«Литература поцелуя»

Told by millions o’er again,

Countless as the drops that glide

In the ocean’s billowy tide,

Countless as yon orbs of light

Spangled o’er the vault of light,

I’ll with ceaseless love bestow

On those cheeks of crimson glow,

On those lips so gently swelling,

On those eyes such fond tales telling.

But when circled in thy arms,

As I’m panting o’er thy charms,

O’er thy cheeks of rosy bloom,

O’er thy lips that breathe perfume,

O’er thine eyes so sweetly bright,

Shedding soft expressive light,—

Then, nor cheeks of rosy bloom,

Nor thy lips that breathe perfume,

Nor thine eyes’ expressive light,

Bless thy lover’s envious sight;

Nor that soothing smile, which cheers

All his tender hopes and fears:

For, as radiant Phœbus streams

O’er the globe with placid beams,

Whirling through the ethereal way

The fiery-axled car of day,

And from the tempestuous sky

While the rapid coursers fly,

All the stormy clouds are driven

Which deformed the face of heaven

So thy golden smile, my fair,

Chases every amorous care;

Dries the torrents of mine eyes;

Calms my fond, tumultuous sighs.

Oh! how emulous the strife

’Twixt my lips and eyes, sweet life!

Of thy charms are these possest,

Those are envious till they’re blest:

Think not, then, that in my love

I’ll be rivalled e’en by Jove,

When such jealous conflicts rise

’Twixt my very lips and eyes.

ПОЦЕЛУЙ VIII.

Ah! what ungoverned rage, declare,

Neæra, too capricious fair,

What unrevenged, unguarded wrong,

Could urge thee thus to wound my tongue?

Perhaps you deem the afflictive pains

Too trifling, which my heart sustains,

Nor think enough my bosom smarts

With all the sure, destructive darts

Incessant sped from every charm,

That thus your wanton teeth must harm,

Must harm that little tuneful thing,

Which wont so oft thy praise to sing,

What time the morn has streaked the skies,

Or evening’s faded radiance dies,

Through painful days consuming slow,

Through lingering nights of amorous woe.

This tongue, thou know’st, has oft extolled

Thy hair in shining ringlets rolled;

Thine eyes with tender passion bright;

Thy swelling breast of purest white;

Thy taper neck of polished grace;

And all the beauties of thy face;

Beyond the lucid orbs above,

Beyond the starry throne of Jove;

Extolled them in such lofty lays

That gods with envy heard the praise.

Oft has it called thee every name

Which boundless rapture taught to frame;

My life! my joy! my soul’s desire!

All that my wish could e’er require!

My pretty Venus! and my love!

My gentle turtle! and my dove!

Till Cypria’s self with envy heard

Each partial, each endearing word.

Say, beauteous tyrant! dost delight

To wound this tongue in wanton spite?

Because, alas! too well aware

That every wrong it yet could bear

Ne’er urged it once in angry strain

Of thy unkindness to complain;

But, suffering patient all its harms,

Still would it sing thy matchless charms,

Sing the soft lustre of thine eye,

Sing thy sweet lips of rosy dye,

Nay, still those guilty teeth ’twould sing,

Whence all its cruel mischiefs spring:

E’en now it lisps in faltering lays,

While yet it bleeds, Neæra’s praise:

Thus, beauteous tyrant! you control,

Thus sway my fond, enamored soul!

ПОЦЕЛУЙ IX.

Cease thy sweet, thy balmy kisses;

Cease thy many-wreathèd smiles;

Cease thy melting, murmuring blisses;

Cease thy fond, bewitching wiles:

On my bosom soft reclined,

Cease to pour thy tender joys;

Pleasure’s limits are confined,

Pleasure oft repeated cloys.

Sparingly your bounty use;

When I ask for kisses nine,

Seven at least you must refuse,

And let only two be mine;

Yet let these be neither long,

Nor delicious sweets respire,

But like those which virgins young

Artless give their aged sire:

Such as, with a sister’s love,

Beauteous Dian may bestow

On the radiant son of Jove,

Phœbus of the silver bow.

Tripping light with wanton grace,

Now my lips disordered fly,

And in some retired place

Hide thee from my searching eye.

Each recess I’ll traverse o’er

Where I think thou liest concealed;

Every covert I’ll explore,

Till my wanton’s all revealed:

Then, in sportive, amorous play,

Victor-like I’ll seize my love;

Seize thee as the bird of prey

Pounces on a trembling dove.

Captive then, and sore dismayed,

How you’ll fondle, how you’ll plead,

Vainly offering, silly maid,

Seven sweet kisses to be freed!

Not so fast, fair runaway!

Kisses seven times seven be mine!

Chained within these arms you stay

Till I touch the balmy fine.

Paying then the forfeit due,

By your much-loved beauties swear,

Faults like these you’ll still pursue,

Faults which kisses can repair.

ПОЦЕЛУЙ X.

