Lewis monologue (Act 1) — The Saint's Tragedy

Alas! one such-- One such, I know, who upward from one cradle Beside me like a sister--No, thank God! no sister!-- Has grown and grown, and with her mellow shade Has blanched my thornless thoughts to her own hue, And even now is budding into blossom, Which never shall bear fruit, but inward still Resorb its vital nectar, self-contained, And leave no living copies of its beauty To after ages. Ah! be less, sweet maid, Less than thyself! Yet no--my wife thou might'st be, If less than thus--but not the saint thou art. What! shall my selfish longings drag thee down From maid to wife? degrade the soul I worship? That were a caitiff deed! Oh, misery! Is wedlock treason to that purity, Which is the jewel and the soul of wedlock? Elizabeth! my saint! [Exit Conrad.]