SCENE III. Troy. Before Priam's palace. Troilus and Cressida  Shakespeare homepage  |  Troiles and Cressida  | Act 5, Scene 3 

 Previous scene  |  Next scene  SCENE III. Troy. Before Priam's palace. 

 Enter HECTOR and ANDROMACHE  ANDROMACHE  When was my lord so much ungently temper'd, 

 To stop his ears against admonishment? 

 Unarm, unarm, and do not fight to-day. 

 HECTOR  You train me to offend you; get you in: 

 By all the everlasting gods, I'll go! 

 ANDROMACHE  My dreams will, sure, prove ominous to the day. 

 HECTOR  No more, I say. 



 Enter CASSANDRA  CASSANDRA  Where is my brother Hector? 

 ANDROMACHE  Here, sister; arm'd, and bloody in intent. 

 Consort with me in loud and dear petition, 

 Pursue we him on knees; for I have dream'd 

 Of bloody turbulence, and this whole night 

 Hath nothing been but shapes and forms of slaughter. 

 CASSANDRA  O, 'tis true. 

 HECTOR  Ho! bid my trumpet sound! 

 CASSANDRA  No notes of sally, for the heavens, sweet brother. 

 HECTOR  Be gone, I say: the gods have heard me swear. 

 CASSANDRA  The gods are deaf to hot and peevish vows: 

 They are polluted offerings, more abhorr'd 

 Than spotted livers in the sacrifice. 

 ANDROMACHE  O, be persuaded! do not count it holy 

 To hurt by being just: it is as lawful, 

 For we would give much, to use violent thefts, 

 And rob in the behalf of charity. 

 CASSANDRA  It is the purpose that makes strong the vow; 

 But vows to every purpose must not hold: 

 Unarm, sweet Hector. 

 HECTOR  Hold you still, I say; 

 Mine honour keeps the weather of my fate: 

 Lie every man holds dear; but the brave man 

 Holds honour far more precious-dear than life. 



 Enter TROILUS  How now, young man! mean'st thou to fight to-day? 

 ANDROMACHE  Cassandra, call my father to persuade. 



 Exit CASSANDRA  HECTOR  No, faith, young Troilus; doff thy harness, youth; 

 I am to-day i' the vein of chivalry: 

 Let grow thy sinews till their knots be strong, 

 And tempt not yet the brushes of the war. 

 Unarm thee, go, and doubt thou not, brave boy, 

 I'll stand to-day for thee and me and Troy. 

 TROILUS  Brother, you have a vice of mercy in you, 

 Which better fits a lion than a man. 

 HECTOR  What vice is that, good Troilus? chide me for it. 

 TROILUS  When many times the captive Grecian falls, 

 Even in the fan and wind of your fair sword, 

 You bid them rise, and live. 

 HECTOR  O,'tis fair play. 

 TROILUS  Fool's play, by heaven, Hector. 

 HECTOR  How now! how now! 

 TROILUS  For the love of all the gods, 

 Let's leave the hermit pity with our mothers, 

 And when we have our armours buckled on, 

 The venom'd vengeance ride upon our swords, 

 Spur them to ruthful work, rein them from ruth. 

 HECTOR  Fie, savage, fie! 

 TROILUS  Hector, then 'tis wars. 

 HECTOR  Troilus, I would not have you fight to-day. 

 TROILUS  Who should withhold me? 

 Not fate, obedience, nor the hand of Mars 

 Beckoning with fiery truncheon my retire; 

 Not Priamus and Hecuba on knees, 

 Their eyes o'ergalled with recourse of tears; 

 Not you, my brother, with your true sword drawn, 

 Opposed to  hinder me, should stop my way, 

 But by my ruin. 



 Re-enter CASSANDRA, with PRIAM  CASSANDRA  Lay hold upon him, Priam, hold him fast: 

 He is thy crutch; now if thou lose thy stay, 

 Thou on him leaning, and all Troy on thee, 

 Fall all together. 

 PRIAM  Come, Hector, come, go back: 

 Thy wife hath dream'd; thy mother hath had visions; 

 Cassandra doth foresee; and I myself 

 Am like a prophet suddenly enrapt 

 To tell thee that this day is ominous: 

 Therefore, come back. 

 HECTOR  AEneas is a-field; 

 And I do stand engaged to many Greeks, 

 Even in the faith of valour, to appear 

 This morning to them. 

 PRIAM  Ay, but thou shalt not go. 

 HECTOR  I must not break my faith. 

 You know me dutiful; therefore, dear sir, 

 Let me not shame respect; but give me leave 

 To take that course by your consent and voice, 

 Which you do here forbid me, royal Priam. 

 CASSANDRA  O Priam, yield not to him! 

 ANDROMACHE  Do not, dear father. 

 HECTOR  Andromache, I am offended with you: 

 Upon the love you bear me, get you in. 



 Exit ANDROMACHE  TROILUS  This foolish, dreaming, superstitious girl 

 Makes all these bodements. 

 CASSANDRA  O, farewell, dear Hector! 

 Look, how thou diest! look, how thy eye turns pale! 

 Look, how thy wounds do bleed at many vents! 

 Hark, how Troy roars! how Hecuba cries out! 

 How poor Andromache shrills her dolours forth! 

 Behold, distraction, frenzy and amazement, 

 Like witless antics, one another meet, 

 And all cry, Hector! Hector's dead! O Hector! 

 TROILUS  Away! away! 

 CASSANDRA  Farewell: yet, soft! Hector! take my leave: 

 Thou dost thyself and all our Troy deceive. 



 Exit  HECTOR  You are amazed, my liege, at her exclaim: 

 Go in and cheer the town: we'll forth and fight, 

 Do deeds worth praise and tell you them at night. 

 PRIAM  Farewell: the gods with safety stand about thee! 



 Exeunt severally PRIAM and HECTOR. Alarums  TROILUS  They are at it, hark! Proud Diomed, believe, 

 I come to lose my arm, or win my sleeve. 



 Enter PANDARUS  PANDARUS  Do you hear, my lord? do you hear? 

 TROILUS  What now? 

 PANDARUS  Here's a letter come from yond poor girl. 

 TROILUS  Let me read. 

 PANDARUS  A whoreson tisick, a whoreson rascally tisick so 

 troubles me, and the foolish fortune of this girl; 

 and what one thing, what another, that I shall 

 leave you one o' these days: and I have a rheum 

 in mine eyes too, and such an ache in my bones 

 that, unless a man were cursed, I cannot tell what 

 to think on't. What says she there? 

 TROILUS  Words, words, mere words, no matter from the heart: 

 The effect doth operate another way. 



 Tearing the letter  Go, wind, to wind, there turn and change together. 

 My love with words and errors still she feeds; 

 But edifies another with her deeds. 



 Exeunt severally  Shakespeare homepage  |  Troiles and Cressida  | Act 5, Scene 3 

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