scene:
ephesus
the comedy of errors
act i.scene 1
a hall in the duke's palace
enter the duke of ephesus,aegeon,the merchant
of syracuse,gaoler,officers,and other attendants
aegeon.proceed,solinus,to procure my fall,
and by the doom of death end woes and all.
duke.merchant of syracuse,plead no i am not partial to infringe our laws.
the enmity and d**cord which of late
sprung from the rancorous outrage of your duke
to merchants,our well-dealing countrymen,
who,wanting guilders to redeem their lives,
h**e seal'd h** rigorous statutes with their bloods,
excludes all pity from our threat'ning looks.
for,since the mortal and intestine jars
'twixt thy seditious countrymen and us,
it hath in solemn synods been decreed,
both by the syracusians and ourselves,
to admit no traffic to our adverse towns;nay,if any born at ephesus
be seen at any syracusian marts and fairs;again,if any syracusian born
come to the bay of ephesus-he dies,
h** goods conf**cate to the duke's d**pose,
unless a thousand marks be levied,
to quit the penalty and to ransom him.
thy substance,valued at the highest rate,
cannot amount unto a hundred marks;therefore by law thou art condemn'd to die.
aegeon.yet th** my comfort:when your words are done,
my woes end likew**e with the evening sun.
duke.well,syracusian,say in brief the cause
why thou departed'st from thy native home,
and for what cause thou cam'st to ephesus.
aegeon.a he**ier task could not h**e been impos'd
than i to speak my griefs unspeakable;yet,that the world may witness that my end
was wrought by nature,not by vile offence,
i'll utter what my sorrow gives me le**e.
in syracuse was i born,and wed
unto a woman,happy but for me,
and by me,had not our hap been bad.
with her i liv'd in joy;our wealth increas'd
by prosperous voyages i often made
to epidamnum;till my factor's death,
and the great care of goods at random left,
drew me from kind embracements of my spouse:
from whom my absence was not six months old,
before herself,almost at fainting under
the pleasing pun**hment that women bear,
had made prov**ion for her following me,
and soon and safe arrived where i was.
there had she not been long but she became
a joyful mother of two goodly sons;and,which was strange,the one so like the other
as could not be d**dngu**h'd but by names.
that very hour,and in the self-same inn,
a mean woman was delivered
of such a burden,male twins,both alike.
those,for their parents were exceeding poor,
i bought,and brought up to attend my sons.
my wife,not meanly proud of two such boys,
made daily motions for our home return;unwilling,i agreed.alas!too soon
we came aboard.
a league from epidamnum had we sail'd
before the always-wind-obeying deep
g**e any tragic instance of our harm:
but longer did we not retain much hope,
for what obscured light the he**ens did grant
did but convey unto our fearful minds
a doubtful warrant of immediate death;which though myself would gladly h**e embrac'd,
yet the incessant weepings of my wife,
weeping before for what she saw must come,
and piteous plainings of the pretty babes,
that mourn'd for fashion,ignorant what to fear,
forc'd me to seek delays for them and me.
and th** it was,for other means was none:
the sailors sought for safety by our boat,
and left the ship,then sinking-ripe,to us;my wife,careful for the latter-born,
had fast'ned him unto a small spare mast,
such as sea-faring men provide for storms;to him one of the other twins was bound,
whilst i had been like heedful of the other.
the children thus d**pos'd,my wife and i,
fixing our eyes on whom our care was fix'd,
fast'ned ourselves at either end the mast,
and,floating straight,obedient to the stream,
was carried towards corinth,as we thought.
at length the sun,gazing upon the earth,
d**pers'd those vapours that offended us;and,by the benefit of h** w**hed light,
the seas wax'd calm,and we d**covered
two ships from far making amain to us-
of corinth that,of epidaurus th**.
but ere they came-o,let me say no gather the sequel by that went before.
duke.nay,forward,old man,do not break off so;for we may pity,though not pardon thee.
aegeon.o,had the gods done so,i had not now
worthily term'd them merciless to us!for,ere the ships could meet by twice five leagues,
we were encount'red by a mighty rock,
which being violently borne upon,
our helpful ship was splitted in the midst;so that,in th** unjust divorce of us,
fortune had left to both of us alike
what to delight in,what to sorrow for.
