This book is DUE on the last data stamped below Form L-9-10m-3,'27 THE PLAYS O F WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE. VOL. II. y fufficiency is meant authority, the power de- legated by the duke to Efcalus. The plain meaning of the word B 3 being 6 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Our city's inflitutions, and the terms For common juftice, you are as pregnant in 6 , As being this : Putyourjkill in governing (fays the duke) to the power which I give you to exercife it, and let them work together. WARBURTON. Sir Tho. Hanmer, having caught from Mr. Theobald a hint that a line was loft, endeavours to fupply it thus. - The n no more remains, But that to your fyfficiency you join A will to ferve us, asyour worth is able. He has by this bold conjecture undoubtedly obtained a mean- ing, but, perhaps not, even in his own opinion, the meaning of Shakefpeare. That the paflage is more or lefs corrupt, I believe every rea- der will agree with the editors. I am not convinced that a line is loft, as Mr. Theobald conjectures, nor that the change of but to put, which Dr. Warburton has admitted after fome other editor, will amend the fault. There was probably fome original obfcurity in the expreffion, which gave occafion to miftake in repetition or tranfcription. I therefore fufpeft that the author wrote thus, Then no more remains, But that to your fufficiencies your "worth is abled, And let them work. Then nothing remains more than to tell you, thatyour virtue is now in*- vejlcd 'with power equal to your knowledge and wifdom. Let there- fore your knowledge and your virtue now work together. It may eafily be conceived \\o\vfuffidcncies was, by an inarticulate fpeaker, or inattentive hearer, confounded vi'tfhfujficieticy as, and how abled, a word very unufual, was changed into able. For abled, however, an authority is not wanting. Lear ufes it in the fame fenfe, or nearly the fame, with the Duke. As forfiifficiencies, D. Hamil- ton in his dying fpeech, prays that Charles II. may exceed both the virtues and fufficiencies of his father. JOHNSON. The uncommon redundancy, as well as obfcurity, ofthisverfe may be confidered as fome evidence of its corruption. Take away the two firjt words, and the fenfe joins well enough with what went before. Then (fays the duke) no more remains to fay : Your fujficiency asyour worth is able, And let them work. i. e. Your Jkill in government is in ability to ferve me, equal to the in- tegrity of your heart, and let them co-operate in your future minijtry. The vedification requires that either fomething ihould be added, or fomething retrenched. The latter is the eafier, as well as the .fafer talk. I join in the belief, however, that a line is loft ; and whoever is acquainted with the inaccuracy of the folio, (for of this play there is no other old edition) will find my opinion juftified. STEEVENS. Some MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 7 As art and pradtice hath enriched any That we remember : There is our commiffion, From which we would not have you warp. Call hither, I fay, bid come before us Angelo. What figure of us think you he will bear ? For you muft know, we have with fpccial foul 7 Elefted Some words feem to be loft here, the fenfe of which, perhaps, may be thus fupplied : then no more remains, But that to your ftifficiency you put A zeal as willing as your worth is able, And let them work. . . . TYRWHITT. * the terms For common juftice , you are as pregnant /,] The later editions all give it, without authority, the terms Qtjujlice, and Dr. Warburton makes terms fignify lounds or limits. I rather think the Duke meant to fay, that Efcalus was pregnant, that is, ready and knowing in all the forms of law, and, among other things, in the terms or times fet apart for its adminiftration. JOHNSON. The \\'or& pregnant \s ufed with this fignification in Ram-alley or Merry Tricks 161 r, where a lawyer is reprefented reading : " In triceffimo primo Alberti Magni ** 'Tis very cleare the place is very pregnant" \. e. very exprcjfiathast>edone? Clown. A woman.} The ancient meaning of the verb to do, (though now obfolete) may be guefs'd at from the following paflages. *' Chiron. Thou haft undone our mother. *' Aaron. Villain, I've done thy mother." Titus Andronkus. Again in the Maid's Tragedy, act II. Evadne, while undrefling, fays " I am foon undone. Dula anfwers, " And as foon done" Hence the name of Over-^W, which Shakefpeare Kas appropriated to his lawd. COLLINS. Bawd. MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 17 But what's his offence ? Clown* Groping for trouts in a peculiar river. Bawd. What, is there a maid with child by him ? Clown. No ; but there's a woman with maid by him : You have not heard of the proclamation, have you ? Bawd. What proclamation, man ? Clown. All houfes in the fuburbs of Vienna muft be pluck'd down. Bawd. And what mall become of thofe in the city ? Clown. They fhall Hand for feed : they had gone down too, but that a wife burgher put in for them. Bawd. But lhall all our houfes of refort in the fub- urbs be pull'd down * ? Clown. To the ground, miftrefs. Bawd. Why, here's a change, indeed, in the com- monwealth ! What (hall become of me ? * foall all our houfes of refort in the fuburbs be pull V down ?] This will be underftood from the Scotch law of James 1 & time, concerning buircs (whores) ; '* that comoun women be put at *' the utmoji endcs of toivnes, queire leaft perril of fire is." Hence Urfula the pig-woman, in Bartholomew-Fair : "1,1, gamefters, " "mock a plain, plump, fcftwiifbtfrbcfatttr&s, do !" FARMER. So in the Malcontent 1604, when Altofront difmifles the vari- ous characters at the end of the play to different deftinations, he fays to Macquerelle the bawd : " thou unto \^Q fuburbs." Again in Ram- Alley, or Merry Tricks, 1 6 1 1 : *' Some fourteen bawds, he kept her in tbefulurbi* Again : " how Hv'd you in the fuburbs And fcap'd fo many fearches ?" See Martial, where fummaeniana and fubtirbana are applied to proftitutes. STEEVENS. All houfes in thefubttrl>s.~\ This is furely too general an expref- fion, unleis we fuppofe that all the houfes in the fuburbs were lofvody-boufcs. It appears too, trom what the fatw/ favs below, *' But {hall all our houfes of refort in the fuburbs be pulled down ?" that the clown had been particular in his defcription of the houfes which were to be pulled down. I am therefore inclined to believe that we fliould read here, all bawdy- houfes, or all houfes. of refort in the fuburbs. TYRWHITT, Vot, II. C iS MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Clown. Come ; fear not you : good counfellors lack no clients : though you change your place, you need not change your trade ; I'll be your tapfter ftill. Cou- rage ; there will be pity taken on you : you that have worn your eyes almoft out in the fervicc, you will be confidered. Baud. What's to do here, Thomas Tapfter ? Let's withdraw. Clown. Here comes fignior Claudio, led by the pro- voft to prifon : and there's madam Juliet. [Exeunt Bawd and Clown. SCENE III. Enter Provoft, Claudia, Juliet, and Officers ; Lurio and two Gentlemen. Claud. Fellow, why dofl thou Ihow me thus to the world ? Bear me to prifon, where I am committed. Prov. I do it not in evil difpofition, But from lord Angelo by fpecial charge. Claud. Thus can the demi-god, authority J , Make 3 Thus can the demi-god, Authority, Make us pay do-tun, for our offence, ly weight. The words of heaven ; - on who?n it will, it will j On whom it will not, fo : yet Jlill t tisjttfl.'\ The wrong pointing of the fecond line hath made the paiTage unintelligible. There ought to be a full flop at weight. And the fenfe of the whole is this : The demi-god, Authority, makes us pay the full penalty of our offence, and its decrees are as little to be qv.eftioned as the words of heaven, which pronounces its pleafure thus, I punijb and remit puni_fbment according to my own uncontrollable will; and yet who can fay, what dofl thou? Make us pay down, for our offence, by weight, is a fine expreflion to fignify paying the full penalty. The metaphor is taken from paying money by weight, which is always exaft ; not lo by tale, on account of the praclice of dimintfhing the fpecies. WARBURTON. I fufpeft that a line is loft. JOHNSON. It may be read, thefword of heaven. Thus can the demi-god, Authority^ MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 19 Make us pay down for our offence by weight. The words of heaven ; on whom it will, it will ; On whom it will not, fo ; yet Hill 'tis juft. Lucio. Why, how now, Claudio ? whence comes this reftraint ? Claud. From too much liberty, my Lucio, liberty : As furfeit is the father of much faft, So every fcope by the immoderate ufe Turns to reftraint : Our natures do purfue, (Like rats that ravin * down their proper bane) A thirfty evil j and, when we drink, we die 5 . Lucio. If I could fpeak fo wifely under an arreft, I would fend for certain of my creditors : And yet, to fay the truth, I had as lief have the foppery of free- dom, as the morality of imprifonment. What's thy offence, Claudio? Claud. What, but to fpeak of, would offend again. Lucio. What is it ? murder ? Claud. No. Make us pay down for our offence, ly weight The fvvord of heaven : on ivhom, &c. Authority is then poetically called the f-^ord of heaven, which will fpare or punifti as it is commanded. The alteration is flight, be- ing made only by taking a (ingle letter from the end of the word, and placing it at the beginning. This very ingenious and elegant emendation was fuggefted to me by the rev. Dr. Roberts, of Eton ; and it may be counte- nanced by the following paflage in the Cotter's Prophecy, \ 94 : " In brief they are the fiords of heaven to punifli." Sir IV. Davenant, who incorporated this play of Shakefpeare with Much ado about Nothing, and formed out of them a Tragi- comedy called The Law again/I Lovers, omits the two lafl lines of this fpeech ; I fuppofe, on account of their feeming oblcu- rity. STEEVEXS. 4 Like rats that ravin, &c.] Ravine is an ancient word for prey. So in Noah's Flood, by Drayton : " as well of ravine as that chew the cud." STEEVENS. 5 -when vje drink --we die. So in Revenge for Honour, by Chapman : ** like poifon'd rats, which when they've fwallow'd " The pleafing bane, reft not until they drink, " And can reft then much lefs, until they burft." STEEVEXS. C 2 Lucio. 22 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. I have great hope in that : for in her youth There is a prone and fpeechlefs dialed: % Such as moves men ; befide, {he hath profperous art When Ihe will play with reaibn and difcourfe, And well fhe can perfuade. Lucio. I pray, Ihe may : as well for the encourage- ment of the like, which elfe would (land under griev- ous imposition ? ; as for the enjoying of thy life, who I would be forry ihould be thus foolifhly loft at a game of tick-tack. I'll to her. Claud. I thank you, good friend Lucio. Lucio. Within two hours, Claud. Come,, officer, away. [Exeunt^ * * prone and fpeechlefs dialeEi,"\ I can fcarcely tell what {ignification to give to the woi'dprone. Its primitive and tranflated fenfes are well known. The authour may, by a prone dialed, mean a dialed which men are prone to regard, or a dialed natural and unforced, as thofe actions feem to which we are prone. Either of thefe interpretations are fufficiently ftrained ; but fuch diftor T tion of words is not uncommon in our author. For the fake of an eafier fenfe, we may read : In her youth There is a pow'r, and fpeechlefs dialcSl^ Such as moves men. Or thus '. There is a prompt and fpeechlefs dlalcSl. JOHNSON. Prone, perhaps, may itand lor humble, as a prone pojlure is a. pojlure of f application. So in the Opportunity, by Shirley, 1640 : " You have proftrate language." The fame thought occurs in the Winter's. Tale : " The filence often of pure innocence " Perfuades, when fpeaking fails." Sir W. Davenant, in his alteration of the play, changes pron< tofweet. I mention fome of his variations to {hew that what appear difficulties to us, were difficulties to him, who living nearer the time of Shqkefpeare might be fuppofed to have un derftood his language more intimately. STEEVENS. 3 Under grievous impojition .] I once thought it fhould be inqul- jition, but the prefent reading is probably right. The crime mould ' sr grievous penalties impofed. JOHNSON. SENE MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 23 SCENE IV. A Monaftery. Enter Duke and Friar Thomas. Duke. No ; holy father ; throw away that thought ; Believe not that the dribbling dart of love 4 Can pierce a compleat bofom : why I defire thee To give me fecret harbour, hath a purpofe More grave and wrinkled than the aims and ends Of burning youth. Fri. May your grace fpeak of it ? Duke. My holy fir, none better knows than you How I have ever lov'd the life remov'd 5 ; And held in idle price to haunt affemblies, Where youth, and coft, and witlefs bravery keeps. I have deliver'd to lord Angelo (A man of (Iricture, and firm abftinence 6 ) 4 Believe not, that the dribbling dart of love Can pierce a compleat bofom : r J Think not that a breaft compleatly armed can be pierced by the dart of love that comes Buffering without force. JOHNSON. 5 the life' remov'd.'} i.e. a life of retirement, a life removed from the buftle of the world. STEEVENS. 6 A man of ftriclure and firm abftinence^} Stricture makes no fenfe in this place. We Ihould read, A man of ft rift ure and firm abflinence, i. e. a man of the exaftejl condutf, and pracYifed in the fubdual'of his paffions. Ure an old word for ufe, practice : fo enur'd^ habi- tuated to. WARBURTON. Stritture may eafily be ufed forj?rifinefs ; ure is indeed an old word, but, I think, always applied to things, never to perfons. JOHNSON. Sir tr. Davenant in his alteration of this play, reads, JlriSl- nefs. Ure is fometimes applied to perfons as well as to things. So in the Old Interlude of Tom Tyler and bis Wife^ 1598 : " So {hall I be fure " To keep him in ure" The fame word occurs in Promos and Cajandra, 1578 : " The crafty man oft puts thefe wrongs in ure." STEEVENS. C 4 My 24 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. My abfolute power and place here in Vienna, And he fuppofes me rravell'd to Poland ; For fo I have ftrevvM it in the common ear, And fo it is receiv'd : Now, pious fir, You will demand of me, why I do this ? fri. Gladly, my lord. Duke. We have flridt flatutes, and mofl biting laws, (The needful bits and curbs for head-ftrong deeds 7 ) Which for thefe nineteen years we have let fieep 8 ; Even 7 The needful bits and curbs for head-fir ongjteeds,~\ In the copies, T'be needful bits and curbs for hcad-Jlrong weeds. There is no matter ot analogy or confonance in the metaphors here : and, though the copies agree, I do not think, the author would have talked of bits and curbs for weeds. On the other hand, nothing can be more proper, than to compare perfons of unbridled licentioufnefs to head-ftrong^m/f : and, in this view, bridling the pajfions has been a phrafe adopted by our beit poets. THEOBALD. 8 Which for thefe nineteen years we have let Jlcep ; ] In fanner editions, Which for thefe fourteen years we have let flip. Tor fourteen I have made no fcruple to replace nineteen. The reafon will be obvious to him who recol lefts what the Duke haa faid in a foregoing fcene. I have altered the odd phrafe of let- ting the laws Jlip: for how does it fort with the comparifon that follows, of a lion in his cave that went not out to prey ? But letting the laws./7f<^, adds a particular propriety to the thing re- prefented, and accords exactly too with the fimile. It is the me- taphor too, that our author feems fond of ufmg upon this occa- fion, in feveral other paflages of this play : The law hath not been dead, the? it hath flept ; '77j novj awake. And fo, again : but this new governor Awakes me all th' enrolled penalties ; and for a name, ' Now pifts the drowfy and neglected aft Frefoly on me . THEOBALD. I once thought that the words tetjlip (which is the reading of the old copy, and, I believe right) related to the line imme- diately preceding - the needful bits 'and curbs, which we have fuf- fered fpr fo many years to hang loofe. But it is clear trom a paf- fage in Twelfth "Night that thefe words fhould be referred to /a-iw, " which for thefe nineteen years we have fuffered topafs un~ noticed MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 35 Even like an o'er-grown lion in a cave, That goes not out to prey : Now, as fond fathers Having bound up the threat'ning twigs of birch, Only to ftick it in their children's fight, For terror, not to ufe ; in time the rod Becomes more mock'd 9 , than feared : fo our decrees, Dead to infliction, to themfelves are dead; And liberty plucks juftice by the nofe ; The baby beats the nurfe, and quite athwart Goes all decorum. Fri. It retted in your grace To unloofe this ty'd-up juftice, when you pleas'd : And it in you more dreadful would have feem'd, Than in lord Angelo. Duke. I do fear, too dreadful : Sith ' 'twas my fault to give the people fcope, 'Tvvould be my tyranny to ftrike, and gall them, For what I bid them do : For we bid this be done, When evil deeds have their permiflive pafs, And not the pupiihment. Therefore, indeed, my father, I have on Angelo impos'd the office ; Who may, in the ambufh of my name, flrike home, And yet, my nature never in the fight To do it flander * : And to behold his fway, I will, noticed unobferved ';" for fo the fame phrafe is ufed by Sir An- drew Aguecbcck : " Let him let the matter Jlip, and I'll give him my horfe grey Capulet." Again in Marlow's Doftor Faujius 1631 : " Shall I let Jlip fo great an injury." Again in A Mad World my Mafters, by Middleton, 1640 : " Well, things 'mufijtlp and fleep I will diflemble." Again, in The Spanljb T ragcdy, 1605 : " My (implicity may make them think *' That ignorantly I will let alljlip." MALONE. 9 Becomes more mock'd than fta^d: ] Becomes was added by Mr. Pope to reitore fenfe to the paflage, fome fuch word having been left out. STEEVEXS. Sith.'] i.e. fince. STEEVENS. 2 Todoitjlandcr. ] The text flood : So do injlandcr. Sir 26 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. I will, as 'twere a brother of your order, Vifit both prince and people : therefore, I pr'ythee, Supply me with the habit, andinflrucl me How I may formally in perfon bear J me Like a true friar. More reafons for this action, At our more leifure fhall I render you ; Only, this one : Lord Angelo is precife ; Stands at a guard 4 with envy ; fcarce confeffes That his blood flows, or that his appetite Is more to bread than ftone : Hence fhall we fee, If power change purpofe, what our feemers be. Sir Thomas Hanmer has very well corrected it thus, To do \tjlander. - Yet perhaps lefs alteration might have produced the true reading, And yet my nature never, in tbefight^ So do'mgJJandercd. - - And yet my nature never fuffer flander by doing any open afts of feverity. JOHNSON. The old text flood, -- in To do in flander. Hanmer's emendation is in my opinion bed. So in Hen. IV. p. i : " Do me noJIanJer, Douglas, I dare fight." STEEVENS. The words in the preceding line anibujh and Jirike, fhew that Jtgkt is the true reading. MALONE. 3 in perfon bear,} Mr. Pope reads, - my perfon bear. Perhaps a word was dropped at the end of the line, which ori- ginally ftood thus, How I may formally in perfon bear me, Like a true friar. So in the Tempcft : " - f ome g 00 d inftrudion give *' How I may bear me here." Sir W. Davcnant reads, in his alteration of the play : I may in per/on a true friar feem. STEEVENS. * Stands at a guard - ] Stands on terms of defiance. JOHNSON. SCENE MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 27 SCENE V. A Nunnery, Enter Ifabella and Francifca. Ifab. And have you nuns no farther privileges ? Nun. Are not thefe large enough ? Ifab. Yes, truly : I fpeak not as defiling more ; But rather wifhing a more ftridt reftraint Upon the fifter-hood, the votarifls of faint Clare. Luck. [Within] Ho ! Peace be in this place ! Ifab. Who's that which calls ? Nun. It is a man's voice : Gentle Ifabella, Turn you the key, and know his bufmefs of him ; You may, I may not ; you are yet unfworn : When you have vow'd, you muft not fpeak with men, But in the prefence of the priorefs : Then, if you fpeak, you muft not mew your face ; Or, if you fhevv your face, you muft not fpeak. He calls again ; I pray you, anfwer him. [Exit Franc, Ifab. Peace and profperity ! Who is't that calls ? Enter Lucio. Lucio. Hail, virgin, if you be ; as thofe cheek-rofcs Proclaim you are no lefs ! Can you fo ftead me, As bring me to the fight of Ifabella, A novice of this place, and the fair fifter To her unhappy brother Claudio ? Ifab. Why her unhappy brother ? let me afk ; The rather, for I now muft make you know I am that Ifabella, and his fifter. Lucio. Gentle and fair, your brother kindly greets you : Not to be weary with you, he's in prifon. Ifab. Woe me ! For what ? Lucio. For that, which, if myfelf mightbe his judge, He flionld receive his punifhment in thanks : Jie hath got his friend with child. Ifab. 2 S MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Ifab. Sir, make me not your ftory s . Lucio. *Tis true : I would not (though 'tis my fa- miliar fin With maids to feem the lapwing 6 , and to jeft, 5 ~mah me not your JloryJ\ Do not, by deceiving me, make me a fubjecT: for a tale. JOHNSON. Perhaps only, Do not diver tyovrfelf with me, as you vjoicld tuitb ajlory y do not make me the fubjecT: of your drama. Benedict talks of becoming the argument of his own fcorn. Sir W. Davenant reads fcorn initead of fiory. STEEVENS. 6 T tj s my familiar fin U r itb maids to feem the lapwing^ - } The Oxford editor's note on this paflage is in thefe words. The lapwings fyi ivitbfccming fright and anxiety, far from their nefts^ to deceive thofe inko-Jcek their young. And do not all other birds do the fame ? But what has this to do with the infidelity of a general lover, to whom this bird is compared ? It is another qua- lity of the lapwing, that is here alluded to, viz. its perpetually ilymg f low and fo near the paflenger, that he thinks he has it, and then is fuddenly gone again. This made it a proverbial ex- preffion to fignify a lover's falfliood : and it feems to be a very old one : for Chaucer, in his Plowman s Talc^ fays : And lap-.vings that well conith lie. WAR BUR TON. The modern editors have not taken in the whole fimilitude tiere : they have taken notice of the lightnefs of a fpark's beha- viour to his miftrefs, and compared it to the lajnvi tig's hovering and fluttering as it flies. But the chief, of which no notice is taken, is, (See Ray's Proverbs') " The lapsing cries, tongnc far from heart.'* i. e. moil fart heft from the neft, i. e. She is, as Shakefpeare has it here Tongue far f ram heart. " The farther me is from her neft, where her heart is with her young ones, fhe is the louder, or perhaps all tongue." SMITH. Shakefpeare has an expreifion or the like kind, Com. of Errors^ a^t. iv. fc. 3 : " Adr. Far from her ncft the lapwing cries away, *' My heart prays for him, tho' my tongue do curfe." Vv'e meet with the fame thought in John Lilly's comedy, intitled Campafpe (firil publifhed in 1591) ad ii. fc. 2. from whence Shakefpeare might borrow it : " Alex. Not with Timoieon you mean, wherein you refemble the lapkbing, who crieth molt where her neil is not, and fo, to lead me from efpying your love for Campafpe, you cry Timoclea" GRAY. Tongue MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 29 Tongue far from heart) play with all virgins fo : I hold you as a thing enfky'd, and fainted ; By your renouncement, an immortal fpirit; And to be talked with in fincerity, As with a faint. Ifab. You do blafpheme the good, in mocking me. Lucio. Do not believe it. Fewnefs and truth 7 , 'tis thus : Your brother and his lover have embrac'd : As thofe that feed grow full ; as bloflbming time * That from the feednefs the bare fallow brings To teeming foyfon ; fo her plenteous womb Exprefieth his full tilth and hufbandry. Ifab. Some one with child by him ? My coufin Juliet ? Lucio. Is ilie your coufin ? Ifab. Adoptedly; as fchool-maids change their names, By vain though apt aflfedtion. Lucio. She it is. Ifab. O, let him marry her 9 ! Lucio. This is the point. 7 Fewnefs and truth, &c.] i.e. b f /9ww0r&, and thofe true ones. In few, is many times thus ufed by Shakefpeare. STEEVENS. * as blojjomlng time That from the feednefs the bare f allow brings To teeming foyfon ; fo ] As the fentence now ftands, it is apparently ungrammatical. I read, At blojfomlng time, &C. That is, As they that feed grow full, fo her womb now, at bloflbm- ing time, at that time through which the feed time proceeds to the har- ueft, her womb fhows what has been doing. Lucio ludicroully calls pregnancy blojjbming time, the time when fruit is promifed, though not yet ripe. JOHNSON. Inftead of that, we may read doth ; and, inftead of brings^ Iring. STEEVENS. 9 O, let him many her.~\ O is an infertion of the modern edi- tors. I cannot relifh it. If any word is to be inferted to fill up the metre, I fhould prefer, WTy. TYRWHITT. The 30 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. The duke is very ftrangely gone from hence ; Bore many gentlemen ', myfelf being one, In hand, and hope of adtion : but we do learn By thofe that know the very nerves of ftate, His givings-out were of an infinite diftance From his true-meant defign. Upon his place, And with full line * of his authority, Governs lord Angelo ; A man whofe blood Is very fnow-broth > one who never feels The wanton ilings and motions of the fenfe; But doth rebate and blunt his natural edge With profits of the mind, (tudy and faft. He (to give fea> to 3 ufe and liberty, Which have, for long, run by the hideous law, As mice by lions) hath pick'd out an aft, Under whofe heavy fenfe your brother's life Falls into forfeit : he arrefts him on it ; And follows clofe the rigour of the ftatute, To make him an example : all hope is gone, Unlefs you have the grace 4 by your fair prayer To foften Angelo : and that's my 5 pith Of bufmefs 'twixt you and your poor brother. Ifab. Doth he fo feek his life ? 1 Bore many gentlemen- In hand and hope of aSlion ; ] To lear in hand is a common phrafe for to keep in expectation and dependance, but we mould read, with hope of aftion. JOHNSON. a iwVA full line ] With full extent, with the whole length. JOHNSON. 3 give fear to ufe ] To intimidate ufe, that is, praftices long countenanced by cujlom. JOHNSON. 4 Unlefs you have the grace ] That is, the acceptablenefs, the power of gaining favour. So when fhe makes her fuit, the provoil fays : Heaven give thee moving graces . JOHNSON. Of bujtnefs- ] The inmoft part, the main of my meflage. JOHNSON. Lutio. MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 31 Lucio. Has 6 cenfur'd him Already ; and, as I hear, the provoft hath A warrant for his execution. Ifab. Alas ! what poor ability's in me To do him good ? Lucio. AfTay the power you have. Ifab. My power ! Alas ! I doubt, Lucio. Our doubts are traitors, And make us lofe the good we oft might win, By fearing to attempt : Go to lord Angelo, And let him learn to know, when maidens fue, Men give like gods ; but when they weep and kneel, All their petitions are as truly theirs As they themfelves would owe them 7 . Ifab. I'll fee what I can do. Lucio. But, fpeedily. Ifab. I will about it ftrait ; No longer flaying but to give the mother 8 Notice of my affair. I humbly thank you : Commend me to my brother : foon at night I'll fend him certain word of my fuccefs. Lucio. I take my leave of you. Ifab. Good fir, adieu. 6 cenfur'd bim t ] i. e. fentenced him. So in Othello: " to you, lord governor, " Remains the cenfure of this hellifh villain." STEEVENS. 7 would owe them.] To owe lignifies in this place, as in many others, to poflefs, to have. So in Othello: that fweet deep That thou o-'^dft yefterday STEEVENS. 1 the mother} The abbefe, or priorefs. JOHNSON. ACT 32 MEASURE FOR MEASURE, A C T II. S C E N E I. Angelas Houfe. Enter Angelo, Efcalus, a Juftice^ Provoft 9 , and Attendants* Ang. We mud not make a fcare-crow of the law ; Setting it up to fear ' the birds of prey, And let it keep one fhape, till cuflom make it Their perch, and not their terror. Efcal. Ay, but yet Let us be keen, and rather cut a little, Than fall, and bruife to death * : Alas ! this gentleman, Whom I would fave, had a moft noble father. Let but your honour know 3 , (whom I believe *> Provof}.] kprovoft is generally the executioner of an army. So in the Famous Hifiory of Tho. S/ukcly, 1 605 : Bl. L. " Provofty lay irons upon him and take him to your charge." Again, in the rirgi* Martyr by Maflenger : " Thy provoft to fee execution done " On thefe bafe Chriftians in Caefarea." STEEVENS. to fear tie birds of prey, \ To fear is to affright , to terrify* So in The Merchant of Fenice : " this afpecl of mine " Hath fear'd the valiant." STEEVENS. * Than fall, and Iruife to death. ] I fhould rather read,^//, J. e. ilrike down. So in Timon of Athens : " All, fave thee, I fell ''with curfes" WARBURTON. Fall is the old reading, and the true one. Shakefpeare has ufed the fame verb aftive in the Comedy of Errors : " as eafy may'ft thou fall *' A drop of water. i. e. let fall. So in As Tou like it: " the executioner *' Falls not the axe upon the humbled neck.'* STEEVENS. 3 Let but your honour know, ] To know is here to examine , to take cognifance. So in Midfummer-Night's Dream : " Therefore, fair Hcrmia, qucjl ion your dcjlres ; *' Know of your truth) examine well your blood." JOHNSON. To MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 33 To be moft ftrait in virtue) That, in the. working of your own affections, Had time coher'd with place, or place with wifhing, Or that the refolute acting of your blood Could have attained the effect of your own purpofe, Whether you had not fometime in your life Err'd in this point which now you cenfure him 4 , And pull'd the law upon you, Ang. 'Tis one thing to be tempted, Efcalus, Another thing to fall. I not deny, The jury, patting on the prifoner's life, May, in the fworn twelve, have a thief or two Guiltier than him they try : What's open made to juftice, That juftice feizes. What know the laws, That thieves do pafs on thieves ? s 'Tis very pregnant, The jewel that we find, we ftoop and take it, Becaufe we fee it ; but what we do not fee, We tread upon, and never think of it. You may not fo extenuate his offence, 6 For I have had fuch faults ; but rather tell me, When I that cenfure him do fo offend, Let mine own judgment pattern out my death, And nothing come in partial. Sir, he muft die. Efcal. Be it, as your wifdom will. Ang. Where is the provoft ? Prov. Here, if it like your honour. Ang. See that Claudio 4 Err'd in this point which now you cenfure hlm,"\ Some Word fcems to be wanting to make this line fenfe. Perhaps, we fhould read : Err'd in this point which now you cenfure him far, STEEVENS. 5 _ 'Tis very pregnant,] 'T\s plain that We muft aft with bad as with good j we punifh the faults, as we take the advantages, that lie in our way, and what we do not fee we cannot note. JOHNSON. 6 For I have had ] That is, Iccaufe^ ly reafon that I fcave had faults. JOHNSON. VOL. II. D Be 34 MEASURE FOR MEASURE, Be executed by nine to-morrow morning : Bring him his confeflbr, let him be prepar'd ; For that's the utmofl of his pilgrimage. [Exit Proz> Efeal. Well, heaven forgive him ! and forgive us all!' 7 Some rife by fin, and fome by virtue fall : Some run from brakes of vice, and anfwer none ; And fome condemned for a fault alone. Enter 7 Same rife, &c.] This line is in the firfl folio printed in Ita- lics as a quotation. All the folios read in the next line : Some run from brakes of ice, and anfwer none. JOHNSON. The old reading is perhaps the true one, and may mean, fome run away from danger, and jSay to anfwer none of their faults, ixhilft others are condemned only on account of a Jingle frailty. If this be true reading, it fhould be printed : Some run from breaks [i.e. fractures] of ice, &c. Since I wrote this r I have found reafon to change my opinion. A Irake anciently meant not only zjharplit, zfnqffle, but alfo the engine with which farriers confined the legs of fuch unruly horfes as would not otherwife fubmit themielves to be (hod, or to have a cruel operation performed on them. This, in fome places, is ftill called a fmith's brake. In this laft fenfe, Ben Jonfon ufes the word in his Underwoods : " And not think he had eat a flake, " Or were fet up in a brake." And, for the former fenfe, lee the Silent Woman, afc IV. Again, for the latter fenfe, Bujjy de Ambois, by Chapman : " Or, like a (trumpet, learn to fet my face " In an eternal brake." Again, in The Opportunity, by Shirley, 1640: *' He is fallen into fome brake, fome wench has tied him " by the legs." Again, in. Holland's Leaguer, 1633 : her I'll make " A ftale, to catch this courtier in a Irake." I offer thefe quotations, which may prove of ufe to fome more fortunate conjedhirer ; but am able myfelf to derive very little from them to fuit the paflage before us. I likewife find from Holinfhed, p. 670, that the brake was an engine of torture. " The faid Hawkins was caft into the Tower, and at length brought to the brake, called the Duke of Excefter's daughter, by meanes of which pain he (hewed ^many things," &c. ** mi- MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 35 Enter Elbffw^ Froth, Clffwn, Officers^ &c. Elb. Come, bring them away : if thefe be good people in a common-weal, that do nothing but ufe their " When the dukes of Exeter and Suffolk (fays Blackftone in his Comment, vol. IV. chap. xxv. p. 320, 321.) andothermi- nifters of Hen. VI. had laid a defign to introduce the civil law into this kingdom as the rule of government, for a beginning thereof they ereded a rack for torture ; which was called in deri- fion the Duke of Exeter's Daughter, and ftill remains in the Tower of London, where it was occafionally ufed as an engine of ftate, not of law, more than once in the reign of queen Elizabeth." See Coke's Inftit. 35. Barrington, 69, 385. and Fuller's Worthies, P* 3'7' A part of this horrid engine itill remains in the Tower, and the following is the figure of it. It confifts of a ftrong iron frame about fix feet long, with three rollers of wood within it : the middle of thefe, which has iron teeth at each end, is governed by two flops of iron, and was, probably, that part of the machine which fufpended the powers of the reft, when the unhappy fufferer was fufficiently ftrained by the cords, &c. to begin confeffion. I cannot conclude this account of it without confeffing my obligation to Sir Charles Frederick, who politely condefcended to direct my enquiries, while his high com- mand rendered every part of the Tower accelfible to my re- fearches. I have fince obferved that, in Fox's Martyrs, edit. 1596, p. 184.% there is a reprefentation of the fame kind. If Shakefpeare alluded to this engine, the fenfe of the con- tefted paflage in Meafure for Meafure will be : Some run more than once from engines of punijbment, and anficcr no interrogatories} while fome are condemned to fiefFcr for a jingle trefpafs, D 2 It 36 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. their abufes in common houfes, I know no law : brirfg them away. Ang. How now, fir ! What's your name ? and what's the matter ? Elb. If it pleafe your honour, I am the poor duke's conftable, and my name is Elbow ; I do lean upon juftice, fir, and do bring in here before your good honour two notorious benefactors.- Ang. Benefactors ? Well ; what benefactors arc they ? are they not malefactors ? Elb. If it pleafe your honour, I know not well what they are : but precife villains they are, that I am fure of ; and void of all profanation in the world, that good chriftians ought to have. Efcal. 8 This comes off well ; here's a wife officer. It fliould not, however, be diflembled, that yet a plainer mean- ing may be deduced irom the fame words. By brakes of vice may be meant a collection, a number, a thicket of vices. The fame image occurs in Daniel's Civil Wars, B. IV : " Rufhing into the thickeft woods of fpears " And brakes of fwords, &c." That a brake meant a bufh, may be known from Drayton's poem on Mofes and his Miracles : " Where God unto the Hebrew fpake " Appearing from the burning brake" Again, in the Mooncalf of the fame author : " He brings into a brake of briars and thorn, " And fo entangles." Mr. Toilet is of opinion that, by brakes of ifice^ Shakefpeare means only the ffjorny paths of vice. So in Ben Jonfon's Uiidcrwoods^ Whalley's Edit. vol. VI. p. 367 : " Look at the faHe and cunning man, &c. " Crafh'd in the fnakey brakes that he had paft." STEEVENS. * 7'hit comes ojfvtettj} This is nimbly fpoken ; this is volubly uttered. JOHNSON. The fame phrafe is employed in Timon of Athens and elfe- where ; but in the prefent inftance it is ufed ironically. The meaning of it, when ferioully applied to fpeech, ij This is well delivered, this ftory is well told. STEEVENS. MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 37 Ang. Go to : What quality are they of? Elbow is your name ? Why doft thou not fpeak, Elbow 9 ? ClffVM. He cannot, lir ; he's out at elbow. 'Ang. What are you, fir ? Elb. He, fir ? a tapfter, fir ; parcel-bawd T ; one that ferves a bad woman ; whofe houfe, fir, was, as they fay, pluck'd down in the fuburbs ; and now ihe profefles a hot-houfe % which, I think, is a very ill houfe too, Efcal. How know you that ? Elb. My wife, fir, whom I deteft before heaven and your honour, Efcal. How ! thy wife ? EU> Ay, fir ; whom, I thank heaven, is an honeft woman; Efcal. Doft thou deteft her therefore ? Elb. I fay, fir, I will deteft myfelf alfo, as well as {he, that this houfe, if it be not a bawd's houfe, it is pity of her life, for it is a naughty houfe. Efcal. How doft thou know that, conftable ? Elb. Marry, fir, by my wife ; who, if ihe had been a woman cardinally given, might have been -accufed in fornication, adultery, and all uncleannefs there. 9 Wly doft thou not fpeak, Elbow ?] Says Angelo to the conftable. " He cannot, fir, quoth the Clown, he's out at elbow." I know not whether this quibble be generally obferved : he is out at the word f/fota/, and out at the elbow of his coat. The Conftable, in his account of mailer Froth and the Clown, has a ftroke at the puritans, who were very zealous againft the ftage about this time: " Precife villains they are, that I am fure bf; and void of all profanation in the world, that good Chriftians ought to have." FARMER. 1 a tapper, Jir; parcel bawd; ] This we fliould now ex- prefs by faying, he is half-tapfter, half-bawd. JOHNSON. Thus in K. Hen. IV : " z parcel-gilt goblet. STEEVENS. * Jheprofejfis a hot-houfe ;] A hot-houfe is an Englifh name for a bagnio : " Wljere lately harbour' a" many a famous whore, ** A purging-bill no/, &c. TYRWHITT. 8 Like a prophet, Looks in a glafi' ] This alludes to the fopperies of the lerr'il, much ufed at that tiir* by cheats and fortune-tellers to predict by. WARBURTON. See Macbeth, aft IV. So again in J^ittoria Corombona, 1612 : " How long have I beheld the devil in chryjlalf* STEEYENS. Looks MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 49 Looks in a glafs that (hews what future evils, (Either now 9 j or by remuTnefs new-conceiv'd, And fo in progrefs to be hatch'd and born) Are now to have no fucceffive degrees, Bur, ere they live, to end '. Ifab. Yet Ihew fome pity *. Ang. I fhew it moft of all, when I ihew juftice ; For then I pity thofe I do not know, Which a difmifs'd offence would after gall ; And do him right, that, anfweringone foul wrong, Lives not to act another. Be fatisfy'd ; Your brother dies to-morrow ; be content. Ifab. So you muft be the firft, that gives this fen- tence ; And he, that fuffers : Oh, it is excellent To have a giant's ftrength ; but it is tyrannous, To ufe it like a giant. Lucio. That's well faid, Ifab. Could great men thunder As Jove himfelf does, Jove would ne'er be quiet, For every pelting 3 , petty officer, Would ufe his heaven for thunder; nothing but thunder. Merciful heaven ! Thou rather with thy fharp and fulphurous bolt 9 Either now ] Thus the old copy. Modern Editors read Or new STEEVENS. 1 But ere, they live, to end.] This is very fagacioufly fubftituted by fir Thomas Hanmer, for, But here they live JOHNSON. "* -Jbewfomc pity. Ang. I JJJITM it moft of all, when I Jbe-iu juftict ; For then I pity tbofc I do not knovj,~\ This was one of Male's memorials. When I find myfelf fwayed /# mercy, let me re member ^ that there is a mercy likevjije due to the coun- try. JOHNSON. 3 pelting} i. e. paltry. This word I meet with in Mother Bomlne, 1594 : " will uot flirink the city for a pelting jade.'* STEEVENS. VoL.JI. E Split'ft 50 MEASURE FO-R MEASURE* Split'ft the unwedgeable and gnarled oak *, Than the foft myrtle : O, but man ! proud man > (Dreft in a little brief authority ; Moft ignorant of what he's moft aflfur'd, His glaii'y eflence) like an angry ape, Plays fuch fantaftick tricks before high heaven, As make the angels weep s ; who, with our fpleens>. Would all themfelves laugh mortal 6 . Lucio. Oh, to him, to him, wench :. he will re* lent; He's coming; I percelv't, Prov, Pray heaven Ihe win him f Ifab. We cannot weigh our brother witk ourfelf 7 : Greafe * gnarled oak,~\ Gaatre is theoktEnglifh word for a knof in wood. So in Antonio's Revenge, 1602 : < ' Till by degrees the tough and gnarly trunk " Be riv'd in funder." Again, Chaucer's Knight's Tale, late edit^v. 1979 r " With knotty, knarry barrein trees old." STEEVENS* 5 As make the angels weep ; ] The notion of angels weeping for the fins ot men is rabbinical.^ Obpeccatum Jlentes angelos indu,- funt Hebraorum maglflri. Grotius ad Lucam WARBURTON^ 6 iv/JO) vxtb our fpleens, Would all tbetnfelves laugh mortal.] Mr. Theobald fays the meaning of this is, that if they were eit~ dowed with our fpleens and per ijb able organs, they would laugh them- Jelves out of immortality : which amounts to this, that if they were mortal, they would not be immortal. Shakefpeare meant no fuch nonfenfe. By fpleens, he meant that peculiar turn of the human mind, that always inclines it to a fpiteful, unfeafonable mirth. Had the angels that, fays Shakefpeare, they would laugh them- felves out of their immortality, by indulging a paflion which does not deferve that prerogative. The ancients thought, that immo- derate laughter was caufed by the bignefs of the fpleen. WAR BURTON. 7 We cannot weigh our brother with yourfelf:] In former edi- tions, Vf r e cannot weigh our brother with ourfelf. Why not? Though this fhouldbe the reading of all the copies, 'tis as plain as light, it is not the author's meaning. Ifabella would fay, there is fo great a difproportion in quality betwixt lord An- gelo and her brother, that their actions can bear no comparifon, or cq,ual- MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 5l Great men may jeft with faints : 'tis wit in them ; But, in the lefs, foul profanation. Lucio. Thou'rt in the right, girl ; more o' that f Ifab. That in the captain's but a cholerick word, Which in the foldier is flat blafphemy. Lucio. Art advis'd o' that ? more on't. Ang. Why do you put thefe fayings upon me ? Ifab. Becaufe authority, though it err like others, Hath yet a kibd of medicine in itfelf, That fkins the vice o' the top : Go to your bofom ; Knock there ; and afk your heart, what it doth know That's like my brother's fault : if it confefs A natural guiltinefs fuch as is his, Let it not found a thought upon your tongue Againft my broth-er's life. Ang. [Aftde.~^ She fpeaks, and 'tis Such fenfe, that my fenfe breeds with it 8 . [70 Fare you well. Ifab. Gentle, my lord, turn back. Ang. I will bethink me : Come again to-morrow. Ifab. Hark, how I'll bribe you : Good my lord, turn back. equality, together : but her brother's crimes would be aggravated, Angelo's frailties extenuated, from the difference of their degrees and (late of life. WAR BUR TON. The old reading is right. We mortals, proud and foolifh, cannot prevail on our paffions to weigh or compare our brother ', a being of like nature and like frailty, with ourfelf. We have different names and different judgments for fhe fame faults committed by perfons of different condition. JOHNSON. 8 That my fenfe breeds with it. ] Thus all the folios. Some later editor has changed breeds to bleeds, and Dr. Warburton, blames poor Mr. Theobald for recalling the old word, which yet is certainly right. My Jirife breeds with her fenfe, that is, new thoughts are ftirring in my mind, new conceptions are hatched in my imagination. So we fay _to brood over thought. JOHNSON. Sir ifr. Davenant's alteration favours the fcnie of the old read- ing : She fpeaksfucb fenfe As with my rcafon breeds fuch Images Asjhe Las excellently form d. STEEVEVC. E Z Ali. 52 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Atg. How ! bribe me ? Ij'ab. Ay, with fuch gifts, that heaven fhall fharc with you. Lucio. You had marr'd all elfe, Ifab. Not with fond fhekels 9 of the tefted gold % Or tlones, whofe rates are either rich, or poor, As fancy values them : but with true prayers, That fliall be up at heaven, and enter there, Ere fun- rife ; prayers from preferved fouls % From failing maids, whofe minds are dedicate To nothing temporal. Ang. Well ; come to me to-morrow. Lucio. Go to ; 'tis well ; [AJide to Ifabel.'] away. Jfab. Heaven keep your honour fate ! Ang. Amen : For I am that way going to temptation, [A/ide. Where prayers crofs '. Ifab. 9 f onc j Jbe\els\ Fond, means very frequently in our author" foolljh. It lignifies in this place valued or prized ly folly. STEEVENS. 1 tefted I Jhall poze you qui-ckfy. Would you, who, for the prefent purpofe, declare your brother's crime to be lefs in the fight of heaven, than the law has made it ; would you commit that crime, light as it is, to fave your brother's life ? To this (he anfwers, not very plainly in either reading, but inore appofitely to that which I propofe : I bad rather give mj bodj>i than my foul* JOHNSON. 'Ang. 64 MEASURE FOR MEASURE; Ang. Pleas'd you to do't, at peril of your foul % Were equal poize of fin and charity. Ifab. That I do beg his life, if it be fin, Heaven, let me bear it ! you granting of my fuir, If that be fin, I'll make it my morn prayer To have it added to the faults of mine, And nothing of your, anfwer 9 . Ang. Nay, but hear me : Your fenfe purfues not mine : either you are ignorant; Or feem fo, craftily ; and that's not good. Ifab. Let me be ignorant, and in nothing good, But gracioufly to know I am no better. Ang. Thus wifdom wiihes to appear moft bright, When it doth tax itfelf : as thefe black mafks 1 Proclaim an enlhield beauty ten times louder Than * Pleas'dyou to do'l, at fen'!, &c.] The reafoning is thus : An- gclo aiks, whether there might not be a charity In fen tofave this brother. Ifabella anfwers, that if Angela ivlll fave him, foe will Jtake her foul that it were charity, not Jin. Angelo replies, that if Ifabella would fave him at the hazard of her foul, it would be not indeed no Jin , but a Jin to which the charity would be equivalent. JOHNSON. 9 And nothing of your, anfwer. ~\ I think it fliould be read, And nothing of yours, anfwer. You, and whatever is yours, be exempt from penalty. JOHNSON. And nothing of your anfivcr, means, and make no fart of thofe for which you Jhall be called to anfwer. STEEVENS. This paflage would be clear, I think, if it were pointed thus : To have it added to the faults of mine, And nothing of your, anfwer. So that the fubftantive anfwer may be underftood to be joined in conftrutftion with mine as well as your. The faults of mine an- fwer are the faults which I am to anfwer for. TYRVVHITT. 1 Proclaim an enfhield beaitty ] An enfhield beauty is ajlrield* ed beauty, a beauty covered as ivith ajhield. STEEVENS. as thefe black malks Proclaim an enjhield beauty, &c. This fliould be written en-Jhell'd, or in-Jhell'd, as it is in Coriolanui y Vol. VII. p. 411 : " Thrufts forth his horns again into the world 44 That were /*^2V wheaMardui flood for Rome." Thefe MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 65 Than beauty could difplayed. But mark me ; To be received plain, I'll fpeak more grofs : Your brother is to die. IJab. So. Ang. And his offence is fo, as it appears Accountant to the law upon that pain *. Ifab. True. Ang. Admit no other way to fave his life, (As 1 fubfcribe not that J j nor any other, But in the lofs of queflion 4 ) that you, his filler, Find- Thefe MaJJcs mud mean, I thinkj the "Majk s of the audicnc e ; however improperly a compliment to them is put into the mouth or Angeio. As Shakefpeare would hardly have been guilty of fuch an indecorum to flatter a common audience, I think, this paflage affords ground for fuppofmg that the play was written to be a<5ted at court. Some ftrokes of particular flattery to the king I have already pointed out ; and there are feveral other general reflections, in the character or" the duke efpecially, which ieem, calculated for the royal ear. TYRWHITT. Sir W. Davenant reads as a black majk; but I am afraid Mr. Tyrwhitt is too well fupported in his firft fuppofition, by a paflage at the beginning of Romeo and Juliet: " Thefe happy majks that kifs fair ladies* brows, " Being black, put us in mind they hide the fair." STEEVENS* * Accountant to the law upon that pain.~\ Pain, is here for penalty ', tux(/bment. JOHN T SON. 3 (As I fubfcribe not that, ] To fubfcribe means, to agree to. Milton uies the word in the fame fenie. So in Marlow's Luji's Dominion, 16 : " Subfcribe to his delires." STEEVENS. 4 But in the lofs of quejiion) ] The lofs of qileftion I do not well underftand, and fholild rather read, But in the tofs of queftion. In the agitation, in the difcujjlon of the queilion. To tofs an ar* gument is a common phrafe. JOHNSON. But in the lofs of ijueftion. This expreilion I believe means, but in idle fuppojition, or converfation that tends to nothing, which may therefore, in our author's language, be callM the lofs of queftion. Thus in Coriolanus. aft III. fc. i : " The which fliall turn you to no other harm, 44 Than fo much lofs of time" fhiejlion, in Shakefpeare, often bears this mcan'nor* So in his farquin and Lucrect : VOL, II. F " And 66 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Finding yourfelf defir'd of fuch a perfon, Whofe credit with the judge, or own great place,, Could, fetch your brother from the manacles Of the 5 all-binding law ; and that there were No earthly mean to fave him, but that either You muft lay down the treasures of your body To this fuppofed, or elfe let him fuffer ; What would you do ? Ifab. As much for my poor brother, as myfelf : That is, Were I under the terms of death, The impreffion of keen whips Pd wear as rubies, And ftrip myfelf to death, as to a bed That longing I have been fick for, ere I'd yield My body up to fhame. Ang. Then muft your brother die. IJah. And 'twere the cheaper way : Better it were, a brother dy'd at once % Than that a fifter, by redeeming him, Should die for ever. " And after fupper, long he qT " With modeft Lucrece, &c." STEEVENS. The following paflages add ftrength to Dr. Johnfon's conjec- ture : * I could tofs woe for woe until to-morrow, * But then we'd wake the wolf with bleating forrovv." Acolajlus bis Afterivlt, 1606. 1 Whether it were a queftion mov'd by chance * Or fpitefully of purpofe (I being there * And your own countryman) I cannot tell ; * But when much tojjing Had bandied both the king and you, as pleas'd * Thofe that took up the rackets" - Noble Spanljb Soldier, by Rowley, 1634. MALOJTE. s Of the all-binding law ; - ] The old editions read : ..... all-building law, - from which the editors have made all-holding ; yet Mr. Theobald has binding in one of his copies. JOHNSON. 6 - a brother died <& once,~\ Perhaps we ihould read : Better it were, a brother died for once Tljan that a Jijlcr, by redeeming bim t Should die for ever* JOHNSON. MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 67 Ang. Were not you then as cruel as the fentencc That you have flander'd fo ? IJhb. Ignominy in ranfom, and free pardon, Are of two houfes : lawful mercy Is nothing kin to foul redemption. Aug. You feem'd of late to make the law a tyrant; And rather prov'd the Hiding of your brother A merriment than a vice. IJ'ab. O pardon me, my lord ; it oft falls our, To have what we would have, we fpeak not what we mean : I fomething do excufe the thing I hate, For his advantage that I dearly love. Ang. We are all frail. Ifab. Elfe let my brother die, If not a feodary, but only he 7 , * Owe, ancl fucceed by weaknefs. Ang. Nay, women are frail too. Ij'ab* Ay, as the glaffes where they view themfelves ; Which are as eafy broke as they make forms 9 . Women 7 If not a feodary, but only he, &c.] This is fo obfcure, but the allufion fo fine, that it deferves to be explained. PL feodary was one that in the times of vaflalage held lands of the chief lord, under the tenure of paying rent and iervice : which tenures were called feuda amongft the Goths. Now, fays Angelo, " we are all frail ; yes, replies Ifabella ; if all mankind were not feodaries, who owe what they are to this tenure of imbecility, and who fuc- ceed each other by the fame tenure, as well as my brother, I would give him up." The comparing mankind, lying under theak the former language.'] We fliould read forma?, which he here ufes for plain, direct. WAR BUR TON. Ifabella anfwers to his circumlocutory courtfhip, that fhe has but one tongue, fhe does not underltand this new phrafe, and defires him to talk \i\sformer language, that is, to talk as he talked before. JOHNSON. * Iluwvjyour virtue, bath a licence /''/,] Alluding to the licences given by minifters to their fpies, to go into all fuipected compa- nies, and join in the language of malecontents. WARBURTON. 5 Which feems a little fouler, &c.] So in Promos andCaJJandra : " Caf. Renowned lord, you ufe this fpeech (I hope) your thrall " to trye, " If otherwife, my brother's life fo deare I will not bye." " Pr. MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 69 Ang. Believe me, on mine honour, My words exprefs my purpofe. Ifab. Ha ! little honour to be much believed, And moft pernicious purpofe ! Seeming, ieem ing 6 i I will proclaim thee, Angelo ; look for't : Sign me a prefent pardon for my brother, Or, with an out-ftretch'd throat, I'll tell the world Aloud., what man thou art. Ang. Who will believe thee, Ifabel ? My unfoil'd name, the aufterenefs of my life, 7 My vouch againft you, and my place i' the ftate, Will fo your accufation over-weigh, That you lhall tlifle in your own report, And fmell of calumny 8 . I have begun ; And now I give my fenfual race the rein : Fit thy confent to my iharp appetite ; Lay by all nicety, and prolixious blufhes 9 , That " Pro. Fair dame, my outward looks my inward thoughts be- ' ' wray , " If you miftruft, to fearch my harte, would God you had a " kaye." STEE-VENS. 6 Seeming y feeming ! ] Hypocrily, hypocrify ; coun- terfeit virtue. JOHNSON. 7 My vouch avainjl you, ] The calling his denial of her charge his vouch, has fomething fine. Vouch is the teftimony one man bears for another. So that, by this, he insinuates his au- thority was ib great, that his tlcnial would have the fame credit that a vouch or teftimony has in ordinary cafes. WAR BURTON. I believe this beauty is merely imaginary, and that vouch againjl means no more than denial. JOHNSON. 8 That you JhallJl'Jle in your own report, And fmfll of calumny. ~\ A metaphor from a lamp or candle extinguifhed in its own greafe. STEEVENS. 9 zr\t\ proUxlovs blufhes.] The v/orA prnllxious is not pe- culiar to Shakefpeare. I find it in Mofes his Birth and Miracles, by Drayton : " Moft part by water, more prolixious was, &c." Again, in the Dedication to Gabriel Harvey's Hunt is Up. 1598 : " raririer of prolixious rough barbarifin, &c." F 3 Again, 70 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. That banifh what they fue for ; redeem thy brother By yielding up thy body to my will ; Or elfe he mull not only die the death *, But thy unkindnefs mail his death draw out To lingering fuffcrance : anfwer me to-morrow, Or, by the affection that now guides me moft, I'll prove a tyrant to him : As for you, Say what you can, my falfe o'erweighs your true. [Exit, Ifab, To whom ftiould I complain ? Did I tell this, Who would believe me ? O perilous mouths, That bear in them one and the felf-fame tongue, Either of condemnation or approof ! Bidding the law make court'fy to their will ; Hooking both right and wrong to the appetite, To follow, as it draws ! I'll to my brother : Though he hath fallen by prompture * of the blood, Yet hath he in him J fuch a mind of honour, That had he twenty heads to tender down Again, in Nam's Lenten Stuff, &c. 1599 : " well known unto them by his prolixious kz -wandering." STEEVENS. 1 die the death,"] This feems to be a folemn phrafe for death infiidled by law. So in MidJ'ummcr Night' 's Dream : ' : Prepare to die the death." JOHNSON. It is a phrafe taken from fcripture, as is obferved in a note on the Midfummtr Night's Dream. STEEVENS. The phrafe is a good phrafe, as Shallow fays, but I do not conceive it to be either of 'legal or firlptural origin. Chaucer ufes it frequently. See Cant. Tales, Ver. 607. " They were adradde of him, as of the deth" ver. 1222. " The deth he feleth thurgh his herte fmite." It feems to have been originally a miitaken tranllation of the French La Mort. TYRWHITT. a prompture ] Suggeftion, temptation, inftigation. JOHNSON. 3 fuch a mind of honour,'] This, in Shakefpeare's lan- guage may mean, fuch an honourable mind, as he ufes elfewhere wind rf I, i-e t for loving mind. Thus in Pbilaj.er : " 1 had thought, thy mind f Had been of honour" STEEVENS. MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 71 On twenty bloody blocks, he'd yield them up, Before his lifter fhould her body ftoop To fuch abhorr'd pollution. Then, Ifabel, live chafle, and, brother, die : More than our brother is our chaflity. I'll tell him yet of Angelo's requeft, And fit his mind to death, for his foul's reft. [Exit. ACT III. SCENE I. tte Prifon. Enter Duke, Claudia, and Provoft. Duke. So, then you hope of pardon from lord Angelo ? Claud. The miferable have no other medicine, But only hope : I have hope to live, and am prepared to die. Duke. Be abfolute for death 4 ; either death, or life, Shall thereby be the fweeter. Reafon thus with life, If I do lofe thee, I do lofe a thing, That none but fools would keep s : a breath thou art, Ser- * Be abfolute for death ; ] Be determined to die, without any hope of lite. Horace, *' The hour^ which exceeds expectation will be welanmJ* JOHNSON. 5 That none lut fools ccr's Dido queen of Carthage ; and elfewhere. " That 1 kepe -not rehearfed be :" i.e. which I care not to have rehearfed. Again, in the Knightes Talc, late edit. ver. 2240 : " I kepe nought of armes for to yelpe." Again, in a Mery Jejle of a Man called Ho-wleglas, bl. 1. no date ! ** Then the parfon bad him remember that he had a foule for to kepe, and he preached and teached to him the ufe of confef- lion, &c." STEEVENS. 6 That do this habitation, ] This reading is fubftituted by fir Thomas Hanmer, for That doil - JOHNSON. 7 merely thou art death's fool 5 For him thou labour Jl ly ihyjlight to Jh?m, And yet runnejl toward him Jtdl : J In thofe old farces called Moralities, the fool of the piece, in order to flhew the inevitable approaches of death, is made to employ all his itratagems to avoid him ; which, as the matter is ordered, bring the fool at every turn, into his very jaws. So that the re- prefentations of thefe fcenes would aftbrd a great deal of good toirth and morals mixed together. And from fuch ci re um fiances, in the genius of our anceftors publick diverfions, I fuppofe it was, that the old proverb arofe, ot being merry and wife. WAR BUR TON, Such another expreifion as death's fool, occurs in The lionet a comedy, by S. S. 1616 : " Wilt thou be a fool of fate ? who can " Prevent the deiliny decreed for man ;" STEEVENS. Are MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 73 Are nurs'd by bafenefs 8 : Thou art by no means va- liant ; For thou doft fear the foft and tender fork Of a poor worm 9 : Thy befl of reft is fleep ', And 8 Are nurs'd ly lafcncfs : ] Dr. Warburton is undoubtedly mifr taken in fuppofing that by lafenefe is meant felf-love here affigned as the motive of all human actions. Shakefpeare only meant to obferve, that a minute analyfis of life at once deftroys that fplen- dour which dazzles the imagination. Whatever grandeur can dif- play, or luxury enjoy, is procured by lafenefs, by offices of which the mind (brinks from the contemplation. All the delicacies of the table may be traced back to the mambles and the dunghill, all magnificence ot building was hewn trom the quarry, and all the pomp ot ornament dug trom among the damps and darknefs of the mine. JOHNSOX. This is a thought which Shakefpeare delights to exprefs. So in Antony and Cleopatra ; " - our dungy earth alike " Feeds man as beail." Again : " Which lleeps, and never palates more the <&*, " The beggars nurfc, and C^far's."' STEEVENS. 9 the foft and tender fork Of a poor worm: ] Worm is put for any creeping thing orferfent. Shakefpeare fup- poles falfely, but according to the vulgar notion, that a ferpent wounds with his tongue, and that his tongue is forked. He con- founds reality and fiftion, a ferpent's tongue is/oft but not forked nor hurtful. If it could hurt, it could not be foft. In the Mid- fummtr Night's Dream he has the fame notion : " Jfjtb doubler tongue " Than thine , Q ferpent, never adder flung." JOHNSON. Shakefpeare might have caught this idea from old tapeftries or paintings, in which the tongues ot ferpents and dragons always appear barbed like the point of an arrow. STEEVENS? 1 Thy bejl of reft isJJeep, And that thou oft provok'jl ; yet grofly fear"Jl Thy death) which is no more. ] Evidently from the following pafikge of Cicero : " Habesfomnum imagincm mortis, eamque quotidie induis, & dubitas quin Jenfus in morte nullus fit cum In c'jus fimiilacro vidcas ejje nullum (enftun. But the Epicurean infinuation is, with great judgment, omitted in the imitation. WARBURTON. Here Dr. Warburton might have found a fentiment worthy of Jijs animadverfion. I cannot without indignation find Shakefpeare fay- 74 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. And that thou oft provok'ft ; yet grofly fear 'ft Thy death, which is no more. z Thou art not thyfelf ; For thou exift'ft on many a thoufand grains That iflue out of duft : Happy thou art not ; For what thou haft not, ftill thou ftriv'ft to get; And what thou haft, forget'ft : Thou art not certain ; For thy complexion Ihifts to ftrange effedts 3 , After the moon : If thou art rich, thou art poor; For, like an afs, whofe back with ingots bows, Thou bear'ft thy heavy riches but a journey, And death unloads thee : Friend haft thou none ; , For thy own bowels, which do call thee fire, The mere effufion of thy proper loins, Do curfe the gout, ferpigo % and the rheum, For ending thee no fooner : Thou haft nor youth, nor age 5 ; But, as it were, an after-dinner's ileep, faying, that death is onlyjlecp, lengthening out his exhortation by a fentence which in the friar is impious, in the reafoner is foolifh, and in the poet trite and vulgar. JOHNSON. This was an overfight in Shakefpeare ; for in the fecond fcene of the fourth aft, the Provoft fpeaks of the defperate Barnardine, as one who regards death only as a drunkenjleep. STEEVEXS. 2 Thou art not thyfelf\ ] Thou art perpetually repaired and renovated by external affiflance, thou fubfiileft upon foreign mat- ter, and haft no power of producing or continuing thy own be- ing. JOHNSON. 3 ftraitzeeffetis,'] For effefts read affefls ; thztis,a/efii'0xs, pajjions of mind, or diforders of body varioully affeftcd. So in Otbelto : " Thejoatfrjaffe&s.'* JOHNSON. 4- . ferpigo^] The ferpigo is a kind of tetter. STEEVENS, 5 ! Thou haft nor y out by nor age; But, as it ivere y an after-dinner* sjlcep^ Dreaming on both : ] This is exquifitely imagined. When we are young, we bufy ourielves in forming fchemes for fucceeding time, and mifs the gratifications that are before us ; when we are old, we amufe the languor of age with the recollection of youthful pleafures or per- formances ; fo that our life, of which no part is filled with the bufinefs of the prefent time, refembles our dreams after dinner, when the events of the morning are mingled with the defigns or" the evening. JOHNSON. Dream- MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 75 Dreaming on both : for all thy bleffed youth 6 Becomes as aged, and doth beg the alms 6 for all thy llejjed youth Becomes as aged, and doth leg the alms Of paljled eld; and when tbou'rt old and ricb Thou haft neither beat, &c.] The drift of this period is to prove, that neither youth nor age pan be laid to be really enjoyed, which, in poetical language, is,- We have neither youth nor age. But ho\v is this made out ? That age is not enjoyed he proves, by recapitulating the infirmities of it, which deprive that period of life of all fenfe of pleafure. To prove that youth is not enjoyed, he ufes thefe words, for all thy blejjidyoutb Becomes as aged, and doth beg the alms Ofpalfiedeld; Out of which, he that can deduce the conclufion, has a better knack at logic than I have. I fuppole the poet wrote, jfor pall'd, dy blazedyoutb Becomes afluaged ; and doth leg the alms Of palled eld; I. e. when thy youthful appetite becomes palled, as it will be In. the very enjoyment, the blaze of youth is at once affuaged, and thou immediately contracted the infirmities of old age ; as parti- cularly the palfy and other nervous diforders, confequent on the inordinate ufe ot fenfual pleafures. This is to the purpofe ; and proves youth is not enjoyed, by (hewing the fiiort duration of it. WAR EUR TON. Here again I think Dr. Warburton totally miftaken. Shake- fpeare declares that man has neither youth nor age ; for in youth, which is the happlejl time, or which might be the happieit, he commonly wants means to obtain what he could enjoy ; he is de- pendent on paljlcd eld: muft leg alms from the cofters of hoary avarice ; and being very niggardly fupplied, becomes as aged, looks, like an old man, on happineis which is beyond his reach. And, when he is old and rich, when he has wealth enough for the pur- chafe of all that formerly excited his defires, he has no longer the powers of enjoyment ; has neither beat, of eel ion, llml, nor beauty^ To make his riches plcafaut. I have explained this pailage according to the prefent reading, which may irand without much inconvenience ; yet I am willing to perfuade my reader, becaufe I have almoil perfuaded myfelf, that our author wrote, for all thy blafted youth Becomes as aged JOHNSON. 76 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Of palfied eld 7 ; and when them art old, and rich, Thou haft neither heat, affe&ion, limb, nor beauty s To make thy riches pleafant. What's yet in this, That bears the name of life ? Yet in this life ' Lye hid more thoufand deaths 9 : yet death we fear, That makes thefe odds all even. Claud. I humbly thank you. To fue to live, I find, I feek to die ; And, feeking death, find life : Let it come on. Enter Ifabella. Jfab. What, ho ! Peace here ; grace and good com- pany ! Prov. Wlio's there ? Come in : the wifh deferves a welcome. Duke. Dear fir, ere long I'll vifit you again. 7 pal/ied t\& ;] Eld is generally ufed for old age, decrepitude. Ir 5s here put for old people , perfons -worn out <^oith years. So in Marfton's Dutch Courtezan, 1604 : " Let colder eld their ftrong objections move.*' Again, in our author's Merry Wives of Wtntyor : " The fuperftitious idle-headed eld." Gtnver ufes it for age as oppofed to youth : *' His elde had turned into youth." De Confejporu Amantis. lib. v. fol. 106. STEEVENS. 8 beat, affeSlion, limb, nor beauty] But how does beauty make riches pleafant ? We fhould read bounty, which completes the fenfe, and is this ; thou haft neither the pleafure of enjoying riches thy- felf, for thou wanteft vigour ; nor of feeing it enjoyed by others, for thou wanteft bounty. Where the making the want of bounty as infeparable from old age as the want of health, is extremely faty- rical, though not altogether juft. WARBURTON. I am inclined to believe, that neither man nor woman will have much difficulty to tell how beauty makes riches pleafant. Surely this emendation, though it is elegant and ingenious, is not fuch as that an opportunity of inferting it fhould be purchafed by declaring ignorance of what every one knows, by confeffing infenfibility of what every one feels. JOHNSON. 9 more thoufand deaths:} For this fir T. Hanmer reads : a thoufand deaths : The meaning is not only a thoufand deaths, but a thoufand deaths bcfides what have been mentioned. JOHNSON. Claud. MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 77 Claud. Mofl holy fir, I thank you. Ifab. My bufinefs is a word or two, with Claudio. Pro-v. And very welcome. Look, fignior, here's your fifter.- Duke. Provoft, a word with you* Prov. As many as you pleafe. Duke. Bring them to fpeak where I may be con- ceal'd, Yet hear them '. [Exeunt Duke and Provoft. Claud. Now, fifter, what's the comfort ? Ifab. Why, as all comforts are ; moft good in deed '- : Lord Angelo, having affairs to heaven, Intends you for his fwift embaflador, Where you fliall be an everlafting leiger * : There- 1 Bring tbcM to fpeak inhere I may be concealed^ JTet bear them^\ Thus the modern editions. The old copy, publifhed by the players, gives the paflage thus : Bring them to bear mcfyeak^ inhere I may le concealed, I believe we fhould read : Bring me to hear them fpeak, where I may be con- ceal'd. STEEVENS. The fecond folio authorizes the reading of the modern editions. TYRWHITT. * as all comforts are ; moft good in deed:] If this reading be right, Ifabella muft mean that (he brings fomething better than words of comfort, (he brings an afiurance of deeds. This i* harfli and conftrained, but I know not what better to offer. Sir Thomas Hanmer reads, in fpeed. JOHNSON. The old copy reads : " Why, " As all comforts are : moft good, moft good indeede." I believe the old reading, as explained by Dr. Johnfon, is the true one. So in Macbeth : " We're yet but young in deed." STEEVENS. 