150 LUCIUS, MARCUS, and the others descend. All. Lucius, all hail, Rome's gracious governor! Luc. Thanks, gentle Romans: may I govern so, To heal Rome's harms, and wipe away her woe! But, gentle people, give me aim awhile, For nature puts me to a heavy task: Stand all aloof: but, uncle, draw you near, To shed obsequious tears upon this trunk. O, take this warm kiss on thy pale cold lips, [Kissing Titus. These sorrowful drops upon thy blood-stain'd face, The last true duties of thy noble son! Marc. Tear for tear, and loving kiss for kiss, Thy brother Marcus tenders on thy lips: O, were the sum of these that I should pay Countless and infinite, yet would I pay them! Luc. Come hither, boy; come, come, and learn of us 160 To melt in showers: thy grandsire loved thee well: Many a time he danced thee on his knee, Sung thee asleep, his loving breast thy pillow; Many a matter hath he told to thee, Meet and agreeing with thine infancy; In that respect, then, like a loving child, Shed yet some small drops from thy tender spring, Because kind nature doth require it so: Friends should associate friends in grief and woe: Bid him farewell; commit him to the grave; 170 Do him that kindness, and take leave of him. Young Luc. O grandsire, grandsire ! even with all my heart Would I were dead, so you did live again! Re-enter Attendants with AARON. Em. You sad Andronici, have done with woes: Give sentence on this execrable wretch, That hath been breeder of these dire events. Luc. Set him breast-deep in earth, and famish him; 179 There let him stand, and rave, and cry for food: If any one relieves or pities him, For the offence he dies. This is our doom: Some stay to see him fasten'd in the earth. Aar. O, why should wrath be mute, and fury dumb? Luc. Some loving friends convey the emperor hence, And give him burial in his father's grave: 200 ROMEO AND ESCALUS, prince of Verona. DRAMATIS PERSONE. PARIS, a young nobleman, kinsman to the prince. MONTAGUE, heads of two houses at variance An old man, cousin to Capulet. MERCUTIO, kinsman to the prince, and friend to Romeo. BENVOLIO, nephew to Montague, and friend to Romeo. TYBALT, nephew to Lady Capulet. FRIAR LAURENCE, Franciscans. BALTHASAR, servant to Romeo. GREGORY, servants to Capulet. PROLOGUE. Two households, both alike in dignity, A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Do with their death bury their parents' strife. The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love, And the continuance of their parents' rage, 10 Which, but their children's end, nought could remove, Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage; The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend. ACT I. SCENE I. Verona. A public place. Enter SAMPSON and GREGORY, of the house of Capulet, armed with swords and bucklers. Sam. Gregory, o' my word, we'll not carry coals. Gre. No, for then we should be colliers. Sam. I strike quickly, being moved. moves me. ΙΟ Gre. To move is to stir; and to be valiant is to stand therefore, if thou art moved, thou runn'st away. Sam. A dog of that house shall move me to stand: I will take the wall of any man or maid of Montague's. PETER, servant to Juliet's nurse. ABRAHAM, servant to Montague. An Apothecary. Three Musicians. Page to Paris; another Page; an Officer. LADY MONTAGUE, wife to Montague LADY CAPULET, wife to Capulet. JULIET, daughter to Capulet. Nurse to Juliet. Citizens of Verona; several Men and Women, relations to both houses; Maskers, Guards, Watchmen, and Attendants. Chorus. SCENE: Verona: Mantua. Gre. That shows thee a weak slave; for the weakest goes to the wall. Sam. True; and therefore women, being the weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall: therefore I will push Montague's men from the wall, and thrust his maids to the wall. Gre. The quarrel is between our masters and us their men. Sam. 'Tis all one, I will show myself a tyrant: when I have fought with the men, I will be cruel with the maids, and cut off their heads. Gre. The heads of the maids? 