In various kisses various charms I find,

For changeful fancy loves each changeful kind:

Whene’er with mine thy humid lips unite,

Then humid kisses with their sweets delight;

From ardent lips so ardent kisses please,

For glowing transports often spring from these.

What joy! to kiss those eyes that wanton rove,

Then catch the glances of returning love;

Or clinging to the cheek of crimson glow,

The bosom, shoulder, or the neck of snow;

What pleasure! tender passion to assuage,

And see the traces of our amorous rage

On the soft neck or blooming cheek exprest,

On the white shoulder, or still whiter breast!

’Twixt yielding lips, in every thrilling kiss,

To dart the trembling tongue,—what matchless bliss!

Inhaling sweet each other’s mingling breath,

While Love lies gasping in the arms of Death!

While soul with soul in ecstasy unites,

Entranced, impassioned, with the fond delights

From thee received, or given to thee, my love!

Alike to me those kisses grateful prove;

The kiss that’s rapid, or prolonged with art,

The fierce, the gentle, equal joys impart:

But mark! be all my kisses, beauteous maid,

With different kisses from thy lips repaid;

Then varying rapture shall from either flow,

As varying kisses either shall bestow:

And let the first who with an unchanged kiss

Shall cease to thus diversify the bliss,

Observe, with looks in meek submission dressed,

That law by which this forfeiture’s expressed:

“As many kisses as each lover gave,

As each might in return again receive,

So many kisses from the vanquished side

The victor claims, so many ways applied.”

ПОЦЕЛУЙ XI.

Some think my kisses too luxurious told,

Kisses, they say, not known to sires of old:

But, while entranced on thy soft neck I lie,

And o’er thy lips in tender transport die,

Shall I then ask, dear life, perplexed in vain,

Why rigid cynics censure thus my strain?

Ah, no! thy blandishments so rapturous prove

That every ravished sense is lost in love:

Blest with those blandishments, divine I seem,

And all Elysium paints the blissful dream.

Neæra heard,—then, smiling, instant threw

Around my neck her arm of fairest hue,

And kissed me fonder, more voluptuous far,

Than Beauty’s queen e’er kissed the god of War:

“What (cries the nymph)! and shall my amorous bard

Pedantic wisdom’s stern decree regard?

Thy cause must be at my tribunal tried:

None but Neæra can the point decide.”

ПОЦЕЛУЙ XII.

Modest matrons, maidens, say,

Why thus turn your looks away?

Frolic feats of lawless love,

Of the lustful powers above,

Forms obscene that shock the sight,

In my verse I ne’er recite,—

Verse where naught indecent reigns;

Guiltless are my tender strains,

Such as pedagogues austere

Might with strict decorum hear,

Might, with no licentious speech,

To their youth reproachless teach.

I, chaste votary of the Nine,

Kisses sing of chaste design.

Maids and matrons yet, with rage,

Frown upon my blameless page,—

Frown, because some wanton word

Here and there by chance occurred,

Or the cheated fancy caught

Some obscure though harmless thought.

Hence, ye prudish matrons! hence,

Squeamish maids devoid of sense!

And shall these in virtue dare

With my virtuous maid compare,—

She who in the bard will prize

What she’ll in his lays despise?

Wantonness with love agrees,

But reserve in verse must please.

ПОЦЕЛУЙ XIII.

With amorous strife exanimate I lay;

Around your neck my languid arm I threw;

My trembling heart had just forgot to play,

Its vital spirit from my bosom flew;—

The Stygian lake, the dreary realms below,

To which the sun a cheering beam denies,

Old Charon’s boat, slow-wandering to and fro,

Promiscuous passed before my swimming eyes,—

When you, Neæra! with your humid breath

O’er my parched lips the deep-fetched kiss bestowed

Sudden my fleeting soul returned from death,

And freightless hence the infernal pilot rowed.

Yet soft,—for, oh, my erring senses stray;—

Not quite unfreighted to the Stygian shore

Old Charon steered his lurid bark away:

My plaintive shade he to the Manes bore.

Then, since my soul can here no more remain,

A part of thine, sweet life, that loss supplies!

But what this feeble fabric must sustain,

If of thy soul that part its aid denies!

And much I fear; for, struggling to be free,

Oft from its new abode it fain would roam;

Oft seeks, impatient to return to thee,

Some secret pass to gain its native home.

Unless thy fostering breath retards its flight,

It now prepares to quit this falling frame:

Haste, then; to mine thy clinging lips unite,

And let one spirit feed each vital flame,

Till, after frequent ecstasies of bliss,

Mutual, unsating to the impassioned heart,

From bodies thus conjoined, in one long kiss,

That single life which nourished both shall part.

ПОЦЕЛУЙ XIV.

Those tempting lips of scarlet glow

Why pout with fond, bewitching art?

For to those lips, Neæra, know,

My lips shall not one kiss impart.

Perhaps you’d have me greatly prize,

Hard-hearted fair, your precious kiss;

But learn, proud mortal, I despise

Such cold, such unimpassioned bliss.

