Notes and Queries, Number 71, March 8, 1851 / A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc.

Among the few passages in Shakspeare upon which little light has been thrown, after all that has been written about them, are the following in Act. IV. Sc. 2. of All's Well that Ends Well , where Bertram is persuading Diana to yield to his desires:
Bert. I pr'ythee, do not strive against my vows:
I was compell'd to her; but I love thee
By love's own sweet constraint, and will for ever
Do thee all rights of service.
Dia. Ay, so you serve us,
Till we serve you: but when you have our roses,
You barely leave our thorns to prick ourselves,
And mock us with our bareness.
Bert. How have I sworn?
Dia. 'Tis not the many oaths that make the truth;