like enough to consent. What would you say to me now, an I were your very
very Rosalind?
_Orlando._ I would kiss before I spoke.
_R._ Nay, you were better speak first; and when you were gravelled for
lack of matter, you might take occasion to kiss. Very good orators, when
they are out, they will spit; and for lovers, lacking (God warn us)
matter, the cleanliest shift is to kiss.
_O._ How if the kiss be denied?
_R._ Then she puts you to entreaty, and there begins new matter.
_As You Like It_, iv. 1.
* * * * *
_Clown._ He that comforts my wife is the nourisher of my flesh and blood;
he that cherishes my flesh and blood loves my flesh and blood; he that
loves my flesh and blood is my friend: _ergo_, he that kisses my wife is
my friend.
_All’s Well that Ends Well_, i. 3.
* * * * *
_Helena._ I would not tell you what I would. My lord—’faith, yes;—
Strangers and foes do sunder, and not kiss.
_All’s Well that Ends Well_, ii. 5.
* * * * *
I saw sweet beauty in her face,
Such as the daughter of Agenor had,
That made great Jove to humble him to her hand,
When with his knees he kissed the Cretan strand.
_Taming of the Shrew_, i. 1.
* * * * *
_Petruchio._ I tell you, ’tis incredible to believe
How much she loves me. Oh, the kindest Kate!—
She hung about my neck; and kiss on kiss
She vied so fast, protesting oath on oath,
That in a twink, she won me to her love.
_Taming of the Shrew_, ii. 1.
* * * * *
_Gremio._ This done, he took the bride about the neck,
And kissed her lips with such a clamorous smack,
That, at the parting, all the church did echo.
_Taming of the Shrew_, iii. 2.
* * * * *
_Petruchio._ First kiss me, Kate, and we will.
_Katharine._ What, in the midst of the street?
_P._ What, art thou ashamed of me?
_K._ No sir; God forbid:—but ashamed to kiss.
_P._ Why, then let’s home again. Come, sirrah, let’s away.
_K._ Nay, I will give thee a kiss: now pray thee, love, stay.
_Taming of the Shrew_, v. 1.
* * * * *
Never gazed the moon
Upon the water, as he’ll stand, and read,
As ’twere, my daughter’s eyes; and, to be plain,
I think there is not half a kiss to choose
Who loves another best.
_Winter’s Tale_, iv. 3.
* * * * *
Never saw I
Wretches so quake: they kneel, they kiss the earth.
_Winter’s Tale_, v. 1.
* * * * *
_Leontes._ You are married?
_Florizel._ We are not, sir, nor are we like to be;
The stars, I see, will kiss the valleys first.
_Winter’s Tale_, v. 1.
* * * * *
_Perdita._ Do not say ’tis superstition that
I kneel, and then implore her blessing. Lady,
Dear queen, that ended when I but began;
Give me that hand of yours to kiss.
_Paulina._ Oh, patience;
The statue is but newly fixed, the color’s
Not dry.[19]
...
_Leontes._ There is an air comes from her. What fine chisel
Could ever yet cut breath? Let no man mock me,
For I will kiss her.
_Paulina._ Good my lord, forbear:
The ruddiness upon her lip is wet;
You’ll mar it if you kiss it; stain your own
With oily painting.
_Winter’s Tale_, v. 3.
* * * * *
Is it night’s predominance, or the day’s shame,
That darkness does the face of earth entomb,
When living light should kiss it?
_Macbeth_, ii. 4.
* * * * *
_Macbeth._ I’ll not yield
To kiss the ground before young Malcolm’s feet,
And to be baited with the rabble’s curse.
_Macbeth_, v. 7.
* * * * *
Upon thy cheek lay I this zealous kiss,
As seal to this indenture of my love.
_King John_, ii. 1.
* * * * *
Fortune shall cull forth
Out of one side her happy minion;
To whom in favor she shall give the day,
And kiss him with a glorious victory.
