SCENE IV. The forest. As You Like It  Shakespeare homepage  |  As You Like It  | Act 5, Scene 4 

 Previous scene  SCENE IV. The forest. 

 Enter DUKE SENIOR, AMIENS, JAQUES, ORLANDO, OLIVER, and CELIA  DUKE SENIOR  Dost thou believe, Orlando, that the boy 

 Can do all this that he hath promised? 

 ORLANDO  I sometimes do believe, and sometimes do not; 

 As those that fear they hope, and know they fear. 



 Enter ROSALIND, SILVIUS, and PHEBE  ROSALIND  Patience once more, whiles our compact is urged: 

 You say, if I bring in your Rosalind, 

 You will bestow her on Orlando here? 

 DUKE SENIOR  That would I, had I kingdoms to give with her. 

 ROSALIND  And you say, you will have her, when I bring her? 

 ORLANDO  That would I, were I of all kingdoms king. 

 ROSALIND  You say, you'll marry me, if I be willing? 

 PHEBE  That will I, should I die the hour after. 

 ROSALIND  But if you do refuse to marry me, 

 You'll give yourself to this most faithful shepherd? 

 PHEBE  So is the bargain. 

 ROSALIND  You say, that you'll have Phebe, if she will? 

 SILVIUS  Though to have her and death were both one thing. 

 ROSALIND  I have promised to make all this matter even. 

 Keep you your word, O duke, to give your daughter; 

 You yours, Orlando, to receive his daughter: 

 Keep your word, Phebe, that you'll marry me, 

 Or else refusing me, to wed this shepherd: 

 Keep your word, Silvius, that you'll marry her. 

 If she refuse me: and from hence I go, 

 To make these doubts all even. 



 Exeunt ROSALIND and CELIA  DUKE SENIOR  I do remember in this shepherd boy 

 Some lively touches of my daughter's favour. 

 ORLANDO  My lord, the first time that I ever saw him 

 Methought he was a brother to your daughter: 

 But, my good lord, this boy is forest-born, 

 And hath been tutor'd in the rudiments 

 Of many desperate studies by his uncle, 

 Whom he reports to be a great magician, 

 Obscured in the circle of this forest. 



 Enter TOUCHSTONE and AUDREY  JAQUES  There is, sure, another flood toward, and these 

 couples are coming to the ark. Here comes a pair of 

 very strange beasts, which in all tongues are called fools. 

 TOUCHSTONE  Salutation and greeting to you all! 

 JAQUES  Good my lord, bid him welcome: this is the 

 motley-minded gentleman that I have so often met in 

 the forest: he hath been a courtier, he swears. 

 TOUCHSTONE  If any man doubt that, let him put me to my 

 purgation. I have trod a measure; I have flattered 

 a lady; I have been politic with my friend, smooth 

 with mine enemy; I have undone three tailors; I have 

 had four quarrels, and like to have fought one. 

 JAQUES  And how was that ta'en up? 

 TOUCHSTONE  Faith, we met, and found the quarrel was upon the 

 seventh cause. 

 JAQUES  How seventh cause? Good my lord, like this fellow. 

 DUKE SENIOR  I like him very well. 

 TOUCHSTONE  God 'ild you, sir; I desire you of the like. I 

 press in here, sir, amongst the rest of the country 

 copulatives, to swear and to forswear: according as 

 marriage binds and blood breaks: a poor virgin, 

 sir, an ill-favoured thing, sir, but mine own; a poor 

 humour of mine, sir, to take that that no man else 

 will: rich honesty dwells like a miser, sir, in a 

 poor house; as your pearl in your foul oyster. 

 DUKE SENIOR  By my faith, he is very swift and sententious. 

 TOUCHSTONE  According to the fool's bolt, sir, and such dulcet diseases. 

 JAQUES  But, for the seventh cause; how did you find the 

 quarrel on the seventh cause? 

 TOUCHSTONE  Upon a lie seven times removed:--bear your body more 

 seeming, Audrey:--as thus, sir. I did dislike the 

 cut of a certain courtier's beard: he sent me word, 

 if I said his beard was not cut well, he was in the 

 mind it was: this is called the Retort Courteous. 

 If I sent him word again 'it was not well cut,' he 

 would send me word, he cut it to please himself: 

 this is called the Quip Modest. If again 'it was 

 not well cut,' he disabled my judgment: this is 

 called the Reply Churlish. If again 'it was not 

 well cut,' he would answer, I spake not true: this 

 is called the Reproof Valiant. If again 'it was not 

 well cut,' he would say I lied: this is called the 

 Counter-cheque Quarrelsome: and so to the Lie 

 Circumstantial and the Lie Direct. 

 JAQUES  And how oft did you say his beard was not well cut? 

 TOUCHSTONE  I durst go no further than the Lie Circumstantial, 

 nor he durst not give me the Lie Direct; and so we 

 measured swords and parted. 

 JAQUES  Can you nominate in order now the degrees of the lie? 

 TOUCHSTONE  O sir, we quarrel in print, by the book; as you have 

 books for good manners: I will name you the degrees. 

 The first, the Retort Courteous; the second, the 

 Quip Modest; the third, the Reply Churlish; the 

 fourth, the Reproof Valiant; the fifth, the 

 Countercheque Quarrelsome; the sixth, the Lie with 

 Circumstance; the seventh, the Lie Direct. All 

 these you may avoid but the Lie Direct; and you may 

 avoid that too, with an If. I knew when seven 

 justices could not take up a quarrel, but when the 

 parties were met themselves, one of them thought but 

 of an If, as, 'If you said so, then I said so;' and 

 they shook hands and swore brothers. Your If is the 

 only peacemaker; much virtue in If. 

