William Shakespeare: Troilus and Cressida, Act II

Agamemnon, how if he had boils? full, all over, generally?

And those boils did run? say so: did not the general run then? were not that a botchy core?

Beating him

The plague of Greece upon thee, thou mongrel beef-witted lord!

Speak then, thou vinewedst leaven, speak: I will beat thee into handsomeness.

I shall sooner rail thee into wit and holiness: but, I think, thy horse will sooner con an oration than thou learn a prayer without book. Thou canst strike, canst thou? a red murrain o' thy jade's tricks!

I would thou didst itch from head to foot and I had the scratching of thee; I would make thee the loathsomest scab in Greece. When thou art forth in the incursions, thou strikest as slow as another.

Thou grumblest and railest every hour on Achilles, and thou art as full of envy at his greatness as Cerberus is at Proserpine's beauty, ay, that thou barkest at him.

He would pun thee into shivers with his fist, as a sailor breaks a biscuit.

Beating him

Ay, do, do; thou sodden-witted lord! thou hast no more brain than I have in mine elbows; an assinego may tutor thee: thou scurvy-valiant ass! thou art here but to thrash Trojans; and thou art bought and sold among those of any wit, like a barbarian slave. If thou use to beat me, I will begin at thy heel, and tell what thou art by inches, thou thing of no bowels, thou!

Beating him

But yet you look not well upon him; for whosoever you take him to be, he is Ajax.

Lo, lo, lo, lo, what modicums of wit he utters! his evasions have ears thus long. I have bobbed his brain more than he has beat my bones: I will buy nine sparrows for a penny, and his pia mater is not worth the nineth part of a sparrow. This lord, Achilles, Ajax, who wears his wit in his belly and his guts in his head, I'll tell you what I say of him.

As will stop the eye of Helen's needle, for whom he comes to fight.

I would have peace and quietness, but the fool will not: he there: that he: look you there.

I bade the vile owl go learn me the tenor of the proclamation, and he rails upon me.

Your last service was sufferance, 'twas not voluntary: no man is beaten voluntary: Ajax was here the voluntary, and you as under an impress.

E'en so; a great deal of your wit, too, lies in your sinews, or else there be liars. Hector have a great catch, if he knock out either of your brains: a' were as good crack a fusty nut with no kernel.

There's Ulysses and old Nestor, whose wit was mouldy ere your grandsires had nails on their toes, yoke you like draught-oxen and make you plough up the wars.

'Tis no matter! I shall speak as much as thou afterwards.

I will see you hanged, like clotpoles, ere I come any more to your tents: I will keep where there is wit stirring and leave the faction of fools.