But if that's all you stand upon,
Here, strike me luck, it shall be done.[1]540
Quoth she, The matter's not so far gone
As you suppose, two words t' a bargain;
That may be done, and time enough,
When you have given downright proof:
And yet, 'tis no fantastic pique 545
I have to love, nor coy dislike;
'Tis no implicit, nice aversion[2]
T' your conversation, mien, or person:
But, a just fear, lest you should prove
False and perfidious in love;550
For if I thought you could be true,
I could love twice as much as you.
Quoth he. My faith, as adamantine
As chains of destiny, I'll maintain;
True as Apollo ever spoke, 555
Or oracle from heart of oak;[3]
And if you'll give my flame but vent,
Now in close hugger-mugger pent,
And shine upon me but benignly,
With that one, and that other pigsney,[4]560
The sun and day shall sooner part,
Than love, or you, shake off my heart:
The sun that shall no more dispense
His own, but your bright influence;
I'll carve your name on barks of trees,[5]565
With true love-knots, and flourishes;
- ↑ In ancient times, when butchers and country people made a bargain, one of the parties held out in his hand a piece of money, which the other struck, and the bargain was closed. Compare this "impolite way of counting" with the following expression;—
"Come, strike me luck with earnest, and draw the writings."
Beaumont and Fletcher.—Scornful Lady, Act ii. - ↑ Implicit signifies secret, not explicit; here was not a fanciful aversion which could not be explained. Nice means over-refined or squeamish.
- ↑ Jupiter's oracle near Dodona, in Epirus; Apollo's oracle was the celebrated one at Delphi.
- ↑ Pigsney is a term of endearment; used here, however, of the eyes alone. In Pembroke's Arcadia, Dametas says to his wife, "Miso, mine own pigsnie." Somner gives piga (Danish), "a little maid," as the etymology of this word; which is a purely burlesque expression.
- ↑ See Don Quixote, vol. i. ch. 4, and vol. iv. ch. 73; As you like it. Act 3.
