Scene VII.

The Way of the World

by William Congreve

MIRABELL alone.

MIRABELL
I have something more.--Gone! Think of you? To
think of a whirlwind, though 'twere in a whirlwind, were a case of
more steady contemplation, a very tranquillity of mind and mansion.
A fellow that lives in a windmill has not a more whimsical dwelling
than the heart of a man that is lodged in a woman. There is no point
of the compass to which they cannot turn, and by which they are not
turned, and by one as well as another; for motion, not method, is
their occupation. To know this, and yet continue to be in love, is
to be made wise from the dictates of reason, and yet persevere to
play the fool by the force of instinct.--Oh, here come my pair of
turtles. What, billing so sweetly? Is not Valentine's day over with
you yet?