her part,poor soul,seeming as burdened
with lesser weight,but not with lesser woe,
was carried with speed before the wind;and in our sight they three were taken up
by f**hermen of corinth,as we thought.
at length another ship had seiz'd on us;and,knowing whom it was their hap to s**e,
g**e healthful welcome to their ship-wreck'd guests,
and would h**e reft the f**hers of their prey,
had not their bark been very slow of sail;and therefore homeward did they bend their course.
thus h**e you heard me sever'd from my bl**s,
that by m**fortunes was my life prolong'd,
to tell sad stories of my own m**haps.
duke.and,for the sake of them thou sorrowest for,
do me the f**our to dilate at full
what h**e befall'n of them and thee till now.
aegeon.my youngest boy,and yet my eldest care,
at eigh** years became inqu**itive
after h** brother,and importun'd me
that h** attendant-so h** case was like,
reft of h** brother,but retain'd h** name-
might bear him company in the quest of him;whom whilst i laboured of a love to see,
i hazarded the loss of whom i lov'd.
five summers h**e i spent in farthest greece,
roaming clean through the bounds of asia,
and,coasting homeward,came to ephesus;hopeless to find,yet loath to le**e unsought
or that or any place that harbours men.
but here must end the story of my life;and happy were i in my timely death,
could all my tr**els warrant me they live.
duke.hapless,aegeon,whom the fates h**e mark'd
to bear the extremity of dire m**hap!now,trust me,were it not against our laws,
against my crown,my oath,my dignity,
which princes,would they,may not d**annul,
my soul should sue as advocate for thee.
but though thou art adjudged to the death,
and passed sentence may not be recall'd
but to our honour's great d**paragement,
yet will i f**our thee in what i can.
therefore,merchant,i'll limit thee th** day
to seek thy help by beneficial hap.
try all the friends thou hast in ephesus;beg thou,or borrow,to make up the sum,
and live;if no,then thou art doom'd to die.
gaoler,take him to thy custody.
gaoler.i will,my lord.
aegeon.hopeless and helpless doth aegeon wend,
but to procrastinate h** lifeless end.exeunt
scene 2
the mart
enter antipholus of syracuse,dromio of syracuse,
and first merchant
first merchant.therefore,give out you are of epidamnum,
lest that your goods too soon be conf**cate.
th** very day a syracusian merchant
** apprehended for arrival here;and,not being able to buy out h** life,
according to the statute of the town,
dies ere the weary sun set in the west.
there ** your money that i had to keep.
antipholus of syracuse.go bear it to the centaur,where we host.
and stay there,dromio,till i come to thee.
within th** hour it will be dinner-time;till that,i'll view the manners of the town,
peruse the traders,gaze upon the buildings,
and then return and sleep within mine inn;for with long tr**el i am stiff and weary.
get thee away.
dromio of syracuse.many a man would take you at your word,
and go indeed,h**ing so good a mean.exit
antipholus of syracuse.a trusty villain,sir,that very oft,
when i am dull with care and melancholy,
lightens my humour with h** merry jests.
what,will you walk with me about the town,
and then go to my inn and dine with me?first merchant.i am invited,sir,to certain merchants,
of whom i hope to make much benefit;i cr**e your pardon.soon at five o'clock,
please you,i'll meet with you upon the mart,
and afterward consort you till bed time.
my present business calls me from you now.
antipholus of syracuse.farewell till then.i will go lose myself,
and wander up and down to view the city.
first merchant.sir,i commend you to your own content.
exit first merchant
antipholus of syracuse.he that commends me to mine own content
commends me to the thing i cannot get.
i to the world am like a drop of water
that in the ocean seeks another drop,
who,falling there to find h** fellow forth,
unseen,inqu**itive,confounds himself.
so i,to find a mother and a brother,
in quest of them,unhappy,lose myself.
enter dromio of ephesus
here comes the almanac of my true date.
what now?how chance thou art return'd so soon?dromio of ephesus.return'd so soon!rather approach'd too late.
the capon burns,the pig falls from the spit;the clock hath strucken twelve upon the bell-
my m**tress made it one upon my cheek;she ** so hot because the meat ** cold,
the meat ** cold because you come not home,
you come not home because you h**e no stomach,
you h**e no stomach,h**ing broke your fast;but we,that...