_King John_, ii. 2.
* * * * *
Nor let my kingdom’s rivers take their course
Through my burned bosom; nor entreat the north
To make his bleak winds kiss my parchèd lips,
And comfort me with cold.
_King John_, v. 6.
* * * * *
(_Richard to Bolingbroke, kneeling._)
Fair cousin, you debase your princely knee,
To make the base earth proud with kissing it.
_Richard II._, iii. 3.
* * * * *
(_Richard to the Queen._)
Let me unkiss the oath ’twixt thee and me;
And yet not so, for with a kiss ’twas made.[20]
...
Come, come, in wooing sorrow let’s be brief,
Since, wedding it, there is such length in grief.
One kiss shall stop our mouths, and dumbly part:
Thus give I mine, and thus I take thy heart. [_They kiss._
_Queen._ Give me mine own again; ’twere no good part,
To take on me to keep, and kill thy heart. [_Kiss again._
So now I have mine own again, begone,
That I may strive to kill it with a groan.
_Richard II._, v. 1.
* * * * *
I understand thy kisses, and thou mine,
And that’s a feeling disputation.
_1 Henry IV._, ii. 2.
* * * * *
_Falstaff._ Thou dost give me flattering busses.
_Doll._ Nay, truly: I kiss thee with a most constant heart.
_2 Henry IV._, ii. 4.
* * * * *
_Pistol._ Touch her soft mouth, and march.
_Bardolph._ Farewell, hostess. [_Kissing her._
_Nym._ I cannot kiss, that is the humor of it; but adieu.
_Henry V._, ii. 4.
* * * * *
I kiss his dirty shoe, and from my heart-strings
I love the lovely bully.
_Henry V._, iv. 1.
* * * * *
_King Henry._ Katharine, break thy mind to me in broken English. Wilt
thou have me?
_Katharine._ Dat is, as it shall please de _roy mon pere_.
_Hen._ Nay, it will please him well, Kate; it shall please him, Kate.
_Kath._ Den it shall also content me.
_Hen._ Upon that I will kiss your hand, and I call you—my queen.
_Kath._ _Laissez, mon seigneur, laissez, laissez: ma foy, je ne veux
point que vous abaissez vostre grandeur en baisant la main d’un vostre
indigne serviteure; excusez moy, je vous supplie, mon tres puissant
seigneur._
_Hen._ Then I will kiss your lips, Kate.
_Kath._ _Les dames, et damoiselles, pour estre baisées devant leur
nopces, il n’est pas le coutume de France._
_Hen._ Madam my interpreter, what says she?
_Alice._ Dat it is not de fashion _pour les_ ladies of France,—I cannot
tell what is, _baiser_, _en_ English.
_Hen._ To kiss.
_Alice._ Your majesty _entendre_ bettre _que moy_.
_Hen._ It is not the fashion for the maids in France to kiss before they
are married, would she say?
_Alice._ _Ouy, vrayment._
_Hen._ O Kate, nice customs curtsey to great kings. Dear Kate, you and I
cannot be confined within the weak list of a country’s fashion; we are
the makers of manners, Kate; and the liberty that follows our places
stops the mouths of all find-faults, as I will do yours, for upholding
the nice fashion of your country, in denying me a kiss: therefore,
patiently, and yielding [_kissing her_]. You have witchcraft in your
lips, Kate; there is more eloquence in the sugar touch of them than in
the tongues of the French council, and they should sooner persuade Harry
of England than a general petition of monarchs.
_Henry V._, v. 2.
* * * * *
_Mortimer._ Direct mine arms, I may embrace his neck,
And in his bosom spend my latter gasp;
Oh, tell me, when my lips do touch his cheeks,
That I may kindly give one fainting kiss.
_1 Henry VI._, ii. 5.
* * * * *
(_Suffolk to Lady Margaret._)
Be what thou wilt, thou art my prisoner.
