Enter Duke and Friar Thomas. DUKE
No, holy father, throw away that thought.
Believe not that the dribbling dart of love
Can pierce a complete bosom. Why I desire thee
To give me secret harbor hath a purpose
More grave and wrinkled than the aims and ends 5
Of burning youth. FRIAR THOMAS
May your Grace speak of it? DUKE
My holy sir, none better knows than you
How I have ever loved the life removed,
And held in idle price to haunt assemblies 10
Where youth and cost witless bravery keeps.
I have delivered to Lord Angelo,
A man of stricture and firm abstinence,
My absolute power and place here in Vienna,
And he supposes me traveled to Poland, 15
For so I have strewed it in the common ear,
And so it is received. Now, pious sir,
You will demand of me why I do this. FRIAR THOMAS
Gladly, my lord. | The Duke has gone to visit a Friar in his cell in Vienna. We catch the two men in mid-conversation. The Duke is adamant that he's NOT seeking refuge at the monastery as a heartbroken lover because love is for wimps. (You know, guys like Romeo Montague, who spends half of R&J visiting Friar Laurence's cell to boo-hoo about his complicated love life.) The Duke explains that he wants to hide out at the local monastery so he can spy on Angelo, who thinks the Duke is in Poland. Then the Duke tells the Friar to ask him why he wants to spy on Angelo. |
DUKE
We have strict statutes and most biting laws, 20
The needful bits and curbs to headstrong weeds,
Which for this fourteen years we have let slip,
Even like an o’ergrown lion in a cave
That goes not out to prey. Now, as fond fathers,
Having bound up the threat’ning twigs of birch 25
Only to stick it in their children’s sight
For terror, not to use—in time the rod
More mocked than feared—so our decrees,
Dead to infliction, to themselves are dead,
And liberty plucks justice by the nose, 30
The baby beats the nurse, and quite athwart
Goes all decorum. FRIAR THOMAS
It rested in your Grace
To unloose this tied-up justice when you pleased,
And it in you more dreadful would have seemed 35
Than in Lord Angelo. DUKE
I do fear, too dreadful.
Sith ’twas my fault to give the people scope,
’Twould be my tyranny to strike and gall them
For what I bid them do; for we bid this be done 40
When evil deeds have their permissive pass
And not the punishment. Therefore, indeed, my
father,
I have on Angelo imposed the office,
Who may in th’ ambush of my name strike home, 45
And yet my nature never in the fight
To do in slander. And to behold his sway
I will, as ’twere a brother of your order,
Visit both prince and people. Therefore I prithee
Supply me with the habit, and instruct me 50
How I may formally in person bear
Like a true friar. More reasons for this action
At our more leisure shall I render you.
Only this one: Lord Angelo is precise,
Stands at a guard with envy, scarce confesses 55
That his blood flows or that his appetite
Is more to bread than stone. Hence shall we see,
If power change purpose, what our seemers be. They exit. | Duke Vincentio explains that for the past fourteen years, he's been pretty lax about enforcing Vienna's laws. Naturally, the people are out of control, like naughty children who are never disciplined. The Friar points out that the Duke has the authority to start enforcing Vienna's laws and would probably be a lot better at it than Angelo. But, the Duke doesn't want to be the bad guy—he'd rather let Angelo do the dirty work than look like a tyrant in the eyes of his people. Plus, he'd look like a total hypocrite if he started enforcing rules out of the clear blue sky. Still, the Duke is a little nervous about Angelo, who is pretty strict and claims not to have any sexual desire. So the Duke wants to keep an eye on things and see how Angelo performs. |