Think’st thou I calmly feel the flame

That all my rending bosom fires,

And patient bear, through all my frame,

The pangs of unallayed desires?

Ah, no!—but turn not thus aside

Those tempting lips of scarlet glow;

Nor yet avert, with angry pride,

Those eyes, from whence such raptures flow!

Forgive the past, sweet-natured maid;

My kisses, love, are all thy own:

Then let my lips to thine be laid,

To thine, more soft than softest down.

ПОЦЕЛУЙ XV.

The Idalian boy, to pierce Neæra’s heart,

Had bent his bow, had chose the fatal dart;

But when the child, in wonder lost, surveyed

That brow, o’er which your sunny tresses played,

Those cheeks, that blushed the rose’s warmest dye,

That streamy languish of your lucid eye,

That bosom, too, with matchless beauty bright

(Scarce Cypria’s own could boast so pure a white),

Though mischief urged him first to wound my fair,

Yet partial fondness urged him now to spare.

But, doubting still, he lingered to decide;

At length, resolved, he flung the shaft aside,

Then sudden rushed impetuous to thy arms,

And hung voluptuous on thy heavenly charms:

There as the boy in wanton folds was laid,

His lips o’er thine in varied kisses played;

With every kiss he tried a thousand wiles,

A thousand gestures, and a thousand smiles;

Your inmost breast with Cyprian odors filled,

And all the myrtle’s luscious scent instilled:

Lastly, he swore by every power above,

By Venus’ self, the potent Queen of Love,

That you, blest nymph, forever should remain

Exempt from amorous care, from amorous pain.

What wonder, then, such balmy sweets should flow

In every grateful kiss your lips bestow?

What wonder, then, obdurate maid, you prove

Averse to all the tenderness of love?

ПОЦЕЛУЙ XVI.

Bright as Venus’ golden star,

Fair as Dian’s silver car,

Nymph with every charm replete,

Give me hundred kisses sweet;

Then as many kisses more

O’er my lips profusely pour,

As the insatiate bard could want,

Or his bounteous Lesbia grant;

As the vagrant Loves that stray

On thy lips’ nectareous way;

As the dimpling Graces spread

On thy cheeks’ carnationed bed;

As the deaths thy lovers die;

As the conquests of thine eye,

Or the cares and fond delights

Which its changeful beam incites;

As the hopes and fears we prove,

Or the impassioned sighs, in love;

As the shafts by Cupid sped,

Shafts by which my heart has bled;

As the countless stores that still

All his golden quiver fill.

Whispered plaints, and wanton wiles,

Speeches soft, and soothing smiles,

Teeth-imprinted, tell-tale blisses,

Intermix with all thy kisses.

So, when zephyr’s breezy wing

Wafts the balmy breath of spring,

Turtles thus their loves repeat,

Fondly billing, murmuring sweet,

While their trembling pinions tell

What delights their bosoms swell.

Kiss me, press me, till you feel

All your raptured senses reel;

Till your eyes, half closed and dim,

In a dizzy transport swim,

And you murmur faintly, “Grasp me,

Swooning, in your arms, oh, clasp me.”

In my fond sustaining arms

I will hold your drooping charms;

While the long, life-teeming kiss

Shall recall your soul to bliss;

And, as thus the vital store

From my humid lips I pour,

Till, exhausted with the play,

All my spirit wastes away,

Sudden, in my turn, I’ll cry,

“Oh, support me, for I die.”

To your fostering breast you’ll hold me,

In your warm embrace enfold me,

While your breath, in nectared gales,

O’er my sinking soul prevails,

While your kisses sweet impart

Life and rapture to my heart.

Thus, when youth is in its prime,

Let’s enjoy the golden time;

For when smiling youth is past,

Age these tender joys shall blast:

Sickness, which our bloom impairs,

Slow-consuming, painful cares,

Death, with dire remorseless rage,

All attend the steps of age.

ПОЦЕЛУЙ В ДРАМАТИЧЕСКОЙ ЛИТЕРАТУРЕ.

ИЗБРАННОЕ ИЗ ШЕКСПИРА.

So full of valor that they smote the air

For breathing in their faces; beat the ground

For kissing of their feet; yet always bending

Towards their project.

Tempest, iv. 1.

Fie, fie! how wayward is this foolish love,

That, like a testy babe, will scratch the nurse,

And presently, all humbled, kiss the rod.

Two Gentlemen of Verona, i. 2.

Why, then we’ll make exchange; here, take you this,

And seal the bargain with a holy kiss.

Two Gentlemen of Verona, ii. 2.

She shall be dignified with this high honor,—

To bear my lady’s train; lest the base earth

Should from her vesture chance to steal a kiss.

Two Gentlemen of Verona, ii. 4.

The current that with gentle murmur glides,

Thou know’st, being stopped, impatiently doth rage;

But, when his fair course is not hindered,

He makes sweet music with th’ enameled stones,

Giving a gentle kiss to every sedge

He overtaketh in his pilgrimage.

