How a Man May Choose a Good Wife from a Bad · chunk 10 of 43
Anonymous · published 1602 · first performed or written 1602 [c.1601-1602] (Annals) comedy · Worcester's Men unassigned nearest T23 Husbands, wives and jealousy · 477 words
Marked words are the most distinguishing words of the nearest topic T23: wife, husband, cuckold, jealousy, woman, jealous, mistress, love, house, honest.
Sir you may freely speak whate'er it be, So that your speech suiteth with modesty. To this now could I answer passing well. Mistress I pitying that so fair a creature. Still fair, and yet I warned the contrary. Should by a villain be so foully used as you have been. I that was well put in, If time and place were both convenient. Have made this bold intrusion to present My love and service to your sacred self. Indifferent, that was not much amiss. Sir, what you mean by service and by love I will not know: but what you mean by villain I fain would know. That villain is your husband: Whose wrongs towards you, are bruited thorough the land. O can you suffer at a peasant's hands Unworthy once to touch this silken skin, To be so rudely beat and buffeted? Can you endure from such infectious breath Able to blast your beauty, to have names Of such empoisoned hate flung in your face? O that was good, nothing was good but that: That was the lesson that I taught him last. O can you hear your never tainted fame Wounded with words of shame and infamy? O can you see your pleasures dealt away, And you to be debarred all part of them, And bury it in deep oblivion? Shall your true right be still contributed 'mongst hungry Bawds, insatiable Courtesans? And can you love that villain by whose deed Your soul doth sigh, & your distressed heart bleed? All this as well as I could wish myself. Sir I have heard thus long with patience, If it be me you term a villains wife, Insooth you have mistook me all this while, And neither know my husband nor myself, Or else you know not man and wife is one: If he be called a villain, what is she Whose heart, and love, & soul, is one with him? 'tis pity that so fair a Gentleman Should fall into such villains company. Oh sir take heed, if you regard your life, Meddle not with a villain, or his wife. O that same word villain hath marred all. Now where is your instruction? where's the wench? Where are my hopes? where your directions? Why man, in that word villain you marred all. To come unto an honest wife and call Her husband villain, were she near so bad, Thou mightst well think she would not brook that name For her own credit, though no love to him. But leave not thus, but try some other mean, Let not one way thy hopes make frustrate clean. I must persist my Love against my will, He that knows all things, knows I prove this ill. Come boys, come boys, rehearse your parts And then ad prandium tamiam incipe. Forsooth my lessons torn out of my book.
seed 43: unassigned · seed 44: unassigned — topic numbers are assigned independently in each run; equal or different numbers say nothing by themselves
Original spelling (EEBO-TCP, unregularized)
Sir you may freely speak what ere it be, So that your speech suteth with modestie. To this now could I answer passing well. Mistris I pitying that so faire a creature. Still faire, and yet I warnd the contrary. Should by a villen be so fowly vsde as you haue bene. I that was well put in, If time and place were both conuenient. Haue made this bold intrusion to present My loue and seruice to your sacred selfe. Indifferent, that was not much amisse. Sir, what you meane by seruice and by loue I will not know: but what you meane by villaine I faine would know. That villaine is your husband: Whose wrōgs towards you, are bruted thorow the land. O can you suffer at a Peasants hands Vnworthy once to tuch this silken skin, To be so rudely beate and buffeted? Can you endure from such infectuous breath Able to blast your beautie, to haue names Of such impoisoned hate flung in your face? O that was good, nothing was good but that: That was the lesson that I taught him last. O can you heare your neuer tainted fame Wounded with words of shame and infamie? O can you see your pleasures dealt away, And you to be debard all part of them, And bury it in deepe obliuion? Shall your true right be still contributed Mongst hungry Bawds, insatiable Curtizans? And can you loue that villain by whose deed Your soule doth sigh, & your distrest hart bleed? All this as well as I could wish my selfe. Sir I haue heard thus lōg with patiēce, If it be me you terme a villaines wife, Insooth you haue mistooke me all this while, And neither know my husband nor my selfe, Or else you know not man and wife is one: If he be cald a villaine, what is she Whose hart, and loue, & soule, is one with him? Tis pittie that so faire a Gentleman Should fall into such villaines company. Oh sir take heed, if you regard your life, Meddle not with a villaine, or his wife. O that same word villain hath mard all. Now where is your instructiō? wheres the wench? Where are my hopes? where your directions? Why man, in that word villain you mard all. To come vnto an gonest wife and call Her husband villaine, were she nere so bad, Thou mightst well think she wold not brooke that name For her owne credit, though no loue to him. But leaue not thus, but trie some other meane, Let not one way thy hopes make frustrate cleane. I must persist my Loue against my will, He that knows all things, knowes I proue this ill. Come boyes, come boyes, rehearse your part And then ad prandium tamiam incipe. Forsooth my lessons torne out of my booke.