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"temple waxes"
Allusion
Act 1,
Scene 3
Lines 11-18

An explanation of the “temple” allusion in Act 1, Scene 3 of myShakespeare’s Hamlet.

 

Laertes

For nature crescent does not grow alone
In thews and bulk, but as this temple waxes,
The inward service of the mind and soul
Grows wide withal. Perhaps he loves you now,  
And now no soil nor cautel does besmirch
The virtue of his will. But you must fear,
His greatness weighed, his will is not his own
For he himself is subject to his birth.

The “temple” here refers to the body, in an allusion to 1 Corinthians 6:19: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit?”