Two Gentlemen of Verona, ii. 7.

Фальстаф. Ее муж, живущий в постоянной тревоге ревности, является мне в момент нашей встречи, после того как мы обнялись, поцеловались, объяснились и, так сказать, произнесли пролог нашей комедии.

Виндзорские насмешницы, III, 5.

What is love? ’tis not hereafter;

Present mirth hath present laughter;

What’s to come is still unsure:

In delay there lies no plenty;

Then come kiss me, sweet-and-twenty,

Youth’s a stuff will not endure.

Twelfth Night, ii. 3.

Take, oh, take those lips away,

That so sweetly were forsworn;

And those eyes, the break of day,

Lights that do mislead the morn:

But my kisses bring again,

Seals of love, but sealed in vain.

Measure for Measure, ii. 1.

Бенедикт. Только грубые слова; и после этого я поцелую тебя.

Беатриче. Грубые слова — это лишь дурной ветер, а дурной ветер — это лишь дурное дыхание, а дурное дыхание зловонно; поэтому я уйду непоцелованной.

Много шума из ничего, V, 2.

To what, my love, shall I compare thine eyne?

Crystal is muddy. Oh, how ripe in show

Thy lips, those kissing cherries, tempting grow!

That pure congealèd white, high Taurus’ snow,

Fanned with the eastern wind, turns to a crow

When thou hold’st up thy hand: Oh, let me kiss

This princess of pure white, this seal of bliss!

Midsummer Night’s Dream, iii. 2.

So sweet a kiss the golden sun gives not

To those fresh morning drops upon the rose,

As thy eye-beams, when their fresh rays have smote

The night of dew that on my cheeks down flows.

Love’s Labor Lost, iv. 3.

Why, this is he

That kissed away his hand in courtesy;

——the ladies call him, sweet;

The stairs, as he treads on them, kiss his feet.

Love’s Labor Lost, v. 2.

Why, that’s the lady; all the world desires her;

From the four corners of the earth they come,

To kiss this shrine, this mortal breathing saint.

Merchant of Venice, ii. 7.

Some there be that shadows kiss;

Some have but a shadow’s bliss.

Merchant of Venice, ii. 9.

The moon shines bright. In such a night as this,

When the sweet wind did gently kiss the trees,

And they did make no noise——

Merchant of Venice, v. 1.

If you be well pleased with this,

And hold your fortune for your bliss,

Turn you where your lady is,

And claim her with a loving kiss.

Merchant of Venice, iii. 2.

Розалинда. У него волосы цвета притворства.

Селия. Немного темнее, чем у Иуды: право, его поцелуи — дети самого Иуды.

Р. Ей-богу, у него волосы хорошего цвета.

С. Отличный цвет: каштановый всегда был единственным цветом.

Р. И его поцелуи так же полны святости, как прикосновение к святому хлебу.

С. Он купил пару холодных губ Дианы: монахиня зимнего сестринства не целуется более религиозно; в них сам лед целомудрия.

Как вам это понравится, III, 4.

Розалинда. Давай, ухаживай за мной, ухаживай; ибо сейчас я в праздничном настроении и вполне готова согласиться. Что бы ты сказал мне сейчас, если бы я была твоей самой-самой Розалиндой?

Орландо. Я бы поцеловал, прежде чем заговорил.

Р. Нет, лучше тебе сначала заговорить; а когда ты запнешься от недостатка слов, ты можешь воспользоваться случаем, чтобы поцеловать. Очень хорошие ораторы, когда сбиваются, сплевывают; а для влюбленных, у которых (храни нас Бог) не хватает слов, самый чистый выход — поцеловать.

О. А если в поцелуе будет отказано?

Р. Тогда она заставит тебя умолять, и с этого начнется новый разговор.

Как вам это понравится, IV, 1.

Шут. Тот, кто утешает мою жену, есть питатель моей плоти и крови; тот, кто лелеет мою плоть и кровь, любит мою плоть и кровь; тот, кто любит мою плоть и кровь, есть мой друг: ergo, тот, кто целует мою жену, есть мой друг.

Все хорошо, что хорошо кончается, 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.

(Ричард перед Болингброком, на коленях.)

Fair cousin, you debase your princely knee,

To make the base earth proud with kissing it.

Richard II., iii. 3.

(Ричард перед Королевой.)

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.

Король Генрих. Екатерина, открой мне свое сердце на ломаном английском. Будешь ли ты моей?

Екатерина. Это как будет угодно моему господину отцу.

Генрих. Нет, это будет угодно ему, Кейт; это будет угодно ему, Кейт.

Екатерина. Тогда это будет угодно и мне.

Генрих. В знак этого я поцелую вашу руку и назову вас — моей королевой.

Екатерина. Оставьте, мой господин, оставьте, оставьте: верой моей, я не хочу, чтобы вы унижали свое величие, целуя руку вашей недостойной слуги; простите меня, я вас умоляю, мой всемогущий господин.

Генрих. Тогда я поцелую ваши губы, Кейт.

