The Duchess of Malfi

FERDINAND.                                    Away!

[Exit.]

BOSOLA.  Let good men, for good deeds, covet good fame,
Since place and riches oft are bribes of shame.
Sometimes the devil doth preach.

[Exit.]

[Scene III][17 - Malfi. Gallery in the Duchess' palace.]

[Enter FERDINAND, DUCHESS, CARDINAL, and CARIOLA]

CARDINAL.  We are to part from you; and your own discretion
Must now be your director.
FERDINAND.                  You are a widow:
You know already what man is; and therefore
Let not youth, high promotion, eloquence —
CARDINAL.  No,
Nor anything without the addition, honour,
Sway your high blood.
FERDINAND.             Marry! they are most luxurious[18 - Lustful.]  Will wed twice.
CARDINAL.        O, fie!
FERDINAND.                Their livers are more spotted
Than Laban's sheep.[19 - Genesis xxxi., 31-42.]
DUCHESS.              Diamonds are of most value,
They say, that have pass'd through most jewellers' hands.
FERDINAND.  Whores by that rule are precious.
DUCHESS.                                       Will you hear me?
I 'll never marry.
CARDINAL.           So most widows say;
But commonly that motion lasts no longer
Than the turning of an hour-glass:  the funeral sermon
And it end both together.
FERDINAND.                 Now hear me:
You live in a rank pasture, here, i' the court;
There is a kind of honey-dew that 's deadly;
'T will poison your fame; look to 't.  Be not cunning;
For they whose faces do belie their hearts
Are witches ere they arrive at twenty years,
Ay, and give the devil suck.
DUCHESS.  This is terrible good counsel.
FERDINAND.  Hypocrisy is woven of a fine small thread,
Subtler than Vulcan's engine:[20 - The net in which he caught Venus and Mars.] yet, believe 't,
Your darkest actions, nay, your privat'st thoughts,
Will come to light.
CARDINAL.            You may flatter yourself,
And take your own choice; privately be married
Under the eaves of night —
FERDINAND.                  Think 't the best voyage
That e'er you made; like the irregular crab,
Which, though 't goes backward, thinks that it goes right
Because it goes its own way:  but observe,
Such weddings may more properly be said
To be executed than celebrated.
CARDINAL.                        The marriage night
Is the entrance into some prison.
FERDINAND.                         And those joys,
Those lustful pleasures, are like heavy sleeps
Which do fore-run man's mischief.
CARDINAL.                          Fare you well.
Wisdom begins at the end:  remember it.

[Exit.]

DUCHESS.  I think this speech between you both was studied,
It came so roundly off.
FERDINAND.               You are my sister;
This was my father's poniard, do you see?
I 'd be loth to see 't look rusty, 'cause 'twas his.
I would have you give o'er these chargeable revels:
A visor and a mask are whispering-rooms
That were never built for goodness, – fare ye well —
And women like variety of courtship.
What cannot a neat knave with a smooth tale
Make a woman believe?  Farewell, lusty widow.

[Exit.]

DUCHESS.  Shall this move me?  If all my royal kindred
Lay in my way unto this marriage,
I 'd make them my low footsteps.  And even now,
Even in this hate, as men in some great battles,
By apprehending danger, have achiev'd
Almost impossible actions (I have heard soldiers say so),
So I through frights and threatenings will assay
This dangerous venture.  Let old wives report
I wink'd and chose a husband. – Cariola,
To thy known secrecy I have given up
More than my life, – my fame.
CARIOLA.                      Both shall be safe;
For I 'll conceal this secret from the world
As warily as those that trade in poison
Keep poison from their children.
DUCHESS.                          Thy protestation
Is ingenious and hearty; I believe it.
Is Antonio come?
CARIOLA.          He attends you.
DUCHESS.                           Good dear soul,