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Enter CORNWALL and EDMUND |
CORNWALL enters with EDMUND. |
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CORNWALL
I will have my revenge ere I depart his house. |
CORNWALL
I’ll get my revenge before I leave this house. |
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EDMUND
How, my lord, I may be censured, that nature thus gives way to loyalty, something fears me to think of. |
EDMUND
I’m afraid to think how I’ll be criticized for letting my natural affection for my father give way to my loyalty to you. |
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CORNWALL
I now perceive it was not altogether your brother’s evil disposition made him seek his death, but a provoking merit set awork by a reprovable badness in himself. |
CORNWALL
Now I realize your brother tried to kill your father not just because your brother is an evil man, but because your father deserved it by being wicked himself. |
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EDMUND
How malicious is my fortune, that I must repent to be just! (giving CORNWALL a letter) This is the letter which he spoke of, which approves him an intelligent party to the advantages of France. O heavens, that this treason were not, or not I the detector! |
EDMUND
How unlucky am I, having to apologize for doing the right thing! (giving CORNWALL a letter) This is the letter he was talking about, and it confirms he was a spy for France. Oh God, I wish he had never betrayed us, or that I hadn’t been the one to discover his treason. |
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CORNWALL
Go with me to the duchess. |
CORNWALL
Come with me to see the duchess. |
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EDMUND
If the matter of this paper be certain, you have mighty business in hand. |
EDMUND
If this letter’s right, you’ve got a lot to deal with. |
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CORNWALL
True or false, it hath made thee Earl of Gloucester. Seek out where thy father is, that he may be ready for our apprehension. |
CORNWALL
Right or not, it’s made you the Earl of Gloucester. Go find your father and let him know we’re going to arrest him. |
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EDMUND
(aside) If I find him comforting the king, it will stuff his suspicion more fully. (to CORNWALL) I will persevere in my course of loyalty, though the conflict be sore between that and my blood. |
EDMUND
(to himself) If I catch my father helping the king, he’ll seem even more guily. (to CORNWALL) I’ll do what I must loyally, even though it pains me to take action against my father. |
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CORNWALL
I will lay trust upon thee, and thou shalt find a dearer father in my love. |
CORNWALL
I put my trust in you. You’ll see that I’m a better father to you than Gloucester. |
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Exeunt |
They exit. |