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Jaquenetta, a country wench

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Lords, Attendants, etc.

Scene: Navarre]

Enter Ferdinand, King of Navarre, Berowne, Longaville, and Dumaine.

King.

Let fame, that all hunt after in their lives,

Live regist’red upon our brazen tombs,

And then grace us in the disgrace of death;

When spite of cormorant devouring Time,

Th’ endeavor of this present breath may buy

That honor which shall bate his scythe’s keen edge,

And make us heirs of all eternity.

Therefore, brave conquerors—for so you are,

That war against your own affections

And the huge army of the world’s desires—

Our late edict shall strongly stand in force:

Navarre shall be the wonder of the world;

Our court shall be a little academe,

Still and contemplative in living art.

You three, Berowne, Dumaine, and Longaville,

Have sworn for three years’ term to live with me,

My fellow scholars, and to keep those statutes

That are recorded in this schedule here.

Your oaths are pass’d, and now subscribe your names,

That his own hand may strike his honor down