92
ROMEO AND JULIET
[ACT III.
| Ben. | We talk here in the public haunt of men: Either withdraw unto some private place, Or reason[E 1] coldly of your grievances,55 Or else depart;[E 2] here all eyes gaze on us. |
| Mer. | Men's eyes were made to look, and let them gaze; I will not budge for no man's pleasure, I. |
Enter Romeo.[C 1]
| Tyb. | Well, peace be with you, sir; here comes my man. |
| Mer. | But I'll be hang'd, sir, if he wear your livery:60 Marry, go before to field, he'll be your follower; Your worship in that sense may call him "man." |
| Tyb. | Romeo, the love[C 2][E 3] I bear thee can afford No better term than this, thou art a villain. |
| Rom. | Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee65 Doth much excuse[E 4] the appertaining rage To such a greeting: villain am I none;[C 3] Therefore farewell; I see thou know'st me not. |
| Tyb. | Boy, this shall not excuse the injuries That thou hast done me; therefore turn and draw. |
| Rom. | I do protest I never injured[C 4] thee,70 But love[C 5] thee better than thou canst devise, |
- ↑ 55. Or reason] Capell, followed by several editors, reads And reason; but the peace-loving and cool Benvolio proposes three courses of action. Shakespeare uses reason both for debate and speak.
- ↑ 56. depart] may mean part, separate, as in 3 Henry VI. II. vi. 43, and in the Nut-Brown Maid: "we departe not so sone."
- ↑ 63. love] Several editors prefer the unironical hate of Q 1, and it is true that Tybalt is not given to irony.
- ↑ 66. excuse] Perhaps, accept an excuse from, and remit or dispense with the rage I feel, as appertaining to such a greeting. Perhaps, however, the rage is Tybalt's which Romeo's love excuses. Collier (MS.) has exceed.
