Ham. O God![432]
Ghost. Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder. 25
Ham. Murder![433]
Ghost. Murder most foul, as in the best it is,[434]
But this most foul, strange, and unnatural.
Ham. Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift[435]
As meditation or the thoughts of love,[436] 30
May sweep to my revenge.[437]
Ghost. I find thee apt;
And duller shouldst thou be than the fat weed[438][439]
That roots itself in ease on Lethe wharf,[440]
Wouldst thou not stir in this. Now, Hamlet, hear:[440]
'Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard,[441] 35
A serpent stung me; so the whole ear of Denmark[442]
Is by a forged process of my death
Rankly abused: but know, thou noble youth,[443]
The serpent that did sting thy father's life[444]
Now wears his crown.
Ham. O my prophetic soul![445] 40
My uncle![445][446]
Ghost. Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast,[447]
With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts,—[448]
O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power[449]
So to seduce!—won to his shameful lust[450] 45
The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen:[451]
O Hamlet, what a falling-off was there![452]
From me, whose love was of that dignity
That it went hand in hand even with the vow
I made to her in marriage; and to decline[453] 50
Upon a wretch, whose natural gifts were poor
To those of mine![454][455]
But virtue, as it never will be moved,[454]
Though lewdness court it in a shape of heaven,
So lust, though to a radiant angel link'd,[456] 55
Will sate itself in a celestial bed[457][458]
And prey on garbage.[457][459]
But, soft! methinks I scent the morning air;[460]
Brief let me be. Sleeping within my orchard,[461]
My custom always of the afternoon,[462] 60
Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole,[463]
With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial,[464]
And in the porches of my ears did pour[465]
The leperous distilment; whose effect[466]
Holds such an enmity with blood of man[466] 65
That swift as quicksilver it courses through
The natural gates and alleys of the body;[467]
And with a sudden vigour it doth posset[468]
And curd, like eager droppings into milk,[469]
The thin and wholesome blood: so did it mine; 70
And a most instant tetter bark'd about,[470]
Most lazar-like, with vile and loathsome crust,
All my smooth body.
Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand
Of life, of crown, of queen, at once dispatch'd:[471] 75
Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin,[472]
Unhousel'd, disappointed, unanel'd;[473]
No reckoning made, but sent to my account
With all my imperfections on my head:[474]
O, horrible! O, horrible! most horrible![475] 80
If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not;
Let not the royal bed of Denmark be
A couch for luxury and damned incest.
But, howsoever thou pursuest this act,[476]
Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive[477] 85
Against thy mother aught: leave her to heaven,
And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge,
To prick and sting her. Fare thee well at once!
The glow-worm shows the matin to be near,[478]
And 'gins to pale his uneffectual fire: 90
Adieu, adieu, adieu! remember me. [Exit.[479]
Ham. O all you host of heaven! O earth! what else?
And shall I couple hell? O, fie! Hold, hold, my heart;[480]
And you, my sinews, grow not instant old,
But bear me stiffly up. Remember thee![481][482] 95
Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat[483]
In this distracted globe. Remember thee![482]
Yea, from the table of my memory
I'll wipe away all trivial fond records,
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past,[484] 100
That youth and observation copied there;
And thy commandment all alone shall live
Within the book and volume of my brain,
Unmix'd with baser matter: yes, by heaven![485]
O most pernicious woman![486] 105
0 villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!
My tables,—meet it is I set it down,[487][488]
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain;[488]
At least I'm sure it may be so in Denmark. [Writing.[488][489]
So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word;[488] 110
It is 'Adieu, adieu! remember me.'[488][490][491]
I have sworn't.[488][490][492]
Hor.} [Within] My lord, my lord!
Mar.}