Екатерина. У дам и девиц во Франции не принято целоваться до свадьбы.

Генрих. Мадам мой переводчик, что она говорит?

Алиса. Что это не принято у дам Франции, — я не могу сказать, что это значит, baiser, по-английски.

Генрих. Целовать.

Алиса. Ваше величество понимает лучше, чем я.

Генрих. Она хочет сказать, что во Франции не принято, чтобы девушки целовались до замужества?

Алиса. Да, воистину.

Генрих. О Кейт, милые обычаи кланяются великим королям. Дорогая Кейт, мы с тобой не можем быть ограничены слабыми рамками деревенской моды; мы сами творцы нравов, Кейт; и свобода, которая следует за нашим положением, закрывает рты всем придиркам, как я сделаю с твоим за то, что ты поддерживаешь милую моду своей страны, отказывая мне в поцелуе: поэтому, терпеливо и уступая [целует ее]. У тебя колдовство на губах, Кейт; в их сахарном прикосновении больше красноречия, чем на языках французского совета, и они скорее убедят Генриха Английского, чем общая петиция монархов.

Генрих 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.

(Саффолк леди Маргарите.)

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.

(Королева Маргарита Саффолку, целуя его руку.)

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.

(Генрих VIII Анне Болейн после танца.)

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.

(Штаб греческого лагеря. Входит Диомед с Крессидой.)

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.

(Крессида Диомеду.)

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.

(Тимон, глядя на золото.)

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.

(Клеопатра гонцу.)

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.

Увы, бедный Йорик!.. Здесь висели те губы, которые я целовал, не знаю сколько раз.

Гамлет, 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.

БЕН ДЖОНСОН.

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.

О, милый Фастидиус! О, изысканный придворный! Как красиво он кланяется в своем поклоне! Как точно он попадает женщине прямо в губы, когда целует!

Всяк со своим нравом, IV, 1.

Хедон. Ты знаешь, я называю мадам Филатию своей Честью; а она называет меня своей Амбицией. Теперь, когда я встречу ее в присутствии, я подойду к ней и скажу: «Милая Честь, до сих пор я услаждал свои чувства лилиями вашей руки, но теперь я хочу вкусить розы ваших губ»; и при этом поцелую ее: на что она не может не ответить с румянцем: «Нет, теперь вы слишком амбициозны». А потом я отвечу: «Я не могу быть слишком амбициозным в отношении Чести, милая леди». Разве это не будет хорошо? а? а?

Анаидес. О, будьте уверены.

Хедон. Клянусь небом, я думаю, это будет превосходно; и очень политичное достижение поцелуя.

Пир Синтии, II, 1.

Тот, кто имел бы благодать запечатлеть поцелуй на этих губах, вкусил бы вина и лепестков роз. О, она целуется так же плотно, как моллюск.

Пир Синтии, V, 2.

Ваши городские дамы, вы увидите их сидящими в каждой лавке, как музы, предлагающие вам кастальские росы и феспийские ликеры всем, у кого есть хоть немного милой грации и дерзости, чтобы — пригубить их губы.

Поэтастр, 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.

Хвалите их, льстите им, и у вас никогда не будет недостатка в красноречии или доверии: даже самые целомудренные любят чувствовать, как их так поглаживают. С похвалами вы должны смешивать и поцелуи; если они их примут, они возьмут больше, — хотя они и сопротивляются, они хотят быть побежденными.

Молчаливая женщина, 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.

[Целует Ловела.]

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.

БОМОН И ФЛЕТЧЕР.

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.

ЛИЛЛИ.

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.

МАРЛО.

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.

МАРСТОН.

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.

МАССИНДЖЕР.

May I taste

The nectar of her lip? I do not give it

The praise it merits: antiquity is too poor

To help me with a simile to express her:

Let me drink often from this living spring,

To nourish new invention.

Emperor of the East.

Sforza. Can any act, though ne’er so loose, that may

Invite or heighten appetite, appear

Immodest or uncomely? Do not move me;

My passions to you are in extremes,

And know no bounds:—come, kiss me.

Marcelia. I obey you.

Sforza. By all the joys of love, she does salute me

As if I were her grandfather! What witch,

With cursèd spells, hath quenched the amorous heat

That lived upon these lips? Tell me, Marcelia,

And truly tell me, is’t a fault of mine

That hath begot this coldness?

Duke of Milan.

Francisco. [Preserving the dead body of Marcelia.]

Your ladyship looks pale;

But I, your doctor, have a ceruse for you.

See, my Eugenia, how many faces

That are adored in court, borrow these helps,

[Paints the cheeks.

And pass for excellence, when the better part

Of them are like to this. Your mouth smells sour, too,

But here is that shall take away the scent,

A precious antidote old ladies use

When they would kiss, knowing their gums are rotten.

[Paints the lips.

These hands, too, that disdained to take a touch

From any lip whose owner writ not lord,

Are now but as the coarsest earth.

Duke of Milan.

