Enter (8) CHORUS.

Now old Defire doth on his death-bed lie,
And young Affection gapes to be his heir;
That Fair, for which love groan'd fore, and would die,
With tender Juliet match'd, is now not fair.
Now Romeo is belov'd, and loves again,

Alike bewitched by the charm of looks:
But to his foe fuppos'd he must complain,

And the fteal love's fweet bait from fearful hooks. Being held a foe, he may not have accefs

To breathe fuch vows as lovers ufe to fwear; And the as much in love, her means much lefs, To meet her new-beloved any where:

But Paffion lends them power, Time means, to meet Temp'ring extremities with extreme fweet.

ACT II.

[Exit Chorus.

SCENE L

The STREET.

Enter Romeo alone.

ROMEO..

C

ANI forward when
go

Turn back, dull earth, and find thy center out.

Enter Benvolio, with Mercutio..

Ben. Romeo, my coufin Romeo.

Mer. He is wife,

And, on my life, hath ftol'n him home to bed.

[Exit

Ben. He ran this way, and leap'd this orchard-wall. Call, good Mercutio.

(8) CHORUS.] This chorus added fince the laft edition. PORE. Chorus. The ufe of this chorus is not easily difcovered, it conduces nothing to the progrefs of the play, but relates what is already known, or what the next feenes will fhew; and relates it without adding the improvement of any moral fentiment.

Mer.

Mer. Nay, I'll conjure too.

Why, Romeo! humours! madman paffion! lover!
Appear thou in the likeness of a Sigh,
Speak but one Rhyme, and I am fatisfied.
Cry but Ab me! couple but love and dove,
Speak to my gollip Venus one fair word,
One nick-name to her (9) pur-blind fon and heir:
(Young* Abraham Cupid, he that shot so true,
When King Cophetua lov'd the beggar-maid -):
He heareth not, he stirreth not, he moveth not,
The ape is dead, and I must conjure him.
I conjure thee by Rafaline's bright eyes,
By her high forehead, and her fcarlet lip,
By her fine foot, ftraight leg, and quivering thigh,
And the demefns that there adjacent lie,
That in thy likeness thou appear to us.

(و)

(Venus) purblind fon and beir,

Young Adam Cupid, be that fbet fp true

When King, Cophetua lov'd the beggar-maid.] As the commentators are agreed that Cupid is here called Adam, in allufion to the famous archer Adam Bell, the hero of many an ancient ballad: So I believe, I can refer you to the Ballad of King Copbetua, &c. In the firft of the 3 vols. 12mo. (Land. Edit.) p. 141. is an old fong of a king's falling in love with a beggar-maid, which I take to be the very ballad in queftion, altho' the name of the king is no longer found in it, which will be no objection, to any one who has compared old copies of ballads with thofe now extant. The third ftanza begins thus:

"The blinded boy that fhoots fo trim,

"Did to his clofet window fteal, "And drew a dart and fhot at him,

"And made him foon his power feel," &c.

I fhould rather read as in Shakespeare, The purblind boy.

If this is the fong alluded to by Shakespeare, these fhould feem to be the very lines he had in his eye; and therefore 1 fhould fuppofe the lines in Romeo and Juliet, &c. were originally,

Her purblind fon and heir,

"Young Adam Cupid, he that fhot fo trim, "When, &c.

This word trim, the first editors, confulting the general fenfe of the paffage, and not perceiving the allufion, would naturally alter to true: yet the former feems the more humourous expreffion, and on account of its quaintnefs, more likely to have been ufed by the droll Mercutio. Mr. PERGY. Young Abraham Cupid, be that foot fo true,] I rather think that Shakespeare wrote, "Young Adam Cupid." Alluding to the famous archer Adam Bell.

* Merc.

Dr. GRAY

B 5

Ben..

Ben. An' if he hear thee, thou wilt anger him.
Mer. This cannot anger him: 'twould anger him,
To raise a spirit in his miftrefs' circle,

Of fome ftrange nature, letting it there ftand
'Till fhe had laid it, and conjur'd it down;
That were fome spight. My invocation is
Honest and fair, and, in his miftrefs' name,
I conjure only but to raise up him.

Ben. Come, he hath hid himself among these trees, To be conforted with the hum'rous night.

Blind is his love, and beft befits the dark.

Mer. If love be blind, love cannot hit the mark.
Now will he fit under a medlar-tree,

And with his mistress were that kind of fruit,
Which maids call medlars, when they laugh alone.
Romeo, good-night; I'll to my truckle-bed,

This field-bed is too cold for me to fleep:

Come, fhall we go

?

