Hippolita, I-woo'd thee with my fword, katerih
And won thy love, doing thee injuries; ma zinz na .nl
But I will wed thee in another key, so fum 15029 ad””
With pomp, with triumph, and with revelling. H

Enter Egeus, Hermia, Lyfander, and Demetrius. .
Ege. Happy be Thefeuss our renowned Duke word I
The. Thanks, good Egeus; what's the news with thee
Ege. Full of vexation, come I with complaint out al
Against my child, my daughter Hermia, do Isd
Stand forth, Demetrius. My noble Lord,
This man hath my confent to marry her, //
Stand forth, Lylander. And, my gracious Duke, P
This man hath witch'd the bofom of my child; 191. 107
Thou, thou, Lafander, thou haft giv'n her rhimes, a{
And interchang'd love tokens with my child to wond
Thou haft by moon-light at her window fung, Á
With feigning voice, verfes of feigning love so n.
And ftoll'n th' impreffion of her fantasy, od of
With bracelets of thy hair, rings, gawds, conceits,
Knacks, trifles, nofegays, fweet-meats; (meffengers.
Of strong prevailment in unharden'd youth) te
With cunning haft thou filch'd my daughter's heart,
T'urn'd her obedience, which is due to me,
To stubborn harfhnefs: And, my gracious Duke,
Be't fo, fhe will not here before your Grace
Confent to marry with Demetrius ;

I beg the ancient privilege of Athens,
As he is mine, I may difpofe of her:
Which fhall be either to this gentleman,
Or to her death, according to our law,
Immediately provided in that cafe.

The. What fay you, Hermia? be advis'd, fair maid.
To you your father fhould be as a God,

One, that compos'd your beauties; yea, and one,
To whom you are but as a form in wax

By him imprinted; and within his power
To leave the figure, or disfigure it :
Demetrius is a worthy gentleman.

Her. So is Lyfander.

The.

The. In himfelf he is;

But in this kind, wanting your father's voice;
The other must be held the worthier.

༣༩

Her. I would, my father look'd but with my eyes.
The. Rather your eyes must with his judgment look.
Her. I do intreat your Grace to pardon me:

I know not, by what pow'r I am made bold;
Nor how it may concern my modesty,

In fuch a prefence here, to plead my thoughts:
But, I beseech your Grace, that I may know
The worst, that may befal me in this case,
If I refufe to wed Demetrius.

The. Either to die the death, or to abjure
For ever the fociety of men.

Therefore, fair Hermia, queftion your defires;
Know of your youth, examine well your blood,
Whether, if you yield not to your father's choice,
You can endure the livery of a nun;

For aye to be in fhady cloifter mew'd,
To live a barren fifter all your life,

Chanting faint hymns to the cold, fruitlefs, moon?
Thrice bleffed they, that mafter fo their blood,
To undergo fuch maiden pilgrimage!
But earthlier happy is the rofe diftill'd,

Than that, which, withering on the virgin thorn,
Grows, lives, and dies, in fingle bleffednefs.

Her. So will I grow, fo live, fo die, my Lord,
Ere I will yield my virgin patent up

Unto his Lord fhip, to whofe unwish'd yoak

My foul confents not to give fov'reignty.

The. Take time to paufe; and by the next new moon,

(The fealing day betwixt my love and me,

For everlasting bond of fellowship)

Upon that day either prepare to die,
For difobedience to your father's will;
Or elfe to wed Demetrius, as he would;
Or on Diana's altar to proteft,

For aye, auiterity and fingle life.

Dem. Relent, fweet Hermia; and, Lysander, yield

Thy crazed title to my certain right.

E 5

Lyf.

Lyf. You have her father's love, Demetrius;
Let me have Hermia's; do you marry him,

Ege. Scornful Lyfander! true, he hath my love;
And what is mine, my love fhall render him.
And he is mine, and all my right of her
I do eftate unto Demetrius.

Lam, my Lord, as well deriv'd as he,
As well poffeft: my love is more than his;
My fortune's ev'ry way as fairly rank'd,
If not with vantage, as Demetrius:

1:

And, which is more than all these boasts can be,
I am belov'd of beauteous Hermia.

1

Why should not I then profecute my right?
Demetrius (I'll avouch it to his head)
Made love to Nedar's daughter, Helena;
And won her foul; and fhe, fweet Lady, doats,
Devoutly doats, doats in idolatry,

Upon this spotted and inconftant man.