Lovell. If then you may be won to make me happy,

But join your lips to mine, and that shall be

A solemn contract.

Lady Allworthy. I were blind to my own good

Should I refuse it [kisses him]; yet, my lord, receive me

As such a one, the study of whose whole life

Shall know no other object but to please you.

New Way to Pay Old Debts.

ФОРД.

She never used, my lord,

A second means, but kissed the letter first,

O’erlooked the superscription, then let fall

Some amorous drops, kissed it again, talked to it

Twenty times over, set it to her mouth,

Then gave it to me, then snatched it back again,

Then cried, “Oh, my poor heart!” and, in an instant,

“Commend my truth and secrecy.” Such medley

Of passion yet I never saw in woman.

Lady’s Trial.

Piero. Does not yourself know, lady?

Amoretta. I do not uthe

To thpen lip-labor upon quethtionths

That I mythelf can anthwer.

Futelli. No, sweet madam,

Your lips are destined to a better use,

Or else the proverb fails of lisping maids.

Amoretta. Kithing you mean; pray come behind with

Your mockths then,

My lipth will therve the one to kith the other.

Lady’s Trial.

ХЕЙВУД.

The path of pleasure, and the gate to bliss,

Which on your lips I knock at with a kiss.

Woman Killed with Kindness.

My wife, the mother to my pretty babes!

Both those lost names I do restore thee back,

And with this kiss I wed thee once again.

Though thou art wounded in thy honored name,

And with that grief upon thy death-bed liest,

Honest in heart, upon my soul, thou diest.

Woman Killed with Kindness.

ШИРЛИ.

I’m disinherited, thrown out of all,

But the small earth I borrow, thus to walk on;

And, having nothing left, I come to kiss thee,

And take my everlasting leave of thee, too.

Farewell! this will persuade thee to consent

To my eternal absence.

The Brothers.

ДРАЙДЕН.

She brought her cheek up close, and leaned on his;

At which he whispered kisses back on hers.

All for Love.

Oh, let me live forever on those lips!

The nectar of the gods to these is tasteless.

Amphytrion.

ОТВЕЙ.

He scarce afforded one kind parting word,

But went away so cold, the kiss he gave me

Seemed the forced compliment of sated love.

Orphan.

Belvidera. (To Jaffier.)

I’ll make this arm a pillow for thine head,

And, as thou sighing liest, and swelled with sorrow,

Creep to thy bosom, pour the balm of love

Into thy soul, and kiss thee to thy rest;

Then praise our God, and watch thee till the morning.

Venice Preserved.

ЛЭНСДАУН.

The kiss you take is paid by that you give:

The joy is mutual, and I’m still in debt.

Heroic Love.

ГОЛДСМИТ.

Марло. Если судить с этого расстояния, вам не может быть намного больше сорока. [Приближаясь.] Еще ближе, я не думаю, что так много. [Приближаясь.] При приближении к некоторым женщинам они выглядят еще моложе; но когда мы подходим совсем близко — [Пытается поцеловать ее.]

Мисс Хардкасл. Прошу вас, сэр, держите дистанцию. Можно подумать, вы хотите узнать возраст, как у лошадей, по зубам.

Ночь ошибок.

НОУЛЗ.

There may you read in him how love would seem

Most humble when most bold,—you question which

Appears to kiss her hand,—his breath or lips!

Hunchback.

Modus. You’ve questioned me, and now I’ll question you.

Helen. What would you learn?

Mod. The use of lips?

Hel. To speak.

Mod. Naught else?

Hel. “How bold my modest cousin grows!”

Why, other use know you?

Mod. I do.

Hel. Indeed!

You’re wondrous wise! And, pray, what is it?

Mod. This. [Attempts to kiss her.]

Hel. Soft! My hand thanks you, cousin; for my lips,

I keep them for a husband! Nay, stand off!

I’ll not be held in manacles again.

Hunchback.

ШИЛЛЕР.

Countess. Doors creaked and clapped;

I followed panting, but could not o’ertake thee;

When on a sudden did I feel myself

Grasped from behind,—the hand was cold that grasped me.

’Twas thou, and thou didst kiss me, and there seemed

A crimson covering to envelop us.

Wallenstein. That is the crimson tapestry of my chamber.

Wallenstein.

ГЕТЕ.

Oh, hear me, look upon me, how my heart

After long desolation now unfolds

Unto this new delight, to kiss thy head,

Thou dearest, dearest one of all on earth,

To clasp thee with my arms, which were but thrown

On the void winds before.

Iphigenia.

АЛЬФЬЕРИ.

O children! O my children! to my soul

Your innocent words and kisses are as darts

That pierce it to the quick.

Alcestis.

ЛОНГФЕЛЛО.

Victorian. Since yesterday I’ve been in Alcala.

Ere long the time will come, sweet Preciosa,

When that dull distance shall no more divide us,

And I no more shall scale thy wall by night

To steal a kiss from thee, as I do now.

Preciosa. An honest thief, to steal but what thou givest.