 JAQUES  Is not this a rare fellow, my lord? he's as good at 

 any thing and yet a fool. 

 DUKE SENIOR  He uses his folly like a stalking-horse and under 

 the presentation of that he shoots his wit. 



 Enter HYMEN, ROSALIND, and CELIA 

 Still Music  HYMEN  Then is there mirth in heaven, 

 When earthly things made even 

 Atone together. 

 Good duke, receive thy daughter 

 Hymen from heaven brought her, 

 Yea, brought her hither, 

 That thou mightst join her hand with his 

 Whose heart within his bosom is. 

 ROSALIND  [To DUKE SENIOR]  To you I give myself, for I am yours. 



 To ORLANDO  To you I give myself, for I am yours. 

 DUKE SENIOR  If there be truth in sight, you are my daughter. 

 ORLANDO  If there be truth in sight, you are my Rosalind. 

 PHEBE  If sight and shape be true, 

 Why then, my love adieu! 

 ROSALIND  I'll have no father, if you be not he: 

 I'll have no husband, if you be not he: 

 Nor ne'er wed woman, if you be not she. 

 HYMEN  Peace, ho! I bar confusion: 

 'Tis I must make conclusion 

 Of these most strange events: 

 Here's eight that must take hands 

 To join in Hymen's bands, 

 If truth holds true contents. 

 You and you no cross shall part: 

 You and you are heart in heart 

 You to his love must accord, 

 Or have a woman to your lord: 

 You and you are sure together, 

 As the winter to foul weather. 

 Whiles a wedlock-hymn we sing, 

 Feed yourselves with questioning; 

 That reason wonder may diminish, 

 How thus we met, and these things finish. 

 SONG. 

 Wedding is great Juno's crown: 

 O blessed bond of board and bed! 

 'Tis Hymen peoples every town; 

 High wedlock then be honoured: 

 Honour, high honour and renown, 

 To Hymen, god of every town! 

 DUKE SENIOR  O my dear niece, welcome thou art to me! 

 Even daughter, welcome, in no less degree. 

 PHEBE  I will not eat my word, now thou art mine; 

 Thy faith my fancy to thee doth combine. 



 Enter JAQUES DE BOYS  JAQUES DE BOYS  Let me have audience for a word or two: 

 I am the second son of old Sir Rowland, 

 That bring these tidings to this fair assembly. 

 Duke Frederick, hearing how that every day 

 Men of great worth resorted to this forest, 

 Address'd a mighty power; which were on foot, 

 In his own conduct, purposely to take 

 His brother here and put him to the sword: 

 And to the skirts of this wild wood he came; 

 Where meeting with an old religious man, 

 After some question with him, was converted 

 Both from his enterprise and from the world, 

 His crown bequeathing to his banish'd brother, 

 And all their lands restored to them again 

 That were with him exiled. This to be true, 

 I do engage my life. 

 DUKE SENIOR  Welcome, young man; 

 Thou offer'st fairly to thy brothers' wedding: 

 To one his lands withheld, and to the other 

 A land itself at large, a potent dukedom. 

 First, in this forest, let us do those ends 

 That here were well begun and well begot: 

 And after, every of this happy number 

 That have endured shrewd days and nights with us 

 Shall share the good of our returned fortune, 

 According to the measure of their states. 

 Meantime, forget this new-fall'n dignity 

 And fall into our rustic revelry. 

 Play, music! And you, brides and bridegrooms all, 

 With measure heap'd in joy, to the measures fall. 

 JAQUES  Sir, by your patience. If I heard you rightly, 

 The duke hath put on a religious life 

 And thrown into neglect the pompous court? 

 JAQUES DE BOYS  He hath. 

 JAQUES  To him will I : out of these convertites 

 There is much matter to be heard and learn'd. 



 To DUKE SENIOR  You to your former honour I bequeath; 

 Your patience and your virtue well deserves it: 



 To ORLANDO  You to a love that your true faith doth merit: 



 To OLIVER  You to your land and love and great allies: 



 To SILVIUS  You to a long and well-deserved bed: 



 To TOUCHSTONE  And you to wrangling; for thy loving voyage 

 Is but for two months victuall'd. So, to your pleasures: 

 I am for other than for dancing measures. 

 DUKE SENIOR  Stay, Jaques, stay. 

 JAQUES  To see no pastime I	what you would have 

 I'll stay to know at your abandon'd cave. 



 Exit  DUKE SENIOR  Proceed, proceed: we will begin these rites, 

 As we do trust they'll end, in true delights. 



 A dance  EPILOGUE 

 ROSALIND  It is not the fashion to see the lady the epilogue; 

 but it is no more unhandsome than to see the lord 

 the prologue. If it be true that good wine needs 

 no bush, 'tis true that a good play needs no 

 epilogue; yet to good wine they do use good bushes, 

 and good plays prove the better by the help of good 

 epilogues. What a case am I in then, that am 

 neither a good epilogue nor cannot insinuate with 

 you in the behalf of a good play! I am not 

 furnished like a beggar, therefore to beg will not 

 become me: my way is to conjure you; and I'll begin 

 with the women. I charge you, O women, for the love 

 you bear to men, to like as much of this play as 

 please you: and I charge you, O men, for the love 

 you bear to women--as I perceive by your simpering, 

 none of you hates them--that between you and the 

 women the play may please. If I were a woman I 

 would kiss as many of you as had beards that pleased 

 me, complexions that liked me and breaths that I 

 defied not: and, I am sure, as many as have good 

 beards or good faces or sweet breaths will, for my 

 kind offer, when I make curtsy, bid me farewell. 



 Exeunt 