3 an ei-erlajling leiger : Therefore your left appointment J Leiger is the fame with refident. Appointment ; preparation ; ad of fitting, or ilate of being fitted for any thing. So in old books, we have a knight well appointed \ that is, well armed and mounted or fitted at all points. JOHNSON, The 78 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Therefore your belt appointment 4 make with fpeed J To-morrow you let on. Claud* Is there no remedy ? Ifab. None, but fuch remedy, as, to fave a head, To cleave a heart in twain. Claud. But is there any ? Ifab. Yes, brother, yon may live ; There is a deviliih mercy in the judge, If you'll implore it, that will free your life, But fetter you till death. Claud. Perpetual durance ? Ifab. Ay, jufl, perpetual durance ; a reftraint, Though all the world's vaftidity you had, To a determin'd fcope s . Cland. But in what nature ? Ifab. In fuch a one as (you confenting to't) Would bark your honour from that trunk you bear, And leave you naked. Claud. Let me know the point. Ifab Oh, I do fear thee, Claud io ; and I quake, The word lleger is thus ufed in the Comedy of Look about Tou i 1600 ; " Why do you flay, Sir? ** Madam, as leiger to folicit for your abfent love." STEEVENS. * -your beft appointment ] The word appointment, on this occafion, fhould feem to comprehendcon feffion, communion, and abfolution. " Let him (fays Efealus) be furnifli'd with divines, and have all charitable preparation." The King in Hamlet -, who was cut off prematurely, and without fuch preparation, is faid to be dif-appointed. Appointment, however, may be more limply explained by the following paflage in The Antipodes^ 1638: " your lodging *' Is decently appointed. " i.e. prepared, furnifhed. STEEVENS* 5 a rejlrair.t, To a determin'd fcope i\ A confinement of your mind to one painful idea ; to ignominy, of which the remembrance can neither be fupprefled nor eicaped. JOHNSON. Left MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 79 Left them a feverous life fhould'ft entertain, And fix or feven winters, more refped: Than a perpetual honour. Dar'ft thou die ? The fenfe of death is moft in apprehenfion ; And the poor beetle 6 , that we tread upon, In corporal fufferance finds a pang as great As when a giant dies. Claud. Why give you me this fhame ? Think you I can a reiblution fetch From flowery tendernefs ? If I muft die, I will encounter darknefs as a bride 7 , And hug it in mine arms. Ifab. There fpake my brother ; there my father's grave Did utter forth a voice ! Yes, thon muft die : Thou art too noble to conferve a life In bafe appliances. This outward-fainted deputy, Whofe fettled vifage and deliberate word Nips youth i' the head, and follies doth emmew % 9 As faulcon doth the fowl, is yet a devil ; His 6 TJje poor beetle, &c.] The reafoning is, that death is no more than every being muftfuffer, though the dread of it is peculiar to man,, or perhaps, that we are incontinent with ourfelves, when we fo much dread that which we carelefly inflict on other creatures, that feel the pain as acutely as we. JOHNSON. 7 . / -TV III encounter darknefs as a bride, And hug it in my arms.] So in the firft part of Jeronimo, or the Spanijh Tragedy ', 1605 : night " That yawning beldam, with her jetty Ikin, " 'Tis flie I hug as mine effeminate bride." STEEVEVS, 8 follies doth cmme.} Forces follies to He in cover without daring to fliow themfelves. JOHNSON. 9 As faulcon doth the fowl, ] In whofe prefence the follies of youth are afraid to (hew themfelves, as the fowl is afraid to flut- ter while the falcon hovers over it. So in the Third Part of K. Henry VI : " not he that loves him beft, " The proudeft he that holds up Lancafter, ' Dareijlir a v.*in& if Warwick fhakes .his bells." To 8o MEASURE FOR MEASURE; His filth within being caft ', he would appear A pond as deep as hell. Claud. z The princely Angelo ? Ifab* To enmew is a term in falconry ufed by B. and Fletcher, id tte Knigbtwf Malta: " 1 have feen him fcale " As if a falcon had run up a train, " Clashing his warlike pinions, his fteel'd cuirafs, *' And, at his pitch, enmew the town below him/' STEEVENS. 1 Hisjilth within being caft. ] To caft a pond is to empty it of mud. Mr. Upton reads : His pond within being caft, he would appear A filth as deep as hell. JOHNSON. * Toe princely Angelo f princely guards / ] The ftupid editors, miitaking guards for fatellites, (whereas it here figniiies lace) altered friejlly, in both places, to princely. Whereas Shakefpeare wrote \\.priejily, as appears from the words themfelves, 'Tis the cunning livery of belli, The damned 'Jl body to ihvcji and covef With prieftly guards. In the firft place we fee that guards here fignifies lace, as referring to livery, and as having no ienfe in the fignilication of fatellites. Now prieftly guards means fantfity, which is the fenfe required. But princely guards means nothing but rich lace, which is a fenfe the pafTage will not bear. Angelo, indeed, as deputy, might be called the princely Angelo : but not in this place, where the im- mediately preceding words of, This out -ward-fainted deputy, demand the reading I have here reftored. WARBURTON. The firft folio has, in both places, prcnrS.e, from which th~e other folios made princely, and every editor may make what he can. JOHNSON. Princely guards mean no more than the ornaments of royalty, which Angelo is fuppofetl to affume during the ab fence of the duke. The ftupidity of the firft editors is fometimes not more in- jurious to Shakefpeare, than the ingenuity of thofe who fuc- ceeded them. In the old play of Cambyfes I meet with the fame expreffion. Sifamnes is left by Cambyfes to diftribute juftice while he is abfenf ; and in a foliloquy fays : " Now may I wear the brodered garJf. ** And lye in dovrne bed fort." Again, MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 81 Ifab. Oh, 'tis the cunning livery of hell, The damned'ft body to invell and cover tn princely guards ! Doft thou think, Claudio, If I would yield him my virginity, Thou might'ft be freed ? Claud. Oh, heavens ! it cannot be. [fab. Yes, he would give it thee; ' for this rank of- fence* So to offend him ftill : This night's the time That I fhould do what I abhor to name^ Or elfe thou dy'ft to morrow. Gaud. Thou ihall not do't. Ifab. Oh, we're it but my life, I'd throw it down fdr your deliverance As frankly as a pin 4 . Claud. Thanks, dear Ifabel. Ifab. Be ready, Claudio, for your death to-morrow. Claud. Yes. Has he affections in him, That thus can make him bite the law by the nofe ? When he would force it 5 , Cure it is no fin ; Or of the deadly feven it is the leaft. Ifab. Which is the leaft ? Again, the queen of Cambyfes fays : " I do fo'rfake thefe broder'd gardes " And all the facions new." Sf SEVENS. 3 for this rank offence,] For, Hanmer. In other editions, from. JOHNSON. . from this rank gffence,~\ I believe means from the time of my committing this oftencej you might periiit in finning with fatety. The advantages you would derive from my having fuch a fecret of his in my keeping, would enfure you from further harm on account of the fame fault, however frequently repeated. STEEVENS. * as a pin.~\ So in Hamlet: " I do not fet my life at a//Vs fee." STEEVENS. 5 When, he would force it, ] Put it in force. WAR BURTON, The meaning fcems to me juft the reverfe, When he, fo -Ttv/r, t. An army routed is called by Hollinflied, an vamy fcaled. The MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 9 'Duke. It lies much in your holding up : Haftc you fpeedily to Angelo ; if for this night he intreat you to his bed, give him promiie of fatis faction. I will prefently to St. Luke's ; there, at the moated grange } refjdes this dejected Mariana : at that -place call upon me ; and difpatch with Angelo, that it may be quickly. Ijiib. I thank you for this comfort r Fare yon well j good father. [Exeunt feverally, SCENE IL ttv Street. Re-enter Duke as a Frlar^ Elboii'^ Clon'n, and Officers. Elb. Nay, if there be no remedy for it, but that you will needs buy and fell men and women like beafts, we fliall have all the world drink brown and white baftard 4 . Duke. Oh, heavens ? what fluff is here ? Cloivn. 'Twas never merry world, fince, of two ufuries 5 , the merrieft was put clown, and the worfer allaw'd word fcmetimes figniues to d'-Jfvff or difperfe ; at others, as J fup- pofe in trie prefect inilance, to put into confujion. STEEVEXS. 3 the moated grange] A. grange is a folitary farm-houfc. So in Othello : " this is Venice, " My houfe is not *. grange." STEEVE'N-S. 4 l)aff la-vc, * * * ' wear a hempen cord for a girdle. Thus Buchanan : ** Fac gemant j'uis, " Tariata tcrga funilus" JoHNSON. 1 Pigmalion's images, newly made woman,~\ i. e. come out cured from a falivation. WAR BUR TON. Surely this expreffion is fuch as may authorife a more delicate explanation. By Pygmalion's images* newly made wo>n:t;i, I be- lieve, Shakefpeare meant no more than Have you no women now to recommend to your cuftomers, as frefh and untouched as 'PyvrnaHoit's ftatue was, at the moment when it became fielh and blood ? The paflage may, however, contain fome allufion to a pamphlet printed in 1598, called The. Mctamorpbofis of Pygma- lion 3 Image, and certain Satires. I have never feen it, but it is mentioned by Ames, p. 568 ; and whatever its fubjecl might be, we learn from an order figned by the archbifhop of Can- terbury and the bifhop of London, that this book was com- manded to be burnt. The order is inferted at the end of the fe- cond volume of the entries belonging to the Stationers' Com- pany. STEEVENS. " is there none of Pygaalitnf* images newly made woman, to be had now ?" If Marjlons IMetamorpbofa of Pigmalion's Image be alluded to, I believe it mull be in the argument. - " The ma'ule (by the power of Venus) was metamorphoied into a living wo- man." FARMER. There may, hcwever, bean allufion to a paffagc in JLyJly's iroman in the Moiae, 1597. The inhabitants of Utopia petition Nature MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 93 pocket and extracting it clutch'd ? what reply > ha ? a What fay'ft thou to this tune, matter, and method ? Is't not drown'd i' the lad rain? ha ? J what fay'ft thou, trot ? is the world as it was, man ? Which is the way 4 ? is it fad, and few words ? or how ? the trick of it ? Nature for females, that they may, like other beings, propagate their fpecies. Nature grants their requeft, and " they draw the curtins from before Nafurc's mop, where ftands an image clad, and fome unclad, and they bring forth the cloathed image, &c.' y STEEVENS. * ivbatjay'jl thou to this tune, matter , and method ? Is't not Jmvn'd i' the laft rain?] This nonfenfe fhould be thus corrected, It's not down /' the loft reign, i. e. thefe are feverities unknown to the old duke's time. And this is to the purpofe. WAR BUR TON. Dr. Warburton's emendation is ingenious, but I know not whether the ienfe may not be reitored with lefs change. Let us confider it. Lucio, a prating fop, meets his old friend going to prilbn, and pours out upon him his impertinent interrogatories, to which, when the poor fellow makes no anfvver, he adds, What reply ? ha f wbatfeyjt thou to this ? tune, matter, and method, ii't not ? droivti'd i 1 tb* laft rain ? ha ? ivbat J'ay'Jl thou, trot ? &c. It is a common phrale uied in low raillery of a man crefl-falleii and dejedted, that he looks like a drown' d puppy. Lucio, therefore, afks him, whether he was drown* din the laft rain, and therefore cannot Ipeak. JOHNSON. He rather asks him whether his anf-iver was not drown'd in the laft rain, for Pompey returns no anficer to any of his queftions : or, perhaps, he means to compare Pompey's miferable appearance to a drown d moiife* So in K, Henry VI. p. I. fc. ii : " Or piteous they will look, like drowned mice." STEEVENS. 3 ivbatfay'Jl thou, trot ?] It fliould be read, I think, what fay'ft thou to't i the word trot being feldom, if ever, ufed to a man. Old trot, or trat, fignifies a decrepid old woman, or an old drab. In this fenfe it is ufed by Gawin Douglas, Virg. JEn. b. iv : " Out on the old trat, aged dame orwyffe." GRAY. So in Wily Beguiled, 1613 : " Thou toothlefs old trot thou." Again, in Mucedorus, 1668 : " But if the old trot " Should come for her pot." Again, in the Wife Woman of Hogsden, 1638: " What can this witch, this wizard, or old trot" STEEVENS. Trot, or as it is now often pronounced, honeft trout, is a familiar addrefs to a man among the provincial vulgar. JOHNSON'. 4 Which is the way?] What ii the mode O~M ? JOHNSOX. Duke. 94 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Duke. Still thus, and thus ! flill worfe ! Lucio. How doth my dear morfel, thy miflrefs ? procures Ihe flill ? ha ? Clown. Troth, fir, fhc hath eaten up all her beef, and Ihe is herfelf in the tub 5 . Lucio. Why, 'tis good ; it is the right of it ; it muft be fo : ever your frefh whore, and your pow- der'd bawd : an unihunn'd confequence ; it mufl be fo : Art going to priibn, Pompey ? Gown. Yes, faith, fir. Lucio. Why 'tis not amifs, Pompey : farewell : go ; fay, I fent thee thither. For debt, Pompey ? or how 6 ? Elb. For being a bawd, for being a bawd. Lucio. Well, then imprifon him : if imprifonment be the due of a bawd, why, 'tis his right : Bawd is he, doubtlefs, and of antiquity too ; bawd-born. Farewell, good Pompey : Commend me to the pri- fon, Pompey : You will turn good hufband now, Pompey ; you will keep the houfe. Clown. I hope, fir, your good worlhip will be my bail. Lucio. No, indeed, will I not, Pompey ; it is not the wear 7 . I will pray, Pompey, to encreafe your * in the tub.} The method of cure for venereal complaints is grofly called the parade ring tub. JOHNSON. It was fo called from the method of cure. See the notes on ' the tub-faft and the diet" in Timon, act IV. STEEVENS. 6 g 5 f a yi Ife nt thee, thither. For debt, Pompey? or bo=iv?~\ It (hould be pointed thus, Go , fay I fent thee thither for debt, Pompey <; er hotv i. e. to hide the ignominy of thy cafe, fay, I fent thee to prifon for debt, or whatever other pretence thou fancieft better. The other humoroufly replies, For being a lawd, for being a lawd, i. e. the true caufe is the moft honourable. This is in character. WARBURTON. I do not perceive any neceffity for the alteration. Lucio firft offers him the ufe of his name to hide the feeming ignominy of his cafe ; and then very naturally delires to be informed of the true reafon why he was ordered into confinement. STEEVENS. 7 it is not the wear. J i.e. it is not the falhion. STEEVENS, bondage ; MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 95 bondage : if you take it not patiently, why, your mettle is the more : Adieu, trufty Pompey. Blefj you, friar. Duke. And you. Lucio. Does Bridget paint ftill, Pompey ? ha ? Elb. Come your ways, fir ; come. Clown. You will not bail me then, fir ? Lucio. Then, Pompey ? nor now. What news abroad, friar ? what news ? Rib. Come your ways, fir, come. Lucio. Go, to kennel, Pompey, go 8 : [Exeunt Elbow, Clown, and Officers. What news, friar, of the duke ? Duke. I know none ; Can you tell me of any ? Lucio. Some fay, he is with the emperor of Ruffia ; other fome, he is in Rome : But where is he, think you ? Duke. I know not where : but wherefoever, I wifh him well. Lucio. It was a mad fantailical trick of him, to (leal from the flate, and ufurp the beggary he was never born to. Lord Angelo dukes it well in his abfence ; he puts trangreflion to't. Duke. He does well in't. Lucio. A little more lenity to lechery would do no harm in him : fomething too crabbed that way, friar. Duke. It is too general a vice 9 , and feverity muft cure it. Lucio. 8 Go, to kennel, Pompey, go :] It fliould be remembered, that Pompey is the common name of a dog, to which allufion is made in the mention of a kennel. JOHNSON. 9 // is too general a vice,] The occalion of the obfervation was Lucio's faying, that it ought to be treated -with a little more lenity ; and his anlwer to it is, The vice is of great kindred. Nothing can be more abfurd than all this. From the occafion, and the anfvver,. therefore, it appears, that Shakefpeare wrote, It is too gentle a vice, which fignifying both indulgent and 'uoett-lreJy Lucio hu- mouroufly takes it in the latter fenfe. WAE.BURTOX. 9 6 MEASURE FOR MEASURE; Lucio. Yes, in good footh, the vice is of a great! kindred ; it is well ally'd : but it is impoflible to ex-* tirp it quite, friar, till eating and drinking be put down. They fay, this Angelo was not made by man and woman, after the downright way of creation ; Is it true, think you ? Duke. How fhould he be made then ? Lucio. Some report, afea-maid fpawn'd him :- - fome, that he was begot between two flock-fifties : > But it is certain, that when he makes water, his urine is congeal'd ice ; that I know to be true : and he is a motion ungenerative, that's infallible '. Duke. You are pleafant, fir ; and fpeak apace. Lucio. Why, what a ruthlefs thing is this in him, for the rebellion of a cod-piece, to take away the life of a man ? Would the duke, that is abfent, have done this ? ere he would have hang'd a man for the getting a hundred baftards, he would have paid for the nurfing a thoufand : he had fome feeling of thfe fport ; he knew the fervice, and that inftructed him to mercy. Duke. I never heard the abfent duke much detedt- ed for women 2 ; he was not inclin'd that way. Lucio. It is too general a vice. "es, replies Lucio, the vice is of great kindred; it is well ally d: &c. As much as to fay, Yes, truly, it is general ; for the greateft men have it as well as we little folks. A little lower he taxes the Duke perfonally with it. EDWARDS. 1 and he is a motion ungenerative, that's infallible.] In the for- mer editions : and he is a motion generative ; that's infallible . This may be fenfe ; and Lucio, perhaps, may mean, that though Angelo have the organs of generation, yet that he makes no more life of them, than if he were an inanimate puppet. But I rather think our author wrote ,and he is a motion ungenerative, becaufe Lucio again in this very fcene fays, this imgenitured agent ivitt unpeople the province with contlnency. THEOBALD. A motion generative cerfiinly means 'A puppet of the mafculine gender \ a thing that appears to have thofe powers of which it is not in reality pofTefled. STEEVENS. 1 much dete6ted_/0r women ;] This appears fo like the language of Dogberry^ that at firft I thought the paflage corrupt, and wiihed to rz:\d fufpctfed. But perhaps dctefled had anciently the fame MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 97 Lucio. Oh, fir, you are deceiv'd. Duke. 'Tis not poffible. Lucio. Who ? not the duke ? yes, your beggar of fifty ; and his ufe was, to put a ducket in her ' clack- 4tfh : the duke had crotchets in him ; He would be drunk too ; that let me inform you. Duke. You do him wrong, furely* lame meaning. So in an old collection of tales, entitled, Wits> Fits,, and Fancies, 1 595 : " An officer whofe daughter was de- teRed of difhoneftie, and generally fo reported. " That de- tefled is there ufed iorfufpefted, and not in the prefent fenfe of the word, appears, I think, from the words that follow and generally fo reported, which feem to relate not to a known butfuf- pefted fact. MALONE. 3 clack-dijb^:'] The beggars, two or three centuries ago, ufed to proclaim their want by a wooden-di(h with a moveable cover, which they clacked to fliew that their veflel was empty. This appears from a paflage quoted on another occafion by Dr. Gray. Dr. Gray's aflertion may be fupported by the following paflage in an old comedy, called The Family of Love, 1608: " Can you think I get my living by a bell and a dack-dijh?" " By a bell and a dack-dijb ? how's that ?" ' Why, by begging, fir, &c." Again, in Henderibn's Supplement to Chaucer's Troiius* and CreJJeid: " Thus {halt thou go begging from hous to hous, *' With cuppe and clappir, like a Lazarous." And by a ftage direciion in the zd Part of K. Edw. IV. 1619 : " Enter Mrs. Blague very poorly, begging with her baflcet arid a claf-dijb." Again, in Bujjy IfAmbois, 1641 : " That affects royalty, rifing from a clap-dijb" Again, in Green's Tu quoque, 1599: " Widow, hold your dap-dijh, faften your tongue." Again, in the Honeft UHjore, by Decker, zd Part, 1630 : *' You'd better get a dap-dijb, and fay you are proctor to fome fpital-houfe." Again, in Drayton's Epiftle from Elinor Cob ham, to Duke Humphrey: " Worfe now than with a dap-dijh in my hand." There is likewife an old proverb to be found in Ray's Collec- tion, which alludes to the fame cuftom : " He daps his dijfj at a wrong man's door." STEEVENS. VOL. II. H Lucio. 9 $ MEASURE FOR MEASURE. ^Lucio. Sir, I was an inward of his * : A Ihy fellow was the duke : and, I believe, I know the caufe of his withdrawing. Duke* What, I pr'ythee, might be the caufe ? Ltfcio. No pardon ; 'tis a fecret muft be lock'd within the teeth and the lips : but this I can let you underftand, The greater file of the fubjeft * held the duke to be wife. Duke. Wife ? why, no queftion but he was. Luclo, A very fuperficial, ignorant, unweighing fel- low. \ Duke. Either this is envy in you, folly, or miflak-* ing ; the very ftream of his life, and the 6 buiinefs he hath helmed, muft, upon a warranted need, give him a better proclamation. Let him be but teftimonied in his own bringings forth, and he ihall appear, to the envious, a fcholar, a ftatefman, and a foldier : Therefore, you fpeak unlkilfully ; or, if your know- ledge be more, it is much darkened in your malice. Lucio. Sir, I know him, and I love him. Duke. Love talks with better knowledge, and Icncfwledge with dearer love. Lucio. Come, fir, I know what I know. Duke. I can hardly believe that, fince you know not what you fpeak. But, if ever the duke return, (as our prayers are he may) let me defire you to make your anfwer before him : If it be honeft you have fpoke, you have courage to maintain it : I am 4 an inward of his :~\ Inward is intimate. So in Daniei's Hymens Triumph , 1623 : " You two were wont to be moft inward friends." Again, in Mar/ion's Malecontent, 1604 : " Come we muft be inward, thou and, I all one." STEEVEXS. 5 . Tic greater jlle of the fubjcfl] The larger lift, the greater Cumber. JOHNSON. So in Macbeth: " the valued jile" STEEVENS. * the Itifinefs be hath helmed ^\ The difficulties be batbjleer'd through. A metaphor from navigation. STELVEXS,- bound MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 99 bound to call upon you ; and, I pray you, your name ? Lucioi Sir, my name is Lucio ; well known to the duke. Duke. He fhall know you better, fir, if I may live to report you. Lucio. I fear you not. Duke. Oh, you hope, the duke will return no more ; of you imagine me too unhurtful an oppofite. But, indeed, I can do you little harm : you'll for- fwear this .again. Lucio. I'll be hang'd firft : thou art deceiv'd in me, friar. But no more of this : Canft thou tell, if Claud io die to-morrow, or no ? Duke. Why fhould he die, fir ? Lucio. Why ? for filling a bottle with a tun-dim. I would, the duke, we talk oT, were return'd again : this ungenitur'd agent 7 will unpeople the province with continency; fparrows muft not build in his houfe-eaves, becaufe they are lecherous. The duke yet would have dark deeds darkly anfwer'd; he would never bring them to light : Would He were return'd ! marry, this Claudio is condemn'd for un- truffing. Farewell, good friar ; I pr'ythee, pray for me. The duke, I fay to thee again, would eat mut- ton on Fridays 8 . He's now paft it ; yet 9 , and I fay to thee, he would mouth with a beggar, though me 7 ungenitur'd agent] This word feems to be form'd from genitoirs, a word which occurs in Holland's Pliny, torn. ii. p. 321, 560, 589, and comes from the French genitoires, the genitals. TOLLETT. 8 eat mutton on Fridays.] A wench was called a laced mutton. THEOBALD. So in Do&or Faufius, 1604, Lechery fay : " I am one that loves an inch or" raw mutton better than an ell of Friday ftockfifti." STEEVENS. 9 He is nvw paft it ; yet,~\ Sir Thomas Hanmer, He is not paft it j/et. This emendation was received in the former edition, but feems not necerTary. It were to be wilhed, that we all explained more, and amended lefs, JOHNSON. H 2 fineU loo MEASURE FOR MEASURE. fmelt brown bread and garlick : fay, that I faid fa. Farewell. [Exit. Duke. No might nor greatnefs in mortality Can cenfure 'fcape ; back-wounding calumny The whiteft virtue ftrikes : What king fo ftrong, Can tie the gall up in the ilanderous tongue ? But who comes here ? Enter Efcalus, Provoft, Bawd, and Officers. Efcal. Go, away with her to prifon. Bawd. Good my lord, be good to me; your ho- nour is accounted a merciful man : good my lord. Efcal. Double and treble admonition, and fell for- feit in the fame kind ? this would make mercy fwear ', and play the tyrant. Prov. A bawd of eleven years continuance, may it pleafe your honour. -Bawd. My lord, this is one Lucio's information againft me : miftrefs Kate Keep-down was with child by him in the duke's time, he promised her marriage ; his child is a year and quarter old, come Philip and Jacob ; I have kept it myfelf ; and fee, how he goes about to abufe me. Efcal. That fellow is a fellow of much licence : , let him be call'd before us. Away with her to pri- fon : Go to ; no more words. [Exeunt with the Bawd.~] Provoft, my brother Angelo will not be alter'd, Claudio muft die to-morrow : let him be furnifh'd 1 mercy fwear, and play the tyrant,"] We mould read/iwrw, i. e. deviate from her nature. The common reading gives us the idea of a ranting whore. WAREURTON. There is furely no need of emendation. We fay at prefenr, Such a thing is enough to make a parfon fwear, i. e. deviate from a proper refpect to decency, and the fandity of his character. The idea of fvjearlng agrees very well with that of a tyrant in our ancient my iteries. STEEVENS. I do not much like mercy fiuear t the old reading : or mercy fwcrve, Dr. Warburton's correction. I believe it mould be, this would make mercy fever e . FAR ME R , with MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 101 \ykh divines, and have all charitable preparation : if my brother wrought by rny pity, it fhould not be fo with him. Prov. So pleafe you, this friar has been with him, and advis'd him for the entertainment of death. Efca. Good even, good father. Duke. Blifs and goodnefs on you ! Efcal. Of whence are you? Duke. Not of this country, though my chance is now To ufe it for my time : I am a brother Of gracious order, lately come from the fee % In fpccial bufinefs from his holinefs. Efcal. What news abroad i' the world ? Duke. None, but that there is fo great a fever on goodnefs, that the diffolution of it muft cure it : no- velty is only in requeft ; and it is as dangerous to be aged in any kind of courfe, as it is virtuous to be con- ftant in any undertaking. There is fcarce truth enough alive, to make focicties fecure ; but fecurity enough, to make fellowlhips accurs'd : Much upon this riddle runs the wifdom of the world. This news is old enough, yet it is every day's news. I pray you, lir, of what difpofition was the duke ? Efcal. One, that, above all other ftrifes, contended efpecially to know himfelf. Duke. What pleafure was he given to ? Efcal. Rather rejoicing to fee another merry, than merry at any thing which profefs'd to make him re- joice : a gentleman of all temperance. But leave we him to his events, with a prayer they may prove pro- fperous ; and let me defire to know, how you find Claudio prepar'd ? I am made to underfland, that you have lent him vifitation. Duke. He profeffes to have received no finifler meafure from his judge, but moft willingly humbles 3- from tloe fee] The folio reads : from the fea. JOHNSON. H 3 him- 102 MEASURE FOR MEASURE, himfelf to the determination of juftice : yet had he fram'd to himfelf, by the inftruction of his frailty, many deceiving promifes of life ; which I, by my good leifure, have difcredited to him., and now is he irefolved to die, Efeal. You have paid the heavens your function, and the prifoner the very debt of your calling. I have labour'd for the poor gentleman, to the extrer meft fhore of my modefty ; but my brother juftice have I found fo fevere, that he hath forc'd me to tell him, he is indeed juftice J , Duke, If his own life anfwer the ftraitnefs of his proceeding, it lhall become him well; wherein if he chance to fail, he hath fentenc'd himfelf, Efcal. I am going to vifit the prifoner : Fare you well, (Exit* Duke. Peace be with you ! He, who the fword of heaven will bear. Should be as holy as fevere ; Pattern in himfelf to know 4 , Grace to fland, and virtue go ; * - - he is indeed -jit/lice.] Summumjus, fumma injuria. STEEVENS. * Pattern in himfelf to know^ Grace to J} and, and virtue go ; ] Thefe lines I cannot underibnd, but believe that they fhoujd. be read thus : Patterning himfelf to know, In grace tojiand, in virtue go j To pattern is to work after a pattern, and, perhaps, in Shake- peare's licentious diction, (imply to work. The fenfe is, he that bears the fword of heaven Jbovld be holy as well as fevere ; one that after good examples labours to know himfelf \ to live with innocence, and to a3 with virile, JOHNSON. This paflage is very obfcure, nor cap be cleared without a more licentious paraphrafe than any reader may be willing to allow. He that bears the fword of heaven Jhould be not lifs holy than fevere : Jhould le able to difcover in himfelf a pattern of fuel grace as can ' avoid temptation, together with fuch virtue ar dares venture abroad into the world without danger offeduftion, STEEYEN?, Mqre MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 103 More nor lefs to others paying, Than by felfoffences weighing. Shame to him, whofe cruel ftriking Kills for faults of his own liking ! Twice treble ftiame on Angelo, To weed my vice, and let his grow 5 ! Oh, what may man within him hide, Though angel on the outward fide ! How may that likenefs, made in crimes % Making practice on the times, Draw 5 To weed my vice, and let /jlsgrtnvf] i. e. to weed faults out of my dukedom, and yet indulge himfelf in his own private vices. STEEYE^S, 6 Ho'jj may lihnefs made in crimes, Making praflice on the times, To draw with idle fplde r's firings Moft ponderous and fubftantial things /} Thui all the editions read corruptly ; and fo have made an ob-, fcure paflage in itfelf, quite unintelligible. Shakefpeare wrote it thus, HOVJ may that lihnefs, made in crimes, Making practice on the times, The fenfe is this, How much wickednefs may a man hide w/V/*, though he appear an angel without. How may that likenefe made in crimes, i. e. by hypocrify ; [a pretty paradoxical expreffion, an angel made in crimes] by impofing upon the world [thus emphati- cally exprefled, making practice on the times'] draw with its falfe and feeble pretences [finely called fpidcr's firings'] the moft pondrous and fubitantial matters of the world, as riches, honour, power, re- putation, &c. WARBURTON. The Kfvifal reads thus, How may fuch likencfi trade in crimes^ Making practice on the times, To draw with idle /bider*t firings Moft ponderous and fidfiantial things ; meaning \)j ponderous andful'ftantial things, pleafure and wealth. ST&EVENS. ' HO-JO may that likcncfs made in crimes, Making practice of the times, Dra-i'j iuith idle fp'der^ Jlrings Moft ponderous and fulfiantial things? i.e. How may the making it a practice of letting great rogues treak through the laws with impunity, and hanging up little ones H 4 for 104 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Draw with idlefpiders* firings Moft pond'rous and fubftantial things ! Craft againft vice I rrmft apply : With Angelo to-night ftiall lye His old betrothed, bpt defpis'd; So difguife ihall, by the difgius'd 7 , Pay with falftiood falfe exacting, And perform an old contracting. [Exit. ACT JV. SCENE I. A Grange. Enter Mariana, and Boyfinging. SONG. Take.) oh, take thofe lips away % That fo fweetly were forfwo'rn ; And tboj'e eyes, the break of day, Lights that do mif-lead, th,e mo.tn : But for the fame crimes ; draw away in time with idle fpiders firings ? (for no better do the cords of the law become, according to ths old faying ; Leges Jtmiles arancarum tells, to which the allufion is) juftice and equity, the moft ponderous and fubilantial bafes, and pillars of government. 'When juftice on offenders is not done ? law, government, and commerce are overthrown. SMITH. 7 So difguife Jh all, by the d'>fguis'-d,'\ So difguife mall by means of a perfon difgurfed, return an injurious demand with a counterfeit ferfon. JOHNSON. " 8 Take, oh, take ^c.] This is part of a little fong of Shake- fpeare's own writing, confiding of two flanz^s, and fo extremely fweet, that the reader "won't be difpleafed to have the other. Hide, ok, bide thofe hills of ' J 'now, jf^bicb thy frozen bofom bears, On iv/jnfe tops, the pinks that grow, Are of tbofe that, April wears. But my poor heart jirji fet free, Sound in thofe icy chains by thee, WAR BUR TON. Thig MEASURE FOR MEASURE, 35 But my kifes bring again^ bring again,, Seals of love, but feat' din vain, in vain. Man. Break off thy fong, and hafte thee quick away ; Here comes a man of comfort, whofe advice Hath often ftill'd my brawling difcontent. . 'Enter J)itke. I cry you mercy, fir ; and well could wifh, You had not found me here fo mufical : Let me excufe me, and believe me fo, My mirth it much difpleas'd, but pleas'd my woe 9 , Duke. "Tis good : though mufick oft hath fuch a charm, To make bad, good, and good provoke to harm. I pray you, tell me, hath any body enquir'd for me here to day ? much upon this time, have I promis'd here to meet. Man. You have not been enquir'd after : I have fat here all day. This fong is entire in Beaumont's Bloody Brother, and in Shake- fpeare's poems. The latter ftanza is omitted by Mariana, as not fairing a lemale character. THEOBALD. ' Though Sevvell and Gildon have printed this among Shake- fpeare's poems, they have done the fame to fo many other pieces, of which the real authors are fmce known, that their evidence is not to be depended on. It is not found in Jaggard's edition of our author's fonnets, which was printed during his life-time. Our poet, however, has introduced one of the fame thoughts in his i^zd fonnet : " - not from thofe lips of thine *r That have prophan'd their fcarlet ornaments, *' h.\\&feal > dfalfi! bonds of love, as oft as mine." STEEVENS. 5 My mirib it much difpleafd, but pleas'd my woe.] Though the mufick foothed my forrows, it had no tendency to produce light jnerriment. JOHNSON. Enter 106 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Enter Ifabel. Duke. I do conflantly ' believe you ; The time is come, even now. I ihall crave your for- bearance a little ; may be, I will call upon you anon for fome advantage to yourfelf. Man. I am always bound to you, [Exit* Duke. Very well met, and welcome. What is the news from this good deputy ? Ifab, He hath a garden circummur'd with brick % Whofe weflern fide is with a vineyard back'd ; And to that vineyard is a planched gate J , That makes his opening with this bigger key : This other doth command a little door, Wjiich from the vineyard to the garden leads ; There have I made my promife to call on him, Upon the heavy middle of the night*. J)uke. But mall you on your knowledge find this way ? 1 *i - conjlantly - ] Certainly; without fluctuation of mind. JOHNSON. So in the Merchant of Venice : " Could fo much turn the eonftitution " Of any conftant man." STEEVENS. * * circummur d tuith brick,] Circunimurcd^ walled round, '' tie caufed the doors to be mured and cafcd up," Painter's Palace of Pleafure. JOHNSON. 3 a planched gate,"] i.e. a gate made of boards. Plancbe, Fr, A plant-far is a plank. So in Lylly's Maid's Mctamorpbojis t j6oo ; < upon the ground doth lie *' A hollow plancber" - Again, in Draytorfs Polyolbion, Song 3 : and fevrll&ompiancberj fprong," i. e. barnacles breeding on the planks of (hjps. Again, in Sir Arthur Gorges' tranflation of Lucan, 1614 j " Yet with his hoofes doth beat and rent *' The pfautbfd fioQf$ t the barres and chaines." STEEVENS, * TLre have /, &c.] In the old copy the lines Hand thus, . There have I made my promife upon the iddle of the night % to call upon him. STEEVENS. MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 107 Ifab. I have ta'en a due and wary note upon't ; With whifpering and moft guilty diligence, In adtion all of precept 5 , he did ftiew me The way twice o'er. Duke. Are there no other tokens Between you 'greed, concerning her obfervance ? Ifab. No, none ; but only a repair i' the dark ; And that I have poffefs'd him 6 , my moft ftay Can be but brief : for I have made him know, I have a fervant comes with me along, That flays upon me 7 ; whofe perfualipn is, I come about my brother, Duke. 'Tis well born up. I have not yet made known to Mariana A word of this: What, ho! within! come forth? Re-enter Mariana. I pray you, be acquainted with this maid ; She comes to do you good. Ifab. I do defire the like. Duke. Do you perfuade yourfelf that I refpectyou ? Man. Good friar, I know you do ; and have found it. Duke. Take then this your companion bythe hand. Who hath a ftory ready for your ear : I fhall attend your leifure ; but make hafle ; The vaporous night approaches. Man. Will't pleafe you walk afide ? [Exeunt. Mar. and Ifab. 1 In action all of precept, ] i.e. (hewing the feveral turn- ings of the way with his hand ; which aftion contained fo many precepts, being given tor my direction. WAR BUR TON. I rather think we fliould read, /// precept all of acT-lon^ that is, in direction given, not by word's^ but by mutejigns. JOHNSON. 6 Ibavc pojjcfs'd him, ] I have made him clearly and ilrongly (Comprehend. JOHNSON*. 7 That ftays upon me ;] So in Macbeth : ' Worthy Macbeth, \\tjlciy upon your leifure." STEEVENS. Duke. Io8 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Duke. O place and greatnefs 8 , millions of falfe 9 eyes Are ftuck upon thee ! volumes of report Run with thefe falfe and moft contrarious quefls f Upon thy doings ! thoufand Tcapes of wit Make thee the father of their idle dream, And rack thee in their fancies !-r- Welcome : How agreed ? Re-enter Mariana and IfabeL Ifab. She'll take the enterprize upon her, father, Jf you advife it. Duke. It is not my confent, But my intreatytoo. ' * O place and greatnefs, ] It plainly appears, that this fine fpeech belongs to that which concludes the preceding fcene, be- tween the Duke and Lucio. For they are abfolutely foreign to the fubjeft of this, and are the natural reflections anting from that. Befides, the very words : Run with thefe falfe and moft contrarious quefts, evidently refer to Lucio's fcandals juft preceding : which the Ox- ford editor, in his ufual way, has emended, by altering thefe to their. But that fome time might be given to the two women to confer together, the players, I fuppofe, took part of the fpeech, beginning at No might nor greatnefs^ &c. and put it here, without troubling themfelves about its pertinency. However, we are obi liged to them for not giving us their own impertinency, as they have frequently done in other places. WAR BUR TON. I cannot agree that thefe lines are placed here by the players. The fentiments are common, and fuch as a prince, given to re- flection, muft have often prefent. There was a neceflity to fill up the time in which the ladies converfe apart, and they muft have quick tongues and ready apprehenfions, if they underilood each other while this fpeech was uttered. JOHNSON, 9 falfe eyes'] That is, Eyes infidious and traiterous. JOHNSON. So in Chaucer's Sompnourcs Talc, late Edit. v. 7633 : " Ther is ful many an eye, and many an ere, 14 Awaiting on a lord, &c." STEEVENS. * '-contrarious quefls'} Different reports, running counter to each other. JOHNSON. So in Othello: 'f The fenate has fent out three feveralp/fr."SxEEVENs, Ifab, MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 109 Ifab. Little have you to fay, When you depart from him, but, foft and low, Remember nozv my brother. Man. Fear me not. Duke. Nor> gentle daughter, fear you not at all ; He is your hufband on a pre-contract : To bring you thus together, 'tis no fin ; Sith that the juftice of your title to him Doth flourifh the deceit z . Come, let us go ; Our corn's to reap, for yet our tithe's to fow ? . {Exeunt. SCENE * Doth flourHh the deceit. ] A metaphor taken from embroidery, where a coarfe ground is filled up, and covered with figures of rich materials and elegant workmanlhip. WAR BURTON. Flour ijh is ornament in general. So in another play of Shake- fpeare : " empty trunks o 'er-flourijk 'd by the devil." STEEVENS. 3 for yet our tithe's to fo*iv.~\ As before, the blundering editors have made a prince of the priejlly Angelo, fo here they have made a priejl of ti\t prince. We fhould read tilth, \. e. our tillage is yet to make. The grain, from which we expecl our harveft, is" not yet put into the ground. WAR BURTON. The reader is here attacked with a petty fophifm. We fhould read tilth, \. e. our tillage is to make. But in the text it is to fow ; and who has ever faid that his tillage was to fow ? I believe tytbe is right, and that the expreffion is proverbial, in which tytbe is taken, by an eafy metonymy, for barveft. JOHNSON. Dr. Warburton did not do juflice to his own conjecture ; and no wonder therefore, that Dr. Johnfon has not. Tilth is pro- vincially ufed for land tilFd, prepared for fowing. Shakefpeare, however, has applied it before in its ufual acceptation. FARMER. Dr. Warbtirton's conjecture may be fupported by many in- ftances in Markham's Rnglijh Hujbandman, 1635 : ** After the beginning of March you fhall begin to fowe your barley upon that ground which the year before did lye fallow, and is com- monly called your tilth, or fallow field." In p. 74 of this book, a corruption, like our author's, occurs. " As before, I faid be- ginne to fallow your tithe field;" which is undoubtedly mif- printed for tilth field. TOLLET. Tilth no MEASURE FOR MEASURE. SCENE II. Changes to the Prlfon. Enter Provojl and Clown. Prov. Come hither, firrah : Can you cut off a man's head ? Clown. If the man be a batchelor, fir, I can : but if he be a marry'd man, he is his wife's head, and I can never cut off a woman's head. Prov. Come, fir, leave me your fnatches, and yield me a direct anfwer. To-morrow morning are to die Claudio and Barnardine : Here is in our prifon a common executioner, who in his office lacks a helper : if you will take it on you to aflift him, it lhall redeem you from your gyves ; if not, you lhall have your full time of imprifonment, and your deliverance with an unpity'd whipping, for you have been a notorious bawd. Clown. Sir, I have been an Unlawful bawd^ time out of mind ; but yet I will be content to be a lawful hangman. I would be glad to receive fome inflruc- tion from my fellow partner. Prov. What ho, Abhorfon ! where's Abhorfon, there ? Enter Abkorfon, Abhor. Do you call, fir ? Tilth is ufed for crop or harveft by Cower, De ConfeJJiont AmantiS) lib. v. fol. 93. b. " To fowe cockill with the corne, " So that the tilth is nigh forlorne, " Which Chriftyku firft his owne honde." Shakefpeare ufes the word tilth elfewhere : " her plenteous womb ." Exprefieth its full tilth and husbandry." Again, " Bourn, bound of land, tilth , vineyard, none.*' but my quotation from Gower fhe\vs that to/kv tilth was a phrafc once in ulfc. STEEVENS. Prov. MEASURE FOR MEASURE, in Prov. Sirrah, here's a fellow will help you to-mor- tow in your execution : if you think it meet, com- pound with him by the year, and let him abide here with you; if not, ufe him for the prefent, and difmifs him : he cannot plead his eftimation with you, he hath been a bawd. Abhor. A bawd, fir ? fie upon him, he will difcredit our miftery 4 . Prov. Go to, fir ; you weigh equally ; a feather will turn the fcale. Exit. Clown. Pray, fir ? by your good favour (for, furely, fir, a good favour J you have, but that you have a hanging look) do you call, fir, your occupation a mi- ftery ? Abhor. Ay, fir ; a miftery. Clown. Painting, fir, I have heard fay, is a miftery ; and your whores, fir, being members of my occupa- tion, ufing painting, do prove my occupation a mi- ftery : but what miftery there fhould be in hanging, if I ftiould be hang'd, I cannot imagine 6 . Abhor. * difcredit our miftery.] I think it juft worth while to obferve, that the word myjtery^ when ufed to fignify a trade or manual profeffion, fhould be fpelt with an /, and not aj>, becaufe it come* not from the Greek, ^urf*, but from the French, meftler. WAR BUR TOW. 5 00tt/&VOtft] Favour is countenance. So in Antony und Cleopatra : " why fo tart a favour " To publifti fuch good tidings." STEEVENS. 6 ivbat mijiery there Jbould be in hanging, if I Jbould be hanged, 2 cannot imagine. Abhor. &>, it is a mijiery. Clown. Proof. Abhor. Every true man's apparel Jits your thief. Clown. If it be too little for your thief \ your true man thinks it ttttlt in very difficult to be underftood. The plain and humourous fenfe;ofthe fpeech is this. Every true man's apparel, which the thief robs him of, fits the thief, .Why ? Becaufe, if it be too little for the ii2 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Jbkor. Sir, it is a miftery. Clown. Proof. Abhor, thief, the true man thinks it big enough : i. e. a purchafe too good for him. So that this fits the thief in the opinion of the true man. But if it be too big for the thief, yet the thief thinks it little enough j i. e. of value little enough. So that this fits the thief in his own opinion. Where we fee, that the plfiafantry of the joke confifts in the equivocal fenfe of lig enough, and little enough. Yet Mr. Theobald fays, he can fee no fenfe in all this, and therefore alters the whole thus. Abhor. Every true man's apparel fits your thief. Clown. If it le too little for your true man, your thief thinks it &/g enough : if it be too big for your true man^ your thief thinks it little enough. And for his alteration gives this extraordinary reafon. /^w fa- tisfied the poet intendeds, regular fyllogifm ; and Ifubniit it to judg- ment, whether my regulation, has not rcjiored that ivit and humour, which was quite lojl in the depravation. But the place is corrupt, though Mr. Theobald could not find it out. Let us confider it a little. The Hangman calls his trade a miftery : the clown can- not conceive it. The Hangman undertakes to prove it in thefe words, Every true man's apparel, &c. but this proves the thief s trade a miftery, not the hangman**. Hence it appears, that the fpeech, in which the Hangman proved his trade a miftery, is loft. The very words it is impoffible to retrieve, but one may eafily underftand what medium he employed in proving it : without doubt, the very fame the Clown employed to prove the thief's trade a miftery ; namely, that all forts of clothes fitted the hang- man. The Clown, on hearing this argument, replied, I fuppofe, to this effecl: : Wly, by the fame kind of reafoning, I can prove the thief s trade too to be a mijlery. The other aflcs how, and the Clown goes on as above, Every true man's apparel Jits your thief > if it be too little, &c. The jocular conclufion from the whole, being an infinuation that thief and hangman were rogues alike. This conjecture gives a fpirit and integrity to the dialogue j which, in its prefent mangled condition, is altogether wanting : and fhews why the argument of every true man's apparel, &c. was in all editions given to the Clown, to whom indeed it belongs; and likewife that the prefent reading of that argument is the true. WAREURTON. Clown. Sir, it is a mijlery, &c.] If Dr. Warburton had attend- ed to the argument by which the Bawd proves his own pvofeflion to be a miftery, he would not have been driven to take refuge in the groundlefs fuppofition, " that part of the dialogue had been loft or dropped." The MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 113 Abhor. Every true man's apparel fits your thief 7 . Clown. If it be too little for your thief, your true man thinks it big enough ; if it be too big for your thief, your thief thinks it little enough : fo every true man's apparel fits your thief. Re-enter Provoft. Prov. Are you agreed ? Clown. Sir, I will ferve him ; for I do find, your hangman is a more penitent trade than your bawd ; he doth oftner aik forgivenefs 8 . Prov. You, lirrah, provide your block and your axe, to-morrow four o'clock. The argument of the Hangman is exaftly fimilar to that of the Bawd. As the latter puts in his claim to the whores, as members of his occupation, and, in virtue of their painting, would enroll his own fraternity in the miflery of painters ; fo the former equal- ly lays claim to the thieves, as members of his occupation, and, in their right, endeavours to rank his brethren, the hangmen, under the miftery of fitters of apparel or taylors. The reading of the old editions is therefore undoubtedly right ; except that the laft fpeech, which makes part of the Hangman's argument, is, by miftake, as the reader's own fagacity will readily perceive given to the Clown or Bawd. I fuppofe, therefore, the poet gave us the whole thus : Abhor. Sir, if is a mijlery. Clown. Proof. Abhor. Every true man s apparel fits your thief: if it be too little for your thief , your true man thinks it big enough: if it la too big for your thief \ your thief thinks it little enough; fo every true mans apparel fits your thief. I muft do Dr. Warburton the juftice to acknowledge, that he hath rightly apprehended, and explained the force of the Hang- man's argument. REVISAL. 7 fits your thief. ~\ So in Promos and CaJJandra, 1578, the Hangman fays : " Here is nyne and twenty futes of apparell for my fhare." True man, in the language of ancient times, is always placed in, oppolition to thief. STEEVEXS. 8 ajk forgivenefs. ] So in As Tou Like It : " The common executioner, " Whofe heart the accurtom'd light of death makes hard, " Falls not the axe upon the humbled neck, " But firil legs par Jon." STSEVUXS. VOL. II. I Attor. ii 4 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Abbor. Come on, bawd ; I will inftrud thee in my trade ; follow. Clown. I do defire to learn, fir ; and, I hope, if you have occafion to ufe me for your own turn, you fhall find me yare 9 : for, truly fir, for your kindnefs, I owe you a good turn. [Exit. Prov. Call hither Barnardine and Claudio : One has my pity ; not a jot the other, Being a murtherer, though he were my brother. Enter Claudio. Look, here's the warrant, C laudio, for thy death : *Tis now dead midnight, and by eight to-morrow Thou muft be made immortal. Where's Barnardine ? Claud. As faft lock'd up in fleep, as guiltlefs la- bour When it lies ftarkly * in the traveller's bones : He will not wake. Prov. Who can do good on him ? Well, go, prepare yourfelf. [Exit Claud."] But, hark, what noife ? [Knock within* Heaven give your fpirits comfort ! By and by ; I hope it is fome pardon, or reprieve, For the moft gentle Claudio. Welcome, father. Enter Duke. Duke. Thebeft and wholefomeft fpirits of the night Invellop you, good provofl ! Who call'd here of late ? Prov. None, fince the curfew rung ? Duke. Notlfabel? Prov. No. Duke. They will then % cre't be long. Prov. What comfort is for Claudio ? ' i 9 - yare:'\ i. e. handy. So in Antony and Cleopatra : " His fliips arejwr, yours heavy." STEEVENS. 1 -flarkly ] Stiffly. Thefe two lines afford a very pleaf- ing image. JOHNSON. * They will tbcn t ] Perhaps./^ will then. Sir J. HAWKINS. Duke. MEASURE FOR MEASURE. n 5 Duke. There's fome in hope. Prov. It is a bitter deputy. Duke. Not fo, not fo ; his life is parellel'd Even with the flroke J and line of his great juftice ; He doth with holy abftinence fubdue That in himfelf, which he fpurs on his power 4 To qualify in others : were he meal'd s With that, which he corrects, then were he tyran- nous ; But this being fo, he's juft. Now are they come. [Knock* Provojlgoes out. This is a gentle provoft ; Seldom, when The fteeled goaler is the friend of men. How now ? what noife ? that fpirit's poffefs'd with hafte 6 , That wounds the unrefifting poftern with thefe flrokes. Pro- 3 Even with the ftroh ] Stroke is here put for the firoke of a pen or a line. JOHNSON. 4 To qualify-'} To temper, to moderate, as we fay wine is qualified with i water. JOHXSON. So in Othello : " I have drank but one cup to-night, and that was craftily qualified too." STEEVENS. 5 -were be meal'd] Were he fprinkled ; were he defiled. A figure of the fame kind our author ufes in Macbeth : " The blood- bolter'd Banquo." JOHNSON. So in the Pbilofopber's Satires, by Robert Anton : " As if their peniwigs to death they gave To meale them in fome gaftly dead man's grave." STEEVENS. 6 That fpirif s pojfeft with hafte, That wounds the unrejtfting poftern with thcfe Jlrokcs.~\ The line is irregular, and the murtjifling poftern fo flrange an ex- preffion, that want of mealure, and want of fenfe, might juftly raife fufpicion of an errour ; yet none of the latter editors feem to have fuppofed the place faulty, except fir Tho. Hanmer, who reads : the unrefting poftern. The three folios have it : unfitting pojlern. out of which Mr. Rowe made unrejijling, and the reft followed him. Sir Thomas Hanmer feems to have fuppofed vnrejifting the word in the copies, from which he plaufibly enough extracted unrefting, n6 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Pravqft returns, fpeaktng to one at the door. Prov. There muft he flay, until the officer Arife to let him in ; he is call'd up. Duke, Have you no countermand for Claudio yet, But he muft die to-morrow ? Prov. None, fir, none. Duke. As near the dawning, provoft, as it is, You fhall hear more ere morning. Prov. Happily, You fomething know ; yet, I believe, there comes No countermand ; no fuch example have we : Befides, upon the very fiege of juftice 7 , Lord Angelo hath to the publick ear Profefs'd the contrary. Enter a Mejfenger *. Duke. This is his lordfhip's man. Prov. And here comes Claudio's pardon. Me/. but he grounded his emendation on the very fyllable that wants authority. What can be made of unjlfting I know not j the beft that occurs to me is unfeeling. JOHNSON. unrefifting/0/forft ] I fhould think we might fafely read : unlift'hing^tf^Tvz, or unflufting pojlern. The meafure requires it, and the fenfe remains uninjured. STEEVENS. T faeetfjvjiite'.] i. e. feat of juftice. Siege. Fr. So Othello: " 1 fetch my birth " From men of royal jiegc" STEEVENS. Enter a Meflenger. Duke.- This is his lord/hip's man. Prov. And here comes Claudio's pardon.] The Provoft has juft declared a fixed opinion that the execution will not be countermanded, and yet, upon the firft appearance of the Meffenger, he immediately guefles that his errand is to bring Claudio's pardon. It is evident, I think, that the names of the ipeakers are mifplaced. If we fuppofe the Provoft to fay : This is his lordjhip's man, it is very natural for the Duke to fubjoin,* And MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 117 Meffl My lord hath fent you this note ; and by me this further charge, that you fwerve not from the fmalleft article of it, neither in time, matter, or other circumftance. Good morrow ; for, as I take it, it is almoft day. Prov. I fhall obey him. [Exit Meffenger. Duke. This is his pardon ; purchas'd by fuch fin, For which the pardoner himfelf is in : Hence hath offence his quick celerity, When it is borne in high authority : When, vice makes mercy, mercy's fo extended, That, for the fault's love, is the offender friended. Now, fir, what news ? Prov. Itoldyoti-r^Lord Angelo, be-like, thinking me remifs in my office, awakens me with this un-r wonted putting on : methinks, ftrangely ; for he hath not us'd it before. Duke. Pray you, let's hear. Provoft reads the letter. Whatfoever you may hear to the contrary ^ let Claudw be executed by four of the clock ; and^ in the afternoon, Barnardine : for my better fatisfatHion, let me have Clau- dio's head fent me by five. Let this be duly performed; with a thought^ that more depends on it than zue muft yet deliver. Thus fail not to do your office^ as you will anjwer it at you peril. What fay you to this, fir ? And here coma Claudia 's pardon. The Duke might believe, upon very reafonable grounds, that An- gelo had now fent the pardon. It appears that he did fo, from what he fays to himfelf, while the Provoft is reading; the letter : This is bis pardon ; purchas'd by fuch fin, TY&WHITT- When, immediately after the Duke had hinted his expectation of a pardon, the Provoft fees the Meflenger, he fuppofes the Duke to have knafwifomethittg, and changes his mind. Either reading may ferve equally well. JOHNSON. I 3 Duke. ii8 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Duke. What is that Barnardine, who is to be exe- cuted in the afternoon ? Prov. A Bohemian born ; but here nurs'd up and bred : one that is a prifoner nine years old. Duke. How came it, that the abfentduke had not either deliver'd him to his liberty, or executed him ? I have heard, it was ever his manner to do fo. Prov. His friends ilill wrought reprieves for him : And, indeed, his fad:, till now in the government of lord Angelo, came not to an undoubtrul proof. Duke. Is it now apparent ? Prov. Moft manifeft, and not deny'd by himfelf. Duke. Hath he borne himfelf penitently in priibn ? how feems he to be touch'd ? Prov. A man that apprehends death no more dreadfully, but as a drunken ileep ; carelefs, recklefs, and fearlefs of what's paft, prefent, or to come ; infen- fible of mortality, and defperately mortal 9 . Duke. He wants advice. Prov. He will hear none : he hath evermore had the liberty of the prifon ; give him leave to efcape hence he would not : drunk many times a day, if not many days entirely drunk. We have very often awak'd him, as if to carry him to execution, and fhew'd him a feeming warrant for it ; it hath not mov'd him at all. Duke. More of him anon. There is written in your brow, Provoft, honefty and conftancy : if I read it not truly, my ancient fkill beguiles me ; but in the boklnefs of my cunning, I will lay myfelf in hazard. Claudio, whom here you have a warrant to execute, is no greater forfeit to the law than Angelo who hath 9 defperatcly mortal^ This expreflion is obfcure. Sir Thomas Hanmer reads, mortally defperate. Mortally is in low converfation. ufed in this fenfe, but I know not whether it was ever written. I am inclined to believe, that defperately mortal means Jefpcratcly jpift'kievous. Or dcfpcratcly mortal may mean a man likely to die in a dcjpcratc flate, without reflection or repentance. JOHNSON. fen- MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 119 fentenc'd him : To make you underftand this in a manifelted effect, I crave but four days refpite ; for the which you are to do me both a prefent and a dan- gerous courtefy. Prov'. Pray, fir, in what ? Duke, In the delaying death. Prov. Alack ! how may I do it ? having the hour limited ; and an exprefs command, vnider penalty, to deliver his head in the view of Angelo ? I may make my cafe as Claudio's, to crofs this in the fmalleft. Duke. By the vow of mine order, I warrant you, if my inftrudtions may be your guide. Let this Bar- nardine be this morning executed, and his head borne to Angelo. Prov. Angelo hath feen them both, and will difco- ver the favour. Duke. Oh, death's a great difguifer : and you may add to it. Shave the head, l and tie the ,beard ; and fay, it was the defire of the penitent to be fo barb'd * be- 1 and tie the beard ; ] The Rcvifal recommends Mr. Simpfon's emendation, DIE the heard, but the prefent reading may itand. Perhaps it was ufual to tie up the beard before decollation. Sir T. More is faid to have been ludicroufly careful nbout this or- nament of his face. It fliould, however, be remembered, that it was the cuftom to tile beards. In the Midfummer Night's Dream, Bottom fays : " I will difcharge it either in your itraw-colour'd beard, your orange-tawny beard, your purple in grain, &c." Again, in the old comedy of Ram Alley 9 1611 : " What coloured beard comes next by the window ? " A black man's, I think. " I think, a red; for that is molt in fafhion." Again, in the Silent Woman : " I have fitted my divine and ca- nonift, dyed their beards and all." Again, in the Alchemijl : " he had dy V his beard, and all." Again, " To dye your beard, and umber o'er your face." STEEVENS. A beard tied would give a very new air to that face, which had never been feen but with the beard loofe, long, and iqualid. JOHNSON. * to befo larVd] The old copy reads fo lar'J. STEEVENS. I 4 fore tzo MEASURE FOR MEASURE, fore his death : you know the courfe is common. If any thing fall to you upon this, more than thanks and good fortune, by the faint whom I profefs, I will plead againft it with my life. Prov. Pardon me, good father ; it is againft my oath. Duke. Were you fworn to the duke, or to the de- puty ? Prov. To him, and to his fubflitutes. Duke. You will think you have made no offence, if the duke avouch the juflice of your dealing ? Prov. But what likelihood is in that ? Duke. Not a refemblance, but a certainty. Yet fince I fee you fearful, that neither my coat, integrity, nor my perfuafion, can with eafe attempt you, I will go further than I meant, to pluck all fears out of you. Look, you, fir, here is the hand and feal of the duke; You know the character, I doubt not ; and the fignet is not ftrange to you. Prov. I know them both. Duke. The contents of this is the return of the duke ; you ftiall anon over-read it at your pleafure ; where you fhall find, within thefe two days he will be here. This is a thing, that Angelo knows not : for he this very day receives letters of ftrange tenor ; per- chance, of the duke's death ; perchance, entering into fome monaftery ; but, by chance, nothing of what is writ J . Look, 4 the unfolding ftar calls up the fhepherd : Put notyourfelf into amazement, how thefe things mould be : all difficulties are but eafy when they are known. Call your executioner, and off with Barnardine's head : I will give him a prefent 3 nothing of what is lurit. ] We fhould read -fre writ the Duke pointing to the letter in his hand. WARBURTON. * the unfolding Jl ar calls up the Jbepbcrd :~\ " The ftar, that bids the ftiepherd fold, ** Now the top of heav'n doth hold." Milton's Mafqae. STEEVEN*. ihrift. MEASURE FOR MEASURE, 121 fhrift, and advife him for a better place. Yet you are amaz'd ; but this ihall abfolutely refolve you. Come away ; it is almoft clear dawn. [Exeunt. SCENE IV. Enter Clown. Clown. I am as well acquainted here, as I was in our houie of profeffion : one would think, it were miflrefs Over-done's own houfe, for here be many of her old cuftoiners. Firft, here young matter Rafh 5 ; he's in for a commodity of brown paper and old gin- ger 6 , ninefcore and feventeen pounds ; of which he made 5 Firjl, here's young majler Ra/b ; &c.] This enumeration qf the inhabitants of the prifon affords a very ftriking view of the practices predominant in Shakefpear's age. Belides thole vvhofe follies are common to all times, we have four fighting men and a traveller. It is not unlikely that the originals of the pictures were then known. JOHNSON. 6 a. commodity of brown paper and old ginger ^\ Thus the old copy, The modern editors read,' Irtnvn pepper. The following paflage in Michadmas Term, Com. 1637, will juftify the original reading : " I know fome gentlemen in town have been glad, and are glad at this time, to take up commodities in hawk's-hoods and brown paper." Again, in Summer's Lajl Will and Tejtament, 1600 : " another that ran in debt, in the fpace of four or five year, above fourteen thoufand pound in lute-ftrings and grey- paper." Again, in A New Trick to cheat the Devil, 1636 : to have been fo bit already With taking up commodities of brown paper, Buttons pait fafhion, iilks, and fattins, Babies and children's fiddles, with like tram Took up at a dear rate, and fold for trifles." Again, in Greene's S>uip for an Upftart Courtier, 1620 : " For the merchant, he delivered the iron, tin, lead, hops, fugars, fpices, oyls, brown paper, or whatever elfe, from fix months to fix months. Which when the poor gentleman came to fell again, he could not make threefcore and ten in the hun- - dred befides the ufury." Again, in Greene's Defence of Coney* catching, 1592 ; " fo that if he borrow an hundred pound, he ftialt 122 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. made five marks, ready money : marry, then, ginger was not much in requeft, for the old women were all dead. Then is there here one mafter Caper, at the fuit of mafter Three-pile the mercer, for fome four fuits of peach-colour'd fatin, which now peaches him a beggar. Then have we here young Dizy, and young mafter Deep-vow, and mafter Copper-fpur, and maf- ter Starve-lacky the rapier and dagger-man, and young Drop-heir that kill'd lufty Pudding, and maf- ter Forthright 7 the tilter, 8 and brave mafter Shoe-tye the fliall have forty in filver, and threefcore in wares, as lutefcrings, hobbyhorfes, or brown paper, or cloath, &c." Again, in the Spanijh Curate of B. and Fletcher : " Commodities of pins, brown papers, packthread.'* Again, in Gafcoigne : s Steele GlaJJe : " To teach young men the trade to fell lro*wn paper ." STEEVENS. A commodity of brotvn paper. Mr. Steevens fupports this rightly. Fennor afks, in his Comptor" 1 ^ Commonwealth, " fuppofe the commo- dities are delivered after Signior Unthrift and Mailer Breaker have both fealed the bonds, how muft thole hobby-horfes, reams of lr awn paper, Jevves trumpes and b.ables, babies and rattles be iblde?" FARMER. 7 majler Forthright] The old copy reads Forthllght ; but mould not Fcrtldight be Forthright, Alluding to the line ill which the thruft is made ? JOHNSON. Shakefpeare ufes this word in the Tcmpejl : " Through forthrigbis and meanders." Again, in Iroilw and Crcffida, aft III. fc. iii : " Or hedge afide from the dircttfort/jn'gbt." STEEVENS, 8 and brave tdatterS\\ooty the great traveller,'] Thus the old copy ; but as moft of thele are compound names, I iufped that this was originally written, mafter Shoe-tye. At this time Shoc-Jirings were generally worn. So in Decker's Match me in London, 1631: " I think your wedding ./Zwj have not been oft untied." Again, in Randolph's Mufes Looking Glafs, 1638 : " Bonding his fupple hams, killing his hands, " " As he was a traveller, it is not unlikely that he might be follicit-, ous about the minutiae of drefs, and the epithet brave feems to countenance the fuppofition. STEEVENS. Mr. Steevens's fuppofition is ftrengthen'd by Ben Jonfon's Epi- gram upon Englijh Monjieur^ vol. vi. p, 25 j ; That MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 123 the great traveller, and wild Half-can that ftabb'd Pots, and, I think, forty more ; all great doers in our tradej and are now in for the Lord's fake 9 , Enter Abhorfon. Abhor, Sirrah, bring Barnardine hither. Cloivn. Matter Barnardine ! you mutt rife and be hang ? d, matter Barnardine ! Abhor. What, ho, Barnardine ! Barnar. [Within] A pox o' your throats ! Who piakes that noife there ? What are you ? Clown. Your friends, fir ; the hangman : You muft be fo good, fir, to rife and be put to death. Barnar, [Within.'] Away you rogue, away ; I am fleepy. Abhor. Tell him, he muft awake, and that quickly too. Clown. Pray, matter Barnadine, awake till you are executed, and fleep afterwards, Abhor. Go in to him, and fetch him out. Clown. He is coming, fir, he is coming ; I hear his ttraw ruftle. *' That fo much fcarf of France, and hat, and feather, " Audjfooe, and tye, and garter, mould come hither.'* TOLLET. Mr. Steevens is certainly right, for fo this compounded word tvas anciently fpelt. So in Crafhaw's poems, 1670: 44 To gaudy tire or glittering JJjob-ty." MALONE. s in for the Lord's fake.} i.e. to beg for the reft of their lives. WAR BUR TON. I rather think this expreffion intended to ridicule the puritans, whofe turbulence and indecency often brought them to prifon, and who conlidered themfelves as fuffering for religion. It is not unlikely that men imprifoned for other crimes, might reprefent themfelves to cafual enquirers, as fuffering for puritan- ifm, and that this might be the common cant of the prilbns. In Donne's time, every prifoner was brought to jail by furetifhip. JOHNSON. The word in has been fupplicd by fome of the modern editors. The phrafe which Dr. Johnlon has juftly explained, is ufed in A New Trick to cheat the Devil, 1636 : " 1 held it wife a deed charity, and did it for the Lord's fake." STEEVE.VS. Enter. 124 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Enter Barnardine. Abhor. Is the axe upon the block, firrah ? Clown. Very ready, fir. Barnar. How now, Abhorfon ? what's the news with you ? Abhor. Truly, fir, I would defire you to clap into your prayers ; for, look you, the warrant's come. Barnar. You rogue, I have been drinking all night, I am not fitted for't. Clown. Oh, the better, fir ; for he that drinks all night, and is hang'd betimes in the morning, may ileep the founder all the next day. Enter Duke. Abhor. Look you, fir, here comes your ghoflly fa- ther ; Do we jeft now, think you ? Duke. Sir, induced by my charity, and hearing how haftily you are to depart, I am come to advife you, comfort you, and pray with you. Barnar. Friar, not I ; I have been drinking hard all night, and I will have more time to prepare me, or they fhall beat out my brains with billets : I will not confent to die this day, that's certain. Duke. Oh, fir, you muft : and therefore, I befeech you, look forward on the journey you fliall go. Barnar. I fwear, I will not die to day for any man's perfuafion. Duke. But hear you, Barnar. Not a word : if you have any thing to fay to me, come to my ward ; for thence will not I to- day. [Exit. Enter Provojl. Duke. Unfit to live, or die : Oh, gravel heart ! After him, fellows ; bring him to the block ', [Exeunt Abhorfon and Clown. Prov. 1 After bim t fellpivs;'] Here is a line given to the Duke, which MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 12^ Prov. Now, fir, how do you find the prifoner ? Duke. A creature unprepar'd, unmeet for death ; And, to tranfport him z in the mind he is, Were damnable. Prov. Here in the prifon, father, There dy'd this morning of a cruel fever One Ragozine, a moft notorious pirate, A man of Claudio's years ; his beard, and head, Juft of his colour ; What if we do omit This reprobate, till he were well inclined ; And fatisfy the deputy with the vifage Of Ragozine, more like to Claudio ? Duke. O, 'tis an accident that heaven provides ! Difpatch it prefently ; the hour draws on Prefix'd by Angelo : See, this be done, And fent according to command ; whiles I Perfuade this rude wretch willingly to die. Prov. This ihall be done, good father, prefently. But Barnardine muft die this afternoon : And how Ihall we continue Claudio, To fave me from the danger that might come, If he were known alive ? Duke. Let this be done, Put them In fecret holds, both Barnardine and Claudio : Ere twice the fun hath made his journal greeting To the under generation 3 , you Ihall find Your fafety manifefted. Prou. which belongs to the Provoft. The Provofl, while the Duke is lamenting the obduracy of the prifoner, cries out : After him, fellows, &c. and when they are gone out, turns again to the Duke. JOHXSON-. I do not fee why this line {hould be taken from the Duke, and ftill lefs why it (hould be given to the Provoft, who, by his quef- tion to the Duke in the next line, appears to be ignorant of every thing that has paired between him and Barnardine. TYRWHITT. 1 to tranfport him ] To remove him from one world to another. The French trepas affords a kindred fenie. JOHNSON. 3 To the under generation, ] So lir Thomas Hanmer, with true judgment. It was in all the former editions : n I 2 6 MEASURE FOR MEASURE* Prov. I am your free dependent. Duke. Quick, difpatch, and lend the head to An- felo. (Exit Prpvojli write letters to Angelo, The provofl, he fhall bear them,- whofe contents Shall witnefs to him, I am near at home ; And that, by great injunctions, I am bound To enter publickly : him I'll defire To meet me at the confecrated fount, A league below the city ; and from thence, By cold gradation and weal-balanced form 4 9 We fhall proceed with Angelo. Re-enter Provq/l. Prov. Here is the head ; I'll carry it myfelf. Duke. Convenient is it : Make a fwift return ; For I would commune with you of fuch things, That want no ear but yours. Prov. I'll make all fpeed. [Exit. Ifab. [Wt t hi n ,] Peace, ho, be here ! Duke. The tongue of Ifabel : She's come to know, If yet her brother's pardon be come hither : But I will keep her ignorant of her good, To make her heavenly comforts of defpair, When it is leaft expected 5 . Enter Ifabella. Ifab. Ho, by your leave. Duke. Good morning to you, fair and gracious daughter. ' To yonder ye under and yonder were confounded. JOHNSON. The old reading is r\a\. yonder \s\XLyond. STEEVENS. 