She will not stay the siege of loving terms,' That, when she dies, with beauty dies her store.' suspected to have lost it, or her beauty commended in the 67th year of her age, though she never possessed any when she was young. Her declaration that she would continue unmarried, increases the probability of the present supposition. STEEVENS. -in strong proof-] In chastity of proof, as we say in armour of proof. JOHNSON. She will not stay the siege of loving terms,] So, in our author's Venus and Adonis: 1 "Remove your siege from my unyielding heart; "To love's alarm it will not ope the gate." MALONE. with beauty dies her store.] Mr. Theobald reads, "With her dies beauty's store;" and is followed by the two succeeding editors. I have replaced the old reading, because I think it at least as plausible as the correction. She is rich, says he, in beauty, and only poor in being subject to the lot of humanity, that her store, or riches, can be destroyed by death, who shall, by the same blow, put an end to beauty. JOHNSON. Mr. Theobald's alteration may be countenanced by the following passage in Swetnam Arraign'd, a comedy, 1620; Nature now shall boast no more "Of the riches of her store; "All the stock of beauty dies." Again, in the 14th Sonnet of Shakspeare: "Thy end is truth's and beauty's doom and date." Again, in Massinger's Virgin-Martyr: with her dies "The abstract of all sweetness that's in woman." STEEVENS. Yet perhaps the present reading may be right, and Romeo means to say, in his quaint jargon, That she is poor, because she leaves no part of her store behind her, as with her all beauty will die. M. MASON. Words are sometimes shuffled out of their places at the press; but that they should be at once transposed and corrupted, is highly improbable. I have no doubt that the old copies are right. What is it else? a madness most discreet, BEN. Soft, I will go along; An if you leave me so, you do me wrong. [Going. ROM. Tut, I have lost myself; I am not here; This is not Romeo, he's some other where. BEN. Tell me in sadness," who she is you love. ROM. What, shall I groan, and tell thee? BEN. But sadly tell me, who. Groan? why, no; ROM. Bid a sick man in sadness make his will:Ah, word ill urg'd to one that is so ill!In sadness, cousin, I do love a woman. BEN. I aim'd so near, when I suppos'd you lov❜d. ROM. A right good marks-man! And she's fair I love. BEN. A right fair mark, fair coz, is soonest hit. Roм. Well, in that hit, you miss: she'll not be hit With Cupid's arrow, she hath Dian's wit; And, in strong proof of chastity well arm'd,s From love's weak childish bow she lives unharm'd. It does not seem necessary to suppose any line lost. In the former speech about love's contrarieties, there are several lines which have no other to rhyme with them; as also in the following, about Rosaline's chastity. STEEVENS. Tell me in sadness,] That is, tell me gravely, tell me in seriousness. JOHNSON. See Vol. VI. p. 35, n. 9. MALONE. And, in strong proof &c.] As this play was written in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, I cannot help regarding these speeches of Romeo as an oblique compliment to her majesty, who was not liable to be displeased at hearing her chastity praised after she was f She will not stay the siege of loving terms," That, when she dies, with beauty dies her store.' suspected to have lost it, or her beauty commended in the 67th year of her age, though she never possessed any when she was young. Her declaration that she would continue unmarried, increases the probability of the present supposition. STEEVENS. -in strong proof-] In chastity of proof, as we say in armour of proof. JOHNSON. She will not stay the siege of loving terms,] So, in our author's Venus and Adonis: 1 "Remove your siege from my unyielding heart; "To love's alarm it will not ope the gate." MALONE. ·with beauty dies her store.] Mr. Theobald reads, "With her dies beauty's store;" and is followed by the two succeeding editors. I have replaced the old reading, because I think it at least as plausible as the correction. She is rich, says he, in beauty, and only poor in being subject to the lot of humanity, that her store, or riches, can be destroyed by death, who shall, by the same blow, put an end to beauty. JOHNSON. Mr. Theobald's alteration may be countenanced by the following passage in Swetnam Arraign'd, a comedy, 1620: "Nature now shall boast no more "Of the riches of her store; Again, in the 14th Sonnet of Shakspeare: 66 Thy end is truth's and beauty's doom and date." Again, in Massinger's Virgin-Martyr: with her dies "The abstract of all sweetness that's in woman.” STEEVENS, Yet perhaps the present reading may be right, and Romeo means to say, in his quaint jargon, That she is poor, because she leaves no part of her store behind her, as with her all beauty will die. M. MASON. Words are sometimes shuffled out of their places at the press; but that they should be at once transposed and corrupted, is highly improbable. I have no doubt that the old copies are right. What is it else? a madness most discreet, BEN. Soft, I will go along; An if you leave me so, you do me wrong. [Going. ROM. Tut, I have lost myself; I am not here; This is not Romeo, he's some other where. BEN. Tell me in sadness," who she is you love. ROM. What, shall I groan, and tell thee? BEN. But sadly tell me, who. Groan? why, no; ROM. Bid a sick man in sadness make his will:Ah, word ill urg'd to one that is so ill!— In sadness, cousin, I do love a woman. BEN. I aim'd so near, when I suppos'd you lov'd. I love. BEN. A right fair mark, fair coz, is soonest hit. hit With Cupid's arrow, she hath Dian's wit; And, in strong proof of chastity well arm'd, It does not seem necessary to suppose any line lost. In the former speech about love's contrarieties, there are several lines which have no other to rhyme with them; as also in the following, about Rosaline's chastity. STEEVENS. Tell me in sadness,] That is, tell me gravely, tell me in seriousness. JOHNSON. See Vol. VI. p. 35, n. 9. MALONE. • And, in strong proof &c.] As this play was written in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, I cannot help regarding these speeches of Romeo as an oblique compliment to her majesty, who was not liable to be displeased at hearing her chastity praised after she was 1 She will not stay the siege of loving terms,' That, when she dies, with beauty dies her store.1 suspected to have lost it, or her beauty commended in the 67th year of her age, though she never possessed any when she was young. Her declaration that she would continue unmarried, increases the probability of the present supposition. STEEVENS. -in strong proof-] In chastity of proof, as we say in armour of proof. JOHNSON. She will not stay the siege of loving terms,] So, in our author's Venus and Adonis: 1 "Remove your siege from my unyielding heart; "To love's alarm it will not ope the gate." MALONE. with beauty dies her store.] Mr. Theobald reads, "With her dies beauty's store;" and is followed by the two succeeding editors. I have replaced the old reading, because I think it at least as plausible as the correction. She is rich, says he, in beauty, and only poor in being subject to the lot of humanity, that her store, or riches, can be destroyed by death, who shall, by the same blow, put an end to beauty. JOHNSON. Mr. Theobald's alteration may be countenanced by the following passage in Swetnam Arraign'd, a comedy, 1620: "Nature now shall boast no more "Of the riches of her store; Again, in the 14th Sonnet of Shakspeare: 66 Thy end is truth's and beauty's doom and date." Again, in Massinger's Virgin-Martyr: with her dies “The abstract of all sweetness that's in woman.” STEEVENS. Yet perhaps the present reading may be right, and Romeo means to say, in his quaint jargon, That she is poor, because she leaves no part of her store behind her, as with her all beauty will die. M. MASON. Words are sometimes shuffled out of their places at the press; but that they should be at once transposed and corrupted, is highly improbable. I have no doubt that the old copies are right. |