29 Sam. Ay, the heads of the maids, or their maidenheads; take it in what sense thou wilt. Gre. They must take it in sense that feel it. Sam. Me they shall feel while I am able to stand: and 'tis known I am a pretty piece of flesh. Gre. 'Tis well thou art not fish; if thou hadst, thou hadst been poor John. Draw thy tool; here comes two of the house of the Montagues. Sam. My naked weapon is out: quarrel, I will back thee. Gre. How! turn thy back and run? Gre. No, marry; I fear thee! 40 Sam. Let us take the law of our sides; let them begin. Gre. I will frown as I pass by, and let them take it as they list. Sam. Nay, as they dare. I will bite my thumb at them; which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it. 50 Enter ABRAHAM and BALTHASAR. Abr. Do you bite your thumb at us, sir? Sam. I do bite my thumb, sir. Abr. Do you bite your thumb at us, sir? Sam. [Aside to Gre.] Is the law of our side, if I say ay? + Gre. No. And made Verona's ancient citizens Sam. No, sir, I do not bite my thumb at you, Cast by their grave beseeming ornaments, sir, but I bite my thumb, sir. Gre. Do you quarrel, sir? Abr. Quarrel, sir! no, sir. 60 Sam. If you do, sir, I am for you: I serve as good a man as you. Abr. No better. Sam. Well, sir. 100 To wield old partisans, in hands as old, Gre. Say 'better:' here comes one of my To know our further pleasure in this case, master's kinsmen. Sam. Yes, better, sir. Abr. You lie. Sam. Draw, if you be men. Gregory, remember thy swashing blow. [They fight. Enter BENVOLIO. 70 Ben. Part, fools! Tyb. What, art thou drawn among these Turn thee, Benvolio, look upon thy death. To old Free-town, our common judgement-place. Speak, nephew, were you by when it began? Ben. I do but keep the peace: put up thy Came more and more and fought on part and part, sword, Or manage it to part these men with me. Tyb. What, drawn, and talk of peace! I As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee: [They fight. Till the prince came, who parted either part. Right glad I am he was not at this fray. 130 Ben. Madam, an hour befor the worshipp❜d sun Mon. Many a morninghath he there been seen, 140 With tears augmenting theresh morning's dew, Ben. My noble uncle, o you know the cause? Could we but learn fom whence his sorrows We would as willingly give cure as know. 714 Enter ROMEO. Ben. See, where he comes: so please you, step aside; I'll know his grievance, or be much denied. 170 Rom. Not having that, which, having, makes Rom. Out of her favour, where I am in love. Ben. Alas, that love, so gentle in his view, Should be so trannous and rough in proof! Rom, Alas, that love, whose view is muffled still, Should, without eyes, see pathways to his will! Where shall we line? O me! What fray was here? Yet tell me not, for I have heard it all. 180 health! Still-waking sleep, dat is not what it is! This love feel I, the feel no love in this. Dost thou not laugh Ben. Ben. Be ruled by me, forget to think of her. Rom. O, teach me how I should forget to think. Ben. By giving liberty unto thine eyes; Examine other beauties. 'Tis the way Rom. To call hers exquisite, in question more: These happy masks that kiss fair ladies' brows Being black put us in mind they hide the fair; He that is strucken blind cannot forget The precious treasure of his eyesight lost: Show me a mistress that is passing fair, What doth her beauty serve, but as a note sick Where I may read who pass'd that passing fair? Farewell: thou canst not teach me to forget. Ben. I'll pay that doctrine, or else die in debt. [Exeunt. To, coz, I rather weep. 189 Rom. Good hear at what? Ben. Aty good heart's oppression. Rom. Why, such slove's transgression. Griefs of mine own li heavy in my breast, Which thou wilt prop this love that thou hast gate, to have it prest With more of thine ou shown SCENE II. A street. Enter CAPULET, Paris, and Servant. Cap. But Montague is bound as well as I, In penalty alike; and 'tis not hard, I think, For men so old as we to keep the peace. 