Away to heaven, respective lenity 2,

And fire-ey'd fury be my conduct now!-
Now, Tybalt, take the villain back again,
That late thou gav'st me; for Mercutio's soul
Is but a little way above our heads *,

Staying for thine to keep him † company;
Either thou, or I, or both, must go with him.
(TYB. Thou, wretched boy, that didst consort
him here,

Shalt with him hence.

ROM.

This shall determine that. ()

[They fight; TYBALT falls.

BEN. Romeo, away, be gone!

The citizens are up, and Tybalt slain :—

Stand not amaz'd*:-the prince will doom thee

death,

If thou art taken :-hence !-be gone!-away!
ROM. O! I am fortune's fools!

* Quarto A,

above the clouds.

‡ Quarto A,

† Quarto A, bear him. Or thou, or I, or both, shall follow him.

"He gan in triumph."

This, in the subsequent ancient copies, was made-He gone, &c.

2

MALONE.

Re

RESPECTIVE lenity,] Cool, considerate gentleness. spect formerly signified consideration, prudential caution. So, in The Rape of Lucrece :

66

Respect and reason well beseem the sage." MALOne. 3 And fire-ey'd fury be my CONDUCT now!] Conduct for conductor. So, in a former scene of this play, quarto 1597:

"Which to the high-top gallant of my joy
"Must be my conduct in the secret night."

Thus the first quarto. In that of 1599, end being corruptly printed instead of ey'd, the editor of the folio, according to the usual process of corruption, exhibited the line thus:

"And fire and fury be my conduct now."

66

MALONE.

4 Stand not AMAZ'D:] i. e. confounded, in a state of confusion. So, in Cymbeline: I am amaz'd with matter." STEEVENS. 5 O! I am fortune's fool!] I am always running in the way of evil fortune, like the Fool in the play. Thou art death's fool, in Measure for Measure. See Dr. Warburton's note. JOHNSON. See Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Act III. Sc. II. STEEVENS.

BEN.

Why dost thou stay? [Exit ROMEO.

Enter Citizens, &c.

1 CIT. Which way ran he, that kill'd Mercutio ? Tybalt, that murderer, which way ran he?

BEN. There lies that Tybalt.

1 CIT.

Up, sir, go with me;

I charge thee in the prince's name, obey.

Enter Prince, attended; MONTague, Capulet, their Wives, and Others.

PRIN. Where are the vile beginners of this fray? BEN. O noble prince, I can discover all The unlucky manage of this fatal brawl: There lies the man, slain by young Romeo, That slew thy kinsman, brave Mercutio.

LA. CAP. Tybalt, my cousin!-O my brother's child!

Unhappy sight! ah me, the blood is spill'd"

In the first copy-O! I am fortune's slave. STEEVENS. 5 - Which way ran he?] Instead of these four speeches, it is thus in quarto 1597:

"Ben. Romeo, away! thou seest that Tybalt's slain. "The citizens approach; away! begone!

"Thou wilt be taken.

"Rom. Ah! I am fortune's slave.

"Enter Citizens.

"Watch. Where's he that slew Mercutio? Tybalt, that vil

lain?" Boswell.

"Unhappy sight! ah ME, the blood is spill'd-] The pronoun -me, has been inserted by the recommendation of the following note. STEEVENS.

The quarto 1597 reads:

"Unhappy sight! ah, the blood is spill'd-."

The quarto 1599, and the subsequent ancient copies, have: "O prince! O cousin! husband! O, the blood is spill'd," &c. The modern editors have followed neither copy-the word me

was probably inadvertently omitted in the first quarto.

66

Unhappy sight! ah me, the blood is spill'd," &c. MALONE.

Of my dear kinsman !-Prince, as thou art true', For blood of ours, shed blood of Montague.(I) O cousin, cousin! ()

PRIN. Benvolio*, who began this bloody fray? BEN. Tybalt, here slain, whom Romeo's hand did slay;

Romeo that spoke him fair, bade him bethink
How nice the quarrel was, and urg'd withal9
Your high displeasure:-All this-uttered

With gentle breath, calm look, knees humbly bow'd,

Could not take truce with the unruly spleen
Of Tybalt deaf to peace, but that he tilts

* Quarto A, Speake, Benvolio.

7 — as thou art TRUE,] As thou art just and upright.

So, in King Richard III.:

JOHNSON.

"And if King Edward be as true and just, -." STEEVENS. 8 How NICE the quarrel was-] How slight, how unimportant, how petty. So, in the last Act:

The letter was not nice, but full of charge,

"Of dear import." JOHNSON.