Spanish Student.

БУЛЬВЕР-ЛИТТОН.

Melnotte. I hold her in these arms—the last embrace!

Never, ah, nevermore shall this dear head

Be pillowed on the heart that should have sheltered

And has betrayed! Soft—soft! one kiss—poor wretch!

No scorn on that pale lip forbids me now!

One kiss—so ends all record of my crime!

It is the seal upon the tomb of Hope,

By which, like some lost, sorrowing angel, sits

Sad Memory evermore.

Lady of Lyons.

De Mauprat. [To Julie, kissing her hand.] Ay;

With my whole heart I love you!—

[To De Beringhen.] Now, sir, go,

And tell that to his Majesty! Who ever

Heard of its being a state-offence to kiss

The hand of one’s own wife?

Richelieu.

ТАЛФОРД.

The widow of the moment fix her gaze

Of longing, speechless love upon her babe,

The only living thing which yet was hers,

Spreading its arms for its own resting-place,

Yet with attenuated hand wave off

The unstricken child, and so embraceless die,

Stifling the mighty hunger of the heart.

Ion.

She scarcely raised

Her head, until her work—a bridal robe—

Hung dazzling on her arm; as then she sought

Her chamber, I impressed one solemn kiss

Upon her icy brow: then, as aroused

From stupor by poor sympathy, she threw

Her arms around my neck; and, whispering low,

But piercingly, conjured me to keep watch

Upon her thinkings, lest one erring wish

Should rise to mar her duty to her lord.

Glencoe.

МИСС МИТФОРД.

He used to call me child,

His dearest child; and when I grasped his hand

Would hold me from him with a long fond gaze,

And stroke my hair, and kiss my brow, and bid

Heaven bless his sweet Camilla! And to-night

Nought but to bed! to bed!

Foscari.

King. [To Cromwell.] Sir,

Thou seest me with my children. Doth thine errand

Demand their absence?

Cromwell. No. I sent them to thee

In Christian charity. Thou hast not fallen

Among the heathen!

King. Howsoever sent,

It was a royal boon. My heart hath ached

With the vain agony of longing love

To look upon those blooming cheeks, to kiss

Those red and innocent lips, to hear the sound

Of those dear voices.

Charles the First.

ПРОКТЕР.

Oh, Isidora, where—

Where are you loitering now when Guido’s here?

By the bright god of love, I’ll punish you,

Idler, and press your rich red lips until

The color flies.

Mirandola.

МИССИС БРАУНИНГ.

[Eve to Adam.] Because I comprehend

This human love, I shall not be afraid

Of any human death; and yet because

I know this strength of love, I seem to know

Death’s strength by that same sign. Kiss on my lips,

To shut the door close on my rising soul,

Lest it pass outward in astonishment,

And leave thee lonely.

Drama of Exile.

Adam. A child’s kiss

Set on thy sighing lips shall make thee glad—

...

Thy hand, which plucked the apple, I clasp close;

Thy lips, which spake wrong counsel, I kiss close.

Drama of Exile.

ТЕННИСОН.

Milkmaid. [Singing without.]

Shame upon you, Robin,

Shame upon you now!

Kiss me would you? with my hands

Milking the cow?

Daisies grow again,

Kingcups blow again,

And you came and kissed me milking the cow.

Robin came behind me,

Kissed me well, I vow;

Cuff him could I? with my hands

Milking the cow?

Swallows fly again,

Cuckoos cry again,

And you came and kissed me milking the cow.

Come, Robin, Robin,

Come and kiss me now:

Help it can I? with my hands

Milking the cow?

Ringdoves coo again,

All things woo again,

Come behind and kiss me milking the cow.

Queen Mary.

ПОЦЕЛУЙ В ХУДОЖЕСТВЕННОЙ ЛИТЕРАТУРЕ.

РОМАНЫ XVIII И XIX ВЕКОВ.

Один американский юморист в своем аргументе в пользу оскуляции утверждает, что мы проявили бы большое отсутствие почтения, если бы возомнили себя мудрее наших предков и отказались продолжать практику, одобренную ими. И все же, если мы проследим любопытные отклонения в степени благосклонности, оказываемой ей этими предками в течение последнего столетия, мы будем несколько озадачены тем отражением, которое находим в романах разных периодов. Однако, за исключением Ричардсона, следует признать, что романисты XVIII века, от Филдинга и Смоллетта до времени появления Голдсмита, Марии Эджуорт и Джейн Остин, подтверждают замечание Шоу («История английской литературы») о том, что «время, когда писал Филдинг, было примечательно низким уровнем манер и чувств; возможно, самым низким, который когда-либо преобладал в Англии, ибо это был именно тот момент, когда романтический дух старых рыцарских манер угас, а современный стандарт утонченности еще не был введен». Соответственно, у Филдинга и Смоллетта герои и героини целуются со всем пылом грубого и распутного века, не дожидаясь того интересного времени, которое выбирают романисты наших дней для первого долгого поцелуя любви. Читатели «Амелии» Филдинга вспомнят оскорбительного молодого дворянина, который, встретив героиню в Воксхолле, восклицает: «Пусть дьявол придет как можно скорее, черт возьми, если я не получу поцелуй».

