POLONIUS See you now
Your bait of falsehood take this carp of truth,
And thus do we of wisdom and of reach,
With windlasses and with assays of bias,
By indirections find directions out:
So by my former lecture and advice
Shall you my son. You have me, have you not?
REYNALDO My lord, I have.
POLONIUS God buy ye, fare ye well.
REYNALDO Good my lord.
POLONIUS Observe his inclination in yourself.
REYNALDO I shall, my lord.
POLONIUS And let him ply his music.
REYNALDO Well, my lord.
POLONIUS Farewell. (Exit Reynaldo.) (2.1.59-71)
But it’s so cunning, so patient, so productive, says Polonius, see you now your bait of falsehood take this carp of truth. Just the odd little white lie, crumbs of exaggeration: they bear fruit abundantly. (I mix the metaphors deliberately; Polonius does.) And thus do we of wisdom and of reach, the clever, farsighted people, with windlasses and with assays of bias, little by little, reeling them in, obliquely and incrementally, by indirections find directions out. We find out what we need to know without ever asking for it outright; people condemn themselves out of their own mouths without even knowing what they’re doing. It’s a career politician speaking, and perhaps a lawyer too, or chief of police; and a machiavel. It computes, in a way, and makes sense; but, how in control is Polonius really? Has he spent his whole (apparently successful) career being like this? Or is it as mad, muddled, comical as it sounds?
Much depends on Reynaldo’s reaction. So by my former lecture and advice shall you my son: if you do exactly as I say, you’ll find out exactly what Laertes is up to. You have me, have you not? Got that? My lord, I have. God buy ye, fare ye well. Dismissed. Good my lord; a formal bow, he starts to leave. Polonius has a follow-up: observe his inclination in yourself; obviously, you need to see him yourself too, don’t just go on hearsay and gossip. Stating the obvious at the last, that Reynaldo should have taken for granted? Or is it absurd? I shall my lord; of course. And let him ply his music—this perhaps undermines the possibility that this is all a worked out scheme, make sure he’s doing his music practice. Well, my lord—an eyeroll at the sidekick, if there is one, as Reynaldo exits, perhaps at speed. Farewell.
Oh Polonius. Most of what he’s saying is to do with tradecraft, sending Reynaldo under official diplomatic cover to do some surveillance on the Danish expat community in Paris; it’s standard advice, some of it. And then it’s as if he remembers properly that this is his son he’s talking about: makes sure you see him for yourself! (I can’t!) Make sure he’s keeping up with his music! Polonius misses Laertes.