17021702Enter a seruant setting out a Table, on which he places 17031703a scull, a picture, a booke and a Taper. 17041704Ser. So, this is Monday morning, and now mu
st I to my
17051705hu
swi
fry: would I had bin created a Shoomaker; for all the
17061706gentle craft are gentlemen euery Monday by their Copy,
17071707&
scorne (then) to worke one true
stitch. My M. meanes
17081708sure to turne me into a
student; for here's my booke, here
17091709my deske, here my light; this my clo
se chamber, and heere
17101710my Punck:
so that this dull drowzy
fir
st day of the weeke,
17111711makes me halfe a Prie
st, halfe a Chandler, halfe a paynter,
17121712halfe a Sexton, I & halfe a Bawd: for (all this day) my o
ffice
17131713is to do nothing but keep the dore. To proue it, looke you,
17141714this good-face & yonder gentleman (
so
soone as euer my
17151715back's turnd) wil be naught together.
Enter Hipolito. 17161716Hip. Are all the windowes
shut?
Ser. Clo
se
sir, as the
fist 17171717of a Courtier that hath
stood in three raignes.
17181718Hip. Thou art a faythfull
seruant, and ob
seru'
st 17191719The Calender, both of my
solemne vowes,
17201720And ceremonious
sorrow: Get thee gone,
17211721I charge thee on thy life, let not the
sound
17221722Of any womans voyce pierce through that dore.
17231723Ser. If they do, my Lord, Ile pearce
some of them.
17241724What will your Lord
ship haue to breakfa
st?
17251725Hip. Sighs.
Ser. What to dinner?
Hip. Teares.
17261726Ser. The one of them, my Lord, will
fill you too full of
17271727wind, the other wet you too much. What to
supper?
17281728Hip. That which (now) thou can
st not get me, the con
- 17301730Ser. Indeed thats harder to come by then euer was
17331733Ser. Ile make away my
selfe pre
sently, which few Ser
- 17341734uants will doe for their Lords; but rather helpe to make
17351735them away: Now to my dore-keeping, I hope to picke
17371737Hip. My Infelices face: her brow, her eye,
17381738The dimple on her cheeke: and
such
sweet skill,
Hath
THE HONEST WHORE.
17391739Hath
from the cunning workemans pencill
flowne,
17401740The
se lippes looke
fre
sh and liuely as her owne,
17411741Seeming to mooue and
speake. Las! now I
see,
17421742The rea
son why fond women loue to buy
17431743Adulterate complexion
: here 'tis read,
17441744Fal
se coulours la
st after the true be dead.
17451745Of all the Ro
ses grafted on her cheekes,
17461746Of all the graces dauncing in her eyes,
17471747Of all the Mu
sick
set vpon her tongue,
17481748Of all that was pa
st womans excellence,
17491749In her white bo
some, looke! a painted board,
17501750Circum
scribes all: Earth can no bli
sse a
ffoord.
17511751Nothing of her, but this
? this cannot
speake,
17521752It has no lap for me to re
st vpon,
17531753No lip worth ta
sting: here the wormes will feed,
17541754As in her co
ffin: hence then idle Art,
17551755True loue's be
st pi
cturde in a true-loues heart.
17561756Here art thou drawne
sweet maid, till this be dead,
17571757So that thou liu'
st twice, twice art buried.
17581758Thou
figure of my
friend, lye there. Whats here?
17591759Perhaps this
shrewd pate was mine enimies:
17601760Las!
say it were
: I need not feare him now:
17611761For all his braues, his contumelious breath,
17621762His
frownes (tho dagger-pointed) all his plot,
17631763(Tho 'nere
so mi
schieuous) his Italian pilles,
17641764His quarrels, and (that common fence) his law,
17651765See,
see, they're all eaten out; here's not left one
? 17661766How cleane they're pickt away! to the bare bone!
17671767How mad are mortals then to reare great names
17681768On tops of
swelling hou
ses? or to weare out
17691769Their
fingers ends (in durt,) to
scrape vp gould!
17701770Not caring
so (that Sumpter-hor
se) the back
17711771Be hung with gawdy trappings, with what cour
se,
17721772Yea rags mo
st beggerly, they cloath the
soule:
17731773Yet (after all) their
Gay-nes lookes thus foule.
17741774What fooles are men to build a gari
sh tombe,
17751775Onely to
saue the carca
sse whil
st it rots,
17761776To maintein't long in
stincking, make good carion,
G But
THE HONEST WHORE.
17771777But leaue no good deeds to pre
serue them
sound,
17781778For good deedes keepe men
sweet, long aboue ground,
17791779And mu
st all come to this; fooles; wi
se, all hether,
17801780Mu
st all heads thus at la
st be laid together:
17811781Draw me my pi
cture then, thou graue neate workeman,
17821782After this fa
shion, not like this; the
se coulours
17831783In time ki
ssing but ayre, will be ki
st o
ff,
17841784But heres a fellow; that which he layes on,
17851785Till doomes day, alters not complexion.
17861786Deaths' the be
st Painter then
: They that draw
shapes,
17871787And liue by wicked faces, are but Gods Apes,
17881788They come but neere the life, and there they
stay,
17891789This fellow drawes life to: his Art is fuller,
17901790The pi
ctures which he makes are without coulour.
17921792Ser. Heres a per
son would
speake with you Sir.
17941794Ser. A par
son
sir would
speake with you.
17961796Ser. Vicar? no
sir, has too good a face to be a Vicar yet, a
17981798Hip. What youth
? of man or woman? lock the dores.
