Hamlet
Act 3, Sc. 2, lines 47- 83: Hamlet says that since he was old enough to choose a friend, he has chosen Horatio. What quality does he admire in his friend?
Hamlet. What ho, Horatio!
[Enter Horatio]
Horatio. Here, sweet lord, at your service.
Hamlet. Horatio, thou art e'en as just a man
As e'er my conversation coped withal.
Horatio. O my dear lord!
Hamlet. Nay, do not think I flatter,
For what advancement may I hope from thee
That no revenue hast but thy good spirits
To feed and clothe thee? Why should the poor be flattered?
No, let the candied tongue lick absurd pomp,
And crook the pregnant hinges of the knee
Hath sealed thee for herself; for thou hast been
As one, in suff'ring all, that suffers nothing,
A man that fortune's buffets and rewards
Hast ta'en with equal thanks; and blest are those
Whose blood and judgment are so well co-mingled
That they are not a pipe for Fortune's finger
To sound what stop she please. Give me that man
That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him In my heart's core, ay, in my heart of hearts,
As I do thee. Something too much of this.
There is a play tonight before the King:
One scene of it comes near the circumstance
Which I have told thee of my father's death.
I prithee, when thou seest that act afoot,
Even with the very comment of thy soul
Observe my uncle. If his occulted guilt
Do not itself unkennel in one speech, It is a damned ghost we have seen,
And my imaginations are as foul
As Vulcan's stithy. Give him heedful note;
For I mine eyes will rivet to his face,
And after we will both our judgments join
In censure of his seeming.