Enter ALONSO,
SEBASTIAN, ANTONIO,
GONZALO, ADRIAN,
FRANCISCO, and others
ALONSO, SEBASTIAN,
ANTONIO, GONZALO,
ADRIAN, FRANCISCO, and others
enter.
GONZALO
(to
ALONSO)
Beseech you, sir, be merry. You have cause,
So have we all, of joy, for our escape
Is much beyond our loss. Our hint of woe
5
Is common. Every day some sailor's wife,
The masters of some merchant, and the merchant
Have just our theme of woe. But for the miracle—
I mean our preservation—few in millions
Can speak like us. Then wisely, good sir, weigh
10
Our sorrow with our comfort.
GONZALO
(to
ALONSO) Please cheer up, sir. Like
all of us, you have a good reason to be happy. The fact that
we're alive outweighs our losses. Many people every day
feel the sadness we feel now. Every day some sailor's
wife, a ship's crew, the merchant who hired the ship all
experience the same loss we've undergone. But the
miracle—the fact that we were saved—only
happens to a few people out of millions. So remember that, and take
comfort in it, to counterbalance our sadness.
ALONSO
Prithee,
peace.
ALONSO
Please say no more.
SEBASTIAN
(to
ANTONIO) He receives comfort like
cold porridge.
SEBASTIAN
(to
ANTONIO) Alonso enjoys these
comforting words about as much as cold oatmeal.
ANTONIO
(to
SEBASTIAN) The visitor will not give
him o'er so.
ANTONIO
(to
SEBASTIAN) But the goodwill
ambassador won't give up that easily.
SEBASTIAN
Look he's winding up the watch of his wit. By and by it
will strike.
SEBASTIAN
(to
ANTONIO) Look. He's like a
clock winding up to strike the hour.
GONZALO
(to
ALONSO) Sir—
GONZALO
(to
ALONSO) Sir—
SEBASTIAN
15
(to
ANTONIO) One. Tell.
SEBASTIAN
(to
ANTONIO) There he goes! Now we can
tell what time it is.
GONZALO
When every grief is entertained that's offered,
Comes to th' entertainer—
GONZALO
If we let every sad thing that happens to us get us down, then we
would find ourselves—