The. I must confefs, that I have heard fo much,
And with Demetrius thought t'have spoke thereof;
But, being over-full of felf-affairs,

My mind did lose it. But, Demetrius, come;
And come, Egcus; you fhall go with me;
I have fome private schooling for you both.
For you, fair Hermia, look, you arm yourself
To fit your fancies to your father's will;
Or elfe the law of Athens yields you up
(Which by no means we may extenuate)
To death, or to a vow of fingle life.
Come, my Hippolita ; what cheer, my love?
Demetrius, and Egeus, go along;

I muft employ you in fome bufinefs
Againft our nuptials, and confer with you
Of fomething nearly that concerns yourfelves.
Ege. With duty and defire we follow you.
Manent Lyfander and Hermia.

[Exeunt.

Lyf. How now, my love? why is your cheek fo pale? How chance, the rofes there do fade fo faft?

Her. Belike, for want of rain; which I could well Beteem them from the tempeft of mine eyes.

Lyf.

Lyf. Hermia, for ought that ever I could read,
Could ever hear by tale or hiftory,

The courfe of true love never did run smooth;
But, either, it was different in blood-

Her. O cross!too high, to be enthrall'd to low! (1)
Lyf. Or elfe mifgraffed, in refpect of years
Her. O fpight! too old, to be engag'd to young!
Lyf. Or elfe it ftood upon the choice of friends.
Her. O hell! to chufe love by another's eye!
Lyf. Or if there were a fympathy in choice,
War, death, or ficknefs did lay fiege to it;
Making it momentary as a found,

Swift as a fhadow, fhort as any dream,
Brief as the lightning in the collied night,
That (in a spleen) unfolds both heav'n and earth;
And ere a man hath power to fay, Behold! H
The jaws of darkness do devour it up ;
So quick bright things come to confusion.

Her. If then true lovers have been ever croft,

(1) Too high, to be enthrall`d to love.] This reading poffeffes all the editions, but carries no juft meaning in it. Nor was Hermia difpleas'd at being in love; but regrets the inconveniences, that generally attend the paffion: Either, the parties are disproportion'd, in degree of blood and quality; or unequal, in respect of years; or brought together by the appointment of friends, and not by their own choice. Thefe are the complaints reprefented by Lyfander; and Hermia, to answer to the first, as he has done to the other two, muft neceffarily Lay;

O cross!too high, to be enthrall'd to low!

So the antithefis is kept up in the terms; and fo the is made to con dole the disproportion of blood and quality in lovers. And this is one of the curfes, that Venus, on feeing Adonis dead, prophefies fhall always attend love, in our Author's poem, call'd, VENUS and ADONIS. Stanz. 19o.

Since thou art dead, lo! here I prophely,

Sorrow on love hereafter fhall attend;
It fhall be waited on with jealoufy;
Find fweet beginning, but unfav'ry end:
Ne'er fettled equally, to high, or low;

That all love's pleafures fhall not match his woe.
And fo the young Prince complains, in the Winter's Tale :

You are married?

Leon.
Flo. We are not, Sir, nor are we like to be:
The ftars, I fee, will kifs the vallies firft:
The odds for high and low's alike.

It

It ftands as an edict in destiny :

Then, let us teach our trial patience: o
Because it is a cuftomary cross,

As due to love, as thoughts and dreams, and fighs,
Wishes and tears, poor fancy's followers!

Lyf. A good perfuafion; therefore hear me, Hermia. I have a widow-aunt, a dowager

Of great revenue, and fhe hath no child;

From Athens is her house remov'd feven leagues,
And the refpects me as her only fon.
There, gentle Hermia, may I marry thee;
And to that place the fharp Athenian law

Cannot purfue us.

If thou lov't me then,

Steal forth thy father's houfe to-morrow night;
And in the wood, a league without the town,
Where I did meet thee once with Helena
To do obfervance to the morn of May,
There will I ftay for thee.

Her. My good Lyfander,

I fwear to thee by Cupid's ftrongest bow,
By his best arrow with the golden head,
By the fimplicity of Venus' doves,

By that, which knitteth fouls, and profpers loves;
And by that fire which burn'd the Carthage Queen,
When the falfe Trojan under fail was feenroo
By all the vows that ever men have broke,
In number more than ever woman spoken do
In that fame place thou haft appointed me,
To-morrow truly will I meet with thee.

Ly. Keep promife, love. Look, here comes Helena.

Enter Helena.

Her. God fpeed, fair Helena! whither away? Hel. Call you me fair? that fair again unfay; Demetrius loves you, fair; O happy fair!

Your eyes are load-stars, and your tongue's fweet air
More tuneable than lark to fhepherd's ear,

When wheat is green, when haw-thorn buds appear.
Sickness is catching: oh, were favour fo!
Your words I'd catch, fair Hermia, ere I go;

.My