4 weal -balanced form^\ Thus the old copy. Mr. Heath thinks that R MEASURE. 139 {For this was of much length) the vile conclufion. I now begin with grief and ihame to utter : He would not, but by gift of my chafte body To his concupifcible 4 intemperate luft, Releafe my brother ; and, after much debatement, My fifterly remorfe s confutes my honour, And I did yield to him : But the next morn betimes, His purpofe furfeiting 6 , he fends a warrant For my poor brother's head. Duke. This is moft likely ! Ifab. Oh, that it were as like, as it is true 7 ! Duke. By heaven, fond wretch 8 , thou know'ft not what thou fpeak'fl ; Or elfe thou art fuborn'd againft his honour In hateful practice 9 : Firft, his integrity Again, in Eliqfto LibiJinofo : " Thou haft fo many precepts to refell that thou hail always followed." Again, in Hey wood's Silver Age, 1613: ** Will flrive by word or action to refill" STEEVENS. 4 To his concupifcible, &c.] Such is the old reading. The mo- dern editors unauthoritatively fubftitute concuplfcent. STEEVEKS. 5 Myjijlerly remorfe] i.e. pity. STEEVENS. 6 His purpofe furfeiting] Thus the old copy. We might read forfeiting^ but the former word is too much in^the manner of Shakefpeare to be rejected. So in Othello : '* my hopes not forfeited to death." STEEVENS. 7 Oh> that it ivere as like, as it is true!] Like is not here ufed far probable, but for feemly. She catches at the Duke's word, and turns it to another lenfe ; of which there are a great many exam- ples in Shakefpeare, and the writers of that time. WAR BUR TON. I do not fee why like may not (land here ior probable, or why the lady fhould not wifli, that fince her tale is true, it may obtain belief. If Dr. Warburton's explication be right, we fhould read, O ! that it were as likely, as 'tis true ! Like I have never found for feemly, JOHNSON. 8 fond wetcb,] Fond wretch is foolijh wretch. So in an- other play of our author : " 'Tis/0Wto wail inevitable ftrokes." STEEVENS. 9 In hateful practice : ] Practice was ufed by the old writeri for any unlawful or iniidious ilratagem. So again : " This mujl needs be practice :" and again t " Let me lave way tojlnd this practice out" JOHNSON. Stands i 4 o MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Stands without blemifh : next, it imports no reafon, That with fuch vehemency he fhould purfue Faults proper to himfelf : if he had fo offended, He would have weigh 'd thy brother by himfelf, And not have cut him off : Some one hath fet you on ; Confefs the truth, and fay by vvhofe advice Thou cam'ft here to complain. Ifab. And is this all ? Then, oh, you bleffed miniflers above, Keep me in patience ; and, with ripen'd time, Unfold the evil which is here wrapt up *In countenance! Heaven fhield your grace from woe, As I, thus wrong'd, hence unbelieved go ! Duke. I know, you'd fain be gone : An officer- To prifon with her : Shall we thus permit A blafting and a fcandalous breath to fall On him fo near us ? This needs muft be a practice 2 . Who knew of your intent, and coming hither ? Ifab. One that I would were here, friar Lodowick. Duke. A ghoftly father, belike : Who knows that Lodowick ? Lv.cio. My lord, I know him ; 'tis a medling friar j I do not like the man : had he been lay, my lord, For certain words he fpake againft your grace In your retirement, I had fwing'd him foundly. Duke. Words againil me ? this' a good friar be- like ! And to fet on this wretched woman here Againft our fubftitute ! Let this friar be found. Lucio. But yefternight, my lord, ihe and that friar 1 In countenance !] \. e. in partial favour. WAR BUR TON, 1 practice.] PraRice in Shakeipeare, very often means Jhameful artifice, unjuftifiable ftratagem. So in K. Lear ; " This isfraflicc, Glofter." Again, in K. John: " It is the fhameful work of Hubert's hand, " Thepraflice and the purpofe of the king." STEEVENS. Ifaw MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 141 I faw them at the prifon : a fawcy friar, A very fcurvy fellow. Peter. Blefled be your royal grace ! I have flood by, my lord, and I have heard Your royal ear abus'd : Firft, hath this woman Moft wrongfully accus'd your fubftitute ; Who is as free from touch or foil .with her, As fhe from one ungot. Duke. We did believe no lefs. Know you that friar Lodowick, which fhe fpeaks of ? Peter. I know him for a man divine and holy ; Not fcurvy, nor a temporary medler ', As he's reported by this gentleman ; And, on my trufl, a man that never yet Did, as he vouches, mifreport your grace. Lurio. My lord, mofl villainoufly ; believe it* Peter. Well, he in time may come to clear himfelf ; But at this inflant he is fick, my lord, Of a flrange fever : Upon his mere requefl 4 , (Being come to knowledge that there was complaint Intended 'gainfl lord Angelo) came I hither, To fpeak, as from his mouth, what he doth know Is true, and falfe ; and what he with his oath, And all probation, will make up full clear, Whenever he's convented 5 . Firft, for this woman ; (To 3 nor a temporary medler,] It is hard to know what is meant by a temporary medler. In its ufual fenfe, as oppofed to perpetual^ it cannot be ufed here. It may (rand for temporal: the lenie will then be, I know him for a holy man, one that meddles not *Mttb ie cular affairs. It may mean temporijlng: I kno-w him to be a holy man, one who would not temporiie, or take the opportunity of your abfence to defame you. Or we may read : Not fcurvy, nor a tamperer and medler : not one who would have tampered with this woman to make her a falfe evidence againft your deputy. JOHNSON. 4 his mere reipiejl,~\ i.e. his alfolute requeft. Thus in Hamlet : " things rank and grofs in nature " Poflefs it merely." STEEVEKS. 5 WTnnever his conven'd ] The firit folio reads, convented, and 142 MEASURE FOR MEASURE, (To juftify this worthy nobleman, So vulgarly 6 and personally accus'd) Her fhall you hear difproved to her eyes, Till Ihe herfelf confefs it. Duke. Good friar, let's hear it. Do you not fmile at this, lord Angelo ? O heaven ! the vanity of wretched fools ! Give us fome feats. Come, coufin Angelo 7 ; In and this is right : for to convene fignifies to aflemble ; but convent, to cite, or fummons. Yet, becaufe converted hurts the meafure, the Oxford editor fticks to convened, though it be nonfenfe, and fignifies, Whenever he is affcmbled together. But thus it will be, when the author is thinking of one thing and his critic of another. The poet was attentive to his fenfe, and the editor quite through- out his performance, to nothing but the meafure ; which Shake- fpeare having entirely neglected, like all the dramatic writers of that age, he has fpruced him up with all the exa&nefs of a mo- dern meafurer of fyllables. This being here taken notice of once for all, (hall, for the future, be torgot, as if it had never been. WAR BUR TON. To convent is no uncommon word. So in Woman's a Weather- cock t 1612 : " left my looks " Should tell the company con-vented there, &c." To convent and to convene are derived from the fame Latin verb, and have exactly the fame meaning. STEEVENS. 6 So vulgarly ] Meaning either fo grojly, with fuch indecency of inventive, or by fo mean and inadequate witnefles. JOHNSON. Vulgarly, J believe, means publickly. The vulgar are the com- mon people. Daniel ufes vulgarly for among the common people : a anc [ which pleafes vulgarly" STEEVENS. 7 Come, coujtn Angelo, In this I will be partial ;] Jn former editions, Come, coujin Angelo, In this Pll be impartial ; be you judge Of your civn caiife Surely this Duke had odd notions of impartiality, to commit the deciiion of a caufe to the perfon accuied. He talks much more rationally in the charadler of the Friar : The duke's unjuil, Thus to retort your manifejl appeal ; And put your trial in the villain's mouth t Whom here you come 1? accvfe, I think, MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 143 In this I will be impartial ; be you judge Of your own caufe. Is this the witnefs, friar ? \_Ijabella is carried qff y guarded. Enter 1 think, there needs no ftronger authority to convince, that the poet muft have wrote, as I have corre&ed, In this I will be partial ; THEOBALD. K Come, Coufin Angelo, ' In this I'll be impartial: be you judge " Of your own caufe." Surely, fays Mr. Theobald, this duke had odd notions of impar- tiality ! He reads therefore, " / will be partial," and all the editors follow him : even Mr. Heath declares the obfervation un- anfwerable. But fee the uncertainty of criticifm ! impartial was fometimes ufed in the fenfe of partial. In the old play of Swet- nam the ll r oman-kater, Atlanta cries out, when the judges decree againft the women : ** You are impartial, and we do appeal '* From you to judges more indifferent." FARMER. So in Marfton's Antonio and Mellida, 2d Part, 1602 : " There's not a beauty lives " Hath that impartial predominance " O'er my affects, as your enchanting graces.'* Again, in the lirft edit of Romeo and Juliet, 1597 : "Cruel, unjuft, impartial deft\nies !" Again, " this day, this unjuft, impartially" Again, in Montaigne'' s Effays, tranilated by Florio, 1632: " I am very prodigal of cappings, efpecially in fummer. I wifh that fome princes that I know would be more fparing and impartial difpenfers of them, for being fo indifcreetly employed they have no force at all ; if they be without regard, then they are without effect." In fupport of the old reading, and in confirmation of Mr. Farmer's obfervation, it may be remarked, that the writers who were contemporary with Shakefpeare, when they would exprefs what we now call impartial, generally ufe the word unpartial. Thus Marfton in the play above quoted : " I tell you, Lady, had you view'd us both " With an unpartial eye." So Speed, in his Hifl. of Great Britain, 1614, fpeaking of the death of queen Elizabeth, fays - " The God of peace called her to a far higher glory by his unpartial meflenger, Death." Again, in Marfton's Preface to TbeFawne, 1606 : " And rather to be unpartially beloved of all, than faclrioufly to be admired of a few." Again, in Hey wood's Pleafant Dialogues and Dramas, 1637: the 144 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Enter Mariana, Firft, let her fhew her face ; and, after, fpeak. Man. Pardon, my lord ; I will not fhew my face, Until my hufband bid me. J)uke. What, are you marry'd ? Man. No, my lord. Duke. Are you a maid ? Man. No, my lord. Duke* A widow then ? Man. Neither, my lord. Duke. Why you are nothing then : Neither maid, widow, nor wife 8 ? Lucio. My lord, Ihe may be a punk ; for many of them Are neither maid, widow, nor wife. Duke. Silence that fellow : I would, he had fome caufe. To prattle for himfelf. Lucio. Well, my lord. Mart. My lord, I do confefs, I ne'er was marry'd; And, I confefs, betides, I am no maid : I have known my hufband ; yet my hufband knows not, That ever he knew me. Lucio. He was drunk then, my lord ; it can be no better. Duke. For the benefit of filence, 'would thou wert fo too. " -- the fun we find " Unpart ially to fliine on all mankind." And indeed, I believe, it will be found, that the ancient Eng- lifh privative un, was in our author's time generally ufed ; and that in or /*, which modern writers have fubftituted in its place, was then frequently ufed as an augmentative or intenfive particle. Thus impartial was ufed for -very partial, and indifferent for very different. See a note on the Tamin? of a Shrew- adl IV. fc.i. MALONE. 8 Neither maid, iu.v/0-tt', nor wife ?~\ This is a proverbial phrafe to be found in Ray's Collection. STEEVENS. Lucid. Ang. Mar, MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 145 Lucio. Well, my lord. Duke. This is no witnefs for lord Angelo. Man. Now I come to't, my lord : She, that accufes him of fornication, In felf fame manner doth accufe my hufband ; And charges him, my lord, with fuch a time, When I'll depofe I had him in mine arms, With all the erTed: of love, Ang* Charges me more than me ? Man. Not that I know. Duke. No ? you fay, your hufband. [To Mariana* Marl. W T hy, jufl, my lord, and that is Angelo, Who thinks, he knows, that he ne'er knew my body, But knows, he thinks, that he knows Ifabel's. r. This is a ftrange abufe 9 : Let's fee thy face. m. My hufband bids me ; now I will unmafk. [Unveiling. This is that face, thou cruel Angelo, Which, once thou fwor'ft, was worth the looking on : This is the hand, which, with a vow'd contract, Was faft bdock'd in thine : this is the body, That took away the match from Ifabel, And did fupply thee at thy garden-houfe, In her imagin'd perfon. Duke. Know you this woman ? Lncio. Carnally, ihe fays. Duke. Sirrah, no more. Lucio. Enough, my lord. Ang. My lord, I muft confefs, I know this woman ; And, five years fince, there was fome fpeech of mar- riage Betwixt myfelf and her : which was broke off, 9 This is ajlrange ab/tfe : ] Ali'fe {lands in this place for de- ception^ or puzzle. So in Macbeth : " --- myjtrange andfdf abufe, means, thisjlrange deception of nwfilf. JOHNSON. VOL. II. L Partly 146 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Partly, for that her promifed proportions l Came fhort of compofition ; but, in chief, For that her reputation was difvalu'd In levity : fince which time, of five years, I never fpake with her, faw her, nor heard from her, Upon my faith and honour. Man. Noble prince, As there comes light from heaven, and words from breath, As there is fenfe in truth, and truth in virtue, I am affianc'd this man's wife, as ftrongly As words could make up vows : and, my good lord, But tuefday night laft gone, in his garden-houfe, He knew me as a wife : As this is true, Let me in fafety raife me from my knees ; Or elfe for ever be confixed here, A marble monument ! Ang. I did but fmile 'till now ; Now, good my lord, give me the fcope of juftice ; My patience here is touch'd : I do perceive, _* Thefe poor informal women are no more But 1 her promifed proportions Camejhort of compofition ; } Her fortune, which was promifed proportionate to mine, fell fhort of the compaction, that is, contract or bargain. JOHNSON. a Tbefe poor informal women ] i.e. women who have ill concerted their ftory. Formal fignifies frequently, in our authour, a thing put into form or method : fo informal, out of method, ill concerted. How eafy is it to fay, that Shakefpeare might better have wrote informing, i. e. accujlng. But he who (as the Oxford editor) thinks he did write fo, knows nothing of the character of his flile. WARBURTOX. I once believed informal had no other or deeper fignification than informing, accufing. The fcope of juftice, is the full extent ; but think, upon farther enquiry, that informal fignifies incompc* tent, not qualified to give teftimony. Of this ufe there are prece- dents to be found, though I cannot now recover them. JOHNSON, Informal fignifies out of their fenfes, la the Comedy of Errors, we meet with thefe lines ; _1 will MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 147 But inftruments of fome more mightier member, Th-it fets them on : Let me have way, my lord, To find this practice out. Duke. Ay, with my heart ; And punifh them unto your height of pleafure. Thou foolifh friar ; and thou pernicious woman, Compact with her that's gone ! think'fl thou thy oaths, Though they would fwear down each particular faint, Were teftimonies againfl his worth and credit, That's feal'd in approbation 3 ? You, lord Efcalus, Sit with my coufin ; lend him your kind pains To find out this abufe, whence 'tis deriv'd. . There is another friar, that fet them on ; Let him be fent for. Peter. Would he were here, my lord ; for he, in- deed, Hath fet the women on to this complaint : Your provolt knows the place where he abides, And he may fetch him. Duke. Go, do it inflantly. And you, my noble and well-warranted coufin, Whom it concerns to hear this matter forth % Do with your injuries as feems you beft, " 1 will not let him ftir, " Till I have us'd the approved means I .have, " With wholefome fyrups, drugs, and holy prayers, " To make of him a. formal man again." Formal, in this paflage, evidently lignifies / his fenfes. The lines are fpoken of Antipholis of Syvacufe, who is behaving like a madman. Again, in Antony and 'Cleopatra : " Thou fhouldft come like a fury crown 'd with fnakes, ** Not like a formal num." STEEVENS. 3 Thais feal'd in approbation ? ] When any thing fubjeft to counterfeits is- tried by the proper officers and approved, a {lamp orfeal is put upon it, as among us on plate, weights, and meafures. So the Duke fays, that Angelo's faith has been tried, approved, and/WVin teftimony or" that approbation, and, like other things (of noted, is no more to be called in qtieition. JOHNSON. 4 to bear this matter forth,] To hear it to the end ; to fearch it to the bottom. JOHNSON. L 2 In i 4 8 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. In any chaftifement : I for a while Will leave you ; ftir not you, till you have well Determined upon thefe flanderers. [JEwV. Efcal. My lord, we'll do it thoroughly. Signior Lucio, did not you fay, you knew that friar Lodo- wick to be a difhoncfl perfon ? Ludo. Cucullus non fadt monachum : honefl in no- thing, but in his cloaths ; and one that hath fpoke molt villainous fpeeches of the duke. Efcal. We mall intreat you to abide here till he come, and enforce them againft him : We lhall find this friar a notable fellow. Ludo. As any in Vienna, on my word. Efcal. Call that fame Ifabel here once again ; I would fpeak with her : Pray you, my lord, give me leave to queflion ; you mail fee how I'll handle her. Ludo. Not better than he, by her own report. Efcal. Say you? Lucio. Marry, fir, I think, if you handled her pri- vately, ihe mould looner confefs ; perchance, pub- lickly {he'll be aftiam'd. Enter Duke in the Friar's habit, and Provojt. Ifabella is brought in. Efcal, I will go darkly to work with her. Lucio. That's the way; for women are light at midnight 5 . Efcal. Come on, miftrefs ; here's a gentlewoman denies all that you have laid. Lucio. My lord, here comes the rafcal I fpoke of; here with the Provoft. Efcal. In very good time : fpeak not you to him, 'till we call upon you. Ludo. Mum. 3 are light at midnight. ~\ This is one of the words on which Shakefpeare chiefly delights to quibble. Thus Portia in the Merchant of Venice : " Let me give light ^ but let me not be light." STEEVEN.S. Efcal MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 149 Efcal. Come, fir ; Did you fet thefe women on to ilander lord Angelo ? they have confefs'd you did. Duke. 'Tis falfe. Efcal. How 1 know you where you are ? 'Duke. Refpect to your great place ! and let the devil 6 Be fometime honour'd for his burning throne : Where is the duke ? 'tis he fhould hear me fpeak. Efcal. The duke's in us ; and we will hear you fpeak : Look, you fpeak juftly. Duke. Boldly, at leaft : But, oh, poor fouls, Come you to feek the lamb here of the fox ? Good night to your redrcfs : Is the duke gone ? Then is your caufe gone too. The duke's unjurl:, Thus to retort your manifeft appeal 7 , And put your trial in the villain's mouth, Which here you come to accufc. JLucio. This is the rafcal ; this is he, I fpoke of. Efcal. Why, thou unreverend and unhallow'd friar ! Is't not enough, thou haft fuborn'd thcfe women To accufe this worthy man ; but, in foul mouth, And in the witnefs of his proper ear, To call him villain? And then to glance from him to the duke himfelf, To tax him with injuftice ? Take him hence ; To the rack with him : We'll touzc you joint by joint, But we will know this purpofe : What ? unjuft ? Duke. Be not fo hot ; the duke Dare no more ftretch this finger of mine, than he 6 let the devil, &c.] Shakefpeare was a reader of Philemon Holland's tranflation of Pliny ; and in the vth book and 8th chapter, might have met with this idea. " The Augylae do no worjbip to any but to the etcvils beneath." STEEVEXS. 7 To retort your manifeft appeal ; ] To refer lack to Angelo the caufe in which you appealed from Angelo to the Duke. JOHNSOX. L 3 Dare 150 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Dare rack his own ; his fubject I am not, Nor here provincial 7 : My bufinefs in this ftatc Made me a looker-on here in Vienna, Where I have feen corruption boil and bubble, 'Till it o'er-run the flew : laws, for all faults ; But faults fo countenanc'd, that the ftrong ltatut.es Stand like the forfeits in a barber v s Ihop % As much in mock as mark. EJcaL Slander to the (late ! Away with him to prifon. Ang. What can you vouch againfl him, fignior Lucio ? Is this the man, that you did tell us of ? Ludo. "Tis he, my lord. Come hither, goodman bald-pate : Do you know me ? 7 Nor here provincial :] Nor here accountable. The meaning feems to be, I am not one of his natural fubjets, nor of any dependent province. JOHNSON. 8 Stand like the forfeit irfcits in a barber's flop,] Barber's (hops were, at all times, the refort of idle people : " Tonftrina erat quadam : hie fold amus fere " Phrumque earn opperiri " Which Donatus calls aptafedes otiofis. Formerly with us, the bet- ter fort of people went to the barber's mop to be trimmed ; who then pracYiied the under parts of furgery : fo that he had occafion for numerous inftruments, which lay there ready for ufe ; and the idle people, with whom his {hop was generally crowded, would be perpetually handling and mifufing them. To remedy which, I fuppofe, there was placed up againitthe wall a table of forfeitures, adapted to every offence of this kind ; which, it is not likely ^ would long preferve its authority. WAR BUR TON. This explanation may ferve till a better is difcovered. But whoever has feen the inftrumenfs of a chirurgeon, knows that they may be very eafily kept out ot improper hands in a very fmall box, or in his pocket. JOHNSON. The forfeits in a barber's Jhcp are brought forward by Mr. Ken- rick with a parade worthy of the fubjecl. FARMER. It was formerly part of a barber's occupation to pick the teeth and ears. So in the old pla^ of Herod and Antipater, 1622. T'rjpbon the barber enters with a cafe of instruments, to each of which he addrefles himfelf feparately : " Toothpick, dear toothpick ; earpick, both of you " Have been her Aveet companions ! Sec." STEEVENS. Duke. MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 151 Duke. I remember you, fir, by the found of your voice : I met you at the prifon, in the abfence of the duke. Luc lo. Oh, did you fo ? And do you remember what you faid of the duke ? Duke. Moft notedly, fir. Lurio. Do you fo, fir ? And was the duke a flem- monger, a fool, and a coward 9 , as you then reported him to be ? Duke. You muft, fir, change perfons with me, ere .you make that my report : you, indeed, fpoke fo of him ; and much more, much worfe. Luck. O thou damnable fellow ! Did not I pluck thee by the nofe, for thy fpeeches ? Duke. I proteft, I love the duke, as I love myfelf. Ang. Hark ! how the villain would clofe now, af- ter his treafonable abufes. Efcal. Such a fellow is not to be talk'd withal : Away with him to prifon : Where is the provofl ? Away with him to prifon ; lay bolts enough upon him : let him fpeak no more : away with thofe giglots too ', and with the other confederate compa- nion. [The Provoft lays hands on the Duke* Duke. Stay, fir ; flay a while. Ang. What I refifts he ? Help him, Lucio. Luclo, Come, fir ; come, fir ; come, fir : foh, fir ; Why, you bald-pated, lying rafcal ! you muft be hooded, muft you ? iliow your knave's vifage, with 9 and a coward,] So again afterwards : " Ton, Jirrab, that know me for a fool \ a coward, *' One all of luxury " But Lucio had not, in the former converfation, mentioned cow- ardice among the faults of the duke. Such failures of memory are incident to writers more diligent than this poet, JOHNSON. * tbofe giglots too,\ A vizlot is a wanton wench. So in K, Henry VI. P. I : " young Talbot was not born *' To be the pillage of zgiglot wench." STEEVENS. L 4 a pox 152 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. a pox to you ! fhow your fheep-biting face, and be hang'd an hour M Will't not off? [Pulls of the friar's hood, and difcovers tie Duke. Duke. Thou art the firft knave, that e'er mad'lt a duke. Firft, provoft, let me bail thefe gentle three : Sneak not away, fir ; \Jo Lucio.~] for the friar and you Mud have a word anon : lay hold on him. Luclo. This may prove worfe than hanging. Duke. What you have fpoke, I pardon ; fit you down. [30 Efcalus. We'll borrow place of him : Sir, by your leave : [To Angdo* Haft thou or word, or wit, or impudence, That yet can do thee office ? if thou haft, Rely upon it till my tale be heard, And hold no longer out. Ang. O my dread lord, I fliould be guiltier than my guiltinefs, To think I can be undifcernable, When I perceive, your grace, like power divine, Hath look'd upon my pafles 3 : Then, good prince, No longer feffion hold upon my fhame, But let my trial be mine own confeffion ; a Sh(*ivyour ficcp-liting facc^ and be hang'd an hour : ivill't not off?'] This is intended to be the common language of vulgar in- dignation. Our phrafe on fuch occafions is (imply ; Jhovjyour JJiecp-bltingfacc, and be banged. The words an hour have no par- ticular ufe here, nor are authorifed by cuftom. I fuppofe it was written thus, fao-iv your foecp-bitlng face ^ and be hanged an* ho-~v f ivHi't not off-? In the midland counties, upon any unexpected ob- {lrution or reiillance, it is common to exclaim an' boo.t\\Jlr angled an hour." What, Piper, ho! be hang'd a-whilc" is a line of an old madrigal. FARMER. 5 y pafles :] i.e. what has paft in my adrmniftration. STEEVENS. Immc- MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 153 Immediate fentence then, and fequent death, Is all the grace I beg. Duke. Come hither, Mariana : Say, waft thou e'er contracted to this woman ? Ang. I was, my lord. Duke. Go take her hence, and marry her in- ftantly. Do you the office, friar ; which consummate, Return him here again : Go with him, provoft. \_Rxeunt Angelo, Mariana, Peter^ and Provvft. Efial. My lord, I am more amaz'd at his dilho- nour, Than at the ftrangenefs of it. Duke. Come hither, Ifabel : Your friar is now your prince : As I was then Advertifmg, and holy 4 to your bufmefs. Not changing heart with habit, I am ftill Attorney'd at your fervice. Ijab. Oh, give me pardon, That I, your vafial, have employ'd and pain'd Your unknown fovereignty. Duke. You are pardon'd, Ifabel : And now, dear maid, be you as free to us s . Your brother's death, I know, fits at your heart : And you may marvel, why I obfcur'd myfelf, Labouring to fave his life ; and would not rather Make ram remonftrance of my hidden power, Than let him be fo loft : Oh, moft kind maid, It was the fwift celerity of his death, Which I did think with flower foot came on, That brain'd my purpofe 6 : But, peace be with him ! 4 Advcrtlfing and boly\ Attentive and faithful. JOHNSON. s be you as free to us.] Be zs generous to us, pardon us as we have pardoned you. JOHNSON. 6 That brairf d my purpnfe : ] We now ufe in conver- fation a like phrafe. This it was that knocked my defign on the head. Dr. Warburton reads : . "baned nty pnrfojc. JOHNSON. That 154 MEASURE FOR MEASURE. That life is better life, paft fearing death, Than that which lives to fear : make it your comfort, So, happy is your brother. Re-enter Angelo^ Mariana^ Peter, and Provqft. Ifab. I do, my lord. Duke. For this new-marry'd man, approaching here, Whofe fait imagination yet hath wrong'd Your well-defended honour, you muft pardon him For Mariana's fake : But as he adjudg'd your brother, (Being criminal, in double violation Of facred chaftity ; and of promife-breach, Thereon dependant, for your brother's life) The very mercy of the law cries out Moft audible, even from his proper tongue 7 , An Angelo for Claudio, death for death. Hafte ftill pays hafte, and leifure anfwers leifure ; Like doth quit like, and Meafure ftill for Meafure 8 . Then, Angelo, thy fault's thus manifefted ; Which though thou would'ft deny, denies thee van- tage 9 : We do condemn thee to the very block Where Claudio ftoop'd to death, and with like hafte ; Away with him. Marl. Oh, my moft gracious lord, I hope, you will not mock me with a hufband ! 7 even from bis proper tongue,] Even from Angelo's tnvn tongue. So above. * ' /;/ the ivitne/s of bis proper car " To call him villain," JOHNSON. 8 So in the Third Part of K. Henry VI : " Meafure for Meafure muft be anfwered." STEEVENS. The following lines in an old tragedy entitled A Warning for faire Women, 1 599 ; (but apparently written fome years before) might have furnifhed Shakefpeare with the title of this play : " The trial now remains as fhall conclude, " Mfafure for Meafure, and loft blood for blood.'* MALONE. 9 denies tbec 'Vantage:'} Takes from thee all opportunity # all expedient of denial. WARBURTON. Duke, MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 155 Duke. It is your hufband mock'd you with a huf- band : Conferring to the fafeguard of your honour, I thought your marriage fit ; elfe imputation, For that he knew you, might reproach your life, And choak your good to come : for his pofleffions, Although by confifcation they are ours, We do enftate and widow you withal, To buy you a better hufband. Mart. Oh, my dear lord, I crave no other, nor no better man. Duke. Never crave him ; we are definitive. Marl. Gentle, my liege [Kneeling Duke. You do but lofe your labour ; Away with him to death. Now, fir, to you. [To Lucio. Man. Oh, my good lord ! Sweet Ifabel, take my part ; Lend me your knees, and all my life to come I'll lend you, all my life to do you fervice. Duke. Againil all fenfe you do importune her* : Should fhe kneel down, in mercy of this fad:, Her brother's ghoft his paved bed would break, And take her hence in horror. Mart. Ifabel, Sweet Ifabel, do yet but kneel by me ; Hold up your hands, fay nothing, I'll fpeak all. They fay, beft men are moulded out of faults ; And, for the moft, become much more the better For being a little bad ; fo may my hufband. Oh, Ifabel ! will you not lend a knee ? Duke. He dies for Claudio's death. \ Jgalnjl nil fenfe jw; do Importune her;} The meaning requir- ed is, agftffitt all reafon and natural aftedtion ; Shakefpeare, there- fore, judicioufly ufes a angle word that implies both ; fenfe fi Since be was good 'till he looked on me, let I'an not die. I am afraid our varlet poet intended to inculcate, that women think ill of nothing that railes the credit of their beauty, and are ready, however virtuous, to pardon any acl: which they think incited by their own charms. JOHNSON. " How oft the fight of power to do ill deeds, " Makes ill deeds done r" K. John. STEEVENS. 3 His aft did not o'ertake his bad intent ; ] So in Macbeth : *' The flighty purpofe never is overtook, " Unlefs the deed go with it." STEEVENS. Prov* MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 157 Prov. It was commanded fo. Duke. Had you a fpccial warrant for the deed ? Prov. No, my good lord ; it was by private rrtef- lage. Duke. For which I do difcharge you of your office : Give up your keys. Prov. Pardon me, noble lord : I thought it was a fault, but knew it not ; Yet did repent me, after more advice 4 : For teftimony whereof, one in the prifon, That mould by private order elfe have dy'd, I have referv'd alive. Duke. What's he ? Prov. His name is Barnardine. Duke. I would, thou had'ft done fo by Claudio. Go, fetch him hither ; let me look upon him. Exit Provojl. Efcal. I am forry, one fo learned and fo wife As you, lord Angelo, have flill appear'd, Should flip fo grofly, both in the heat of blood, And lack of temper'd judgment afterward. Ang. I am forry, that fuch forrow I procure : And fo deep flicks it in my penitent heart, That I crave death more willingly than mercy; 'Tis my deferving, and I do entreat it. Re-enter Provojl, Barnardine, Claudio, and Julietta. Duke. Which is that Barnardine ? Prov. This, my lord. Duke. There was a friar told me of this man : Sirrah, thou art faid to have a ftubborn foul, That apprehends no further than this world, And fquar'fl thy life according : Thou'it condemn'd; But, for thofe earthly faults 5 , I quit them all ; 4 after more advice:] i. e. after more mature confideration. STEEVENS. 5 -for tbofe earthly faults,] Thy faults, fo far as they are punifhable on earth, fo far as they are cognifable by temporal power, I forgive. JOHNSON. I pray i 5 3 MEASURE FOR MEASURE* I pray thee, take this mercy to provide For better times to come : Friar, advife him; I leave him to your hand. What muffled fellow's that ? Prov. This is another prifoncr, that I fav'd, Who fhould have dy'd when Claudio loft his head ; As like almoft to Claudio, as himfelf. Duke. If he be like your brother, for his fake [To Ifab. Is he pardon'd ; And, for your lovely fake, Give me your hand, and fay, you will be mine, He is my brother too : But fitter time for that* By this, lord Angelo perceives he's fafe 6 ; Methinks, I fee a quick'ning in his eye : Well, Angelo, your evil quits you well 7 : Look, that you love you wife 8 ; her worth, worth yours 9 . I find an apt remiffion in myfelf ; And yet here's one in place I cannot pardon T ; You, 6 pe rcelvcs he's fafe ', ] It is fomewhat ftrange, that Ifabel is not made to exprefs either gratitude, wonder, or joy at the fight of her brother. JOHNSON. 7 -your evil quits you well:] 3>uitsyou, recompenfes, re* quites you. JOHNSON. 8 Look that you love your wife ; ] So in Promos >, &c. " Be loving to good Caflandra, thy wife.'* STEEVENS* 9 her ivortb, worth yours. ~\ Sir T. Hanmer reads, Her worth works yours. This reading is adopted by Dr. Warburton, but for what re'afon ? How does her worth work Angela's worth ? it has only contributed to work his pardon. The words are, as they are too frequently, an affected gingle, but the fenfe is plain. Her worth, worth yours; that is, her value is equal to your value, the match is not unwor- thy of you. JOHNSON. 1 here's one in place I cannot fare/on;] After the pardon of two murderers, Lucio might be treated by the good duke with lefs harftinefs ; but perhaps the poet intended to {how, what is too often feen, that men eafily forgive wrongs which are not com- mitted againft them /'elves . JOHNSON. If this note had not been written before the conclusion of the play was read, it would have been found that the Duke only meant MEASURE FOR MEASURE, 159 You, lirrah, that knew me for a fool, a coward, [To Lucio. One all of luxury, an afs, a mad-man ; Wherein have I deferred fo of you, That you extol me thus ? Lucio. 'Faith, my lord, I fpoke it but according to the trick * : if you will hang me for it, you may, but I had rather it would pleafe you, I might be whip'd. Duke. Whip'd firft, lir, and hang'd aiter. Proclaim it, provoft, round about the city ; If any woman's wrong'd by this lewd fellow, (As I have heard him fwear himfelf, there's one Whom he begot with child) let her appear, And he mall marry her : the nuptial finifh'd, Let him be whip'd and hang'd. Lucio. I befeech your highnefs, do not marry m6 to a whore ! your highnefs faid even now, I made you a duke ; good my lord, do notrecompence me, in making me a cuckold. Duke. Upon mine honour, thou malt marry her. Thy flanders 1 forgive ; and therewithal Remit thy other forfeits J : Take him to prifon : And fee our pleafure herein executed. Lucio. Marrying a punk, my lord, is preffing to death, whipping, and hanging. Duke. Sland'ring a prince deferves it. She, Claudio, that you wrong'd, look you reftore. meant to frighten Lucio, whofe final fentence is to marry the woman whom he had wronged, on which all his other punifh- ments are remitted. STEEVENS. i according to the trick :] To my cuflom, my habitual practice. JOHNSON. 3 - thy other forfeits :~\ Thy other punifhments. JOHNSON. To forfeit anciently fignified to commit a carnal offence. So in t\it Hijtory of Helyas Knight of the Swanne, bl. 1. no date. " to affirme by an untrue knight, that the noble queen Beatrice had forfayted \v\tia. a dogge." Again, in the 12th Pageant of the Co-< ventry Collection of Myfteries, the Virgin Mary tells Joleph : ** I dede nevyr forfete with man I vvys." MS. Cott. Vefp. D. viii. STEEVEXS. Joy 160 MEASURE FOR MEASURE, Joy to yon, Mariana! love her, Angelo; I have confefs'd her, and I know her virtue. Thanks, good friend Efcalus, for thy much good- nefs 4 : There's more behind, that is more gratulate y , Thanks, provoft, for thy care, and fecrefy ; We lhall employ thee in a worthier place : Forgive him, Angelo, that brought you home The head of Ragozine for Claudio's ; The offence pardons itfelf. Dear Ifabel, I have a motion much imports your good ; Whereto if you'll a willing ear incline, What's mine is yours, and what is yours is mine : So bring us to our palace; where we'll Ihow What's yet behind, that's meet you all ihould know* [Exeunt \ * T7}dnks good friend Efcalus, for tly much fpojaejs :~\ I have always thought that there is great confufion in this concluding fpeech. If my criticifm would not be cenfured as too licentious, I fhould regulate it thus : Thanks, good friend Efcalus, for tly much goodnefs* Tftatiks, Provoft, for tby care and fecrecy j Wejball employ thee in a worthier place. Forgive him, Angelo, that brought you home The head of Ragozine for Clandio's. Ang. TV offence pardons itfelf. Duke. There's more behind Tljat is more gratulate. Dear Ifabel^ I have a motion, &c. JOHNSON. 5 that is more gratulate.] i.e. to le more rejoiced in; meaning, I fuppofe, that there is another world, where he will find yet greater reafon to rejoice in conlequence of his upright miniftry. Efcalus is repreiented as an ancient nobleman, who, in conjunction with Angelo, had reached the higheft office or" the ftate. He therefore could not be fufficiently rewarded here ; but is neceflkrily referred to a future and more exalted lecompence. SSTEEVENS. 6 I cannot help taking notice with how much judgment Shake- fpeare has given turns to this ftory from what he found it in Cyn- thio Giraldi's novel. In the firlt place, the brother is there ac- tually executed, and the governour fends his head in a bravado to the fifter, after he had debauched her on promife of marriage. A circumflance of too much horror and villainy for the ftage. Ami, in MEASURE FOR MEASURE. 161 in the next place, the lifter afterwards is, to folder up her dif- gi-ace, married to the governour, nnd begs his lifeof rhe emperour, though he had uniiiitly been the death of her brother. Both which abl'urdities the poet has avoided by the cpilbde or Mariana, a crenture purely of his own invention. The duke's remaining incognito at home to fupervife the conduct ot his deputy, is alib entirely our authour's fiction. This itory was attempted for the fcenc before our autbour was fourteen years old, by one George Whetftone, in Tivo Cwrical D ifcourfts, as they are called, containing the right excellent and famous hiftory of Promos and Cafiandra, printed with the black letter, m/S. The author going that year with Sir Humphrey Gilbert to Norimbega, lett them with his friends to publidi. THEOBALD. The novel of Cynthio Giraldi, from which Shakeipeare isfup- pofed to have borrowed this fable, may be read in S&a&t/pt&re il- luftratcti, elegantly tranilated, with remarks which will atMthe enquirer to diicover how much abfurdity Shakefpeare has admitted or avoided. I cannot but fufpect that fome other had new-modelled the no- vel of Cynthio, or written a ftory which in fome particulars re- fembled it, and that Cynthio was not the authour whom Shake- fpeare immediately followed. Theemperour in Cynthio is named Maximine ; the duke, in Shakeipeare's enumeration of the pcrfons of the drama, is called Vincentio. This appears a very flight remark ; but fmce the duke has no name in the play, nor is ever mentioned but by his title, why fhould he be called Vincentio among the perfons, but becaufe the name was copied from the tfory, and placed fuperfluoully at the head of the lilt by the mere habit of tranfcription ? It is theieiore likely that there was then a ftory of Vincentio duke of Vienna, different from that of Maxi- mine emperour of the Romans. Of this play the light or comick part is very natural and pleaf- ing, but the grave fcenes, if a few paflages be excepted, have more labour than elegance. The plot is rather intricate than art- ful. The time of the action is indefinite ; fome time, we know not how much, mull have elapfed between the recefs of the duke- and the iinprifonment of Claudio ; tor he mult have learned the ftory ot Mariana in his difguiie, or he delegated his power to a man already known to be corrupted. The unities, of action and place are luth'ciently preserved. JOHNSON. The Fable of Whetirone's Prawos am? Caffandra^ 1578. " The Argument of the whole Hijloryc" " In the cyttie of Julio (Ibmetimes under the dominion of Corvinus kynge of Hitn^aric, ;uid Rocmia) there \vis a law, that what man fo ever comir/utcd adultery, fnould lofe his head, and the woman offender, fi-.ould \\ T eare ibiAe difguiled apparel, during her lite, to make her intainoufly noted. This lev eve lawe, by VOL. II. M the l6z MEASURE FOR MEASURE. the favour of Come mercifull magiftrate, became little regarded, untiil the time of lord Promos authority : who convicting a young gentleman named Andrugio of incontinency, condemned, both him and his- minion, to the execution of this ilatute. Andntgio had a very virtuous and beautiful gentlewoman to his lifter, named Cajjandra : CajjTandra to enlarge her brother's life, fubmitted an humble petition to the lord Promos: Promos regarding her good behaviours, and fantafying her great beawtie, was much delighted \vith the fweete order of her talke : and doyng good, that evill might come thereof : for a time he repryv'd her brother : but wicked man, tourning his liking into unlawful! luft, he fet downe the fpoile of her honour, raunfome for her brothers life : chafte Cajfandra, abhorring both him and his fate, by no perfualion would yeald to this raunfome. But in fine, wonne with the im- portunitye of hir brother (pleading for life:) upon thefe condi- tions, flie agreed to Promos. Firft, that he fhould pardon her bro- ther, and after marry her. Promos as feareles in promiiTe, as care- leffe in performance, with follemne vowe fygned her conditions : but worfe then any infydell, his will fatiisfyed, he performed r either the one nor the other : for to keepe his aucthoritye, un- fpotted with favour, and to prevent CaJJandrac's clamors, he com- muunded the gayler iecretly, to prefent Cajfandra with her bro- ther's head. The gayler, with the outcryes of Andn/vio, (abr horryng Promos lewdenes) by the providence of God /provided thus for his fafety. He prefented Cajjandra with a felons head new- lie executed, who (being mangled, knew it not from her brothers, by the gayler, who was fet at libertie) was fo agreeved at this trecherye, that at the point to kyl her feif, fhe fpared that itroke, to be avenged of Promos. And devyfing a way, flie concluded, to make her fortunes knovvne unto the kinge. She (executing this refolution) was fo highly favoured of the king, that forthwith he hailed to do juftice on Promos: whofe judgement was, to marrye Cajfandra, to repaire her era fed honour : which donne, for his hainous offence he fhould lofe his head. This maryage folemp- nifed, Cajjlindra tyed in the greateft bondes of affection to her hufband, became an earneft futer for his life : the kinge (ten- dringe the generall benefit of the comon weale, before her fpe- cial eafe, although he favoured her much) would not graunt her fute. Andrugio (difguifed amonge the company) forrowing the friefe of his filler, bewrayde his fafety, and craved pardon. The inge, to renowne the vertues of Caffandra, pardoned both him, and Promos. The circumflances of this rare hiftorye, in adtion livelye toloweth." Whet/lone, however, has not afforded a very correct analyfis of his play, which contains a mixture of comic fcenes, between a Bawd, a Pimp, Felons, &c. together with fome fericus fituations which are not defcribed. STEEVENS. COMEDY COMEDY O F ERRORS. M 2. PeiTons Perfons Reprefented. MO""* Sollnus, Dvktof Ephefus. ^Egeon, a Merchant of Syracufe. -L r f T u r i 1 ^ win Brothers, and Sons to Antipho is of Ephefus , ^ a dJEm{l{ but Antiphohs / byracuie, jf ^ J^ /fl ^ ^ Dromio c^ Ephefus, 7 Twin-Brothers* and Slaves to the Dromio of Syracufe, \ two Antipholis'j. Balthazar, a Merchant. Angelo, a Goldfmith. A Merchant, friend to Antipholis of Syracufe. Dr. Pinch, a Scbool-mqfter, and a Conjurer. JEmilia, Wife to ^Egeon, an Abbefs at Ephefus. Adriana, Wife to Antipholis of Ephefus. Luciana, Sifter to Adriana. Luce, Servant to Adriana. A Courtezan. Jailor* Officers* and other Attendants. SCENE, Ephefus. 1 In the old copy, thefe brothers are occasionally ftyled, Anti- pholus JErotes, or Errotis ; and Antipholus Scrcptns; meaning, perhaps erraticus^ -andifurrcptus. One or thefe twins tvaaJereJ in learch of his brother who had been forced from jEmilia, by fifhe.rmen of Corinth. The following acroitic is the argument to the Mcncedimi of Plautus : Delph. Edit. p. 694. ^lercator Siculus, cut cr ant ge mini fill i^ Ei, fiirrcpto altcrn, mars obtigit, NomenJ'urreptitii iili indit qui domi ejl AVHS paternus, facit Mcn&cbmum Sojiclcm. Et is gcrmanttm, pojlquam atiolevit, quaritat Circuni onincs oras. Pojl Ep'ulamnum di-venit : Hicfuerat autttis Hie furreptitius. Men&chmum clt'cm crcditnt onmes ad-venam : Euniijue appellant^ meretrix, uxor, et /'>cer. Ji _ff cognojcunt fratrfs paftrentb ini'icem. *The tranflater, VV. W. calls the brothers, Menaechmus Sajlcles^ and Mcntechmus the traveller. \VbeitQcfoercrSbakefrtare adopted crra- t:cus andfurnffus (which either he or his editors have mif-fpelt) thefe diftinftions were foon dropt, and throughout the reit of the entries the twins are ftyled of Syracuj'c or Ephcfus. STEEVENS. COMEDY COMEDY of ERRORS ACT I. SCENE I. he Duke's Palace. Enter tie Duke of Epbefus, JtLgeon^ Jailor^ and other Attendants. jfcgeon. Proceed, Solinns, to procure my fall, And, by the doom of death, end woes and all. Duke. Merchant of Syracufa, plead no more; I am not partial, to infringe our laws : * Shakefpeare certainly took the general plan of this comedy from a translation of the Meiuecbmi of Plautus, by W. W. i. e. (according to Wood) William Warner, in 1595, vvhofe veriion of the acroftical argument already quoted, is as follows : ** Two twinne-borne fonnes, a Sicill marchant had, " Menechmus one, and Soficles the other ; * The firft his father loll a little lad, '* The grandfire namde the latter like his brother : * c This (growne a man) long travell tooke to feeke " His brother, and to Epidamnum came, " Where th' other dwelt inricht, and him fo like, " That citizens there take him for the fame : " Father, wife, neighbours, each miftaking either, *' Much pleafant error, ere they meete togither." Perhaps the laft of thefe lines fuggefted to Shakefpeare the title for his piece. See this tranflation of the Menachm't^ among fix old Plays on which Shakefpearc founded, &c. publiihed by S. Leacroft, Char- ing-crofs. At Stationers-Hall, Nov. 15, 1613: " A booke called 7ci?# TwtMaes" was entered by Geo. Norton. Such a play indeed, by W. Rider, was publiihed in 410. 1695. And Langbaine fu Ipects it to be much older than the date annex'd : otherwife the Twins might have been regarded as Shakeipeare's Comsdy of E>-rors t under another title. STEEVENS. M 3 The i66 COMEDY The enmity and difcord, which of late Sprung from the rancorous outrage of your duke To merchants, our well-dealing countrymen, Who, wanting gilders to redeem their lives, Have feal'd his rigorous ftatutes with their bloods,* Excludes all pity from our threat'ning looks, For, fince-the mortal and inteftine jars 'Twixt thy feditious countrymen and us, It hath in folemn fynods been decreed, Both by the Syracufans and ourfelvcs, To admit no traffick to our adverfe towns : Nay, more, If any, born at Ephefus, Be feen at Syracufan marts and fairs, Again, If any, Syracufan born, Come to the bay of Ephefus, he dies, His goods confifcate to the duke's difpofe ; Unleis a thoufand marks be levied, To quit the penalty, and to ranfom him. Thy fubftance, valued at the higheft rate, Cannot amount unto a hundred marks ; Therefore, by law thou art condemned to die. JILgeo-tu Yet this my comfort ; when your words arc done, My woes end likewife with the evening fun. Duke. Well, Syracufan, fay, in brief, the caufe Why thou departedit from thy native home ; And for what caufe thou cam'fl to Ephefus. sEgeon. A heavier tafk could not have been impos'd, Than I to fpeak my griefs unfpeakable : Yet, that the world may witnefs, that my end Was wrought by nature, ' not by vile offence, I'll 3 H'as iiTONg/.t fy nature, not ly vile offence ,} All his hearers understood that the punifhment he was about to undergo was in confequence of no private crime, but of the public enmity be- tween nvo fetes, to one of which he belonged : but it was a ge- neral fuperilition amongil the ancients, that every great and fud- den mistortune was the vengeance of Heaven pursuing men for their fecret offences* Hence the feutiment put into the mouth of- OF ERRORS. 167 I'll utter what my forrow gives me leave. In Syracufa was I born ; and wed Unto a woman, happy but for me, And by me too, had not our hap been bad. With her I liv'd in joy ; our wealth increas'd, By profperous voyages I often made To Epidamnum, till my factor's death ; And he, great care of goods at random left, Drew me from kind embracements of my fpoufe : From whom my abfence was not fix months old, Before herfelf (almoft at fainting, under The pleafing punilhment that women bear) Had made provision for her following me, And foon, and fafe, arrived where I was. There Ihe had not been long, but fhe became A joyful mother of two goodly fons ; And, which was ftrange, the one fo like the other, As could not be diftinguruYd but by names. That very hour, and in the felf-fame inn, A poor mean woman was delivered Of fnch a burden, male twins, both alike : Thofe, for their parents were exceeding poor, I bought, and brought up to attend my fons. My wife, not meanly proud of two fuch boys, Made daily motions for our home return : Unwilling I agreed ; alas, too foon. "We came aboard : A league from Epidamnum had we fail'd, Before the always-wind-obeying deep Gave any tragic inftance of our harm : But longer did we not retain much hope ; For what obfcured light the heavens did grant Did but convey unto our fearful minds of the fpcaker was proper. By my paft life, (fays he) which I am going to relate, the world may underftand, that my prefent death is according to the ordinary courfe of Providence (wrought ly nature] and not the effeds of divine vengeance overtaking me to v my crimes, [wt lv vile tffixce.] WAR BUR TON. M 4 A doubt- *68 COMEDY A doubtful warrant of immediate death ; Which, though my felf would gladly have enibrac'd, Yet the mediant weepings of my wite, Weeping before, for what Ihe faw mult come, And piteous plainings of the pretty babes, That mourn'd for falhion, ignorant what to fear, Forc'd me to feck delays for them and me. And this it was, for other means were none. - The failors fought for fafety by our boat, And left the fhip, then iinking-ripe, to us : My wife, more careful for the latter-born, Had faften'd him unto* a fhiall fpare maft, Such as fca-faring men provide for florins ; To him one of the other twins was bound, Whilft I had been like heedful of the other. The children thus difpos'd, my wife and I, Fixing our eyes on whom our care was fix'd, Faltcn'd ourfelves at either end the maft ; And floating ftraight, obedient to the ftream, Were carry 'd towards Corinth, as we thought. At length the fun, gazing upon the earth, Difpers'd thofe vapours that offended us ; And, by the benefit of his wifh'd light, The feas wax'd calm, and we difcovcrcd Two mips from far making amain to us, Of Corinth that, of Epidaurus this : But ere they came, Oh, let me fay no more \ Gather the fequel by that went before. Duke. Nay, forward, old man, do not break offfo ; For we may pity, though not pardon thec. j&geon. Oh, had the gods done fo, I had not now Worthily tcrm'd them mercilefs to us ! For, ere the ihips could meet by twice five leagues, We were encountred by a mighty rock ; Which being violently borne upon, Our helpful fhip was fplitted in the midit, So that, in this unjuil divorce of us, Fortune had left to both of us alike What O F E R R O R S, 169 What to delight in, what to forrow for. Her part, poor foul ! fecming as burdened With Icflcr weight, but not with letter woe, Was carry 'd with more fpeed before the wind ; And in our fight they three were taken up By frfhcrmcn of Corinth, as we thought. At length, another ihip had feiz'd on us ; And, knowing whom it was their hap to fave, Gave helpful welcome to their ihipwreck'd guefts ; And would have reft the lilher of their prey, Had not their bark been very flow of fail, And therefore homeward did they bend their courfe.- Thus have you heard me fever'd from my blifs ; That by misfortunes was my life prolong'd, To tell fad ftories of my own mifhaps. Duke. And, for the fakes of them thou forrowefl for, Do me the favour to dilate at full What hath befall'n of them, and thee, till now. jfiLgeon. My youngeft boy, and yet my eldefl care, At eighteen years became inquifitive After his brother ; and importun'd me, That his attendant, (for his cafe was like, Reft of his brother, but retain'd his name,) Might bear him company in the queft of him : \Vhom whilfl I labour'd of a love to fee, I hazarded the lofs of whom I lov'd. Five fummers have I fpent in fartheft Greece, Roaming clean through the bounds of Afia 4 , And, coafting homeward, came to Ephefus ; Hopelefs to find, yet loth to leave unfought, Or that, or any place that harbours men. 4 Roaming clean through the bounds of Afia,"\ In the northern parts of England this word is Hill uled inftead of qit.it e^ ///>', perfectly, completely. So in Coriolanus : " This is dean kam." Again, in Julius Cuefar : " Clean rrom the purpofe of the things themfelves." The reader will likewife find it in the ;;th Pialm. STEETENS. But I 7 o COMEDY But here muft end the flory of my life * And happy were I in my timely death, Could all my travels warrant me they live. Duke. Haplefs JEgeon, whom the fates have inark'd To bear the extremity of dire mifliap ! Now, truft me, were it not againft our laws, Againft my crown, my oath, my dignity, Which princes, would they* may not difannu! 5 My foul ihould fue as advocate for thee. But, though thou art adjudged to the death* And pafled fentence may not be recall'd, But to our honour's great difparagement, Yet will I favour thee in what I can : Therefore, merchant, I'll limit thee this day, To feck thy help by beneficial help : Try all the friends thou hail in Ephefus ; Beg thou, or borrow, to make up the fum, And live ; if not, then thou art doom'd to die : Jailor, take him to thy cuftody. [.v. Duke and tram, Jail. I will, my lord. sEgeon. Hopelefs, and helplefs, doth ^Egeon wend s , But to procraflinate his livelefs end. [Exeunt sEgeon and Jaikf* SCENE II. Changes to the Street. Enter Antipbolis of Syracvfe, a Merchant, and Dromh, Mer. Therefore give out, you are of Epidamnum, Left that your goods too foon be confifcate. 5 t'.'fW,] i.e. go. An obfolete word. So in the SpaniJJ; Tragedy : " Led by the load-flat of her heav'nly looks " W'ends poor opprefled Balthafar.'* Again, in the play of Orlando Furiofo, icgp : " To let his daughter wend with us to France." Again, in the Afeny Devil of Edmonton, 1626 : " But itvWwe merrily to the foreft." STEEVENS. This O F E R R O R S, 171 This very day, a Syracufan merchant Is apprehended for arrival here ; And, not being able to buy out his life, According to the ftatute of the town, Dies ere the weary fun fet in the weft. There is your money, that I had to keep. A/it. Go bear it to the Centaur, where we holt, And fray there, Dromio, till I come to thee. Within this hour it will be dinner-time : 'Till that, I'll view the manners of the town, Perufe the traders, gaze upon the buildings, And then return, and ileep within mine inn ; For with long travel I am flifif and weary. Get thee away. Dro. Many a man would take you at your word, And go indeed, having fo good a means. [Exit Dromio* Ant. A trufty villain, fir ; that very oft, When I am dull with care and melancholy, Lightens my humour with his merry jells. What, will you walk with me about the town, And then go to my inn and dine with me ? Mer. I am invited, lir, to certain merchants, Of whom I hope to make much benefit, I crave your pardon. Soon, at five o'clock, Pleafe you, I'll meet with you upon the mart* And afterwards confort you till bed-time ; My prefent bufinefs calls me from you now. Ant. Farewell till then : I will go lofe myfelfj And wander up and down to view the city. Mer. Sir, I commend you to your own content. \_Rxit Merchant* Ant. He that commends me to mine own content, Commends me to the thing I cannot get. I to the world am like a drop of water, That in the ocean feeks another drop ; Who, falling there to find his fellow forth, Unfeen, inquifitive, confounds himfelf : So 172 COMEDY So I, to find a mother, and a brother, In queit of them, unhappy, lofe myfelf. Enter Dromio of Epbcfus. Here comes the almanack of my true date. What now ? How chance, thou art rcturn'd fo foon ? E. Dro. Return'd fo foon ! rather approach'd too late : The capon burns, the pig falls from the fpit ; The clock has flrucken twelve upon the bell, My miflrcfs made it one upon my cheek : She is fo hot, becaufe the meat is cold ; The meat is cold, becaufe you come not home ; You come not home, becaufe you have no ftomach ; You have no ftomach, having broke your faft ; But we, that know what 'tis to faft and pray, Are penitent for your default to-day. Ant. Stop in your wind, fir : tell me this, I pray ; Where have you left the money that I gave you ? E. Dro. Oh, fix-pence, that I had o'wednefday laft, To pay the fadlcr for my miftrefs* crupper ; The facller had it, fir, I kept it not. Ant. I am not in a fportive humour now ; Tell me, and dally not, where is the money ? We being ftrangers here, how dar'ft thou trufi So great a charge from thine own cuftody ? E. Dro. I pray you, jefl, fir, as you fit at dinner : I from my miftrefs come to you in pofl ; If I return, I fhall be pofl indeed 6 , 6 - TJIjall le port i For Jhe will f core your fault upon my pale. ~\ Perhaps before writing was a general accomplifhment, a kind of rough reckoning concerning wares iflued out of a (hop, was kept by chalk or notches on a poft, till it could be entered on the books of a trader. So Kitcly the merchant making his jealous enquiries concerning the familiarities ufed to his wife, Cob an- fvvers : - " - if I law any body to be kifs'd, unlefs they would have kifs'd the pojl in the middle of the warehoufe; &c." STEEVENS. For O F E R R O R S. 173 For fhe will fcorc your fault upon my pate. Methinks, your maw, like mine, fhould be your clock, And ftrike you home without a meffenger. Ant. Come, Dromio, come, thefe jefts are out of feaibn ; Rcferve them till a merrier hour than this : Where is the gold I gave in charge to thee ? E. Dro. To me, fir ? why you gave no gold to me. Ant. Come on, fir knave, have done your foolifh- ncfs, And tell me, how thou haft difposM thy charge. E. Dro. My charge was but to fetch you from the mart Home to your houfe, the Phoenix, fir, to dinner ; My miftrefs, and her lifter, ftay for you. Ant. Now, as I am a chriftian, anfwer me, In what fafe place you have difpos'd my money; Or I fhall break that merry fconcc 7 of yours, That ftands on tricks when I am undifpos'd : Where are the thoufand marks thou had'ft of me ? JL. Dro. I have fome marks of yours upon my pate, Some of my miftrefs' marks upon my fhoulders, But not a thoufand marks between you both. It I fhould pay your worfnip thole again, Perchance, you will not bear them patiently. Ant. Thy miftrefs' marks ! what miftrefs, Have, haft thou ? E. Dro. Your worfhip's wife, my miftrefs at the Phccnix ; She, that doth faft, till you come home to dinner, And prays, that you will hie you home to dinner. Ant. What, wilt thou flout me thus unto my face, Being forbid ? There, take you that, fir knave. 1 that merry fconce ofjoun^] Sconce is bead. So in Ham- Icty ad V : " why does he 1'ufter this rude knave now to kuock him about fozfoouce? i 74 COMEDY E. Dro. What mean you, fir ? for God's fake, hold your hands ; Nay, an you will not fir, I'll take my heels. [Exit Dromio. Ant. Upon my life, by fome device or other, The villain is 8 o'er-raught of all my money. They fay, this town is full of cozenage 9 ; As, nimble jugglers, that deceive the eye ', Dark* * .. . -c 1 cr-raught ] That is, over-reached. JOHNSON, So in Hamlet : " certain players " We o'er-raught on the way." STEEVENS. 9 They fay, this town is full of cozenage ;] This was the cha- rafter the ancients give of it. Hence 'E(pio-nz, ci^iQa.^**.?. was proverbial amongft them. Thus Menander ufes it, and 'Eipto-ta ypn*f*ala, in the lame fenfe. WARBURTON. 1 As, nimble jugglers, that deceive the eye, Dark-workingy2>rrm?r.r, that change the mind, Said-killing witches, that deform the body ; ] Thofe, who attentively confider thefe three lines, mufl confefs, that the poet intended the epithet given to each of thefe mifcreants, fliould declare the power by which they perform their feats, and which would therefore be a juft chara&eriftic of each of them. Thus, by nimble jugglers, we are taught, that they perform their tricks byjlight of hand : and by foul-killing witches, we are in- formed, the mifchief they do is by the affiitance of the devil, to whom they have given their fouls : but then, by dark-working forcerers, we are not inftrufted in the means by which they per- form their ends. Befides, this epithet agrees as well to witches as to them ; and therefore certainly our author could not defign this in their characleriftick. We fhould read : Drug-working forcerers, that change the mind, and we know by the hiftory of ancient and modern fuperitition, that thefe kind of jugglers always pretended to work changes of the mind by thefe applications. WAR BUR TON. The learned commentator has endeavoured with much earnefl- nefs to recommend his alteration ; but, if I may judge of other npprehenfions by my own, without great fuccefs. This interpre- tation of foul-killing is forced and harfh. Sir T. Hanmer reads foul-felling, agreeable enough to the common opinion, but without iuch improvement as may juflify the change. Perhaps the epithets have only been inifphiced, and the lines fliould be read thus : Soul- O F E R R O R S. I? . Park-working forcerers, that change the mind, Soul-killing witches, that deform the body ; Difguifed cheaters, prating mountebanks, And many fuch like liberties of fin * : If it prove fo, I will be gone the fooner. I'll to the Centaur, to go feek this flave; I greatly fear, my money is not fafe. [E.v//. A C T II. S C E N E I. The Hovfeof Antipbolis of Ephefus. Enter Adrlana and Luciana. Adr. Neither my hufband, nor the flave returned, That in fuch hafte I lent to feck his mailer ! Sure, Luciana, it is two o'clock. Luc. Perhaps, foinc merchant hath invited him, Soul-killinj*yV, i.e. coupled like a head-ftrong hound ? The high opinion I mud neceffarily entertain of the learned. Lady's judgment, who furnifhed this obiervation, has taught me to-be diffident of my own, which I am now to offer. The meaning of this paflage may be, that thofe who refute the bridle mull bear the lajb, and that woe is the punimment of head-ftrong liberty. It may be obierved, however, that the fea- men ftill uie lajlj in the fame fenfe with leajb ; as does Greene in hie ManfUI-ia, 1593 : " Thou didft counfel me to beware of love, and I was before in the laflj." Lace was the old Englifh word for a cord, from which verbs have been derived very differently modelled by the chances ot pronunciation. So in Promos and Caflandra, 1578: " To thee Caffandra which doft hold my freedom in a lace" When the mariner, however, lajbts his guns, the fportiman Icajbez his dogs, the female laces her clothes, they all perform one a<*rt of fattening with a lace or cord. Of the lame origin;)! is the word 'UvW/rf/}, or more properly ^indlace, an engine, by which a la-.-c or cord is wound upon a barrel. To lace likevvife lignified to beftow correction with a cord, or. rope's end. So in the ?nd Part of Decker's tlonrji Whore. , 1630 : 4^ the lazy lowne " Gets here hard hands, or 7, Men, O F E R R O R S. I77 Men, more divine, the matters of all thefe, Lords of the wide world, and wild watry feas, Indu'd with intellectual fenfe and fouls, Of more pre-eminence than fifh and fowls, Are matters to their females, and their lords : Then let your will attend on their accords. Adr. This fervitude makes you to keep unwed. Luc. Not this, but troubles of the marriage-bed. Adr. But, were you wedded, you would bear fome fway. Luc. Ere I learn love, I'll pradtife to obey. Adr. How if your hulband flart fome other where 4 ? Luc. Till he come home again, I would forbear. Adr. Patience, unmov'd, no marvel though Ihe paufe 5 ; They can be meek, that have no other caufe. A wretched foul, bruis'd with advcrfity, We bid be quiet, when we hear it cry ; But were we burden'd with like weight of pain, As much, or more, we mould ourfelves complain : So thou, that haft no unkind mate to grieve thee, With urging helplefs patience would'ft relieve me : 4 ft art fome other where ?] I cannot but think, that our authour wrote : -Jl art fome other hare ? So, in Much ado about Nothing, Cupid is faid to be a good hare- finder. JOHNSON. I fufpecl that w/wv'has here the power of a noun. So in Lear : " Thou lofeft here, a better where to find." Again, in Tho. Drain's tranilation of Horace's Satires, 1567 : *' they ranged in eatche wbeft, ** No fpoufailes knowne, &c." The fenfe is, How, if your hufbandjly off in purfuit of fome other woman? The exprelfion is ufed again, fcene 3. " his eye doth homage otherwhere" Again, in Romeo and 'Juliet, act i : " This is not Romeo, he's fome other where" Other-Robert fignifies in other places. So in A'. Henry VIII. aft II. fc. 2 : " The king hath fent me otherwhere" STEEVHXS. 5 though Jbe faufe -,] To paufe is to reft, to be in quiet. JOHNSON. VOL. II, N But 178 COMEDY But, if thou live to fee like right bereft, This fool-begg'd patience in thec will be left *. Luc. Well, I will marry one day, but to try; < Here comes your man, now is your huiband nigh. Enter Dromlo of Ephefus. Adr. Say, is your tardy matter now at hand ? E. Dro. Nay, he is at two hands with me, and that my two ears can witnefs. Adr. Say, did ft thou fpeak with him ? know'ft thou his mind ? E. Dro. Ay, ay, he told his mind upon mine ear : Belhrew his hand, I fcarce could underftand it. Luc. Spake he fo doubtfully, thou couldft not feel his meaning ? E. Dro. Nay, he ttruck fb plainly, I could too well feel his blows ; and withal fo doubtfully, that I could fcarce underttand them 7 . Adr. But fay, I pr'ythee, is he coming home ? It Teems, he hath great care to pleafehis wife-. E. Dro. Why, miftrefs, fure my matter is horn- mad. Adr. Horn-mad, thou villain ? E. Dro. I mean not cuckold-mad ; but, fure, he's ftark mad : When I dcfir'd him to come home to dinner, He afk'd me for a thoufand marks in gold : 'Tis dinner-time y quoth I : My gold, quoth he : Tour meat doth burn y quoth I ; My gold^ quoth he : Will you come f quoth I ; My gold, quoth he : 6 fool-lfgg'd ] She feems to mean, by fool-legged patience y that patience which is fo near to idiotical jimplicity, that your next relation would take advantage from it to reprefent you as a fool \ and leg the guardianship- of yonr fortune. JOHNSON. 7 that I could fcarce underftand tbem.~\ i.e. that I could fcarcs Jtand Tinder them. This quibble, poor as it is, feems to have been the favourite of Shakefpeare. It has been already intro- duced in the Two Gentlt'wen of Verona : " my ftaff undcrjlands me." STEEVENS. mere O F E R R O R S. 179 tyhere is the thoufand marks I gave tbee, villain ? Thepigi quoth I j is burn* d', My gold, quoth he: My mijlrefs, Jir, quoth I ; Hang up thy miftrefs ; / know not thy miftrefs ; out dn thy wiftrefs I Luc. Quoth who ? E. Dro. Quoth my m after : I know, quoth he, no boufe, no wife, no mijlrefs ; So that my errand, due unto my tongue, I thank him, I bare home upon my fhoulders ; For, in conclufion, he did beat me there. Adr. Go back again, thou ilave, and fetch him home. E. Dro. Go back again, and be new beaten home ? For God's fake, fend fome other meflenger. Adr. Back, ilave, or I will break thy pate acrofs. E. Dro. And he will blcfs that crofs with other beating : Between you I Ihall have a holy head. Adr. Hence, prating peafant; fetch thy mailer home. E. Dro. Am I fo round with you, as you with me % That like a foot-ball you do fpurn me thus ? You fpurn me hence, and he will fpurn me hither : If I laft in this fervice, you muft cafe me in leather 9 . [Exit. Luc. Fye, how impatience lowreth in your face ! Adr. His company muft do his minions grace, Whilft I at home ftarve for a merry look. Hath homely age the alluring beauty took From my poor cheek ? then, he hath wafted it : Are my difcourfes dull ? barren my wit ? If voluble and fharp difcourfe be marr'd, 8 Am I fo round with you, as you with Me,] He plays upon the word round, which fignified^fr/ai/ applied to himfelf, and un- rfftrained, or free infpeech or a8iox, fpoken of his mitfrefs. So the king, in Hamlet, bids the queen be round with her fon. JoHN'SON. 9 cafe me in leather."} Still alluding to a football, the blad- der of which is always covered with leather, STEEVF.NS. N 2 Unkind- i So COMEDY Unkindnefs blunts it, more than marble hard., Do their gay veftments his affedtions bait ? That's not my fault, he's mafter of my flate : What ruins are in me, that can be found By him not ruin'd ? then is he the ground Of my defeatures l : * My decayed fair A funny look of his would foon repair : But, too unruly J deer, he breaks the pale, And feeds from home -, poor I am but his dale *. Luc. 1 Of my defeatures.] By defeatures is here meant alteration of features. At the end of this play the fame word is ufed with a fomewhat different lignification. STEEVENS. * My decayed fair] Shakefpeare ufes the adjective g lit, aa a fubftantive, htivhat is gilt, and in this inftance fair for fairnefs. To px xaAcv, is a fimilar expreflion. In the Midfummer-Nrgbfs- Dream, the old quartos read : " Demetrius loves your //;." Again, in Tie Cotter's Prophecy, 1 594 : " Thou murd'rer, tyger, glutted with my fair, *' Leav'ft me forfaken." Again, in Shakejf care's 68/ Sonnet : " Before thefebaftard figns of fair were born." Again, in the S^d Sonnet: " And therefore to your fair no painting fet." Again, in his F~enus and Adonis : " But when Adonis liv'd, fun and iharp air '* Lurk'd like two thieves to rob him of his fair." Again, in Warner's Albion s England, 1602 : ." Who loft a daughter, fave thyfelf, for faire, a matchlefs wench/' Pitre is likewife ufed as a fubftantive in the Shepherd to the Flow- ers, a fong in England's Helicon, 1614: '*' Do pluck your pure, ere Phoebus view the land." STEEVENS. Fair is frequently ufed fubjlantively by the writers of Shake- fpeare's time. So Marfton in one of his fatires : " As the greene meads, whofe native outward faire " Breathes fweet perfumes into the neigbour air." Hence in the Midfitmmer-Nigbts Dream : " Demetrius lovesjwar fazr," may be the right, as well as the eld reading. FARMER. 