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Enter THURIO, PROTEUS, and JULIA disguised in page’s attire |
THURIO, PROTEUS, and JULIA enter. JULIA is disguised in the clothing of a male servant. | |
THURIO
Sir Proteus, what says Sylvia to my suit?
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THURIO
Sir Proteus, what does Sylvia have to say about my declarations of love for her?
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PROTEUS
O, sir, I find her milder than she was,
And yet she takes exceptions at your person.
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PROTEUS
Oh, sir, she’s not as cold as she used to be, though she still objects to you.
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THURIO
What, that my leg is too long?
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THURIO
What, because my leg is too long?
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5 |
PROTEUS
No, that it is too little.
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PROTEUS
No, because it’s too skinny.
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THURIO
I’ll wear a boot, to make it somewhat rounder.
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THURIO
I’ll wear a boot with spurs, then, to make it look thicker.
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JULIA
[Aside] But love will not be spurred to what it loathes.
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JULIA
(aside) But love can’t be spurred to like what it hates.
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THURIO
What says she to my face?
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THURIO
What does she have to say about my face?
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PROTEUS
She says it is a fair one.
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PROTEUS
She says it is an attractive one.
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10 |
THURIO
Nay, then, the wanton lies; my face is black.
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THURIO
No, then, she’s lying—my face is ugly.
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PROTEUS
But pearls are fair, and the old saying is,
Black men are pearls in beauteous ladies’ eyes.
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PROTEUS
But pearls are beautiful, and the old saying is that ugly men are pearls in beautiful women’s eyes.
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JULIA
[Aside] ’Tis true, such pearls as put out ladies’ eyes,
For I had rather wink than look on them.
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JULIA
(aside) It’s true—the kind of
pearls that make ladies go blindMeaning cataracts, a condition in which the lens of the eye grows opaque and white, blurring vision and making the eye somewhat resemble a pearl. pearls that make ladies go blind. I’d rather shut my eyes than look at them. | |
15 |
THURIO
How likes she my discourse?
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THURIO
How does she like my conversation?
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PROTEUS
Ill, when you talk of war.
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PROTEUS
Not much, when you talk about war.
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THURIO
But well when I discourse of love and peace?
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THURIO
But she likes it when I talk about love and peace?
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JULIA
[Aside] But better, indeed, when you hold your peace.
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JULIA
(aside) But even better when you hold your peace and don’t talk at all.
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THURIO
What says she to my valor?
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THURIO
What does she have to say about my bravery?
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20 |
PROTEUS
O, sir, she makes no doubt of that.
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PROTEUS
Oh, sir, she doesn’t question it at all.
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JULIA
[Aside] She needs not, when she knows it cowardice.
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JULIA
(aside) She doesn’t need to, since she knows he’s a coward.
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THURIO
What says she to my birth?
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THURIO
What does she have to say about my lineage?
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