Enter LEONATO, Governor of Messina; HERO, his daughter; and BEATRICE his niece, with a MESSENGER
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Governor LEONATO of Messina, his daughter HERO, his niece BEATRICE, and a MESSENGER enter.
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LEONATO I learn in this letter that Don Pedro of Aragon comes this night to Messina.
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LEONATO [Holding a letter] This letter says that Don Pedro of Aragon is coming to Messina tonight.
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MESSENGER He is very near by this. He was not three leagues off when I left him.
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MESSENGER He must be very close by now. He was less than nine miles away when I left him.
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LEONATO How many gentlemen have you lost in this action?
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LEONATO How many men did you lose in this battle?
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MESSENGER But few of any sort, and none of name.
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MESSENGER Not many, and no one with any notable rank or reputation.
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LEONATO A victory is twice itself when the achiever brings homefull numbers. I find here that Don Pedro hath bestowed much honor on a young Florentine called Claudio.
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LEONATO A victory is twice as great when the victor comes home without losing any soldiers. This letter also says that Don Pedro has given great honors to a young man from Florence named Claudio.
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MESSENGER Much deserved on his part, and equally remembered by Don Pedro. He hath borne himself beyond the promise of his age, doing in the figure of a lamb the feats of alion. He hath indeed better bettered expectation than you must expect of me to tell you how.
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MESSENGER The honors are well-deserved, and Don Pedro has bestowed them fairly. Claudio has achieved things that no one would expect from such a young man. He has the look of a lamb, but he fights like a lion. Indeed, he's surpassed all expectations by so much that you can't expect me to describe him properly.
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LEONATO He hath an uncle here in Messina will be very much glad of it.
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LEONATO He has an uncle here in Messina who will be very glad to hear about this.
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MESSENGER I have already delivered him letters, and there appears much joy in him—even so much that joy could not show itself modest enough without a badge of bitterness.
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MESSENGER I've already delivered letters to him, and he seemed overjoyed. Indeed, he got so emotional that he couldn't restrain his tears.
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LEONATO Did he break out into tears?
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LEONATO Did he really start crying?
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MESSENGER In great measure.
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MESSENGER Yes, heavily.
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