MEASURE FOR MEASURE

Act 1 Scene 3

(Enter the Duke and a Friar)
l1l	Duke	 No, holy father, throw away that thought.
l2l		Believe not that the dribbling dart of love
l3l		Can pierce a complete bosom. Why I desire thee
l4l		To give me secret harbour hath a purpose
l5l		More grave and wrinkled than the aims and ends
l6l		Of burning youth.
	Friar	May your grace speak of it?
l7l	Duke	My holy sir, none better knows than you
l8l		How I have ever loved the life removed,
l9l		And held in idle price to haunt assemblies
l10l		Where youth and cost a witless bravery keeps.
l11l		I have delivered to Lord Angelo—
l12l		A man of stricture and firm abstinence—
l13l		My absolute power and place here in Vienna#
l14l		And he supposes me travelled to Poland—
l15l		For so I have strewed it in the common ear,
l16l		And so it is received. Now, pious sir,
l17l		You will demand of me why I do this.
l18l	Friar	Gladly, my lord.
l19l	Duke	We have strict statutes and most biting laws,
l20l		The needful bits and curbs to headstrong weeds,
l21l		Which for this fourteen years we have let slip#
l22l		Even like an o’ergrown lion in a cave
l23l		That goes not out to prey. Now, as fond fathers,
l24l		Having bound up the threat’ning twigs of birch
l25l		Only to stick it in their children’s sight
l26l		For terror, not to use, in time the rod
l27l		More mocked becomes than feared: so our decrees,
l28l		Dead to infliction, to themselves are dead#
l29l		And Liberty plucks Justice by the nose,
l30l		The baby beats the nurse, and quite athwart
l31l		Goes all decorum.
	Friar	It rested in your grace
l32l		To unloose this tied-up Justice when you pleased,
l33l		And it in you more dreadful would have seemed
l34l		Than in Lord Angelo.
	Duke	I do fear, too dreadful.
l35l		Sith ’twas my fault to give the people scope,
l36l		’Twould be my tyranny to strike and gall them
l37l		For what I bid them do—for we bid this be done
l38l		When evil deeds have their permissive pass,
l39l		And not the punishment. Therefore indeed, my father,
l40l		I have on Angelo imposed the office,
l41l		Who may in th’ ambush of my name strike home,
l42l		And yet my nature never in the fight
l43l		T’ allow in slander. And to behold his sway,
l44l		I will as ’twere a brother of your order
l45l		Visit both prince and people. Therefore, I prithee,
l46l		Supply me with the habit, and instruct me
l47l		How I may formally in person bear
l48l		Like a true friar. More reasons for this action
l49l		At our more leisure shall I render you.
l50l		Only this one: Lord Angelo is precise,
l51l		Stands at a guard with envy, scarce confesses
l52l		That his blood flows, or that his appetite
l53l		Is more to bread than stone. Hence shall we see
l54l		If power change purpose, what our seemers be.
		(Exeunt)