MOTH Peace! the peal begins.
DON
ADRIANO DE ARMADO [To HOLOFERNES] Monsieur, are you not lettered?
MOTH Yes, yes; he teaches boys the hornbook. What is a,
b, spelt backward, with the horn on his head?
HOLOFERNES Ba, pueritia, with a horn added.
MOTH Ba, most silly sheep with a horn. You hear his learning.
HOLOFERNES Quis, quis, thou consonant?
MOTH The third of the five vowels, if you repeat them; or
the fifth, if I.
HOLOFERNES I will repeat them,--a, e, i,--
MOTH The sheep: the other two concludes it,--o, u.
DON
ADRIANO DE ARMADO Now, by the salt wave of the Mediterraneum, a sweet
touch, a quick venue of wit! snip, snap, quick and
home! it rejoiceth my intellect: true wit!
MOTH Offered by a child to an old man; which is wit-old.
HOLOFERNES What is the figure? what is the figure?
MOTH Horns.
HOLOFERNES Thou disputest like an infant: go, whip thy gig.
MOTH Lend me your horn to make one, and I will whip about
your infamy circum circa,--a gig of a cuckold's horn.
COSTARD An I had but one penny in the world, thou shouldst
have it to buy gingerbread: hold, there is the very
remuneration I had of thy master, thou halfpenny
purse of wit, thou pigeon-egg of discretion.
Pages:
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74