O fairest beauty, do not fear, nor fly;
For I will touch thee but with reverent hands,
And lay them gently on thy tender side.
I kiss these fingers [_kisses her hand_] for eternal peace.
_1 Henry VI._, v. 3.
* * * * *
_King Henry._ Welcome, Queen Margaret;
I can express no kinder sign of love,
Than this kind kiss.
_2 Henry VI._, i. 1.
* * * * *
(_Queen Margaret to Suffolk, kissing his hand._)
Oh, could this kiss be printed in thy hand,
That thou mightst think upon these by the seal,
Through whom a thousand sighs are breathed for thee![21]
...
Oh, go not yet! Even thus two friends condemned
Embrace, and kiss, and take ten thousand leaves.
_2 Henry VI._, iii. 2.
* * * * *
And that I love the tree from whence thou sprang’st,
Witness the loving kiss I give the fruit.
[_Aside._] To say the truth, so Judas kissed his master;
And cried, all hail! when as he meant all harm.
_3 Henry VI._, v. 7.
* * * * *
Teach not thy lip such scorn; for it was made
For kissing, lady, not for such contempt.
_Richard III._, i. 2.
* * * * *
Their lips were four red roses on a stalk,
Which, in their summer beauty, kissed each other.
_Richard III._, iv. 3.
* * * * *
(_Henry VIII. to Anne Bullen, after the dance._)
Sweetheart,
I were unmannerly, to take you out,
And not to kiss you.[22]
_Henry VIII._, i. 4.
* * * * *
The hearts of princes kiss obedience,
So much they love it.
_Henry VIII._, iii. 1.
* * * * *
_Cressida._ My lord, I do beseech you pardon me;
’Twas not my purpose, thus to beg a kiss:
I am ashamed,—Oh, heavens! what have I done?
_Troilus and Cressida_, iii. 2.
* * * * *
As many farewells as the stars in heaven,
With distinct breath and consigned kisses to them,
He fumbles up into a loose adieu;
And scants us with a single famished kiss,
Distasted with the salt of broken tears.
_Troilus and Cressida_, iv. 4.
* * * * *
(_Headquarters of the Grecian camp. Enter Diomed with Cressida._)
_Agamemnon._ Is this the lady Cressid?
_Diomed._ Even she.
_Agam._ Most dearly welcome to the Greeks, sweet lady.
_Nestor._ Our general doth salute you with a kiss.
_Ulysses._ Yet is the kindness but particular;
’Twere better she were kissed in general.
_Nest._ And very courtly counsel: I’ll begin.—
So much for Nestor.
_Achilles._ I’ll take that winter from your lips, fair lady:
Achilles bids you welcome.
_Menelaus._ I had good argument for kissing once.
_Patroclus._ But that’s no argument for kissing now.
...
The first was Menelaus’ kiss;—this, mine;
Patroclus kisses you.
_Men._ Oh, this is trim!
_Patr._ Paris and I kiss evermore for him.
_Men._ I’ll have my kiss, sir:—Lady, by your leave.
_Cressida._ In kissing, do you render or receive?[23]
_Patr._ Both take and give.
_Cres._ I’ll make my match to live.
The kiss you take is better than you give;
Therefore no kiss.
_Men._ I’ll give you boot, I’ll give you three for one.
_Cres._ You’re an odd man; give even or give none.
...
_Ulyss._ May I, sweet lady, beg a kiss of you?
_Cres._ You may.
_Ulyss._ I do desire it.
_Cres._ Why, beg, then.
_Ulyss._ Why, then, for Venus’ sake, give me a kiss
When Helen is a maid again and his.
_Cres._ I am your debtor, claim it when ’tis due.
_Ulyss._ Never’s my day, and then a kiss of you.
_Troilus and Cressida_, iv. 5.
* * * * *
(_Cressida to Diomed._)
Thy master now lies thinking in his bed
Of thee, and me; and sighs, and takes my glove,
And gives memorial dainty kisses to it,
As I kiss thee.
