Dub. Yet your inclination, Sir,
Deserv'd no less to be commended, than his action.
Mont. Prethee do not flatter me;
He that intends well, yet deprives himself
Of means, to put his good thoughts into deed,
Deceives his purpose of the due reward
That goodness merits: oh antiquity
Thy great examples of Nobility
Are out of imitation, or at least
So lamely follow'd, that thou art as much
Before this age in virtue, as in time.
Dub. Sir, it must needs be lamely followed, when
The chiefest men love to follow it
Are for the most part cripples.
Mont. Who are they?
Dub. Soldiers, my Lord, soldiers.
Mont. 'Tis true Duboys: but if the law disables me no more
For Noble actions, than good purposes,
I'll practice how to exercise the worth
Commended to us by our ancestors;
The poor neglected soldier shall command
Me from a Ladies Courtship, and the form
I'll study shall no more be taught me by
The Taylor, but the Scholar; that expence
Which hitherto has been to entertain
Th' intemperate pride and pleasure of the taste
Shall fill my Table more to satisfie,
And less to surfeit.
What an honest work it would be; when we find
A Virgin in her poverty, and youth
Inclining to be tempted, to imploy
As much perswasion, and as much expence
To keep her upright, as men use to do upon her falling.
Dub. 'Tis charity that many Maids will be unthankful for,
And some will rather take it for a wrong,
To buy 'em out of their inheritance,
The thing that they were born to.
Enter Longueville.
Mont. Longueville, thou bringst a chearful promise in thy face.
There stands no pale report upon thy cheek,
To give me fear or knowledge of my loss, 'tis red and lively.
How proceeds my suit?
Long. That's with leave, Sir, a labour that to those of Hercules,
May add another; or (at least) be call'd
An imitation of his burning shirt:
For 'twas a pain of that [un]merciful
Perplexity, to shoulder through the throng
Of people that attended your success:
My sweaty linnen fixt upon my skin,
Still as they pull'd me, took that with it; 'twas
A fear I should have left my flesh among 'em:
Yet I was patient, for (methought) the toil
Might be an emblem of the difficult
And weary passage to get out of Law.
And to make up the dear similitude,
When I was forth seeking my handkerchief
To wipe my sweat off, I did find a cause
To make me sweat more, for my Purse was lost
Among their fingers.