(With arms encumber'dthus; or this head-shake;

Hor. There's no offence, my lord.
Ham. Yes, by Saint Patrick, but there is, Horatio,
And much offence too. Touching this vision here,--
It is an honest ghost, that let me tell you:

30 Or by pronouncing of some doubtful phrase,

As, Well, well, we know; -or, We could, an if we would;-or, If we list to speak; -or, There be, an if they might;

For your desire to know what is between us,

Or such ambiguous giving out ;) denote

O'er-master it as you may. And now, good friends, 35 That you know aught of me: This do ye swear,

Ghost. [beneath.] Swear.

Ham. Rest, rest, perturbed spirit! So, gentle

40 With all my love I do commend me to you:
And what so poor a man as Hamlet is
May do, to express his love and friending to you,
God willing, shall not lack. Let us go in together;
And still your fingers on your lips, I pray.
45 The time is out of joint; - cursed spight!
That ever I was born to set it right!-
Nay, come, let's go together.

[Excunt.

Swear.

[men,

This is the call which falconers use to their hawk in the air when they would have him come down to them. * It was common to swear upon the sword, that is, upon the cross which the old swords always had upon the hilt. 3 i. e. receive it to yourself; take it under your own roof; as ntuch as to say, Keep it secret-alluding to the laws of hospitality. of Denmark.

Danske is the ancient name
And

And how, and who, what means, and where they

keep,

What company, at what expence; and finding,

By this encompassment and drift of question,

(Videlicet, a brothel) or so forth.---See you now;
Your bait of falsehood takes this carp of truth:
And thus do we of wisdom and of reach,
With windlaces, and with assays of bias,

That they do know my son, come you more nearer; 5 By indirections find directions out;

Then your particular demands will touch it: [him;
Take you, as 'twere, some distant knowledge of
As thus, I know his father, and his friends,
And, in part, him, Do you mark this, Reynaldo?

Rey. Ay, very well, my lord.

So, by my former lecture and advice,

Shall you my son: You have me, have you not?
Rey. My lord, I have.

Pol. God be wi' you; fare you well.

[not well: 10 Rey. Good my lord,--

Pol. And, in part, him; but, you may say,

But, if't be he I mean, he's very wild;
Addicted so and so; --and there put on him
What forgeries you please; marry, none so rank
As may dishonour him; take heed of that;
But, sir, such wanton, wild, and usual slips,
As are companions noted and most known
To youth and liberty.

Rey. As gaming, my lord.

Pol. Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing,
Quarrelling, drabbing:-You may go so far.
Rey. My lord, that would dishonour him.
Pol.'Faith, no; as you may season it in the charge.
You must not put another scandal on him,
That he is open to incontinency;
That's not iny meaning: but breathe his faults so
That they may seem the taints of liberty;
The flash and out-break of a fiery mind;
A savageness in unreclaimed blood,
Of general assault 2.

Rey. But, my good lord,

Pol. Wherefore should you do this?
Rey. Ay, my lord,

I would know that.

15

Pol. Observe his inclination in yourself'.

Rey. I shall, my lord.

Pol. And let him ply his musick.

Rey. Well, my lord.

[Exit.

Enter Ophelia.

the matter?

Pol. Farewell.---How now, Ophelia? what's

[frighted!

Oph. O, my lord, my lord, I have been so af-
Pol. With what, in the name of heaven?
20 Oph. My lord, as I was sewing in my closet,
Lord Hamlet,---with his doublet all unbrac'd;
No hat upon his head; his stockings foul'd,
Ungarter'd, and down-gyved to his ancle;
Pale as his shirt; his knees knocking each other;

[quaintly, 25 And with a look so piteous in purport,
As if he had been loosed out of hell,
To speak of horrors,---he comes before me.
Pol. Mad for thy love?

Pol. Marry, sir, here's my drift;
And, I believe, it is a fetch of warrant:
You laying these slight sullies on my son,
As 'twere a thing a little soil'd i' the working,
Mark you, Your party in converse, him you would
sound,

Having ever seen, in the prenominate crimes,
The youth, you breathe of, guilty, be assur'd,
He closes with you in this consequence;
Good sir, or so; or friend, or gentleman,-
According to the phrase, or the addition,
Of man, and country.

Rey. Very good, my lord.

[What was I

Pol. And then, sir, does he this,---He does--About to say? I was about to say

Something: Where did I leave?

Pol. At, closes in the consequence.

Rey. At, closes in the consequence,--Ay, marry; He closes with you thus: -I know the gentleman;

I saw him yesterday, or t' other day,

[say,

Oph. My lord, I do not know;

30 But, truly, I do fear it.

Pol. What said he?