_Troilus and Cressida_, v. 2.
* * * * *
(_Timon, looking on the gold._)
Thou ever young, fresh, loved, and delicate wooer,
Whose blush doth thaw the consecrated snow
That lies on Dian’s lap! thou visible god,
That solder’st close impossibilities,
And mak’st them kiss!
_Timon of Athens_, iv. 3.
* * * * *
Oh, a kiss
Long as my exile, sweet as my revenge!
Now, by the jealous queen of heaven, that kiss
I carried from thee, dear; and my true lip
Hath virgined it e’er since.
_Coriolanus_, v. 3.
* * * * *
Go, go, good countrymen, and, for this fault,
Assemble all the poor men of your sort;
Draw them to Tiber banks, and weep your tears
Into the channel, till the lowest stream
Do kiss the most exalted shores of all.
_Julius Cæsar_, i. 1.
* * * * *
Let but the commons hear his testament,
And they would go and kiss dead Cæsar’s wounds,
And dip their napkins in his sacred blood.
_Julius Cæsar_, iii. 2.
* * * * *
Last thing he did, dear queen,
He kissed—the last of many doubled kisses—
This orient pearl.
_Antony and Cleopatra_, i. 5.
* * * * *
(_Cleopatra to Messenger._)
If thou so yield him, there is gold, and here
My bluest veins to kiss; a hand, that kings
Have lipped, and trembled kissing.
_Antony and Cleopatra_, ii. 5.
* * * * *
We have kissed away
Kingdoms and provinces.
_Antony and Cleopatra_, iii. 8.
* * * * *
_Antony._ Fare thee well, dame, whate’er becomes of me:
This is a soldier’s kiss; rebukable,
And worthy shameful check it were, to stand
On more mechanic compliment.
_Antony and Cleopatra_, iv. 4.
* * * * *
_Antony._ I am dying, Egypt, dying; only
I here importune death awhile, until
Of many thousand kisses the poor last
I lay upon thy lips.
...
_Cleopatra._ And welcome, welcome! die, where thou hast lived:
Quicken with kissing; had my lips that power,
Thus would I wear them out.
_Antony and Cleopatra_, iv. 13.
* * * * *
_Cleopatra._ Come, then, and take the last warmth of my lips.
...
If she first meet the curlèd Antony,
He’ll make demand of her; and spend that kiss,
Which is my heaven to have.
_Antony and Cleopatra_, v. 2.
* * * * *
_Imogene._ Then waved his handkerchief?
_Pisanio._ And kissed it, madam.
_Imogene._ Senseless linen! happier therein than I!
_Cymbeline_, i. 4.
* * * * *
Ere I could
Give him that parting kiss, which I had set
Betwixt two charming words, comes in my father,
And, like the tyrannous breathing of the north,
Shakes all our buds from growing.
_Cymbeline_, i. 4.
* * * * *
Cytherea,
How bravely thou becom’st thy bed! fresh lily!
And whiter than the sheets! That I might touch!
But kiss; one kiss! Rubies unparagoned,
How dearly they do’t!—’tis her breathing that
Perfumes the chamber thus.
_Cymbeline_, ii. 2.
* * * * *
_Imogene._ Last night ’twas on mine arm; I kissed it;
I hope it be not gone to tell my lord
That I kiss aught but he.
_Cymbeline_, ii. 3.
* * * * *
Oh, had the monster seen those lily hands
Tremble, like aspen leaves, upon a lute,
And make the silken strings delight to kiss them,
He would not then have touched them for his life.
_Titus Andronicus_, ii. 5.
* * * * *
Thou know’st this,
’Tis time to fear when tyrants seem to kiss.
_Pericles_, i. 2.
* * * * *
A city on whom plenty held full hand,
Whose towers bore heads so high, they kissed the clouds.
_Pericles_, i. 4.
* * * * *
_Gloster._ Oh, let me kiss that hand!