3 too unruly dec r, ] The ambiguity of deer and dear is borrowed, poor as it is, by Waller, in his poem on the Ladies Girdle ; " This O F E R R O R S. i$i Luc. Self-harming jealoufy ! fye, beat it hence. Adr. Unfeeling fools can with fuch wrongs difpenfe. I know his eye doth homage other-where ; Or elle, what lets it but he would be here ? " This was my heav'n's extremeft fphere, The pale that held my lovely deer" JOHNSON. Shakefpeare has played upon this word in the fame manner in his Fenus ami Adonis : " Fondling, faith fhe, fince I have hemm'dthee here, " Within the circuit of this ivory pale, ** I'll be the park, and thou {halt be my deer, " Feed where thou wilt on mountain or on dale.'* The lines of Waller feem to have been immediately copied from thefe. MALONE. 4 poor I am but hisftale.~\ The vrordy&z/r, in our authour, ufed as a fubflantive, means not fomething offered to allure or at- trafl, but fomething vitiated with xje, fomething of which the belt part has been enjoyed and confumed. JOHNSON. I believe my learned coadjutor miftakes the ufe of the word fettle on this occafion. " Stale to catch thefe thieves ;" in the Tempejl, undoubtedly means a fraudulent bait: Here it feems to imply the fame as Jlalking-horfe, pretence. I am, fays Adriana, but \\\s pretended wife, the malk under which he covers his amours. So in K. John and Matilda, by Robert Davenport, 1655, the queen fays to Matilda : " 1 am made your Jlale , " The king, the king your ftrumpet, &c." Again, *' I knew 1 was made " hjlale for her obtaining." Again, in the Misfortunes of Arthur , 1587: " Was I then chofe and wedded for his fiale, " To looke and gape for his retirelefs fayles " Puft back and flittering fpread to every winde ?" Again, in the old tranflation of the Mtii&cbmi of Plautus, 1593, irom whence Shakefpeare borrowed the expreilion : " He makes me zjlale and a laughing-Hock." STEEVEUS. In Greene's Art of Comy-catching, 1592. AJfale is the confe- derate of a thief; " he that faceth the man," or holds him in difcourfe. Again, in another place, *' wiming all, of what eftate foever, to beware of filthy lull, and fuch damnable^fl/^f, &c." A Jlale in this laft inftance means the pretended wife of a crofs- biter. Perhaps, however, Jlale may here have the fame meaning as the French word chaperon. Poor I am but the cover far bis infidelity. COLLIKS. N 3 Sifter, i8a COMEDY Sifter, you know, he promis'd me a chain ; * "Would that alone alone he would detain, So he would keep fair quarter with his bed ! I fee, the jewel, beft enamelled 5 , Will lofe his beauty ; and the gold 'bides ftill, That others touch ; yet often touching will Wear gold : and fo no man, that hath a name, But fallhood and corruption doth it fliame. Since that my beauty cannot pleafe his eye, I'll weep what's left away, and weeping die. Luc. How many fond fools ferve mad jealoiify ! [Exeunt * I fee, tfrf/ftue/i btft enamelled, Will lofe bis beauty , yet the gold 'bides ftill, That others touch, and often touching will : Where gold and no man, that hath a name, By falfhood and corruption doth itjhame.~\ In this mlferable condition is this paflage given us. It ftiould be ( read thus : / /?<, the jewel, left enamelled, Will lofe hh beauty ; and the gold 'bides fiill^ That others touch ; yet often touching will Wear gold: andfo no man, that hath a name, Butfalfhood, and corruption, doth it foame. The fenfe is this, "Gold, indeed, will long bear the handling ; however, often touching will wear even gold ; jufl fo the greateil ch.aratr.er, though as pure as gold itielf, may, in time, be injured, by the repeated attacks of falfhood and corruption. WARBURTON. The Revifal reads thus : - yet the gold *lidesfiill, That others touch, though often touching ivill Wear gold, and fo a man that hath a name^ By faljhood and corruption doth itjhame. I would read : - and though gold 'bides ftill, &c. and the reft, with Dr. Warburton. STEEVENS. SCENE OF ERRORS. 183 SCENE II. The Street. Enter Antipkolis of Syracufe. Ant. The gold, I gave to Dromio, is laid up Safe at the Centaur ; and the heedful flave Is wander'd forth, in care to feek me out. By computation, and mine hoft's report, I could not fpeak with Dromio, fince at firft I lent him fom the mart : See, here he comes. Enter Dromio of Syracufe. How now, fir ? is your merry humour aker'd ? As you love ftrokes, fo jeft with me again. You know no Centaur ? you receiv'd no gold ? Your miftrefs fent to have me home to dinner ? My houfe was at the Phoenix ? Walt thou mad, * That thus fo madly thou didft anfvvcr me ? S. Dro. What anfwer, fir ? when fpake I fych a word ? Ant. Even now, even here, not half an hour fince. S. Dro. I did not fee you fince you fent me hence, Home to the Centaur, with the gold you gave me. Ant. Villain, thou didft deny the gold's receipt ; And told'fl me of a miftrefs, and a dinner ; For which, I hope, thou felt'ft I was difpleas'd. S. Dro. I am glad to fee you in this merry vein : What means this jefl ? I pray you, mafter, tell me. Ant. Yea, doft thou jeer and flout me in the teeth ? Think'ft thou, I jeft ? Hold, take thou that, and that. [Beats Dro. S. Dro. Hold, fir, for God's fake : now your jell is earnefl : Upon what bargain do you give it me ? Ant. Becaufe that I familiarly fometimes Do ufe you for my fool, and chat with you, N 4 Your 1&4 C O'M E D V Your fawcinefs will jeft upon my love, 6 And make a common of my ferious hours, When the fun ihines, let foolim gnats make fport, But creep in crannies, when he hides his beams. If you will jeft with me, know my afpect, And fafhion your demeanor to my looks, Or I will beat this method in your fconce. S. Dro. Sconce, call you it ? fo you would leave battering, I had rather have it a head : an you ufe thefe blows long, I muft get a fconce for my head, and infconce it too 7 , or elfe I Ihall feek my wit in my Ihoulders. But, I pray, fir, why am I beaten ? Ant. Doft thou not know ? S. Dro. Nothing, fir ; but that I am beaten. Ant. Shall I tell you why ? & Dro. Ay, fir, and wherefore ; for, they fay, every why hath a wherefore. Ant. Why, firfl, for flouting me ; and then, where- fore, For urging it the fecond time to me. S. Dro. Was there ever any man thus beaten out of feafon ? When, in the why, and the wherefore, is neither rhime nor reafon ? Well, fir, I thank you. Ant. Thank me, fir ? for what ? S. Dro. Marry, fir, for this fomething that you gave me for nothing. Ant. I'll make you amends next, to give you no- thing for fomething. But fay, fir, is it dinner-time ? c And make a common of my ferious botirs.] i.e. intrude on them when you pleafe. The allufion is to thofe trafts of ground deftined to common ufe, which are thence called commons. STEEVENS. 7 and infconee it too,~\ h fiance was a petty fortification. So in Orlando Furiofo, I 55(3 : " Let us to ourfcoxcp, and you my lord of Mexico.'* Again : " Ay, firs, enfconce you how you can." Again: " And here cnfioncc myfelf defpiteof thee." STEEVENS. S. Dro. O F E R R O R S. 185 & Dro. No, fir ; I think, the meat wants that I have. f Ant. In good time, fir, what's that? S. Dro. Bafting. Ant* Well, fir, then 'twill be dry. S. Dro. If it be, fir, pray you eat none of it. Ant. Your reafon ? S. Dro. Left it make you cholerick 8 , and purchafe me another dry-bafling. Ant. Well, fir, learn to jefl in good time ; There's a time for all things. S. Dro. I durft have deny'd that, before you were fo cholerick. Ant. By what rule, fir ? S. Dro. Marry, fir, by a rule as plain as the plain bald pate of father time himfelf. Ant. Let's hear it. S. Dro. There's no time for a man to recover his hair, that grows bald by nature. Ant. May he not do it by fine and recovery ? S. Dro. Yes, to pay a fine for a peruke, and reco- ver the loft hair of another man. 9 Ant. Why is time fueh a niggard of hair, being, as it is, fo plentiful an excrement? S. Dro. Becaufe it is a bleffing that he beftows on 8 L.cjl it make you cholerick, &c.] So in the Taming the Sbrevj : " I tell thee Kate, 'twas burnt and dry'd away, *' And I exprefsly am forbid to touch it, " For it engenders choler, planteth anger, &c." STEEVEXS. 9 Ant. Wl:y is time, &c,~] In former editions : Ant. VI' 'by irThnc fucb a niggard of hair^ being, as it is* fo plen- tiful an excrement ? S. Dro. Becauj'c it is a blt'JJing that he be/lows OK beajls^ and z.fe\y Jtrumpetted." Again: *' I have Jlrumpetted no Agamemnon's queen." STEEVENS. 6 I live dif-ftain'd, thou undiftjonourciL~\ To dljlaine (from the French word, dejlaindrc] fignifies, to jlain, drfilc, pollute. But the context requires a fenfe quite oppofite. We muft either read, unftalnd; or, by adding an hyphen^ and giving the prepolition a privative force, read dif-jlaiii'dy and then it will mean, - fa'nid, unJffiled. THEOBALD. I would read : 7 live dijlaincd, thou dishonoured. That is, As long as thou continueil to dilho:;our thyfelf, I alfo five diilained, REVISAL. S. Dro. O F E R R O R S. 189 S. Dro. By me ? Adr. By thee ; and thus thou didit return from him, That he did buffet thee, and, in his blows Deny'd my houfe for his, me for his wife. Ant. Did you converfe, fir, with this gentlewoman ? What is the courfe and drift of your compact ? S. Dro. I, fir ? I never faw her 'till this time. Ant. Villain, thou Heft ; for even her very words Didit thou deliver to me on the mart. S. Dro. I never fpake with her in all my life. Ant. How can me thus then call us by our names,, Unlefs it be by infpiration ? Adr. How ill agrees it with your gravity, To counterfeit thus grofly with your flave, Abetting him to thwart me in my mood ? Be it my wrong, you are from me exempt 7 , But wrong not that wrong with a more contempt. Come, I will faften on this fleeve of thine : Thou art an elm, my hufband, I a vine 8 ; Whofe weaknefs, marry 'd to thy ftronger ftate, Makes me with thy ftrength to communicate : If ought poffels thee from me, it is drofs, Ufurping ivy, briar, or idle mofs 9 ; Who, all for want of pruning, with intruiion Infed: thy fap, and live on thy confufion. 7 you are from me exempt,] Exempt , feparated, parted. The fenfe is, If lam doomed tofuffer the wrong of feparation, yet injure not with contempt me who am already injured. JOHNSON. 'Thou art an elm t myhujband^ la vine ;* '1 Lenta qui velut affitas Vitis implicat arbores, Implicabitur in tuum Complexum." CatulL So Milton Par. Loll. B. V : They led the vine To wed her elm. She fpous'd, about him twines Her marriageable arms." MA LONE. 9 idle mofs.} i. e. mofs that produces no fruit, but being unfertile is ufelefs. So in Othello : ... ,. antres vaft and defarts idle. STEEVEN-S. Ant. icjb COMEDY Ant. To me Ihe fpeaks ; Ihc moves me for kcr theme : What, was I marry'd to her in my dream ? Or fleep I now> and think I hear all this ? 'What error drives our eyes and cars amifs ? Until I know this fure uncertainty, I'll entertain the favoured fallacy '. Luc. Dromio, go bid the fervants fprcad for dinner. S. Dro. Oh, for my beads ! I crofs me for a firmer. This is the fairy land ; oh, fpight of fpights ! We talk with goblins, owls, and elvifh fprights * ; 1 i " the favour'd fallacy.] Thus the modern editors. The old copy reads : the hee'd fa/lacy. Which perhdps was only, by miftake, for the offered fallacy. This conje&ure is from an anonymous correfpohdent. STEEVENS. ^ We talk with goblins > owls, ami eh'ijh fprights ; ] Here Mr. Theobald calls out in the name of Nonfenfe, the firlt time he had formally invoked her, to tell him how a-- vis could fuck their breath, and pinch them black and blue. He therefore alters aids to oupbs, and Jans fay, that his readers will acquiefce in the jttftncfs of his emendation. But, for all this, we muft not part with the old read- ing. He did not know it to be an old popular fuperftition, that the fcrietch-owl fucked out the breath and blood of infants in the cradle. On this account, the Italians called witches, who were fuppofed to be in like manner mifchievoully bent againft children, Jlrega from^r/*, thtfcrietcb-ovjl. This fuperftition they had de- "rived from their pagan anceftors, as appears from this paflage of Ovid, Sanf avida iwlucrcs, non qitie Phitie'ia men/is Guttura fraitdabant ; fed genus inde trahunt. Grande caput ; Jlantes oculi } roflra apta rapince ; Canities pcnnis, iinguibus hamns ineft. Notff v olant, PUEROSCVUE PETUNT nutricis egenfes, Et vitiant CUNIS corpora raptafuis. Carpere diatntur luflantia vifcera roftris, Ef plenum poto fangUlOC gutta? balient. EJi illis ftrigibus nomen . Lib. vi. Fart. WAR EUR TON. daftly owls accompany ehnjh ghofts in Spenfer*s Shepherd's Ca- lendar for June. So in Sbcrringbam's Difcerptatio de Anglorum Gentis Origine, p. 333, " Lares, Lemures, Stages, Lamia-, Manes (Gafta; didi) et ilmiles mondrorum Greges, hivarum Cho- rea OF ERRORS. 191 If we obey them not, this will enfue, They'll fuck our breath, and pinch us black and blue. Lite. Why prat'ft thou to thyfelf, and anfwer'ft not } ? Dromio, thou drone, thou fnail, thou flug, thou fot ! S. Dro. I am transformed, mafter, am I not ? Ant. I think, thou art, in mind, and fo am I. S. Dro. Nay, mafter, both in mind, and in my fliape. Ant. Thou haft thine own form. S. Dro. No, I am an ape. Luc. If thou art chang'd to ought, 'tis to an afs. S. Dro. 'Tis true ; ftie rides me, and I long for grafs. 'Tis fo, I am an afs ; elfe it could never be, But I fhould know her as well as me knows me. Adr. Come, come, no longer will I be a fool, To put the finger in the eye and weep, Whilft man, and mafter, laugh my woes to fcorn. Come, fir, to dinner ; Dromio, keep the gate : Hufband, I'll dine above with you to-day, And mrive you * of a thoufand idle pranks : Sirrah, if any alk you for your mafter, rea dicebatur." Much the fame is faid in Olaus Magnus de Gen- tibus SeptcntrionalibtiSy p. 112, 113. TOLLET. The epithet elvijh is not in the firjl folio, but is found in the fecond. STEEVENS. 3 Wly prafjl ihou to thyfelf? Dromio, thou Dromio, fnail, thou flug, thou fot /] In the firil of theie lines, Mr. Rowe and Mr. Pope have both, for what reafon I cannot tell, curtailed the mcafure, and dif- mounted the doggrel rhyme, which I have replaced from the firit folio. The fecond verfe is there likewife read : Dromio ^ tbou Dromio, tboujnail, tboujlug, tboufot. The verfe is thus half a foo.t too long ; my correction cures that fault: belides drone correfponds with the other appellations of reproach. THEOBALD. 4 Andjhriveyou ] That is, I will call you to confcjjion^ and make you tell your tricks. JOHNSON. SoinHamlef: " .not Jbrivifig time allow'd." STEEVEXS, Say, 192 COMEDY Say, he dines forth, and let no creature enter. Come, filter : Dromio, play the porter well. Ant. Am I in earth, in heaven, or in hell ? Sleeping or waking ? mad, or well-advis'd ? Known unto thefe, and to myfelf difguis'd ! I'll fay as they fay, and perfever fo, And in this mift at all adventures go, S. Dro. Mailer, lhall I be porter at the gate ? Adr. Ay, let none enter, left I break your pate. Luc. Come, come, Antipholis, we dine too late. [Exeunt. ACT III. SCENE I. 'The Jlreet before Antipbolis's koufe. Enter Antipholis of Ephefus, Dromio of Ephejus, Angelo^ and Balthazar. . Ant. Good lignior Angelo, you muft excufe us all ; My wife is fhrewifh, when I keep not hours : Say, that I linger'd with you at your Ihop, To fee the making of her carkanet J , And 5 carkanet,'] feems to have been a necklace or rather chain, perhaps hanging down double from the neck. So Lovelace in his poem : " The emprcfs fpreads her carcanets." JOHNSON. " Quirquan, ornement d'or qu'on mit au col des damoifelles." Le grand Difl. de Nicof. A Carkanet feems to have been a necklace fet with itones, or fining with pearls. Thus in Parthenela Sacra, &c. 1633 : ** Seeke not vermilion or cerufe in the face, bracelets of oriental pearls on the vvrifl:, rubie carknets on the neck, and a moft exqui- iite fan of feathers in the hand." Again, in Hijlriomaftix, or the Player IVhipt, 1610 : " Nay, I'll be matchlels for ncarcancf, " Whofe pearls and diamonds plac'd with ruby rocks *' Shall circle this fair neck to fet it forth." Again, OF ERRORS. 193 And that to-morrow you will bring it home. But here's a villain, that would race me down He met me on the mart ; and that I beat him, And charg'd him with a thoufand marks in gold ; And that I did deny my wife and houfe : Thou drunkard, thou, what didil thou mean by this ? E. Dro. Say what you will, fir, but I know what I know : That you beat me at the mart, I riave your hand to Ihow : If the fkin were parchment, and the blows you gave were ink, Your own hand-writing would tell you what I think. Again, in Sir W. Davenant's comedy of the IVits, 1637 : it (he fat on a rich Perfian quilt " Threading a carcanct of pure round pearl *' Bigger than pigeons eggs." Again, in The Changes, or Love in a Maze^ 1632 : lt -the drops " Shew like a carcanet bf pearl upon it." In the play of Soliman and Pcrfeda, 1599, the word carcanet oc curs eight or nine times. STEEVENS. To fee the making of her carkanet.] A necklace^ from the old French word carcan, whofe diminutive was carcanet. It is falfely written cajkinet, in Cartwright's Love's Convert, aft II. fc. vi. edit. 1651 : " The filkworm (hall fpin only to thy wardrobe ; " The fea yield pearls unto thy cajkinet." Read carcanct. WAR TO NT. Mr. Warton has been guilty of a fmall miftake. The cajkinet and carcanet were diftinft things. The cajkinet, I believe, was a fmall cafket for the reception of jewels. So in Lingua, or the "Combat of the Tongue and the Five Senfes for Superiority, 1 607 : where the enumeration of articles relative to female ornament is fo curious, that I cannot refift the temptation to quote it as an entire fyftem of drefs : " fuch doing with their looking-glafles, pinning, unpinning; fetting, unfetting ; formings, and conform* ings ; painting blue veins and cheeks ; fuch ftir with flicks and combs, cafcanets, drellings, purles, falls, fquares, bufkes, bodies, fcarfs, necklaces, can-ana;, rebates, borders, tires, fans, pali- fadoes, puffs, ruffs, cuffs, muffs, puiles, fuftles, partlets, friilets, bandlets, fillets, crollets, pendulets, amulets, anulets, bracelets fardingals, kirtlets^ buike-points, (hoe-ties, &c." STEEVENS. Vo^. II. O E. Ant* *94 COMEDY E. Ant. I think, thou art an afs. E. Dro. Marry, fo it doth appear 6 By the wrongs I fuffer, and the blows I bear, I "fliould kick, being kick'd ; and, being at that pafs, You would keep from my heels, and beware of an afs. . Ant. You are fad, fignior Balthazar : Pray god, our cheer May anfwer my good-will, and your good welcome here. Bal. I hold your dainties cheap, fir, and your wel- come dear. E. Ant. Ah, fignior Balthazar, either at flefh or fifh, A table-full of welcome makes fcarce one dainty difh. BaL Good meat, fir, is common, that every churl affords. E. Ant. And welcome more common ; for that's nothing but words. BaL Small cheer, and great welcome, makes a merry feaft. E. Ant. Ay, to a niggardly hoft, and more fparing guefl: Butthoughmy cates be mean, take them in good part ; Better cheer may you have, but not with better heart. But, foft ; my door is^lock'd ; Go bid them let us in. E. Dro. Maud, Bridget, Marian, Cicely, Gillian, Ginn ! 6 Many, fo it doth appear By the wrongs I fuffer, and the blows Il>carJ\ Thus all the printed copies ; but certainly, this is crofs-pur- pofes in reafoning. It appears, Dromio is an afs by his making no reiiftance ; becaufe an afs, being kick'd, kicks again. Our author never argues at this wild rate, where his text is genuine. THEOBALD. I do not think this emendation neceflary. He firft lays, that his ivrongs and blows prove him an afs ; but immediately, with a cor- reftion of his former fentiment, fuch as may be hourly obferved in converfation, he obferves that, if he had been an afs, he fhould, when he was kicked, have kicked again. JOHNSON. S.Dro* -OF ERRORS. i 95 S. Dro. [within] Mome 7 , malt-horfe, capon, cox- comb, idiot, patch 8 ! Either get thee from the door, or fit down at the hatch : Doft thou conjure for wenches, that thou cali'ft for fuch flore, When one is one too many ? go, get thee from the door. E Dro. What patch is made our porter ? my maf- ter flays in the ftreet. S. Dro. Let him walk from whence he came, left he catch cold on's feet. E. Ant. Who talks within there ? ho, open the door. S. Dro- Right, fir, I'll tell you when, an you'll tell me wherefore. 7 Mome,"\ a dull ftupid blockhead, a {lock, a poft. This owes its original to the French word Momon, which Ggnifies the gam- ing at dice in mafquerade, the cuftom and rule of which is, that a ilritt fiience is to be obferved : whatever fum one itakes, an- other covers, but not a word is to be fpoken : from hence alfo comes our word mum ! for fiience. HAWKIXS. So in Heywood's Rape of Lucrece, 1630 : " Important are th' affairs we have in hand ; * ' Hence with that Momc /" *' Brutus, forbear the prefence." Again, in the old Interlude of the Difobedient Child, b. 1. no date, by Tho. Ingdand, late ftudent in Cambridge : " My bones alas fhee wyll make to crackell, " And me her huftand as a Hark Mome" Again, in the Cobler's Prophecy, 1594, by Robt. Wilfon, gent. " I'll not be made fuch a Mome" Again, in Tom Tyler and bis Wife, 1598 : " And when I come home, (he makes me a Mome." Again, " Farewell, good honeft Mome," Again, in Albions England, 1602. B. iv. chap. 20 : " A youth will play the wanton, and an old man prove a Mome" STEEVENS. 8 patch /] i. e. fool. Alluding to the particolour'd coats worn by the licens'd fools or jefters of the age. So in Macbeth: " w hat foldiers, patch ?" STEEVENS. O 2 E. Ant, 196 COMEDY E. Ant. Wherefore ? for my dinner ; I have not din'd to-day. Dro. Nor to-day here you rriuft not; come again, when you may. E. Ant. What art thou, that kecp'ft me out from the houfe I owe 9 ? S. Dro. The porter for this time, fir, and my name is Dromio. E. Dro. O villain, thou haft ftolen both mine of- fice and my name ; The one ne'er got me credit, the other mickle blame. If thou had'ft been Dromio to-day in my place, Thou would'ft have chang'd thy face for a name> or thy name for an afs. Luce, {within] What a coil is there ! Dromio, who are thofe at the gate ? E. Dro. Let my mafter in, Luce. Luce. Faith no ; he comes too late ; And fo tell your matter. E. Dro. O Lord, I muft laugh : Have at you with a proverb. Shall I fet in my ftaff? Luce. Have at you with another : that's, When ? can you tell ? S. Dro. If thy name be called Luce, Luce, thou haft anfwer'd him well. E. Ant, Do you hear, you minion ? you'll let us in, I trow " ? Luce. I thought to have aik'd you. S. Dro. And you faid, no. E. Dro. So, come, help ; well ftruck ; there was blow for blow. E. Ant. Thou baggage let me in. 9 / owe ?] i. e, I ovjn. So in the Four Prentices of Lon* doii) 1632 : " Who awes that Ihield ? " I : and \vho owes that r" STEEVSNS. 1 / trow.] The old copy reads, I hope. STEEVENS. Luce, O F E R R O R S. 197 Lttce* Can you tell for whofe fake ? E. Dro. Mailer, knock the door hard. Luce. Let him knock 'till it ake. E. Ant. You'll cry for this, minion, if I beat the door down. Luce. What needs all that, and a pair of flocks in the town ? Adr. [within'] Who is that at the door, that keeps all this noife ? S. Dro. By my troth, your town is troubled with unruly boys. E. Ant. Are you there, wife ? you might have come before. Adr. Your wife, fir knave ! go, get you from the door. E. Dro. If you went in pain, mafler, this knave would go fore. Ang. Here is neither cheer, fir, nor welcome ; We would fain have either. Bal. In debating which was befl, we lhall part with neither *. . Dro. They fland at the door, mafler ; bid them welcome hither. . Ant. There is fomething in the wind, that we cannot get in. E. Dro. You would fay fo, mafler, if your gar- ments were thin. * we JJiall part with neither.] Thus the old copy : we Jijall part ivitb neither. Common fenfe requires us to read : ivejkall HAVE part ivitb neitber. WAR BUR TON* In our old language, to part fignified to have part. See Chau- cer, Cant. Tales, ver. 9504 : " That no wight with his blifk farten (hall.'* The French v&partir in the fame fenfe. TYRWHITT. O 3 Your i 9 3 COMEDY Your cake here is warm within ; you fland here in the cold : It would make a man mad as a buck, to be fo bough*" and fold J . E. Ant. Go, fetch me fomething, I'll break ope the gate. S. Dro. Break any thing here, and I'll break your knave's pate. . Dro. A man may break a word with you, fir ; and words are but wind ; Ay, and break it in your face, fo he break it not behind. S. Dro. It feems, thou wanteft breaking ; Out up- on thee, hind ! . Dro. Here's too much, out upon thee ! I pray thee, let me in. S. Dro. Ay, when fowls have no feathers, and filh have no fin. E. Ant. Well, I'll break in ; Go borrow me a crow. E. Dro. A crow without feather ; mailer, mean you fo ? For a fiih without a fin, there's a fowl without a feather : If a crow help us in, firrah, we'll pluck a crow toge- ther \ 3 longbt and fold.] This is a proverbial phrafe. " To be lought and fold in a company." See Ray's Collection, p. 179. edit. 1737. STEEVENS. 4 0rfcv/; but there is no need of change : fnppofed is founded onfuppojition^ made by conjecture. JOHNSON. 7 Forjlandcr lives upon fuccffjion ;~\ The line apparently wants two fyllables : what they were, cannot now b'j known. The line may be filled up according to the reader's fancy, -as thus : For luftingyJrtW^r lives uponfucccfjiotu JOHNSON. On confulting the firit folio, I found the fecond line had been lengthened out by the modern editors, who read : For ever hous'd -tvbere it once gets pojfejjion. I have therefore reftored it to its former me.it~ure. STEEVENS. O 4 The 200 COMEDY E. Ant. You have prcvail'd ; I will depart in quiet, And, in defpight of mirth % mean to toe merry. I know a wench of excellent difcourfe, Pretty and witty ; wild, and, yet too, gentle, j There will we dine : this woman that I mean, My wife (but, I proteft, without defert) Hath oftentimes upbraided me withal ; To her will we to dinner. Get you home, And fetch the chain; by this, I know, 'tis made : Bring it, I pray you, to the Porcupine ; For there's the houfe ; that chain will I bcflow, (Be it for nothing but to fpight my wife) Upon mine hoflefs there : good fir, make hafle : Since my own doors refufe to entertain me, I'll knock elfewhere, to fee if they'll difdain me. Aug. 1'il meet you at that place, fome hour, fir, hence. E. Ant. Do fo ; This jeft fhall coft me fome ex- pence. , [Exeunt* .SCENE II. The. bpufe of Antipkolis of Ephefis. Enter Luciano, with Antipkolis of Syracufe* Luc. And may it be that you have quite forgot 9 A hulband's office ? {hall, Antipholis, hate, Even The feconci folio has once ; which rather improves the fenfe, and is not incontinent with the metre. TYRWHITT. 8 And, in defpight of mirth, ] Mr. Theobald does not know what to make of this ; and, therefore, has put wrath inftead of mirth into the text, in which he is followed by the Oxford edi- tor. But the old reading is right ; and the meaning is, I will be fnerry, even out of fpite to mirth, which is, now, of all things, fhe mod unplenfing to me. WARBURTOX. Though mirth hath withdrawn herfelt irom me, and feeins de- termined to avoid me, yet in defpight of her, and whether {he \nill or not, I nm refolved to be merry. REVISAL. ^ that you have quite forgot] In former copies : ,4 ml may it be, that you have quite forgot An bnjkaaa'} tifficc? Shall Antipholii^ Ev'n O F E R R O R S. 201 Jvenin the fpring of love, thy love-fprings rot ? Shall love, in building, grow fo ruinate ? If you did wed my fifter for her wealth, Then, for her wealth's fake, ufe her with more kindnefs : Or, if you like elfewhere, do it by Health ; Muffle your falfe love with fome Ihew of blindnefs ; Let not my fifter read it in your eye ; Be not thy tongue thy own ihame's orator ; Ev^n In the fpring of love, t/.>y love /firings rot ? Shall love in buildings gro-ivjb ruinate ? This paflage has hitherto labour'd under a double corruption. What conceit could our editors have of love in buildings growing ruinate ? Our poet meant no more than this : Shall thy love-fprings rot, even in the fpring or" love ? and ihall thy love grow ruinous, ev'n while 'tis but building up ? The next corruption is by am accident at prefs, as I take it ; this fcene for fifty-two lines fuc- ceffively is llridly in alternate rhimes ; and this meafure is never broken, but in \\\Q fecond and fourth lines of thefe two couplets. 'Tis certain, I think, a monofyllable dropt from the tail or the fecond verfe : and I have ventured to fupply it by, I hope, a pro- bable conjecture. THEOBALD. Love-fprings are young plants of love. Thus in the Faithful Sbepbenlefs of B. and Fletcher : " The nightingale among the thick- leavM^r/wg-j ** That lits alone in forrow." See a note on the fecond fcene of the fifth acl: of Corlolanus, where the meaning of this expreifion is more fully dilated. The rhime which Mr. Theobald would reitore, Hands thus in the old edition : {hall Antipho/aj. If therefore inftead ot ruinate we fliould read ruinous, the paflage may remain as it was originally written ; and perhaps, indeed, throughout the play we mould read Antipbilui^ a name which Shakelpeare might have found in P. Holland's truncation of Pliny, B. xxxv, and xxxvii. Antipbilus was a famous painter, and rival to Apelles. Ruinous is juftified by a paflage in the Tkvo Gentlemen of Ve^ rona^ att V. fc. iv : " Left growing ruinous the building fall." Throughout the firfl folio, Antlpbolus occurs much more often than Antipbolifi even where the rhime is not concerned ; and were the rhime defective here, fuch tranfgreffions are accounted for in other places. STEEVENS. Look 202 COMEDY Look fweet, fpeak fair, become difloyalty ; Apparel vice, like virtue's harbinger : Bear a fair prefence, though your heart be tainted ; Teach fin the carriage of a holy faint ; Be fccret falfe ; What need fhe be acquainted ? What fimple thief brags of his own attaint ? *Tis double wrong, to truant with your bed, And let her read it in thy looks at board : Shame hath a baftard fame, well managed ; 111 deeds are doubled with an evil word. Alas, poor women ! make us but believe f , 2 Being compact of credit, that you love us ; Though others have the arm, ihew us the ileeve ; We in your motion turn, and you may move us. Then, gentle brother, get you in again ; Comfort my fitter, chear her, call her wife : 'Tis holy fport, to be a little J vain, Wlien the fweet breath of flattery conquers ftrife. S. Ant. Sweet miflrefs, (what your name is elfe, I know not, Nor by what w r onder you do hit of mine) Lefs, in your knowledge, and your grace, you ihow not, Than our earth's wonder ; more than earth divine. Teach me, dear creature, how to think and fpeak ; Lay open to my earthy grofs conceit, Smother 'd in errors, feeble, fhallow, weak, The folded meaning of your words' deceit. Againft my foul's pure truth why labour you, To make it wander in an unknown field ? 11 Alas, foor women ! mate us not believe, &c.] From the whole tenour of the context it is evident, that this negative (not,) got place in the firft copies inftead of Int. And thefe two monofyl* tables have by miftake reciprocally difpofiels'd one another in ma- ny other paflages of our author's works. THEOBALD. z Being compafl of credit, means, being made altogether of cre- dulity. So in Heywood's Iron. Age, Part*!!. 1633 : " fhe's compatt " Merely of blood " STEEVENS. 3 S. Dro. Do you know me, fir ? am I Dromio ? am I your man ? am I myfelf ? S. Ant. Thou art Dromio, thou art my man, thou art thyfelf. S. Dro. I am an afs, I am a woman's man, and be- tides myfelf. S. Ant. What woman's man ? and how befides thyfelf ? S. Dro. Marry, fir, befides myfelf, I am due to a woman ; one that claims me, one that haunts me, one that will have me. S. Ant. What claim lays ihe to thee ? S. Dro. Marry, fir, fuch a claim as you would lay to your horfe ; and Ihe would have me as a beaft : not that, I being a beaft, fhe would have me; but that ihe, being a very beaftly creature, lays claim to me. S. Ant. What is fhe ? S. Dro. A very reverent body ; ay, fuch a one as a man may not fpeak of, without he fay, fir-reverence : I have but lean luck in the match, and yet is Ihe a wondrous fat marriage. S. Ant. How doft thou mean, a fat marriage ? S. Dro. Marry, fir, Ihe's the kitchen-wench, and all greafe ; and I know not what ufe to put her to, but to make a lamp of her, and run from her by her own light. I warrant, her rags, and the tallow in them, will burn a Poland winter : if Ihe lives 'till doomfday, fhe'll burn a week longer than the whole world. S. Ant. What complexion is fhe of ? S. Dro. Swart, like my fhoe, but her face nothing like fo clean kept ; For why ? fhe fweats, a man may go over fhoes in the grime of it, S. Ani. 206 COMEDY S. Ant. That's a fault that water will mend. S. Dt'o. No, fir, 'tis in grain ; Noah's flood could not do it. S. Ant. z What's her name ? S. Dro. Nell, fir ; but her name and three quar- ters (that is, an ell and three quarters,) will not mea- fure her from hip to hip. S. Ant. Then Ihe bears fome breadth ? S. Dro. No longer from head to foot, than from hip to hip : flie is fpherical, like a globe ; I could find out countries in her. S. Ant. In what part of her body flands Ireland ? S. Dro. Marry, fir, in her buttocks ; I found it out by the bogs. S. Ant. Where Scotland ? S. Dro. I found it by the barrennefs ; hard, in the palm of the hand, S. Ant. 5 Where France ? S. Dro, * S. Ant. Wljafs her name f S. Dro. Nell, Jir ; but her name is three quarters ; that is, an ell and three quarters, &c.~\ This paffage has hitherto lain as per- plexed and unintelligible, as it is now eafy, and truly humourous. it' a conundrum be reftored, in fetting it right, who can help it ? I owe the correction to the lagacity of the ingenious Dr. Thirlby. THEOBALD. This poor conundrum is borrowed by Maffinger in The Old La-iv, 1653 : " Cook. That Nell was Hellen of Greece. " Clown. As long as {he tarried with her hufband (he was Ellen , but after (he came to Troy fhe was Nell of Troy. " Cook. Why did (he grow fhorter when (he came to Troy ? " Clown. She grew longer, if you mark the ftory, when Ihe grew to be an ell, &c." MALONE. 3 S. Ant. Where France ? S. Dro. In her forehead, arm'd and reverted, making war again/I her hair.] All the other countries, mentioned in this defcription, are in.Dromio's replies latirically characterized : but here, as the editors have ordered it, no remark is made upon France ; nor any reafon given, why it ihould be in her forehead : but only the kitchen -wench's high forehead is rallied, as pulhingback her hair. Thus all the modern editions ; but the firft folio rente making war againft her heir. . And I am very apt to think, this lafl OF ERRORS, fco; S. Dro. In her forehead ; arm'd and reverted, mak- ing war againft her hair. S. Ant. Where England ? S. Dro. I look'd for the chalky cliffs, but I could find no whitencfs in them : but I guefs, it Hood in her chin, by the fait rheum that ran between France and it. S. Am. Where Spain ? S. Dro. Faith, I law it not ; but I felt it, hot in her breath. lad is the true reading ; and that an equivoque, as the French call it, a double meaning, is deligned in the poet's allufion : and therefore I have repkced it in the text. In 1589, Henry III. of France being ftabb'd, and dying of his wound, was iucceeded by Henry IV. of Navarre, whom he appointed his fucceflbr: but whofe claim the dates ot France refiued, on account of his being a proteflant. This, I take it, is what he means, by France mak- ing war againft her heir. Now, as, in 1^91, queen Elizabeth fent over 4000 men, under the conduct of the earl of Eilc- to the afliftance of this Henry of Navarre ; it feems to me very probable, that during this expedition being on foot, this comedy made its appearance. And it was the fineit addrefs imaginable in the poet to throw fuch an oblique fneer at France, for oppoling the fucceflion of that heir, whofe claim his royal m,iftrei~s, the queen, had fent over a force to eftablifh, and obl'ige thgm to ac- knowledge. THEOBALD. With this correction and explication Dr. Warburton concurs, and fir Thomas Hanmer thinks an equivocation intended, though he retains hair in the text. Yet furely they have all loft the fenfe by looking beyond it. Our authour, in my opinion, only fports with an allufion, in which he takes too much delight, and means that his miftrefs had the French difeafe. The ideas are rather too oftenfive to be dilated. By a forehead armed, he means co- vered with incrufted eruptions : by reverted, he means having the hair turning backward. An equivocal word muft have fenies ap- plicable to both the fubjecls to which it is applied. Both fore- head and France might in fome fort make war againft their hair^ but how did \heforehead make war againft its heir? The fenfe which I have given immediately occurred to me, and will, I be- lieve, arife to every reader who is contented with the meaning that lies before him, without fending out conjecture in fearch of refinements. JOHNSON. Shakefpeare had not written any thing in 1 591 . In 1593, " the firft heir of his invention" (if we may believe his own account of it) was produced. See the Extracts from the Stationers' Books, at the end of the Prefaces, 8cc Vol. I. of this edition. STEEVENS. 5. Ant. 4o8 COMEDY S. Ant. Where America, the Indies ? S. Dro. Oh, fir, upon her nofe, all o'er cmbellifh'd with rubies, carbuncles, fapphires, declining their rich afpect to the hot breath of Spain ; who fent whole armadoes of carracks to be ballafted 4 at her nofc. S. Ant. Where flood Belgia, the Netherlands ? 5. Dro. Oh, fir, I did not look fo low. To con- clude, this drudge, or diviner, laid claim to me ; call'd me Dromio, fwore, I was aflur'd to her * ; told me what privy marks I had about me, as the mark of my fhoulder, the mole in my neck, the great wart on my left arm, that I, amaz'd, ran from her as a witch : 6 And, I think, if my breafi had not been made of faith, and my heart of fteel, fhe had transform'd me to a curtail-dog, and made me turn i'the wheel. S. Ant. Go, hie thee prefently, poft to the road j And if the wind blow any way from fhore, I will not harbour in this town to-night. If any bark put forth, come to the mart, Where I will walk, 'till thou return to me* If every one know us_, and we know none, 'Tis time, I think, to trudge, pack, and be gone. S. Dro. As from a bear a man would run for life, So fly I from her that would be my wife. [Exit. S. Ant. There's none but witches do inhabit here ; And therefore 'tis high time that I were hence. She, that doth call me hufband, even my foul * to te ballafted] Thus the modern editors* The old copy reads only ballaft^ which may be right. Thus in Hamlet : " to have the engineer Hoift with his own petar." i. e. bo'lfted. STEEVENS* 5 affured to her ;] i. e. affianced to her. Thus in K. John : 4< For Ib I did when I was firil: ajfitr'j. STEEVENS. 6 And, I tbihk, if my breaft bad not been wade of faith, &V.} Alluding to the fuperftition of the common people, that nothing could refift a witch's power of transforming men into animals^ but a great {hare of 'faith: however the Oxford editor thinks a ire aft made of flint, tetter fecurity, and has therefore put it in. WAR BUR TON. Doth OF ERRORS. 09 Doth for a wife abhor : but her fair fitter; Poffefs'd with fuch a gentle fovereign grace$ Of fuch inchanting prefenee and difcourfe, Hath almolt made me traitor to myfelf : But, left myfelf be guilty of felf-wrong, I'll flop mine ears againft the mermaid's fong. Enter Angela, with a chain* Ang. Mafler Antipholis ? S. Ant. Ay, that's my name, Ang. I know it well, fir : Lo, here is the chain % I thought to have ta'en you at the Porcupine 7 : The chain linfinifh'd made me ftay thus long. S. Ant. What is your will, that I ihall do with this ? Ang. What pleafe yourfelf, fir ; I have made it for you. S. Ant\ Made it for mej fir ! I befpoke it not. Ang. Not oncej nor twice> but twenty times you have : Go home with itj and pleafe your wife withal ; And foon at fupper-time I'll vifit you, And then receive my money for the chain. S. Ant. I pray you, fir, receive the money howj For fear you ne'er fee chain, nor money $ more. Aug. You are a merry man, fir ; fare you well; S. Ant. What I fliould think of this, I cannot tell : But this I think, there's no man is fo vain> That would refufe fo fair an offer'd chain. 7 < --at tie Porcupine ; ] It is remarkable, that throughout the old editions of Shakelpeare's plays, the word PorptHtine is ufed inftead of Porcupine. Perhaps it was fo pronounced at that time. I have fince obfervd the fame fuelling in the plays of other ancient authors. Mr. Toilet finds it likewile in p. 66 of Afcham's Works by Bennet, and in Stowe's Chronicle in the years 1117, 1135. STEEVEN3. Vox,. II. I fee, 2 io COMEDY I fee, a man here needs not live by mifts, When in the ftreets he meets' fuch golden gifts. I'll to the mart, and there for Dromio ftay ; If any Ihip put out, then ftrait away. [Exit. ACT IV. SCENE I. 27# Street. Enter a Merchant, Angela, and an Officer. Mer. You know, iince pentecoft the fum is due, And fince I have not much importun'd you ; Nor now I had not, but that I am bound To Perfia, and want gilders 8 for my voyage : Therefore make prefent fatisfadtion, Or I'll attach you by this officer. Ang. Even juft the fum, that I do owe to yon, Is growing to me 9 by Antipholis : And, in the inftant that I met with you, H^ had of me a chain ; at five o'clock, I fliall receive the money for the fame : Pleafe you but walk with me down to his houfe, I will difcharge my bond, and thank you too. Enter Aniipholi* of Ephefus, and Dromio of Ephefus, as from the Courtezan's. Offi. That labour you may fave; fee where he comes. E. Ant. While I go to the goldfmith's houfe, go- thou And buy a rope's end ; that will I bellow ^ 8 . - >. i. e. a pikeman of prince Maurice's army. He was the greatelt general of that age, and the conductor of the Low-country wars againft Spain, under whom all the Englilh gentry and nobility were bred to the fervice. Being frequently overborne with num- bers, he became famous for his fine retreats, in which a fland of pikes is of great fervice. Hence the pikes of his army became famous for their military exploits. WARBURTON. This conjecture is very ingenious, yet the commentator talks unneceflarily of the reft of a mujket, by which he makes the hero of the fpeech let up the reft of a mujket, to do exploits with a pike, The reft of &pike was a common term, and fignified, I believe, the manner in which it was fixed to receive the rufti of the enemy. A morris-pike was a pike ufed in a morris or a military dance, and with which great exploits were done, that is, great feats of dexte- rity were fliewn. There is no need of change. JOHNSOX. A morris-pike is mentioned by the old writers as a formidable weapon ; and therefore Dr. Warburton's notion is deficient in firrt principles. " Morcfpikes (fays Langley in his tranflation of Polydore Virgil) were ufed firft in the fiege of Capua." And in Reynard's Deliver ence of certain Chrijlians from the Turks , ** the Englilh mariners laid about them with brown bills, halberts, and morrlcc-pilus** FARMER. Polydore Virgil does not mention morris-pikes at the fiege of Capua, though Langley's tranflation of him advances their anti- quity fo high. TOLLET. So 222, COMEDY S. Ant. What ! thou mean'ft an officer ? , S. Dro. Ay, fir, the ferjeant of the band : he, that brings any man to anfwer it, that breaks his band ; one that thinks a man always going to bed, and faith, God give you good reft ! S. Ant. Well, fir, there reft in your foolery. Is there Any fliips puts forth to-night ? may we be gone ? S. Dro. Why, fir, I brought you word an hour fince, that the bark Expedition put forth to-night ; and then were you hindered by the ferjeant, to tarry for the hoy, Delay : Here are the angels that you lent for, to deliver you. S. Ant. The fellow is diffract, and fo am I ; And here we wander in illufions : Some blefled power deliver us from hence ! Enter a Courtezan. Cour. Well met, well met, mafter Antipholis. I fee, fir, you have found the goldfmith now : Is that the chain, you promis'd me to-day ? S. Ant. Satan, avoid ! I charge thee, tempt me not ! S. Dro. Mafter, is this miftrefs Satan ? S. Ant. It is the devil. S. Dro. Nay, Ihe is worfe, Ihe's the devil's dam ; and here fhe comes in the habit of a light wench : and therefore comes, that the wenches fay, God damn, me, that's as much as to fay, God make me a light wench. It is written, they appear to men like angels of light : light is an effect of fire, and fire will So in Heywood's K. Edward TV. 1626 : " Of the French were beaten down " Morris-pikes and bowmen, &c." Again, in Hollinihed, p. 816 : " they entered the gall ies again with . moris pikes anJ fought, &c." STEEVENS. Morris pikes, or the pikes of the Moors, were excellent formerly ; and fince, the Spanifh pikes have been equally famous, bee Hartlib's legacy, p. 48. TOLLET. burn ; O F E R R O R S. 223 burn ; -ergo, light wenches will burn ; Come not hear her. Cour. Your man and you are marvellous, merry, fir. Will you go with me ? we'll mend our dinner here. S. Dro. Matter, if you do expect fpoon-meat, or befpeak a long fpoon 7 . S. Ant. Why, Dromio ? S. Dro. Marry, he muft have a long fpoon, that mult cat with the devil. S. Ant. Avoid then, fiend ! what tell'ft thou me of flipping ? Thou art, as you are all, a forcerefs : I conjure thee to leave me, and be gone. Cour. Give me the ring of mine you had at dinner, Or, for my diamond, the chain you promised ; And I'll be gone, fir, and not trouble you. S. Dro. Some devils Afk but the paring of one's nail, a rulh, A hair, a drop of blood, a pin, a nut, A cherry-ftone ; but Ihe, more covetous, Would have a chain. Mailer, be wife ; an' if you give it her, The devil will fhake her chain, and fright us with it. Cour. I pray you, fir, my ring, or elfe the chain ; I hope, you do not mean to cheat me fo ? S. Ant*. Avaunt, thou witch ! Come Dromio, let us go. S. Dro. Fly pride, fays the peacock : Miftrefs, that you know. [Exeunt. Ant. and Dro. Cour. Now, out of doubt, Antipholis is mad, Elfe would he never fo demean himfelf : A ring he hath of mine worth forty ducats, 7 if you da expert fpoon-meat, or befpeak a long fpoon.] Or, which modern editors have thrown out of the text, iicrnifies, before. Of this ufe of the word, many inflances occur in ancient writers. So in Arden of Feverjbani) 1599: " He (hall be murdered or the guefts come in." See a note on K.Jobn^ ad IV, fc, iii. STEEYEKS. And 2 2 4 COMEDY And for the fame he promis'cl me a chain $ < Both one, and other, he denies me now. * The reafon that I gather he is mad, (Befides this prefent inftance of his rage) Is a mad tale, he told to-day at dinner, Of his own doors being fruit againft his entrance. Belike, his wife, acquainted with his fits, On purpofe fhut the doors againft his way. My way is now, to hie home to his houfe, And tell his wife, that, being lunatic, He rufh'd into my houfe, and took perforce My ring away : This courfe I fitteft chufe ; For forty ducats is too much to lofe. [Exit. SCENE IV. ?he Street. Enter Antipholis of Ephefus, with a Jailor. E. Ant. Fear me not, man, I will not break away I I'll give thee, ere I leave thee, fo much money To warrant thee, as I am 'refted for. My wife is in a wayward mood to-day ; And will not lightly truft the meflenger, That I fhould be attach'd in Ephefus : I tell you, 'twill found harfhly in her ears. Enter Dromio of Ephefus with a rope's-end. Here comes my man ; I think, he brings the money. How now, fir ? have you that I fent you for ? E. Dro. Here's that, I warrant you will pay them all. E. Ant. But where's the money ? E. Dro. Why, fir, I gave the money for the rope.' E. Ant. Five hundred ducats, villain, for a rope ? E. Dro. I'll ferve you, fir, five hundred at the rate, E. Ant. To what end did I bid thee hie thee home ? E.Dro. To a rope's end, fir; and to- that end am I return'd. E. Ant.- (3 F E R R O R S. i^! > "E. Ant. And to that end, fir, I will welcome you. [Beats Dromio. hat doth enfue, Brit moodie [moping] and dull melancholy, Kinfman to grim and comfortiefs dffpair ? And at their heels a huge infeftious troop. REVISAL. ., It has been obferved to me that Mr. Capell reads : But moody and dull melancholy, kinf woman to grim and comfortiefs defpair ; but I hardly think he could be ferious ; as, though the. Roman language may allow of fuch transfers from the end of one verfe to the "beginning of the next, the cuftom is unknown to EnglifX poetry, unlefs it be of the burlefque kind : It is too like Homer Vravefty : " On this, Agam " memnon began to curfe and damn." STEEVEKS. The COMEDY The confequence is then, thy jealous fits Have fcar'd thy hufband from the ufe of wits. Luc, She never reprehended him but mildly, When he demean'd himfelf rough, rude and wildly.- Why bear you thefe rebukes, and anfwcr not ? Adr. She did betray me to my own reproof. Good people, enter, and lay hold on him. Abb. No, not a creature enter in my houfc. Adr. Then, let your fervants bring my hufband forth. Abb. Neither ; he took this place for fandtuary, And it ihall privilege him from your hands, 'Till I have brought him to his wits again, Or lofe my labour in affaying it. Adr. I will attend my hufband, be his nurfe, Diet his ficknefs, for it is my office ; And will have no attorney but myfelf ; And therefore let me have him home with me. Abb. Be patient ; for I will not let him flir, Till I have us'd the approved means I have, With wholefome fyrups, drugs, and holy prayers, To make of him a formal man again 7 : It is a branch and parcel of mine oath, A charitable duty of my order ; Therefore depart, and leave him here with me. Adr. I will not hence, and leave my hnlband here : And ill it doth befeem your holinefs, To feparate the hufband and the wife. Abb. Be quiet, and depart, thou fhalt not have him, Luc. Complain unto the duke of this indignity. [Exit Abbefs, Adr. Come, go ; I will fall proftrate at his feet, And never rife until my tears and prayers Have won his grace to come in pcrfon hither, And take perforce my hufband from the abbefs. 7 a formal man again ;] i. e. to bring him back to his fenfes, and the forms ot fober behaviour. So in Mcafure far Mcajure; " informal women" for juft the contrary. STEEVENS. O F E R R O R S. 23$ Mr. By this, I think, the dial points at five : Anon, I am fure, the duke himfelf in perfon Comes this way to the melancholy vale ; The place of death and forry execution % Behind the ditches of the abbey here. Ang. Upon what caufe ? Mr. To fee a reverend Syracufan merchant, Who put unluckily into this bay Againft the laws and flatutes of this town, Beheaded publickly for his offence. Ang. See, where they come ; we will behold his death. Luc. Kneel to the duke, before he pafs the abbey. Enter the Duke, and ALgeon bare-beaded; with the headf- man and other officers. Duke. Yet once again proclaim it publickly, If any friend will pay the fum for him, He lhall not die, fo much we tender him. Adr. Juftice, moft facred duke, againft the abbefs ! Duke. She is a virtuous and a reverend lady ; It cannot be, that Ihe hath done thee wrong. Adr. May it pleafe your grace, Antipholis, my hufband, Whom I made lord of me and all I had, At your important letters 9 , this ill day A moft 8 . forry execution,] So in Macbeth : " Of forrieft fancies your companions making.'* Sorry, had anciently a itronger meaning than at prefent. Thus, in Chaucer's Prologue to The Sompnoures Tale, v. 7283. late edit : " This Frere, whan he loked- had his fill ** Upon the torments of thisfaty place." Again, in the Kn'tgbtcs Tale, where the temple of Mars is de- fcribed : ** All full of chirking was ihatfory place." STEEVENS. 9 Whom I made lord of me and all I bad, At your important letters, ] Important feems to be for importunate. JOHNSON. Shake- 5t 3 6 COMEDY A moft outrageous fit of madnefs took him ; That defperately he hurry'd through the flreet, (With him his bondman, all as mad as he) JDoing difpleafure to the citizens By rufhing in their houfes, bearing thence Rings, jewels, any thing his rage did like. Once did I get him bound, and fent him home, Whilft to take ' order for the wrongs I went, That here and there his fury had committed. Anon, I wot not by what flrong efcape, He broke from thofe that had the guard of him : And, with his mad attendant * and himfelf, Each one with ireful paffion, with drawn fwords, Met us again, and, madly bent on us, Chas'd us away ; 'till, raifing of more aid, We came again to bind them : then they fled Into this abbey, whither we purfu'd them ; And here the abbefs fliuts the gat.es on us, And will not fuffer us to fetch him out, Nor fend him forth, that we may bear him hence. Therefore, mofl gracious duke, with tfiy command, Let him be brought forth, a:id borne hence for help, So in one of Shakefpeare's Hiftorical plays : " great France " My mourning and important tears hath pitied. Shakefpeare, who gives to all nations the cuiloms or" his own, feems from this paflage to allude to a court of ivards in Ephefus. The court cf wards was always confidered as a grievous op*. preffion. It is glanced at as early as in the old morality of Hycke ^corner : " thefe ryche men ben unkinde : " Wydowes do curfe lordes and gentyllmen, " For they contrayne them to marry with theyr men y " Ye, wheder they wyll or no." STEEVENS. 1 to take order] i.e. to take meafures. So in Othello. atV. " Honefl lago hath to 1 en order for it." STEEVENS. * And, with his mad attendant AND himfclf^\ We mould read : MAD himfelf. WAREURTON. \Ve might read : " And 'here his mad attendant and himfelj ~. OF ERRORS. 237 Duke. Long fince, thy hulband ferv'd me in_my wars ; And I to thee engag'd a prince's word, When thou didil make him mailer of thy bed, To do him all the grace and good I could. Go, fome of you, knock at the abbey-gate, And bid the lady abbefs come to me ; I xvill determine this, before I ilir. Enter a Me/finger. Mfffl O miftrefs, _ miftrefs, ihift and fave yourfelf I My mailer and his man are both broke loofe, Beaten the maids a-row ', and bound the doctor, 4 Whofe beard they have iing'd off with brands of fire ; And ever as it blaz'd, they threw on him Great pails of puddled mire to quench the hair : My mailer preaches patience to him, and the while His man with fchTars nicks him like a fool 5 : 3 Beaten the mauls a-row,] i. e. fuceemVely, one after another. So in Chaucer's Wife of Bathes Tale, v. 6836. late edit : " A thoufand time a-rovo he gan hire kifie." STEEVENS. 4 Wljofe beard they bavejing^d off ivita brands of fire ; ] Such a ludicrous circumftance is not unworthy of the farce in which we find it introduced ; but is rather out of place in an epic poem, amidil all the horrors and carnage of a battle : " Otoius amlnjlvm torrem Corinatcs ab ara " Corriplt, et venienti Elufo, plagamque ferentl ^ " Occupat osjlammis : Jill in gem barba re/u.vif, " Nidoremque amlufta. dcdit." Virg. ^Eneis, lib. sii. STEEA^ENS. 5 His man wltbfcijjars nicks him like afool:~\ The force of this allufion I am unable to explain. Perhaps it was once the cuftom to cut the hair of ideots or jefters clofe to their heads. There is a proverbial limile "Like crop the conjurer ;" which might have been applied to either of thefe characters. STEEVENS. There is a penalty of ten (hillings in one of king Alfred's ec- clefialHcal laws, if one opprobriouuyy/vrtv a common man like a fovL ToLLET. And 238 COMEDY And, fure, unlefs you fend fome prefent help, Between them they will kill the conjurer. Adr. Peace, fool, thy mailer and his man are here 5 And that is falfe, thou doit report to us. Mejf. Miltrefs, upon my life, I tell you true ; I have not breath'd almoft, lince I did fee it. He cries for you, and vows, if he can take you, 6 To fcorch your face, and to disfigure you : [Cry within. Hark, hark, I hear him, miftrefs ; fly, be gone. Duke, Come, ftand by me, fear nothing : Guard with halberds. Adr. Ay me, it is my huiband' ! Witnefs you, That he is borne about invifible : Even now we hous'd him in the abbey here ; And now he's there, paft thought of human reafon. Enter Antiplolis and Dromlo of EpJoefus. E. Ant. Juilice, moft gracious duke, oh, grant me juilice ! Even for the fervice that long fince I did thee, When I beftrid thee in the wars, and took Deep fears to fave thy life ; even for the blood That then I loft for thee, now grant me juftice. jEgeon* Unlefs the fear of death doth make me dote, I fee my fon Antipholis, and Dromio. . Ant. Juftice, fweet prince, againft that woman there. She whom thou gav'ft to me to be my wife ; That hath abufed and difhonour'd me, Even in the ftrength and height of injury ! Beyond imagination is the wrong, That ihe this day hath fhamelcfs thrown on me. 6 To SCORCH your face i ] We fhould read SCOTCH, i.e. hack, cut. WARBURTON. To fcorch I believe is right. He would have puaifhed her as he had punifhed the conjurer before. STEEVENS, Duke. O F E R R O R S. 259 Date. Dilcover how, and thou lhalt find me juit. E. Ant. This day, great duke, Ihe Ihut the doors upon me, Whilfl ihe with harlors 7 feafled in my houfe. Duke. A grievous fault : Say, woman, didft thou fo? Adr. No, my good lord ; myfelf, he, and my fitter, To-day did dine together : So befal my foul, As this is falfe, he burdens me withal ! Luc. Ne'er may I look on day, nor fleep on night, But Ihe tells to your highnefs fimple truth ! Aug. O perjur'd woman ! They are both forfv/orn. In this the madman juftly chargeth them. 7 ivit& harlots] Antipholis did not fufpe6t his wife of having entertained courtezans, but of having been confederate with cheats to impofe on him and abufe him. ^Therefore, he fays to her ad IV, fc. iv : are thefe your cuftomers ? Did this companion with the faffron face Revel and feaft it at my houfe to day ? By this defcription he points out Pinch and his followers. Harlot was a term of reproach applied to cheats among men as well as to wantons among women. Thus, in the Fox, Corbacchio fays to Volpone : " Out harlot!" Again, in the Winter's Ta'e : " for the harlot king " Is quite beyond mine arm. " Again, in the ancient myltery of Candlemas-Day, Ii2. Herod fays to Watkin : " Nay, harlott, abyde ftylle with my knyghts I warne the." The learned editor of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, 4 vols, 8vo. 1771;, obferves, that in The Romaunt of the Rofc, v. 6c68, King of Harlots is Chaucer's Tranllation of Roy des ribaulx, Chaucer ufes the word more than once : *' A rturdy harlot went hem ay behind, " That was hir hoftes man &c." Sompnourcs Tale, v. 7336. Again, in the Dyers' Play, among the Chefter Collection in the Mufeum, Antichrift lays to the male characters en the fhige : *' Out on ye harlots, whence come ye ?" STEEVENS. . Ant. 240 C O M D ? E. Ant. My liege, I am advifed 8 what I fay ; Neither difturb'd with the effect of wine, Nor heady-raih, provok'd with raging ire, Albeit, my wrongs might make one wifer mad. This woman lock'd me out this day from dinner ; That goldfmith there, were he not pack'd with her, Gould witnefs it, for he was with me then, Who parted with me to go fetch a chain, Promiimg to bring it to the Porcupine, Where Balthazar and I did dine together. Our dinner done, and he not coming thither, I went to feek him : in the ftreet I met him ; And in his company, that gentleman. There did this perjur'd goldfmith fwear me down, That I this day of him receiv'd the chain, Which, God he knows, I faw not : for the which, He did arrefl me with an officer. I did obey ; and fent my peafant home For certain ducats : he with none return'd. Then fairly I befpoke the officer, To go in perfon with me to my houfe. By the way we met my wife, her filler, and A rabble more of vile confederates ; Along with them They brought one Pinch ; a hungry lean-fac'd villain, A meer anatomy, a mountebank, A thread-bare juggler, and a fortune-teller; A needy, hollow-ey'd, {harp-looking wretch, A living dead man : this pernicious Have, Forfooth, took on him as a conjurer ; And, gazing in my eyes, feeling my pulfe, And with no-face, as it were, out-facing me, Cries out, I was poiTcfs'd : then altogether They fell upon me, bound me, bore me thence ; And in a dark and dankifh vault at home 8 1 1 / am advifed ] i.e. I am not going to fpeak pre* cipitately or rafhly, but on reflexion and confideration. STEEVENS. There O F E R R O R S. 241 There left me and my man, both bound together ; 'Till gnawing with my teeth my bdnds in funder, I gain'd my freedom, and immediately Ran hither to your grace ; whom I befeecli To give me ample fatisfadtion For thefe deep fhames and great indignities* Ang. My lord, in truth, thus far I witneis with him; That he din'd not at home, but was lock'd out. Duke. But had he fuch a chain of thee, or no ? Ang. He had, my lord : and when he ran in here, Thefe people faw the chain about his neck. Mer. Befides, I will be fworn, thefe ears of mine Heard you confefs, you had the chain of him, After you firft forfwore it on the mart, And, thereupon, I drew my fword on you ; And then you fled into this abbey here, From whence, I think, you are come by miracle. E. Ant. I never came within thefe abbey-walls, Nor ever didil thou draw thy fword on me : I never faw the chain, fo help me heaven ! And this is falfe, you burden me withal. Duke. Why, what an intricate impeach is this I I think, you all have drank of Circe's cup. If here you hous'd him, here he would have been ; If he were mad, he would not plead fo coldly :- You fay, he din'd at home ; the goldfmith here Denies that faying : Sirrah, what fay you ? E, Dro. Sir, he din'd with her there, at the Porcupine. Cour. He did ; and from my finger match'd that ring. E. Ant. 'Tis true, my liege, this ring I had of her. Duke. Saw'ft thou him enter at the abbey here ? Cour. As fure, my liege, as I do fee your grace. Duke. Why, this is ftrange : Go call the abbefs hither ; I think you are all mated 9 , or {lark mad. [Exit one to the Abbefs. 9 mated,~\ i. e. wild, foolifh, from the Italian mat to. I think you are & fools or machnea, MALOXE. VOL. II. R ? 42 C O M E D Y Jfigeon. Moft mighty duke, vouchfafe me fpealb a word ;- Haply, I fee a friend, will fave my life, And pay the fum that may deliver me. Duke. Speak freely y Syracufan, what thou wilt. Mgeon. Is not your name, fir, call'd Antipholis ? And is not that your bondman Dromio 1 E. Dro. Within this hour I was his bond-man, fir, But he, I thank him, gnaw'd in two my cords ; Now am I Dromio, and his man, unbound. JEgeon. I am fure, you both of you remember me-- E. Dro. Ourfelves we do remember, fir, by you ; For lately we were bound, as- you are now. You are not Pinch's patient, are you, fir ? jEgeon. Why look you ftrange on me } you know me well. E. Ant. I never faw you in my life, till now. JEgem. Oh ! grief hath ehang'd me, fince you faw me lafl ; And careful hours, with time's deformed * hand Have written: 2 ftrange defeatures in my face : But tell me yet, doll thou not know my voice * E. Ant. Neither. jEgeon. Dromio, nor thou ? j Dro. No, truft me, fir, nor I. sEgeon. I am fure, thou doit. E. Dro. Ay, fir ? But I am fure, I do not ; and whatfoever A man denies, you are now bound to believe him.' 1 deformed^, for deforming. STEEVENS. 4 Jlrange defeatures] Defeature is the privative of feature.- The meaning is, time hath cancelled my features. JOHNSON. DefeaturcsMZ undoin^3^mlji:arrlage5^misforticne3' } ftOOltfefiuf'tf Fr.- So in Daniel's Complaint of Rofamond, i ^99 : " The day before the night of my defeature, (5. e. undoing.) " He greets me with a cafket richly wrought." The fenfe is, I am deformeJ^ undone, by mifery. STEEVEXS. O F E R R O R S. 243 JGgeon. Not know my voice ! Oh, time's extre- mity ! Haft thou fo crack'd and fplitted my poor tongue, In feven Ihort years, that here my only fon Knows not my feeble key of untun'd cares ? Though now this grained face 3 of mine be' hid In fapconfuming winter's drizled mow, And all the conduits of my blood froze up ; Yet hath my night of life fome memory, My wafting lamps fome fading glimmer left, My dull deaf ears a little ufe to hear : 4 All thefe old witneffes (I cannot err) Tell me thou art my fon Antipholis. E. Ant. I never faw my father in my life. JILgeon. But feven years lince, in Syracufa, boy, Thou knoweft, we parted : but, perhaps, my fon, Thou fham'ft to acknowledge me in mifery. E. Ant. The duke, and all that know me in the city, Can witnefs with me that it is not fo ; I ne'er faw Syracufa in my life. Duke. I tell thee, Syracufan, twenty years Have I been patron to Antipholis, During which time he ne'er faw Syracufa : I fee, thy age and dangers make thee dote. 3 this grained face] i.e. furrow'd, like the grainof-iMooJ. So in Corinlanus: " my grained &Q\." STEEVEXS. 4 All tbofe OLD -Mitnefffs (I cannot err)] I believe fnould be read: All tbefc HOLD v.'itHeffi's I cannot en: i. e. all thefe continue to teftiry that I cannot err, and tell me, &c. WARBURTO.V. The old reading is the true one, as well as the moft poetical. The words / cannot err, fliouki be thrown into a parentheiis. By olJ vjitxejfis I believe he means experienced, accujh:nd ones, which are therefore lefs likely to err. So in the Tempejl -. " If thefe be true/pies that I wear in my head, &:c." STEEVEXS. R 2 244 COMEDY Enter tie Abbefs, with Antipholis Syracufan and Syracufan. Abb. Mofl mighty Duke, behold a man much wrong'd. [All gather to J'ee him. Adr. I fee two hufbands, or mine eyes deceive me. Duke. One of thefe men is Genius to the other ; And fo of thefe : Which is the natural man, And which the fpirit? who deciphers them ? S. Dro. I, fir, am Dromio ; command him away. E. Di'O. I, fir, am Dromio; pray, let me iiay. S. Ant. jEgeon, art thou not ? or elfe his ghoft ? S. Dro. O, my old mailer ! who hath bound him here ? Abb. Whoever bound him, I will loofe his bonds, And gain a hufband by his liberty : Speak, old ./Egeon, if thou be'fi the man That hadft a wife once call'd Emilia, That bore thee at a burden two fair fons ? Oh, if thcu be'it the fame .^Egeon, fpeak, And fpeak unto the fame ^Emilia ! Duke. Why, here begins his morning flory right : Thefe two Antipholis's, thefe two fo like, And thofe two Dromio's, one in femblance, Befides her urging of her wreck at fea 5 , Thefe are the parents to thefe children, Which accidentally are met together. ALgeon. If I dream not, thou art Emilia ; If thou art Hie, tell me, where is that fon That floated with thee on the fatal raft ? Abb. By men of Epidamnum, he, and I, And the twin Dromio, all were taken up ; But, by and by, rude fllriermen of Corinth By force took Dromio, and my fon from them, 5 Bef.dcs her urging of her wreck atfca^] This Is one of Shnke- fpcare's overfights. The abbeis has not fo much as hinted at the fliipwreck. Perhaps, indeed, this and the next fpeech Iliould change places. STEEVENS, And O F E R R O R S. 245 And me they left with thofe of Epidamnum : What then became of them, I cannot tell ; I, to this fortune that you fee me in. Duke. Antipholis, thou cam'ft from Corinth firfh S. Ant. No, fir, not I ; I came from Syracufe. Duke. Stay, fland apart ; I know not which is which. E. Ant. I came from Corinth, my moft gracious lord. E. Dro. And I with him. E. Ant. Brought to this town by that moft famous warrior Duke Menaphon, your moft renowned uncle. Adr. Which of you two did dine with me to-day ? S. Ant. I, gentle miftrefs. Adr. And are you not my hulbaud ? E. Ant. No, I fay, nay to that. S. Ant. And fo do I, yet me did call me fo ; And this fair gentlewoman, her fifter here, Did call me brother ; What I told you then, I hope, I lhall have leifure to make good ; If this be not a dream, I fee, and hear. Ang. That is the chain, fir, which you had of me. S. Ant. I think it be, fir ; I deny it not. E. Ant. And you, fir, for this chain arrefted me. Ang. I think, I did, fir ; I deny it not. Adr. I fent you money, fir, to be your bail, By Dromio ; but I think, he brought it not. S. Dro. No, none by me. S. Ant. This purfe of ducats I receiv'd from you, And Dromio my man did bring them me : I fee, we ftill did meet each other's man, And I was ta'en for him, and he for me, And thereupon thefe Errors are arqfe, E. Ant. Thefe ducats pawn I for my father here. Duke. It lhall not need, thy father hath his life. COM: Sir, I muft have that diamond from you. JE. Ant. There, take it ; and much thanks for my good cheer. R 3 M< * 4 6 COMEDY Abb. Renowned duke, vouchfafe to take the pains To go with us into the abbey here, And hear at large difcourfed all our fortunes : And all that are affembled in this place, That by this fympathized one day's Error Have fuffer'd wrong, go, keep us company, And ye fhall have full fatisfaction. 6 Twenty-five years have I but gone in travel Of you, my fons ; and, till this prefent hour, My heavy burden not delivered : The duke, my hulband, and my children both, And you the calendars of their nativity, Go to a goffip's feaft, and 7 go with me ; After 6 Twenty-five years ] In former editions : Thirty-threej/^rj. 'Tis impoffible the poet could be fo forgetful, as to defign this number here : and therefore I have ventured to alter it to twenty- Jive, upon a proof, that, I think, amounts to demonftration. The number, I prefume, was at firft wrote in figures, and, perhaps, blindly ; and thence the miftake might arile. jEgeon, in the firft fceae of the firft act, is precife as to the time his fon left him, in queft of his brother : My youngejl l>oy^ and yet my eldefl care^ At eighteen years became inquijiti-ve lifter bis brother, &c. And how long it was from the fon's thus parting from his father, to their meeting again at Ephefus, where 3geon, miftakenly, recognizes the twin-brother, for him, we as precifely learn from another paflage in the fifth aft : yge. But {even years face, in Syracvfa-lay^ Thou. kno-Mcft we parted ; fo that thefe two numbers, put together, fettle the date of theif birth beyond difpute. THEOBALD. 7 - and go S. Dro. Your goods, that lay at hofl, fir, in the Centaur. S. Ant. He fpeaks to me ; I am your mafler, Dromio : Come, go with us ; we'll look to that anon : Embrace thy brother there, rejoice with him. [_Exeunt Antipholis S. and R. S. Dro. There is a fat friend at your matter's houfe, That kitclien'd me for you to-day at dinner; She now lhall be my fifler, not my wife. E. Dro. Methinks, you are my glafs, and not my brother : I fee by you, I am a fweet-fac'd youth. Will you walk in to fee their goffiping ? S. Dro. Not I, fir ; you are my elder. .E. Dro. That's a queflion : How mall we try it ? S. Dro. We will draw Cuts for the fenior ; till then lead thou firft. Again, in Antony and Cleopatra, aft III : " Let's have one other gamfy night." In the novel of M. Alberto of Bologna, the author adviferii gentlewomen " to beware how they contrive their holyday talke, by wafte wordes iiluing forth their delicate mouths in carping, gauding, and iefting at young .gentlemen, and fpeciallye olde men, &c." Palace of PI eafure, 1582. T, i.fol. 60. STEEVENS. 