SCENE I. Verona. An open place. Two Gentlemen of Verona  Shakespeare homepage  |  Two Gentlemen of Verona  | Act 1, Scene 1 

 Next scene  SCENE I. Verona. An open place. 

 Enter VALENTINE and PROTEUS  VALENTINE  Cease to persuade, my loving Proteus: 

 Home-keeping youth have ever homely wits. 

 Were't not affection chains thy tender days 

 To the sweet glances of thy honour'd love, 

 I rather would entreat thy company 

 To see the wonders of the world abroad, 

 Than, living dully sluggardized at home, 

 Wear out thy youth with shapeless idleness. 

 But since thou lovest, love still and thrive therein, 

 Even as I would when I to love begin. 

 PROTEUS  Wilt thou be gone? Sweet Valentine, adieu! 

 Think on thy Proteus, when thou haply seest 

 Some rare note-worthy object in thy travel: 

 Wish me partaker in thy happiness 

 When thou dost meet good hap; and in thy danger, 

 If ever danger do environ thee, 

 Commend thy grievance to my holy prayers, 

 For I will be thy beadsman, Valentine. 

 VALENTINE  And on a love-book pray for my success? 

 PROTEUS  Upon some book I love I'll pray for thee. 

 VALENTINE  That's on some shallow story of deep love: 

 How young Leander cross'd the Hellespont. 

 PROTEUS  That's a deep story of a deeper love: 

 For he was more than over shoes in love. 

 VALENTINE  'Tis true; for you are over boots in love, 

 And yet you never swum the Hellespont. 

 PROTEUS  Over the boots? nay, give me not the boots. 

 VALENTINE  No, I will not, for it boots thee not. 

 PROTEUS  What? 

 VALENTINE  To be in love, where scorn is bought with groans; 

 Coy looks with heart-sore sighs; one fading moment's mirth 

 With twenty watchful, weary, tedious nights: 

 If haply won, perhaps a hapless gain; 

 If lost, why then a grievous labour won; 

 However, but a folly bought with wit, 

 Or else a wit by folly vanquished. 

 PROTEUS  So, by your circumstance, you call me fool. 

 VALENTINE  So, by your circumstance, I fear you'll prove. 

 PROTEUS  'Tis love you cavil at: I am not Love. 

 VALENTINE  Love is your master, for he masters you: 

 And he that is so yoked by a fool, 

 Methinks, should not be chronicled for wise. 

 PROTEUS  Yet writers say, as in the sweetest bud 

 The eating canker dwells, so eating love 

 Inhabits in the finest wits of all. 

 VALENTINE  And writers say, as the most forward bud 

 Is eaten by the canker ere it blow, 

 Even so by love the young and tender wit 

 Is turn'd to folly, blasting in the bud, 

 Losing his verdure even in the prime 

 And all the fair effects of future hopes. 

 But wherefore waste I time to counsel thee, 

 That art a votary to fond desire? 

 Once more adieu! my father at the road 

 Expects my coming, there to see me shipp'd. 

 PROTEUS  And thither will I bring thee, Valentine. 

 VALENTINE  Sweet Proteus, no; now let us take our leave. 

 To Milan let me hear from thee by letters 

 Of thy success in love, and what news else 

 Betideth here in absence of thy friend; 

 And likewise will visit thee with mine. 

 PROTEUS  All happiness bechance to thee in Milan! 

 VALENTINE  As much to you at home! and so, farewell. 



 Exit  PROTEUS  He after honour hunts, I after love: 

 He leaves his friends to dignify them more, 

 I leave myself, my friends and all, for love. 

 Thou, Julia, thou hast metamorphosed me, 

 Made me neglect my studies, lose my time, 

 War with good counsel, set the world at nought; 

 Made wit with musing weak, heart sick with thought. 



 Enter SPEED  SPEED  Sir Proteus, save you! Saw you my master? 

 PROTEUS  But now he parted hence, to embark for Milan. 

