As You Like It by William Shakespeare
Act 2 - Scene 5
Another part of the forest
(stage directions) : Enter AMIENS, JAQUES, and OTHERS
Amiens : Under the greenwood tree
[p] Who loves to lie with me,
[p]
And turn his merry note
[p] Unto the sweet bird's
throat,
[p] Come hither, come hither, come hither.
[p]
Here shall he see
[p] No enemy
[p] But winter and
rough weather.
Jaques (lord) : More, more, I prithee, more.
Amiens : It will make you melancholy, Monsieur Jaques.
Jaques (lord) : I thank it. More, I prithee, more. I can suck melancholy
[p]out of a
song, as a weasel sucks eggs. More, I prithee, more.
Amiens : My voice is ragged; I know I cannot please you.
Jaques (lord) : I do not desire you to please me; I do desire you to sing.
[p]Come,
more; another stanzo. Call you 'em stanzos?
Amiens : What you will, Monsieur Jaques.
Jaques (lord) : Nay, I care not for their names; they owe me nothing. Will
[p]you
sing?
Amiens : More at your request than to please myself.
Jaques (lord) : Well then, if ever I thank any man, I'll thank you; but
[p]that they
call compliment is like th' encounter of two dog-apes;
[p]and when a
man thanks me heartily, methinks have given him a
[p]penny, and he
renders me the beggarly thanks. Come, sing; and you
[p]that will not,
hold your tongues.
Amiens : Well, I'll end the song. Sirs, cover the while; the Duke
[p]will drink
under this tree. He hath been all this day to look
[p]you.
Jaques (lord) : And I have been all this day to avoid him. He is too
[p]disputable for
my company. I think of as many matters as he; but
[p]I give heaven
thanks, and make no boast of them. Come, warble, come.
[p]
SONG
[p] [All together here]
[p] Who doth
ambition shun,
[p] And loves to live i' th' sun,
[p]
Seeking the food he eats,
[p] And pleas'd with what he gets,
[p]
Come hither, come hither, come hither.
[p] Here shall he
see
[p] No enemy
[p] But winter and rough weather.
Jaques (lord) : I'll give you a verse to this note that I made yesterday in
[p]despite
of my invention.
Amiens : And I'll sing it.
Jaques (lord) : Thus it goes:
[p] If it do come to pass
[p] That any
man turn ass,
[p] Leaving his wealth and ease
[p] A
stubborn will to please,
[p] Ducdame, ducdame, ducdame;
[p]
Here shall he see
[p] Gross fools as he,
[p] An if
he will come to me.
Amiens : What's that 'ducdame'?
Jaques (lord) : 'Tis a Greek invocation, to call fools into a circle. I'll
[p]go
sleep, if I can; if I cannot, I'll rail against all the
[p]first-born
of Egypt.
Amiens : And I'll go seek the Duke; his banquet is prepar'd.
(stage directions) : Exeunt severally
Previous: Act 2 - Scene 4
Next: Act 2 - Scene 6
