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Love's Labour's Loft.

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COMED Y.

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Don Adriano de Armado, a fantastical Spaniard.
Nathaniel, a Curate.

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Officers, and others, Attendants upon the King and

Princess.

SCENE, the King of Navarre's Palace, and the Country

near it.

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Enter the King, Biron, Longaville, and Dumain.

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KING.

ET Fame, that all hunt after in their lives,
Live registred upon our brazen tombs ;
And then grace us in the difgrace of death:
When, fpight of cormorant devouring time,
Th' endeavour of this prefent breath may buy
That honour which fhall 'bate his fcythe's keen edge;
And make us heirs of all eternity.

Therefore, brave Conquerors! for so you are,
That war against your own Affections,
And the huge army of the world's defires;
Our late edict shall strongly stand in force.
Navarre fhall be the wonder of the world;
Our Court fhall be a little academy,
Still and contemplative in living arts.
You three, Biron, Dumain, and Longaville,
Have fworn for three years' term to live with me,
My fellow Scholars; and to keep thofe Statutes,
That are recorded in this schedule here.

Your oaths are past, and now subscribe your names:
That his own hand may strike his honour down,
That violates the Imalleft branch herein:

VOL. II

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If

If you are arm'd to do, as fworn to do,
Subfcribe to your deep oaths, and keep them too.
Long. I am refolv'd; 'tis but a three years faft:
The mind fhall banquet tho' the body pine;
Fat paunches have lean pates; and dainty bits
Make rich the ribs, but bankerout the wits.

:

Dum. My loving lord, Dumain is mortify'd:
The groffer manner of thefe world's delights
He throws upon the grofs world's bafer flaves:
To love, to wealth, to pomp, I pine and die;
With all these living in philofophy.

Biron. I can but fay their proteftation over,
So much (dear liege) I have already sworn,
That is, to live and ftudy here three years:
But there are other strict observances;
As, not to fee a woman in that term,
Which, I hope well, is not enrolled there.
And one day in a week to touch no food,
And but one meal on every day befide;
The which, I hope, is not enrolled there.
And then to fleep but three hours in the night,
And not to be feen to wink of all the day;
(When I was wont to think no harm all night,
And make a dark night too of half the day :)
Which, I hope well, is not enrolled there.
O, these are barren tasks, too hard to keep;
Not to fee ladies, ftudy, faft, not sleep.

King. Your Oath is pafs'd to pafs away from these. Biron. Let me fay, no, my liege, an' if you please; I only fwore to ftudy with your Grace,

And stay here in your Court for three years' space. Long. You fwore to that, Biron, and to the rest. Biron. By yea and nay, Sir, then I swore in jeft. What is the end of ftudy? let me know?

King. Why, that to know, which elfe we fhould not know.

Biron. Things hid and barr'd (you mean) from

common fenfe.

King. Ay, that is ftudy's god-like recompence.
Biron. Come on then, I will fwear to study fo,
To know the thing I am forbid to know;
As thus; to ftudy where I well may dine.
When I to feaft exprefly am forbid;

Or ftudy where to meet fome mistress fine,
When miftreffes from common sense are hid:
Or, having fworn too hard-a-keeping oath,
Study to break it, and not break
my troth.
If ftudy's gain be this, and this be fo,
Study knows that, which yet it doth not know:
Swear me to this, and I will ne'er say, no.

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King. These be the ftops, that hinder ftudy quite; And train our Intellects to vain delight.

Biron. Why, all delights are vain; but that most vain, Which, with pain purchas'd, doth inherit pain; As, painfully to pore upon a book,

To feek the light of truth; while truth the while Doth falfely blind the eye-fight of his look:

Light, feeking light, doth light of light beguile;
So, ere you find where light in darknefs lies,
Your light grows dark by lofing of your eyes.
Study me how to please the eye indeed,
By fixing it upon a fairer eye;

Who dazzling fo, that eye fhall be his heed,
And give him light, that it was blinded by.
Study is like the Heav'ns glorious Sun,

That will not be deep fearch'd with faucy looks;
Small have continual plodders ever won,
Save bafe authority from others' books.
Thefe earthly godfathers heaven's lights,
That give a name to every fixed flar,
Have no more profit of their fhining nights,

Than those that walk and wot not what they are. Too much to know, is to know nought: but feign And every godfather can give a name.

*Too much to know, is to know nought but fame;

And every Godfather can give a name.]The first Line in this Read

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