ACT III
SCENE II A court of Justice.


 [Enter LEONTES, Lords, and Officers]

LEONTES This sessions, to our great grief we pronounce,
 Even pushes 'gainst our heart: the party tried
 The daughter of a king, our wife, and one
 Of us too much beloved. Let us be clear'd
 Of being tyrannous, since we so openly
 Proceed in justice, which shall have due course,
 Even to the guilt or the purgation.
 Produce the prisoner.

Officer It is his highness' pleasure that the queen
 Appear in person here in court. Silence!

 [Enter HERMIONE guarded;
 PAULINA and Ladies attending]

LEONTES Read the indictment.

Officer [Reads]            Hermione, queen to the worthy
 Leontes, king of Sicilia, thou art here accused and
 arraigned of high treason, in committing adultery
 with Polixenes, king of Bohemia, and conspiring
 with Camillo to take away the life of our sovereign
 lord the king, thy royal husband: the pretence
 whereof being by circumstances partly laid open,
 thou, Hermione, contrary to the faith and allegiance
 of a true subject, didst counsel and aid them, for
 their better safety, to fly away by night.

HERMIONE Since what I am to say must be but that
 Which contradicts my accusation and
 The testimony on my part no other
 But what comes from myself, it shall scarce boot me
 To say 'not guilty:' mine integrity
 Being counted falsehood, shall, as I express it,
 Be so received. But thus: if powers divine
 Behold our human actions, as they do,
 I doubt not then but innocence shall make
 False accusation blush and tyranny
 Tremble at patience. You, my lord, best know,
 Who least will seem to do so, my past life
 Hath been as continent, as chaste, as true,
 As I am now unhappy; which is more
 Than history can pattern, though devised
 And play'd to take spectators. For behold me
 A fellow of the royal bed, which owe
 A moiety of the throne a great king's daughter,
 The mother to a hopeful prince, here standing
 To prate and talk for life and honour 'fore
 Who please to come and hear. For life, I prize it
 As I weigh grief, which I would spare: for honour,
 'Tis a derivative from me to mine,
 And only that I stand for. I appeal
 To your own conscience, sir, before Polixenes
 Came to your court, how I was in your grace,
 How merited to be so; since he came,
 With what encounter so uncurrent I
 Have strain'd to appear thus: if one jot beyond
 The bound of honour, or in act or will
 That way inclining, harden'd be the hearts
 Of all that hear me, and my near'st of kin
 Cry fie upon my grave!

LEONTES I ne'er heard yet
 That any of these bolder vices wanted
 Less impudence to gainsay what they did
 Than to perform it first.

HERMIONE That's true enough;
 Through 'tis a saying, sir, not due to me.

LEONTES You will not own it.

HERMIONE More than mistress of
 Which comes to me in name of fault, I must not
 At all acknowledge. For Polixenes,
 With whom I am accused, I do confess
 I loved him as in honour he required,
 With such a kind of love as might become
 A lady like me, with a love even such,
 So and no other, as yourself commanded:
 Which not to have done I think had been in me
 Both disobedience and ingratitude
 To you and toward your friend, whose love had spoke,
 Even since it could speak, from an infant, freely
 That it was yours. Now, for conspiracy,
 I know not how it tastes; though it be dish'd
 For me to try how: all I know of it
 Is that Camillo was an honest man;
 And why he left your court, the gods themselves,
 Wotting no more than I, are ignorant.

LEONTES You knew of his departure, as you know
 What you have underta'en to do in's absence.

HERMIONE Sir,
 You speak a language that I understand not:
 My life stands in the level of your dreams,
 Which I'll lay down.

LEONTES Your actions are my dreams;
 You had a bastard by Polixenes,
 And I but dream'd it. As you were past all shame,--
 Those of your fact are so--so past all truth:
 Which to deny concerns more than avails; for as
 Thy brat hath been cast out, like to itself,
 No father owning it,--which is, indeed,
 More criminal in thee than it,--so thou
 Shalt feel our justice, in whose easiest passage
 Look for no less than death.

HERMIONE Sir, spare your threats:
 The bug which you would fright me with I seek.
 To me can life be no commodity:
 The crown and comfort of my life, your favour,
 I do give lost; for I do feel it gone,
 But know not how it went. My second joy
 And first-fruits of my body, from his presence
 I am barr'd, like one infectious. My third comfort
 Starr'd most unluckily, is from my breast,
 The innocent milk in its most innocent mouth,
 Haled out to murder: myself on every post
 Proclaimed a strumpet: with immodest hatred
 The child-bed privilege denied, which 'longs
 To women of all fashion; lastly, hurried
 Here to this place, i' the open air, before
 I have got strength of limit. Now, my liege,
 Tell me what blessings I have here alive,
 That I should fear to die? Therefore proceed.
 But yet hear this: mistake me not; no life,
 I prize it not a straw, but for mine honour,
 Which I would free, if I shall be condemn'd
 Upon surmises, all proofs sleeping else
 But what your jealousies awake, I tell you
 'Tis rigor and not law. Your honours all,
 I do refer me to the oracle:
 Apollo be my judge!

First Lord This your request
 Is altogether just: therefore bring forth,
 And in Apollos name, his oracle.

 [Exeunt certain Officers]

HERMIONE The Emperor of Russia was my father:
 O that he were alive, and here beholding
 His daughter's trial! that he did but see
 The flatness of my misery, yet with eyes
 Of pity, not revenge!

 [Re-enter Officers, with CLEOMENES and DION]

Officer You here shall swear upon this sword of justice,
 That you, Cleomenes and Dion, have
 Been both at Delphos, and from thence have brought
 The seal'd-up oracle, by the hand deliver'd
 Of great Apollo's priest; and that, since then,
 You have not dared to break the holy seal
 Nor read the secrets in't.