_Lear._ Let me wipe it first; it smells of mortality.
_King Lear_, iv. 6.
* * * * *
_Cordelia._ Oh, my dear father! Restoration, hang
Thy medicine on my lips; and let this kiss
Repair those violent harms, that my two sisters
Have in thy reverence made.
_King Lear_, iv. 7.
* * * * *
These happy masks that kiss fair ladies’ brows.
_Romeo and Juliet_, i. 1.
* * * * *
And in this state she[24] gallops night by night
...
O’er ladies’ lips, who straight on kisses dream;
Which oft the angry Mab with blisters plagues,
Because their breaths with sweetmeats tainted are.[25]
_Romeo and Juliet_, i. 4.
* * * * *
_Romeo._ If I profane with my unworthy hand
This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this,—
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.
_Juliet._ Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;
For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss.
_Romeo._ Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?
_Juliet._ Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.
_Romeo._ Oh, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do;
They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.
_Juliet._ Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake.
_Romeo._ Then move not, while my prayer’s effect I take.
Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged.
(_Kissing her._)[26]
_Juliet._ Then have my lips the sin that they have took.
_Romeo._ Sin from my lips? Oh, trespass sweetly urged!
Give me my sin again.
_Juliet._ You kiss by the book.
_Romeo and Juliet_, i. 5.
* * * * *
Oh that I were a glove upon that hand,
That I might touch that cheek!
_Romeo and Juliet_, ii. 2.
* * * * *
These violent delights have violent ends,
And in their triumph die! like fire and powder,
Which, as they kiss, consume.
_Romeo and Juliet_, ii. 6.
* * * * *
They may seize
On the white wonder of dear Juliet’s hand,
And steal immortal blessings from her lips;
Who, even in pure and vestal modesty,
Still blush as thinking their own kisses sin.
_Romeo and Juliet_, iii. 3.
* * * * *
_Romeo._ Eyes, look your last!
Arms, take your last embrace! and lips, O you
The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss,
A dateless bargain to engrossing death.
_Romeo and Juliet_, v. 3.
* * * * *
_Juliet._ Drink all, and leave no friendly drop,
To help me after?—I will kiss thy lips;
Haply, some poison yet doth hang on them,
To make me die with a restorative.
_Romeo and Juliet_, v. 3.
* * * * *
Alas, poor Yorick!... Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not
how oft.
_Hamlet_, v. 1.
* * * * *
_Iago._ Very good; well kissed! an excellent courtesy.
_Othello_, ii. 1.
* * * * *
_Emilia._ This was her first remembrance[27] from the Moor.
My wayward husband hath a hundred times
Wooed me to steal it; but she so loves the token,
That she reserves it evermore about her,
To kiss, and talk to.
_Othello_, iii. 3.
* * * * *
_Othello._ I found not Cassio’s kisses on her lips;
He that is robbed, not wanting what is stolen,
Let him not know it, and he’s not robbed at all.
_Othello_, iii. 3.
* * * * *
_Iago._ One of this kind is Cassio:
In sleep I heard him say, “Sweet Desdemona,
Let us be wary, let us hide our loves!”
And then, sir, would he gripe, and wring my hand,
Cry, “Oh, sweet creature!” and then kiss me hard,
As if he plucked up kisses by the roots,
That grew upon my lips.
_Othello_, iii. 3.
* * * * *
_Othello._ I kissed thee ere I killed thee,—no way but this,
Killing myself, to die upon a kiss.
_Othello_, v. 2.
BEN JONSON.
Their lips were sealed with kisses, and the voice,
Drowned in a flood of joy at their arrival,
Had lost her motion, state, and faculty.
_Every Man in his Humor_, iii. 3.
* * * * *
Oh, sweet Fastidious! Oh, fine courtier! How comely he bows him in his
courtesy! how full he hits a woman between the lips when he kisses!
_Every Man out of his Humor_, iv. 1.
