Chapter: ACT IV. SCENE 4.
Troy. PANDARUS' house

Enter PANDARUS and CRESSIDA

  PANDARUS. Be moderate, be moderate.
  CRESSIDA. Why tell you me of moderation?
    The grief is fine, full, perfect, that I taste,
    And violenteth in a sense as strong
    As that which causeth it. How can I moderate it?
    If I could temporize with my affections
    Or brew it to a weak and colder palate,
    The like allayment could I give my grief.
    My love admits no qualifying dross;
    No more my grief, in such a precious loss.

                    Enter TROILUS

  PANDARUS. Here, here, here he comes. Ah, sweet ducks!
  CRESSIDA. O Troilus! Troilus! [Embracing him]
  PANDARUS. What a pair of spectacles is here! Let me embrace too. 'O
    heart,' as the goodly saying is,
           O heart, heavy heart,
           Why sigh'st thou without breaking?
    where he answers again
         Because thou canst not ease thy smart
         By friendship nor by speaking.
    There was never a truer rhyme. Let us cast away nothing, for we
    may live to have need of such a verse. We see it, we see it. How
    now, lambs!
  TROILUS. Cressid, I love thee in so strain'd a purity
    That the bless'd gods, as angry with my fancy,
    More bright in zeal than the devotion which
    Cold lips blow to their deities, take thee from me.
  CRESSIDA. Have the gods envy?
  PANDARUS. Ay, ay, ay; 'tis too plain a case.
  CRESSIDA. And is it true that I must go from Troy?
  TROILUS. A hateful truth.
  CRESSIDA. What, and from Troilus too?
  TROILUS. From Troy and Troilus.
  CRESSIDA. Is't possible?
  TROILUS. And suddenly; where injury of chance
    Puts back leave-taking, justles roughly by
    All time of pause, rudely beguiles our lips
    Of all rejoindure, forcibly prevents
    Our lock'd embrasures, strangles our dear vows
    Even in the birth of our own labouring breath.
    We two, that with so many thousand sighs
    Did buy each other, must poorly sell ourselves
    With the rude brevity and discharge of one.
    Injurious time now with a robber's haste
    Crams his rich thievery up, he knows not how.
    As many farewells as be stars in heaven,
    With distinct breath and consign'd kisses to them,
    He fumbles up into a loose adieu,
    And scants us with a single famish'd kiss,
    Distasted with the salt of broken tears.
  AENEAS. [Within] My lord, is the lady ready?
  TROILUS. Hark! you are call'd. Some say the Genius so
    Cries 'Come' to him that instantly must die.
    Bid them have patience; she shall come anon.
  PANDARUS. Where are my tears? Rain, to lay this wind, or my heart
    will be blown up by th' root?
Exit
  CRESSIDA. I must then to the Grecians?
  TROILUS. No remedy.
  CRESSIDA. A woeful Cressid 'mongst the merry Greeks!
    When shall we see again?
  TROILUS. Hear me, my love. Be thou but true of heart-
  CRESSIDA. I true! how now! What wicked deem is this?
  TROILUS. Nay, we must use expostulation kindly,
    For it is parting from us.
    I speak not 'Be thou true' as fearing thee,
    For I will throw my glove to Death himself
    That there's no maculation in thy heart;
    But 'Be thou true' say I to fashion in
    My sequent protestation: be thou true,
    And I will see thee.
  CRESSIDA. O, you shall be expos'd, my lord, to dangers
    As infinite as imminent! But I'll be true.
  TROILUS. And I'll grow friend with danger. Wear this sleeve.
  CRESSIDA. And you this glove. When shall I see you?
  TROILUS. I will corrupt the Grecian sentinels
    To give thee nightly visitation.
    But yet be true.
  CRESSIDA. O heavens! 'Be true' again!
  TROILUS. Hear why I speak it, love.
    The Grecian youths are full of quality;
    They're loving, well compos'd with gifts of nature,
    And flowing o'er with arts and exercise.
    How novelties may move, and parts with person,
    Alas, a kind of godly jealousy,
    Which I beseech you call a virtuous sin,
    Makes me afeard.
  CRESSIDA. O heavens! you love me not.
  TROILUS. Die I a villain, then!
    In this I do not call your faith in question
    So mainly as my merit. I cannot sing,
    Nor heel the high lavolt, nor sweeten talk,
    Nor play at subtle games-fair virtues all,
    To which the Grecians are most prompt and pregnant;
    But I can tell that in each grace of these
    There lurks a still and dumb-discoursive devil
    That tempts most cunningly. But be not tempted.
  CRESSIDA. Do you think I will?
  TROILUS. No.
    But something may be done that we will not;
    And sometimes we are devils to ourselves,
    When we will tempt the frailty of our powers,
    Presuming on their changeful potency.
  AENEAS. [Within] Nay, good my lord!
  TROILUS. Come, kiss; and let us part.
  PARIS. [Within] Brother Troilus!
  TROILUS. Good brother, come you hither;
    And bring Aeneas and the Grecian with you.
  CRESSIDA. My lord, will you be true?
  TROILUS. Who, I? Alas, it is my vice, my fault!
    Whiles others fish with craft for great opinion,
    I with great truth catch mere simplicity;
    Whilst some with cunning gild their copper crowns,
    With truth and plainness I do wear mine bare.

