ACT THE FOURTH.
SCENE I.
Before Prospero’s cell.
Enter, Prospero, Ferdinand, and Miranda.
Prospero.
If I have too austerely punish’d you,
Your compensation makes amends, for I
Have given you here a thread of mine own life,
Or that for which I live; who once again
I tender to thy hand: all thy vexations
Were but my trials of thy Jove, and thou
Hast strangely stood the test: here, afore Heaven,
I ratify this my rich gift. O Ferdinand,
Do not smile at me that I boast her off,
For thou shalt find she will outstrip all praise
And make it halt behind her.
Your compensation makes amends, for I
Have given you here a thread of mine own life,
Or that for which I live; who once again
I tender to thy hand: all thy vexations
Were but my trials of thy Jove, and thou
Hast strangely stood the test: here, afore Heaven,
I ratify this my rich gift. O Ferdinand,
Do not smile at me that I boast her off,
For thou shalt find she will outstrip all praise
And make it halt behind her.
Ferdinand.
And make it halt behind her. I do believe it
Against an oracle.
Against an oracle.