* * * * *
_Hedon._ You know I call madam Philautia my Honor; and she calls me her
Ambition. Now, when I meet her in the presence anon, I will come to her,
and say, _Sweet Honor, I have hitherto contented my sense with the lilies
of your hand, but now I will taste the roses of your lip_; and, withal,
kiss her: to which she cannot but blushingly answer, _Nay, now you are
too ambitious_. And then do I reply: _I cannot be too Ambitious of Honor,
sweet lady_. Will’t not be good? ha? ha?
_Anaides._ Oh, assure your soul.
_Hedon._ By heaven, I think ’twill be excellent; and a very politic
achievement of a kiss.
_Cynthia’s Revels_, ii. 1.
* * * * *
He that had the grace to print a kiss on those lips should taste wine and
rose-leaves. Oh, she kisses as close as a cockle.
_Cynthia’s Revels_, v. 2.
* * * * *
Your city ladies, you shall have them sit in every shop, like the muses,
offering you the Castalian dews and the Thespian liquors to as many as
have but the sweet grace and audacity to—sip of their lips.
_Poetaster_, iii. 1.
* * * * *
A beauty ripe as harvest,
Whose skin is whiter than a swan all over,
Than silver, snow, or lilies! A soft lip,
Would tempt you to eternity of kissing.
_Fox_, i. 1.
* * * * *
Praise them, flatter them, you shall never want eloquence or trust: even
the chastest delight to feel themselves that way rubbed. With praises you
must mix kisses too; if they take them, they’ll take more,—though they
strive, they would be overcome.
_Silent Woman_, iv. 1.
* * * * *
_Face._ This is the noble knight,
I told your ladyship——
_Mammon._ Madam, with your pardon,
I kiss your vesture.
_Dol._ Sir, I were uncivil
If I would suffer that; my lip to you, sir.
_Alchemist_, iv. 1.
* * * * *
_Subtle._ I cry this lady mercy; she should first
Have been saluted. [_Kisses her._] I do call you lady,
Because you are to be one ere ’t be long,
My soft and buxom widow.
_Kastril._ Is she, i’ faith?
_Sub._ Yes, or my art is an egregious liar.
_Kas._ How know you?
_Sub._ By inspection on her forehead
And subtlety of her lip, which must be tasted
Often, to make a judgment.
_Alchemist_, iv. 1.
* * * * *
_Beaufort._ Then I have read somewhere that man and woman
Were, in the first creation, both one piece,
And, being cleft asunder, ever since
Love was an appetite to be rejoined,
As for example—[_Kisses Lætitia._
_New Inn_, iii. 2.
* * * * *
_Prudence._ The hour is come; your kiss.
_Lady F._ My servant’s song, first.
_Prudence._ I say the kiss, first; and I so enjoined it.
At your own peril, do, make the contempt.
_Lady F._ Well, sir, you must be paid, and legally.
[_Kisses Lovel._
_Prudence._ Nay, nothing, sir, beyond.
_Lovel._ One more—I except.
This was but half a kiss, and I would change it.
_Prudence._ The court’s dissolved, removed, and the play ended.
No sound or air of love more; I decree it.
_New Inn_, iv. 3.
* * * * *
_Marian._ You are a wanton.
_Robin Hood._ _One_, I do confess,
I _want_-ed till you came; but now I have you
I’ll grow to your embraces till two souls,
Distillèd into kisses through our lips,
Do make one spirit of love.
_Sad Shepherd_, i. 2.
* * * * *
She that will but now discover
Where the wingèd wag doth hover
Shall to-night receive a kiss,
How or where herself would wish;
But who brings him to his mother
Shall have that kiss and another.
_Hue and Cry after Cupid._
BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER.
Kiss you at first, my lord! ’tis no fair fashion;
Our lips are like rose-buds: blown with men’s breaths,
They lose both sap and savor.
_Mad Lover._
* * * * *
_Guiomar._ You sent this letter?
_Rutilio._ My boldness makes me blush now.
