The Complete Tragedies of William Shakespeare - All 12 Books in One Edition. William Shakespeare

And death, not Romeo, take my maidenhead!

       Nurse.

       Hie to your chamber. I’ll find Romeo

       To comfort you: I wot well where he is.

       Hark ye, your Romeo will be here at night:

       I’ll to him; he is hid at Lawrence’ cell.

       Juliet.

       O, find him! give this ring to my true knight,

       And bid him come to take his last farewell.

       [Exeunt.]

       SCENE III. Friar Lawrence’s cell.

       [Enter Friar Lawrence.]

       Friar.

       Romeo, come forth; come forth, thou fearful man.

       Affliction is enanmour’d of thy parts,

       And thou art wedded to calamity.

       [Enter Romeo.]

       Romeo.

       Father, what news? what is the prince’s doom

       What sorrow craves acquaintance at my hand,

       That I yet know not?

       Friar.

       Too familiar

       Is my dear son with such sour company:

       I bring thee tidings of the prince’s doom.

       Romeo.

       What less than doomsday is the prince’s doom?

       Friar.

       A gentler judgment vanish’d from his lips,—

       Not body’s death, but body’s banishment.

       Romeo.

       Ha, banishment? be merciful, say death;

       For exile hath more terror in his look,

       Much more than death; do not say banishment.

       Friar.

       Hence from Verona art thou banished:

       Be patient, for the world is broad and wide.

       Romeo.

       There is no world without Verona walls,

       But purgatory, torture, hell itself.

       Hence-banished is banish’d from the world,

       And world’s exile is death,—then banished

       Is death misterm’d: calling death banishment,

       Thou cutt’st my head off with a golden axe,

       And smil’st upon the stroke that murders me.

       Friar.

       O deadly sin! O rude unthankfulness!

       Thy fault our law calls death; but the kind prince,

       Taking thy part, hath brush’d aside the law,

       And turn’d that black word death to banishment:

       This is dear mercy, and thou see’st it not.

       Romeo.

       ‘Tis torture, and not mercy: heaven is here,

       Where Juliet lives; and every cat, and dog,

       And little mouse, every unworthy thing,

       Live here in heaven, and may look on her;

       But Romeo may not.—More validity,

       More honourable state, more courtship lives

       In carrion flies than Romeo: they may seize

       On the white wonder of dear Juliet’s hand,

       And steal immortal blessing from her lips;

       Who, even in pure and vestal modesty,

       Still blush, as thinking their own kisses sin;

       But Romeo may not; he is banished,—

       This may flies do, when I from this must fly.

       And sayest thou yet that exile is not death!

       Hadst thou no poison mix’d, no sharp-ground knife,

       No sudden mean of death, though ne’er so mean,

       But banished to kill me; banished?

       O friar, the damned use that word in hell;

       Howlings attend it: how hast thou the heart,

       Being a divine, a ghostly confessor,

       A sin-absolver, and my friend profess’d,

       To mangle me with that word banishment?

       Friar.

       Thou fond mad man, hear me speak a little,—

       Romeo.

       O, thou wilt speak again of banishment.

       Friar.

       I’ll give thee armour to keep off that word;

       Adversity’s sweet milk, philosophy,

       To comfort thee, though thou art banished.

       Romeo.

       Yet banished? Hang up philosophy!

       Unless philosophy can make a Juliet,

       Displant a town, reverse a prince’s doom,

       It helps not, it prevails not,—talk no more.

       Friar.

       O, then I see that madmen have no ears.

       Romeo.

       How should they, when that wise men have no eyes?

       Friar.

       Let me dispute with thee of thy estate.

       Romeo.

       Thou canst not speak of that thou dost not feel:

       Wert thou as young as I, Juliet thy love,

       An hour but married, Tybalt murdered,

       Doting like me, and like me banished,

       Then mightst thou speak, then mightst thou tear thy hair,

       And fall upon the ground, as I do now,

       Taking the measure of an unmade grave.

       [Knocking within.]

       Friar.

       Arise; one knocks. Good Romeo, hide thyself.

       Romeo.

       Not I; unless the breath of heartsick groans,

       Mist-like infold me from the search of eyes.

       [Knocking.]

       Friar.

       Hark, how they knock!—Who’s there?—Romeo, arise;

       Thou wilt be taken.—Stay awhile;—Stand up;

       [Knocking.]

       Run to my study.—By-and-by!—God’s will!

       What simpleness is this.—I come, I come!

       [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.

       Friar.

       Welcome then.

       [Enter Nurse.]

       Nurse.

       O holy friar, O, tell me, holy friar,

       Where is my lady’s lord, where’s Romeo?

       Friar.

       There on the ground, with his own tears made drunk.

       Nurse.

       O, he is even in my mistress’ case,—