[hard;

Oph. He took me by the wrist, and held me
Then goes he to the length of all his arm;
And, with his other hand thus o'er his brow,

35 He falls to such perusal of my face,
As he would draw it. Long staid he so;
At last,---a little shaking of mine arm,
And thrice his head thus waving up and down,---
He rais'd a sigh so piteous and profound,

40 As it did seem to shatter all his bulk,

And end his being: That done, he lets me go:
And, with his head over his shoulder turn'd,
He seem'd to find his way without his eyes;
For out o' doors he went without their helps,
45 And, to the last, bended their light on me. [king.
Pol. Come, go with me; I will go seek the
This is the very ecstasy of love;
Whose violent property foredoes' itself,
And leads the will to desperate undertakings,
50 As oft as any passion under heaven,

That does afflict our natures. I am sorry,-
What, have you given him any hard words of late?
Oph. No, my good lord; but, as you did com-
I did repel his letters, and deny'd

Or then, or then; with such, or such; and, as you 55 His access to me.

There was he gaming; there o'ertook in his rouse;

There falling out at tennis: or, perchance,

I saw him enter such a house of sale,

1

Pol. That hath made him mad.

[mand,

I am sorry, that with better heed, and judgement,
I had not quoted him: I fear'd, he did but trifle,

Savageness, for wildness. 2 i. e. such as youth in general is liable to. 3 i. e. crimes already named. * It is a common mode of colloquial language to use, or so, as a slight intimation of more of the same, or a like kind, that might be mentioned. 'i. e. in your own person, not by spies. Down-gyved means hanging down like the loose cincture which confines the fetters round the an

cles, To foredo is to destroy. • To quote here means to reckon, to take an account of.

3 T

And

King. Welcome, dear Rosencrantz, and Guilden-15
Moreover that we much did long to see you,
The need, we have to use you, did provoke
Our hasty sending. Something have you heard
Of Hamlet's transformation; so I call it,
Since nor the exterior nor the inward man
Resembles that it was: What it should be, [him
More than his father's death, that thus hath put
So much from the understanding of himself,

20

King. Thou still hast been the father of good [liege,

news.

Pol. Have I, my lord? Assure you, my good
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 I do long to hear.
Pol. Give first admittance to the embassadors;
My news shall be the fruit to that great feast.
King. Thyself do grace to them, and bring them
[Exit Polonius.
He tells me, my dear Gertrude, he hath found
The head and source of all your son's distemper.
Queen. I doubt, it is no other but the main;

in.

I cannot dream of: I entreat you both, [him; 25 His father's death, and our o'er-hasty marriage.
That, being of so young days brought up with
And, since, so neighbour'd to his youth and hu-

mour,

That you vouchsafe your rest here in our court
Some little time: so by your companies
To draw him on to pleasures; and to gather,
So much as from occasion you may glean,
Whether aught, to us unknown, afflicts him thus,
That, open'd, lies within our remedy.

Re-enter Polonius, with Voltimand, and Cornelius.
King. Well, we shall sift him.-Welcome, my
good friends!

30 Say, Voltimand, what from our brother Norway?
Volt. Most fair return of greetings, and desires.
Upon our first, he sent out to suppress
His nephew's levies; which to hun appear'd
To be a preparation 'gainst the Polack;

Queen. Good gentlemen, he hath much talk'd 35 But, better look'd into, he truly found

of you;

And, sure I am, two men there are not living,
To whom he more adheres. If it will please you
To shew us so much gentry, and good will,
As to expend your time with us a while,
For the supply and profit of our hope,

Your visitation shall receive such thanks
As fits a king's remembrance.

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;
40 Receives rebuke from Norway; and, in fine,
Makes vow before his uncle, never more
To give the assay of arms against your majesty.
Whereon old Norway, overcome with joy,
Gives him threescore thousand crowns in annual

Ros. Both your majesties
Might, by the sovereign power you have of us, 45
Put your dread pleasures more into command
Than to cutreaty.

Guil. But we both obey;
And here give up ourselves, rselves, in the full bent',
To lay our service freely at your feet,
To be commanded.

2

fee;

And his commission, to employ those soldiers,
So levied as before, against the Polack:
With an entreaty, herein further shewn,

That it might please you to give quiet pass
50 Through your dominions for this enterprize;
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,

55 Answer, and think upon this business.
[bour:
Mean time, we thank you for your well-took la-
Go to your rest; at night we'll feast together:
Most welcome home! [Exeunt Volt. and Cor.
Pol. This business is well ended.

1i. e. This must be made known to the king, for (being kept secret) the hiding Hamlet's love might occasion more mischief to us from him and the queen, than the uttering or revealing of it will occasion hate and resentment from Hamlet. Gentry, for complaisance. Bent, for endeavour, application. 4 The trail is the course of an animal pursued by the scent. 'The dessert after the meat. i. e. deceived, imposed on.

Fee in this place, signifies reward, recompence.

My