Note to As You Like It, 2.7.70-71: "who cries out on pride, / That can therein tax any private party?"


Return
to
As You Like It,
Act 2, Scene 7, lines 70-71.
who cries out on pride, / That can therein tax any private party?: i.e., who criticizes the vice of pride that can therefore be accused of attacking any individual? —I don't think that Jaques answers the Duke's criticism of him. The Duke said that Jaques, in "chiding sin," only means to transfer the disgrace of sins he has committed to the world in general. To put it another way, the Duke accused Jaques of wanting to excuse his own sins by criticizing all those who might be considered worse sinners. Jaques answers that he only criticizes sins (such as pride) in general; he does not attack individuals. This is a traditional defense of satire, but it does not directly respond to what the Duke said.