8 After fo long grief, fuch nativity /] We fhould furely read : After fo long grief, fuch feRivity, Nativity lying fo near, and the termination being the fame of both words, the miitake was eafy. JOHNSON. The old reading may be right. She has juft faid, that to ter, her fons were not born till now. STEKVEXS. R E. Dro. 2 4 3 C O M E D Y, &c. E. Dro. Nay, then thus : We came into the world, like brother and brother ; And now let's go hand in hand, not one before an- other 9 . [Exeunt. 9 In this comedy we find more intricacy of plot than diftinction of charafter ; and our attention is lefs forcibly engaged, becaufe \ve can guefs in great meafure how the denouement will be brought about. Yet the poet feems unwilling to part with his fubjetr, even in this laft and unneceflary fcene, where the fame miilakes are continued, till their power of affording entertaiment is en* tirely loll. STEEVENS. MUCH MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Perfons Reprefented. jfton Pedro, Prince of Arragon. Leonato, Governor o/"Meffina. Don John, Baftard Brother to Don Pedro, Claudio, a young Lord of Florence, Favourite to Pedro. Benedick, a young Lord of Padua, favoured Hkewife by Don Pedro. Balthazar, fervant to Don Pedro. Antonio, Brother to Leonato. Borachio, Confident to Don John* Conrade, Friend to Borachio. Hero, Daughter to Leonato. Beatrice, Niece to Leonato. Urfuf a rC ' } two ^ ent ^ omen attending on Hero. A Friar, Mejfenger, Watch> Town-Clerk, Sexton^ &n. Attendants. SCENE MeJJina in Sicily. The ftory is from Ariofto, Orl. Fur. b. v. POPE. It is true, as Mr. Pope has obferved, that fomewhat refembling the ftory of this play is to be found in the fifth book of the Or- lando Furiofo. In Spenfer's Faery Queen, b. ii. c. 4. as remote an original may be traced. A novel, however, of Belleforeft, copied from another of Bandello, feems to have ftirnifted Shake - fpeare with his fable, as it approaches nearer in^ll its par- ticulars to the play before us, than any other jjerformance known to be extant. I have feen fo many verfions from this once popular collection, that I entertain no doubt but that the great majority of the tales it comprehends, have made their ap- pearance in an Englifli drefs. Of that particular ftory which I have juft mentioned, viz. the i8th hillory in the third volume, no tranflation has hitherto been met with. STEEVENS. MUCH MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING'. ACT I. SCENE I. Before Leonato's lottfe. Enter Leonato, Hero, and Beatrice, with a Meffenger, Leon. I learn in this letter, that Don Pedro of Arragon comes this night to Meffina. MeJJ'. He is very near by this ; he was not three leagues off when I left him. Leon. How many gentlemen have you loft in this adtion ? Meff. But few of any fort *, and none of name. Leon. A vidtory is twice itfelf, when the atchiever brings home full numbers. I find here, that Don Pedro hath beftowed much honour on a young Flo- rentine, call'd Claudio. 1 Much AJo about Nothing.] Innogcn, (the mother of Hero) in the oldeft quarto that I have feen of this play, printed in 1600, is mentioned to enter in two ieveral fcenes. The fucceed- ig editions have all continued her name in the Dramatis Per- fona?. But I have ventured to expunge it; there being no men- tion of her through the play, no one fpeech addrefs'd to her, nor one fyllable fpoken by her. Neither is there any one paflage, from which we have any reafon to determine that Hero's mother was living. It fcems, as if the poet had in his firft plan defign'd fuch a character : which, on a iurvey of it, he found would be fuperfluous ; and therefore he left it out. THEOBALD; This play was entered at Stationers' Hall, Aug. 23, 1600. STEEVENS. a of any fort,] Sort is rank. So in Chapman's verfion of the 1 6th book of Homer's Odyjjey : " A fliip, and in her many a man^ofyir/." STEEVENS. Me/. 252 M U C H A D O Meffl Much deferv'd on his part, and equally re- membered by Don Pedro : He hath borne himfelf beyond the promife of his age ; doing, in the figure of a lamb, the feats of a lion : he hath, indeed, better better'd expectation, than you mult exped: of me to tell you how. Leon. He hath an uncle here in Mefiina will be very much glad of it. Meff. I have already delivered him letters, and there appears much joy in him ; even fo much, that 3 joy could not mew itfelf modeft enough, without a badge of bitternefs. Leon. Did he break out into tears ? Meff. In great meafure. Leon. A kind overflow of kindnefs : There are no faces truer 4 than thofe that are fo wafh'd. How much better is it to weep at joy, than to joy at weeping ? Beat. I pray you, 5 is lignior Montanto return'd from the wars, or no ? Mf. 3 -joy could not Jbfw itfelf modefl enough, without a badge of^ bitterncfs.] This is judicioufly exprefs'd. Of all the tranfports of joy, that which is attended 'with tears is leaft offenfive; be- caule, carrying with it this mark of pain, it allays the envy that ufually attends another's happinefs. This he finely calls a modejt joy, fuch a one as did not iniult the oblerver by an indication of happiuefs unmixed with pain. WAR BURTON. Such another exprcffion occurs in Chapman's verfion of the tenth book of the Odyfley : " our eyes wore " The fame wet badge of weak humanity." This is an idea which Shakeipeare feems to have been delight* cd to introduce. It occurs again in Macbeth : " my plenteous joys ' ' IVanton in fitllnefs, feek to hide tbemfelves " In drops of farrow. ," STEEVENS. 4 no faces truer] That is, none honcfter, none morefincere. JOHNSON. 3 is fign'ior Montanto returned ] Mont ante, in Spanifh, is a huge two-handed fiuord, given, with much humour, to one, the fpeaker would represent as a boafter or bravado. WAR EUR TON. Montanto was one of the ancient terms of the fencine-fchool. So ABOUT NOTHING. 253 Mtf. I know none of that name, lady ; 6 there was none fuch in the army of any fort. Leon. What is he that you aft. for, niece ? Hero. My coufin means fignior Benedick of Padua. Mejf. O, he's return'd ; and as pleafant as ever he was. Beat. 7 He fet up his bills here in Mefiina, and challenged Cupid 8 at the flight : and my uncle's fool, reaxl- So, in Every Man in his Humour : Mejf. A lord to a lord, a man to a man ; ftufFd with- all honourable virtues f . Beat. It is fo, indeed ; he is no lefs than a fluff'd man z : but for the fluffing, well, we are all mortal. Leon. find the title-page of an old pamphlet {till more explicit. " A new poft'A marke exceeding neceflary for all mens arrows : whe- ther the great man's flight, the gallant's rover, the wifeman's pricke-Jbaft, the poor man's but-Jhaft, or the tool's bird-bolt" FARMER. The flight > which in the Latin of the middle ages was called JlcEla, was a fleet arrow with narrow feathers, ufuaily employed againil rovers. See B hunt's Ancient Tenures, 1679. MALOXE. 9 he'll be meet with you,] This is a very common ex - preffion in the midland counties, and fignifies he'll be your match^ he'll be even iviibyou. So in TEXNOFAMIA, by B. Holiday, 1618 r " Go meet her, or elfe (he'll be meet with me." STEEVENS. 1 ftufPd with all honourable virtues.'] Stuff 1 d, in this firft in- ftance, has no ridiculous meaning. Mr. Edwards obferves that McJc, in his Dlfcourfes on Scripture, fpeaking of Adin, fays, * he whom God \a& fluffed with fo many excellent qualities." Edwards's MS. Again, in the l-Finter's Tale: " whom you know " W Jtuf*d Jifficienn? STEEVEXS. * he is no lefs than a ftuff'd man : but for the ftuffing i'jett,-~* we^are all mortal.} Mr. Theobald plumed himfeJf much on the pointing of this paflage j which, by the way,, he might learn from Dave- 256 M U C H A D O Leon. You muftnot, fir, miftake my niece: thertf is a kind of merry war betwixt fignior Benedick and her : they never meet, but there's a fkirmifh of wit between them. Beat. Alas, he gets nothing by that. In our laft conflict, four of his 3 five wits went halting off, and now is the whole man govern'd with one : fo that if he have 4 wit enough to keep himfelf warm, let him bear Bavenant : but he fays not a word, nor any one elfe that I know of, about the reafon of this abruption. The truth is, Beatrice ftarts an idea at the words fluff* d man ; and prudently checks her- felf in the purfuit of it. h. fluff 'd man was one of the many cant phrafes for a cuckold. In Lilly s Midas^ we have an inventory of Motto's moveables. " Item, fays Petulus, one paire of homes in the bride-chamber on the bed's bead. The beaft's head, ob-* ierves Licio ; for Motto is .ftujf'd in the bead, and thefe are among unmovedble goods? FARMER. 3 four of his five I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow, than a man fwear he loves me. Baw.- God keep your ladyfliip ftill in that mind^ ! fo fome gentleman- or other mall 'fcape a predeftinate fcratch'd face. Beat. Scratching could not make it worfe, an 'twere inch a face as yours were. Bene. Well, you are a rare parrot-teacher* Beat. A bird of my tongue, is better than a beaft of yours. Bene. I would, my horfe had the fpeed of your tongue ; and fo good a continuer : But keep your way o'God's name ; I have done* Beat. You always- end with, a jade's trick ; I know you of old. Pedro. This is the fumofall: Leonato, fignior Claudio, and fignior Benedick, my dear friend Leo- 1 fnch food to feed it ) as fignior Renedivk ?] A kindred thought occurs in Coriolcnyus, a& II. fc. i : *' Our very priefts muft become mockers^ if they encounter fach ridiculous fubjects as y?u are," STEEVEMI. nata ABOOtfT NOTHING. a6t nato hath invited you all. I tell him, we lhall flay here at the leaft a month ; and'he heartily prays, fome occafion may detain us longer : I dare fwear he is no hypocrite, but prays from his heart. Leon. If you' fwear, my lord, you mall not be for- fworn. Let me bid you welcome, my lord : being reconciled to the jprince your brother, 1 owe you all duty. John. I thank you * : t am not of many words, but I thank you. Leon. Pleafe it your grace lead on ? Pedro. Your hand, Leonato ; we will go together. [Exeunt all but Benedick and Claudia. Claud. Benedick, didft thou note the daughter of "fignior Leonato ? Bene. I noted her not ; but 1 look'd on her. Claud. Is me not a modeft young lady ? Bene. Do you queftion me, as an Jioneft man mould do, for my fimple true judgment ? or would you ,have me fpcak after my cultom, as being a profefled jyrant to .their fex ? Claud. No, I pray thee, fpeak in fober judgment. Bene. Why, 'i'faith, methinks flic is too low for ',$. high praife, too brown for a fair praife,, and too t little for a great praife,: only this commendation I ' can afford her ; that were Ac other than me is, fhc ' wefe urihandfome ; and being ne other but as me ic, , I do not like her. Claud. Thou think'fr, I am in fport'; I pray t'hee, tell me truly how thou lik'ft her. : Setie. \\^ould you buy her, that you enquire after '"her? laud. Can the world buy fuch a jewel ? _Bene. Yea, <.and a cafe to put it -into. But fpeak yoju this witih a fad brow ? or do you play the flout- * / thank you :] TJie poet has judicioufly marked the gloomineft of Don John's character, by mailing him averfe to the common forms of civility. ^SiR J, HA\VK-WJ. S 3 ing M U C H A D O ing Jack ; to tell us Cupid is ' a good hare-finder, and Vulcan a rare- carpenter ? Come, in what 'key lhall a man take you, to go in the fong 4 ? Claud. In mine eye, flic is the fwceteft lady that I ever looked on. Bene. I can fee yet without fpectacles, and I fee no fuch matter : there's her coufin, an Ihe were not pof- fefs'd with a fury, exceeds her as much in beauty, as the firft of May doth the laft of December. But I hope, you have no intent to turn hufband ; have you ? 3 to tell us, Cupid is a good hare-finder, &rc.] I know not whether I conceive -the jeft here intended. Claudio hints his love of Hero. Benedick alks whether he is ferious, or whether he only means to jeft, and tell them that Cupid is a good bare- finder, and Vulcan a rare carpenter. A man praifing a pretty lady in jeft, may (hew the quick light of Cupid, but what has it to do with the carpentry of Vulcan ? Perhaps the thought lies no deeper than this, Do you mean to tell us as new what we all know already f JOHNSON. I believe no more is meant by thofe ludicrous exprcffions than this. ; Do you mean, fays Benedick, to amufe us with impro- bable ftories ? An ingenious correfpondent, whofe lignature is R.W. ex- plains the paffage in the fame fenfe, but more amply. " Do you mean to tell us that love is not blind, and that fire will not con- fume what is .combuftible ?" for both thefe propoiitions are implied in making Cupid a good bare-finder, and Vulcan (the God of fire) a good carpenter* In other words, would you convince me t wbofe opinion on this bead is well known, thatyou can le in love with- out being Hind, and can play witb tbejiame of beauty without being fc arched. STEEVENS. I explain the paflage thus : Do you feoff and mock in telling us that Cupid, 'who is blind, is a good bare-finder, which requires a quick eyefight ; and that Vulcan, a blackf?nith, is a rare carpenter f ToLLET. After fuch attempts at decent illuftration, I am afraid that he who wifhes to know why Cupid is a good hare-finder, muft difcover it by the affiftance of many quibbling allufions of the fame fort, about hair and hoar, in Mercutio's long in the fecond 2& of Romeo and Juliet. COLLINS. 4 to go in the fong.'} i.e. to join xvith you in your fong. to ilrike in with you in the fong. STEEVENS, Qaud. ABOUT NOTHING. 263 Claud. I would fcarce truft myfelf, though I had fworn the contrary, if Hero would by my wife. Bene. Is't come to this, i'faith ? Hath not the world one man, but he will wear s his cap with fufpi- cion ? Shall I never fee a batchelor of threefcore again ? Go to, i'faith ; an thou wilt needs thruft thy -neck into a yoke, wear the print of it, and 6 ligh away fundays* Look, Don Pedro is return'd to feek you. Re-enter Don Pedro. Pedro. What fecret hath held you here, that you follow'd not to Leonato's f Bene. I would, your grace would conftrain me to tell. Pedro. I charge thee on thy allegiance. Bene. You hear, Count Claudio : I can be fecret as a dumb man, I would have you think fo ; but on my allegiance, mark you this, on my allegiance. He is in love. With who ? now that is your grace's part. mark, how Ihort his anfwer is : With Hero, Leonato'? fhort daughter. .Claud. If this were fo, fo were it uttered 7 . Bene. 5 ___ wear his cap ivithfiifpicionf] That is, f abject his head to the difquiet of jealoufy. JOHNSON. 6 fgb awayfundays.'] A proverbial expreffion to fig- nify that a man has no reft at all ; when Sunday, a day formerly of eafe and diverfion, was paffed fq uncomfortably. WAR BUR TON. I cannot find this proverbial expreffion in any ancient book whatever. I am apt to believe that the learned commentator has miftaken the drift of it, and that it molt probably alludes to the ftricl: manner in which the fabbath was obferved by t\\epuritas, who ufually fpent that day in figbs and gruntings, and other hy- pocritical marks of devotion. STEEVENS. 7 Claud. If this vjerefo,fo were it uttered.'] This and the three next fpeeches I do not well undcrftand ; there feems fbmething omitted relating to Hero's content, or to Claudio's marringe, elfe J know not what Claudio can wifh not to be otberv:ifc. The copies all read alike. Perhaps it may be better thus, Claud. If this were Jo, fo f unbappinefs,] So all the editions ; but ABOUT NOTHING. 287 Pedro. She cannot endure to hear tell of a hufband. Leon. O, by no means ; fhe mocks all her wooers out of fuit. Pedro. She were an excellent wife for Benedick. Leon. O Lord, my lord, if they were but a week marry'd, they would talk themfclves mad. Pedro. Count Claudio, when mean you to go to church ? Claud. To-morrow, my lord : Time goes on crutches, till love have all his rites. Leon. Not till monday, my dear fon, which is hence a juft feven-night; and a time too brief too, to have all things anfwer my mind. Pedro. Come, you ihake the head at fo long a breathing ; but, I warrant thee, Claudio, the time fliall not go dully by us : I will, in the interim, under- take one of Hercules' labours ; which is, ' to bring fignior but Mr. Theobaldalters it to, an happinefs, having no conception that unhappincfs meant any thing but misfortune, and that, he thinks, (he could not laugh at. He had never heard that it figni- iied a wild, wanton, unlucky trick. Thus Beaumont and Fletcher, in their comedy of the Maid of the Mill : *' Mv dreams arc like my thoughts, hone/I and innocent : " Tours are unhappy." WARBURTON. 1 to bring /jgnior Benedick and the lady Beatrice into a mountain of tiffclion the one with the other, ~\ A mountain of ajfecl'un -jjith one an- other is a ftrange expreffion, yet I know not well how to change it. Perhaps it was originally written, to bring Benedick and Beatrice into a mooting of affettion ; to bring them not to any more mooting! of contention, but to a mooting or converfation of love. This read- ing is confirmed by the prepofition with ; a mountain with each other, or affcflion with each other, cannot be ufed, but a mooting with each other is proper and regular. JOHNSON. Uncommon as the word propoled by Dr. Johnfon may appear, it is ufed in feveral of the old plays. So in Glapthornes Wit in * Conjlablc^ 1639 : " one who never " Had mooted in the hall, or fecn the revels " Kept in the houfe at Chriilmas." Again, in the Return from PantajJ'us, 1606 : " It is a plain cafe whereon I mooted in our temple." Agai.-, 288 M U C H A D O fignior Benedick, and the lady Beatrice into a moun- tain of affection, the one with the other. I would fain have it a match ; and I doubt not to fafhion it, if you three will but minilter fuch afliftance as I lhall give you direction. Leon. My lord, I am for you, though it cofl me ten nights' watchings. Claud. And I, my lord. Pedro. And you too, gentle Hero ? Hero. I will do any modeft office, my lord, to help my coufin to a good hufband. Pedro. And Benedick is not the unhopefullefl huf- band that I know : thus far I can praife him ; he is of a noble drain, of approv'd valour, and confirm'd honefty. I will teach you how to humour your cou- iin, that Ihe mall fall in love with Benedick : and I, with your two helps, will fo practife on Benedick, that, in defpight of his quick wit and his queafy ilomach, he mail fall in love with Beatrice. If we can do this, Cupid is no longer an archer ; his glory Again, " at a mooting m our temple." Ibid. And yet all that I believe is meant by a mountain of affeRion is, a great deal of ajfeftion. In one of Stanyhurft's poems, is the following phrafeto denote a large quantity of love : " Lumps of love promift, nothing performed, &c." Again, in the Rencgado, by Maffinger : " 'tis but parting with " A mountain of vexation." Thus in K. Hen. VIII. " zfea of glory." In Hamlet, " afea of troubles." Again, in Howel's Hift. of Venice: " though they fee mountains of miferies heaped on one's back." Again, in Ba- con's Hift of K. Hen. VII. " Perkin fought to corrupt the fer- vants to the lieutenant of the tower by mountains of promifes." Again, in the Comedy of Errors : " the mountain of mad flefli that claims marriage of me." Little can be inferr'd from Shake - fpeare's offence againfl grammar. Mr. Malone obferves, that " Shakefpeare has many phrafes equally harfh. He who would hazard fuch expreffions as ajlorm of fortunes, a vale of years, and a tempeft of provocation, would not fcruple to write a mountain of affeftion" STEEVENS. ihall ABOUT NOTHING. 289 fhall be ours, for we are the only love-gods. Go in with me, and I will tell you my drift. [Exeunf. SCENE II, Another' Apartment in Leonato 9 s Houfi. Enter Don John and Boracbh. John. It is fo ; the count Claudio fliall marry the daughter of Leonato. Bora. Yea, my lord ; but I can crofs it. Jokn. Any bar, any crofs, any impediment will be medicinable to me : I am lick in difpleafure to him ; and whatfoever conies athwart his affection, ranges evenly with mine. Kow canft thou crofs this mar- riage ? Born. Not honeftly, my lord ; but fo covertly that no dilhoneity fhall appear in me. John. Shew me briefly how. Bora. I think, I told your lordmip, a year fince, how much I am in the favour of Margaret, the wait- ing gentlewoman to Hero. John. I remember. Bora. I can, at any unfeafonable inftant of the night, appoint her to look out at her lady's chamber- window. John. What life is in that, to be the death of this marriage ? Bora. The poifon of that lies in you to temper. Go you to the prince your brother ; fpare not to tell him, that he hath wrong'd his honour in marrying the renown'd Claudio, (whofe eftimation do you mightily hold up) to a contaminated Hale, fuch a one as Hero. Jobn. What proof fliall I make of that ? Bora. Proof enough to mifufe the prince, to vex Claudio, to undo Hero, and kill Leonato : Look you for any other ifTue ? VOL. II. U John. 290 M U C H A D Q Jobn. Only to defpite them, I will endeavour any thing. 3 Bora. Go then, find me a meet hour to draw 3 Bora. Go then, find me a meet hour to draw Don Pedro, and the count Claudio, alone; tell them that you kno'M Hero loves me', Offer them liiftances, -jjhich foall bear no left likelihood than to fee me at her chamber-window hear me call Margaret, Hero ; hear Mar- garet term me Chiudio ; and bring them to fee this, the very night be- fore the intended wedding.] Thus the whole ftream of the editions irom the firft quarto downwards. I am obliged here to give a fhort account of the plot depending, that the emendation 1 havfi made may appear the more clear and unq-ueftionable. The buii- nefs ftands thus : Claudio, a favourite of the Arragon prince, is, by his interceffions with her father, to be married to fair Hero ; Don John, natural brother of the prince, and a hater of Claudio, is in his fpleen zealous to difappoint the match. Borachio, a raf- cally dependant on Don John^ offers his affiitance, and engages to break off the marriage by this ftratagem. " Tell the prince and Claudio (fays he) that Hero is in love with me ; they won't be- lieve it : offer them proofs, as, that they {hall fee me converfe with her in her chamber-window. I am in the good graces of her waiting-woman Margaret ; and I'll prevail with Margaret, at a dead hour of night to perfonate her miftrefs Hero : do you then bring the prince and Claudio to overhear our difcourfe ; and they {hall have the torment to hear me addrefs Margaret by the name of Hero ; and her fay fvveet things to me by the name of Clau- dio." This is the fubftance of Borachio's device to make Hero iulpe&ed of difloyalty, and to break off her match with Claudio. But, in the name of common fenfe, could it difpleafe Claudio, to hear his miftrefs making ufe of his name tenderly ? If he faw another man with her, and heard her call him Claudio, he might reafonably think her betrayed, but not have the fame reafon to accufe her of difloyalty. Befides, how could her naming Clau- dio, make the prince and Claudio believe that (he lov'd Borachio, as he defires Don John to infinuate to them that Ihe did ? The circumftances weighed, there is no doubt but the paflage ought to be reformed, as I have fettled it in the text hear me call Mar* garet, Hero ; hear Margaret term me Borachio. THEOBALD. I am not convinced that this exchange is neceffary. Clau- dio would naturally refent the circumitance of hearing another called by his own name ; becaufe, in that cafe, bafenefs of treach- ery would appear to be aggravated by wantonnefs of infult : and, at the fame time he would imagine the perfon fo diftinguifh'd to be Borachio, becaufe Don John was previoully to have informed both him and Don Pedro, that Borachio was the favoured lover, STEEVENS. Don ABOUT NOTHING. 291 Don Pedro, and the count Claudio, alone : tell them, that you knoxv, Hero loves me ; intend a kind of zeal both to the prince and Claudio, as in a love of your brother's honour who hath made this match ; and his friend's reputation, who is thus like to be co- zen'd with the femblance of a maid, that you have difcover'd thus. They will fcarcely believe this with- out trial : offer them inftances ; which fhall bear no lefs likelihood, than to fee me at her chamber-win- dow ; hear me call Margaret, Hero ; hear Margaret term me Claudio ; and bring them to fee this, the very night before the intended wedding : for, in the mean time, I will fo fafhion the matter, that Hero fhall be abfent ; and there fhall appear fuch feeming truth of Hero's difloyalty, that jealoufy fhall be call'd affurance, and all the preparation over- thrown. John. Grow this to what adverfe iffue it can, I will put it in practice : Be cunning in the working this, and thy fee is a thoufand ducats. Bora. Be thou conftant in the accufation, and my cunning fhall not fhame me. 'John. I will prefently go learn their day of mar- riage. [Exeunt. SCENE III. Leonato's Orchard. Enter Benedick and a Boy. Bme. Boy, Boy. Signior. Be/ie. In my chamber-window lies a book y bring it hither to me in the orchard. Boy. I am here already, fir. Bene. I know that ; but I would have thee henco, and here again. [Exit Boy.~\ I do much won-der, that one man, feeing how much another man is a fool when he dedicates his behaviours to love, will, after U ^ he 292 M U C H A D O he hath laugh'd at iuch fliallow follies in others, be- come the argument of his own fcorn, by falling in love : And fuch a man is Claudio. I have known, when there was no mufick with him but the drum and the fife ; and now had he rather hear the tabor and the pipe : I have known, when he would have vvalk'd ten mile afoot, to fee a good armour ; and now will he lye ten nights awake,, carving the fafhion of a new doublet 4 . He was wont to fpeak plain, and to the purpofe y like an honefl man, and a foldicr ; and now is he turn'd orthographer 5 ; his words are a very fantaftical banquet, juil fo many ftrange difhes. May I be fo converted, and fee with thefe eyes ? I cannot tell ; I think not i I will not be fworn, but love may transform me to an oyfter ; but I'll take my oath on it, till he have made an oyfter of me, he fliall never make me fuch a fool. One woman is fair ; yet I am well : another is wife ; yet I am well : an- other virtuous ; yet I am well : but till all graces be in one woman, one woman fliall not come in my frace^ Rich fhe fliall be, that's certain ; wife, or '11 none ; virtuous, or I'll never cheapen her ; fair, or I'll never look on her ; mild, or come not near me ; noble, or not I for an angel ; of good difcourfe, an excellent mufician, and her hair fliall be of what colour it pleafe God 6 . Ha ! the prince and monfieur Love ! I will hide me in the arbour. [Withdraws. Enter * carving the faftnon of a. new doublet C\ This folly r focon- fpicuous in the gallants of former ages, is laughed at by all our comic writers. So in Greene's Farewell to Folly, 1617: " Wer are almoft as fantaftic as the Englifh gentleman that is painted naked, with a pair of flieers in his hand, as not being refolved after what faftion to have his coat cut." STEEVENS. 5 orthographer. ] The old copies read orthography. STEEVENS. 6 and her hair Jball be of what colour it pleafe &c.] Perhaps ^Benedick alludes to a fafhion, very common in the time of Shake - fpe.tre, that or flying the hair. in his Anatomy of Aktfcs^ 1595, fpeaRing of the at- ABOUT NOTHING. 293 Enter Don Pedro, Leonato^ Claudio> and Balthazar. Pedro. Come, lhall we hear this mufick ? Claud. Yea, my good lord : How ftill the even- ing is, As hufh'd on purpofe to grace harmony ! Pedro. See you where Benedick hath hid himfelf ? Claud. O very well, my lord : the mufick ended, We'll fit the kid-fox 7 with a penny-worth. Pedro. Come, Balthazar, we'll hear that fong again. Baltb. O good my lord, tax not fo bad a voice 'To flander mufick any more than once. Pedro. It is the witnefs {till of excellency, To put a ftrange face on his own perfection -: I pray .thee, fing, and let me woo no more. Balth+ -Becaufe you talk of wooing, I will fing : 'Since many a wooer doth commence his fuit To her he thinks not worthy ; yet he wooes ; Yet will he fwear, he loves. tires of women's heads, fays : " If any have baire of her owne y ?iaturall growing, which is not fair eynough, then -tiv// they die // in divers collours. S TEE v E N s . 7 Pedro. See where Benedick hath hid himfelf f Claudia. I'ery well, my lord: the mufick ended, we'll fit the kid- fox with a penny-worth,} i.e. \ve will be even with the fox now tiifcovered. So the word /,/, or kidde, fignifies in Chaucer : The fothfaftnds that now is hid, Without coverture (hall be kid When J undoen rhave this dremkig."' Romaunt of the Rflfe, 21 71, &c. Perceiv'd or fhew'd. He kitMi' anon his bone was not broken." Troilus and Crejfeide^ lib. i. 208. With that anon fterte out daungere, ' Out of the place where he was hidde ; ' His malice in his cheere was klddc" Romaunt of the Rofe, 2130. GRAY. It is not impoffible but that Shakefpeare chofe on this occaium to employ an antiquated word ; and yet if any future editor {hould chufe to read hid fox, he may obferve that Hamlet has fhid ' Hide fox and all after." STEEVENS. U 3 Pedro. 294 M U C H A D O Pedro. Nay, pray thce, come : Or, if thou wilt hold longer argument, Do it in notes. Balth. Note this before my notes, There's not a note of mine, that's worth the noting. Pedro. Why thefe are very crotchets that he fpeaks ; Note, notes, forfooth, and noting ! Bene. Now, Divine air ! now is his foul ravilh'd ! Is it not flrange, that iheeps guts mould hale fouls out of men's bodies ? Well, a horn for my money, when all's done, SONG. Sigh no more, ladies, figh no more, Men were deceivers ever ; One foot in fea, and one on JJoore ; To one thing conjlant never : Then jigh not jb, But let them go, And be you blith and bonny ; Converting all your founds of woe Into, Hey nonny, nonny. Sing no more ditties, fing no mo Of dumps fo dull and heavy ; The frauds of men ivere ever fo, ' Since J'ummer firjl was leavy. Then figh not fo, &c. Pedro. By my troth, a good fong. Balth. And an ill finger, my lord. Pedro. Ha ? no ; no, faith ; thou fing'ft well enough for a fhift. Eene. [Afide.~] An he had been a dog, that mould have howl'd thus, they would have hang'd him : and, I pray God, his bad voice bode no mifchief ! I had as lief have heard the night-raven, come what plague could have come after it. Pedro. A B O U T N O T H I N G. 295 Pedro. Yea, marry ; Doft thou hear, Balthazar ? I pray thee, get us Ibme excellent mufick ; for to- morrow night we would have it at the lady Hero's 'Chamber-window. Balth. The heft I can, my lord. [Exit Balthazar. Pedro. Do fo : farewell. Come hither, Leonato ; What wac it you told me of to-day, that your niece Beatrice was in love with fignior Benedick ? Claud. O, ay; Stalk on, (talk on, the fowl fits 8 . [Afide to Pedro?] I did never think that lady would have loved any man. Leon. No, nor I neither; but moft wonderful, that me mould fo dote on iignior Benedick, whom me hath in all outward behaviours fcem'd ever to a'bhor. Bene. Is't poffible ? Sits the wind in that corner? [Ajtie. Leon. By my troth, my lord, I cannot tell what to think of it, 9 but that me loves him with an enraged affection : it is pail the infinite of thought. Pedro. 8 Stalk on, ftalk on, the fowl Jits.] This is an allufion to Thzjlalking-horfe; a horfe either real of factitious, by which the fowler anciently fhelter'd himfelf from the fight of the game. So, in the Honeft La^vyer, 1 6 1 6 : ** Lye there thou happy warranted cafe " Of any villain. Thou halt been my Jialking-borfc " N9W thefe ten months." Again, in the 2jth Song of Prayton*s Polyolbin : " One underneath his horfg to get a .{hoot doth _/&*/." Again, in his Mufes Elvfium : ** Then underneath my hcyfe, I jJelk my game to ftrike." STEEVENS. Stalk on, Jlalk on,] A metaphor takijig from the praftic-e of fiiooting with a ftalking-horfe. The meaning is, Let us fte,*l nearer, that we may take the fure.r aim, SIR J. HAWKINS.. 9 but, thatjbc love* hhn, =ivith an enraged ajfcclifin, it if .pa ft &e in/iuite of thought.] It is impoffible to make ienie and grammar of this 1'peech. And the reafon is, that the two beginnings of" two .different fentences are jumbled together sn.d made one. For- tiit that Jhe loves him -jjitb an inrag ed affetlion is only part of a fentence which mould conclude thus, n mojl certain. But a new U 4 idea 2 9 6 M U C H A D O Pedro* May be, fhe doth but counterfeit. Claud. Faith, like enough. Leon. O God ! counterfeit ! There never was coun- terfeit of paflion came fo near the life of paffion, as fhc difcovers it. Pedro. Why, what effects of paffion fhews fhe ? Claud. Bait the hook well; this fifti will bite. \Afuic. "Leon. What effects, my lord ! She will fit you,- You heard my daughter tell you how. Claud. She did, indeed. Pedro. How, how, I pray you ? You amaze me : I would have thought her fpirit had been invincible againft all aflaults of affection. Leon. I would have fworn it had my lord ; efpeci- ally againft Benedick. Bene. [_Afide.~] I ihould think this a gull, but that the white-bearded fellow fpeaks it : knavery can- not, fure, hide himfelf in fuch reverence. idea finking the fpeaker, he leaves this fentence unfinifhed, and turns to another, // is paft the infinite of thought which is like- wife left unfinifhed ; for it fhould conclude thus to fay bow great that affection is. Thefe broken disjointed fentences are ufual in converfation. However there is one word wrong, which yet per- plexes the fenfe, and that is infinite. Human thought cannot furely be called infinite with any kind of figurative propriety. I fuppofe the true reading was definite. This makes the paflage in- telligible. It is paft the definite of thought i. e. it cannot be de- fined or conceived how great that affection is. Shakefpeare ufes the word again in the fame fenfe in Cymbeline : " For ideots, in this cafe of favour, ivould " JBe wifely definite. " i. e. could tell how to pronounce or determine in the cafe. WAR BUR TON. Here are difficulties raifed only to {hew how eafily they can be removed. The plain fenfe is, I know not what to think othervvife, lut thatjhe loves him with an enraged affeSlion : It (this affection) is paft the infinite of thought. Here are no abrupt flops, or im- perfect fentences. Infinite may well enough (land 5 it is ufed by more careful writers for indefinite: and the fpeaker only means, that thought^ though in itfelf unbounded^ cannot reach oreftimate the degree of her paffion. JOHNSON. Claud. ABOUT NOTHING. 297 Claud. He hath ta'cn the infe&ion ; hold it up. Pedro. Hath fhe made her afFedtion known to Be- nedick ? Leon. No ; and fwears Ihe never will : that's her torment. Claud. Tis true, indeed ; fo your daughter fays : Shall 7, fays fhe, that have fo oft encountered him with fcorn^ wife fo him that I love him ? Leon. This fays fhe now when fhe is beginning to \vrite to him : for fhe'll be up twenty times a night ; and there Ihe will fit in her fmock, 'till fhe have writ a fheet of paper : my daughter tells us all. Claud. Now you talk of a fheet of paper, I remem- ber a pretty jeft your daughter told us of. Leon. Oh, When fhe had writ it, and was read- ing it over, fhe found Benedick and Beatrice between the fheet ? Claud. That. Leon. ' O, fhe tore the letter into a thoufand half- pence ; rail'd at herfelf, that fhe fhould be fo immo- deft to write to one that fhe knew would flout her : / meafure him, fays fhe, by my own jpirit ; for, I 1 O, Jbe tore the letter into a thoufand half-pence ;] i. e. into a thoufand pieces of the fame biguefs. This is farther explained by a paffage in- As Ton Like It : - " There : *' Perchaunce (lie's not of haggard's kind " Nor heart fo hard to bend, &c." STEEVENS. Deferve 3 o 4 M U C H A D O " Deferve as full, as fortunate a bed % As ever Beatrice fhall couch upon ? Hero. O God of love ! I know, he doth deferve As much as may be yielded to a man : But nature never fram'd a woman's heart Of prouder fluff than that of Beatrice : Difdain and fcorn ride fparkling in her eyes, 9 Mifprifmg what they look on ; and her wit Values itfelf fo highly, that to her All matter elfe feems weak : fhe cannot love, Nor take no fhape nor projedt of affedtion, She is fo felf-endeared. Urf. Sure, I think fo ; And therefore, certainly, it were not good She knew his love, left Ihe make fport at it. Hero. Why, you fpeak truth : I never yet faw man, How wife, how noble, young, how rarely featured, But flie would fpell him backward l : if fair-fac'd, She'd fwear, the gentleman fhould be her fitter ; 2 If black, why, nature, drawing of an antick, Made a foul blot : if tall, a lance ill-headed ; 3 If low, an aglet very vilely cut : If To 8 - as full, feV.] A full bed means a rich wife. So in Othello : " What -nfull fortune doth the thick-lips owe ? &c." STEEVENS. 9 Mifprijtng - ] Defpifing, contemning. JOHNSON. mif prize is to undervalue, or take in a wrong light. STEEVENS. 1 fpell him backward.] Alluding to the pra&ice of witches in uttering prayers. STEEVENS. a If black, why, Nature, drawing of an antick, Made a foul blot : - ] The antick was a buffoon character in the old Englifli farces, with a blacked face, and a patch-work habit. What I would obferve from hence is, that the name of antick or antique, given to this chara&er, ftiews that the people had fome traditional ideas of its being borrowed from the ancient mimes, who are thus defcribed by Apuleius, " Mimi centunculo, fuligine faciem obducli." WARBURTON. 3 If low, an agat very vilely cut ;] But why an agat^ if low ? For ABOUT NOTHING. 305 If fpeaking, why, a vane blown with all winds ; If filent, why, a block moved with none. So turns fhe every man the wrong fide out ; And never gives to truth and virtue, that Which fimplenefs and merit purchaieth. Urf. Sure, fure, fuch carping is not commendable. Hero. No ; not to be fo odd, and from all fafhions, As Beatrice is, cannot be commendable : But who dare tell her fo ? If I fhould fpeak, She'd mock me into air ; O, fhe Would laugh me Out of myfelf, prefs me to death with wit. Therefore let Benedick, like cover'd fire, Confume away in fighs, wafle inwardly : Jt were a better death than die with mocks ; Which is as bad as die with tickling. For what likenefs between a little man and an agat ? The ancients, indeed, ufed this ftone to cut upon ; but very exquifitely. I mako no queftion but the poet wrote : an aglet very viltly cut : An aglet was the tag of thofe points, formerly fo much in fafliion, Thefe tags were either of gold, filver, or brafs, according to the quality of the wearer ; and were commonly in the fliape of little images ; or at leaft had a head cut at the extremity. The French call them, aiguilkttes. Mezeray, fpeaking of Henry Illd's forrow for the death of the princefs of Conti, fays, " portant meme furies aiguillettes des petites fetes de mart" And as a tall man is before compared to a lance ill-headed ; fo, by the fame figure, a little man is very aptly liken'd to an aglet ill-cut. WARBURTOX. The old reading is, I believe, the true one. Vilely cut doea not mean aukwardly worked by a tool into fhape, but grotefquely veined by nature as it grew. To this circumflance, I fuppole* Drqyton alludes in his Mufes Elizlum : " With th' agate , very oft that is " Cutjlrangely in the quarry ; " As nature meant to (hew in this " How (he herfelf can vary." Pliny mentions that the fliapes of various beings are to be dif- covered in agates ; and Mr. Addifon has very elegantly compared Shakefpeare, who was born with all the feeds of poetry, to the- agate in the ring of Pyrrhus, which, as Pliny tells us, had the figure of Apollo and the nine Mufes in the veins of it, produced by the fpontaneous hand of nature, without any help from art. STEEVENS. VOL. II. X Urf. 3 o6 M U C H A D O Urf. Yet tell her of it ; hear what ihe will fay; Hero. No ; rather I will go to Benedick, And counfel him to fight againfl his paflion : And, truly, I'll devife fome honeft flanders To ftain my coufin with ; On doth not know r How much an ill word may empoifon liking. Urf. O, do not do your coufirt fuch a wrong* She cannot be fo much without true judgment, (Having fo fwift and excellent a wit, As Ihe is priz'd to have) as to refufe So rare a gentleman as fignior Benedick. Hero. He is the only man of Italy, Always excepted my dear Claudio. Urf. I pray you, be not angry with me, madam, Speaking my fancy ; iignior Benedick, For fhape, for bearing, 4 argument, and valour, Goes foremofl in report through Italy. Hero. Indeed, he hath an excellent good name. Urf. His excellence did earn it, ere he had it. When are you marry'd, madam ? Hero. Why, every day j to-morrow : Come, go in, I'll Ihew thee fome attires ; and have thy counfel, Which is the beft to furnifli me to-morrow. Urf. 5 She's lim'd, I warrant you ; we have caught her, madam. Hero. If it prove fo, then loving goes by haps : Some Cupid kills with arrows, fome with traps. [Exeunt. * argument] This word feems here to fignify difcourfe, or, thefowers of reafoning. JOHNSON. 5 She's linfdi ] She is enfnared and entangled as a fparrow with birdlime. JOHNSON. So, in the SpaniJ)) Tragedy : " Which fweet conceits are tin?d with fly deceits.'* The folio reads 1 --She's ttten. STEEVEKS. Seat. ABOUTNOTHI.NG. 307 Beatrice advancing. O Seat. 6 What fire is in mine ears ? Can this be true ? Stand I condemn'd for pride and fcorn fo much ? Contempt, farewel ! and maiden pride, adieu ! No glory lives behind the back of fuch. And, Benedick, love on, I will requite thee ; Taming my wild heart to thy loving hand 7 ; If thou doft love, my kindnefs lhall incite thee To bind our loves up in a holy band : For others fay, thou dofl deferve ; and I Believe it better than reportingly. [Exit. SCENE IL Leonato' s Hovfe. Enter Don Pedro, Claudia, Benedick, and Leonato. Pedro. I do but flay till your marriage be con- fummate, and then go I toward Arragon. Claud. I'll bring you thither, my lord, if you'll vouchfafe me. Pedro. Nay, that would be as great a foil in ther new glofs of your marriage % as to Ihew a child his new coat, and forbid him to wear it. I will only be bold with Benedick for his company ; for, from the crown of his head to the fole of his foot, he is all * WTjatfire is in mine ears? ] Alluding to a proverbial fay- ing of the common people, that their ears burn, when others are talking of them. WAR BUR TON. 7 faming my wild heart to thy loving hand\"\ This image is taken from falconry. She had been charged with being as wild as hag- gards of the rock ; (he therefore fays, that wild as her heart is, foe will tqme it to the hand. JOHNSON. 8 Nay, that would Ic as great a foil in the new glofs of your mar- riage, as to (hew a child his new coat, and forbid him to wear it. ] So, in Romeo and Juliet : " As is the night before fome feftival, " To an impatient child, that hath new robes, " And may not wear them." STEEVEN'J. X 2 mirth; 3 o3 M U C H A D O mirth; he hath twice or thrice cut Cupid's bow- firing, and the little hangman dare not moot at him 9 : he hath a heart as found as a bell, and his tongue is the clapper ; for what his heart thinks, his tongue fpeaks 1 . Bene. Gallants, I am not as I have been. Leon. So fay I ; methinks, you are fadder. Claud. I hope, he be in love. Pedro. Hang him, truant ; there's no true drop of blood in him, to be truly touch'd with love : if he be fad, he wants money. Bene. I have the tooth-ach. Pedro. Draw it. Bene. Hang it ! Claud. You mull hang it firft, and draw it after- wards. Pedro. What ? figh for the tooth-ach ? Leon. Where is but a humour, or a worm ? Bene. Well, Every one can mailer a grief, but he that has it. Claud. Yet fay I, he is in love. Pedro. * There is no appearance of fancy in him, unlefs it be a fancy that he hath to flrange difguifes ; as to be a Dutch man to-day ; a French man to-mor- the little hangman dare not jloot at him .-] This chara&er of Cupid came from the Arcadia of fir Philip Sidney : " Millions of yeares this old drivell Cupid lives ; " While itill more wretch, more wicked he doth prove: " Till now at length that Jove him office gives, " (At Juno's iuite who much did Argus love) " In this our world a hangman tor to be " Or" all thofe fooles that will have all they fee. n B. ii. ch. 14. FARMER. 1 as a lell, and bis tongue is the clapper ; &c.] A covert al~ lufion to the old proverb : " As the fool thinketh " So the bell clinketh." STEEVENS. * There is no appearance of fancy csV.] Here is a play upon the wordyJwry, which Shakefpeare ufes for love as well as for humour^ caprice, or afeftation. JOHNSON. row; ABOUT NO THING. 309 row ; or iri the fhape of two countries at once ; as a German from the waifl downward, all flops 3 ; and a Spaniard from the hip upward, no doublet : Unlefs he have a fancy to this foolery, as it appears he hath, he is no fool for fancy, as you would have it to ap- pear he is. Claud. If he be not in love with fome woman, there is no believing old figns : he brufhes his hat o' mornings : What fhould that bode ? Pedro. Hath any man feen him at the barber's ? Claud. No, but the barber's man hath been feen with him ; and the old ornament of his cheek hath already ftufFd tennis-balls. Leon. Indeed, he looks younger than he did, by the lofs of a beard. Pedro. Nay, he rubs hmfelf with civet : Can you fmell him out by that ? Claud. That's as much as to fay, The fweet youth's in love. Pedro, The greateft note of it, is his melancholy. Claud* And when was he wont to wafh his face ? Pedro. Yea, or to paint himfelf ? for the which, I hear what they fay of him. Claud. Nay, but his jefting fpirit ; which is now crept into a lute-firing, and now govern'd by flops. Pedro. Indeed, that tells a heavy tale for him : Conclude, conclude he is in love, Claud. Nay, but I know who loves him. Pedro. That would I know too ; I warrant, one that knows him not. Claud. Yes, and his ill conditions ; and, in defpight of all, dies for him. 3 all flops.] Skps are loofe breeches. So in Romeo and Juliet : " There's a French falutation for your French./?^,'* Again, in Northward Hoe, 1607: *' St. Anthony's fire light in your Spanifh Jlops." STEEVENS. X 3 Pedro. M U C H A D O Pedro. She fliall be buried with her face upwards * Ecne. Yet is this no charm for the tooth-ach. Old iignior * v Sbejhallle buried with her face iip-xards.] Thus the whola fet of editions : but what is there any way particular in this ? Are not all men and women buried fo ? Sure, the poet means, in, oppofition to the general rule, and by way of diftindtion, with her heels upwards, or face downwards. I have chofen the firil reading, becaufe I find it the expreffion in vogue in our author's time. THEOBALD. This emendation, which appears to me very fpecious, is reject- ed by Dr. Warburton. The meaning feems to be, that fhe who acted upon principles contrary to qthers, fhould be buried with the fame contrariety. JOHNSON. Theobald's conjecture may, however, befupported by a paflage in The Wild Goofe Chace of B. and Fletcher : " love cannot ftarve me ; " For if I die o'th' firft fit, I am unhappy, " And worthy to be buried with my heels upwards" Dr. Johnfon's explanation may likewiie be countenanced by a paflage in an old black letter book, without date, Lntitled, A merye Jejl of a Man that was catted HowLEGLAS, &c. " How Howleglas was buried." " Thus as Htnvleglas was deade, than they brought him to be buryed. And as they would have put the coffyn into the pytte wyth n cordes, the corde at the fete brake, fo that the fote of the cofFyn fell into the botome of the pyt, and the cofFyn flood bolt upryght in the middes of the grave. Then defired y e people that ftode about the grave that tyme, to let the cofFyn to ftande bolt upryght. For in his lyre tyme he was a very marvelous man &c. and fliall be buryed as marvailouily ; and in this maner they left Howleglas, &c." That this book was once popular, may be inferr'd from Btn Jonfon\ frequent allufions to it. So, in his Poetafter : " What do you laugh, Ovakglasf" ' Again, in the Fortunate I/les t a Mafque : " What do you think of Owlglas " Inftead of him ?" And again, in the Sad Shepherd. This hiftory was originally written in Dutch. The hero is there call'd Uylt-'fpegeL Under this title he is likewife introduced by Ben Jonfon in his Alcbymift^ and the Mafque and Paftoral al- ready quoted. Menage fpeaks of Ulefpicgle as a man famous for tromperics ingenieufes ; adds that his Life was tranflated into French, and quotes the title-page of it, I have another copy publifhed A Troves, in 1714, the title of which differs from that fet down by Menage. I think Shakefpeare could hardly allude to a circumftance mentioned by Pliny the NaturalUr, " that the dead corps of a ABOUT NOTHING. 311 ^gnior, walk afide with me ; I have ftudied eight or nine wife words to fpeak to you, which thefe ihobby-horfes muft not hear. [Exeunt Benedick and Leonato. Pedro. For my life, to break with him about Bea- trice. Claud. J Tis even fo: Hero and Margaret have by this time play'd their parts with Beatrice ; and then the two bears will not bite one another, when they meet. Enter Don John. John. My lord and brother, God fave you. Pedro. Good den, brother. John. If your leifure ferv'd, I would fpeak with you. P-edro. In private ? John. If it pleafe you : yet count Claudio may hear ; for what I would fpeak of, concerns him. Pedro. What's the matter ? John. Means your lordlhip to be marry'd to-mor- row ? [To Claudio. Pedro. You know, he does. John. I know not that, when he knows what I know. Claud. If there be any impediment, I pray you, dif- cover it. John. You may think, I love you not ; let that mafl floteth upon the water with the face upward, but contrary, wife women fwimme groveling^ &c." Holland's Tranllation, p. 165. The paflage, indeed, may mean onlyShe J7;a!I l~e buried in her lover's arms. So in The Winter's Talc. " Flo. What? likeacorfe? " Per. No, like a bank for love to lie and play on ; " Not like a corfe: or if, not to be buried^ " But quick and in my arms." STEEVENS. X 4 appear 3 X4 M U C H A D O appear hereafter, and aim better at me by that I now will manifeft : For my brother, I think, he holds you well ; and in dearnefs of heart hath holp to effect your enfuing marriage : furely, fuit ill fpent, and la- tour ill-beftow'd ! Pedro. Why, what's the matter? John. I came hither to tell you, and circumftances fhorten'd, (for fhe hath been too long a talking of) the lady is difloyal. Claud. Who ? Hero ? John. Even ihe; Leonato's Hero, your Hero, every man's Hero 5 . - Claud. Difloyal ? John. The word is too good to paint out her wickednefs ; I could fay, Ihe were worfe ; think you of a worfe title, and I will fit her to it. Won- der not till further warrant : go but with me to- night, you Jhall fee her chamber-window enter'd ; even the night before her wedding-day : if you love her then, to-morrow wed her ; but it would better fit your honour to change your mind. Claud. May this be fo ? Pedro. I will not think it. John. If you dare not truft that you fee, confefs not that you know : if you will follow me, I will Ihew you enough ; and when you have feen more, and heard more, proceed accordingly. Claud. If I fee any thing to-night why I fhould not marry her ; to-morrow, in the congregation, where I ihould wed, there will J Ihame her. Pedro. And, as I wooed for thee to obtain her, I will join with thee to difgrace her. Jcikn. I will difparage her no farther, till you are 5 Leonatd's Hero, your Hero, every man's Hero.~\ Dryden has tranfplanted this farcafm into his All for Lave : " Your Cleopatra; Dolabella's Cleopatra; every man's Cleo- patra." STEEVEXS. my ABOUT. NOTHING. 313 my witnefles : bear it coldly but till midnight, and let the iflue fhew itfelf. Pedro. O day untowardly turned \ Claud. O mifchief flrangely thwarting ! John. O plague right well prevented ! So you will fay, when you have feen the fequel. [Exeunt. SCENE III. The Street. Enter Dogberry and Verges^ with the Watch. Dogb. Are you good men and true ? Verg. Yea, or elfe it were pity but they fliould fuffer falvation, body and foul. Dogb. Nay, that were a punrmment too good for them, if they fhould have any allegiance in them, being chofen for the prince's watch. Verg. Well, give them their charge 6 , neighbour Dogberry. Dogb. Firft, who think you the moft defartlefs man to be conflable ? 1 Watch. Hugh Oatcake, fir, or George Seacoal ; for they can write and read. Dogb. Come hither, neighbour Seacoal : God hath blefs'd you with a good name : to be a well-favour'd man is the gift of fortune ; but to write and read comes by nature. 2 Watch. Both which, mafler conflable, Dogb. You have ; I knew it would be your an- 6 Well, give them their charge ,] To charge his fellows, feems to have been the regular part of the duty of the conftable of the Watch. So, in A New Trick to cheat the Devil, 1639: " My watch is fet charge given and all at peace." Again, in The InfatiatcCountefs, by Marfton, 1603 : "Come on, my hearts-; we are the city's fecurity I'll give you your charge." MALONE. fwer. 3 i4 M U C H A D O fwer. Well, for your favour, fir, why, give God thanks, and make no boaft of it; and for your writ- ing and reading, let that appear when there is 7 no need of fuch vanity. You are thought here to be the moft fenfelels and fit man for the conftable of the watch ; therefore bear you the lanthorn : This Is your charge ; you fliall comprehend all vagrom men ; you are to bid any man ftand, in the prince's name. 2 Watch. How if he will not iland ? Dogb. Why then, take no note of him, but let him go ; and presently call the reft of the watch together, and thank God you are rid of a knave. Verg. If he will not ftand when he is bidden, HCJS none of the prince's fubjects. Dogb. True, and they are to meddle with none but the prince's fubjedts : You fhall alib make no noife in the ftreets ; for, for the watch to babble and talk, is moft tolerable and not to be endur'd. 2, Watch, We will rather ileep than talk ; we know what belongs to a watch, Dogb. Why, you fpeak like an ancient and moft quiet watchman ; for I cannot fee how fleeping Ihould offend : only, have a care that your bills be not ftolen 8 : Well, you are to call at all the ale-houfes, and bid them that are drunk get them to bed. 2 Watch. 7 muted of fab vanity.'} Dogberry is only abfurd, not abfolutely out of his (cnfes. We fliould read therefore, more need. WAR EUR TOX. I believe the blunder was intended, and therefore am not will- ing to admit the propofed emendation. Both the 410 1600, and the firft folio, concur in this reading. STEEVENS. 8 bilh be not Jlolen :] A lill is ftill carried by the watchmen at Litchfield. It was the old weapon of the Engli'fh infantry, which, {ays Temple, gave the moft ghajlly and deplorable wounds. It may be called fccurit fedcata. JOHNSON. Thefe ABOUT NOTHING. 2 Watch. How if they will not ? Dogb. Why then, let them alone till they are fober ; if they make you not then the better anfwer, you may fay, they are not the men you took them for. 2 Watch. Well fir. Dogb. If you meet a thief, you may fufped: him, by virtue of your office, to be no true man ; and, for fuch kind of men, the lefs you meddle or make with them, why, the more is for your honefly. 2 Watch. If we know him to be a thief, fhall we not Jay hands on him ? Dogb. Truly, by your office you may; but, I think, they that touch pitch will be defil'd : the moft peaceable way for you, if you do take a thief, is, to let him ihew himfelf what he is, and fteal out of your company. Verg. You have always been call'd a merciful man, partner. Dogb. Truly, I would not hang a dog by my will ; much more a man who hath any honefly in him. Verg. 9 If you hear a child cry in the night, you muft call to the nurfe, and bid her ftill it. 2 Watch. How if the nurfe be aileep, and will not hear us ? Dogb. Why then, depart in peace, and let the child wake Thefe weapons are mentioned in Glapthorne's Wit in a Con- fiaMc, 1639 : ' Well faid, neighbours ; You're chatting wifely o'er your bilh and lanthorns, As becomes watchmen of discretion." Again, the fame play : fit ftill, and keep Again, ' Your rufty bills from bloodlhed. Arden of Fcverjlianiy 1592 : ' the watch 4 Are coming towr'd our houfe with glaives and bills.** The $i6 M U C H A D O wake her with crying : for the ewe that will not hear her lamb when it baes, will never anfwer a calf when he bleats. Verg* The following are examples of ancient lilh. _ STEEVENS. ' If you bear a child cry, &c.] It is not impoflible but that part of this fcene was intended as a burlefque on The Statutes of the Streets, imprinted by Wolfe, in 1595. Among thefe I find the following : 22. " No man (hall blowe any home in the night, within thi* cittie, or whiftle after the houre of nyne of the clock in the night, under paine of imprifonment. 23. ** No man fhall ufe to goe with vifoures, or difguifed by night, under like pain of imprifonment. 24. " Made that night-walkers, and evifdroppers, like punilh- ment. 25. " No hammar-man, as a fmith, a pewterer, a founder, and all artificers making great found, (hall not worke after the houre of nyne at the night, &c.'* " 30. No A B O U T N O T H I N G. 317 farg. "Tis very true. Dogb. This is the end of the charge. You, confta- ble, are to prefent the prince's own perfon ; if you meet the prince in the night, you may ftay him. Verg. Nay, by'rlady, that, I think, he cannot. Dogb. Five fhillings to one on't, with any man that knows the flatues, he may ftay him : marry, not with- out the prince be willing : for, indeed, the watch ought to offend no man ; and it is an offence to flay a man againft his will. Verg. By'rlady, I think, it be fo. Dogb. Ha, ha, ha! Well, mafters, goodnight: an there be any matter of weight chances, call up me : keep your fellows' counfels and your own, and good night. Come, neighbour. 2 Watch. Well, mafters, we hear our charge : let us go fit here upon the church-bench till two, arid then all to bed. Dogb. One word more, honeft neighbours : I pray you, watch about fignior Leonato's door; for the wedding being there to-morrow, there is a great coil to night : Adieu, be vigilant, I befeech you. [Exeunt Dogberry and Verges. Enter Borachio and Conrade. Bora. What ! Conrade, Watch. Peace, ftir not. Bora. Conrade, I fay ! Com: Here, man, I am at thy elbow. 30. " No man (hall, after the houre of nyne at night, keepe any rule, whereby any fuch fuddaine out-cry be made in the ftill of the night, as making any affray, or beating his wyfe, or fer- vant, or iinging, or revyling in his houfe, to the difturbaunce of his neighbours, under payne of iii s. iiii d. &c. &c." _ Ben Jonfon, however, appears to have ridiculed this fcene in the Indu&ion to his Bartholomew-Fair : '* And then a fubftantial -Match to have ilole in upon 'em, and ruken them away with mijlaking iiwvft, as the falhion is in the itage practice." STEEVEKS, Bora. 3 iS M U C H A D O Bora. Mafs, and my elbow itch'd ; I thought, there would a fcab follow ? Conr. I will owe thee an anfwer for that ; and now forward with thy tale. Bora. Stand thee clofe then under this pent-houfe, for it drizzles rain ; and I will, like a true drunkard, utter all to thee. Watch. [A/ide.~] Some treafon, matters ; yet fland clofe. Bora. Therefore know, I have earned of Don John a thoufand ducats. Conr. Is itpoffible that any villainy ihould befo dear? Bora. Thou Ihould'ft rather afk, if it were poflible 1 any villainy Ihould be forich : for when rich villains have need of poor ones, poor ones may make what price they will. Conr^ I wonder at it. Bora. That mews, 2 thou art unconfirm'd : Thou knowefl, that the fafhion of a doublet, or a hat, or a cloak, is nothing to a man. Conr. Yes, it is apparel. Bora. I mean, the falhion. Conr. Yes, the fafhion is the famiori. Bora. Turn ! I may as well fay, the fool's the fool* But fee'ft thou not, what a deformed thief this fafhion is? Watch. I know that Deformed ; he has been a vile thief thefe feven year ; he goes up and down like a gentleman : I remember his name. Bora. Didft thou not hear fome body ? Conr. No ; 'twas the vane on the houfe. Bora. Seeft thou not, I fay, what a deformed thief this fafhion is ? how giddily he turns about all the hot bloods, between fourteen and five and thirty ? 1 any villainy Jhouldlcfo rich :~\ The fenfe abfolutely requires us to read, villain. WAR BUR TON. The old reading may Hand. STEEVENS. ~ tbou art unconfirmed;] i. e. unpra&ifcd ia the ways of the world. WARBURTOX. fome- ABOUT NOTHING. JX9 Sometime, faihioning them like Pharaoh's foldiers in the reechy $ painting; fometime, like god Bei's priefts in the old church window ; 4 fometime, like the fhavcn Hercules in the s fmirch'd worm-eaten tapeftry, where his cod-piece feems as mafly as his club ? Com: All this I fee ; and fee, that the fafhion wears out more apparel than the man : But art not 3 reechy fainting;} is painting ftain'd byfmoke. So, ia Hans Beer Pot's Invijible Cemcdy, 1618 : " he look'd fo reechily ** Like bacon hanging on the chimney's roof." from Recan, Anglo-Saxon, to reek, fttmare. STEEVEXS. 4 fometime ', like the Jbaven Hercules &c.] By the Jbav en Her- cules \s meant Sampfon, the ufual fubjeft of old tapeftry. In thb ridicule on the fafhion, the poet has not unartfully given a ftroke at the barbarous workmanfhip of the common tapeftry hangings, then fo much in ufe. The fame kind of raillery Cervantes has employed on the like occafion, when he brings his knight and 'fquire to an inn, where they found the ftory of Dido and JSneaa reprefented in bad tapeftry. On Sancho's feeing the tears fall from the eyes of the forfaken queen as big as walnuts, he hopes that when their achievements became the general fubject for thefc forts of works, that fortune will fend them a better artiit. What authorifed the poet to give this name to Samfo jvas the folly of certain Chriftian mythologifts, who pretend thjt the Grecian Her- cules was the Jewifti Samibn. The retenue of our author is to be commended : The fober audience of that time would have been offended with the mention of a venerable name on fo light an oc- iion. Shakefpeare is indeed fometimes licentious in theie matters : But to do him juftice, he generally feems to have a fenfe of reli- gion, and to be under its influence. What Pedro fays of Bene- dick, in this comedy, may be well enough applied to him, The man doth fear God, however it feems not to be in him lyfome large jejts he will make. WAR BURTON. I believe that Shakefpeare knew nothing of thefe Chriftian my- thologifts, and by the jbaven Hercules meant only Hercules ivhrn jba*ved to make him took like a woman, while he remaiaed in the fervice of Omphale, his Lydian miftrefs. Had the Jbaven Her- cules been meant to reprefent Samfon, he would probably have been equipped with aja-iv~l>one inftead of a club. STEEVENS. 5 fMirJ?cf\ Smirch' d is foiled, obfcured. So, in As jo* Like //, aft I. fc. iii : " And with a kind of umber/w/rc/^ my face.*' STEEVEXS. thoil 3 2o M U C H A D O thou thyfelf giddy with the fafhion too, that thou haft ihifted out of thy tale into telling me of the faihion ? Bora. Not fo neither : but know, that I have to- night wooed Margaret, the lady Hero's gentlewo- man, by the name of Hero ; fhe leans me out at her miftrefs's chamber-window, bids me a thoufand times good night I tell this tale vilely : I ihould firft tell thee, how the prince, Claudio, and my mailer, planted and placed, and pofleffed by my mailer Don John, faw afar off in the orchard this amiable encounter. Conr. And thought they, Margaret was Hero ? Bora. Two of them did, the prince and Claudio ; but the devil my mailer knew me was Margaret ; and partly by his oaths, which firil poiTefs'd them, partly by the dark night, which did deceive them, but chiefly by my villainy, which did confirm any ilander that Don John had made, away went Clau- dio enraged ; fwore he would meet her, as he was ap- pointed, next morning at the temple, and there, be- fore the whole congregation, fhame her with what he faw o'er night, and fend her home again without a hufband. 1 Watch. We charge you in the prince's name, fland. 2 Watch. Call up the right mafler conflable : We have here recovered the moft dangerous piece of lechery that ever was known in the common- wealth. i Watch. And one Deformed is one of them ; I know him, he wears a lock . Cony. Mailers, mailers 7 . 2 Watch. 6 wears a locTt."\ So in the Return from ParnaJJus, 1600 : " He whofe thin fire dwells in a Imoky roofe, " Muft take tobacco, and muft wear a lock." See Dr. Warburton's Note, aft V. fc. i. STEEVENS. 7 Conr. Mafters, mafters, &c.] In former copies j Conr. ABOUT NOTHING. 321 2 Watch. You'll be made bring Deformed forth, I warrant you. Com: Matters, i Watch. Never fpeak; we charge you, let us obey you to go with us. Bora. We are like to prove a goodly commodity, being taken up of thefe mens bills. Cffnr.. A commodity in queftion, I warrant ou. Come, we'll obey you. SCENE IV. An Apartment in Leonato's Houfe. Enter Hero> Margaret, and Urfttla. Hero. Good Urfula, wake my coufin Beatrice, and defire her to rife. Urf. I will, lady. Hero. And bid her come hither. Urf. Well. [Exit Urfula. Marg. Troth, I think, your other 8 rabato were better. Hero. Conr. STafterS) 2 Watch. You'll be m.tde bring Deformed forth, I warrant you, Conr. MaJkrS) never fpeak , we charge you, let us obey you to go with us. The regulation which I have made in this laft fpeech, though againit the authority of all the printed copies, I flatter my felt' carries its proof with it. Conrade and Borachio are not defigacd to talk abfurd nonfenfe. It is evident therefore, that Conrade is attempting his own juftification ; but is interrupted in it by the impertinence of the men in office. THEOBALD. B rabato~\ A neckband ; a raft". Rabat, French. HANMER. Rabato, an ornament for the neck, a collar-band or kind of ruff. Fr. Rabat. Menage faith it comes from rabattre to put back, becaufe it was at firft nothing but the collar of the fhirt ojr fhift turn'd back towards the fhoulders. HA\VKINS. This article of drefs is frequently mentioned by our ancient comic writers. So, in Every Woman in her Humour, 1609: - " The tyre, the rabato, the loofe-bodied gown, &c." VOL. II. Y Again, 3 22 M U C H A D O Hero. No, pray thee, good Meg, I'll wear this. Marg. By my troth, it's not fo good ; and I war- rant, your coufin will fay fo. Hero. My coufin's a fool, and thou art another ; I'll wear none but this. Marg. I like the new tire within excellently, if the hair were a thought browner ; and your gown's a moft rare fafhion, i'faith. I faw the dutchefs of Milan's gown, that they praife fo. Hero. O, that exceeds, they fay. Marg. By my troth, it's but a night-gown in rc- fped: of yours : Cloth of gold, and cuts, and lac'd with filver ; fet with pearls, down fleeves, fide fleeves, and fkirts round, underborne with a blueilh tinfel : but for a fine, quaint, graceful, and excellent falhion, yours is worth ten on't. Hero. God give me joy to wear it, for my heart is exceeding heavy ! Marg. 'Twill be heavier foon, by the weight of a man. Hero. Fie upon thce ! art not afham'd ? Marg. Of what, lady ? of fpeaking honour- ably ? Is not marriage honourable in a beggar ? Is not your lord honourable without marriage ? I Again, in the comedy of Law Tricks, &c. 1608 : '* Broke broad jefts upon her narrow heel, " Pok'd her rabatofc and lurvay'd her^W/' Again, in Decker'.? Satlrcnuyljx, 1602 : " He would perftiade me that love was a rabato, and his reafon was, that a rabato \vas worn out with pinning, &c." Again, in Decker 's UntruJJing the Humourous Poet : " What a rniferable thing it is to be a noble bride ! There's fuch delays in riling, in fitting gowns, in pinning rcbqtoes, in peaking, &c." Again, in Decker's Guh Hornbook, 1609 : " your ftifF-necked rebatoes (that have more arches for pride to row under, than can ftand under five London-bridges) duril not then, &c." The fecond and laft of thefe paffiiges will likewife ferve for an. additional explanation ot the pokmg-Jiicks of Jleel, mentioned by Autolycus in the Winter's Tal^. S'iXEYKXs. think ABOUT NOTHING. 323 think you would have me fay, faving your reve- rence, a hujband: an bad thinking do not wreft true fpcaking, I'll offend no body : Is there any harm in the heavier for a hujband ? None, I think, an it be the right hufband, and the right wife ; otherwife, Vis light, and not heavy : Afk my lady Beatrice elfe, here fhe comes. Enter Beatrice* Hero. Good morrow, coz. Beat. Good morrow, fweet Hero. Hero. Why, how now ! do you fpeak in the fick tune ? Beat. I am out of all other tune, methihks. Marg: Clap us into 9 Light ^ love ; that goes 9 Ligbt o' love ; ] A tune fo called, which has been already mentioned by our authour. JOHNSON-. This tune is mentioned in Beaumont and Fletcher's Two No- lie Kinfmen. The gaoler's daughter, fpeaking of a horfe, feys : " He gallops to the tune of Light a? love." It is mentioned again in the T-wo Gentlemen of Verona : *' Beit ling it to the tune of Light o* L}-> " And in the NoMe Gentleman of Beaumont and Fletcher. STEEVEVS. Light (? loVbore, by Decker, 1616: " If you turn Turk again, &c." STEEVENS. Hero. ABOUT NOTHING. 325 Hero. Thefe gloves the count fent me, they are an excellent perfume. Beat. I am ftuff'd, coufin, I cannot fmell. Marg. A maid, and ftuff'd ! there's goodly catching of cold. Beat. O, God help me ! God help me ! how long have you profefs'd apprehenfion ? Marg. Ever fince you left it ; Doth not my wit be- come me rarely ? Beat. It is not feen enough, ypu Ihould wear it in your cap, By my troth, 1 am lick. Marg. Get you fome of this diftill'd Carduus Be- nedid:us, and lay it to your heart; it is the only thing for a qualm. Hero. There thou prick'ft her with a thiflle. Beat. Benediclus ! why Benediclus ? you have 4 fome moral in this Benedictus. Marg. Moral ? no by my troth, I have no moral meaning ; I meant, plain holy-thiftle. You may think, perchance, that I think you are in love : nay, by'r-lady, I am not fuch a fool to think what I lift ; nor I lift not to think what I can ; nor, indeed, I cannot think, if I would think my heart out o' think- ing, that you are in love, or that you will be in love, or that you can be in love : yet Benedick was fuch another, and now is he become a man : he fwore lie would never marry ; and yet now, in defpight of 4 fome moral] That is, fome fecret meaning, like the moral of .1 fable. JOHNSON, A moral is the fame as a moral'ly, one of the earlieft kinds of our dramatic performances. So, in Greene's Groatfwortb of Wit, 1621 : " It- was I that penned the Moral of Man's Wit, the Dialogue of Dives, &c." " The people make no eftimation " Of morals, teaching education." A player, on this occafion, is the fpeaker, and thefe perform- ances were full of double meanings and conceits. Again, in Decker's Guh Hornbook, 1609 : " bee it paftoral cr comedy, moral or tragedy. " STEEVEXS. Y 3 his 326 M U C H A D O his heart, * he eats his meat without grudging : and how you may be converted, I know not ; but, me- thinks, you look with your eyes as other women do. Beat. What pace is this that thy tongue keeps ? Miirg. Not a falfe gallop. Re-enter JJrfula., Urf. Madam, withdraw ; the prince, the count, fignior Benedick, Don John, and all the gallants of the town, are come to fetch you to church. Hero. Help to .drefs me, good coz, good Meg, good Urmia. [Exeunt* SCENE V. Another Apartment In Leonato's Houfc. Enter Lconato, with Dogberry and forges. Leon. What would you with me, honeft neigh- bour ? Dogb. Marry, fir, I would have fome confidence with you, that decerns you nearly. Leon. Brief, I pray you ; for you fee, 'tis a bnfy time with me. Dogb. Marry, this it is, fir. Verg. Yes, in truth it is, fir. Leon. What is it, my good friends ? Dogb. Goodman Verges, fir, fpeaks a little of the matter : an old man, fir, and his Avits are not fo blunt, as, God help, I would defirc they were ; but, in faith, honefl, as the fkin between his brows, 6 . 