17991799Ser. If it be a woman, mary-bones and Potato pies keepe
18001800me for medling with her, for the thing has got the breeches,
18011801tis a male-varlet
sure my Lord, for a womans tayler nere
18031803Hip. Let him giue thee his me
ssage and be gone.
18041804Ser. He
sayes hees
signior
Mathaeos man, but I know he
18071807Ser. Cau
se has nere a beard: tis his boy I thinke
sir, who
- 18091809Hip. Send him and keepe the doore.
Reades. 18131813Ide
saile were I to choo
se, not in the Ocean,
Cedars
THE HONEST WHORE.
18141814Cedars are
shaken, when
shrubs doe feele no bruize.
18191819Bell. Not all in health my Lord.
18221822Hard fate when women are compeld to wooe.
18231823Hip. This paper does
speake nothing.
18251825Matter of life it
speakes, and therefore writ
18261826In hidden Cara
cter; to me iu
stru
ction
18271827My mai
ster giues, And (le
sse you plea
se to
stay
18281828Till you both meet) I can the text di
splay.
18311831Looke on my face, and read the
strange
st story!
18321832Hip. What villaine, ho?
Enter his seruant. 18341834Hip. Thou
slaue, thou ha
st let in the diuell.
18351835Ser. Lord ble
sse vs, where? hees not clouen my Lord that
18361836I can
see
: be
sides the diuell goes more like a Gentleman
18371837than a Page: good my Lord
Boon couragio.
18381838Hip. Thou ha
st let in a woman, in mans
shape.
18401840Ser. Not dambd I hope for putting in a woman to a Lord.
18411841Hip. Fetch me my Rapier,--do not: I
shall kill thee.
18421842Purge this infe
cted chamber of that plague,
18431843That runnes vpon me thus
: Slaue, thru
st her hence.
18441844Ser. Alas my Lord, I
shall neuer be able to thru
st her hence
18451845without helpe
: come Mermaid you mu
st to Sea agen.
18461846Bell. Here me but
speake, my words
shall be all Mu
sick:
18501850Ser. Why then hell's broke loo
se.
Exit. 18511851Hip. Hence, guard the chamber
: let no more come on,
G 2 One
THE HONEST WHORE.
18521852One woman
serues for mans damnation.
18531853Be
shrew thee, thou doo
st make me violate,
18541854The cha
ste
st and mo
st san
ctimonious vow,
18551855That ere was entred in the court of heauen:
18561856I was on meditations
spottles wings,
18571857vpon my iorney thether; like a
storme
18581858Thou beats my ripened cogitations,
18591859flat to the ground: and like a theife doo
st stand,
18601860To
steale deuotion
from the holy land.
18611861Bel. If woman were thy mother; if thy hart,
18621862Bee not all Marble, (or ift Marble be)
18631863Let my teares
soften it, to pitty me,
18641864I doe be
seech the doe not thus with
scorne,
18671867Get thee
some other
suite, this
fits thee not,
18681868I would not grant it to a kneeling Queene,
18691869I cannot loue thee, nor I mu
st not: See,
18711871Where my
soule's bound in heauy penalties.
18721872Bel. She's dead you told me,
shele let fal her
suite.
18731873Hip. My vowes to her,
fled after her to heauen,
18741874Were thine eyes cleere as mine, thou might
st behold her,
18751875Watching vpon yon battlements of
starres,
18761876How I ob
serue them:
should I breake my bond,
18771877This bord would riue in twaine, the
se wooden lippes
18781878Call me mo
st periurde villaine, let it
su
ffice,
18791879I ha
set thee in the path; I
st not a
signe,
18801880I loue thee, when with one
so mo
st mo
st deare,
18811881Ile haue thee fellowes? All are fellowes there.
18821882Bel. Be greater then a king,
saue not a body,
18831883But from eternall
shipwracke keepe a
soule,
18841884If not, and that againe,
sinnes path I tread,
18851885The griefe be mine, the guilt fall on thy head.
18861886Hip. Stay and take Phi
sicke for it, read this booke,
18871887Aske coun
sell of this head whats to be done,
18881888Hele
strike it dead that tis damnation,
18891889If you turne turke againe, oh doe it not,
The
THE HONEST WHORE.
18901890The heauen cannot allure you to doe well
18911891From doing ill let hell
fright you: and learne this,
18921892The
soule who
se bo
some lu
st did neuer touch,
18931893Is Gods faire bride, and maidens
soules are
such:
18941894The
soule that leauing cha
stities white
shore,
18951895Swims in hot
sen
suall
streames, is the diuels whore,
18961896How now: who comes.
Enter his seruant. 18971897Ser. No more knaues my Lord that weare
smocks: heres
18981898a letter
from do
ctor
Benedict; I would not enter his man, tho
18991899he had haires at his mouth, for feare he
should be a woman, for
19001900some women haue beardes, mary they are halfe witches,
19011901Slid you are a
sweete youth to weare a codpeece, and haue no
19031903Hip. Ile meete the do
ctor, tell him, yet to night
19041904I cannot: but at morrow ri
sing Sunne
19051905I will not faile: go
: woman fare thee well.
Exeunt. 19061906Bel. The lowe
st fall can be but into hell,
19071907It does not moue him. I mu
st therefore
fly,
19081908From this vndoing Cittie, and with teares,
19091909Wa
sh o
ff all anger
from my fathers brow,
19101910He cannot
sure but ioy
seeing me new borne,
19111911A woman hone
st fir
st and then turne whore,
19121912Is (as with me) common to thou
sands more,
19131913But
from a
strumpet to turne cha
st: that
sound,
19141914Has oft bin heard, that woman hardly found.
Exit.