_Guiomar._ I’ll wipe off that;
And with this kiss I take you for my husband.
Your wooing’s done, sir; I believe you love me,
And that’s the wealth I look for now.
_Custom of the Country._
* * * * *
My charity shall go along with thee,
Though my embraces must be far from thee.
I should have killed thee, but this sweet repentance
Locks up my vengeance; for which thus I kiss thee,
The last kiss we must take! And would to Heaven
The holy priest that gave our hands together
Had given us equal virtues.
_Maid’s Tragedy._
* * * * *
_Duke._ Didst thou ne’er wish, Olympia,
It might be thus?
_Olympia._ A thousand times.
_Duke._ Here, take him!
Nay, do not blush; I do not jest; kiss sweetly.
Boy, you kiss faintly, boy. Heaven give ye comfort!
Teach him,—he’ll quickly learn. There’s two hearts eased now.
_Loyal Subject._
* * * * *
_Eros._ While you were honest
I loved you too.
_Septimius._ Honest? Come, pr’ythee kiss me.
_Eros._ I kiss no knaves, no murderers, no beasts,
No base betrayers of those men that fed ’em;
I hate their looks; and, though I may be wanton,
I scorn to nourish it with bloody purchase.
_False One._
* * * * *
_Cleopatra._ [_To Cæsar._] I stood slighted,
Forgotten and contemned; my soft embraces,
And those sweet kisses you called Elysium,
As letters writ in sand, no more remembered.
_False One._
* * * * *
_Sceva._ [_To Cæsar._] Whilst you are secure here,
And offer hecatombs of lazy kisses
To the lewd god of love and cowardice,
And most lasciviously die in delights,
You are begirt with the fierce Alexandrians.
_False One._
* * * * *
Come, friends, and kill me.
Cæsar, be kind, and send a thousand swords;
The more the greater is my fall. Why stay ye?
Come, and I’ll kiss your weapons.
_Valentinian._
* * * * *
Oh, my heart!
How have I longed to meet you, how to kiss
Those lily hands, how to receive the bliss
That charming tongue gives to the happy ear
Of him that drinks your language!
_Faithful Shepherdess._
* * * * *
I am not bashful, virgin; I can please
At first encounter, hug thee in mine arm,
And give thee many kisses, soft and warm
As those the sun prints on the smiling cheek
Of plums or mellow peaches.
_Faithful Shepherdess._
LILLY.
Cupid and my Campaspe played
At cards for kisses; Cupid paid:
He stakes his quiver, bow, and arrows,
His mother’s doves, and team of sparrows,—
Loses them too; then down he throws
The coral of his lip, the rose
Growing on’s cheek (but none knows how),
With these the crystal of his brow,
And then the dimple on his chin:
All these did my Campaspe win.
At last he set her both his eyes:
She won, and Cupid blind did rise.
O Love! has she done this to thee?
What shall, alas! become of me?
_Alexander and Campaspe._
MARLOWE.
Was this the face that launched a thousand ships,
And burnt the topmost towers of Ilium?
Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.
Her lips suck forth my soul: see, where it flies!
_Faustus._
MARSTON.
She comes like—oh, no simile
Is precious, choice, or elegant enough
To illustrate her descent; leap, heart, she comes,—
She comes! smile, heaven, and, softest southern wind,
Kiss her cheek gently with perfumèd breath.
She comes; creation’s purity, admired,
Adored, amazing rarity,—she comes!
...
Mount, blood, soul, to my lips, taste Hebe’s cup;
Stand firm on deck, when beauty’s close fight’s up.
_Antonio and Mellida._
* * * * *
If thou knew’st my happiness,
Thou wouldst even grate away thy soul to dust
In envy of my sweet beatitude:
I cannot sleep for kisses; I cannot rest
For ladies’ letters that importune me
With such unusèd vehemence of love,
Straight to solicit them, that—
_Antonio and Mellida._
MASSINGER.