5 be cats his meat v:itl:oitt grudging :] I do not fee how tins is a proof of Benedick's change of mind. It would afford more proofr of amoroufnefs to lay, he cats not bis meat without grudging ; but it is itnpoiTible to fix the meaning of proverbial expreffions : per- haps, to eat meat without grudging, was the fame as, to do as others do, and the meaning is, be is content to live /'r catixg like other mor- tals, and ivill be content, notvoitbjlanding his coajh, like other mor- tal , to have a wife. JOHNSON. 6 hohejl as tvcjkin between l!s brcwi.'} This is a prover- bial expreflion. STEEVENS. Verg. A B O U T N O T H I N G. 327 Verg. Yes, I thank God, 7 I am as honeft as any man living, that is an old man., and no honefter than I. Dogb. Companions are odorous : palabras % neigh- bour Verges. Leon. Neighbours, you are tedious. Dogb. It pleafes your worihip to fay fo, but we are the poor duke's officers ; but, truly, for mine own part, if I were as tedious as a king, I could find in my heart to bellow it all of your worfhip. Leon. All thy tedioufnefs on me ! ha ! Dogb. Yea, and 'twere a thoufand times more than 'tis : for I hear as good exclamation on your worihip, as of any man in the city ; and though I be but a poor man, I am glad to hear it. Verg. And fo am I. Leon. I would fain know what you have to fay. Verg. Marry, fir, our watch to-night, excepting your worship's prefence, hath ta'en a coupk of as ar- rant knaves as any in Meffina. Dogb. A good old man, fir ; he will be talking ; as they fay, When the age is in, the wit is out ; God lielp us ! it is a world to fee ! * Well faid, ifaith, 7 I am as bonefi as any man living, that is art old man, and no ho- vefier tba/i /.] There is much humour, and extreme good fenfe under the covering of this blundering expreffion. It is a lly in- finantion that length of years, and the being much backn'ed-in the ways of men, as Shakefpeare expreifes it, take off the glofs of vir- tue, and b.rin.g much defilement on the manners. For, as a great wit f:iys, Touth is tbe /'eafon of virtue : corruptions gro-jj -.vltbjears, and I believe the oldeft rogue in England is tbe great eft. WAR BUR TON. Much of this is true, but I believe Shakefpeare did not intend to beftow all this reflection on the fpeaker. JOHNSON. s palalras. So, in the Taming the S'.'i-f-iv, the Tinker fays, pocas pallabrai, i.e. few words. A fcrap of Spanifl:, which might once have been current among the vulgar. STEEVENS. * It is a world to fee /] i. e. it is wonderful to fee. So, in All for Money, an old morality, 1^94: " It is a world tf> fee how greedy they be of money." The fame phrafe often occurs, wkh the fame meaning, in Holinfhed. STEEVENS. Y 4 neigh- 328 M U C H A D O neighbour Verges : well, God's a good man 9 ; an two men ride of a horfe, one mufl ride behind * : An honefl foul, i'faith, fir; by my troth he is, as ever broke bread : but, God is to be worfhipp'd ; All men are not alike ; alas good neighbour ! Leon. Indeed, neighbour, he comes too fhort of you. Dogb. Gifts, that God gives. Leon. I muft leave you. Dogb. One word, fir : our watch have, indeed, comprehended two afpicious perfons, and we would have them this morning examin'd before your wor- ihip. Leon. Take their examination yourfelf, and bring it me ; I am now in great hafte, as may appear unto you. Dogb. It fhall be fuffigance. Leon. Drink fome wine ere you go : fare you well. Enter a Mejfcnger. Meffl My lord, they flay for you to give your daughter to her hufband. 9 ^11, God's a good mam ;] So, in the old Morality or In- terlude of Lujly Juventus, 1561 : " He wyl fay, that God is a good Man, " He can make him no better, and fay the beft he can." Again, in A mery Gefte of Robyn Hoodc, bl. 1. no date : " For God is hold a right wife man, " And fo is his dame, &c." STEEVENS. 1 an two men ride &c.] This is not out of place, or without meaning. Dogberry, in his vanity of fuperiour pans, apologizing for his neighbour, obferves, that ef t-ivo men on an borfe, one muft ride behind. The firft place of rank or undemanding can belong but to one, and that happy one ought not to defpife his inferiour. JOHNSON. Shakefpeare might have caught this idea from the common feal of the Knights Templars ; the device of which was two riding t$ox one borfe. An engraving of the feal is preferved at the end of JV^tt. Paris Hift. Ang. 1640. STEEVENS. Leon. ABOUT NO THING. 329 (son. I will wait upon them ; I am ready. [Exit Leonato, Dogb. Go, good partner, go, get you to Francis Seacoal, bid him bring his pen and inkhorn to the jail ; we are now to examination thefe men. Verg. And we muft do it wifely. J)ogb. We will fpare for no wit, I warrant you ; here's that {touching his foreheaf\ fhall drive fome oif them to a non-com : only get the learned writer to fet down our excommunication, and meet me at the jail. [Exeunt. ACT IV. SCENE I. A Church. Enter Don Pedro, Don John, Leonato, Friar, Claudio, Benedick, Hero, and Beatrice. Leon. Come, friar Francis, be brief ; only to the plain form of marriage, and you lhall recount their particular duties afterwards. Friar. You come hither, my lord, to marry this lady ? Claud. No. Leon. To be marry'd to her, friar ; you come to marry her. Friar Lady, you come hither to be marry'd to this count ? Hero. I do. Friar. If either of you know any inward impedi- ment why you Ihould not be conjoined, I charge you, on your fouls, to utter it. Claud. Know you any, Hero ? Hero. None, my lord. Friar. Know you any, count ? Leon. I dare make his anfvver, none. Lfort. 330 M U C H A D O Claud. O what men dare do ! what men may do ! what Men daily do ! not knowing what they do ! Eene, How now ! Interjections ? Why, then 2 fome be of laughing, as, ha ! ha ! he ! Claud. Stand thee by, friar : Father, by your leave ; Will you with free and unconflrained foul Give me this maid your daughter ? I Leon. As freely, fon, as God did give her me, Claud. And what have I to give you back, whofe worth May counterpoife this rich and precious gift ? Pedro. Nothing, unlefs you render her again. Claud* Sweet prince, you learn me noble thankful- nefs. There, Leonato, take her back again ; Give not this rotten orange to your friend ; She's but the fign and femblance of her honour : * Behold, how like a maid me blulhes here : O, what authority and {hew of truth Can cunning fin cover itfelf withal ! Gomes not that blood, as modeft evidence, To xvitnefs fimple virtue ? Would you no:t fwear, All you that lee her, that fhe were a maid, By thefe exterior mews ? . But me is none : She knows the heat of a luxurious bed * : Her blum is guiltinefs, not modefty. Leon. What do you mean, my lord ? Claud. Not to be marry'd, not knit my foul To an approved wanton. Leon. Dear my lord, If you in your own proof 4 , TT 2 fame le of laughing,] This is a quotation from the Accidence. JOHNSON. 3 luxurious led :~\ That is, IftfclvloiU. Luxury is the coifeflbr's term for unlawful pleafures or the lex. JOHNSON'. Eo ; in K. Lear: " To't, luxury, pell-me'l, for I lack foldiers." STEEVENS. * J)ar my lort?, if you in jour owi proof,] I am furpriz'd the poetical ABOUT NOTHING. 331 Have vanquifh'd the refiftance of her youth, And made defeat of her virginity, Claud. I know what you would fay; If I have known her, You'll fay, fhe did embrace me as a hufband, And fo extenuate the forehand fin : No, Leonatq, I never tempted her with word too large s ; But, as a brother to his filter, fhew'd Bafhful iincerity and comely love. Hero. And feem'd I ever otherwife to you ? Claud. Out on thy feeming ! I will write againft it 6 : poetical editors did not obferve the lamenefs of this verle. It evi- dently wants a fyllable in the laft foot, which I have reftored by a word, which, Iprefume, the firft editors might hefitate at ; though it is a very proper one, and a word elfewhere ufed by our author. Befides, in the paflage under examination, this word comes in al- moft neceflarily, as Claudio had^faid in the line immediately pre- ceeding : Not knit my foul to an approved wanton. THEOBALD* I wonder Mr. Theobald's change of proof into approof, has been fo eafily adopted by the later editors. His argument for the change, drawn from the lamenefs of the verfe, has no foundation. The lines, according to the reading of the old copies, may be thus diftributed : Claud. Not to be married, not to knit my foul To an approved wanton. Leon. Dear my lord, If you, in your own proof, Have vanquifh'd the refiftance of her youth, &c. In your oiv n proof may fignify in your mua trial of her. TYRWHITT. I have followed Mr. Tyrwhitt's regulation, which is undoubt- edly right. STEEVENS. 5 word too large',] So he ufes large jejls in this play, for licentious, not reftrained within due bnnnds. JOHNSON. 6 1 will write again/lit:] What? a libel ; nonfenfe. We fhould read : / -will rate againjl it : i. e. rail or revile. WARBURTON. As tofub/trike to any thing is to allow it, fo to write a^ainjl 13 to difallovj or deny. JOHNSON. You 332 M U C H A D O You feem to me as Dian in her orb ; As chaite as is the bud 7 ere it be blown ; But you are more intemperate in your blood Than Venus,, or thofe pamper'd animals That rage in favage fenfuality. Hero. Is my lord well, that he doth fpeak fo wide ? Leon. Sweet prince, why fpeak not you ? Pedro. What fhould I fpeak ? I fland difhonour'd, that have gone about To link my dear friend to a common flale. Leon. Are thefe things fpoken; or do I but dream ? John. Sir, they are fpoken, and thefe things arc true. Bene. This looks not like a nuptial, Hero. True, O God ! Claud. Leonato, fland I here ? Is this the prince ? Is this the prince's brother ? Is this face Hero's ? Are our eyes our own ? Leon. All this is fo ; But what of this, my lord ? Claud. Let me but move one queflion to your daughter ; And, by that fatherly and kindly power * That you have in her, bid her anfwer truly. Leon. I charge thee do fo, as thou art my child, Hero. O God defend me ! how I am befet ! What kind of catechizing call you this ? Claud. To make you anfwer truly to your name, Hero. Is it not Hero ? Who can blot that name With any jufl reproach ? Claud Marry, that can Hero; Hero itfelf can blot out Hero's virtue. What man was he talk'd with you yeflernight Out at your window, betwixt twelve and one ? Now, if you are a maid, anfwer to this. 7 clafle as the bud ] Before the air has tailed its fvvcetnefs. JOHNSON. * kindly pc "Mtr\ That is, natural power. Kind 'is nature. JOHNSON. Hero. ABOUT NOTHING. 333 Hero. I talk'd with no man at that hour, my lord. Pedro. Why, then you are no maiden. Leonato, I am forry, you muft hear ; Upon mine honour, Myfelf) my brother, and this grieved count, Did fee her, hear her, at that hour laft night, Talk with a ruffian at her chamber-window ; Who hath, indeed, moft like a liberal villain 9 , Confefs'd the vile encounters they have had A thoufand times in fecret. John. Fie, fie ! they are Not to be nam'd, my lord, not to be fpoke of; There is not chaftity enough in language, Without offence, to utter them : Thus, pretty lady, I am forry for thy much mifgovernment. Claud. O Hero ! what a Hero hadft thou been l If half thy outward graces had been plac'd About the thoughts and counfels of thy heart ! But, fare thee well, moft foul, moft fair! farewel, Thou pure impiety, and impious purity ! For thee I'll lock up all the gates of love, And on my eye-lids lhall conjecture hang, To turn all beauty into thoughts of harm, And never fhall it more be gracious. 9 liberal villain,"] Liberal here, as in many places of thefe plays, means, frank beyond bonefy or decency. Free of tongue. Dv< Warburton unneceflarily reads, Illiberal. JOHNSON. So, in the Fair Maid of Brijlovj, 1605 : " But Vallinger, moft like a liberal villain " Did give her fcandalous ignoble terms." Again, in The Captain, by B. and Fletcher : " And give allowance to your liberal jefts " Upon his perfon." Again, in Harold : " That liberal (hepherds give a grofler name.'* STEEVENS\ This fenfe of the word liberal is not peculiar to Shakefpeare. John Taylor, in his Suite concerning Players, complains of the *' many afperfions very liberally, unmannerly, and ingratefully beftowed upon him." FARMER. 1 What a Hero baJft tbou been] I am afraid here is in- tended a poor conceit upoo the word Hero. JOHNSON. 334 M U C H A D O Leon. Hath no man's dagger here a point for me 2 ? Beat. Why, how now, coufin, wherefore fink you down ? [Hero Jwoons. John. Come, let us go ; thefe things, come thus to light, Smother her fpirits up* [Exeunt Don Pedro, Don JoTon^ and Claud'w* Bene. How doth the lady ? Beat. Dead, I think ; Help, uncle ; Hero ! why, Hero ! uncle ! fignior Benedick ' friar ! Leon. O fate ! take not away thy heavy hand ! Death is the faireft cover for her mame, That may be wilh'd for. Beat. How now, coufin Hero ? Friar. Have comfort, lady. Leon. Doft thou look up ? Friar. Yea; Wherefore mould me not ? Leon. Wherefore ? Why, doth not every earthly- thing Cry mame upon her ? Could me here deny The ftory that is printed in her blood 3 ? Do not live, Hero ; do not ope thine eyes : For did I think, thou would'fl not quickly die, Thought I, thy fpirits were Wronger than thy mames, Myfelf would, on the rearward of reproaches, Strike at thy life. Griev'd I, I had but one ? Chid I for that at frugal nature's frame 4 ? O, one * Hath no man 3 dagger here a point for me?~\ " A thoufand daggers, all in honed hands ! " And have not I a friend to flick one here ?" Venice Prefer^d. SrEEVENS. 3 Theftory that is printed in her blood?} That is, the ftory vjljicb her llujhes difcover to be true. JOHXSON. 4 Griev'd I, I bad but one ? ChiJ I for that at frugal nature *s frame ? I've one too much ly thee ! ] The meaning of the fecond line, according to the prefent reading is this, Chiii I at frugal nature that fcefait me a girl and not a boy ? But ABOUT NOTHING. 335 O, one too much by thee ! Why had I one ? Why ever waft thou lovely in my eyes ? Why had I not, with charitable hand, Took up a beggar's iflue at my gates ; Who fm eared' thus, and mir'd with infamy, I might have faid, No part of it is mine, This jhame derives itjelf from unknown loins ? But mine, and mine I lov'd, and mine I prais'd, And mine that I was proud on 4 ; mine fo much, Thar }v.'^'\ But this is not what he chid nature for ; if he hlir.felf may be be- lieved, it was became (he had given him ItU one : and in that he owns he did foolifhly, for he no;v finds he had one too much. He called her frugal, theretore, in giving him but one child. (For to call her fo, becaufe fhe chofe to fend a girl rather than a boy, would be ridiculous.) So that we mult certainly rend: Chid I for this tit frugal fiat tire's fraine I 3. e. rcfraine, or keeping back her further favour ~s, flopping her baud, tn e removed by fo violent an effort as the introduction of a new word offenfively mutilated. JOHNSON. Frame is contrivance, order, difpofition of things. So, ill the Death of Robert Earl of Huntington, 1603 : " And theretore feek to fet each thing in frame" Again, in Holinfhed's Chronicle, p. 55 : " there was no man that iludied to bring the unrulie to frame" Again, in Daniel's f^erj'cs on Montaigne : " extracts of men, " Though in a troubled frame confufedly fet.' r Again, in Much Ado about Nothing : Whofe fpirits toil in frame of villnnies. STEEVE.NS, 4 But mine, and mine I lov'd, and mine Ipraifj, And mine that 1 -TI'^J proud on ; J The fenfe requires that we ihould read, as in thefe three places. The realbning of the fpeaker itands thus, Had this been ny adopt- ed child, her J/:ame would not have rebounded on me. But this child vjaimiue t as mine I ioved her, praifid her, was frond of her : con- fequently, 33 6 M U C H A D O That I myfelf was to myfelf not mine^ Valuing of her ; why, fhe-O, me, is fallen Into a pit of ink ! that the wide fea Hath drops too few to wafh her clean again ; And fait too little, which may feafon give To her foul tainted flelh I Bene. Sir, fir, be patient : For my part, I am fo attir'd in wonder, I know not what to fay. Beat. O, on my foul, my coufin is bely'd ! Bene. Lady, were you her bedfellow lalt night ? Beat. No, truly, not ; although, until laft nightj I have this twelvemonth been her bedfellow. Leon. Confirm'd, confirm'd ! O, that is ftrongef made, Which was before barr'd up with ribs of iron ! Would the two princes lie ? and Claudio lie ? Who lov'd her fo, that, fpeaking of her foulnefs^ Waih'd it with tears ? Hence from her ; let her die* Friar. Hear me a little ; For I have only been lilent fo long, And given way unto this courfe of fortune, By noting of the lady : I have mark'd A thoufand blufhing apparitions To Hart into her face ; a thoufand innocent lhames In angel whitenefs bear away thole blufhes ; And in her eye there hath appear'd a fire, To burn the errors that thefe princes hold Againil her maiden truth : Call me a fool ; Truft not my reading, nor my obfervation, Which with experimental feal doth warrant The tenour of my book ; truft not my age$ fequently, as I claimed the glory t I miiji needs lefubjeElcd to tbejotutt'ti &c. WAR BURTON. Even of this fmall alteration there is no need. The fpeaker litters his emotion abruptly, Bat mine, and mine that / loved, &c. by an ellipfis frequent, perhaps too frequent, both m verfe and profe. JOHNSON, My ^ ABOUT NOTHING. j 3 f My reverence, calling, nor divinity, If this fweet lady lie not guiltlefs here Under fome biting error. Leon* Friar, it cannot be : Thou feeft, that all the grace that Ihe hath left, Is, that Ihe will not add to her damnation A fin of perjury ; Ihe not denies it : Why feek'ft thou then to cover with excufe That, which appears in proper nakednefs ? Friar. Lady^ what man is he you are accus'd of * ? Hero. They know, that do accufe me ; I know none : If I know more of any man alive^ Than that which maiden modefly doth warrant^ Let all my fins lack mercy ! -O my father, Prove you that any man with me convers'd At hours unmeet* or that I yefternight Maintain'd the change of words with any creature, Refufe me, hate me, torture me to death. Friar. There is fome flrange mifprifion in the princes. Bene. Two of them have the very bent of ho nour 6 j - And 5 Friar. W7jat man is be you areacwSJof?] The friar had jufl before boafted his great fkill in filhing out the truth. And, indeed, he appears by this queftion to be no fool; He was by, all the while at the accufation, and heard no names mentioned. Why then fliould he afk her what man (he was accufed of? But in this lay the fubtilty of his examination. For, had Hero been guilty, it Was very probable that in that hurry and confuiion of fpirits, into which the terrible infult of her lover had thrown her, (he would never have obferved that the man's name was not mentioned ; and fo, on this queftion, have betrayed herfelf by naming theper- fbn Hie was confcious of an affair with. The friar obferved this, and fo concluded, that, were (he guilty, (he would probably fall into the trap he laid for her. 1 only take notice of this to (hew how* admirably well Shakelpeare knew how to fuftaiu his characters. WARBURTOX. 6 bent of honour ;] Bent is ufed by our authour for the Utmoft degree of any palfion, or mental quality. In this play be- Vot. II* Z fere 5 >8 M U C H A D O And if their wifdoms be mifled in this, The practice of it lives in John the baftard, Whole fpirits toil in frame of villainies. Leon. I know not ; If they fpeak but truth of her, Thefe hands fhall tear her ; if they wrong her ho- nour, The proudeft of them ihall well hear of it. Time hath not yet fo dry'd this blood of mine, Nor age fo eat up my invention, Nor fortune made fuch havock of my means, Nor my bad life reft me fo much of friends, But they fhall find, awak'd in fuch a kind, Both flrength of limb, and policy of mind, Ability in means, and choice of friends, To quit me of them throughly. Friar. Paufe a while, And let my counfel fway you in this cafe. Your daughter here the princes left for dead 7 ; Let her awhile be fecretly kept in, And publilh it, that Ihe is dead indeed : Maintain a mourning 8 oilentation ; And on your family's old monument Hang mournful epitaphs, and do all rites That appertain unto a burial. Leon. What Ihall become of this ? What will this do? fore, Benedick fays of Beatrice, her affettion has in full lent. The exprelEon is derived from archery ; the bow has its bent, when it is drawn as far as it can be. JOHNSON. 7 Tour daughter here the princes left for dead;] In former copies : Tour daughter here the princefs (left for dead; But how comes Hero to ftart up a princefs here ? We have no in- timation, of her father being a prince ; and this is the firil and only time {he is complimented with this dignity. The remotion of a (ingle letter, and of the parenthefis, will bring her to her own rank, and the place to its true meaning : Tour daughter here the princes left for dead ; i. e. Don Pedro, prince of Arragon ; and his baftard brother, who is likewife called a prince. THEOBALD. 8 oftentation .-] Show; appearance. JOHNSON. Fria ABOUT NOTHING. 339 Friar. Marry, this, well carry'd, fhall on her be- half Change flander to remorfe ; that is fome good : But not for that, dream I on this ftrange courfe, But on this travail look for greater birth. She dying, as it muft be fo maintain'd, Upon the inftant that fhe was accus'd, Shall be lamented, pity'd, arid exeus'd, Of every hearer : For it fo falls out, That what we have we prize not to the worth, Whiles we enjoy it ; but being lack'd and loft, Why, then we rack the value 9 ; then we find The virtue, that pofieffion would not Ihew us Whiles it was ours : So will it fare with Claudio : W^hen he fhall hear fhe dy'd upon his words, The idea of her life fhail fweetly creep Into his ftudy of imagination ; And every lovely organ of her life Shall come apparel'd in more precious habit, More moving, delicate, and full of life, Into the eye and profpedl: of his foul, Than when fhe liv'd indeed : then fhall he mourn, (If ever love had interefl in his liver) And wilh he had not fo accufed her ; No, though he thought his accufation true. Let this be fo, and doubt not but fuccefs Will fafhion the event in better fhape Than I can lay it down in likelihood. But if all aim but this be levell'd falfe, The fuppofition of the lady's death 9 ive rack the value ; ] i.e. We exaggerate the value. The allufion is to rack-rents. The fame kind of thought occurs in Antony and Cleopatra : " What our contempts do often hurl from us, " We vvifh it ours again." STEEVENS. The following paflkge in the Widows Tears by Chapman, 1612, ftrengthens Mr. Steevens's interpretation : " One joint of him I loft, was much more worth " Than the ratkt value of thy entire body." MA LONE. Z 2 Will 34 o M U C H A D O Will quench the wonder of her infamy : And, if it fort not well, you may conceal her, (As beft befits her wounded reputation) In fome reclufive and religious life, Out of all eyes, tongues, minds, and injuries. BCHC. Signior Leonato, let the friar advife you : And though, you know, my inwardnefs and love Is very much unto the prince and Claudio, Yet, by mine honour, I will deal in this As fecretly, and juftly, as your foul Should with your body. Leon. Being that I flow in grief, The fmalleil twine may lead me '. Friar. "Tis well consented ; prefently away ; For to ft range fores flrangely they flrain the cure. Come, lady, die to live : this wedding day, Perhaps, is but prolong'd ; have patience, and endure. [Exeunt. Manent Benedick and Beatrice *. Bene. Lady Beatrice, have you wept all this while ? Beat. Yea, and I will weep a while longer. Benf. 1 Thefmalleft fovine may lead mc.~\ This is one of our authour's obfervations upon life. Men overpowered with diftrefs, eagerly liften to the firft offers of relief, clofe with every fcheme, and be- lieve ever)' promife. He that has no longer any confidence in himfelf, is glad to repofe his truit in any other that will under- take to guide him. JOHNSON. 1 Manent Benedick and Beatrice.] The poet, in my opinion, has fliewn a great deal of addrefs in this fcene. Beatrice here engages her lover to revenge the injury done her coulin Hero : and with- out this very natural incident, confidering the character of Bea- trice, and that the ftory of her pallion for Benedick was all a fa- ble, fhe could never have been eafily or naturally brought to cou- feis {he loved him, notwithstanding all the foregoing preparation. And yet, on this confeiuon, in this very place, depended the whole tucceis of the plot upon her and Benedick. For had fhe not owned her love here, they muft have foon found out the trick, and then the defign of bringing them together had been defeated ; and. ABOUT NOTHING. 34 i Seae. I will not defire that. Beat. You have no reafon, I do it freely. Seng. Surely, I do believe your fair coufin is wrong'd. Seat. Ah, how much might the man deferve of me, that would right her ! Bern. Is there any way to fhew fuch friendlhip ? .Beat A very even way, but no fuch friend. Bene. May a man do it ? Beat. It is a man's office, but not yours. Bene. I do love nothing in the world fo well as you ; Is not that ftrange ? Beat. As ilrange as the thing I know not : It were as poffible for me to fay, I loved nothing fo well as you : but believe me not ; and yet I lie not ; I con- fefs nothing, nor I deny nothing : I am forry for my coufin. Bene. By my fword, Beatrice, thou tov'fl me. Beat. Do not fwear by it, and eat it. Bene. I will fwear by it, that you love me ; and I will make him eat it, that fays, I love not you. Beat. Will you not eat your word ? Bene. With no fauce that can be devis'd to it : I proteft I love thee. Beat. Why then, God forgive me ! Bsne. What offence, fweet Beatrice ? Beat. You have ftaid me in a happy hour ; I was about to proteft, I lov'd you. Bene. And do it with all thy heart. Beat. I love you with fo much of my heart, that none is left to proteft. Bene. Come, bid me do any thing for thee. Beat. Kill Claudio. Bene. Ha ! not for the wide world. Beat. You kill me to deny it : Farewell. and {he would never have owned a pafficn {he had been only tricked into, had not her defire of revenging her coufin's wrong made her drop her capricious humour at once. WA&BVRTOX. Z 3 Bent. 34* M U C H A D O Bern. Tarry, fweet Beatrice. Beat. I am gone, though I am here J ; There is no love in you : nay, I pray you, let me go. Bene. Beatrice, Beat. In faith, I will go. Bene. We'll be friends firft. Beat. You dare eaiier be friends with me, than fight with mine enemy. Bene. Is Claudio thine enemy ? Beat. Is he not approved in the height a villain 4 , that hath flander'd, fcorn'd, difhonour'd my kinfwo- man ? O, that I were a man ! What, bear her in hand until they come to take hands ; and then with publick accufation, uncover'd flander, unmitigated rancour, O God, that I were a man ! I would eat his heart in the market-place. Bene. Hear me, Beatrice. Beat. Talk with a man out at a window ? a pro- per faying ! Bene. Nay, but Beatrice; Beat. Sweet Hero ! ftie is wrong'd, Ihe is flander'd, fhe is undone. Bene. Beat Beat. Princes and counties y ! Surely, a princely teftimony, a goodly count-comfeft 6 ; a fweet gallant, furely ! O that I were a man for his fake ! or that I had any friend would be a man for my fake ! But manhood is melted into curtefies, valour into com- pliment, and men are only turned into tongue, and 3 I am gone i though I am here : ] i.e. I am out of your mind already, though I remain here in perfon before you. STEEVENS. 4 in. the height a villain,] So in Hen. VIII : " He's traitor to the height" " In pracipiti vitium ftetit." STEEVENS. 3 and counties ! J County was the ancient general term for a nobleman. See a note on the County Paris in Romeo and Juliet. STEEVENS. 6 a goodly cqunt-comfeft j] i.e. a fpecious nobleman made out of fugar. STEEVENS. trim ABOUT NOTHING. 343 trim ones too 7 : he is now as valiant as Hercules, that only tells a lye, and fwears it : I cannot be a man with wifliing, therefore I will die a woman with grieving. Bene. Tarry, good Beatrice : By this hand, I love thee. Seat. Ufe it for my love fome other way than fwearing by it. Bene. Think you in your foul, the count Claudio hath wrong'd Hero ? Beat. Yea, as fure as I have a thought, or a foul. Bene. Enough, I am engag'd, I will challenge him ; I will kifs your hand, and fo leave you : By this hand, Claudio fhall render me a dear account : As you hear of me, fo think of me. Go comfort your coufin : I muft fay, ihe is dead ; and fo farewell. [Exeunt. SCENE II . A Prifon. Enter Dogberry, forges, Borachlo, Conrade, the Town- Clerk and Sexton in gowns. Dogb. Is our whole diflembly appear'd ? Verg. O, a flool and a cufliion for the fexton ! Sexton. 7 and men are only turned into tongue, and trim ones too \\ Mr. Heath would read tongues, but he miftakes the conftru&ion of the fentence, which is not only men, but trim ones, are turned into tongue, i.e. not only common but clever men, &c. STEEVENS. 8 Scene II. The perfons, throughout this fcene, have been ftrangely confounded in the modern editions. The firft eiror has been the introduction of a Tovjn~Clerk, who is, indeed, men- tioned in the Aage-diredion, prefixed to this fcene in the old editions, (Enter the Conftables, Borackio, and the Towne-clerke in. gowxety but no where elfe ; nor is there a lingle fpeech afcribed to him in thofe editions. The parr, which he might reafonably have been expecled to take upon this occafion, is performed by ike SfAtoa ', who aiiifts at. or vuihc.v directs, the examinations ; Z 4 fets 3 44 M U C H A D O Sexton. Which be the malefactors ? Dogb. Marry, that am I and my partner. Verg. Nay, that's certain ; we have the exhibition to examine, Sexton. But which are the offenders that are to bo examin'd ? let them come before mailer conftable. Dogb. Yea, marry, let them come before me. ? What is your name, friend ? Bora. Borachio. Dogb. Pray, write down Borachio. Yours, firrah ? Conr. I am a gentleman, fir, and my name is Con- rade. Dogb. Write down matter gentleman Conrade,-^ Matters, do you ferve God ? Both. Yea, fir, we hope 9 . Dogb. Write down that they hope they ferve God : and write God firft ; for God defend but God ihould go before fuch villains ! Mailers, it is proved fets them down in writing, and reports them to Leonato. It is probable, therefore, I think, that the Sexton has been {Hied the Timvit-clerkj in the frage-dire&ion abovementioned, from his do- ing the duty of fuch an oiticer. But the editors, having brought loth Sexton and Town-clerk upon the ftage, were unwilling, as it feerns, that the latter ihould be a mute peribnage ; and there- fore they have put into his mouth almofl all the abFurditics which the poet certainly intended for his ignorant conftable. To rec- tify this confufion, little more is necefiary than to go back to the old editions, 'remembering that the names of Kempe and Cow- ley , two celebrated aftors of the time, are put in this fcene, for the names of the perfons reprefented ; viz. Kempt for Dogberry, and Coivley for Merges. TYRWHITT. I have followed Mr, Tyrwhitt's regulation, which is undoubt- edly juft> but have left Mr. Theobald's notes as I found them. STEEVEXS. 9 Both. Tea, Jir, we lope. To Cl. Write dovon that they hope they Jews God : and write God fi r fi ', for God defend but God jhould go before fuch 'villains ! ~^ This fhort paflage, which is truly humourous and in character, I have added from the old quarto. Betides, it fupulies a defect : for, without it, the Town Clerk afks a queftion of the prifoners, and goes on without Haying for any anfwer to it, THEOBALD. already ABOUT NOTHING. 345 already that you are little better than falfe knaves, and it will go near to be thought fo Ihortly ; How anfwer you for yourfelves ? Conr. Marry, fir, we fay, we are none. Dogb. A marvellous witty fellow, I aflure you ; but I will go about with him. Come you hither, lirrah ; a word in your ear, fir ; I fay to you, it is thought you are falfe knaves. Bora. Sir, I fay to you, we are none. Dogb. Well, ftand afide. 'Fore God, they arc both in a tale 9 :- Have you writ down that they arc none. Sexton. Mafler conftable, you go not the way to examine ; you muft call the watch that are their ao cufers. 1 Dogb. Yea, marry, that's the efteft way : Let the watch come forth : Mailers, I charge you in the prince's name accufe thefe men. 9 'Fore God, they are both in a tale:"] This is an admirable ftroke of humour : Dogberry fays of the prisoners that they are falfe knaves, and from that denial of the charge, which one in his wits could not but be fuppofed to make, he infers a commu- nion of couniels, and records it in the examination as an evi- dence of their guilt. SIR J. HAWKINS. 1 To. Cl. Tea, marry, that's the eafieft ivay: Let the watch come forth:] This eajieft, is a fophiftication of our modern editors, who were at a lofs to make out the corrupted reading of the old copies. The quarto in 1 600, and the firft and fecond editions in folio, all concur in reading ; Tea, marry, that's the elteit ivay t &c. A letter happened to flip out at prels in the firft edition; and 'twas too hard a talk for the fubfequent editors to put it in, or guefs at the v/ord under this accidental depravation. There is no doubt but the author wrote, as I have reftor'd the text j Tea, marry, that's the deficit -uw, &c. i. e. the readieft, moit commodious way. The word is pure Saxon. Deaphce, debite, congrue, duely, fitly, Decaerhe, opportune, commode, fitly, conveniently, feafonably, in good time, coinmodioufly. Vid. Spelman's Saxon GlofT. THEOBALD. Mr. Theobald might have recollefted the word deftly in Macbeth ; " Thy felt" and ornce deftly ihow." Shakefpeare, I fuppole, defign'd Dogberry to corrupt_this word as well as many others. STEEVENS. Enter 34<* M U C H A D O Enter Watchmen, i Watch. This man faid, fir, that Don John, the prince's brother, was a villain. Dogb. Write down prince John a villain : Why this is flat perjury, to call a prince's brother villain. Bora. Mafler conftable, Dogb. Pray thee, fellow, peace ; I do not like thy look, I promife thee. Sexton. What heard you him fay elfe ? 2, Watch. Marry, that he had receiv'd a thoufand ducats of Don John, for aceufing the lady Hero wrongfully. Dogb. Flat burglary, as ever was committed, Verg. Yea, by the mafs, that it is. Sexton. What elfe, fellow ? 1 Watch. And that count Claudio did mean, upon his words, to difgrace Hero before the whole afiem- bly, and not marry her. Dogb. O villain ! thou wilt be condemned into everlafting redemption for this. Sexton, What elfe ? 2 Watch. This is all. Sexton. And this is more, maflers, than you can deny. Prince John is this morning fccretly ftolen away ; Hero was in this manner accus'd, in this very manner refus'd, and upon the grief of this, fud- denly dy'd. Matter conftable, let thefe men be bound, and brought to Leonato's ; I will go before, and Ihew him their examination. [Exit* Dogb. Come, let them be opinion'd. Verg. Let them be in hand *. Conr< * Sexton. Let them be in the bands of coxcomb. "\ So the editions. Mr. Theobald gives the words to Conrade, and lays, But why the Sexton Jhould bcfo pert upon bis brother officers^ there feems no reafon from any fuperior qualifications in him ; or anyfufpicion he Jhews of * knowing their ignorance. This is ftrange. The Sexton through- out (hews as good fenfe in their examination as any judge upon the ABOUT NOTHING. 347 Conr. Off, coxcomb ! Dogb. God's my life ! where's the fexton ? let him write down the prince's officer, coxcomb, Come, bind them : Thou naughty varlet ! the bench could do. And as to bis fufpicion of their ignorance, he tells the Town-Clerk, That he goes not the way to examine. The meannefs of his name hindered our editor from feeing the good- nefs of his fenfe. But this Sexton was an ecclefiaftic of one of the inferior orders called the facriftan, and not a brother officer, as the editor calls him. I fuppofe the book from whence the poet took his fubjeft, was fome old Englifh novel tranflated from the Italian, where the word fagrijlano was rendered fexton. As in Fairfax's Godfrey of Boulogne : ' ' When Phoebus next unclosed his wakeful eye, " Up rofe the Sexton of that place prophane." The paflage then in queftion is to be read thus : Sexton. Let them be in hand. [Exit. Conr. Off, coxcomb ! Dogberry would have them pinion'd. The Sexton fays, it was fufficient if they were kept in fafe cuftody, and then goes out. When one of the watchmen comes up to bind them, Conrade fays, Off, coxcomb ! as he fays afterwards to the conftable, Away! you. are an afs. But the editor adds, The old quarto gave me thefirjl umbrage for placing it to Conrade. What thefe words mean I don't know : but I fufpeft the old quarto divides the paflage as I have done. WAR BUR TON. Theobald has fairly given the reading of the quarto. Dr.Warburton's aflertion, as to the dignity of & fexton orfacriftan y may be fupported by the following paflage in Stanyhurft's forfion, of the fourth Book of the jEneid, where he calls the Maflylian prieflefs : " in foil Maflyla begotten, " Scxten of Hefperides iinagog." STEEVENS. Let them be in hand.'} I had conjectured that thefe words fhould be given to Fcrges, and read thus : " Let them bind their hands." I am ftill of opinion that the paflage belongs to forges ; but, for the true reading of it, I fhould wifli to adopt a much neater emendation, which has fince been fuggefted to me in converfation "by Mr. Steevens. Let them be in band. Shakefpeare, as he ob- ferved tome, commonly ufes band for bond. TYRWHITT. It is plain that they were lound from a fubfequent fpeech of Pedro : " Whom have you offended, matters, that you are thus lound to your anfwer ?" STEEVENS. There is nothing in the old quarto different in this fcene from the common copies, except that the names of two actors, Kempe and Coivley, are placed at the beginning of the fpeeches, inflead pf the proper words. JOHNSON. Cow. 34 8 M U C H A D O Conr. Away ! you are an afs, you are an afs, Dogb. Doft thou not fufped my place ? Doft thou not fufpedt my years ? O that he were here to write me down an afs ! but, matters, remember, that I am an afs; though it be not written down, yet forget not that I am an afs : No, thou villain, thou art full of piety, as mall be proved upon thee by good witnefs : I am a wife fellow; and, which is more, an officer ; and, which is more, an noil/holder ; and, which is more, as pretty a piece of flelh as any is in Meflina ; and one that knows the law, go to ; and a rich fellow enough, go to ; and a fellow that hath had lofles ; and one that hath two gowns, and every thing handfome about him : Bring him away. O, that I had been writ down an afs ! Exeunt* ACTV. SCENE I. Before Leonato's Houfe. Enter Leonato and Antonio. Ant. If you go on thus, you will kill yourfelf ; And 'tis not wifdom, thus to fecond grief Againfl yourfelf. Leon. I pray thee, ceafe thy counfel, Which falls into mine ears as profitlefs As water in a fieve : give not me counfel ; Nor let no comforter delight mine ear, But fuch a one whofe wrongs do fuit with mine. Bring me a father, that fo lov'd his child, Whofe joy of her is overwhelm'd like mine, And bid him fpeak of patience ; Meafure his woe the length and breadth of mine, And let it anfvver every (train for ilrain ; As ABOUT NOTHING. 349 As thus for thus, and fuch a grief for fuch, In every lineament, branch, ihape, and form : If fuch a one will fmile, and ftroke his beard 5 ; And, forrow wag ! cry ; hem, when he Ihould groan ; Patch ffrief with proverbs ; make misfortune drunk With 3 If fuch a une ivill fmile ', andftroke bis beard; And hallow, wag, cry hem, when he Jbould groan :\ Mr. Rowe is the firft authority that I can find for this reading. But what is the intention, or how can we expound it? " If a man will halloo, and whoop, &&& fidget , and wriggle about, to (hew a pleafure when he fhould groan," &c. This does not give much decorum to the fentiment. The old quarto, and the firil and fe- cond folio editions, all read : And forrow, wagge, cry hem, &C. We don't, indeed, get much by this reading ; though, I flatter myfelf, by a flight alteration it has led me to the true one, And forrow wage ; cry, hem ! when be Jbould groan ; i. e. If fuch a one will combat with, Jlrive againjl forrow, &c. Nor is this word infrequent with our author in thefe lignifications. THEOBALD. Sir Thomas Hanmer, and after him Dr. Warburton, for :tkory is the trueft picture imaginable of human nature. He had afiumed the character of a fage to comfort his brother, o'erwhelmed with grief for his only daughter's affront and difhonour; and had fevere'.v reproved him for not commanding his paffion better on fo tr)'ing an occafion. Yet, immediately atter this, no fooner does he be- gin to fufpect that his age and valour are (lighted, but he falls into the moft intemperate fit of rage himfeif : and all he can do or fay is not of power to pacify him. This is copying nature with a penetration and exadtnefs of judgment peculiar to Shakespeare. VOL. II. A a As 354 M U C H A D O But that's no matter ; let him kill one firfi ; * Win me and wear me, let him anfwer me : Come, follow me, boy ; come, fir boy, follow me Sir, boy, I'll whip you from your foining fence ; Nay, as I am a gentleman, I will. Leon. Brother, Ant. Content yourfelf : God knows, I lov'd my niece ; And {he is dead, flander'd to death by villains ; That dare as well anfwer a man, indeed, As I dare take a ferpent by the tongue : Boys, apes, braggarts, jacks, milkfops ! Leon. Brother Anthony, Ant. Hold you content ; What, man ? I know them, yea, And what they weigh, even to the utmoft fcruple : Scambling ', out-facing, falhion-mong'ring boys, That lye, and cog, and flout, deprave and flander, Go antickly, and fhow outward hideoufnefs, And fpeak off half a dozen dangerous words, How they might hurt their enemies, if they durft, And this is all. Leon. But, brother Anthony, Ant. Come 'tis no matter ; Do not you meddle, let me deal in this. Pedro. Gentlemen both, we will not 2 wake your patience* My As to the expreffion, too, of his paffion, nothing can be more highly painted. WAR BUR TON. 1 Si-ambling] i. e. fcr ambling. The word is more than once ufed by Shakeipeare. See Dr. Percy's note on the firft fpeech of the . play of K. Henry V. and likewife the Scots proverb " It is well ken'd your father's fon was never bfcambler. Afcamblcr in its. literal fenfe, is one who goes about among his friends to get a dinner, by the Irifh call'd a cojherer. STEEVENS. * - , Enter Benedick. Pedro. See> fee, Here comes the man we went to feek* Claud. Now, fignior I What news ? Bene. Good day, my lord* Pedro. Welcome fignior : You are almofl come to part almoft a fray* Claud. We had like to have had our two nofes fnapt off with two old men without teeth. Pedro. Leonato and his brother : What think'il thou ? had we fought, I doubt,, we ihould have been too young for them. Bene. In a falfe quarrel there is no true valour. I came to feek you both. Claud. We have been up and down to feck thee ; which upbraids them for infenfibility under their wrong. Shake- fpeare inuft have wrote : I befeech your wormip, to correct yourfelf, for the example of others, God keep your wormip; I wim your wormip well j God reftore you to health : I humbly give you leave to depart ; and if a merry meeting may be wilh'd, God prohibit it. Come, neighbour. [Exeunt. Leon. Until to-morrow morning, lords, farewell. Ant. Farewell, my lords ; we look for you to? morrow. Pedro. We will not fail. Claud. To-night I'll mourn with Hero. Leon. Bring you thefe fellows on ; we'll talk with Margaret, How her acquaintance grew with this lewd fellow. [Exeunt fever ally* which was brought before, and tied with ribbons, and called a love-lock. Againit this fafhion William Prynne wrote his treatife, called, The UnlovelyHefi of Love-Locks. To this fantaftic mode Fletcher alludes in his Cupid's Revenge : " This morning I brought him a nevs perrivjig tvito a lock at it Arid Bonder's a felio*vj come has bored a hole in his ear." And again, in his Woman-Hater : ** If I could ouiurc an ear with a hole in it, or a platted lock, &c." WARBURTON. SCENE ABOUT NOTHING, 363 SCENE II, A Room in Leonato's Houfe. Enter Benedick, and Margaret, meeting. Bew. Pray thee, fweet miftrefs Margaret, deferve well at my hands, by helping me to the fpeech of {Beatrice, Marg. Will you then write me a fonnet in praifc pf my beauty ? Bene. In fo high a ftyle, Margaret, that no man. living lhall come over it ; for, in mod comely truth, thou deferveft it, Marg. l To have no man come over me ? why, fhall I always keep below flairs ? Bene, Thy wit is as quick as the greyhound's mouth, it catches. Marg. And your's as blunt as the fencer's foils, which hit, but hurt not. Bene. A moft manly wit, Margaret, it will not hurt 3 woman ; and fo, I pray thee, call Beatrice : I give thee the bucklers *. "Mfrrg. * To have no man come over me f ivfy t JbaU I always keep below flairs ?] Thus all the printed copies, but, fure, erroneoully : for all the jeft, that can lie in the patfage, is deftroyed by it. Any man might come over her, literally fpeaking, it (he always kept l>eloiv Hairs. By the correction I have ventured to make, Mar- garet, as I prefume, muft mean, What ! fhall I always keep above Hairs ? i. e. Shall I for ever continue a chambermaid? THEOBALD. I fuppofe every reader will find the meaning of the old copies, JOHNSON. Left he fhould not, the following hilhince from Sir Alton Cocr kayne's Poems, is at his fervice : " But to prove rather he was not beguil'd, " Her he o'er-camc, for he got her with child." And another, more appolite, from Marfton's Infatiaie Countefs^ 1603 ; " Alas ! when we are once o'th' falling hand, " A man may eafily come over us." COLLINS. 1 I give tbec the bucklers.] I fuppofe that to give the bucklers is, 10 yield, or to lay by all thoughts of defence, ib clypcum abjicere^ The rell deferves no comment. JOHNSOX. Greene, 364 M U C H A D O Meffg. Give us the fwords, we have bucklers of our own. Bcne. If you ufe them, Margaret, you mutt put in the pikes with a vice ; and they are dangerous wea- pons for maids. Marg. Well, I will call Beatrice to you, who, I think hath legs. [Exit Margaret. *Bene. And therefore will come. [Sings.] The god of love, That Jits above. And knows me, and knows me, How pitiful I deferve, I mean, in finging; but in loving, Leander the Greene, in his Second Part of Coney-Catching, 1592, ufes the fame expreffion: " At this his mafter laught, and was glad, for further advantage, toyeeld the luckier s to his prentife." So, in The Fair Maid of the Exchange, 1607 : 44 not a word to lay ? 44 Sow. No, by my troth, if" you ftay here all day. 44 Mali. Why then I'll bear the bucklers quite away." So, Ben Jonfon, in The Cafe is Altered, 1609 : 44 play an honeft part, and bear away the bucklers." Again, in A Woman never rwrV, a comedy by Rowley, 1632 : . " into whofe hands (he thruits the weapons firfl, let him lake np the bucklers." Again, in De cker*s Satiromaftix : 44 Charge one of them to take up tie bucklers 44 Againft that hair-monger Horace." Again, in Chapman's May-Day, 1611 : 44 And now I lay the bucklers at your feet." Again., in Every Woman in her Humour, j 609 : 4i if you lay down the bucklers, you lofe the victory." Again, in the Preface to Greene's Defence of Coney-catching, 1592: 44 gave me the bucklers as the fubtleft that ever he faw." Again, in P, Holland's tranfiation of Pliny's Nat. H'tft. b. x. ch. 21. 44 it goeth -againft his ftomach (the cock's) to yeeld the gantlet and give the bucklers." STEEYEXS. bo rn May-Day, a Comedy by Chapman, 1611 : 44 Well, fir, I ever thought you'd the beft wit " Of any man in Venice next mine own ; , 44 But now I'll lay the bucklers at your feet." MALOXE. good ABOUT NOTHING. 3 6^ good fwimmer, Troilus the firft employer of pan- dars, and a whole book full of thefe quondam car- pet-mongers, whofe names yet run fmoothly in the even road of a blank verfe, why, they were never fo truly turn'd over and over, as my poor felf, in love : Marry, I cannot mew it in rhime ; I have try'd ; I can find out no rhime to lady but baby, an innocent rhime ; for fcorn, horn, a hard rhime ; for fchool, fool, a babbling rhime ; very ominous end- ings : No, I was not born under a rhiming planet, for I cannot woo in feftival terms. Enter Beatrice. Sweet Beatrice, would'ft thou come when I call thee ? Beat. Yea, fignior, and depart when you bid me. Bene. O, flay but till then ! Beat. Then, is fpoken ; fare you well now : and yet ere I go, let me go with that I came for, which is, with knowing what hath paft between you and Claudio. Bene. Only foul words; and thereupon I will kifs thee. Beat. Foul words are but foul wind, and foul wind is but foul breath, and foul breath is noifome ; there- fore I will depart unkifs'd. Bene. Thou haft frighted the word out of its right fenfe, fo forcible is thy wit : But, I muft tell thee plainly, Claudio undergoes my challenge ; and ei- ther I muft Ihortly hear from him, or I will fubfcribe him a coward. And, I pray thee now, tell me, for which of my bad parts didft thou firft fall in love with me ? Beat. For them all together ; which maintain'd fo politick a ftate of evil, that they will not admit any good part to intermingle with them. But for which of my good parts did you firft fuffer love for me ? Bene. Suffer love ; a good epithet ! I do faffer love, indeed, for I love thee againft my will. Beat. 366 M V C H A D O Beat. In fpight of your heart, I think; alas { poor heart ! If you fpight it for my fake, I will fpight it for yours ; for I will never love that, which my friend hates. Bene. Thou and I are too wife to woo peaceably. Beat. It appears not in this confeflion ; there's not one wife man among twenty, that will praife himfelf* Bene. An old, an old inftance, Beatrice, that liv'd 3 in the time of good neighbours : if a man do not erect in this age his own tomb ere he dies, he ihall live no longer in monument, than the bell rings, and the widow weeps. Beat* And how long is that, think you ? Bene. 4 Queftion ? Why, an hour in clamour, and a quarter in rheum : Therefore it is moft expe- dient for the wife, (if Don Worm, his confcience, find no impediment to the contrary) to be the trum- pet of his own virtues, as I am to myfelf : So much for praiiing myfelf, (who, I myfelf will bear witnefs is praife-worthy) and now tell me, How doth your coufin ? Beat. Very ill. Bene. And how do you ? Beat. Very ill too. Bene. Serve God, love me, and mend : there will I leave you too, for here comes one in hafle. Enter Urfula. Urf. Madam, you muft come to your uncle ; yon^ cler's old coil at home : it is proved, my lady Hero hath been falfely accus'd, the prince and Claudio 3 in the time of good neighbours :~\ i.e. When men were not en- vious, but every one gave another his due. The reply is ex- 1 tremely humourous. WAR BUR TON. * Queftion ? why, an hour , &c.] i. e. What a queftion's there, or what a foolifn queftion do you alk f But the Oxford editor, not underftanding this phrafe, contracted into a tingle word, (of which we have many inftances in Englilh) has fairly ftruck it out. WARBURTON. mightily ABOUT NOTHING. 367 mightily abus'd ; and Don John is the author of all, who is fled and gone : Will you come prefently ? Beat. Will you go hear this news, fignior ? Bene. I will live in thy heart, die in thy lap, and be bury'd in thy eyes ; and, moreover, I will go with thee to thy uncle. [Exeunt. SCENE III. A Church. Enter Don Pedro^ Claudio^ and Attendants with tni'fk and tapers. Claud. Is this the monument of Leonat^o ? Atten. It is my lord. Claudia reads. Done to death by Jlanderous tongues Was the Hero, that here lies : Deaf /J 9 in guerdon of her wrongs, Gives her fame which never dies : So the ///?, that dy y d with Jhame^ Lives in death with glorious fame* Hang thou there upon the tomb, Praifmg her when I am dumb. Now mufick found, and fing yourfolemn hymn* SONG. Pardon? Goddefs of the night, I'bofe thatjlew thy virgin knight 7 ; ' For 5 Thofe thatjlev: thy virgin knight ;"] Knight, in 5*19 original fig~ nification, means follower ueen, B. i. c. 7. that an ideal order of this name was fuppofed, as a compliment to queen Elizabeth's virginity : " Of doughtie knights whom faery land did raife *' That noble order hight of maidenbed. " Again, B. ii. c. 2. " Order of maidenbed the moil renown'd." Again, B. ii. c. 9. " And numbred be mongil knights of maidenhed" On the books of the Stationers' Company in the year 1 594, is en- tered, " Pheander the may den knight" STEEVENS. 6 And Hymen no~iv ivith luckier ijjiie fpeed's, Than this, for whom iue render up thisvooe!~\ Claudio ABOUT NOTHING. SCENE IV. Leonato's Houfe. Enter Leonato, Benedick, Margaret* Urfula* Antonio* Friar* and Hero. Friar* Did not I tell you fhe was innocent ? Leon. So are the prince and Claudio, who accus'd her, Upon the error that you heard debated : But Margaret was in ibme fault for this ; Although againft her will, as it appears In the true courfe of all the queftion. Ait. Well, I am glad that all things fortfo well. Bene. And fo am I, being elle by faith enforc'd To call young Claudio to a reckoning for it. Leon. Well, daughter, and you gentlewomen all, Withdraw into a chamber by yonrielves ; And, when I fend for you, come hither mafk'd : The prince and Claudio promised by this hour To vifit me : You know your office, brother ; You muft be father to your brother's daughter, And give her to young Claudio. [Exeunt Ladies. Ant. Which I will do with confkm'd countenance. Bi'/ic. Friar, I muft entreat your pains, I think. friar. To do what, fignior ? Bene. To bind me, or undo me^ one of them. Sighior Leonato, truth it is, good fignior, Your niece regards me with an eye of favour. Leon. That eye my daughiJi lent her ; 'Tis moft true. Bent. And I do with an eye of love requite her. Claudio could not kro\v, without being a prophet, that thi? nw propofed match fhould have any luckier event than that defignetl with Hero. Certainly, theretoiv. this fhould be a wift in Claudio; ajid, to this end, the poet ini^hr hn re wrote, fpert?. ; \.e.ffctJ- us : ant; fo it bcccn:^: u pi.:y;r to liym ';.'.!. T:!? 71 r. b\. Tor. II. B b 370 M U C H A D O Leon. The fight whereof, I think, you had from me, From Claudio and the prince ; But what's your will ? Bene. Your anfwer, fir, is enigmatical : But, for my will, my will is, your good will May fland with ours, this day to be conjoin'd In the eflate of honourable marriage ; - Jn which, good friar, I ihall defire your help. Leon. My heart is with your liking. Friar. And my help. Here comes the prince, and Claudio. Enter Don Pedro and Claudia, with Attendants. Pedro. Good morrow to this fair aflembly. Leon. Good morrow, prince ; good morrow, Claudio ; We here attend you ; Are you yet determin'd To-day to marry with my brother's daughter ? Claud. I'll hold my mind, were fhe an Ethiope. Leon. Call her forth, brother, here's the friar ready. [Exit Antonio. Pedro. Good morrow, Benedick : Why, what's the matter, That you have fuch a February face, So full of froft, of ftorm, and cloudinefs ? Claud. I think, he thinks upon the favage bull : Tufh, fear not, man, we'll tip thy horns with gold, And all Europa Ihall rejoice at thee ; As once Europa did at lufty Jove, When he would play the noble beaft in love. Bene. Bull Jove, fir, had an amiable low ; And fome fuch ftrange bull leapt your father's cow, And got a calf in that fame noble feat, Much like to yon, for you have juft his bleat. Re-enter Antonio, with Hero, Beatrice, Margaret, and Urfula, majtfd. Claud. For this I owe you : here come other reck- 'nings. Which ABOUT NOTHING. 371 Which is the lady I muft feize upon ? Ant. This fame is flic, and I do give you her. Gaud. Why, then ihe's mine ; Sweet, let me fee your face. Leon. No, that you fhall not, till you take her hand Before this friar, and fwear to marry her. Claud. Give me your hand before this holy friar ; I am your hufband, if you like of me. Hero. And when I liv'd, I was your other wife : . \Unmajklng. And when you lov'd, you were my other huiband. Claud. Another Hero ? Hero. Nothing certainer : One Hero dy'd defil'd ; but I do live, And, furely as I live, I am a maid. Pedro. The former Hero ! Hero, that is dead ! Leon. She dy'd, my lord, but whiles her ilander liv'd. Friar. All this amazement can I qualify ; When, after that the holy rites are ended, I'll tell you largely of fair Hero's death : Mean time let wonder icem familiar, And to the chapel let us prefently. Eene. Soft and fair, friar. Which is Beatrice ? Beat. I anfwer to that name ; What is your will ? Eene. Do not you love me ? Beat. Why, no, no more than reafon. Etne. Why, then your uncle, and the prince, and Claudio Have been deceived ; they fwore you did. Beat. Do not you love me ? Eene. Troth, no, no more than reafon. Beat. Why, then my coufin, Margaret, and Urfula, Are much decciv'd ; for they did Iwear you did. Eene. They fwore, that you were almoft fick for me. Beat. They fwore, that you were well-nigh dead for me. B b 2 Bene. 37- MUCH ADO Bene. 'Tis no fuch matter : Then, you do not love me ? J&.YZ/. No, truly, but in friendly recompcnce, Leon. Come, coufm, I am furc you love the gen- tleman, Claud. And I'll be {worn upon't, that he loves her ; For here's a paper, written in his. hand, A halting fonnet of his own pure brain, Fafhion'd to Beatrice. Hero. And herels another, Writ in my coufin's hand, ilolen from her pocket, Containing her afFcdtion unto Benedick. Bene. A miracle ! here's our own hands againil our hearts ! Come, I will have thee ; but, by this light, I take thee for pity. Beat. 7 1 would not deny you ; but, by this goo y d day, I yield upon great perfuafion ; and, partly, to fave your life, for 1 was told, you were in a confump- fion. 8 Bene. Peace, I will Hop your mouth, Pedro. 7 I v:ou!d not qrnyyou ; &c.} Mr-. Theobald fays, is not this iftcck-reafditing t She. would not deny him, lut that Jbe yields upon great perfajz/iDn. In changing tbe negative, I make no doubt but I have retrieved the por? s biimour : and ib changes not into yet. But is not this a mack-critic? who. could not fee that the plain obvious fenfe of the common reading \vas this, I cannot find in my heart to deny you, but for all that I yield, after having ftood out great perfuafipoS toTdb>H)iflion. He had laid, I take thee for phy, fhe replies, I iveuld not deny thee, i. e. I take thee for pity too : but as I live, I am won to this compliance by importunity oi friends. "Mr. Theobald, by altering not tojvr/, makes it iuppoied, that he had been importunate, and thatyZi' had often denied, which was not the cafe. WARBURTOM. 8 Bcnc. Peacr^ I v:llljiop your mouth [Killing her.] In former copies : / . Leon. /V*i.Y, / will Jlqp.yonr mptitb. IVhttt cm Leonato menu by this f " Nay, pray, peace, niece! *' don't keep up this obitinacy ot proteffions, for I have proofs to V liopyour moutli. :>v The ingenious Dr. Thirlby agreed with me, thut tins o:-^ht t'j be giveato Benedick, wli9, upon (aying it, killes, JBeatricc } ABOUT NOTHING. $?$ Pedro. How doft thou, Benedick the married man? Be/ie. I'll tell thee what, prince ; a college of wit- crackers cannot flout me out of my humour : Doft thou think, I care for a fatire, or an epigram ? No : if a man will be beaten with brains, he lhall wear nothing handfome about him : In brief, fince I do purpofe to marry, I will think nothing to any purpofe that the world can fay againft it ; and therefore never iiout at me for what I have faid againft it ; for ian is a giddy thing, and this is my conclufion. For thy part, Claudio, I did think to have beaten thee ; but in that thou art like to be my kinfman^ live unbruis'd, and love my cbuuQ Claud. I had well hoped, thou wonldft have denied Beatrice, chat I might have cudgell'd thee out of thy fingle life, to make thee a double dealer ; which, out of queftion, thou wilt be, if my coufm do not look exceeding narrowly to thee* Bene. Come, comCj we are friends : Diet's have a dance ere we are marry 'd, that we" may lighten our own hearts, and our wives' heels. Leon. We'll have dancing afterwards^ Berte, Firft, o' my word ; therefore, play, mu- fick. Prince, thou art fad ; get thee a wife, get thee a wife i there is no ftaff more reverend than one tipt with horn. Enter Mefftnger. Mff. My lord, your brother John is ta'eri in flighf| And brought with armed men back to Medina. ^ Beatrice ; and this being dbnC before the whole ccinpany; ho;r natural is the :ep!y which the prince makes upon it? HO--JJ dojl thou* Bcuedii-k the married man f Bdides, this mode or" ipeech, preparatory to a ibl^e, Is familial to our poet; iu c^.nir.oa with other ilage- writers. THE-otAJLo* B b 3 BfM* 374 M U C H A D O, &c. Eene. Think not on him till to-morrow : I'll devife thee brave punifhments for hirrir Strike up, pipers, [Dance. [Exeunt omnes* This play may be juilly faid to contain two of the mod fpright- ly characters that Shakefpeare ever drew. The wit, the hu- mourift, the gentleman, and the foldier, are combined in Bene- dick. It is to be lamented, indeed, that the firft and moft fplen- did of thefe diftinftions, is difgraced by unnecefTary profane- nefs ; for the goodnefs of his heart is hardly fufficient to atone for the licence of his tongue. The too farcafHc levity, which flames out in the converfation of Beatrice, may be excufed on ac- count of the fleadinefs and friendship Ib apparent in her beha- viour, when fhe urges her lover to rifaue his life by a chal- lenge to Claudio. In the conduct of the fable, however, there is an imperfection fimilar to that which Dr. Johnfon has pointed, out Jn the Merry Wives of WinJfbr : the fecond contri- vance is lefs ingenious than the firil : or, to fpeak more plainly, the fame incident is become ftale by repetition. I wifh fome other method had been found to entrap Beatrice, than that very one which before had been fuccefs fully practifed on Benedick. Mticb ado about Nothing, (as I underftand from one of Mr^ Venue's MSS.) formerly puffed under the title of Benedict and Beatrix. Ileming the player received, on the 2Oth of May, 1613, the fum of forty pounds, and twenty pounds more as his majefty's gratuity, for exhibiting fix plays at Hampton-Court, among which was this comedy. STEEVENS LOVE's LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. COMEDY, B b ^ Perfons Perfons Reprefented. Ferdinand, King of Navarre. j iron ' .jj 7 three Lords* attending upon the King m DumaTn, "'I ^retirement. -*?^ e 'j I Lords, attending upon the Princefe of France. Don Adriano de Armado, a fantajlical Spaniard. Nathaniel, a Curate. Dull, a Conjlabk. Holofernes, a Schoolmafter. Coftard, a Clown. Moth, Page to Don Adriano de Armado. A Forejler. Princefs of France. Rofaline, -\ Maria, I Ladies, attending on the Princefs. Katharine, J Jaquenetta, a Country Wench. Officers, and others, attendants upon the King and Princefe, SCENE, the King of Navarre'* Palace* and the Country near it. : ^ This enumeiRuon of the perfons was made by Mr. Rowe. JOHNSON.. L O V E' LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST-. ACT I. SCENE I. Navarre. The Palace. Enter the King^ Biron y Longaville, and Dumain. King. Let fame, that all hunt after in their lives, Live regiftred upon our brazen tombs, And then grace us in the difgrace of death ; When, fpight of cormorant devouring time, The endeavour of this prefent breath may buy That honour, which fliall bate his fcythe's keen edge, And make us heirs of all eternity. Therefore, brave conquerors ! for fo you are, That war againft your own affections, And the huge army of the world's defires, Our late edidt lhall ftrongly fland in force : Navarre lhall be the wonder of the world ; Our court fhall be a little Academe, Still and contemplative in living art. You three, Biron, Dumain, and Longaville, Have fworn for three years' term to live with me, My fellow fcholars, and to keep thofe ftatutes, That are recorded in this fchedule here : Your oaths are paft, and now fubfcribe your names ; That his own hand may ilrike his honour down, That violates the fmalleft branch herein : 4 I have not hitherto difcovered any novel on which this co- medy appears to have been founded ; and yet the ftory of it has inoit of the features of an ancient romance. STEEVENS. If 37 S LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST, If you are arm'd to do, as fvvorn to do, Subscribe to your deep oath, and keep it too. Long. I am refolv'd : 'tis but a three years faft j The mind fhall banquet, though the body pine : Fat paunches have lean pates ; and dainty bits Make rich the ribs, but bankerout the wits. Dum. My loving lord, Dumain is mortify'd ; The groffer manner of thefe world's delights He throws upon the grofs world's bafer Haves : To lave, to wealth, to pomp, I pine and die ; With all thefe living in philofophy 2 . Biron. I can but fay their proteftation over, So much, dear liege, I have already fworn, That is, To live and fludy here three years. But there are other ftrict obfervances : As, not to fee a woman in that term ; Which, I hope well, is not enrolled there. And, one day in a week to touch no food ; And but one meal on every day befide ; The which, I hope, is not enrolled there. And then, to ileep but three hours in the night, And .not be feen to wink of all the day ; (When I was wont to think no harm all night, And make a dark night too of half the day) Which, I. hope well, is not enrolled there. O, thefe are barren tafks, too hard to keep; Not to fee ladies, ftudy, faft, nor fleep ? . King. Your oath is pafs'd to pafs away from thefe. Eiron. Let me fay, no, my liege, an if you pleafe ; I only fvvore, to ftudy with your grace, And Hay here in your court for three years' fpace. Long. You fwore to that, Biron, and to the reft. * With all tbefe, living in pbilofopby.] The ftyle of the rhym- ing fcenes in this play is often entangled and obfcure. I know not certainly to what all tbefe is to be referred ; I fuppofe he means, that he finds love, pomp^ and wealth inpbilofoply. JOHNSON. 3 nor ileep.] The folio not fleep. STEEVENS- Sirottt LOVE's LABOURS LOST. Blron. By yea and nay, fir, then I fwore in jeft. What is the end of ftudy ? let me know. King. Why, that to know, which elfe we fliould not know. Blron. Things hid and barr'd (you mean) from common fenfe ? King. Ay, that is ftudy's god-like recompence. Blron. Come on then, I will fwear to ftudy fo, To know the thing I am forbid to know : As thus, To ftudy where I well may dine, When I to feaft exprefly am forbid 4 ; Or, ftudy where to meet fome miftrefs fine, When miftreffes from common fenfe are hid : Or, having fworn too hard-a-kcepingoath, Study to break it, and not break my troth. If ftudy's gain be thus, and this be fo, "l Study knows that, which yet it doth not know : > Swear me to this, and I will ne'er fay, no. J King. Thefe be the ftops that hinder ftudy quite, And train our intellects to vain delight. Blron. Why, all delights are vain ; but that moft vain, Which, with pain purchas'd, doth inherit pain : As, painfully to pore upon a book, To feek the light of truth ; while truth the while ? Doth falfly blind the eye-fight of his look : 4 WJjen I to feaft exprefly am forbid;'] The copies all have : When I to f aft txprejly am forbid ; But if Biron ftudied where to get a good dinner, at a time when he was for&iJto faft, how was this ftudying to know what he was forbid to know t Common fenfe, and the whole tenour of the con- text require us to read, feaft-, or to make a change in the laft worat of the vei'fe : When I to faft exprcjly am fore -bid ; i.e. when I am enjoined beforehand to faft. THEOBALD. 5 while truth the while. Doth faljly Hind ] Falfly is here, and in many other places, the fame as dijbontfily of trtacheroujly. The whole lenie of this gingling declamation is only this, that a man by too clofejludy may read him/elf btittd t which might have been told with Icfs obfcurirv in fe\\er words. JOHNSON. Light, 380 LOVE's LABOUR'S L6ST. Light, feeking light, doth light of light beguile J So, ere you find where light in darknefs lies, - Your light grows dark by lofing of your eyes. Study me how to pleafe the eye indeed, By fixing it upon a fairer eye ; Who dazzling fo, that eye mall be his heed 6 , And give him light that was it blinded by. Study is like the heaven's glorious fun, That will not be deep fearch'd with fawcy looks ; Small have continual plodders ever won, Save bafe authority from others' books. Thefe earthly godfathers of heaven's lights, That give a name to every fixed flar, Have no more profit of their mining nights, Than thofe that walk and wot not what they arc. 7 Too much to know, is, to know nought but fame ; And every godfather can give a name. King. 6 Who dazzling fo, that eyejball be bis heed, And give him tight that was it blinded by.~\ This is another pafiage unneceflarily obicure : the meaning is, that when he dazzles, that is, has his eye made weak, by fixing his eye upon a fairer eye, that fairer eye Jhall be his heed, his direSion. or lode-Jtar, (See Midfummer-Night's Dream) and give him light that i va s blinded by it. JOHNSON. 7 Too much to kno-M, is to know nought but fame ; And every godfather can give a- name.] The firit line in this reading is abiurd and impertinent. There are two ways of fetting it right. The firfl is to read it thus : i ao much to knovj, is to knovj nought but fhame ; This makes a fine fenfe, and alludes to Adam's fall, which came from the inordinate pamon of knowing too much. The other way is to read, and point it thus : Too much to know, is to knovj nought : but feign, i. e. to feign. As much as to fay, the affedting to know too much 5s the way to know nothing. The fenfe, in both thefe readings, is equally good : but with this difference ; If we read the fail way, the following line is impertinent ; and to fave the correction, we nuift judge it fpurious. If we read it the fecond way, then the following line completes the fenfe. Confequently the correction of feign is to be preferred. To J^ now too much (fays the fpeaker) is to I'uaiv nothing : it is only feigning to know what ive do not : giv- ing names for things without knowing their natures ; which is falie knowledge : And this was the peculiar defecl of the Peripatetic plulofophy then In vogue. Thefe philofophei'Sj the poet, with ifcfl LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 381 King. How well he's read, to reafon againfl reading ! Dum. Proceeded well, to tfop all good proceeding * ! Long. He weeds the corn, and ftill lets grow the weeding. Eiron. The fpring is near, when green geefe are a breeding. bum. How. follows that ? Biron. Fit in his place and time. Bum. In reafon. nothing. Elron. Something then in rhime. Long, Biron is like an envious fneaping frofl 9 , That bites the firft-born infants of the fpring. Elron. Well, fay I am ? why fhould proud fum- mer boaft, Before the birds have any caufe to fing ? Why fhould I joy in an abortive birth ' ? At the highefr humour and good fenfe, calls the godfathers of ' nature^ who could only give things a name, but had no manner of ac- quaintance with their eflences. WAR BUR TON. That there are two ways of fetting a paflage right, gives reafon. to fufpet that there may be a third way better than either. The iirir. of thefe emendations makes afnefcnfc, but will not unite with the next line ; the other makes a fenfe lefs Hue, and yet will not rhyme to the correfpondent word. I cannot fee why the paflage may not ftand without diiturbance. The confcyuence, fays Biron, of too much knitofflidge, is not any real folution of doubts, but mere empty refutation. That is, too much knowledge gives onlyfame^ a name which ei'cry godfather can give likewife. JOHNSON. 