Rom. Bid a sick man in sadness make his will; 208
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 mark-man! And she's fair I love. 212
Ben. A right fair mark, fair coz, is soonest hit.
Rom. 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, 216
From love's weak childish bow she lives unharm'd.
She will not stay the siege of loving terms,
Nor bide the encounter of assailing eyes,
Nor ope her lap to saint-seducing gold: 220
O! she is rich in beauty; only poor
That, when she dies, with beauty dies her store.
Ben. Then she hath sworn that she will still live chaste?
Rom. She hath, and in that sparing makes huge waste; 224
For beauty, starv'd with her severity,
Cuts beauty off from all posterity.
She is too fair, too wise, wisely too fair,
To merit bliss by making me despair: 228
She hath forsworn to love, and in that vow
Do I live dead that live to tell it now.
Ben. Be rul'd by me; forget to think of her.
Rom. O! teach me how I should forget to think. 232
Ben. By giving liberty unto thine eyes:
Examine other beauties.
215 Dian's wit: the turn of mind of the chaste goddess Diana
216 proof: impenetrable armor
218 stay: remain to resist
222 store: riches; cf. n.
224 sparing: refraining from use
225 starv'd: allowed to die out
