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Act The SecondScene. I. [An apartment in the palace]
Scene. I. [An apartment in the palace]
Enter Philaster and Bellario]
Phi. And thou shalt find her honourable, boy;
Full of regard unto thy tender youth,
For thine own modesty; and, for my sake,
Apter to give than thou wilt be to ask,
Ay, or deserve.
Bel. Sir, you did take me up
When I was nothing; and only yet am something
By being yours. You trusted me unknown;
And that which you were apt to conster^1
A simple innocence in me, perhaps
Might have been craft, the cunning of a boy
Hard`ned in lies and theft: yet ventur`d you
To part my miseries and me; for which,
I never can expect to serve a lady
[Footnote 1: Construe, interpret.]
That bears more honour in her breast than you.
Phi. But. boy, it will prefer^2 thee. Thou art young,
And bear`st a childish overflowing love
To them that clap thy cheeks and speak thee fair yet;
But when thy judgment comes to rule those passions,
Thou wilt remember best those careful friends
That plac`d thee in the noblest way of life.
She is a princess I prefer thee to.
[Footnote 2: Advance.]
Bel. In that small time I have seen the world,
I never knew a man hasty to part
With a servant he thought trusty. I remember,
My father would prefer the boys he kept
To greater men than he; but did it not
Till they were grown too saucy for himself.
Phi. Why, gentle boy, I find no fault at all
In thy behaviour.
Bel. Sir, if I have made
A fault in ignorance, instruct my youth:
I shall be willing, if not apt, to learn;
Age and experience will adorn my mind
With larger knowledge; and if I have done
A wilful fault, think me not past all hope
For once. What master holds so strict a hand
Over his boy, that he will part with him
Without one warning? Let me be corrected
To break my stubbornness, if it be so,
Rather than turn me off; and I shall mend.
Phi. Thy love doth plead so prettily to stay,
That, trust me, I could weep to part with thee.
Alas, I do not turn thee off! Thou knowest
It is my business that doth call thee hence;
And when thou art with her, thou dwell`st with me.
Think so, and `tis so; and when time is full,
That thou hast well discharg`d this heavy trust,
Laid on so weak a one, I will again.
With joy receive thee; as I live, I will!
Nay, weep not, gentle boy. `Tis more than time
Thou didst attend the princess.
Bel. I am gone.
But since I am to part with you, my lord,
And none knows whether I shall live to do
More service for you, take this little prayer:
Heaven bless your loves, your fights, all your designs!
May sick men, if they have your wish, be well;
And Heaven hate those you curse, though I be one!
Exit
Phi. The love of boys unto their lords is strange;
I have read wonders of it: yet this boy
For my sake (if a man may judge by looks
And speech) would out-do story. I may see
A day to pay him for his loyalty.
Exit.
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