8 Proceeded 'ivctt, 10 flop all good proceeding.} To proceed is an academical term, meaning, to take a degree , as he proceeded bache- lor in phyfick. The fenfe is, he has taken his degrees on the art of hindering the degrees of others. JOHNSON. 9 fneapingy/ />/?,] ^of neaping ^cinJs in the Winter's Tale; To fneap is to check, to rebuke. STEEYENS. * Whyjhould I joy in an abortive birth ? At Chrijlmas I no more defirc a rofe, than wijh a fno'jj in May's new-fangled (hows : Sut like of each thing, tbttt in fnafon gro-~.'j$,~\ As the greateft part of this fcene (both what precedes and fol- lows j is flric'tly in rhimes, eitherya-f^rr, alternate^ or triple; I am perfuaded, that the copyifts have made a ilip here. For by making a tr'-tkt of the three laft lines quoted, birth in the clofe of 1 382 LOVE'S LABOURS LOST. At Chriftmas I no more defire a rofe, Than wilh a fnow in May's new-fangled ihows ; C But like of each thing, that in feafon grows. 3 So you, to fludy now it is too late, That were to climb o'er the houfe t'unlock the gate. King. Well, fit you out : go home, Biron ; adieu ! Biron. No, my good lord ; I have fworn to ftay with you : And, though I have for barbarifm fpoke more, Than for that angel knowledge you can fay, Yet confident I'll keep what I have fwore, And bide the penance of each three years' day. Give me the paper, let me read the fame ; And to the flri&'ft decrees I'll write my name. King. How well this yielding refcucs thee from fhame ! Biron. Item, That no woman foall come within a mile cf my court. [Reading.] Hath this been proclaimed? Long. Four days ago. Biron. Let's fee the penalty. On pain of kfmg her tongue. [Reading.] Who devis'd this penalty ? Long. Marry, that did I. Biron. Sweet lord, and why ? Long. To fright them hence with that dread pe- nalty. of the firft line is quite deilitute of any rhime to it. Befides, what a difpleafing identity of found recurs in the middle and elofe of this verie ? Than ivii. c. 5 : " And both encreas'd her beauty excellent " So all did make in her a perfect Mmplur STEE- 01. II. C c This 386 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. In high-born words, the worth of many a knight 8 From tawny Spain, loft in the world's debate ^ How you delight, my lords, I know not, I ; -j But, I proteft, I love to hear him lie, I And I will ufe him for my minftrelfy. j Elron. Armado is a moft illuftrious wight, A man of fire-new words, fafhion's own knight. Long. Coftard the fwain, and he, ihall be our fport j And, fo to ftudy, three years is but fliort. Enter Dull., and Coftard, with a letter. Dull. Which is the duke's own perfon ' ? Btron. This, fellow ; What would'ft ? Dull. I myfelf reprehend his own perfon, for I am his grace's tharborough ~ : but I would fee his own perfon in flelh and blood. This child of fancy. ~\ This exprefiion has been adopted by Mil*. ton in his Allegro : " Or fweeteft Shnkefpeare, Fancy's child." MALOKE. 8 From ta=v:ny Spain , &c.} i.e. he (hall relate to us the cele- brated ftories recorded in the old romances, and in their very ftile. Why he hysf--om ta-^ny Spain is, becaufe thefe romances, 'being of Spnnifh original, the heroes 'and the fcene were generally or" that country. Vv r hy he fays, loft in the world's debate is, becaufe the fub eel of thofe romances were the crufades of the European Chriftiuns againft the Saracens of Afia and Africa. So that we fee here is toeafcipg in the words. WAR BUR TON. ^ in the ^jcorlas delate.~\ The world feems to be ufed in a monaftick fenle by the king, now devoted for a time to a mo- nadic life. In the world, infeculo, in the buftle of human affairs, from which we are now happily fequeftred, in the worta 1 , to which the votaries of folitude jj^ve no relation, JOHNSOX. 1 Which is the king'.? $|A> perfon ?~\ In former editions : " Dull. Which, is the duke'j own perfon ? The king of Navarre is in feveral paflages, through all the copies, called the dulte : but as this mud: have fprung rather from the in- advertence of the editors, than a forgettulnefs in the poet, I have f very where, to avoid confufion, reflored king to the text. THEOBALD. I have followed the old copies. STEEVENS. 1 Tbarborough : J i.e. Thirdlorough, a peace officer, alike in Authority with a headborough or a cpnftable. SIR J. HAWKINS. LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 387 Biron. This is he. Dull. Signior Arme , Arme, commends you. There's villainy abroad ; this letter will tell you more. Coft. Sir,, the contempts thereof are as touching me. King. A letter from the magnificent Armado. Biron. How low foever the matter, I hope in God for high words. Long. A high hope for a low having * : God grant us patience ! Biron. To hear ? or forbear hearing ? Long. To hear meekly, fir, and to laugh moderately; or to forbear both. Biron. Well, fir, be it as the ftile lhall give us caufe to climb in the merrinefs. Coft. The matter is to me, fir, as concerning Ja- quenetta. The manner of it is, I was taken with he manner 4 . Biron. 3 A high hope for a low having; ;] In old editions : A high hope for a low heaven ; A linv heaven, lure, is a very intricate matter to conceive. I dare warrant, I have retrieved the poet's true reading; and the mean- ing is this : " Though you hope tor high words, and fnould have them, it will be but a low acquifition at beft." This our poet calls a low having : and it is a fubflantive which he ufes in feveral other paflages. THEOBALD. It is fo ufed in Macbeth, aft I : " great predi&ion " Of noble hoping, and or royal hope." Heaven, however, may be the true reading, in allufion to the gradations of happinefs promited by Mohammed to his followers. So, in the comedy of Old Fort tinatus, 1600 : " Oh, how my foul is rapt to a third heaven /" STEEVEXS. * taken with the manner. ~\ The following queftion anting from thefe words fl-.ews we fhould read, taken in //:> manner. And this was the phrafe in ufe to fignify, taken in the ta^r. So Dr. Donne, in his letters, " But if I melt into melancholy wbilt, I write, I Jhall be taken in the manner ; and I fit ly one^ too tender to theft imprcfjions." WARBURTON. C c 2 Wltb 388 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST, - Biron. In what manner ? Coft. In manner and form following, fir ; all triofc three : I was feen with her in the manor houfe, fit- ting with her upon the form, and taken following her into the park ; which, put together, is, in manner and form following. Now, fir, for the manner, it is the manner of a man to fpeak to a woman : for the form, in fome form. Biron. For the following, fir ? Coft. As it fhall follow in my corre&ion ; And God defend the right ! King. Will you hear the letter with attention ? Biron. As we would hear an oracle. CojL Such is the fimplicity of man to hearken af- ter the fleih. King. [Reads.] Great deputy; the welkin* s vice-gerent, and fole dominator of Navarre, my foul's earth's God, and bod/ s faff ring patron, Coft. Not a word of Coftard yet : King. So it is, Coft. It may be fo : but if he fay it is fo, he is, in telling true, but fo, fo. King. Peace. Coft. be to me, and every man that dares not fight ! King. No words. Coft. of other men's fecrets, I befeech you. King. So it is, bejlegedwith fable-coloured melancholy, J did commend the black oppr effing humour to the nioft wholcfonu pkyjlck of thy health-giving air ; and, as I am a gentleman, betook wyfelf to walk. The time, when ? About the fixth hour ; when beqfts moft graze, birds beft peck, and men fit down to that nounjhment which rs called Ji(pper. So much for the time when : Now for With the manner, and in the manner, are exprefllons, ufed in- differently by our old writers. So in Hey wood's Rape of Lucrecr, 1630: *' and, being t4k.cn vjitb the n^anner, had nothing to fay for himfelr"." STEEVE>;S. tftf LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 389 the ground which ; which, I mean, I walked upon : it is ycleped, thy park. 'Then for the place where ; where, I mean, I did encounter that obfcene and mojl prepofterous event, that draweth from my fnow-white pen the ebon-co- lour'd ink, which here thou vieweft, beholdeft, J'urveyifl, or fee/i: But to the place, where, // Jlandeth north- north-tqft and by eajt from the weft corner of thy wious- knotted garden : There did I fee that hiv-fpirited ftvain^ that bafe minnow of thy mirth s , (Coft. Me.) that unlet- ter'd fmall-knowing foul, (Coft. Me.) that Jhallcfw vaf- Jal, (Coft. Still me.) which, as I remember, hight Cof- tard, (Coft. O me !) for ted and conforted, contrary to thy c ft ablijhed proclaimed edicJ and continent canon, with, with with, but with this I pajjion to fay where- with Coft. With a wench. King, with a child of our grandmother Eve, a female; 0r, for thy more fweet underftanding, a woman. Him, I (as my evcr-ejleemed duty pricks me on) have fent to thee, to receive the meed of punifhment, by thy fiveet grace* s officer, Anthony Dull ; a man of good repute, carriage, bearing, and ejlimation. Dull. Me, an't fhall pleafe you ; I am Anthony Dull. King. For Jaquenetta, (fo is the weaker veffcl called which I apprehended with the aforefaid fwain) I keep her as a vejfel of thy lazv'sfury ; andjball, at the leaft of thy fweet notice, bring her to trial. Thine, in all compliments of devoted and heart-burning heat of duty, Don Adriano de Armado. 5 lafe minno-iv of thy mlrtb,~\ A minnow is a little fifh which cannot be intended" here. We may read, the bafe minion of tbj mirth. JOHNSON. The old reading is certainly the true one. The bafe m-nno-iv of thy mirth, is the contemptibly little object that contributes to thy entertainment. Shakefpeare makes Coriolanus charadtenle. the tribunitian infolence of Sicinius, under the lame figure : *' hear you not ' This Triton of the minnows?" STEEVENS. C c - B-roit. 390 LOVE's LABOURS LOST. Biron. This is not fo well as I look'd for, but tfee beft that ever I heard. King. Ay, the beft for the worft. But^ firrah, what fay you to this ? Coft. Sir, I confefs the wench. King. Did you hear the proclamation ? Coft. I do confefs much of the hearing it, but little of the marking of it 6 . King. It was proclaim'd a year's imprifonment to be taken with a wench. Coft. I was taken with none, fir; I was taken with a damofel. King. Well, it was proclaimed damofel. Coft. This was no damofel neither, fir ; ihe was a virgin. King. It is fo varied too ; for it was proclaim'd, virgin. Coft. If it were, I deny her virginity ; I was taken with a maid. King. This maid will not ferve your turn, fir. Coft. This maid will ferve my turn, fir. King. Sir, I will pronounce fentence ; You fhall faft a week with bran and water. Coft. I had rather pray a month with mutton and porridge. King. And Don Armado ihall be your keeper. My lord Biron, fee him delivered o'er. And go we, lords b to put in practice that Which each to other hath fo ftrongly fworn. [Exeunt. Biron. I'll lay my head to any good man's hat, Thefe oaths and laws will prove an idle fcorn. Sirrah, come on. 6 / do confefs much of the hearing it, lut little of the marking of it.} SoFal/la/, in ti\t Second Part of K.Henr IV: " it is the difeafe of not liftening, the malady of not marking^ that I am troubled withal," STEEYENS. Coft. LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 39 i Coft. I fuffer for the truth, fir : for true it is, I was taken with Jaquenetta, and Jaquenetta is a true girl ; and therefore, Welcome the four cup of profperity ! Affliction may one day fmile again, and 'till then, Sit thee down, forrow ! [ExeUnt. SCENE II. Armada's Houfe. Enter Armado and Moth. Arm. Boy, what fign is it, when a man of great fpirit grows melancholy ? Moth. A great fign, fir, that he will look fad. Arm. Why, fadnefs is one and the felf-fame thing, dear imp 7 Moth. No, no ; O lord, fir, no. Arm. How can'ft thou part fadnefs and melancholy, my tender Juvenal 8 ? Moth. By a familiar demonflration of the working, my tough fignior ? Arm. Why tough fignior ? why tough fignior ? Moth. Why tender Juvenal ? why tender juve- nal? Arm. I fpoke it, tender juvenal, as a congruent epitheton, appertaining to thy young days, which \ve may nominate, tender. Moth. And I, tough fignior, as an appertinent title to your old time, which we may name, tough 9 . 7 dear imp.'] Imp was anciently a term of dignity. Lord Crom- well in his lalt letter to Henry VIII. prays for /A* imp his fan. It is now ufed only in contempt or abhorrence ; perhaps in our au- thour's time it was ambiguous, in which flate it iuits well with this dialogue. JOHNSON. Piftol falutes king Henry V. by the fame title. STEEVENS. 8 my tender juvenal.] Juvenal \syouth. So, in The No- lle Stranger, 1640 : " Oh, I could hug thee for this, my jovial Juviqefl. STE_ 9 tough.] Old and. tough, young and tender, is one of the proverbial phrafes collected by Ray. STEEVENS. C c 4 Arm. 392 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. Arm. Pretty, and apt. Moth. How mean you, fir ? I pretty, and my fay-* ing apt ? or I apt, and my faying pretty ? Arm. Thou pretty, becaufe little. Motb. Little pretty, becaufe little : Wherefore, apt ? Arm. And therefore apt, becaufe quick. Moth. Speak you this in my praife, mailer > Arm. In thy condign praife. Motb. I will praife an eel with the fame praife.- Arm. What ? that an eel is ingenious ? Moth. That an eel is quick. Arm. I do fay, thou art quick in anfwers : Thou heat'ft my blood. Motb. I am anfwcr'd, fir. Arm. I love not to be crofs'd. Motb. He fpeaks the mere contrary, crofles love not him T . Arm. I have promifed to ftudy three years with the duke. Motb~ Yon may do it iir an hour, fir. Arm.> linpoffible. Moth. How many is one thrice told ? Arm. I am ill at reckoning, it fitteth the fpirit of a- tapfter. Moth. You are a gentleman, and a gamefler, fir. Arm. I confefs both ; they are both the varnifh of a complete man. Moth. Then, I am fure, you know how much the grofs furn of deuce-ace amounts to. Arm. It doth amount to one more than two. Motb. Which the bafe vulgar do call, three.. Arm. True. Moth. Why, fir, is this fuch a piece of ftudy ? Now here is three fludied, ere you'll thrice wink : and how 1 crofles love not him.'] By crojjes he means money. So, in As Ton Like It, the Clown fays to Celia, *' //'/ihould bear yoaj Ijbould bear no crofs." JOHNSON. eafy LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 395 cafy it is to put years to the word three, and fludy three years in two words, the dancing horfe will tell you *. Ann*. - Moth. And l.wa eajy It Is to fut years to tie ivord three, and. Jludy three years in t-ivo ivorth, the dancing horfe fjuiU tell you.] Banks's horfe, which play'd many remarkable pranks. Sir Walter Raleigh (Hijiory of the World, firft Part, p. 178) fays : '< If Bank* had lived in older times, he would have (named all the inchanter* in the world : for whofoever was mod famous among them, could never mafter, or inftrucl any bead as he did his horfe." And fir Kenelm Digby (a Treati/e of Bodies, ch. xxxviii. p. 393.) ob- lerves : " That his horfe would reftore a glove to the due owner, after the mailer had whifpered the man's name in his ear ; would tell the juft number of pence in any piece of filver coin, newly fhewed him by his mafter ; and even obey prefently his command,, in dlfcharging himfelf of his excrements, whensoever he had bade him." Dr. GRAY. Banks's horfe is alluded to- by many writers contemporary with Shakefpeare ; among the reft, by B. Jonfon, in Every Man out of his Humour : " He keeps more ado with this monfter, than ever Banks did with his horfe." Again, in Hall's Satires, lib. iv. fat. 2 : *' More than who vies his pence to view fome tricke " Of itrange Morocco's dumbe arithmeticke." Again, \\\ Ram- Alley, 1611: " Banks's horfe and he were both taught in a ftable." Again, \nAriJtippus, 1630: " Before I heard this lecture, Banks' s horfe was an. Ariilotle to rne." Again, in Jack Drum's Entertainment, 1601 : *' It (hall be chronicled next after the death of Banh's horfe.'* Again, in Ben Jonfon's 134.1!* Epigram : ' Old Banks the jugler, our Pythagoras, " Grave tutor to the learned horfe, &c." The fate of this man and his very docile animal, is not exactly known, and, perhaps, deferves not to be remembered. From the next lines, however, to thofc laft quoted, it ihould feem as if they bad died abroad. " Both which " Being, beyond fea, burned for one witch, 4 * Their fpirits tranfmigrated to a cat." Among the entries at Stationers'-Hall, is the following ; Nov. 14, 151)5. " A ballad (hewing the ftrange qualities ofayongnagg called Morocco.'" Again, Dec. xyth, 1595. " Maroccius excita- tus, or Banks's bay horfe in a traunce." Again, in The 3Iaftive t an ancient collection of Epigrams : " Attempteth eke like Bank?* horfe to dance." Among 394 LOVE's LABOUR/s LOST, Arm. A moft fine figure ! Moth. To prove you a cypher. Arm. I will hereupon confefs, I am in love : and$ as it is bafe for a foldier to love, fo I am in love with a bafe wench. If drawing my fword againft the hu- mour of affection would deliver me from the repro- bate thought of it, I would take defire prifoner ; and ranfom him to any French courtier for a new devis'd court'fy. I think fcorn to figh ; methinks, I fhould out-fwear Cupid. Comfort me, boy ; What great men have been in love ? Moth. Hercules, mafter. Arm. Moft fweet Hercules ! More authority, dear boy, name more ; and, fweet my child, let them be men of good repute and carriage. Moth. Sampfon, mafter : he was a man of good carriage, great carriage ; for he carried the town- gates on his back, like a porter : and he was in love. Among other exploits of this celebrated beaft, it is faid that he went up fo the top ot St. Paul's ; and the fame circumitance is likewife mentioned in The Guls Horn-booke, a fatirical pamphlet, by Decker, 1609. " From hence you may defcend to talk about the borfe that went up, and ftnve, if you can, to know his keeper ; take the day of the month, and the number of the fleppes, and fuffer yourlelf to believe verily that it was not a borfe, but fome- thing elie in the likenefs of one." Again, in Lantborn and Candle-light, or the Bellman's fecond Night-walk, by the fame au- thor : " More ftrange tricks are play'd by fuch riders, than Bankes his curtail did ever practice." Again, in a Culleflion of Epigrams, by J. D. and C. M. no date ; " Another Banks pronounced long ago : " When he his curtail'* qualities expreft." Again, " Yet BankSs borfe is better knowne than he." Again, in Chrcjioloros, or Seven Bookes of Epigrames, written byT.B. 1598, lib. III. ep. 17: " Of Baakef Horfe. '* JBattkes hath a horfe of wondrous qualitie, ** For he can fight, and pifle, and dance, and lie, '* And finde your purfe, and tell what coyne ye have : " But Batikei, who taught your horfe to fmel a knave ?" STEILVENS. Arm. LOVE's LABOURS LOST. 39$ Arm. O well-knit Sampfon ! flrong-jointed Samp- fon ! I do excel thee in my rapier, as much as thou didfl me in carrying gates. I am in love too. Who was Sampfon's love, my dear Moth ? Moth. A woman, mailer. Arm. Of what complexion ? Moth. Of all the four, or the three, or the two ; or one of the four. Arm. Tell me precifely of what complexion ? Moth. Of the fea-water green, fir. Arm. Is that one of the four complexions ? Moth. As I have read, iir ; and the bell of them too. Arm. Green, indeed, is the colour of lovers : but to have a love of that colour, methinks, Sampfon had fmall reafon for it. He, furely, affected her for her wit. Moth. It was fo, fir ; for fhe had a green wit. Arm. My love is mofl immaculate white and red. Moth. Mofl maculate thoughts, mafler, are mafk'cl under fuch colours. Arm. Define, define, well-educated infant. Moth. My father's wit, and my mother's tongue, affifl me ! Arm. Sweet invocation of a child ; mcfl pretty, and pathetical ! Moth. If fhe be made of white and red, Her faults will ne'er be known ; For bluihing cheeks by faults are bred, And fe:irs by pale-white ihown : Then, if fhe fear, or be to blame, By this you lhall not know ; For dill her cheeks poffefs the fame, Which native fhc doth owe. A dangerous rhime, mafler, againil the reafon of white and red. Arm. 396 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. Arm. Is there not a ballad, boy, of 3 the King and the Beggar ? Moth. The world was very guilty of fnch a ballad fome three ages fmce : but, I think, now 'tis not to be found ; or, if it were, it would neither ferve for the writing, nor the tune. Arm. I will have that fubject newly writ o'er, that I may example my digreffion * by ibme mighty prece- dent. Boy, I do love that country girl, "that I took in the park with the rational hind Coftard s ; Ihe de- ferves well. Moth. To be whipp'd ; and yet a better love than my mafler. \_Afide. Arm. Sing, boy ; my fpirit grows heavy in love. Moth. And that's great marvel, loving a light wench. Arm. I fay, fing. Moth Forbear, till this company be paft. Enter Dull, Coftard, and Jaquenetta. Dull. Sir, the duke's pleafure is, that you keep Coftard fafe : and you muft let him take no delight, nor no penance ; but a* muft faft three days a-week : 3 the King and the Beggar?] See Dr. Percy's Collection of old Ballads, in three vols. STEEVENS, 4 my digreffion] Digreffion on this occafion fignifics the at of going out of the right way. So, in Romeo and Juliet ; " Thy noble fhape is but a form of wax, *' Digreffion from the valour of a man." STEEVENS. 5 //k rational hind Cojiard \~\ Perhaps, we Ihould read //^ir- rational hind, &c. TYRWHITT. The rational hind, perhaps, means only the reafoning brute, the animal with fome Jbare of reafon. STEEVENS. I have always read irrational hind: if hind be taken in it's lejlial fenfe, Armado makes Coftard a female. FARMER. Shakefpeare wfes it in its leftial fenfe in Julius Cafar, aft I. fc. iii. and as of the mafculine gender : " He were no lion were not Romans hinds" Again, in K. Henry IV. p. i. fc. iii: " you are a (hallow cowardly hind^ and you lye." STEEVENS. For LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 397 For this damfel, I muft keep her at the park ; flie is allow'd for the day-woman. Fare you well. Arm. I do betray myfelf with blufhing. Maid. Jaq. Man. Arm. I will vifit thee at the lodge. Jaq, That's hereby. Arm. I know where it is fituate. Jaq. Lord, how wife you are ! Arm. I will tell thee wonders. Jaq. With that face ? Arm. I love thee. J Jag. So I heard you fay. Arm. And fo farewell. Jaq. Fair weather after you ! Dull. Come, Jaquenetta, away 6 . [Exeunt Dull and Jaquenetta. Arm. Villain, thou lhalt fafl for thy offences, ere thou be pardoned. Cqft. Well, fir, I hope, when I do it, I fliall do it on a full ftomach. Arm. Thou (halt be heavily punifhed. Coft. I am more bound to you, than your fellows, for they are but lightly rewarded. Arm. Take away this villain ; fhut him up. Moth. Come, you tranfgreffing Have ; away. Coft. Let me not be pent up, fir ; I will faft, being loofc. * Maid. Fair weather after you. Come, Jaqucnetta, envoy."} Thus all the printed copies : but the editors have been guilty of , much inadvertence. They make Jaquenetta, and a Maid enter; whereas Jaquenetta is the only maid intended by the poet, and is committed to the cullody of Dull, to be conveyed by him to the ledge in the park. Thfs being the cafe, it is evident to demon- tfration, that Fair weather after you muft be fpoken by Ja- quenetta ; and then that Dull fays to her, Come, Ja^uenetta, a-ii'aj, as I have regulated the text. THEOBALD. Mr. Theobald has endeavoured here co dignify h-s '.vii incluf- try by a very flight performance. The folios all read as he reads, except that inftead of naming the perfons they give their charac- ters, enter Clown, Conftablc, and Wtncb. JOHNSON. Moth. 398 LOVE's LABOURS LOST. Moth. No, fir ; that were faft and loofe : thou {halt to prifon. Co/I. Well, if ever I do fee the merry days of de~ folation that I have feen, fome fliall fee Moth. What fhall fome fee ? Cojl. Nay, nothing, matter Moth, but what they look upon. 7 It is not for prifoners to be filent in their words ; and, therefore, I will fay nothing : I thank God, I have as little patience as another man; and, therefore I can be quiet. [Exeunt Moth and Cqftard. Arm. I do affecl: 8 the very ground, which is bafe, where her moe, which is bafer, guided by her foot, which is bafefl, doth tread. I ftiall be forfworn, (which is a great argument of falihood) if I love : And how can that be true love, which is falfly at- tempted ? Love is a familiar ; love is a devil : there is no evil angel but love. Yet Sampfon was fo tempted ; and he had an excellent flrength : yet was Solomon fo feduced ; and he had a very good wit. Cupid's but-fhaft is too hard for Hercules' club, and therefore too much odds for a Spaniard's rapier. The firft and fecond caufe will not ferve my turn 9 ; the pafiado he refpeds not, the duello he regards not: his difgrace is to be call'd boy; but his glory is, to fubdue men. Adieu, valour ! ruft, rapier ! be Hill, drum ! for your manager is in love ; yea, he loveth. Affiftme fome extemporal 7 // is not for prifoners to le Jllent in their words ;] I fuppofe we fhould read, it is not for prifoners to be filent in their wards> that is, in cuftody, in the holds. JOHNSON. I believe the blunder was intentional. The quarto, however, reads, It is for prifoners, &c. STEEVENS. 8 <$*& ] i- e - * ove ' So in Warner's Albion's England, 1602, b. xii. ch. 74: " But this I know, not Rome affords whom more you might afeft, " Than her, &c." STEEVENS. 9 *T~he firft and fecond caufe will notfcrve my turn ; ] See the lail a 2, LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. Before I came. Marry, thus much I have learnt^ He rather means to lodge you in the field, (Like one that comes here to befiege his court) Than feek a difpenfation for his oath, To let you enter his unpeopled houfe. Here comes Navarre. Enter the' King> Longaville, Durnain, Biron, and At- tendants* King. Fair princefs, welcome to the court of Na- varre. Prin. Fair, I give you back again ; and, welcome I have not yet : the roof of this court is too high to be yours ; and welcome to the wide fields too bafe to be mine. King. You ihallbe welcome, madam, to my court. Prin. I will be welcome then ; conduct me thither. King. Hear me, dear lady ; I have fworn an oath., Prin. Our Lady help my lord ! hell be forfworn. King. Not for the world, fair madam, by my wilL Prm. Why, will lhal'l break it ; will, and nothing elfe. King. Your ladyfhip is ignorant what it is. Prin. Were my lord fo, his ignorance were wife y Where now his knowledge muft prove ignorance. I hear, your grace hath fworn-out houfe-keeping i 'Tis deadly fin to keep that oath, my lord, 5 And fin to break it : But pardon me, I am too fudden bold ; To teach a teacher ill befeemeth me, Vouchfafe to read the purpofe of my coming, And fuddenly refolve me in my fuit. King. Madam, I will, if fuddenly I may. 5 And fin to Ireak it :} Sir T. Hanmer reads : Not_// to break it. I believe erroneously. The princefs fiievvs an inconvenience very frequently attending rnih oath?, which, whether kept or broken, produce guilt. JOHNSON, Prin. LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 403 Prix. You will the fooner, that I were away ; For you'll prove perjur'd, if you make me flay. Biron: Did not I dance with you in Brabant once ? Rof. Did not I dance with you in Brabant once ? Biron. I know, you did. Rof. How needlefs was it then To afk the queftion ! Biron. You muft not be fo quick* Rof. Tis long of you, that fpur me with fuch queftions. Biron. Your wit's too hot, it fpeeds too fail, 'twill tire. Rof. Not till it leave the rider in the mire. Biron. What time o j day ? Rof. The hour that fools fhould afk. Biron. Now fair befall your mafk ! Rof. Fair fall the face it covers ! Biron. And fend you many lovers ! Rof. Amen ; fo you be none. Biron. Nay, then will I be gone. King. Madam, your father here dotri intimate The payment of a hundred thoufand crowns; Being but the one half of an entire fum, Difburfedby my father in his wars. But fay, that he, or we, (as neither have) Receiv'd that fum ; yet there remains unpaid A hundred thoufand more^ in furety of the which, One part of Aquitain is bound to us, Although not valued to the money's worth. If then the king your father will reftore But that one half which is unfatisfy'd, We will give up our right in Aquitain, And hold fair friendlhip with his majefty. But that, it feems, he little purpofeth, For here he doth demand to have repaid An hundred thoufand crowns ; and not demands 6 , On * ' and net demand*, On payment ', &c.] D d 2 The 404 LOVE's LABOURS LOST. On payment of a hundred thoufand crowns, To have his title live in Aquitain ; Which we much rather had depart 7 withal, And have the money by our father lent, Than Aquitain fo gelded as it is. Dear princefs, were not his requefls fo far From reaibn's yielding, your fair felf fhould make A yielding, 'gainft fome reafon, in my breaft, And go well fatisfied to- France again. Prin. You do the king my father too much wrong. And wrong the reputation of your name, In fo unfeeming to confefs receipt Of that which hath fo faithfully been paid. King. I do proteil, I never heard of it ; And, if you prove it, 111 repay it back, Or yield up Aquitain. Prin. We arre$ your word : Boyet, you can produce acquittances, For fuch a mm, from fpccial officers Of Charles hi-s father. * King. Satisfy me fo. Boyet. So pleafe your grace, the packet is not come, The former editions read : and not tic(ands One payment of a hundred thoufand crowns^ To have his title live in jJquitain. I have reftored, I believe, the genuine lenfe of the paflage. A- quitain was pledged, it feems, to Navarre's father, for 200,000 crowns. The French king pretends to have paid one moiety of this debt, (which Navarre knows nothing of) but demands this moiety back again : inftead whereof (fays Navarre,) he fhould rather pay the remaining moiety and demand to have Aquitain re- delivered up to him. This is plain and eafy reafoning upon the raft luppos'd ; and Navarre' declares, he had rather receive the reiidue of his debt, than detain the province mortgaged for fecu- rity of it. THEOPALD. 7 depart kuff^af] To depart and to part were anciently fynonymous. So, in A". John: " Hath willingly departed with a part." STEEVENS. Where LOVE's LABOURS LOST. 405 Where that and other fpecialties are bound ; To-morrow you mall have a fight of them. King. It fhall fuffice me ; at which interview. All liberal reafon I will yield unto. Mean time, receive fuch welcome at my hand, As honour, without breach of honour, may Make tender of to thy true worthinefs : You may not come, fair priacefs, in my gates i But here without you ihall be fo receiv'd, As you fhall deem yourfelf lodg'd in my heart, Though fo deny'd fair harbour in my houfe. Your own good thoughts excufe me, and farewel : To-morrow we fhall vifit you again, Prin. Sweet health and fair defires confort your grace ! King. Thy own wifh wifh I thee in every place ! [Exit. Biron. Lady, I will commend you to my own heart. Rof. I pray you, do my commendations ; I would be glad to fee it. Biron. I would, you heard it groan. Rof. Is the fool iick ? Biron. Sick at the heart. Rof. Alack, let it blood. Biron. Would that do it good ? Rof. My phyfick lays, I. Biron. Will you prick't with your .eye ? Rof. Non poynt, with my knife 8 . Biron. Now, God lave thy life ! Rof. And yours from long living ! Biron. I cannot flay thanklgiving. [Exit. Dum. Sir, I pray you, a word ; What lady is that lame 9 ? Boyet. 2 Nonpqynt, ] So in the Shoemaker's Holiday, 1600 : " tell me where he is. " No point. Shall I betray my brother ?" STEEVENS. e What lady it that fame f} It is odd that Shakefpearc fliould D d 3 make 4 a6 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. Boyet. The heir of Alencon, Rofaline her name, Dum. A gallant lady ! Monfieur, fare you well. [Exit. Long* I befeech you, a word ;; What is Ihe in the white ? Boyet. A woman fometimes, an you faw her in the light. Long. Perchance, light in the light : I defire her name. Boyet. She hath but one for herfelf ; to defire that, were a fliame. Long. Pray you, fir, wriofe daughter ? Boyet. Her mother's, I have heard. Long. ' God's bleffing on your beard ! Boyet. Good fir, be not offended : She is an heir of Faulconbridge. Long. Nay, my choler is ended. . She is a moft fweet lady. Boyet. Not unlike, fir ; that may be. [Exit Long. Biron. What's her name in the cap ? Boyet. Katharine, by good hap. Biron. Is fhe wedded, or no ? Boyet. To her will, fir, or ib. Biron. You are welcome, fir ; adieu ! Boyet. Farewell to me, fir, and welcome to you. [Exit Biro,!.. Mar. That laft is Biron, the merry mad-cap lord ; Not a word with him but a jeft. Boyet. And every jeft but a word. make Dumain enquire after Rcfalinc, who was the miftrefs of Bl~ ran, and neglect Katharine, who was his own. Sir on behaves in the fame manner. No advantage would be gained by an ex- change of names, becaufe the laft fpeech is determined to Biron by Maria, who gives a character of him after he has made his exit. Perhaps ail the ladies wore maiks but the princefs. STEEVENS. 1 God's Hefting on your heard /] That is, mayft thou have fenfe and ferioufnefs more proportionate to thy beard, the length of which fuits ill with fuch idle catches of wit. JOHNSON. Pri*. LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 407 Prln. It was well done of you, to take him at his word. Boyet. I was as willing to grapple, as he was to board. Mar. Too hot iheeps, marry ! Boyet. And wherefore not fhips ? No fheep, fweet lamb, unlefs we feed on your lips *. Mar. You fheep, and I pallure ; Shall that finifli the jeft ? Boyet. So you grant paflure for me. Mar. Not fo, gentle beaft ; My lips are no common, though feveral they be *. Boyet. z ' unlefs ivc feed on your lips,"] Shakefpeare has the fame cxpreflion in his Venus and Adonis : , ** Feed where thou wilt, on mountain or on dale, ** Graze on my lips." MALONE. 3 My lips are no common, though feveral they lc.~\ Several is an inclofed field of a private proprietor ; fo Maria fays, her lips are private property. Or a lord that was newly married, oneobfervcd that he grew fat ; " Yes," faid fir Walter Raleigh, " any beaft will grow fat, if you take him from the common and graze him in the feveral." JOHNSON. So, in The Rival Friends, 1632 : " my fheep have quite difgreft. " Their bounds, and leap'd into the feverall." Again, in Green's Difputation, &c. 1592 : " rather would have mewed me up as a henne, to have kept thatfcvcra/I to himfelf by force, &c." Again, in Sir John OUcaJUc^ 1600: " Of late he's broke into zfcverall " That does belong to me." STEEVE-NS. JWy lips arc no common, though feveral they be. ] In the note upon this paflage it is laid that SEVERAL is an htcJafed field of a private proprietor. Dr. Johnfon has totally miftaken this word. In the firft place it {hould be fpelled five rdl. This does not figniry an inclofed field or private property, but is rather the property of every land- holder in the parifh. In the uninclofed parifhes in \Varwickihire and other counties, their method of tillage is thus. The land is divided into three fields, one of which is every year fallow. This the farmers plough and manure, and prepare for bearing wheat. Betwixt the lands and at the end of them, fome little grafs land is interfperfed, and there are here and there, fome little patches of green fwcrd. The next year this ploughed field bears wheat, P d and 4 o8 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. Boyet. Belonging to whom ? Mar. To my fortunes and me. Pri/t. Good wits will be jangling : but, gentles, agree : The civil war of wits were much better ufed On Navarre and his book-men ; for here 'tis abufed. Boyet. If my obfervation, (which very feldom lyes) By the heart's flill rhetorick, difclofed with eyes, Deceive me not now, Navarre is infected. Prin. With what ? Boyet. With that which we lovers intitle, affected. Prin. Your reafon ? Boyet. Why, all his behaviours did make their re- tire To the court of his eye, peeping thorough defire : His heart, like an agat, with your print impreffed, Proud with his form, in his eye pride expreffed : His tongue, all impatient to fpeak and not fee % Did fluihblc with hafte in his eye-fight to be ; All fenfes to that fenfe did make their repair, 5 To feel only looking on faireil of fair : and the grafs land is preferred for hay ; and the year following the proprietors fow it with beans, oats, or barley, at their dif- cretion ; and the next year it lies falldvv again ; fo that each field i# its turn is fallow every third year ; and the field thus fallowed is called the common field, on which the coWs and iheep graze, and have herdfmen and fhepherds to attend them, in order t$ prevent them from going into the two other fields which beat- corn and grafs. Theie laft are called tliefevcrell, which is not leparated from the common by any fence whatever ; but the care Or preventing the cattle from going into the fcverell is left to the, herdfmen and {hepherds ; but the herdfmen have no authority over the town bull, who is permitted to go where he pleafes in the fever ell. Dr. JAMES. Holinfhed's Dcfiription of Britain, p. 33, ar^d Leigh's Acce- dence of Armourie, 1597, p. 52. fpell this word like Shakefpeare. Leigh mentions the town bull, and fays, " z\\ federals to him are common.'-' TOLLET. 4 His tongue, all impatient to fficak and not fee, "\ That is, his. iongfte being impatiently (lefirous to fee as iveH as. fpeak. JOHNSON. 5 , To feel only looking ] Perhaps we may better read : To feed only by looking JOHNSON. Me- L.QVFs LABOUR'S LOST. 409 Methought, all his fenfes were lock'd in his eye, As jewels in cryilal for fome prince to buy ; Who, tendring their own worth, from whence they were glafs'd, Did point out to buy them, along as you pafs'd. His face's own margent did quote fuch amazes, That all eyes faw his eyes inchanted with gazes : 1*11 give you Aquitain, and all that is his, An you give him for my fake but one loving kifs. Prin. Come, to our pavilion : Boyet is difpos'd Boyet. But to fpeak that in words, which his eye hath difclos'd : I only have made a mouth of his eye, By adding a tongue which I know will not lye. Rnf. Thou art an old love-monger, and fpeak'fl ikilfully. Mar. He is Cupid's grandfather, and learns news of him. Rof. Then was Venus like her mother ; for her fa- ther is but grim. Boyet. Do you hear, my mad wenches ? Mar. No. Boyet. What then, do you fee ? Rof. 'Ay, our way to be gone. Boyet. You are too hard for me 6 . * Boyet. You are too bard for me.] Here, in all the books, the zd aft is made to end : but in my opinion very miltakenly. I have ventured to vary the regulation of the four laft ads from the printed copies, for theie reafons. Hitherto the 2d aft has been of the extenf of feven pages ; the 3d of but five ; and the 5th of no lei's than twenty-nine. And this difproportion of length has crowded too many incidents into fome afts, and left the others quite barren. I have now reduced them into a much better equal- ity ; and distributed the buiinefs likewife, (fuch as it is) into a more uniform caft. THEOBALD. Mr. Theobald has reafon enough to propofe this alteration, but he fhould not have made it in his "book without better authority or more need. I have therefore preferved his obfeivation, but con- tinued the former diviiion. JOHNSON. ACT 4 io. LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. ACT III. SCENE I. 'fhe Park ; near the Palace. < Enter Armado and Moth 7 . Arm. Warble, child ; make paflionate my fenfe of hearing. Moth. Concolinel 8 \_Smging. Arm. Sweet air ! Go, tendernefs of years ; take this key, give enlargement to the fwain, bring him feftinately hither 9 ; I muft employ him in a letter to my love. 7 Enter Armado and Moth.] In the folios the direction is, entet Braggart and Moth, and at the beginning of every fpeech of Ar- mado itands Brag, both in this and the foregoing fcene between him and his boy. The other perfonages of this play are likewife noted by their characters as often as by their names. All this confulion has been well regulated by the later editors. JOHNSON. 8 Concolinel ] Here is apparently a fong loft. JOHNSON. I have obferved in the old comedies, that the fongs are fre- quently omitted. On this occafion the ilage direction is general- ly Here they Jlng or Cantant. Probably the performer was left to chufe his own ditty, and therefore it could not with pro- priety be exhibited as part of a new performance. Sometimes yet more was left to the difcretion of the ancient comedians, as I learn from the following circumftance in K. Edward IV. zd p. 1619 : " Jockey is led whipping over the ilage, fpeaking fome words, but of no importance." Again, in Greene's Tu Quoque, 1 599 : " Here they two talk and rail ivbat they lift." Again, in Decker's Honcft Wljore^ 1635 : "" He places all things in order, Jlnging with the ends of old ballads as he does it.'* Again, in Marfton's Dutch Caurtefan, 1604 : " Cantat Gallicc." But no fong is fet down. Again, in the jta ./#. *' Cantat faltatque cum Citbara." Not one out of the many fongs fuppofed to be fung in Mar- fton's Antonio's Revenge, \ 602, are inferted ; but inflead of them, cantant. STEEVENS. 5 feftinately hither ;] i.e. haftily. Shakefpeare ufes the adjective y>/?/#rf/f, in another of his plays. STEEY^NS. Moth. LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 4 n Moth. Matter, will you win your love with a French brawl l ? Arm. How mean'ft thou ? brawling in French ? Motb^ No, my compleat matter : but to jig off a tune at the tongue's end, canary to it with your feet % humour it with turning up your eye-lids; figh a note, and fing a note ; fometime through the throat, as if you fwallow'd love with iinging love ; fometime through the nofe,, as if you fnuff'd up love by finel- li-ng love ; with your hat penthoufe-like, o'er the fhop of your eyes ; with your arms crofs'd on your thin belly-doublet, like a rabbit on a fpit; or your hands in your pocket, like a man after the old painting ? ; and keep not too long in one tune, but a imp and away : Thefe are complements *, thefe are humours : I a French brawl ? ] A brawl is a kind of dance. Ben Jonfon mentions it in one of his maiques : " And thence did Venus learn to lead . " Th' Idalian brails, &c." In the Malcontent of Mariton, I meet with the followjng account of it. " The bra--j:l, why 'tis but two fingles to the left, two on the right, three doubles forwards, a traverie of fix rounds : do this twice, three fingles fide galiiard trick of twenty coranto pace ; a figure of eight, three fingles broken down, come up^ meet two doubles, fall back, and then honour." Again, in B. [onion's mafque of Time Vindicated: " The Graces did them footing teach; '* And, at the old Idalian bra--tvls y " They danc'd your mother down." STEEVENS, So, in Maflmger's Pifiure, aft II. fc. ii : " 'Tis a French brawl, an apifii imitation " Of what you really perform in battle." TOLLET. II canary to it with your feet,'] Canary was the name of a fpritely nimble dance. THEOBALD. 3 like a man after the old painting ; ] It was a common trick among fome of the moil: indolent of the ancient mailers, to place the hands in the bofom or the pockets, or conceal them in fomc other part of the drapery, to avoid the labour of reprefenting them, or to difguife their own want of fkill to employ them with grace and propriety. STEEVENS. 4 Thefe are complements,] Dr. Warburton has here changed \-OMplijl-nients, for accomplijbmcnts^ but unneceffarily. JOHNSON. thefe 412 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 5 thefe betray nice wenches that would be betray'd without thefe ; and make the men of note, (do you note men ?) that are moil affedted to thefe. Arm. How haft thou purchas'd this experience ? Moth. By my penny of obfervation 6 . Arm. 7 But O, but O Moth. the hobby-horfe is forgot. Arm. Call'ft thou my love, hobby-horfe ? Moth. No, mafter ; the hobby-horfe is but a colt % and your love, perhaps, a hackney. But have you forgot your love ? Arm. Almoft I had. Moth. Negligent ftudent ! learn her by heart. Arm. By heart, and in heart, boy. 5 thefe betray, &c.] The former editors: thefe betray nice wenches, that would be betray' d -without thefc^ and make them men of note. But who will ever believe, that the odd attitudes and aife&ations or" lovers, by which they betray young Benches, fhould have power to make thefe young wenches men of note ? His mean- ing is, that they not only inveigle the young girls, but make the men taken notice of too, who affecl: them. THEOBALD. 6 J>y my pen of obfervation.^ Sir T. Hanmer reads : " by my fenny of obfervation;" and this is certainly right. The allufion is r.o the famous old piece, called a Pennivjorth of Wit. FARMER. 7 Ann. But O,but O Moth. the hobby-horfe is forgot. ] In the celebration of May-day, belides the fports now ufed of hanging a pole with garlands, and dancing round it, formerly a boy wijs drefled up reprefenting Maid Marian ; another like a fryar ; and another rode on a hobby-horfe, with bells jingling^ and painted ftreamers. Alter the Reformation took place, and precilians multiplied, thefe latter rites were looked upon to favour of paganifm ; and then maid Marian, the friar, and the poor hobby-horfe, were turned out of the games. Some who were not fo wifely predfe, but regretted the dilute of the hobby-horfe, no doubt, fatirized this fufpicion of idolatry, and archly wrote the epitaph above alluded to. Now Moth, hearing Armado groan ridiculoully, and cry OIK, Jir/t oh! but oh / humouroufly pieces out his exclamation with the fequel of this epitaph. THEOBALD. The fame line is repeated in Hamlet. See the note on act III. fc. ii. STEEVENS. 8 but a colt,] Colt is a hot, mad-brained, unbroken young fel- low ; or fo-nietimes sn old fellow with youthful defires. JOHNSON. Moth, LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 413 Moth. And out of heart, mailer : all thofe three I will prove. Arm. What wilt thou prove ? Moth. A man, if I live ; and this, by, in, and without, upon the inftant : By heart you love her, becaufe your heart cannot come by her : in heart you love her, becaufe your heart is in dove with her ; and out of heart you love her, being out of heart that you cannot enjoy her. Arm* I am all thefe three. Motb. And three times as much more, and yet nothing at all. Arm. Fetch hither the fwain ; he muil carry me a letter. Motb. A mefTage well fympathis'd ; a horfe to be embailador for an afs I Arm. Ha, ha ; what fayeft thou ? Motb. Marry, fir, you muil fend the afs upon the horfe, for he is very flow-gaited : But I go. Arm. The way is but fnort ; away. Moth. As fwift as lead, fir. Arm. Thy meaning, pretty ingenious ? Is not lead a metal heavy, dull, and flow ? Motb. Mtninie, honeft mailer; or rather, mailer, no. Arm. I fay, lead is flow. Motb. You are too fwift, fir, to fay fo 9 : Is that lead flow, which is fir'd from a gun ? 9 Ton are toofiuift, Jir, to fay fa.] How is he too fwift for fay- ' ing that lead is flow ? I fancy we fhould read, as well to fupply the rhyme as the fenfe : v Ton are toofwift, jir, to fay fo fo foon : Is that leadjhvui Jir y which h fir* d from a gun? JOHNSON. The meaning, I believe, is, Ton do not give yourl'elf time to d'ink, if you fay fo. Sivift t however, means ready at replies. So, in Mar/Ion's Makontent, 1604 : <; I have eaten but two fpoonfuls, and methinks I could dif- courfe both/iu//?/v and wittily already. STEEVENS. Swift is here ufed, as in other places, fynonymouily with wrV/r. I fuppofe the meaning of Atalantefs letter part, in As Tou Like It, is her wit the l^lftncfs of her mind. FARMER. By LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST. Arm. Sweet fmoke of rhetorick ! He reputes me a cannon ; and the bullet, that's he : I Ihoot thee at the fwain. Moth. Thump then, and I flee. [Exif. Arm. A moft acute ju venal ; voluble and free of grace ! 1 By thy favour, fweet welkin, I muft figh in thy face j Moft rude melancholy, valour gives thee place. My herald is returned. He-enter Moth and Coftard. Motb. A wonder, mafter ; here's a Coftard 2 broken in a fhin. Arm. Some enigma, fomc riddle : Come, thy F envoy ; begim Coft. No egma, no riddle, no F envoy 3 ; no falve in the male, Sir * : O Sir, plantain, a plain plantain ; no I 9 envoys no F envoy 9 of falve, Sir, but a plain- tain ! Arm. By virtue, thou cnforceft laughter ; thy filly thought, my fpleen ; the heaving of my lungs pro- vokes me to ridiculous fmiling : O, pardon me, my flars ! Doth the inconfiderate take falve for V envoy, and the word, F envoy, for a falve ? Motb. 1 By t~b\' favour, facet welkin, ] Welkin is the Iky, to which Armado, with the falfe dignity of a Spaniard, -makes an apology for fighing in its face. JOHNSON. 2 here's a Coftard broken ] i. e. a head. So, in Hycke Scorncr : " I wyll ruppe you on the coftard with my home." STEEVENS. 3 no l*envoy ;] The f envoy is a term borrowed from the old French poetry. It appeared always at the head of a few conclud- ing verfes to each piece, which either ferved to convey the mo- ral, or to addrefs the poem to fome particular perfon. It was frequently adopted by the ancient English writers. So, in Monjlcur D' Olive, 1 606 : " Well fdid : now to the UEnviy." All the Tragedies of John Bocbas, tranflated by Lidgate, are followed by a L'Evvoy, STEEVENS. 4 no/alvf, In the male, fir.'} The old folio reads, no falve in the LOVE'S LABOURS LOST. &, T 3 Moth. Doth the wife think them other ? is not F envoy a falve ? Arm. No, page ; it is an epilogue or difcourfe, to make plain Some obfcure precedence that hath tofore been fain. I will example it s : The fox, the ape, and the humble-bee, Were ftill at odds, being but three. There's the moral : Now the I' 'envoy. Moth. I will add the I* envoy ; Say the moral again. Arm. The fox, the ape, and the humble-bee, Were flill at odds, being but three : Moth. Until the goofe came out of door, Staying the odds by adding four. tliee male, Jir, which, in another folio, is, no falve, in tie male, Jir. What it can mean is not eauly difcovered : if mail for a packet or lag was a word then in ufe, no falve in the mail may mean, no falve in the mountebank's budget. Or (hall we ,read, no enigma, no riddle, no I * envoy in the vale, Jir O,- Jir, plantain. The matter is not great, but one would wifh for fome meaning or other. JOHNSON. Male or mail was a word then in ufe. Reynard the fox fent Kayward's head in a male. And, fo, in 1'amburlane, or the Scy- thian Shepherd, I 590 : " Open the males, yet guard the treafure fure." I believe Dr. Johnfon's firft explanation to be right. STEEVENS. I can fcarcely think that Shakefpeare had fo far forgotten his little fchool learning, as to fuppofe that the Latin verb falve, and the Englifh fubftantive, falve, had the fame pronunciation ; and yet without this, the quibble cannot be preferved. FARMER. The fame quibble occurs in Arijlippus, or the Jovial Philo/a* pher, 1630 : " -Salve, Mafter Simplicius. " Salve me ; 'tis but a Surgeon's compliment." STEEVENS. No falve in the male, Jir, may mean, *' I will have none ot all the falves you have in the male :" treating him as a moun- tebank. MUSGRAVE. Perhaps we mould read no falve in them all, Jir. TYRWHITT. 5 7w/7/ example it :] Thefe words, and fome others, are neither in the firft folio, nor in the 410 1631, but in that of 1598* I itill believe the whole paflage to want fome regulation, though it has not fufficient merit to encourage the' editor who Ihould attempt it. STEEVENS, Now 4 i6 LOVE'S LABOURS LOST. Now will I begin your moral, and do you follcfw With my f envoy. The fox, the ape, and the humble bee, Were ftill at odds, being but three : Arm. Until the goofe came out of door, Staying the odds by adding four. Moth* A good F envoy, ending in the goofe ; Would you defire more ? Coft. The boy hath fold him a bargain^ a goofe, that's flat : Sir, your penny-worth is good, an your goofe be fat. To fell a bargain well, is as cunning as faft and loofe : Let me fee a fat I 'envoy ; ay, that's a fat goofe. Arm. Come hither, come hither : How did this argument begin ? Moth. By faying, that a Coftard was broken in a fhih. Then call'd you for the I 'envoy. 'Coft. True, and I for a plantain ; thus came yotir argument in : Then theboy's fat Fenvoy,the goofe that you bought; And he ended the market 6 . Arm. But tell me ; how was there a 7 Coftard broken in a Ihin ? Moth. I will tell you fenfibly. Coft. Thou haft no feeling of it, Moth ; I will fpeak that F envoy 6 And be ended the market.] Alluding to the proverb women and a goofe make a market. Tre donne et uu occa fan un mer- cato. Ital. Ray's Proverbs. STEEVENS. 7 hoiv ivas there a Coftard broken in a Jhin. f~\ Coftard is the name of a fpecies of apple. JOHNSON. It has been already obferved that the bead was anciently call- ed the coftard. So, inK. Rich. III. " Take him over the coftard with the hilt of thy fword." A coftard likewife fignified a crab-Jltck. So, in the Loyal Subjcft of B. and Fletcher ; " I hope they'll crown his fervice." *' With a coftard" STEEVENS. I, Coltard, LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 417 I-, Coftard, running out, that was fafely within, Fell over the threfhold, and broke my min. Arm. We will talk no more of this matter. Coft. 'Till there be more matter in the fliin. Arm. Sirrah, Coftard, I will enfranchife thee, Coft. O, marry me to one Frances ; I fmell fome Ferwcy, fome goofe, in this. Arm. By my fweet foul, I mean, fetting thee at li- berty, enfreedoming thy perfon ; thou wert immur'd, restrained, captivated, bound. Coft. True, true ; and now you will be my purga- tion, and let me loofe. Arm. I give thee thy liberty, fet thee from durance ; and, in lieu thereof, impofe on thee nothing but this : Bear this fignificant to the country maid Jaquenetta : there is remuneration; [Giving kirn money. ^ for the beft ward of mine honour, is, rewarding my depen- dants. Moth, follow. [Exit. Moth. Like the fequel, 1 8 . Signior Coftard, adieu. [Exit. oft. My fweet ounce of man's fleih ! my incony Jew 9 ! 8 Like the fequel, /.] Sequele, in French, fignifies a great man's train. The joke is, that a {ingle page was all his train. WAR BUR TON, I believe this joke exifts only in the apprehenlion of the com- mentator. Sequelle, by the French, is never employed but in a de- rogatory fenie. They uie it to exprefs thtgang of a h-icrh wayman, but not the train of a lord ; the followers of a rebel, and not the attendants on a general. Thus Holinflied, p. 639. " to the intent that by theextin6tion of him and his fequeale, all civil warre and inward divilion might ceafe, &c." Moth IjSs&'feautl only in the literary acceptation. STEEVENS. 9 my incony Jew !] Incony or kony in the north fignifie?, fine, delicate as a kony thing, a fine thing. It is plain there- fore, we fliould read : my incony jewel. WAREURTOX. I know not whether it be right, however fpecious, to change Jeiv to Jewel. Jciv, in our author's time, was, for whatever reafon, apparently a word of endearment. So, in the MiJfummer- Nigbt's Dream : " Mojl brljly Juvtnile, and eke moft lovey Jav," JOHNSON. II, E e The 418 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. Now will I look to his remuneration. Remunera- tion ! O, that's the Latin word for three farthings : three farthings remuneration. What's the price of this inkle ? a penny : 'Afo, F II give you a remuneration : why, it carries it. Remuneration ! why, it is a fairer name than French crown. I will never buy and fell out of 'this word. Enter Bironi Biron. O, my good knave Coflard ! exceedingly well met* Coft. Pray you, Sir, how much carnation ribbon may a man buy for a remuneration ? Biron. What is a remuneration ? Coft. Marry, Sir, half-penny farthing, Biron. O, why then, three-farthing-worth of filk. Coft. I thank your worfhip : God be with you. Biron. O, flay, Have ; I muft employ thee : As thou wilt win my favour, good my knave, Do one thing, for me that I lhall entreat. The word is ufed again in the 4th aft of this play : ii , mo ji i ncori y vulgar wit." In the old comedy called Blurt Mafter Conftalle, 1602. 1 meet with it again. A maid is fpeaking to her miftrefs about a gown : " it makes you have a moft inconie body." Cony and incony have the fame meaning. So, Metaphor fays in Jonfon's Tale of a Tub : " O fuperdainty canon, vicar inconey." Again, in the Tivo angry Women of Abingdon, 1 599 : " O I have fport inconey i'faith/' Again, in Marlow's jfew of Malta, 1633 : *' While I in thy incony lap do tumble." Again, in Doftor Dodypoll, a comedy, 1600: " A cockfcomb incony^ but that he wants money." STEEVENCI. 1 No, ril give you a remuneration : Why? it carries its remune- ration. Why ? it is a fairer name than a French mKivz.J Thus thi? paflage has hitherto been writ, and pointed, without any regard to common fenfe, or meaning. The' reform, that I have made, flight as it is, makes it both intelligible and humorous. THEOBALD. Coft, LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 419 'Coft. When would you have it done, fir ? Biron. O, this afternoon. Coft. Well, I will do it, fir : Fare you well. Biron. O, thou knoweft not what it is. 'Coft. I fhall know^ fir, when I have done it. Biron, Why, villain, thou rnuft know firft. Coft. 1 will come to your worihip to-morrow rriorri- ing. Biron. It mufi be done this afternoon. Hark, Have, it is but this ; The princefs eomes to hunt here in the park; And in her train there is a gentle lady ; When tongues fpeak fweetly; then they name her name, And Rofaline they call her : aik for her ; And to her fweet hand fee thou do commend This fealM-up counfel. There's thy guerdon ; go. [Gives him money. Coft. Guerdon, O fweet guerdon * \ better than remuneration ; eleven-pence farthing better: Mbft fweet guerdon ! I will do it, fir, in print J . Guer- don remuneration. [Exit. Biron. Again, Again, Again, in Wily Beguil'cl : " I hope, as guerdon for my jufl defert." STEEVENS,, 3 in print.} i. e; exactly, \vith the utrriofl nicety. It has been propofed to me to read in point, but, I think, without neceility, the former expreffion being ftill in ufe. STEEVENS. I will do it, Sir, in print. So, Ben Jonfon, vol. IV. p. 140* Whalley's edit: " fits my ruff we'll ? " Lin. In print/' Again, voh I. Every Man out of bis Humour, (p. 195.) " O, you are a gallant in print now, brother." TYRWHITT. So, again in Decker's Honejl Whore, 1635 : ** I am lure my hufband is a man in print, in all things elfe." Again, in Woman is a Weathercock, 1612 : " this doublet fits in print, my lord/' E e i Again, 1 4 4o LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. Blron. O f And I, forfooth, in love ! I, that haVe been love's whip ; A very beadle to a humorous figh ; A critic; nay, a night-watch conftabl'e ; A domineering pedant o'er the boy, Than whom no mortal. f6 magnificent ! This wimpled 4 , whining, purolirid, wayward boy; This iignior Junio's giant-dwarf, Dan Cupid s ; Regent Again, in Blurt Softer. Confiabh : " Next, your ruff muft ftand in print." STEEVENS. 4 This wimpled ] The ^Mimpk was a hood or veil which fell over the face. Had Shakefpeare been acquainted with thejlammcnm of the Romans, or the gem which reprefents the marriage of Cupid and Pfyche, his choice ot the epithet would have been much applauded by all the advocates in favour of his learning. In Ifaiah, ch. iii. v. 22. we finil': " the mantles, and *' the ivimfles^ and the crifping-pins;" and, in The Devil's Char- ter, 1607, to tvimfle is ufed as a verb : *' Here, I perceive a Tittle rivellin-g lt Above my forehead, but I witttplt it, " Either with jewels, or a lock of hair." STEEVENS, 5 *This fignior Junio'.t giant-dwarf, Dan Cupid ;~\ It was fome time ago "mgenioufly hinted to me, (and I readily came into the opinion) that as there was a contraft of terms in giant-dwarf, ib, probably, there ftould be in" the 'word immediately preceding them ; and therefore thnt we fhould reftore : This fenior-junior, giant-dvjarf, Dan Cupid. i. e. this old young man. And there is, indeed, afterwards, \\\ this play, a defcription of Cupid which ibrts very aptly with i'uch- aa emendation : *7 'bat "jcas tie iivTty to make bis godhead ti'a.v, For be batb been five thoufandji'mrj a boy. The conjecture is exquilitely well imagined, and ought by all means to be embraced unlefs there is reaibn to think, that, in the former reading, there is an alktfion to fome tale, or character in an old play. I have not, on this account, ventured to difturb the text, becaufe there leems to me fome reafon to fufpect, that our author is- here alluding to Beaumont and Fletcher's BeaJuca. In that tragedy there is the character of one funius, a Roman cap- tain, who falls in love to diilraction with one of Bondtica'? daugh- ters ; and becomes an arrant whining flave to this pailion. Us is afterwards cured of his infirmity, and is as abfolute a tyrant againfl the lex. Now,, with regard to thefe two extremes, Cupid ipight very probably be ftyled Junius's giant-dwarf: a giant in his eye* LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 421 Regent of love-rhimes, lord of folded arms, The anointed fovereign of fighs and groans, Liege of all loiterers and malecontents, Dread prince of plackets, king of codpieces, Sole imperator, and great general J Of trotting paritors 6 ,~O my little heart !-^- And I to be a corporal of his fiel'd 7 , And eye, while the dotage was upon him ; Jbut ftirunk into a dwarf, fo foon as be had got the better of it. THEOBALD. Mr. Upton has made a very ingenious conje&ure on this paf- fage. He reads : nisfivnior Julio's giant-dwarf Shakefpeare, fays he, intended to compliment Julio Romano, who drew Cupid in the chara&er of a giant-dwarf. Dr. Warbur- ton thinks, that by Junio is meant youth in general. JOHNSON. There is no reuion to luppofe that Beaumont's and Fletcher's Bonduca was written ib early as the year 1598, when this play appeared. Even if it was then publiihed, the fuppofed alluiion to the character of Junius is forced and improbable ; and who, in fupport of Upton's conjecture will alcertain, that Julio Romano ever drew Cupid as a giant-dwarf? Shakefpeare., in K. Rich. III. act IV. fc. iv. ufes fignory forfenioritv ; and Stowe's Chronicle, p. 149. Edit. 1614, fpeaks of Edward the flgxior, i.e. the elder. I can therefore fuppofe thutjigner here means fenior, and got the Italian title of honour. Thus in the firit folio, at the end pf the Comedy of Errors : " S. Dro. Not I, fir ; you are my elder. " E. Dro. That's a queftion : how fhall we try it? " S. Dro. We'll draw cuts for ihe Jignior. TOLLET. 6 Of trotting paritors : ] An apparitor or paritor, is an officer of the bilhop's court, who carries out citations ; as citations are moil frequently iffued for fornication, the paritor is put under Cupid's government. JOHNSON. 7 And I to le a corporal of his file, &c.] In former editions : And I to le a corporal of bis field, And wear his colours like a tumbler's hoop ! A corporal oi afield is quite a new term : neither did the tuniblers ever adorn their hoops with ribbands, that I can learn : for thofe were not carried in parade about with them, as the fencer carries his fword : nor, if they were, is the limilitude at all pertinent to the cafe in hand. I read : like a tumbler ftoop. To Jloop like a tumbler agrees not only with that profeffion, and the fervile condefcenfions of a lover, but with what follows in the E e ^ cop- 422 LOVE^s LABOUR'S LOST. And wear his colours like a tumbler's hoop ! What ? what ? I love 8 ! I fue ! I feek a wife ! context. The wife tranfcribers, when once the tumbler appeared, thought his hoop mufl not be far 1 behind. WAR BUR TON. The conceit feems to be very forced and remote, however it be underftood. The notion is not that the hoop wears colours, but that the colours are worn as a tumbler carries his hoop, hanging on one ftioulder and falling under 'the oppofite arm. JOHNSON. Perhaps the tumbler? hoops were adorned with their matter's colours, or with ribbands,. To wear his colours, means to wear his badge or cognifance, or to be his fervant or retainer. So, in jlolinjhcffs Hift. of Scotland, p. 301 : " The earle of Surrie gave to his fervants this cognifance (to wear on their left arm) which was a white lyon, &c." So, in Stowe's Annals, p. 274. ** All that ware the dukes fign, or colours, were faine to hide them, conveying them from th.^ir necks into their bofome."', Again, in Selden's Ditetto, chap, ii : " His efquires cloathed in his colours" Biron banters himfelf upon being a corporal of Cu- pid's field, and a fervant of that great general and imperator. ToLLET. It was once a mark of gallantry to wear a lady's colours. So, in Cynthia's Revels, by Ben Jonfon : " difpatches his lacquey to the chamber early to know what her colours are for the day, with purpofe to apply his wear that day accordingly, &c." I am informed by a lady who remembers morris-dancing, that the character who tumbled, always carried his hoop dreffed out with ribbands, and in the polition defcribed by Dr. Johnfon. STEEVENS. Corporals of the field are mentioned in Carew's Survey of Corn- wall; and Raleigh Ipeaks of them twice, vol. i. p. 103. vol. ii. p. 367, edit. 1751. TOLLET. This officer is likewife mentioned in Ben Jonfon's New Inn: ** As corporal of the field, maeftro del campo." Giles Clayton, in his Martial 'Difcipllne, 1591, has a chapter pn the office and duty of a corporalof the field. In one of Drake's Voyages, it appears, that the captains Morgan and Sampfon by this name, " had commandement over the reft of the land-cap- taines." Brokefby tells us, that " Mr. DodwelPs father was in an office then known by the name of corporal of the field, which he faid was equal to that of a captain of horfe." FARMER. It appears from Lord Strafford's Letters, vol. ii. p. 199, that a corporal of the field was employed as an aid-de-camp is now, " in taking and carrying too and fro the directions of the general, or other the higher officers of the field." TYRWHITT. 8 What? what? Hove f] The fecond what has been fupplied by the editors, I fhould like better to read'- What ? // I love ! TYRWHITT. A WO- LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 423 A woman, that is like a German clock 9 , Still a repairing ; ever out of frame ; And never going aright, being a watch, But being watch'd that it may ftill go right ? Nay, to be perjur'd, which is worft of all : And, among three, to love the worft of all ; A whitely wanton with a velvet brow, With two pitch balls ftuck in her face for eyes ; Ay, and, by heaven, one that will do the deed, Though Argus were her eunuch and her guard : And I to figh for her ! to watch for her ! To pray for her ! Go to ; it is a plague That Cupid will impofe for my negled: 9 like a German clock, Still a repairing ; ] The fame allution occurs in WeJlward-Hoe, by Decker and Webfter, 1607 : ** no German dock, no mathematical engine whatfoever, requires fo much reparation, &c." Again, in A Mad World my Mafters, 1608 : ' (lie coniifts of a hundred pieces, 1 Much like your German dock, and near allied : * Both are fo nice they cannot go for pride. * Befides a greater fault, but too well known, l . They'll itrike to ten when they fhould flop at one." Ben Jonfon has the fame thought in his Silent Woman, and B. and Fletcher in Wit without Money, The following extraft is taken from a book called The Artificial Clock-Maker , 3antaf;i>, the Italiar. Taylor and bh boy', made by Mr. Armin, fervnnt to his inaieih'." It probably contains the hiftory of Monarcko, of whom Mr. Far- mer fpeaks in the following note, to vvliica 1 have fubjoined aw. additional inftance. STEEVEN. To 430 LOVE's LABOURS LOST, To the prince, and his book-mates. Prin: Thou, fellow, a word : Who gave thee this letter ? Co/}. I told you ; my lord. Prin. To whom ihouldfl thou give it ? Coft. From my lord to my lady. Prin. From which lord, to which lady ? Coft. From my lord Biron, a good matter of mine 5 : To a lady of France, that he call'd Rofaline. Prin. Thou hafl miflaken his letter. Come, lords; away 8 . 1 a monarcbo ; - ] Sir T. Hanmer reads : -a mammuccio. JOHNSON. The allufion is to a fantaftical character of the time " Po- '* pular applaufe (fays Meres) dooth nourifli fome, neither do *' they gape after any other thing, but vaine praife and glorie, : " as in our age Peter Shakerlyc of Paules, and Monarcho that " lived about the court." p. 178. FARMER. In Nafh's Have ivithyou to Saffron-Wai den, &c. 1 595 , 1 meet with thfe fame allufion : : " but now he was an infulting monarch " above Monarcho the Italian, that ware crownes in his (noes, and ' quite renounced his natural Englifh accents and geftures, and *' wrefted himfelf wholly to the Italian puntilio's &c." An allufion ot a fimilar kind remains unexplained in Ben Jon fon's Alchemift, at I. fc. i : " and a fnoe cut for thee, " Worfe than Gamaliel Ratfey's." Gamalifel Ratfey was a famous highwayman, who always robbed! in a mafk. I once had in my poileffion a pamphlet containing his life and exploits. In the title-page of it he is reprefented with this ugly viibr on his face. . On the books of the Stationers' Company, May 2, 1605, this book is entered thus : "A book called the lyfe and death o{ Ga- maliel Ratfey i , a famous theefe of England, executed at Bedtord." Again, " Twoo balletts of Gamaliel Ratfey , and feverall his com- panie who were executed at Bedford." Again, " Ratfey's Ghoft^ or the ad part of his life, with the reft of his mad pranks, &c.'* , A local allufion employed by a poet like Shakefpeare, refem- bles the mortal fleed that drew' in the chariot of Achilles. But fliort fervices could be expected from either. STEEVENS. s Coma, lords, a^vay^ Perhaps the Princefs faid rather:' Come, ladies, a^may^ The reft of the icene deferves no care. JOHNSON^ Here, LOVE's LABOURS LOST. 431 Here, fweet, put up this ;" 'twill be thine another day. [Exit Princefs attended. Eoyet. Who is the fhooter ? who is the fhooter 9 ? Rof. Shall I teach you to know ? Eoyet, Ay, my continent of beauty. Rof. Why, ihe that bears the bow. Finely put off ! Eoyet. My lady goes- td kill horns ; but* if thoii marry$ Hang me by the neck, if horns that year mifcany. Finely put on ! Rof. Well then, I am the fhooter. Eoyet. And who is your deer ? Rof. If we chufe by horns, yourfelf ; come not near. Finely put on, indeed !- Mir. You ftill wrangle with her, Eoyet, and flic ftrikes at the brow. Eoyet. But flie herfelf is hit lower : Have I hit her now ? Rof. Shall I come upon thee with an old faying, that was a man when king Pepin of France was a little boy, as touching the hit it ? Eoyet. So I may anfwer thee with one as old, that was a woman when ' queen Ouinever of Britain was a little wench, as touching the hit it. ty 9 Who is the Jhooter ?] It fhould be who is the Cult or f and this occafions the quibble. " Finely put o, &c. feem only mar- ginal obfervations. FARMER. . It appears that fuitor was anciently pronounced fiooier. So, in The Puritan Widow, 1605 : the maid informs her miftrefs that fome archers are come to wait on her. She i'uppofes them to \)tjletcbers, or arrbw-fmiths. Enter the Jitters, c. " Why do you not fee them before you ? are not thefe archery what do you call ihtm^Jfjcoten? Shooters and archers are all one, I hope." STEEVEXS. 