240 Par. Of honourable reckoning are you both; And pity 'tis you lived at odds so long. But now, my lord, what say you to my suit? Cap. But saying o'er what I have said before: My child is yet a stranger in the world; She hath not seen the change of fourteen years; Let two more summers wither in their pride, 10 200 Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride. Doth add more grief too much of mine own. Ben. Soft I will go along; An if you leave me so, ou do me wrong. Rom. Tut, I have lo myself; I am not here; This is not Romeo, he's some other where. Ben. Tell me in sadness, who is that you love. Rom. What, shall I roan and tell thee? Groan! why, no; Ben. But sadly tell me who. Rom. Bid a sick man 1 sadness make his will: Ben. I aim'd so near 210 when I supposed you ark-man! And she's Par. Younger than she are happy mothers made. Cap. And too soon marr'd are those so early made. The earth hath swallow'd all my hopes but she, more. At my poor house look to behold this night 20 7 Earth-treading stars that make dark heaven light: Such comfort as do lusty young men feel 30 And like her most whose merit most shall be: †Which on more view, of many mine being one May stand in number, though in reckoning none. Come, go with me. [To Serv., giving a paper.] Go, sirrah, trudge about Through fair Verona; find those persons out Whose names are written there, and to them say, My house and welcome on their pleasure stay. [Exeunt Capulet and Paris. Serv. Find them out whose names are written here! It is written, that the shoemaker should meddle with his yard, and the tailor with his last, the fisher with his pencil, and the painter with his nets; but I am sent to find those persons whose names are here writ, and can never find what names the writing person hath here writ. I must to the learned. In good time. Enter BENVOLIO and ROMEO. Ben. Tut, man, one fire burns out another's burning, One pain is lessen'd by another's anguish; Turn giddy, and be holp by backward turning; One desperate grief cures with another's languish: Take thou some new infection to thy eye, 50 Shut up in prison, kept without my food, Whipp'd and tormented and-God-den, good fellow. Serv. God gi' god-den. I pray, sir, can you read? Rom. Ay, mine own fortune in my misery. 60 Serv. Perhaps you have learned it without book: but, I pray, can you read any thing you see? Rom. Ay, if I know the letters and the language. Serv. Ye say honestly: rest you merry! Rom. Stay, fellow; I can read. [Reads. 'Signior Martino and his wife and daughters; County Anselme and his beauteous sisters; the lady widow of Vitruvio; Signior Placentio and his lovely nieces: Mercutio and his brother Valentine; mine uncle Capulet, his wife, and daughters; my fair niece Rosaline; Livia; Signior Valentio and his cousin Tybalt; Lucio and the lively Helena.' A fair assembly: whither should they come? Rom. Whither? Serv. Now I'll tell you without asking: my master is the great rich Capulet; and if you be not of the house of Montagues, I pray, come and crush a cup of wine. Rest you merry! [Exit. Ben. At this same ancient feast of Capulet's Sups the fair Rosaline whom thou so lovest, With all the admired beauties of Verona: Go thither; and, with unattainted eye, Compare her face with some that I shall show, And I will make thee think thy swan a crow. Rom. When the devout religion of mine eye Maintains such falsehood, then turn tears to fires; 90 And these, who often drown'd could never die, 100 What is your will? Your mother. Madam, I am here. La. Cap. This is the matter:-Nurse, give leave awhile, We must talk in secret:-nurse, come back again; She is not fourteen. How long is it now 20 La. Cap. A fortnight and odd days. Nurse. Even or odd, of all days in the year, Come Lammas-eve at night shall she be fourteen. Susan and she-God rest all Christian souls!Were of an age: well, Susan is with God; She was too good for me: but, as I said, On Lammas-eve at night shall she be fourteen; That shall she, marry; I remember it well. 'Tis since the earthquake now eleven years; And she was wean'd,-I never shall forget it,Of all the days of the year, upon that day: For I had then laid wormwood to my dug, Sitting in the sun under the dove-house wall; My lord and you were then at Mantua : |