Ben. Go, then, for 'tis in vain

To feek him here that means not to be found. [Exeunt.

SCENE II.

Changes to Capulet's Garden.

Enter Romeo.

(1) He jefts at fcars, that never felt a wound But, foft! what light thro' yonder window breaks ? It is the Eaft, and Juliet is the Sun!

[Juliet appears above, at a window.

Arife, fair Sun, and kill the envious moon,

Who is already fick and pale with grief,

That thou, her maid, art far more fair than fhe.

(2) Be not her maid, fince she is envious;

Her veftal livery is but fick and

green,

And none but fools do wear it; caft it off

(3) It is my Lady; O! it is my Love;

O that the knew the were!

She speaks, yet fhe fays nothing; what of that?
Her

eye difcourfes; I will anfwer it

I am too bold, 'tis not to me the fpeaks:

(1) He jefts at fears,] That is, Mercutio jests, whom he overheard. (2) Be not ber maid,] Be not a votary to the moon, to Diana. (3) It is my lady ;] This line and half I have replaced.

Two

Two of the faireft ftars of all the heav'n,
Having fome bufinefs, do entreat her eyes
To twinkle in their spheres 'till they return.
What if her eyes were there, they in her head?
The brightness of her cheek would fhame thofe stars,
As day-light doth a lamp; her eyes in heav'n
Would through the airy region stream so bright,
That birds would fing, and think it were not night:
See, how the leans her cheek upon her hand!
O that I were a glove upon that hand,
That I might touch that cheek!.
ful. Ah me!

Rom. She fpeaks.

(4) Oh, fpeak again, bright angel! for thou art
As glorious to this Sight, being o'er my head,
As is a winged messenger from heav'n,

Unto the white-upturned, wondring eyes.
Of mortals, that fall back to gaze on him ;
When he beftrides (5) the lazy-pacing clouds,
And fails upon the bofom of the air.

Jul. O Romeo, Romeo-wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father, and refufe thy name :

Or, if thou wilt not, be but fworn my love;

And I'll no longer be a Capulet.

Rom. Shall I hear more, or fhall- I speak at this?

Jul. Tis but thy name that is my enemy: (6) Thou art thyfelf, though not a Montague.

(4) O, fpeak again, bright Angel! for thou art

[Afide,

As glorious to this night,] Tho' all the printed copies concur in this reading, yet the latter part of the Simile feems to require, As glorious to this Sight

and therefore I have ventured to alter the text fo. THEOBALD. (5) -the lazy-pacing clouds,] Thus corrected from the first edition, in the other lazy-puffing.

POPE.

(6) Thou art thyfelf, though not a Montague,] . e. you would be just what you are, altho' you were not of the houfe of Mun

tague...

I think the true reading is,

Thou art thyself, then not a Montague.

WARBURTON

Thou art a being of peculiar excellence, and haft none of the malignity of the family, from which thou haft thy name,

Hanmer reads,

Thou're not thyself fo, though a Montague,

What's

What's Montague? it is not hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face-

nor any other part.
What's in a name? that which we call a rofe,
By any other name would fmell as sweet.
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes,
Without that title; Romeo, quit thy name;
And for thy name, which is no part of thee,
'Take all myself.

Rom. I take thee at thy word:

Call me but love, and I'll be new baptiz'd,
Henceforth I never will be Romeo.

Jul. What man art thou, that thus, befcreen'd in night,

So ftumbleft on my counsel ?

Rom. By a name

I know not how to tell thee who I am:
My name, dear Saint, is hateful to myself,
Because it is an enemy to thee.

Had I it written, I would tear the word.

Jul. My ears have yet not drunk a hundred words Of that tongue's uttering, yet I know the found. Art thou not Romeo, and a Montague ?

Rom. Neither, fair Saint, if either thee diflike.
Jul. How cam'ft thou hither, tell me, and where-
fore?

The orchard-walls are high, and hard to climb;
And the place death, confidering who thou art,

If

any of my kinfmen find thee here.

Rom. With love's light wings did I o'er-perch thefe walls,

For ftony limits cannot hold love out;

And what love can do, that dares love attempt:
Therefore thy kinfmen are no ftop to me.

Jul. If they do fee thee, they will murder thee.
Rom. Alack there lies more peril in thine eye,
Than twenty of their fwords; look thou but fweet,
And I am proof against their enmity.

ful. I would not for the world, they faw thee here. Rom. I have night's cloak to hide me from their eyes, And but thou love me, let them find me here;

My