From these words, this speech thus proceeds in quarto 1597 : "But Tibalt still persisting in his wrong,

"The stout Mercutio drew to calm the storm;
"Which Romeo seeing, called, Stay, gentlemen!
"And on me cried, who drew to part their strife:
"And with his agile arm young Romeo,

"As fast as tongue cried peace, sought peace to make.
"While they were interchanging thrusts and blows,
"Under young Romeo's labouring arm to part,
"The furious Tibalt cast an envious thrust,

"That rid the life of stout Mercutio.
"With that he fled, but presently return'd,
"And with his rapier braved Romeo,
"That had but newly entertain'd revenge;
"And ere I could draw forth my rapier
"To part their fury, down did Tibalt fall,
"And this way Romeo fled." BOSWELL.

9 and urg'd withal ] The rest of this speech was new written by the poet, as well as a part of what follows in the same scene. STEEVENS.

With piercing steel at bold Mercutio's breast;
Who, all as hot, turns deadly point to point,
And, with a martial scorn, with one hand beats
Cold death aside, and with the other sends
It back to Tybalt, whose dexterity

Retorts it: Romeo he cries aloud,

Hold, friends! friends, part! and, swifter than his tongue,

His agile arm beats down their fatal points,
And 'twixt them rushes; underneath whose arm
An envious thrust from Tybalt hit the life
Of stout Mercutio, and then Tybalt fled:
But by and by comes back to Romeo,
Who had but newly entertain'd revenge,
And to't they go like lightning: for, ere I
Could draw to part them, was stout Tybalt slain ;
And, as he fell, did Romeo turn and fly:
This is the truth, or let Benvolio die.

LA. CAP. He is a kinsman to the Montague,
Affection makes him false', he speaks not true
Some twenty of them fought in this black strife,
And all those twenty could but kill one life:
I beg for justice, which thou, prince, must give;
Romeo slew Tybalt, Romeo must not live.

;

() PRIN. Romeo slew him, he slew Mercutio Who now the price of his dear blood doth owe? Moy. Not Romeo, prince, he was Mercutio's friend;

His fault concludes but, what the law should end, The life of Tybalt. ()

* Quarto A has but one line-He is a Montague, and speaks partiall.

Affection makes him FALSE,] The charge of falsehood on Benvolio, though produced at hazard, is very just. The author, who seems to intend the character of Benvolio as good, meant perhaps to show, how the best minds, in a state of faction and discord, are detorted to criminal partiality. JOHNSON.

PRIN.

And for that offence,

Immediately we do exíle him hence:

I have an interest in your hates' proceeding 2,
My blood for your rude brawls doth lie a bleeding;
But I'll amerce you with so strong a fine,
That you shall all repent the loss of mine:

I will be deaf to pleading and excuses;

Nor tears, nor prayers, shall purchase out abuses * 3, (I) Therefore use none: let Romeo hence in haste, Else, when he's found, that hour is his last. () Bear hence this body, and attend our will Mercy but murders, pardoning those that kill. [Exeunt.

* Quarto A, for abuses.

2- in your HATES' proceeding,] This, as Mr. Steevens has observed, is the reading of the original quarto 1597. From that copy, in almost every speech of this play, readings have been drawn by the modern editors, much preferable to those of the succeeding ancient copies. The quarto of 1599 reads-hearts proceeding; and the corruption was adopted in the folio.

MALONE.

3 Nor tears, nor prayers, shall PURCHASE OUT abuses,] This was probably designed as a covert stroke at the church of Rome, by which the different prices of murder, incest, and all other crimes, were minutely settled, and as shamelessly received. See Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy, edit. 1632, p. 701. STEEVENS.

4 Mercy but murders, pardoning those that kill.] So, in Hale's Memorials: "When I find myself swayed to mercy, let me remember likewise that there is a mercy due to the country.” So, in Stubbes's Anatomie of Abuses, 2d part: "And yet let the Prince be sure of this, to answere at the day of judgment before the tribunall seate of God for all the offences that the partie pardoned shall commit any time of his life after. For if the Prince had cutte him off when the lawe had passed on him, that evill had not been committed. To this purpose I remember I have heard a certeine pretie apothegue [apothegme] uttered by a jester to a king. The king had pardoned one of his subjectes that had committed murther, who, being pardoned, committed the like offence againe, and by meanes was pardoned the second time also, and yet filling up the measure of his iniquitie, killed the third, and being brought before the king, the king being very sorie, asked him why he had killed three men, to