Where Juliet lives; and every cat, and dog, Where Juliet lives;] From this and the foregoing speech of Romeo, Dryden has borrowed in his beautiful paraphrase of Chaucer's Palamon and Arcite: "Heaven is not, but where Emily abides, "And where she's absent, all is hell besides." STEEVENS. More honourable state, more COURTSHIP lives In carrion flies, than Romeo:] Validity seems here to mean worth or dignity: and courtship the state of a courtier permitted to approach the highest presence. JOHNSON. Validity is employed to signify worth or value, in the first scene of King Lear. STEEVENS. By courtship, the author seems rather to have meant, the state of a lover; that dalliance, in which he who courts or woos a lady is sometimes indulged. This appears clearly from the subsequent lines: "On the white wonder of dear Juliet's hand, "And steal immortal blessing from her lips ;- Who, even in pure and vestal modesty,] This and the next line are not in the first copy. 2 But Romeo may not; he is banished:] This line has been very aukwardly introduced in the modern as well as ancient copies, and might better be inserted after-their own kisses sin. STEEVENS. This line, in the original copy, immediately follows—“ And steal immortal blessing from her lips." The two lines, Who, even, &c. were added in the copy of 1599, and are merely parenthetical: the line, therefore, "But Romeo may not; &c." un Flies may do this, when I from this must fly; And say'st thou yet, that exile is not death? Hadst thou no poison mix'd, no sharp-ground knife, O friar, the damned use that word in hell; A sin-absolver, and my friend profess'd, To mangle me with that word-banishment? FRI. Thou fond mad man, hear me but speak a word 5. ROM. O, thou wilt speak again of banishment. FRI. I'll give thee armour to keep off that word; Adversity's sweet milk, philosophy, To comfort thee, though thou art banished ". doubtedly ought to follow those two lines. By mistake, in the copy of 1599, it was inserted lower down, after-is not death. MALONE. 3 They are free men, but I am banished. And say'st thou yet, that exile is not death?] These two lines are not in the original copy. MALONE. The first of these lines is neither in the first quarto, nor first folio; whatever is its merit belongs to the quarto 1599. BOSWELL. + To kill me; banished?] These lines are thus given in the quarto 1597: "O father! had'st thou no strong poison mix'd, "No sharp-ground knife, no present mean of death, "To torture me withall? ah! banished?" BOSWELL. S THOU fond mad man, HEAR ME BUT SPEAK A WORD.] So the quarto 1597. The quartos 1599 and 1609 read: "Then fond mad man, hear me a little speak." The folio: "Then fond mad man, hear me speak." MALONE. 6 Adversity's sweet milk, philosophy, To comfort thee, though thou art banished.] So, in Romeus and Juliet, the Friar says "Virtue is always thrall to troubles and annoy, "But wisdom in adversity finds cause of quiet joy." See also Lyly's Euphues, 1580: "Thou sayest banishment is ROM. Yet banished?-Hang up philosophy! FRI. O, then I see that madmen have no ears. ROM. How should they, when that wise men have no eyes? FRI. Let me dispute with thee of thy estate”. ROM. Thou canst not speak of what thou dost not feel: Wert thou as young as I, Juliet thy love, Then might'st thou speak, then might'st thou tear thy hair 9, And fall upon the ground, as I do now, better to the freeborne. There be many meates which are sowre in the mouth and sharp in the maw; but if thou mingle them with sweet sawces, they yeeld both a pleasant taste and wholesome nourishment. I speake this to this end; that though thy exile seeme grievous to thee, yet guiding thyselfe with the rules of philosophy, it shall be more tolerable." MALONE. 7 Let me DISPUTE with thee of thy estate.] The same phrase, and with the same meaning, occurs in The Winter's Tale : 66 can he speak? hear? "Know man from man? dispute his own estate?” i. e. is he able to talk over his own affairs, or the present state he is in? STEEVENS. 8 Wert thou as young as I, Juliet THY love,] Thus the original copy; for which in the folio we have my love." "Wert thou as young as Juliet I only mention this to show the very high value of the early quarto editions. MALONE. 9 then might'st thou tear thy hair,] So, in the poem : "These heavy tidings heard, his golden locks he tare, "And like a frantick man hath torn the garments that he ware. "He riseth oft, and strikes his head against the walls; "He falleth down again, and loud for hasty death he calls." MALONE. FRI. Arise; one knocks; good Romeo, hide thyself. [Knocking within. ROM. Not I; unless the breath of heart-sick groans, Mist-like, infold me from the search of eyes. [Knocking. FRI. Hark, how they knock!-Who's there ?— Romeo, arise; Thou wilt be taken :-Stay a while :-stand up; [Knocking. Run to my study :-By and by :-God's will 1 ! What wilfulness is this ?-I come, I come. 2 [Knocking. Who knocks so hard? whence come you? what's your will? NURSE. [Within.] Let me come in, and you shall know my errand; I come from lady Juliet. FRI. Welcome then. Enter Nurse. NURSE. O holy friar, O, tell me, holy friar, Where is my lady's lord, where's Romeo? FRI. There on the ground, with his own tears made drunk. God's will!] This speech, and the following, are thus given in quarto 1597: "Romeo, arise; stand up; thou wilt be taken; "I hear one knock !-arise, and get thee gone. "Nur. Here, Friar! "Friar. God's will! what wilfullness is this? 2 What WILFULNESS— -] Thus the quarto 1597. That of 1599, and the folio, have-What simpleness. MALOne. Then come near." BOSWELL, NURSE. O, he is even in my mistress' case, ing: Stand up, stand up; stand, an you be a man: ROM. Nurse! NURSE. Ah sir! ah sir!-Well, death's the end of all. ROM. Spak'st thou of Juliet? how is it with her? Doth she not think me an old murderer, Now I have stain'd the childhood of our * joy With blood remov'd but little from her own? Where is she? and how doth she? and what says My conceal'd lady to our cancell'd love * ? NURSE. O, she says nothing, sir, but weeps and weeps +; And now falls on her bed; and then starts up, * Quarto A, her. + Quarto A, pules. Quarto A, Now on the ground. 3 O woeful sympathy! Piteous predicament!] The old copies give these words to the Nurse. One may wonder the editors did not see that such language must necessarily belong to the Friar. FARMER. Dr. Farmer's emendation may justly claim that place in the text to which I have now advanced it. STEEVENS. 4 CANCELL'D love?] The folio reads-conceal'd love. The quarto, cancell'd love. STEevens. JOHNSON. The epithet concealed is to be understood, not of the person, but of the condition of the lady. So, that the sense is,―my lady, whose being so, together with our marriage which made her so, is concealed from the world. HEAth.. |