      Enter AENEAS, PARIS, ANTENOR, DEIPHOBUS, and DIOMEDES

    Fear not my truth: the moral of my wit
    Is 'plain and true'; there's all the reach of it.
    Welcome, Sir Diomed! Here is the lady
    Which for Antenor we deliver you;
    At the port, lord, I'll give her to thy hand,
    And by the way possess thee what she is.
    Entreat her fair; and, by my soul, fair Greek,
    If e'er thou stand at mercy of my sword,
    Name Cressid, and thy life shall be as safe
    As Priam is in Ilion.
  DIOMEDES. Fair Lady Cressid,
    So please you, save the thanks this prince expects.
    The lustre in your eye, heaven in your cheek,
    Pleads your fair usage; and to Diomed
    You shall be mistress, and command him wholly.
  TROILUS. Grecian, thou dost not use me courteously
    To shame the zeal of my petition to the
    In praising her. I tell thee, lord of Greece,
    She is as far high-soaring o'er thy praises
    As thou unworthy to be call'd her servant.
    I charge thee use her well, even for my charge;
    For, by the dreadful Pluto, if thou dost not,
    Though the great bulk Achilles be thy guard,
    I'll cut thy throat.
  DIOMEDES. O, be not mov'd, Prince Troilus.
    Let me be privileg'd by my place and message
    To be a speaker free: when I am hence
    I'll answer to my lust. And know you, lord,
    I'll nothing do on charge: to her own worth
    She shall be priz'd. But that you say 'Be't so,'
    I speak it in my spirit and honour, 'No.'
  TROILUS. Come, to the port. I'll tell thee, Diomed,
    This brave shall oft make thee to hide thy head.
    Lady, give me your hand; and, as we walk,
    To our own selves bend we our needful talk.
               Exeunt TROILUS, CRESSIDA, and DIOMEDES
                                [Sound trumpet]
  PARIS. Hark! Hector's trumpet.
  AENEAS. How have we spent this morning!
    The Prince must think me tardy and remiss,
    That swore to ride before him to the field.
  PARIS. 'Tis Troilus' fault. Come, come to field with him.
  DEIPHOBUS. Let us make ready straight.
  AENEAS. Yea, with a bridegroom's fresh alacrity
    Let us address to tend on Hector's heels.
    The glory of our Troy doth this day lie
    On his fair worth and single chivalry.
Exeunt

 Cressida tells Pandarus of her great grief. The grief is fine, full, perfect, that I taste, /And violenteth in a sense as strong/As that which causeth it: she says. Troilus enters and the couple has a wrenching few minutes before their tearful farewell. When Cressida asks him when theyll meet again, Troilus tells her be thou true of heart rather ominously. They exchange tokens - he gives her his sleeve and she gives him her glove. He tells her that he will try to corrupt the Grecian sentinels and visit her, and once again asks her to be true: But yet be true. When Cressida exclaims aghast at his be true he explains that he is saying so because the Grecian youths are full of quality, /Their loving well composd, with gift of nature flowing, /And swelling oer with arts and exercise. /How novelty may move, and parts with person, /Alas, a kind of godly jealousy - / which I beseech you call a virtuous sin - /Makes me afeard. When Cressida wails that he doesnt love her, he says, In this I do not call your faith in question / So mainly as my merit. He then enumerates the dances, the sweet talk and the skillful games that the Greeks are adept at but he is not, and says that each of these skills are tempting. But be not tempted he says. When Cressida asks him if he thinks she will succumb to temptation, he says No, but adds that they put too much faith in a potency, which then turns out to be changeable. When Cressida asks Troilus if hell be true he says, alas, it is my vice, my fault. He says that others get great reputations by their skill in deception, whereas he being true is free from all artifice and in being straightforward, is pure sincerity. Aeneas, Paris, Antenor, Deiphobus and Diomedes enter while Troilus is talking to Cressida. Troilus tells Diomedes that this is the lady for whom they are exchanging Antenor. He tells him that he will relinquish her into his hand at the door. He tells him to understand what she is: And by the way possess thee what she is. He tells him to treat her well and that if ever he finds himself standing at the mercy of his Troilus sword, he only had to name Cressida and he would be spared. Diomedes, as terse as ever and discourteously ignoring a polite request, tells Cressida that her looks ensure that she will be treated well. Troilus is irritated. He tells Diomedes that Cressida is much greater than his praise for her and that he is unworthy to be called her servant. He tells him to treat her well and threatens to cut his throat Though the great bulk Achilles be thy guard, if he did not. Diomedes reminds Troilus that since he is on a diplomatic errand, he is immune from assault. He then begins to exploit that privilege by saying that he will respond to Troilus threat on the battlefield exactly as he chooses and at his pleasure. Troilus tells Diomedes to come to the door and that he will often make him hide his head. He then tells Cressida to give him her hand and that they will indulge in their needful talk as they walk to the door. A trumpet is sounded as Troilus, Cressida and Diomedes exit. Pandarus exclaims that the trumpet is the signal for Hector to ride out into battle. Paris and Aeneas rush out to tend on Hectors heels./The glory of our Troy doth this day lie/On his fair worth and single chivalry.

