Act 3, Scene 4

Ephesus. A room in Cerimon's house.

[Enter Cerimon and Thaisa.]
Cerimon
1345 Madam, this letter, and some certain jewels,
1346 Lay with you in your coffer: which are now
1347 At your command. Know you the character?
Thaisa
1348 It is my lord's.
1349 That I was shipp'd at sea, I well remember,
1350 Even on my eaning time; but whether there
1351 Deliver'd, by the holy gods,
1352 I cannot rightly say. But since King Pericles,
1353 My wedded lord, I ne'er shall see again,
1354 A vestal livery will I take me to,
1355 And never more have joy.
Cerimon
1356 Madam, if this you purpose as ye speak,
1357 Diana's temple is not distant far,
1358 Where you may abide till your date expire.
1359 Moreover, if you please, a niece of mine
1360 Shall there attend you.
Thaisa
1361 My recompense is thanks, that's all;
1362 Yet my good will is great, though the gift small.
[Exeunt.]

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Notes

TLN 1347archaic vocab
“Know you the character?”
'Character' here means handwriting or a person's distinctive hand — not personality. Cerimon is asking Thaisa whether she recognizes the script on the letter as her husband's writing.
TLN 1350archaic vocab
“on my eaning time”
'Eaning time' means the time of giving birth. The verb 'to ean' (also 'yean') was used of animals giving birth, especially ewes lambing; applied to a woman it is archaic and slightly clinical, emphasizing the immediacy and vulnerability of Thaisa's labour during the storm.
TLN 1354classical allusion
“A vestal livery will I take me to”
A 'vestal livery' is the uniform and vow of a Vestal Virgin — the Roman priestesses sworn to chastity for thirty years in service of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. Thaisa is saying she will become a celibate religious, believing Pericles lost. The phrase links directly to Diana's temple in the next speech: Diana and Vesta share the domain of sacred chastity.
classical Diana, virgin goddess of the moon
TLN 1357classical allusion
“Diana's temple is not distant far, Where you may abide till your date expire”
Cerimon directs Thaisa to the temple of Diana at Ephesus — one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world — where she can live as a votaress until 'your date expire,' meaning until her natural lifespan ends. This is the crucial turn: Thaisa's entry into Diana's service sets up the climax of the play, when Pericles receives a vision from Diana directing him to her temple.
classical Diana, virgin goddess of the moon