Or hew my way out with a bloody axe.
Why, I can smile, and murther whiles I smile,
And cry, 'Content,' to that which grieves my heart,
And wet my cheeks with artificial tears, 184
And frame my face to all occasions.
I'll drown more sailors than the mermaid shall;
I'll slay more gazers than the basilisk;
I'll play the orator as well as Nestor, 188
Deceive more slily than Ulysses could,
And, like a Sinon, take another Troy.
I can add colours to the chameleon,
Change shapes with Proteus for advantages, 192
And set the murtherous Machiavel to school.
Can I do this, and cannot get a crown?
Tut! were it farther off, I'll pluck it down. Exit.
Scene Three
[Paris. A Room in the Palace]
Flourish. Enter Lewis the French King, his sister Bona; his Admiral called Bourbon; Prince Edward, Queen Margaret, and the Earl of Oxford. Lewis sits, and riseth up again.
Lew. Fair Queen of England, worthy Margaret,
Sit down with us: it ill befits thy state
And birth, that thou shouldst stand while Lewis doth sit.
Mar. No, mighty King of France: now Margaret 4
Must strike her sail, and learn a while to serve
Where kings command. I was, I must confess,
187 basilisk: fabulous reptile whose sight was death
191 add . . . to: assume more colors than
192 for advantages: as my purpose requires
193 Give Machiavelli himself lessons in murder; cf. n.
2 state: dignity