В странном контрасте с такой атлетической и шумной грубостью находятся чрезмерная утонченность и натянутая сентиментальность Ричардсона, современника и одно время друга Филдинга. В одном случае это вспышка грубости или необузданной страсти; в другом — церемония, соблюдение которой сопровождается приличием и торжественностью. Как следствие, в первом случае много «непослушного, но приятного» очарования, а во втором — большая доля утомительной и слащавой чепухи. В качестве примера сентиментальности Ричардсона мы можем сослаться на его «Сэра Чарльза Грандисона», в котором нам говорят, что после отъезда из Италии и возвращения в Англию сэр Чарльз просит руки Гарриет Байрон в истинно грандисоновской манере. Забавно видеть возвышенный стиль, в котором это зеркало рыцарства ухаживает, и отметить экстравагантность его комплиментов. Но пусть мисс Байрон расскажет эту историю:

«— Кажется, — сказал он, — в одном из самых прекрасных и умных лиц в мире есть смесь великодушного беспокойства и доброго любопытства».

«— Таким образом, — продолжал он, схватив мою руку и страстно прижимая ее к своим губам, — я чту себя за честь, оказанную мне. Как беден человек, что он не может выразить свою благодарность объекту своих обетов за признанные обязательства, иначе как будучи обязанным ей новыми обязательствами!» [Какой формальный педант в качестве любовника!]

«В успокаивающей, нежной и уважительной манере он обнял меня за талию и, взяв мой собственный платок, без сопротивления вытер слезы, катившиеся по моей щеке. — Милая человечность! Очаровательная чувствительность! Не сдерживай добрый поток. Небесные капли росы! (вытирая мои слезы и целуя платок) — небесные капли росы от ума, подобного этому небу, мягкого и милостивого».

«Он страстно поцеловал мою руку; опустился на одно колено; снова поцеловал ее. — Вы возложили на меня, мадам, вечные обязательства; и позволите ли вы мне, прежде чем я встану, прекраснейшая из женщин, позволите ли вы мне просить о скорой дате?»

«Он заключил меня в свои объятия с пылом, который не огорчил меня при размышлении, но в то время испугал. Он снова поблагодарил меня, стоя на одном колене; я протянула руку, которой не было в его руке, с намерением поднять его, ибо не могла говорить. Он принял ее как знак благосклонности; страстно поцеловал ее; встал, снова прижал мою щеку к своим губам. Я была слишком удивлена, чтобы оттолкнуть его с гневом. Но не был ли он слишком свободен? Являюсь ли я ханжой, дорогая моя?»

Да, мисс Байрон, мы боимся, что вы ханжа, раз чувствуете такое удивление и сомнение по поводу невинного поцелуя после формальной помолвки.

В качестве еще одного контраста мы копируем следующие отрывки: В «Несчастной ошибке» миссис Бен (Астрея) любовник, который собирается драться на дуэли, рано утром идет в спальню своей сестры, с которой спит Лукреция, хозяйка его привязанностей. «Они обе оказались бодрствующими и разговаривающими, когда он подошел к двери, которую сестра позволила ему отпереть, и спросила его о причине столь раннего подъема, на что он ответил, что, поскольку не мог спать, то немного подышит воздухом. — Но сначала, сестра, — продолжал он, — я освежусь у ваших губ. — А теперь, мадам, — добавил он, обращаясь к Лукреции, — я бы попросил у вас сердечного напитка. — За это, — сказала его сестра, — вы будете обязаны мне в этот раз. Сказав так, она нежно повернула лицо Лукреции к нему, и он получил свое желание. Десять против одного, что он предпочел бы остаться с Лукрецией, чем идти к ее брату, если бы знал его, ибо он любил ее искренне и страстно. Но, будучи человеком истинного мужества и чести, он попрощался с ними, быстро оделся и умчался с гонцом, который спешил больше обычного».

В качестве противовеса этому мы возвращаемся к истории «Сэра Чарльза Грандисона». В доказательство «юмористического характера» Шарлотты Грандисон нам говорят, что вскоре после ее замужества муж сделал ей подарок в виде старого фарфора. «И когда он закончил, — пишет она Гарриет Байрон, — взяв на себя смелость, как он выразился, наполовину испуганный, наполовину решительный, поцеловать свою невесту в качестве награды, а затем прохаживаясь взад-вперед несколько шагов с такой гордой походкой — я вижу его до сих пор, — потакайте мне, Гарриет! — я разразилась сердечным смехом; я не могла удержаться; а он, краснея, оглядывался вокруг себя и вокруг себя, чтобы увидеть, не было ли что-то не так с его стороны. Человек, человек, честный друг, — могла бы я сказать, но слишком уважала своего мужа, — это странность; ничего плохого в наряде».