CLEOMENES |
 | All this we swear.
DION |


LEONTES Break up the seals and read.

Officer [Reads] Hermione is chaste;
 Polixenes blameless; Camillo a true subject; Leontes
 a jealous tyrant; his innocent babe truly begotten;
 and the king shall live without an heir, if that
 which is lost be not found.

Lords Now blessed be the great Apollo!

HERMIONE Praised!

LEONTES Hast thou read truth?

Officer Ay, my lord; even so
 As it is here set down.

LEONTES There is no truth at all i' the oracle:
 The sessions shall proceed: this is mere falsehood.

 [Enter Servant]

Servant My lord the king, the king!

LEONTES What is the business?

Servant O sir, I shall be hated to report it!
 The prince your son, with mere conceit and fear
 Of the queen's speed, is gone.

LEONTES How! gone!

Servant Is dead.

LEONTES Apollo's angry; and the heavens themselves
 Do strike at my injustice.

 [HERMIONE swoons]

       How now there!

PAULINA This news is mortal to the queen: look down
 And see what death is doing.

LEONTES Take her hence:
 Her heart is but o'ercharged; she will recover:
 I have too much believed mine own suspicion:
 Beseech you, tenderly apply to her
 Some remedies for life.

 [Exeunt PAULINA and Ladies, with HERMIONE]

    Apollo, pardon
 My great profaneness 'gainst thine oracle!
 I'll reconcile me to Polixenes,
 New woo my queen, recall the good Camillo,
 Whom I proclaim a man of truth, of mercy;
 For, being transported by my jealousies
 To bloody thoughts and to revenge, I chose
 Camillo for the minister to poison
 My friend Polixenes: which had been done,
 But that the good mind of Camillo tardied
 My swift command, though I with death and with
 Reward did threaten and encourage him,
 Not doing 't and being done: he, most humane
 And fill'd with honour, to my kingly guest
 Unclasp'd my practise, quit his fortunes here,
 Which you knew great, and to the hazard
 Of all encertainties himself commended,
 No richer than his honour: how he glisters
 Thorough my rust! and how his pity
 Does my deeds make the blacker!

 [Re-enter PAULINA]

PAULINA Woe the while!
 O, cut my lace, lest my heart, cracking it,
 Break too.

First Lord           What fit is this, good lady?

PAULINA What studied torments, tyrant, hast for me?
 What wheels? racks? fires? what flaying? boiling?
 In leads or oils? what old or newer torture
 Must I receive, whose every word deserves
 To taste of thy most worst? Thy tyranny
 Together working with thy jealousies,
 Fancies too weak for boys, too green and idle
 For girls of nine, O, think what they have done
 And then run mad indeed, stark mad! for all
 Thy by-gone fooleries were but spices of it.
 That thou betray'dst Polixenes,'twas nothing;
 That did but show thee, of a fool, inconstant
 And damnable ingrateful: nor was't much,
 Thou wouldst have poison'd good Camillo's honour,
 To have him kill a king: poor trespasses,
 More monstrous standing by: whereof I reckon
 The casting forth to crows thy baby-daughter
 To be or none or little; though a devil
 Would have shed water out of fire ere done't:
 Nor is't directly laid to thee, the death
 Of the young prince, whose honourable thoughts,
 Thoughts high for one so tender, cleft the heart
 That could conceive a gross and foolish sire
 Blemish'd his gracious dam: this is not, no,
 Laid to thy answer: but the last,--O lords,
 When I have said, cry 'woe!' the queen, the queen,
 The sweet'st, dear'st creature's dead,
 and vengeance for't
 Not dropp'd down yet.

First Lord The higher powers forbid!

PAULINA I say she's dead; I'll swear't. If word nor oath
 Prevail not, go and see: if you can bring
 Tincture or lustre in her lip, her eye,
 Heat outwardly or breath within, I'll serve you
 As I would do the gods. But, O thou tyrant!
 Do not repent these things, for they are heavier
 Than all thy woes can stir; therefore betake thee
 To nothing but despair. A thousand knees
 Ten thousand years together, naked, fasting,
 Upon a barren mountain and still winter
 In storm perpetual, could not move the gods
 To look that way thou wert.

LEONTES Go on, go on
 Thou canst not speak too much; I have deserved
 All tongues to talk their bitterest.

First Lord Say no more:
 Howe'er the business goes, you have made fault
 I' the boldness of your speech.

PAULINA I am sorry for't:
 All faults I make, when I shall come to know them,
 I do repent. Alas! I have show'd too much
 The rashness of a woman: he is touch'd
 To the noble heart. What's gone and what's past help
 Should be past grief: do not receive affliction
 At my petition; I beseech you, rather
 Let me be punish'd, that have minded you
 Of what you should forget. Now, good my liege
 Sir, royal sir, forgive a foolish woman:
 The love I bore your queen--lo, fool again!--
 I'll speak of her no more, nor of your children;
 I'll not remember you of my own lord,
 Who is lost too: take your patience to you,
 And I'll say nothing.

LEONTES Thou didst speak but well
 When most the truth; which I receive much better
 Than to be pitied of thee. Prithee, bring me
 To the dead bodies of my queen and son:
 One grave shall be for both: upon them shall
 The causes of their death appear, unto
 Our shame perpetual. Once a day I'll visit
 The chapel where they lie, and tears shed there
 Shall be my recreation: so long as nature
 Will bear up with this exercise, so long
 I daily vow to use it. Come and lead me
 Unto these sorrows.

 [Exeunt]




 THE WINTER'S TALE


ACT III