Thrice-blessed they that master so their blood,
To undergo such maiden pilgrimage;
But earthlier happy is the rose distill’d
Than that which, withering on the virgin thorn,
Grows, lives, and dies in single blessedness.
– William Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 1, Scene 1. Theseus tells Hermia that she should marry Demetrius. He says that those who master their passions and remain virgins are three times blessed. But, using a flower metaphor, he suggests that a woman who is married and deflowered ("the rose distill’d") is happier than one who remains a virgin. The virgin simply grows, lives and withers on the stem.