Macduff
Was it so late, friend, ere you went to bed,
That you do lie so late?
Porter
Faith, sir, we were carousing till the second cock;
and drink, sir, is a great provoker of three things.
Macduff
What three things does drink especially pro-
voke?
Porter
Marry, sir, nose-painting, sleep, and urine.
Lechery, sir, it provokes and unprovokes: it provokes
the desire, but it takes away the performance. There-
fore much drink may be said to be an equivocator
with lechery: it makes him, and it mars him; it sets him
on, and it takes him off; it persuades him and dis-
heartens him; makes him stand to and not stand to; in
conclusion, equivocates him in a sleep, and giving him
the lie, leaves him.