Whilst rank corruption, mining all within,
Infects unseen. Confess yourself to heaven;
Repent what's past, avoid what is to come,
And do not spread the compost on the weeds, 150
To make them ranker. Forgive me this my

virtue,

For in the fatness of these pursy times

Virtue itself of vice must pardon beg,

Yea, curb and woo for leave to do him good. Queen. O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in 155 twain.

Ham. O, throw away the worser part of it,

And live the purer with the other half.
Good night; but go not to my uncle's bed.
Assume a virtue, if you have it not.
That monster, custom, who all sense doth eat,
Of habits devil, is angel yet in this,
That to the use of actions fair and good
He likewise gives a frock or livery,
That aptly is put on. Refrain to-night,

And that shall lend a kind of easiness
To the next abstinence; the next more easy;
For use almost can change the stamp of

nature,

And either

the devil or throw him out, With wondrous potency. Once more, good

night;

And when you are desirous to be blessed,
I'll blessing beg of you. For this same lord,

[Pointing to Polonius.

160

165

170

175

180

185

190

195

I do repent; but heaven hath pleased it so,
To punish me with this and this with me,
That I must be their scourge and minister.
I will bestow him, and will answer well
The death I gave him. So, again, good
night.

I must be cruel, only to be kind.

Thus bad begins and worse remains behind.
One word more, good lady.

Queen.

What shall I do? Ham. Not this, by no means, that I bid you do: Let the bloat king tempt you again to bed, Pinch wanton on your cheek, call you his

mouse,

And let him, for a pair of reechy kisses,
Or paddling in your neck with his damned
fingers,

Make

you

to ravel all this matter out,

That I essentially am not in madness,

But mad in craft.

know;

'Twere good you let him

For who, that's but a queen, fair, sober, wise,
Would from a paddock, from a bat, a gib,
Such dear concernings hide? Who would do
so?

No, in despite of sense and secrecy,

Unpeg the basket on the house's top,
Let the birds fly, and like the famous ape,
To try conclusions, in the basket creep,
And break your own neck down.

Queen. Be thou assured, if words be made of

breath,

And breath of life, I have no life to breathe
What thou hast said to me.

Ham. I must to England; you know that?
Queen.

Alack, 200

I had forgot. 'Tis so concluded on. Ham. There's letters sealed, and my two schoolfellows,

Whom I will trust as I will adders fanged,
They bear the mandate. They must sweep

my way,

And marshal me to knavery. Let it work; 205
For 'tis the sport to have the enginer

Hoist with his own petar; and 't shall go

hard

But I will delve one yard below their mines,
And blow them at the moon.

sweet,

O, 'tis most

When in one line two crafts directly meet.
This man shall set me packing.

I'll lug the guts into the neighbour room.
Mother, good night. Indeed this counsellor
Is now most still, most secret, and most
grave,

Who was in life a foolish prating knave.

Come, sir, to draw toward an end with you.
Good night, mother.

[Exeunt severally, Hamlet dragging in

Polonius.

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215

Б

ACT IV.

SCENE I.

A room in the castle.

Enter King, Queen, Rosencrantz, and

Guildenstern.

King. There's matter in these sighs, these profound heaves.

You must translate; 'tis fit we understand them.

Where is your son?

Queen. Bestow this place on us a little while.

[Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Ah, mine own lord, what have I seen to-night! King. What, Gertrude? How does Hamlet? Queen. Mad as the sea and wind, when both contend

Which is the mightier. In his lawless fit,

Behind the arras hearing something stir, 10 Whips out his rapier, cries, "A rat, a rat!” And, in this brainish apprehension, kills

15

The unseen good old man.

King.

O heavy deed!

It had been so with us, had we been there.
His liberty is full of threats to all,

To you yourself, to us, to every one.

161

Alas, how shall this bloody deed be answered?
It will be laid to us, whose providence
Should have kept short, restrained, and out
of haunt,

This mad young man. But so much was
our love,

We would not understand what was most fit, 20
But, like the owner of a foul disease,

To keep it from divulging, let it feed

Even on the pith of life. Where is he gone? Queen. To draw apart the body he hath killed,

O'er whom his very madness, like some ore 25
Among a mineral of metals base,

Shows itself pure; he weeps for what is done. King. O Gertrude, come away!

The sun no sooner shall the mountains touch,
But we will ship him hence, and this vile deed 30
We must, with all our majesty and skill,
Both countenance and excuse. Ho, Guild-

enstern!

Re-enter Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Friends both, go join you with some further aid.

Hamlet in madness hath Polonius slain,

And from his mother's closet hath he dragged 35 him.

Go seek him out; speak fair, and bring the body

Into the chapel. I pray yon, haste in this.

[Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.