 SPEED  Twenty to one then he is shipp'd already, 

 And I have play'd the sheep in losing him. 

 PROTEUS  Indeed, a sheep doth very often stray, 

 An if the shepherd be a while away. 

 SPEED  You conclude that my master is a shepherd, then, 

 and I a sheep? 

 PROTEUS  I do. 

 SPEED  Why then, my horns are his horns, whether I wake or sleep. 

 PROTEUS  A silly answer and fitting well a sheep. 

 SPEED  This proves me still a sheep. 

 PROTEUS  True; and thy master a shepherd. 

 SPEED  Nay, that I can deny by a circumstance. 

 PROTEUS  It shall go hard but I'll prove it by another. 

 SPEED  The shepherd seeks the sheep, and not the sheep the 

 shepherd; but I seek my master, and my master seeks 

 not me: therefore I am no sheep. 

 PROTEUS  The sheep for fodder follow the shepherd; the 

 shepherd for food follows not the sheep: thou for 

 wages followest thy master; thy master for wages 

 follows not thee: therefore thou art a sheep. 

 SPEED  Such another proof will make me cry 'baa.' 

 PROTEUS  But, dost thou hear? gavest thou my letter to Julia? 

 SPEED  Ay sir: I, a lost mutton, gave your letter to her, 

 a laced mutton, and she, a laced mutton, gave me, a 

 lost mutton, nothing for my labour. 

 PROTEUS  Here's too small a pasture for such store of muttons. 

 SPEED  If the ground be overcharged, you were best stick her. 

 PROTEUS  Nay: in that you are astray, 'twere best pound you. 

 SPEED  Nay, sir, less than a pound shall serve me for 

 carrying your letter. 

 PROTEUS  You mistake; I mean the pound,--a pinfold. 

 SPEED  From a pound to a pin? fold it over and over, 

 'Tis threefold too little for carrying a letter to 

 your lover. 

 PROTEUS  But what said she? 

 SPEED  [First nodding]  Ay. 

 PROTEUS  Nod--Ay--why, that's noddy. 

 SPEED  You mistook, sir; I say, she did nod: and you ask 

 me if she did nod; and I say, 'Ay.' 

 PROTEUS  And that set together is noddy. 

 SPEED  Now you have taken the pains to set it together, 

 take it for your pains. 

 PROTEUS  No, no; you shall have it for bearing the letter. 

 SPEED  Well, I perceive I must be fain to bear with you. 

 PROTEUS  Why sir, how do you bear with me? 

 SPEED  Marry, sir, the letter, very orderly; having nothing 

 but the word 'noddy' for my pains. 

 PROTEUS  Beshrew me, but you have a quick wit. 

 SPEED  And yet it cannot overtake your slow purse. 

 PROTEUS  Come come, open the matter in brief: what said she? 

 SPEED  Open your purse, that the money and the matter may 

 be both at once delivered. 

 PROTEUS  Well, sir, here is for your pains. What said she? 

 SPEED  Truly, sir, I think you'll hardly win her. 

 PROTEUS  Why, couldst thou perceive so much from her? 

 SPEED  Sir, I could perceive nothing at all from her; no, 

 not so much as a ducat for delivering your letter: 

 and being so hard to me that brought your mind, I 

 fear she'll prove as hard to you in telling your 

 mind. Give her no token but stones; for she's as 

 hard as steel. 

 PROTEUS  What said she? nothing? 

 SPEED  No, not so much as 'Take this for thy pains.' To 

 testify your bounty, I thank you, you have testerned 

 me; in requital whereof, henceforth carry your 

 letters yourself: and so, sir, I'll commend you to my master. 

 PROTEUS  Go, go, be gone, to save your ship from wreck, 

 Which cannot perish having thee aboard, 

 Being destined to a drier death on shore. 



 Exit SPEED  I must go send some better messenger: 

 I fear my Julia would not deign my lines, 

 Receiving them from such a worthless post. 



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