Marcellus.

We have sworn, my lord, already.

Hamlet. Indeed, upon my sword, indeed.

Ghost. [Beneath] Swear.

Hamlet. Ah, ha, boy! say'st thou so? art thou there, true

penny ?

Come on-you hear this fellow in the cellarage,—

Consent to swear.

Horatio.

Propose the oath, my lord.

Hamlet. Never to speak of this that you have seen.

Swear by my sword.

Ghost. [Beneath] Swear.

Hamlet. Hic et ubique? 1 then we'll shift our ground.

Come hither, gentlemen,

And lay your hands again upon my sword,

Never to speak of this that you have heard,

Swear by my sword.

Ghost. [Beneath] Swear.

Hamlet. Well said, old mole! canst work i' the earth so fast? A worthy pioner ! 2-Once more remove, good friends. Horatio. O day and night, but this is wondrous strange ! Hamlet. And therefore as a stranger give it welcome. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.3

But come;

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

1 "Hic et ubique" (Latin), i.e., here and everywhere.

gustation

2 Pioneer. It is the duty of the pioneers of an army to go in advance of the main body of troops, and by felling trees, etc., clear the way of obstacles that would impede the march.

3 "

99 66

Your philosophy : your" is used colloquially here, and " philosophy" is the emphatic word.

4"Antic disposition," i.e., fantastic behavior.

That you, at such times seeing me, never shall,
With arms encumber'd thus, or this headshake,
Or by pronouncing of some doubtful phrase,

As, "Well, well, we know," or "We could, an if1 we would,"
Or "If we list to speak," or "There be, an if they might,"
Or such ambiguous giving out, to note

That you know aught of me: this not to do,

So grace and mercy at your most need help you,

Swear.

Ghost. [Beneath] Swear.

Hamlet. Rest, rest, perturbed spirit! [They swear.] Se, gen

tlemen,

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.

The time is out of joint: O cursed spite,
That ever I was born to set it right!
Nay, come, let's go together.

[Exeunt.

ACT II.

SCENE I. A Room in Polonius' House.

Enter POLONIUS and REYNALDO.

Polonius. Give him this money and these notes, Reynaldo.

Reynaldo. I will, my lord.

Polonius. You shall do marvelous wisely, good Reynaldo, Before you visit him, to make inquire 2

Of his behavior.

Reynaldo.

1 "An if," i.e., if.

My lord, I did intend it.

2 Inquiry.

Polonius. Marry, well said; very well said. Look you, sir, Inquire me first what Danskers 1 are in Paris;

1

5

And how, and who, what means, and where they keep,2
What company, at what expense; and finding
By this encompassment3 and drift of question 4
That they do know my son, come you more nearer
Than your particular demands will touch it.
Take you, as 'twere, some distant knowledge of him;
As thus,
"I know his father and his friends,

And in part him :" do you mark this, Reynaldo ?
Reynaldo. Ay, very well, my lord.

Polonius. And in part him, but," you may say, "not well. 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 dishonor him; take heed of that;
But, sir, such wanton, wild, and usual slips
As are companions noted and most known
To youth and liberty.

Reynaldo.

As gaming, my lord.

Polonius. Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing, quarreling: You may go so far.

Reynaldo. My lord, that would dishonor him.

Polonius. '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 my meaning: but breathe his faults so quaintly 6

That they may seem the taints of liberty,

The flash and outbreak of a fiery mind,

1 Danes.

3 Roundabout way.

2 Live.

4 Conversation.

5 Double comparatives, as more nearer," are frequent with Shakespeare and with all the writers of his age.

6 "Breathe his faults so quaintly," i.e., speak of his faults with such artful reservation.

Polonius.

Ay, my lord,

Marry, sir, here's my drift;

And, I believe, it is a fetch of warrant.2

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 3 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 4

Of man and country.

Reynaldo.

Very good, my lord.

Polonius. And then, sir, does he this-he does-what was I about to say? By the mass, I was about to say something: where did I leave ?

Reynaldo. At "closes in the consequence," at "friend or so," and "gentleman."

Polonius. At "closes in the consequence," ay, marry; He closes with you thus: "I know the gentleman;

I saw him yesterday, or t'other day,

Or then, or then; with such, or such; and, as you say,
There was he gaming; there o'ertook in's rouse; 5
There falling out at tennis."

1 "A savageness," etc., i.e., a wildness common to all hot-blooded youths not yet disciplined by the experience of life.

See you now;

Your bait of falsehood takes this carp1 of truth:
And thus do we of wisdom and of reach,

With windlasses and with assays of bias,
By indirections find directions out:2
So by my former lecture and advice,

Shall you my son. You have me, have you not ? 3
Reynaldo. My lord, I have.

How now, Ophelia ! what's the matter?

Ophelia. O, my lord, my lord, I have been so affrighted!

Polonius. With what, i' the name of God?

Ophelia. My lord, as I was sewing in my closet,5

Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbrac'd;

No hat upon his head; his stockings foul'd,
Ungarter'd, and down-gyved to his ankle;

Pale as his shirt; his knees knocking each other;

1 A kind of fish.

2" With windlasses,” etc. : "In Shakespeare's day, windlace (literally, a winding') was used to express taking a circuitous course, making an indirect advance, or, more colloquially, 'beating about the bush; ' . . . and in this sense it exactly harmonizes with the other phrase used by Polonius to express the same thing, assays of bias,' attempts in which, instead of going straight to the object, we seek to reach it by a curved or winding course."— Edinburgh Review, July, 1869.

3

'You have me," etc., i.e., you take my meaning; do you not? 4 For.

5 Chamber.

6 Hanging like fetters about his ankles.