ACT I. SCENE I. A public Place. Enter SAMPSON and GREGORY, armed with Swords and Bucklers. Sam. GREGORY, o'my word, we'll not carry coals.1 Gre. No, for then we should be colliers. Sam. I mean, an we be in choler, we'll draw. Gre. Ay, while you live, draw your neck out o'the collar. Sam. I strike quickly, being mov❜d. Gre. But thou art not quickly mov'd to strike. Sam. A dog of the house of Montague moves me. Gre. To move is to stir, and to be valiant is to stand; therefore, if thou art mov'd, thou runn'st away. Sam. A dog of that house shall move me to stand. I will take the wall of any man or maid of Montague's. Gre. That shows thee a weak slave; for the weakest goes to the wall. Sam. True; and therefore women, being the weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall:- -there 1 To carry coals is to put up with insults. Anciently, in great families, the scullions, turnspits, and carriers of wood and coals were esteemed the very lowest of menials. Such attendants upon the royal household, in progresses, were called the black-guard; and hence the origin of that term. Thus in May Day, a Comedy. by Chapman, 1608: "You must swear by no man's beard but your own; for that may breed a quarrel: above all things, you must carry no coals." And in Ben Jonson's Every Man in his Humour "Here comes one that will carry coals; ergo will hold my dg." See King Henry V., Act iii. sc. 2, note 7. fore I will push Montague's men from the wall, and thrust his maids to the wall. Gre. The quarrel is between our masters, and us their men. Sam. 'Tis all one; I will show myself a tyrant: when I have fought with the men, I will be cruel with the maids; 2 I will cut off their heads. Gre. The heads of the maids? Sam. Ay, the heads of the maids, or their maid enheads; take it in what sense thou wilt. Gre. They must take it in sense, that feel it. Sam. Me they shall feel, while I am able to stand; and 'tis known I am a pretty piece of flesh. Gre. 'Tis well thou art not fish; if thou hadst, thou hadst been poor John.3 Draw thy tool; here comes two of the house of the Montagues.* Enter ABRAM and BalthaZAR. Sam. My naked weapon is out: quarrel, I will back thee. Gre. How! turn thy back, and run? Sam. Fear me not. Gre. No, marry: I fear thee! Sam. Let us take the law of our sides; let them begin. Gre. I will frown as I pass by, and let them take it as they list. Such is the reading of the undated quarto; all the other old copies have civil instead of cruel. 3 Poor John is hake, dried and salted. H. 4 It should be observed that the partisans of the Montague family wore a token in their hats in order to distinguish them from their enemies the Capulets. Hence throughout this play they are known at a distance. Gascoigne adverts to this in a Masque writ ten for Viscount Montacute, in 1575: "And for a further proofe, he shewed in hys hat Thys token, which the Montacutes did beare always, for that They covet to be knowne from Capels" Sam. Nay, as they dare. I will bite my thumb at them; which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it." Abr. Do you bite your thumb at us, sir? Abr. Do you bite your thumb at us, sir? Gre. No. Sam. No, sir, I do not bite my thumb at you, sir; but I bite my thumb, sir. Gre. Do you quarrel, sir? Abr. Quarrel, sir? no, sir. Sam. If you do, sir, I am for you: I serve as good a man as you. Abr. No better. Sam. Well, sir. Enter BENVOLIO, at a distance. Gre. Say, better: here comes one of my mas This was a common mode of insult, in order to begin a quarrel. Dekker, in his Dead Term, 1608, describing the various groups that daily frequented St. Paul's, says, "What swearing is there, what shouldering, what justling, what jeering, what byting of thumbs, to beget quarrels !" And Lodge, in his Wits Miserie 1596: "Behold, next I see Contempt marching forth, giving me the fico with his thumbe in his mouthe." The mode in which this contemptuous action was performed is thus described by Cotgrave: "Faire la nique: to mocke by nodding or lifting up of the chinne; or, more properly, to threaten or defie, by putting the thumbe nail into the mouth, and with a jerke (from the upper teeth) make it to knacke." Gregory is a servant of the Capulets: he must therefore mean Tybalt, who enters immediately after Benvolio. All the old copies except the undated quarto have washing Ben. Part, fools! put up your swords; you know not what you do. [Beats down their swords. Enter TYBALT. Tyb. What! art thou drawn among these heartless hinds? Turn thee, Benvolio; look upon thy death. Ben. I do but keep the peace: put up thy sword, it to part these men with me. Or manage Tyb. What! drawn, and talk of peace? I hate the word, As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee. Have at thee, coward. [They fight. Enter several Partisans of both Houses, who join the Fray; then enter Citizens, with Clubs. 8 1 Cit. Clubs, bills, and partizans! strike! beat them down! Down with the Capulets! down with the Montagues! instead of swashing. The latter is undoubtedly the right word. Ben Jonson, in his Staple of News, has the phrase swashing blow. Baret, in his Alvearie, 1580, says that "to swash is to make a noise with swords against targets." See As You Like It, Act i. sc. 3, note 8. H. 8 The old custom of crying out, Clubs, clubs! in case of any tumult occurring in the streets of London, has been made familiar to most readers by Scott in The Fortunes of Nigel. See As You Like It, Act v. sc. 2, note 3.- Bills and partizans were weapons used by watchmen and foresters. See As You Like It, Act i. sc. 2, note 5.- - This transferring of London customs to an Italian city is thus justified by Knight: "The use by Shakespeare of nome phrases, in the mouths of foreign characters, was a part of his art. It is the same thing as rendering Sancho's Spanish proverbs into the corresponding English proverbs, instead of literally translating them. The cry of clubs by the citizens of Verona expressed an idea of popular movement, which could not have been conveyed half so emphatically in a foreign phrase H. Enter CAPULET, in his Gown; and Lady CAPULET. Cap. What noise is this? Give me my long sword, ho!9 Lady C. A crutch, a crutch!- Why call you for a sword? Cap. My sword, I say! - Old Montague is come, And flourishes his blade in spite of me. Enter MONTAGUE and Lady MONTAGUE. Mon. Thou villain Capulet! me go. Hold me not; let Lady M. Thou shalt not stir one foot to seek a foe. Enter the Prince, with Attendants. Prin. Rebellious subjects, enemies to peace, Profaners of this neighbor-stained steel, Will they not hear!—what ho! you men, you beasts, That quench the fire of your pernicious rage 9 The long sword was used in active warfare; a lighter, shorter and less desperate weapon was worn for ornament. |