1 queen Guinever] This was king Arthur's queen, not over fa- mous for fidelity to her hufoand. See the fong ot the Boy and the Mantle in. Dr. Percy's Colltion. Ir. 432. LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. Rof. fkou can'ft not hit it, hit it, hit it, [Singing. 'Thou carfjl not hit it, my good man. Boyet. An I cannot, cannot, cannot, An I cannot, another can. {Exeunt Rof. &? Kat. CoJI. By my troth, moft pleafant ! how both did fit it ! Mar. A mark marvellous well ihot ; for they both did hit it. Boyet. A mark ! O, mark but that mark ; A mark, fays my lady ! Let the mark have a prick in't, to mete at, if it may be. Mar* Wide-o' the bow hand ! I'faith, your hand is out. Goft. Indeed, a' mud fhoot nearer* or he'll ne'er hit the clout *. Boyet. An if my hand be out, then, belike, your hand is in. Cofl. Then will fhe get the upfhot by cleaving the pin. Mar. Come, come, you talk greafily, your lips grow foul* Cofl. She's too hard for you at pricks, Sir ; chal- lenge her to bowl. Bo/yet* I fear too much rubbing : Good night, my good owl. [Exeunt all but Coflard. Coft. By my foul, a fwain ! a moft fimple clown ! Lord, lord ! how the ladies and I have put him down ! O' my troth, moft fweet jefts ! moft incony vulgar wit ! When it comes fo fmoothly off, fo obfcenely, as it were, fo fit. In Beaumont and Fletcher's Scornful Lad-;, the elder Lovelefs stddrefies Abigail, the old incontinent waiting-woman, by thii name. STEEVENS. * the clout.] "Tlieclar/t was the white mark at which arch- ers took their aim. The/>/ was the wooden nail that upheld it. STEEVENS. Anna- LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 433 Armatho o' the one fide,- O, a moft dainty man ? To fee him walk before a lady, and to bear her fan 3 ! To fee him kifs his hand ! and how moft fweetly a* will fwear ! And his page o' t'other fide, that handful of wit! Ah, heavens, it is a moft pathetical nit ! Sola, fola ! [Shouting whkln. [Exit Cojiard. SCENE II. 4 Enter Dull> Hokfernes, and Sir Nathaniel. Nath. Very reverent fport, truly ; and done in th6 teftimony of a good confcience. Hoh 3 - to bear her fan /] See a note on Romeo and Juliet, act II* fc. iv. where Nurfe afks Peter for her fan. STEEVEXS. 4 EuterHoli)fernes,~] There is very little peribnal reflexion in Shakefpeare. Either the virtue of thole times, or the candour or" our author, hasfo effected, that hisfatireis, for the moil part, ge- neral, and, as himfelf fays : bis taxing like a odHJ go/fit $fot t Unclaimed of any man. The place before lis feems to be an exception. For by Holofer-* nes is defigned a particular character, a pedant and fchoolmaltet' of our author's time, one John Florio, a teacher of the Italian tongue in Londeri, who has -given us a fmall dictionary of that language under the .title of A World of Words, which in hisepif- tie dedicatory he tells US, is of little lefs value than Stephens'* Trea- ftire of the Greek Tongue, the moft ccmplete^'ork that was ever yet compiled of its kind. Irf -his preface, hetalls thofe who had criticized his vuy&sfea-dogs or land-crit'rcs ; monfters- of men, if not beajls rather than men ; vjhofe teeth are canllals, their toongs adtlftrs forks, their lips afpes poifan, their eyes Vajfiijkes, their breath the treat h of a grave, their words like f-'Mordcs of Titrlis; that jlrive which jhall dive deepeft into a Chriitian lying bound before them. Well therefore might the mild Nathaniel delire Holofernes to al>* rogatefcurriltiy. His profeflibn too is the reafon that Holoternes deals fo much in Italian fentences. There is an edition oj0v& Labour's Loft, printed 1598, and faid to be frefented before her highnefs this la'fl Chrljlmas, 1597. The next year 1598, comes out our John Florio, with his If^orld of U r ordi, recentibus odiis j and in the preface, quoted above, falls upon the comic poet rof bringing him on the ilage. Tbere is frtotber fort of leering curs^ VOL. II* F l tba 434 L O TE's L A B O U R's L O'S T. Hoi. The deer was, as you know, fanguis, in blood'*;; ripe as a pomewater 6 , who now hangeth like a jewefc bt> /## rather fnarle than lite, thereof I could injlanee in one, who lighting on a good fonnet of a gentleman's, a friend of mine, that loved better to le a poet than to be counted fo, called the author a rymer. Let Ariflophanes and his comedians make plates, and /louvre their mouths on Socrates ; thofe very mouths they makt to r vilijie,Jhall be the means to amplifie his virtue, &c. Here Shakefpeare is fo plainly marked out. as not to be miftaken. As to thefoanet of 'the gentleman his friend, we may be afliired it was no other than his own. And without doubt was parodied in the very- fonnet begin- ning with The praifcful princcfs, &c. in which our author makes Holofernes fay, He ivill fomething off e El the letter ; for it argues facility. And how much John Florio thought this affcttation ar- gued facility, or quickncfs of wit, we fee in this preface where he falls upon his enemy, H. S. His name is H.S. Do not take it for the Roman H.S. nnlefs it be as H. S. is twice as much and an half, as half an A1S* With a great deal more to the fame purpofj; ; concluding his preface in thefe words, The rcj'olute John Florio. From the ferocity of this man's temper it was, that Shakefpeare chofe for him the name which Rabelais gives to his pedant of Thubal Holoferne. WARBURTOX. I- am not of the learned commentator's opinion,- that the fatire of Shakefpeare is fo feldom perfonal.' It is ot the nature of per- fonal invectives to be foon unintelligible ; and the author that gratifies private malice, animam in vulnere ponit, deftroys the fu- ture efficacy of his own writings, and facrifices the efteem of fuc- ceeding times to the laughter of a day. It is no wonder, therefore, that the farcafms, which, perhaps, in the authour's time, fet the playhoufe in a roar, are now loft among general reflections. Yet whether the character of Holofernes was pointed at any particular man, I am, notvvithftanding the plaufibility of Dr. Warburton's oonjefture, inclined to doubt. Every man adheres as long as he can to his own pre-conceptions. Before I. read this note I con - iidered the character of Holofernes as borrowed from- the Rhombus of fir Philip Sidney, who, in a kind of paftoral entertainment, exhibited to queen Elizabeth, has introduced a fchool-mafter fo called, fpeaking a leajh of languages at once, and puzzling himfelf- and his auditors with a iargon like that of Holofernes in the pre- fent play. Sidney himielf might bring the character from Italy ; for, as Peacham obferves, the fchool-mafter has long been one of the ridiculous perfonages in the farces of that country. JOHNSON-. Dr. Warburton is certainly right in his fuppofition that Florio is meant by the charac~t?r. of Holofernes. Florio had given the Srft affront, The plaies, fays he, that they plaie ill England,, LOVE's LABOURS LOST. 435 In the car of Cado, the iky, the welkin, the heaven ; and anon falleth like a crab, on the face of Terra,- the foil, the land, the earth. NatJ:. are neither right comedies, nor right tragedies ; but reprefen ration* of hi/lories without any decorum." The fcraps of Latin and Ita- lian are tranfcribed from his works, particularly the proverb about Venice, which has been corrupted fo much. The affeflation of the letter, which argues facilitle, is likewife a copy of his manner. We meet with much of it in the fonnets to his patrons. " In Italic your lordlhip well hath feene *' Their manners, monuments, magnificence, " Their language learnt, in found, in (tile, in fenfe, " Proofing by profiting, where you have leene. " To adde to fore-learn'd facultie, facilitie." We fee then, the character of the fchoolmalter might be written with lefs learning, than Mr. Colman conjectured : nor is the ufe of the word tbrafonical, any argument that the author had read Terence. It was introduced to our language long before Shake- fpeare's time. Stanyhiuil: writes, in a tranflation of one of Sir Tho. More's epigrams : " Lynckt was in wedlocke a loftye tbrafonical hufsnuffe." It can fcarcely be neceflary to animadvert any further upon what Mr. Colman has advanced in the Appendix to his Terence. If this gentleman, at his leifure from modern plays, will con- defcend to open a few old ones, he will foon be fatisfied, that Shakefpeare was obliged to learn and repeat in the courfe of his profeflion, fuch Latin fragments, as are met with in his works. The formidable one, ira furor Irevis eft, which is quoted from Ti- mon, may be round, not in plays only, but in every tr it leal effay from that of king James to that of dean Swift inclufive. I will only add, that if Mr. Colman had previoully looked at the pane- gyrick on Carfivright, he could not fo ftrangely have milrepre- lented my argument from it : but thus it mult ever be with the moft ingenious men, when they talk ^without-book. Let me how- ever take this opportunity of acknowledging the very genteel language which he has been pleafed to ufe on this occafion. Mr. Warton informs us in his Life of Sir Too. Pope, that there %vas an old play of Holopberr.es acted before the princefs Elizabeth in the year 1556. FARMER. In fupport of Mr. Farmer's opinion, the following pafTage from Orlando Furiofo, 1594, may be brought : " Knowing him to be a tyro/apical mad-cap, they have fent me a Gnatbonical companion, &c." Greene, in the dedication to his JlrcaJia, has the f;ime word : " as of ibme thrafon'u-al huffe-fnuffe," F f z Flow'* LOVE's LABOUR'S Truly, matter Holofernes, the epithets are f vcetly varied, like a fcholar at the leaft : But, fir, t allure ye, it was a buck of the firft head. Hoi. Sir Nathaniel, baud credo. null 'Twas not a baud credo, 'twas- a pricfeet. Hoi. Moft barbarous intimation ! yet a kind of in j (inuation, as it were, in via, in way, of explication ; facerej as it were, replication ; or, rather, qftentare, to fhow, as it were, his inclination after his undrefled, vmpolifhed, uneducated, unpruned, untrained, or rather unlettered, or, rathereft, unconfirmed fa- fnion, to i-nfert again my baud credo for a deer. D'uL I faid, the deer was not a baud credo ; 'twas a pricket 7 . Florio's firft work is, regiftred on the books of the Station- ers' Company, under the following title. "Aug. 1578. Florin his firft Frutf, being Dialogues in Italian and Englilli, with cert'en Inftrutiions, &c. to the learning' tfie Italian Tonge," 3n i5 year, a hart. A roc-buck is the_/?r/? year, a kid ; the fecond year, a girl ; the third year, a hcmufi ; and thefe are your fpecial hearts for chafe." Again, in A Chriftian tuni'd Turk, 1612 : ** I am but a pricket^ a mere forell ; my head's not lurdea'd yet," SififiVfi^s. Hoi LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 4S ; ffoL Twke fod fimplicity, bis colitis! O tliou jnonftcr ignorance, hoiv deformed doft thou look ? Natb. Sir, he hath never fed on the dainties that are bred in a book ; he hath not eat paper, as it were ; he hath not drunk ink : his intellect is not replenifh- ed ; he is only an animal, only fenfible in the duller parts : 4 And fuch barren plants are fet -before us, that we thankful fhould be (Which we of tafte and feeling are) for thofe parts that do fructify in iis more than he. For 8 And fuch barren plants arc fet before us, that we &anT*.fitijhoulille, Which vie tafte, and feeling are for thofe parti that-dofruttify in us more than he.~\ i The words have been ridiculoufly, and Itupidly, tranfpofed and corrupted. I read, w-e thankful. fyould be for thofe parts {which we tajle and feel ingradare) that do fruRify, &c. The emendation I have offered, I hope, reftores the author : at leaft, it gives him fenfe nnd grammar : and an fivers extremely well to his metaphors taken from planting. Ingradare, with the .Italians, fignifies, to rife higher and higher; andare di graJo in. grado, to make a progreflion ; and fo at length come \ofru flify^ 'as the poet -expreiles it. WARBURTON. Sir T. Hanmer reads thus : And fuch 'barren plants are fet before us, that we thankful Jhould be. For thofe parts which we -tajl* and feel do fruSlify in us more than he. And Mr. Edwards, in his animadverfions on 'Dr. Warburton's -notes, applauds the emendation. I think both the. editors mif- taken, except that fir T. Hanmer found the metre, though he Biifled the fenfe. I read, with a flight change : And fuck barren plants are fet before us, that we thanlful Jbould be, When we tajle and feeling are for thofe parts that do fruc- tify in us more than he. ITlint is, fuch barren plants as are exhibited in the creation, fo make us thankful when we have more tajlc and feeltng than he, of thofe parts, or qualities -which produce fruit in us, and preferve us from being likevvife barren plants. Such is the fenfe, juft in itfelf and pious, but a little clouded by the diclion of iir Nathaniel. The length of thefe lines was no novelty on the Englilh ftage. The moralities afford fcenes of the like meafure. JOHNSOX. This ftubborn piece of nonfenle, as fomebody has called it, K'ants only a particle, I think, to make it fenfe. I would read: F f 3 And 43$ LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. For as it would ill become me to be vain, indifcreet, or a fool, So were there a patch 9 fet on learning, to fee him in a fchool : But, omne bene, fay I ; being of an old father's mind, M.'ny can brook the weather^ that love not the wind* Dull. You two are book-men ; Can you tell by your wit, What was a month old at Cain's birth, that's not five weeks old as yet ? Hoi, Dictynna, good man Dull ; Dictynna, good man Dull. Dull. What is Didtynna ? Nath. A title to Phcebe, to Luna, to the moon. Hoi. The moon was a month old, when Adam was no more ; And raught not 1 to five weeks, when he came to five- fcore. The allufion holds in the exchange *. And fuch barren plants are fet before us, that we thankful fhould be (Which we of tafte and feeling are) for thofe parts, that do fruftify in us more than he. Which in this paflage has the force of as, according to an idiom of our language, not uncommon, though not ftriiftly gramma- tical. What follows is ftill more irregular ; for I am afraid our poet, for the fake of his rime, has put be for him, or rather in him. If he had been writing prole, he would have exprefled his meaning, I believe, more clearly thus that do fructify in us more than in him . TYRWHITT. I have followed Mr. Tyrwhitt's reading, STEEVEXS. For as it would ill become me to be vain, ineiifcrcet, tr" a fool ' y So were there a patch fet on learning , to fee him in a fchool. ] The meaning is, to be in a fchool would as ill become a patch , or low fellow, as folly would become me. JOHNSON. 1 AnJ raught not~\ i. e. reach 'd not. So, in the Arraignment of Paris, 1584: " the fatal fruit " Raught from the golden tree of Proferpine. STEEVENS. * 7he allufwn holds in the exchange,"] i.e. the riddle is as good when I ufe the name of Adam, as when you ufe the name of Cain. WABLEURTQ^. Dull. LOVFs LABOUR'S LOST. 439 Dull. 'Tis true, indeed ; the collufion holds in the 'exchange. Hoi. God comfort thy capacity ! I fay tlhe allufion holds in the exchange. Dull. And I fay the pollution holds 'in the ex- change ; for the moon i-s never but a month old:: and I fay befide, that 'twas a pricket that the prin- cefs kill'd. Hoi. Sir Nathaniel, will you hear an extemporal epitaph on the death of the deer ? and, to humour the ignorant, I have call'd the deer the princefs kill'd, a pricket. Natb. Perge, good matter Holofcrnea, perge\.fo it mall pleafe you to abrogate fcurrility. Hoi. I will fomcthing affect the letter; for it argues facility. &be praifeful pfificef* pierced and priced 3 a pretty pleafing pricket ; Some fay, a fore; but not afore, ''till now mafic fore with floating s The dogs did yell ; put L to fore^ then forel jumps from thicket ; Or pricket, fore, or elf e ford, the people fall a hooting. If fore be fore, then L to fore makes fifty fores ; O fOf one fore I an hundred make, by adding but one more L. Natb. A rare talent ! 3 The pralfcful princefs, &c.] The ridicule defigned in this paf- tige may not be unhappily illuflrated by the alliteration in the following lines of TJlpian Fulhvell, in his Commemoration of .queen Anne Bullayne, which makes part of a collection called The Flower of Fame, printed 157^: ** Whofe princely praile hath pearft the pricke, " And price of endlefs fame, &c." STICEVEXS. * Makes fifty fores, O ford !} We fliould read : to L being the numeral for 50. WAR BUR TON*. F f 4 Dull. LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. Dull. If a talent be a claw, look how he claws him with a talent. HoL This is a gift that I have, fimple, fimple ; a foolifh extravagant fpirit, full of forms, figures, fhapes, objects, ideas, apprehenfions, motions, revo- lutions : thefe are begot in the ventricle of memo- ry, nourifned in the womb of pia mater, and delivered upon the mellowing of occafion : But the gift is good in thofe in whom it is acute, and lam thankful for it. Natb. Sir, I praife the Lord for you ; and fo may my parishioners ; for their fons are well tutor'd by you, and their daughters profit very greatly under you : you are a good member of the commonwealth. Hoi. Mehercle, if their fons be ingenious, they lhall want no inftruction : s if their daughters be capable, I will put it to them: But, virfepif, qui pauca loqui- tur : a foul feminine faluteth us. Enter Jaquenetta, and Coftard. Jac. God give you good morrow, matter parfon. Hoi. Matter parfon, quafi perfon 6 . And if one fhould be pierc'd, which is the one ? Coft. Marry, matter fchool-mafter, he that islikctt to a hoglhead. HoL Of piercing a hogftiead ! a good luftre of conceit in a turf of earth; fire enough for a flint, pearl enough for a fwine : 'tis pretty ; it is well. Jac. Good matter parfon, be fo good as read me 5 if tbfir daughters le c apable, &c.] Of this double entendre, de- fpicable as it is, Mr. Pope and his coadjutors availed themfelves, in their unfuccefoful comedy called Three Hours after Marriage, STEEVENS. 6 yarf^ perfon.] So, in Holinjked, p. 953 : " Jerom was vicar of Stepnie, and Garard W9Z perfon of Ho- nie-lane." I believe, however, we fhould write the word pevf- -one. The fame play on the word fierce is put into the mouth of STEEVENS. .. . - this t . '; LOVE^s LABOURS LOST. 441 this letter ; it was given me by Coftard, and i>nt me from Don Armatho : I befeech you, read it. HoL 7 Faufte, precor gelida quando pecus omne fub umbra Ruminat^ and fo forth. Ah, good old Mantuan ! I may fpeak of thee as the traveller doth of Venice ; 8 Vinegia^ Vinegia, Chi non te vide, ei non te pregia. Old 7 Nath. Faujle, precor gelida~\ Though all the editions con- cur to give this fpeech to lir Nathaniel, yet, as Dr. Thirlby in- geniouily obferved to me, it is evident it muft belong to Holo- ternes. The Curate is employed in reading the letter to himfelf ; and while he is doing fo, that the ftage may not ftand ftill, Holo- fernes either pulls out a book, or, repeating fome verfe by heart from Mantuanus, comments upon the character of that poet. Baptifta Spagnolus (firnamed Mantuanus, from the place of his birth) was a writer of poems, who flouriflied towards the latter end of the i5th century. THEOBALD. Faujie, precor gelida &c.] A note of La Monnoye's on thefe very words in Les Contes dcs P criers, Nov. 42. will explain the humour of the quotation, and fhew how well Shakefpeare hasfuf- tained the character of his pedant. // dejigne le Carme Bap- fifte Mantuan, dont au commencement du \bfiecle on lifoit publique- ment a Paris les Pocfies ; Ji celebres alars, que, comme dit plaifamment Farnabe dans fa preface fur Martial, les Pcdans ne faifoient nulls dif- fculte de preferer a le Arma virumque cano, le Faufte precor ge- lida, c'eft-a-dire, a /' Eneide de P'irgilc les Eclogues de Mantuan, la. premiere defyuelks commence par Faufte, precor gelida. WARBURTON. The Eclogues of Mantuanus the Carmelite were tranflated be- fore the time of Shakefpeare, and the Latin printed on the oppo- fite fide of the page. STEEVENS. 8 PtnegtOy vinegia, Chi non te vedc, ei non te pregia.~\ In old editions : Vcnecbi, venachc a, tjni non te vide, i non tepiaccb. And thus Mr. Rowe and Mr. Pope. But that poets, fcholars, and linguiib, could not reftore this little fcrap ot true Italian, is to line unaccountable. Our author is applying the praifes of Man- tuanus to a common proverbial fentence, faid of Venice. Vine- via, l r inegia ! qui non te vedi, ei non te pregia. O Venice, Ve- nice, he who has never feen thee, has thee not in efteem. THEOBALD. The proverb, as I am informed, is this ; He that fees Venue litlle, values it much ; he that fees it mucb^ value.} it little. But I fup- 442 LOVE^s LABOUR'S LOST. Old Mantuan ! old Mantuan ! Who underftandctli thee not, loves thee not. {//, re>fol, la, mi, fa. Un- der pardon, fir, what are the contents ? or, rather, as Horace lays in his What, my foul, verles ? Nath. Ay, fir, and very learned. Hoi. Let me hear a ftaff, a flanza, a verfe ; Lege, domine. Nath. If love make me forfworn, how lhall I fwear to love ? Ah, never faith could hold, if not to beauty vowed ! Though to myfelf forfworn, to thee I'll faithful prove ; Thofe thoughts to me were oaks, to thee like ofiers bo\ved. Study his biafs leaves, and makes his book thine eyes; Where all thofe plcafures live, that art would comprehend : If knowledge be the mark, to know thee lhall fuffice ; Well learned i-s that tongue, that well can thee commend : AH ignorant that foul, that fees thee without wonder; (Which is to me fome praife, that I thy parts admke) Thy eye Jove 7 s lightning bears, thy voice his dreadful thunder, Which, not to anger bent, is mufick, andfweet fire. fuppofe Mr. Theobald is right, for the true proverb would not ieive the fpeaker's purpofe. JOHNSON. The proverb ftands thus in Hoivcirs Letters, book i. feft. I. 1. 36. Ft net la, fanctia, cbi non te ^ Natb. Marvellous well for the pen. Hoi. I do dine to-day at the father's of a certain pupil of mine ; where if (being repaft *) it mall pleafe you to gratify the table with a grace, I will, on my privilege I have with the parents of the aforcfaid child or pupil, undertake your ben venuto ; where I will prove thofe verfes to be very unlearned, neither favouring of poetry, wit, nor invention : I befeech your fociety. Nath. And thank you too- : for fociety, (faith the text) is the happinefs of life* Hoi. And, certes, the text moft infallibly con- cludes it. Sir, I do invite you too ; [To Didl.~] you fhall not fay me, nay : pauca verba. Away ; the gentles are at their game, and we will to our recre- ation. [Exeunt* SCENE III. fatter E'iron with a Paper. E'iron. The king is hunting the deer ; I am courfmg myfelf : they have pitch'd a toil ; I am toiling in a * colourable colours.] That is fpecious, or fair feeming appear- ances. JOHNSON. s ^-.{Jteing refafl)\ it has been propofed to read, before repaft. pitch ; 44 6 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. pitch 6 ; pitch, that defiles ; defile ! a foul word. Well, Set thee down, forrow ! for fo, they fay, the fool laid, and fo fay I, and I the fool. Well prov'd, wit ! By the lord, this love is as mad as Ajax : it kills iheep ; it kills me, I a Iheep : Well prov'd again on my fide ! I will not love : if I do, hang me ; i'faith, I will not. O, but her eye, by this light, but for her eye, I would not love her ; yes, for her two eyes* We'll, I do nothing in the world but lie, and lie in my throat. By heaven, I do love : and it hath taught me to rhime, and to be melancholy ; and here is part of my rhime^ and here my melancholy. Well, ihe hath one o' my fonnets already; the clown bore it, the fool fent it, and the lady hath it : fweet clown, fwceter fool, fweetcft lady ! By the world, I would not care a pin, if the other three were in : Here comes one with a paper j God give him grace to groan ! \_Heftands qfide. Enter the King. King. Ay me ! Biron. \_Afide.~} Shot, by heaven ! Proceed, fweet Cupid; thou haft thump'd him with thy bird-bolt under the left pap ; F faith fecrets. King. \_Reads.~] So fweet a kifs the golden fun gives not 'To thofe frejh morning drops upon the rofe y As thy eye-beams^ when their frejh rays have fmote The night of dew that on my cheeks down flows* : 6 / am tolling in a pitch ;] Alluding to lady Rofaline's com- plexion, who is through the whole play reprefented as a black beauty. JOHNSOX. 7 The night of dfw, that on my cheeks Jotitn'JbtOf;] I cannot think tie night of dew the true reading, but know not what to ofter. JOHNSOX. This phrafe, however quaint, is the poet's own. He means, the dew that nightly flows down his checks. Shakefpeare, in one of his other plays, ufes night of dew for dcivy night, but 1 cannot at prefent recoiled, in which. STEEVENS. Why not dew of night ? M u s G R A v E. Nor LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST. 447 Norjhines the filver moon one half fo bright 'Through the tranfparent bofom of the deep r As doth thy face through tears of mine give light ; Thou Jhirfft in every tear that I do weep : No drop but as a coach doth carry tkee r So rideft thou triumphing in my woe ; Do but behold the tears that fa ell in me, And they thy glory through my grief wittjhew: But do not love tbyj'elf; then thou wilt keep My tears for gltjjjes, and ftill make me weep. O queen of queens r how far dofl tkov excel ! No thought can think, nor tongue of mortal tell. How fhall fhc know my griefs ? I'll drop the paprr; Sweet leaves, ihade folly. Who is- he comes here > \jChe kingjlcps afidc, Enter Longa-villc. What, Longaville ! and reading t li&cn,. car. Biron. \_Afide~\ Now, in thy likenefs, one more fool, appear ! Long. Ay me ! I am forfworn. Biron. \_Afide.~] Why, foe comes in like a perjure, wearing papers *. King. \_Afide.~] In love, I hope; Sweet fellowihip in lhame ! Biron. [Afidc,~] One drunkard loves another of the name. Long. [Afide.~] Am I the firft,. that have been per- jur'd fo ? Biron. \_Afide.~] I could put thee in comfort ; not by two, that I know : 8 he cones in like a perjure, ] The pnnifliment ef perjury is to wear on the breait'a paper expreifing the crime. JOHNSUX. Thus Holinfiedi p. 838, fpeaking of cardinal Wolfey, *' he > punilhed perjurie with open punifliment, and open papers .] Old edition : Ry earth, Jhe is not, corporal, there you lie. Dumain, one of the lovers, in fpite of his vow to the contrary, thinking himfelf alone here, breaks out into fliort fbliloquies of admiration on his miftrefs; and B iron * who (lands behind as an eves-dropper, takes pleafure in contradiding his amorous raptures. But Dumain was a young lord : he had no fort of poft in the army : what wit, or allufion, then, can there be in Biron's calling llitn corporal f I dare warrant, I have reftored the poei's true meaning, which is this. Dumain calls his miurefi divine, and the wonder of a mortal eye ; and Biron in flat terms denies thefe hyperbolical praifes. I fcarce need hint, that our poet commonly ufes cvrppral as corporeal. THEOBALD. Theobald's emendation is plauiible, but perhaps unneceflary. The pallage may be thus explained. Dumain fwears firft, by heaven, that fhe is the wonder of a mortal fye, Biron feems in his Voi., II, G g reply 450 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. Dum. Her amber hair for foul hath amber cored 4 *- Biron. An amber-colour'd raven was \yell noted. [A/ide. Dum. As upright as the cedar. Biron. Stoop, I fay ; Her fhoulder is with child. Dum. As fair as day.. Biron. Ay, as fome days ; but then no fun mult ftiine. [Afide. Dum. O that I had my wifh ! Long. And I had mine !' [Afide* King. And I mine too, good Lord ! [Afide. Biron. Amen, fo I had mine : Is not that a good word ? \_Afide. Dum. I would forget her ; but a fever Ihe s Reigns in my blood, and will remembred be. Biron. A fever in your blood ! why, then incifion Would let her out in fawcers ; Sweet mifprifion ! [Afide. Dum. Once more I'll read the ode that I have writ. Biron. Once more I'll mark how love can vary wit. [Afide. reply to mean, Swear next ly earth, that fhe is not corporeal-, and when you have carried matters fo far, I fhall not fcruple to tell you in yet plainer terms, that you lie. STEEVENS. 4 amber coted.] To cote is to outftrip, to overpafs. So, in Hamlet : " certain players *' We coted on the way." Again, in Chapman's Homer : " Words her worth had prov'dwith deeds, " Had more ground been allow'd the race, and cotec! far his fteeds." STEEVENS. 5 but afevcrjbe Reigns in my llood.~\ So, in Hamlet: " For, like the hectic, in my blood he rages. STEEVENS. Duma'm- LOVE's LABOURS LOST, 451; Dumaln reads his fonnet* On a day, (alack the day ! ) Love, whofe month is ever May, Spfd a blojfbm, paffing fair t Playing in the wanton air : 'Through the velvet leaves Allunfeen, *gan pajage find ; "That the lover, jlck to death ', Wtflf d himfelf the heavetf s breath. Air, (quoth he) thy cheeks may bloiO ; Air, would I might triumph fo 6 ! But, alack, my hand is fworn 7 , Ne'er to pluck t hee from thy thorn : Vow, alack, for youth unmeet ; Touth fo apt to pluck a fzveef. Do not call it fin in me, "That I am forfworn for thec : Thou, for whom even Jove would jwear % Juno but an Ethiope were ; And deny himfelf for Jove, Turning mortal for thy love. This will I fend ; and fomething elfe more plain, That fhall exprefs my true love's failing pain 9 . 6 Air, pallid I night triumph fo /] Perhaps we may better read : A h 1 would I might triumph /of J o H N i o ,v . 7 - my hand\sfivorn,~\ A copy of this fonnet is printed in England's Helicon, 1614, and reads : " But, alas ! my hand hath fivorn." It is likewife printed as Shakefpeare's, in Jaggard's Colle&ion, 1 599* STEEVENS. 8 even Jove ivonld 'fivear,] The v/ord even has been fup- plied ; and the two preceding lines are wanting in the copy pub lifhed in England's Helicon, 1614. STEEVENS. 9 my true love's fabng/u&**.] I fhould rather chufe to read fejlring, rankling. WAR BUR TON. There is no need of any alteration. Fafling is longing, hungry, wanting. JOHNSON, G g 2, O, would 452- LOVE'S LABOUR'S LO'ST, O, would the king, Biron, and Longaville, Were lovers too ! ill, to example ill, Would from my forehead wipe a perjur'd note ; For none offend, where all alike do dote. Long. Dumain, thy love is far from charity, That in love's grief defir'ft fociety : [coming forward* You may look pale, but I Ihould bluih, I know, To be o'er heard, and taken napping fo. King. Come, fir, you blufh ; as his, your cafe is fuch ; [coming forward. You chide at him, offending twice as much : You do not love Maria ? Longaville Did never fonnet for her fake compile ? Nor never lay'd his wreathed arms athwart His loving bofom,. to keep down his heart ? I have been clofcly fhrowded in this bufti,. And mark'd you both, and for you both did blufh., I heard your guilty rhimcs, obfcrv'd your fafhion ; Saw fighs reek from you, noted well your paffion : Ay me ! fays one ; O Jove ! the other cries ; Her hairs were gold, cryflal the other's eyes : You would for paradife break faith and troth ; [To Long. And Jove r for your love,, would infringe an oath. [To Dumaip. What will Biron fay, when that he fhall hear A faith' infringed, which fuch zeal did fvvear ? How will he fcorn ? how will he fpend his wit ? How will he triumph, leap, and laugh at it ' ? For all the wealth that ever I did fee, I would not have him know fo much by me. Biron. Now ftep I forth to \vhip hypocrify. Ah, good my liege, I pray thee, pardon me .% [Gonting forward. 1 How will he triumpb, leap, and latigb at it ?~\ We fhould cer- tainly read, geap, i. e. jeer, ridicule. WARBURTON. To leap is to exult, to Jkip for joy. It muft fland. JOHNSON-. Good- JLOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 45J f dungeons, and the. fcowl of night j ] In 458 LOVE's LABOURS LOST. The hue of dungeons, and the fcowl of night ; And beauty's crefl becomes the heavens well 4 . Biron. In former editions, the fchool of night. Black being the fchool of night, is a piece of myftery above my comprehenfion. I had guefled, it mould be : -the ftole of night : but I have preferred the conjecture of my friend Mr. Warburton, who reads : the fcowl of night, as it comes nearer in pronunciation to the corrupted reading, as well as agrees better with the other images. THEOBALD. 1 And beauty's crefl becomes the heavens f,-,lis, a Mafque, fays : ** To you that are by excellence a queen, " The top of beauty, &c." Again, in the Mirror of KnigbtbooJ, Part I. ch. xiv : " in the top and pitch cf all beaiifj, fo that theyr matches are not to bee had." STEEVENS. Biron. 460 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. Biron, O, if the ftreets were paved with thine eyes, Her feet were too much dainty for fuch tread * Duni. O vile 1 then as fhe goes, what upward lies The ftreet fhould fee as fhe walk'd over head. King. But what of this ? Are we not all in love ? Biron. Nothing fo fare ; and thereby all forfwora. King. Then leave this chat ; and, good Biron, now prove Our loving lawful, and our faith not torn. Dum. Ay, marry, there ; fome flattery for this evil. Long. O, fome authority how to proceed ; Some tricks, fome quillets, how to cheat the devil % Dum. Some falve for perjury. Biron. O, 'tis more than need ! Have at you then, affection's men at arms * : Confider, what you firit did fwear unto ; To faft, to ftudy, and to fee no woman ;< Flat treafon 'gainft the -kingly ftate of youth. Say, can you faft ? your flomachs are too young 5 And abftinence engenders maladies. And where that you have vow'd to iludy, lords, In that each of you hath forfworn his book : Can you ftill dream, and pore, and thereon look? For when would you, my lord, or you, or you, Have found die ground of fludy's excellence, Without the beauty of a woman's face ? 4 Some tricks, fome quillets , hovj to cheat the devil. ~\ Skillet is the peculiar word applied" to law-chicane. I imagine the original to be this. In the French pleadings, every feveral allegation in the plaintiff's charge, and every diftinft plea in the defendant's an- fwer, began with the words qu'il eft ; from whence was formed the word quillet, to figni-fy a falfe charge or an evafive anfwer. WAR BUR TON. 5 ... .. ajfeiio:i s men at arms :] A man at arms, is a foldier armed at all points both offenfively and defeniively. It is ao more than, Ye foldier 3 of affccllon. JOHNSON. From LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST. 461 5 From wo'men's eyes this doctrine I derive : They afe the ground, the book, the academes, From whence doth fpring the true Promethean fire. Why, univerfal plodding prifons up The' nimble fpirits in the arteries 6 ; As motion, and long-during action, tires The finevvy vigour of the traveller. Now, for not looking on a woman's* face, You have in that forfworn the ufe of eyes ; And iludy too, the caufer of your vow : For where is any author in the world, Teaches fuch beauty as a woman's eye 7 ? Learning is but an adjunct to ourfelf, And where we are, our learning likewife is. Then, when ourfelves we fee in ladies' eyes, Do we not likewife fee our learning there ? O, we have made a vow to itudy, lords ; Arid in that vow we have forfworn our books : For when would you, my Hege, or you,, or you, 8 Jn leaden contemplation, have found out Such 6 From women's eyes &c.] This and the two following lines are omitted, I fuppofe, by mere overfight in Dr. Warhurton's edition. JOHNSON. 6 The nimUt fpirits in the arteries ;] In the old fyflem of phyfic they gave the fume office to the arteries as is now given to the nerves ; as appears from the narrte which is derived from s;a, T^pu. WAR EUR TON. 7 Teaches fuch beauty as a woman s cye?~$\. e. a lady's eyes give a fuller notion of beauty than any authour. JOHNSON. 8 In leaden contemplation have found out Such fiery numbers ] Alluding to the difcoveries in modern aitronomy, at that time greatly improving, in which the ladies' eyes are compared, as ufual, tojtars. He calls them numbers, alluding to the Pythagorean principles of aftronomy, which were founded on the laws of har- mony. The Oxford editor, who was at a lots for the conceit, changes numbers to notions, and fo lofes both the lenfe and the gal- lantry of the allufion. He has better luck in the following line, and has rightly changed beauty's to beauteous. WARBURTON. Numbers are, in this paflage, nothing more than poetical nxa- fures. Could you y fays Biron, ly folitary contemplation, lave at- taimd fuch poetical fire, fueb fyritely vnmytrS} aiJw.-e bee IT prompted by LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST, Such fiery numbers, as the prompting eyes Of beauteous tutors have enrich'd you with ? Other flow arts entirely keep the brain ; And therefore rinding barren pradtifers, Scarce Ihew a harvefl of their heavy toil : But, love, firfl learned in a lady's eyes, Lives not alone immured in the brain ; But with th,e motion of all elements^ Courfes as fwift as thought in every power ; And gives to every power a double power, Above their functions and their offices. It adds a precious feeing to the eye, A lover's eyes will gaze an eagle blind ; A lover's car will hear the loweft found, When the fufpicious head of theft is ftopp'd 9 : Love's feeling is more foft, and fenfible, Than arc the tender horns of cockled mails ; Love's tongue proves dainty Bacchus grofs in tafte : For valour, is not love a Hercules, Still climbing trees in the Hefperides ' ? Subtle %y the eyes of beauty ? The aitronomer, by looking too much aloft, falls into a ditch. JOHNSON. 9 the fufpicious bead of theft is flopped :~\ i. e. a lover in purfuit of his millrefs has his fenfe of hearing quicker than a thief (who fufpeds every found he hears) in purfuit of his prey. But Mr. Theobald fays, there is no contraft between a lover and a thief: and therefore alters it to thrift^ between which and love, he fays, there is a remarkable antithefis. What he means by con- traft and antithcfis, I confefs, I don't underftand. But 'tis no matter : the common reading is fenfe ; and that is better than ei- ther one or the other. WAR EUR TON. " The fufpicious bead of theft is the head fufpicious of theft.** " He watches like one that fears robbing," fays Speed, in the Two Gentlemen of F'erona. This tranfpolition of the adjedYive i& fometimes met with. Grimme tells us, in Damon and Pythias : " A heavy pouch with golde makes a light hart." FARMER. 1 For valour, is not love a Hercules, Still climbing trees in the Hefperides ? ] The poet is here obferving how all the fenfes are refined by love. But what has the poor fenfe ot fuelling done, not to keep its place among LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 463 Subtle as fphinx ; as Tweet, and mufical, As bright Apollo's lute, ftrung with his hair 1 ; And, when love fpeaks, the voice of all the gods * Makes heaven drowfy with the harmony. Never among its brethren ? Then Hercules's valour was not in dimling the trees, but in attacking the dragon gardant. I rather thinlt, that for valour we fliould read favour, and the poet meant, that Hercules was allured by the odour andfragra^cy of tae golden apples. THEOBALD. - * As bright Apollo's Interning with his hair {} This expreffion, like that other in the T--MO Gentlemen of Ferona, of Orpheus' harp wns Jlrting with poet?- jinews, is extremely beautiful, and highly figurative. Apollo, as the fun, is reprefented with golden hair ; fo that a lute ilrung with his hair, means no more than ftrung with gilded wire. WAR EUR TO. v. as fweet and mufical As bright Apollo's \\\\&Jlriuig v:itb his hair. The author of the Revt/al iuppofes this expreiiion to be alle- gorical, p. 138. " Apollo's lute ftrung with funbeams, which in poetry are called hair." But what idea is conveyed by Apol- lo's lute firung withfunbcams ? Undoubtedly the words are to be taken in their literal ienfe : and, in the ftile of Italian imagery,, the thought is highly elegant. The very fame fort of conception occurs in Lilly's Mydas, a play which molt probably preceded Shakefpeare's. Aft IV. fc. i. Pan tells Apollo : " Had thy lute been of lawrell, and the firings of Daphne's haire, thy tunes- might have been compared to my notes, &e." WAR TON. The fame thought occurs in Sew to chttfe a Good Wife from a Bad, 1608: " Hath he not torn thofe gold wires from thy head, < Wherewith Apollo would have fining his harp, " And kept them to play raufic to the gods." Lylly's Midas, quoted by Mr. YVarton, was publifhed in i 592. STEEVEXS. 3 And ivben love fpeaks dc voice of all the gods Makes heaven dra^fy with the harmony. \ This nonfenfe we fliould read and point thus : And when lovejpeaks the voice of all tlx gods t Mark, heaven drpvojy -..:.*; the harmony. i. e. in the voice of love alone is included the voice of all the gods. Alluding to that ancient theogony, that Love was the parent and fupport of all the gods. Hence, as Suidas telis u% Palxphatus wrote a poem called, "A5p,Vr? K, "L^u^ fuiri ^ -^y^. The voice and^zech of fenus and Love,, which appears to been 464 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. Never durft poet touch a pen to write, Until his ink were temper'd with love's fighs ; They bfien a kind of cofmogony, the harmony of which is fo great, that it calms and allays all kinds of diforders: alluding again to the antient ufe of mulic, which was to compofe monarchs, when, by reafon of the cares of empire, they ufed to pafs whole nights iii reftlefs inquietude. WAR BUR TON. The ancient reading is, Make hearten * JOHNSON. I cannot find any reafon for this emendation, nor do I believe the poet to have been at all acquainted with that ancient theogony mentioned by the critic. The former reading, with the flight ad- dition of a fingte letter, was, perhaps, the true one. When LOVE fpeaJfs, (fays Biron) the ajjcmllcd gods reduce the element of ihejky io A calm, by their harmonious applaufes of this favoured orator. Mr. Collins obferves, that the meaning of the pafTage may be this. That the voice of all the gods united, could infpire only li row - Jinefs, when compared with the chearful efefls of the t'oice of Love, That fenfe is fufficiently congruous to the reft of the fpeech ; and much the fame thought occurs in The Shepherd Arjlleus* Reply to Syrenus* Song, by Bar. long ; publiflied in England? s Helicon, 1614: " Unlefs mild Love poffefs your amorous breafls, " If you fing not of him, your fongs do weary" Dr. Warburton has raifed the idea of his author, by imputing to him a knowledge, of which, I believe, he was not pofieiFed ; but fhould either of thefe explanations prove the true one, I (hall offer no apology for having made him itoop from the critic's ele- vation. I would, however, read, Makes heaven drowfy with its harmony. Though the words mark! and behold! are alike ufed tobefpeak or fummon attention, yet the former of them appears fo harfli in Dr. Warburton's emendation, that I read the line feveral times over before I perceived its meaning. 'To fpeak the voice of the gods appears to me as defective in the fame way. Dr. Warburton, in a note on Alfs Well that ends Well, obferves, that tofpeak a found is a barbarifm. Tojpcak a. voice is, I think, no lei's repreheniible. STEEVENS. Few pafTages have been more canvaffed than this. I believe, it wants no alteration of the words, but only ot the pointing : And when love f peaks (the voice of all) the gods Make heaven drowfy with the harmony. Love, I apprehend, is called the voice of all, as gold, in Timon, is faid tofpeak with every tongue ; and the gods (being drowfy them- lelves with the harmony') are fuppofed to make heaven drovvfy. If one could poifibly fuipeft Shakefpeare of having read Pindar, one fhould LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 4 $ O, then his lines would raviih fav-age ears, And plant in tyrants mild humility. From women's eyes this do&rine I derive 4 : They fparkle (till the right Promethean fire ; They are the books, the arts, the academes, That fhewj contain, and nourilh all the world ; Elie, none at all in aught proves excellent : Then fools you were, thefe women to forfvvear ; Or, keeping what is fworn, you will prove fools. For wifdom's fake, a word that all men love ; Or for love's fake, a word that loves all men 5 ; Or fhould fay, that the idea of mufic making the hearers drowfy, was borrowed from the full Pythian. TYRWHITT. Perhaps here is an accidental tranfpolition. We may read, as, I think, fome one ^has propofed before : " The voice makes all the gods " Of heaven drowfy with the harmony.'* FARMER. That harmony had the power to make the hearers drowfy, the prefent commentator might infer from the effect it ufually pro- duces on himfelf. In Cintbia's Revenge, 1613, however, is an inftance which fhould weigh more with the reader : " Howl forth fome ditty that vaft hell may ring " With charms all-potent, earth ajleep to bring" Again, in the Midfummcr Night's Dream : " muflc call, and ihike more dead " Than common^/, of all thefe five the fenfe." STEEVEKS. 71je voice may lignify the aflenting voice ; as in Hamlet: " Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice." JBy harmony I prefume the poet means unifon. MUSGRAVE. 4 From women's eyes f/jis doftrivie I derive ;] In this fpeech I fuf- pecl: a more than common inftance of the inaccuracy of the full publilhers : From women's eyes this doRrine I derive, and feveral other lines, are as unnecefiarily repeated. Dr. Warbur- ton was aware of this, and omitted two verfes, which Dr. Johnlbn has 11 nee infer ted. Perhaps the players printed from piece-meal, parts, or retained what the author had rejected, as well as what had undergone his revifal. It is here given according to the re- gulation of the old copies. STEEVEXS. 5 award, that loves all men;] We fhould read: a word all women ioi." And bhakefpeare, in this very play, ufes the correfponding word pruning for drejpng, act IV. fc. iin : " or fpend a minute's time " In *;.'//;/? me " The LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 469 is too picked, too fpruce, too affecled, too odd, as it were ; too peregrinate, as I may call it. Nath. A molt fingular and choice epithet. [Draws out bis table-book. Hoi. He draweth out the thread of his verbofity finer than the ftaple of his argument. I abhor fuch phanatical phantafms, fuch inibciable and point-de- vife 4 companions ; fuch rackers of orthography, as to fpeak, dout, fine, when he Ihould fay, doubt ; det, when he Ihould pronounce, debt ; d, e, b, t ; not, d, e, t : heclepeth a calf, cauf ; half, hauf, neigh- bour, 'vocatur, nebour; neigh, abbreviated, ne : This is abhominable 5 , (which he would call abominable) * it infinuateth me of infanie ; Ne intettigls^ domlne ? to make frantick, lunatick ? Nath. Laus dec, bone ; intelligo. Hoi. The fubftantive pichdnefe is ufed by B. Jonfon for nicety in Jrefj. Difcoveries, vol. vii. p. 116 : " too mu.chjrfcketlatfi is not manly." TYRWHITT. 4 polnt-dcvife ] A French expreffion for the utmoft, or finical exa&nefs. So, in Twelfth Night, Malvolio fays : " I will be point-device, the very man." STEEVENS. \ 5 This is abbominable, &c.] He has here well imitated the lan- guage of the molt redoubtable pedants of that time. On fuch fort ofoccafions, Jofeph Scaliger ufed to break out, ^Alominor, exccror. Afinitas meraejl, impietas, &c." and calls his adverfary, " Lntum jlercore maceratum, tLsmoniacum recrimentum infcitite, Jlerquilinium^ fiercus diaboli^ frarabaum, larvam, pecus poftremum lejliarum, in- fame propudlum, x.a'0pjiAa." WAR BUR TON. Shakefpeare knew nothing of this language ; and the refem- blance which Dr. Warburton finds, if it defervesthat title, is quite accidental. It is far more probable, that he means to ridicule the foppifh manner of fpeaking, and affected pronunciation, intro- duced at court by Lilly "and his imitators. abhominable ^\ So the word is conftantly fpelt in the old moralities and other antiquated books : ** And then I will bryng in " Abbo?nitialle \yv\ng." Lufty Juveniles, l_j6l. STEKVENS. 6 it infinuatetb me of infanie ;] In former editions, It infinuateth me of infamy : Ne intelligig, domine ? to make frantick, lunatick? Nath, Laus Deo, bcnc intelligo. H h 3 Hoi 470 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. Hoi Bone /*- bone, for bene : Prifdan a little fcratch'd ; 'twill ferve. Hoi. Borne, boon for boon Prefcian ; a little fcratch, 'twill ierve. This play is certainly none of the beft in itfelf, but the editors have been fo very happy in making it worfe by their indolence, that they have left me Augeas's ftable to cleanfe : and a man had need to have the ftrength of a Hercules to heave out all their rub- bifh. But to bufinefs : Why (hould infamy be explained by mak- ing frantick, lunatick ? It is plain and obvious that the poet intended the pedant mould coin an uncouth affected word here, hifanie, from infanta of the Latins. Then, what a piece of unintelligible jargon have thefe learned criticks given us for La- tin ? I think, I may venture to affirm, I have reftored the paffagc to its true purity. Nath. Laus Deo, bone, intelligo. The curate, addrelTing with complaifance his brother pedant, fays, lone, to him, as we frequently in Terence find bone vir ; but the pedant, thinking he had miftaken the adverb, thus defcants on it. Hone f lone for bene. Prifcian a little fcratcbed: y twill ferve. Alluding to the common phrafe, Dimlnuis Prifciani caput, applied to fuch as 1 fpeak falfe Latin. THEOBALD. It infinuatetb me of infamy. There is no need to make the pe- dant worfe than Shakefpeare made him ; who, without doubt, wrote infanity. WARBURTON. There feems yet fomething wanting to the integrity of this paf- fage, which Mr. Theobald has in the moil corrupt and difficult places very happily reftored. For ne intelligh domine ? to make frantlck, lunatick, I read (nonne iutelligis, domine ?) to be mad t frantick, lunatick. JOHNSON. Infanle appears to have been a word anciently ufed. In a book entitled, Ibe Fall and evil SucceJ/e of Rebellion from Time to Time, &c. written in old Englifh verie by Wilfride Holme, imprinted at London by Henry Bynneman ; without date, (though, from the concluding ftanza, it appears to have been produced in the 8th year of the reign of Henry VIII.) I find the word ufed: " In the days of fixth Henry, Jack Gade made a brag, " With a multitude of people ; but in the confequence, " After a little infanie^ they fled tag and rag, " For Alexander Iden he did his diligence." STEEVENS. Zfhould rather read, ' it iniinuateth men of infanie," FARMER. Enter 3LOVE's LABOUR'S L,OST. 47 1 Enter Armado, Moth 3 and Co/lard. 'Nath. Videfne quis venit f HoL Video^ & gaudeo. Arm. Chirra ! Jfol. Quare Chirra, not firrah ? Arm. Men of peace, well encounter'd. Hal. Moft military fir, falutation. Moth. They have been at a great feaft of languages, and floln the fcraps. [To Coftard aftde. Co/l. O, they have liv'd long on the alms-bafket 8 of words ! I -marvel, thy mafter hath not eaten thee for a word ; for thou art not fo long by the head as, bonorificabilitudinitatibus 9 : thou art eafier fwallowcd than a flap-dragon '. Motb. Peace ; the peal begins. Arm. Monfieur, are you not letter'd ? Moth. Yes, yes; he teaches boys the horn-book : What is a, b, fpelt backward with a horn on his head ? "HoL Ba, pueritia, with a horn added. 'Moth. Ba, molt filly fheep, with a horn : You hear his learning. Hoi. ^ui-Sy quis, thou confonant ? 8 the alms-bafket of words /] i. e. the refufe of words. The refufe meat of great families was formerly lent to the prj- fcns. So, in the Inner Temple Maf^uc, 1619, by J. Middleton : *' his perpetual lodging in the King's Bench, and his ordinary out of the lafket." Again, in If ibis lie not a good Play the De- iiil is in If, 1612 : " He mull feed on beggary's bajket" STEEVENS. , 9 Honorifaalilitiidinitatibus :~\ This word, whencefoever it comes, is often /mentioned as the longeft word known. JOHNSON. It occurs likeuife in JMarilon's Dutch Courtezan, 1604 : " His difcourfe is like the long word bmorificabilitttilinitatibus} a great deal of found and no fenle." I meet with it likewife in $IanVs Lenten Stuff, &c. 1^99. STEEVENS. 1 aflap-dragon."\ A flap-dragon is a fmall inflammable fubfhince, which topers fwallow in a glafs of wine. See a note on K. Henry IV, part II. ad II. fc. ult. STEEVENS. H h 4 Motb* 472 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. Moth* The third of the five vowels, if you repeat them ; or the fifth, if I z . Hoi. I will repeat them, a, e, i. Moth. The Iheep : the other two concludes rt ; o,. u. Arm. Now, by the'falt wave of the Mediterraneum, a fweet touch, a quick venew of wit 3 : imp, fnap, quick and home ; it rejoiceth my intellect : true wit. Moth. Offer'd by a child to an old man ; which is wit-old. Hoi. What is the figure ? what is the figure ? Moth. Horns. Hoi. Thou difputefl like an infant : go, whip thy gigg- Moth. Lend me your horn to make one, and I will whip about your infamy 4 circum circa', A gigg of a cuckold's horn ! Cqft. An I had but one penny in the world, thou fhouldft have it to buy ginger-bread : hold, there is the very remuneration I had of thy matter, thou half-penny purfe of wit, thou pigeon-egg of difcre- tion. O, an the heavens were fo pleafed, that thou * Moth, be third of the five vmveh, &c.] In former editions : The laft of the five vowels, if you repeat them ; or the fifth, if I \ Hoi. / will repeat them, a, e, I Moth. Thejbetp: the other t-zvo concludes //out. Is not the laft and \kzfiftb the lame vmvel? Though, my correc- tion reftores but a poor conundrum, yet if it reftores the poet's, meaning, it is the duty of an editor to trace him in his lovvefl conceits. By O, U, Moth would mean Oh, you i. e. You are the (heep itill, either way ; no matter which of us repeats them. THEOBALD. s a q u ; c k venew of vj>t :} A vene-iv is the technical term for a lout at the fencing-fchool. So, in the Four Prentices of' London, 1632 : " in the fencing-fchool " To play a vencv.1. " STEEVENS. 4 I iv III tff make his god-bead wax ; ] To iwz.v anciently fig- nified to grow. It is yet faid of the moon, that fhe ivaxe s and vpanes, So, in Drayton's Polyolblon^ Song I. " I view thole wanton brooks that waxing (till do wane." A<^ain, in Lylly's Love's Metamorfhofes, 1601 ; Men's 476 LOVE's LABOUR'* LOST. Kath. Ay, and a ftirewd unhappy gallows too. Rof. You'll ne'er be friends, with him ; he kill'd your filter. Kath. He made her .melancholy, fad, and heavy; And fo ihe died : had Ihe been light, like you, Of fuch a merry, nimble, ftirring fpirit, She might have been a grandam ere Ihe dy'd : And fo may you ; for a light heart lives long. Rof. What's your dark meaning, moufe, of this light word ? Kath. A light condition in a beauty dark. Rof. We need more light to find your meaning out. Kath. You'll mar the light, by taking it in muff 1 ; Therefore, I'll darkly end the argument. Rof. Look, what you do, you do it flill i' th? dark. Kath. So do not you ; for you are a light wench. Rof. Indeed, I weigh not you ; and therefore light. Kath. You weigh me not, O, that's, you care not for me. Rof. Great reafon ; for, Paft cure is ftill paft care *. Prin. Well bandied both ; a fet of wit well play'd. But Rofaline, you have a favour too ; Who fent it ? and what is it ? Rof. I would, you knew ; An if my face were but as fair as yours, My favour were as great ; be witnefs this. ** Men's follies will ever wax, and then what reafon can make them wife ?" Again, in the "Poly'olbio*, Song V. ** The ftcm fnall ftrongly wax, as ftill the trunk doth wither.*' STEEVENS. 1 taking it in fnuff;} Snuff is here ufed equivocally for anger ^ and ihej/iuff of a candle. See more inftances of this conceit in K. Henry IV.' Part I. aft I. fc. Hi. STEEVENS. * f r pafl care is fill paft cure.] The tranfpofition which I have made in the two words, care and cure, is by the di- reftion of the ingenious Dr. Thirlby, THEQEALD. Nay, LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 477 Nay, I have verfes too, I thank Biron : The numbers true ; and, were the numbering too, I were the faireft goddefs on the ground : I am compar'd to twenty thoufand fairs. O, he hath drawn my picture in his letter ! Pr'm. Any thing like ? Rof. Much, in the letters ; nothing, in the praife. Prin. Beauteous as ink ; a good conclufion. Katb. Fair as a text B in a copy-book. Rof. 'Ware pencils 5 ! How ? let me not die your debtor, My red dominical, my golden letter : O, that your face were not fo full of O's 4 ! Katb. Pox of that jeit ! and I belhrew all ihrows ? . Prix. But what was fcnt to you from fair Durnam ? Kath. Madam, this glove. Prix. Did he not fend you twain ? e pencils / ] The former editions read: Were pencils - Sir T. Hanmer here rightly rcftored : * \Varepenctts - Rofaline, a black beauty, reproaches the fair Katharine for paint- ing. JOHNSON. The fulio reads : U r are penfals- STEEVENS. * - -fofull "of O's.] i.e. pimples. Shakefpeare talk* of " - fiery O's and' eyes, of light," in another play. STEEVENS. 3 Pox of that j eft ! and I Itfljrevj all JJiro-ius.] In former copies this line is given to the Princefs ; but as (he has- behaved with great decency all along, there is no reafon why {he fliould {tart all at once into this coarfe dialect. Rofaline and Katharine are rally- ing one another without referve ; and to Katharine this firft line certainly belonged, and therefore I have ventured once more to put her in pofleffion of it. THEOBALD. " Pox of that jeft 1" Mr. Theobald is fcandalized at this language from a princefs. But there needs no alarm - the/mail fox only is alluded to; with which, it feems, Katharine was pit- ted ; or, as it is quaintly exprelled, " her face was full-of O's." Davifon has a canzonet on his lady's fickneffe of the poxe : and Dr. Donne writes to his lifter: " at my return from Kent, 1 found* Pegge had the poxe I humbly thank God, it hath not much dif- figured her," FARMER. Katb. 478 LOVE's LABOURS LOST, Kath. Yes, madam ; and moreover, Some thoufand verfes of a faithful lover : A huge tranflation of hypocrify, Vilely compil'd, profound fimplicity. Mar. This, and thefe pearls, to me fent Longa- ville j The letter is too long by half a mile. Pnn. I think no lefs ; Doft thou not wifh in heart, The chain were longer, and the letter fhort ? Mar. Ay, or I would thefe hands might never part. Prin. We are wife girls, to mock our lovers fo. Rof. They are worfe fools, to purchafe mocking fo. That fame Biron I'll torture ere I go. O, that I knew he were but in by the week 6 \ How I would make him fawn, and beg, and feek ; And wait the feafon, and obferve the times, And fpend his prodigal wits in bootlefs rhimes ; And Ihape his fervice all to my behefls ; And make him proud to make me proud that jefls ! So portent-like would I o'erfway his ftate 7 , That he fiiould be my fool, and I his fate. Pnn. 6 in by the week!] This I fuppofe to be an expreffion taken from hiring fervants or artificers ; meaning, I wifh I was as fure of his fervice for any time limited, as if I had hired him. The expreffion was a common one. So, in Pittoria Corom- lona, 1612 : ' What, are you in by the week? So ; I will try now whether thy wit be clofe prifoner." Again, in the Wit of a Woman, 1604 : " Since I am in by the iveek, let me look to the year." STEEVENS. 7 So portent-//'^, &c.] In former copies : So pertaunt-//^, would I o'er-fiuay bisjfate^ That hefoouldbe my fool, and I his fate. In old farces, to Ihew the inevitable approaches of death and de- ftinyi the Fool of the farce is made to employ all his ftratagems to avoid Death or Fate ; which very ftratagems, as they are ordered, bring the Fool, at every turn, into the very jaws of Fate. To this Shakefpeare alludes again in Meafure for Meajure : " merely thou art Death's Fool ; " For him thou labour'* Jl by thy flight tojbun, " And yet run'ft towards him ft ill > '* It LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. Prln. 8 None are fo furely caught, when they arc catch'd, As wit turn'd fool : folly, in wifdom hatch'd, Hath wifdom's warrant, and the help of fchool ; And wit's own grace to grace a learned fool, Rof. The blood of youth burns not with fuck excefs. As gravity's revolt to wantonnefs. Mar. Folly in fools bears not fo ftrong a note, As foolery in the wife, when wit doth dote ; Since all the power thereof it doth apply, To prove, by wit, worth in fimplicity. Enter Boyet. Prln. Here comes Boyet, and mirth is in his face* JBoyet. O, I am flabb'd with laughter ! Where's her grace ? Prin. Thy news, Boyet ? Boyet. Prepare, madam, prepare ! Arm, wenches, arm ! encounters mounted are Againfl your peace : Love doth approach difguis'd, Armed in arguments ; you'll be furpris'd : Mufter your wits ; Hand in your own defence ; Or hide your heads like cowards, and fly hence. Prln. Saint Dennis to St. Cupid 9 ! What are they, That charge their breath againft us ? fay, fcout, fay. It is plain from all this, that the nonfenfe of per taunt-like, fliould be read, portent-tike, i. e. I would be his fate ordeftiny, and, like z. portent, hang over, and influence his fortunes, for portents were, not only thought to forebode, but to influence* So the Latins called a perfon deftined to bring mifchief, fatale portentuxi. WAR BUS. TON. Mr. Theobald reads : So pedant-//^' JOHNSON. 8 None arcfo, &c.] Thefe are obfervations worthy of a man who has furveyed human nature with the cloleft attention. JOHNSON. 9 Saint Dennis, to faint Cupid '. The princefs of France in- vokes, with too much levity, the patron of her country, to op- pofe his power to that of Cupid. JOHNSO.V, Bovet, LOV's LAfcOUR's LOST; Boyet. Under the cool made of a fycamore, I thought to clofe my eyes fomc half an hour : When, lo ! to interrupt my purpos'd reft, Toward that fliade I might behold addreit The king and his companions : warily I ftole into a neighbour thicket by, And overheard what you mall overhear ; That, by and by, difguis'd they will be here. Their herald is a pretty knavifh page, That well by heart hath conn'd his embaflage : Action, and accent, did they teach him there ; Thus mvjl thou fpeak, and thus thy body bear : And ever and anon they made a doubt, Prefence majeflical would put him out ; Jbr, quoth the king, an angel foalt thou fee I Tet fear not thou, but fpeak audacioujly : The boy reply'd, An angel is not evil ; IJhould have feared ker^ had Jhe been a devil. With that all laugh'd, and clap'd him on the moulder ; Making the bold wag by their praifes bolder. One rubb'd his elbow, thus ; and fleer'd, and fwore^ A better fpeech was never fpoke before : Another, with his finger and his thumb, Cry'd, Via ! we will do't, come what will come : The third he caper'd, and cry'd, All goes well: The fourth turr?d on the toe, and down he fell. With that, they all did tumble on the ground, With fuch a zealous laughter, fo profound, That in this fpleen ridiculous appears *, To check their folly, paffion's folemn tears; Prin. But what, but what, come they to vifit us ? Boyet. They do, they do; and are apparel'd thus, Like Mufcovites, or Ruffians : as I guefs % * 'Spleen ridiculous ] is, a ridiculous fo. JOHNSON. * Like Mufcovitesi or RujKans^ as I guefe."] The fettling com- merce in Ruflia was, at that time, a matter that much ingrofled the concern and converfation of the publick. There had been ieveral embafiics employed thither on that occalion ; and feveral trafts LOVE's LABOURS LOST. 4 Si Their purpofe is, to parle, to court, and dance ; And everyone his love-feat will advance Unto his fevejral miftrefs ; which they'll know By favours feveral, which they did beflow. Prin. And will they fo ? the gallants fhall be tafk'd : For, ladies, we will every one be mafk'd ; And not a man of them fhall have the grace, Defpight of fuit, to fee a lady's face. Hold, Rofaline, this favour thou fhalt wear ; And then the king will court thee for his dear : Hold, take thou this, my fweet, and give me thine ; So fhall Biron take me for Rofaline, And change your favours too ; fo fhall your loves Woo contrary, deceiv'd by thefe removes. Rof. Come on then ; wear the favours mofl iri fight. Kath. But, in this changing, what is your intent ? Prin. The effect of my intent is, to crofs theirs : They do it but in mocking merriment ; And mock for mock is only my intent; Their feveral counfels they unbofom fhall To loves miflook ; and fo be mock'd withal, Upon the next occafion that we meet, With vifages difplay'd, to talk, and greet. Rof. But fhall we dance, if they defire us to't ? Prin. No -, to the death, we will not move a foot : Nor to their penn'd fpeech render we no grace ; But, while 'tis fpoke, each turn away her face. Boyet. Why, that contempt will kill the fpeaker's heart, And quite divorce his memory from his part. Prin. Therefore I do it; and, I make no doubt^ The reft will ne'er come in, if he be out. trafts of the manners and fhte of that nation written : fo that a maflc of Mufcovites was as good an entertainment to the audience of that time, as a coronation has been fince. WAREUSTOX. VQL. II. I i There'} 4S2 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. There's no'fuch fport, as fport by fport o'erthrown;; To make theirs ours, and ours none but our own : So ihall we flay,, mocking intended game ; And they, well mock'd,. depart away with friame. _ Boyet. The trumpet founds;, be mafk'd, the mafkers come. \*he ladies mqjlt. Enter the King, Biron? Longaville r and Dumain, dif- guifed like Mvfcovitcs ; Moth with mttflcky &c. Moth. All bail, the richeft beauties on the earth ! Boyet.. Beauties no richer than rich taffata 3 . Moth. A holy parcel of the fair eft dames , [ The ladles turn their backs to him* 'That ever turned their backs to mortal views* Biron. Their eyes? villain,, their eyes. Moth, l&at ever ti/rtfd their eyes to mortal views f Out Boyet. True ; out,, indeed. Moth. Out of your favour s r . heavenly fp'mts^ vouch- fofi . Not to behold Biron. Once to behold^ rogue. Moth. Once to behold with your fun-beamed eyes* With your fun-beamed eyes Boyet. They will not anfvver to that epithet ;. You were beft call it daughter-beamed eyes. Moth. They do not mark me, and that brings me out. 3 Beauties,, no richer than rii-h tajfata.*'] i. e. the taffata malks they wore to conceal themlelves. All the editors concur to give this line to Biron ; but, furely, very abfurdly .- for he's one of the zealous admirers, and hardly would make fuch an inference. Boyet is Iheering at the parade of their addreis, is in the fecret of the ladies' ftratagem, and makes himfelf fport at the abfurdity of their proem, in complimenting their beauty, when they were maflc'd. It therefore comes from him with the utmoft propriety. THEOBALD. i Riron*. LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST. 483 Biron. Is this your perfe&nefs ? be gone, you rogue. Rof. What would thefe ftrangers ? know their. minds, Boyet: if they do fpeak our language, 'tis our will That fome plain man recount their purpofes. : Know what they would. Boyet. What would you with the' princefs ? Biron. Nothing but peace, and gentle vifitation.' Rof. What would they, fay they ? Boyet. Nothing but peace and gentle vifitation. Rof. Why, that they have ; and bid them fo be gone. Boyet. She fays, you have it, and you may be gone. King. Say to her, we have meafur'd many miles, To tread a meafure with her on this grafs. Boyet. They fay, that they have meafur'd many a mile, To tread a meafure with you on this grafs. Rof. It is not fo : A ft. them, how many inches Is in one mile : if they have meafur'd many, The meafure then of one is eafily told. Boyet. If, to come hither you have meafur'd miles, And many miles ; the princefs bids you teil, How many inches do fill up one mile. Biron. Tell her, we meafure them by weary fteps.' Boyet. She hears herfelf. Rof. How many weary fteps, Of many weary miles you have o'ergone, Are number'd in the travel of one mile ? Biron* We number nothing that we fpend for you; Our duty is fo rich, fo infinite, That we may do it ftill without accompt. Vouchfafe to iliew the funihine of your faccj That we, like favages, may worfhip it. Rof. My face is but a moon, and clouded too. King. BlefTcd are clouds, to do as fuch clouds do ! I i 2 Vouch- 484 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. Vouchfafe, bright moon, and thefe * thy ftars, tQ fliine (Thofe clouds remov'd) upon our watery eyne. Rof. O vain petitioner ! beg a greater matter ; Thou now requeft'ft but moon-fhine in the water. King. Then in our meafure do but vouchfafe one change : Thou bid'ft me beg ^ this begging is not flrange. Rof. Play, mufickj then : Nay, you muft do it foon. Not yet i-*~ no dance : thus change I like the moon. King. Will you not dance ? How come you thus eftrang'd ? Rof. You took the moon at full ; but now ihe's chang'd. King. Yet {till Ihe is the moon, and I the man. The mufick plays ; vouchfafe fome motion to it. Rof. Our ears vouchfafe it. King. But your legs Ihould do it. Rof. Since you are ftrangers, and come here by chance, We'll not be nice : take hands ; we will not dance. King. Why take you hands then ? Rof. Only to part friends : Court'fy, fweet hearts ; and fo the meafure ends. King. More meafure of this meafure ; be not nice. Rof. We can afford no more at fuch a price. King. Prize yourfelves then ; What buys your company ? Rof. Your abfence only. King. That can never be. Rof. Then cannot we be bought : And fo adieu ; Twice to your vifor, and half once to you ! King. If you deny to dance, let's hold more chat. + Voucbfafe, bright moon, and tbefe thy jlars> ' ] When queen Elizabeth aiked an ambaflador how he liked her ladies, It faid he, to fudge ofjiars in the prefcvce of the fun. JOHNSON. Rof. LOVE's LABOURS LOST. Rof. In private than. King. I am belt pleas'd with that. Biron. White-handed miftrefs, one fweet word with thee. Prin. Honey, and milk, and fugar ; there is. thretf Biron. Nay then, two treys, (an if you grow fo nice,) Metheglin, wort, and malmfey; Well run, dice! There's half a dozen fweets. Prin. Seventh fweet, adieu ! Since you can cog 5 , I'll play no more with you, Biron. One word in fecret. Prin. Let it not be fweet. Biron. Thou griev'ft my gall. Prin. Gall ? bitter. Biron. Therefore meet. Dum. Will you vouchfafe with me to change a word ? Mar. Name it. Dum. Fair lady, Mar. Say you fo ? Fair lord, Take that for your fair lady. Dum. Pleafe it you, As much in private, and I'll bid adieu. Kath. What, was your vifor made without a tongue ? Long. I know the reafon, lady, why you afk. Kath. O, for your reafon ! quickly, Sir ; I long. Long. You have a double tongue within your mafk, And would afford my fpeechlefs vizor half. Kath. Veal, quoth the Dutchman ; Is not veal a calf? Long. A calf, fair lady ? Kath. No, a fair lord calf. Long. Let's part the word. 5 Since you can cog, M j To cng, fignifies to falfcfy tie dice t apd tofaijify a narrative^ or to lye. JOHNSON, I i LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. KatJj. No, I'll not be your half : Take all, and wean it ; it may prove an ox. Long. Look, how you butt yourfelf in thefe iliarp mocks ! Will you give horns, chafte lady ? do not fo. Katb. Then die a calf, before vour horns do grow, Long. One word in private with you, ere I die. Katb. Bleat foftly then, the butcher hears you cry* Boyet. The tongues of mocking wenches are as keen As is the razor's edge invifible, Cutting a fmaller hair than may be feen ; Above the fenfe of fenfe : fo fenfible Seemeth their conference; their conceits have wings, Fleeter than arrows, bullets, wind, thought, fwifter things. Rvf. Not one word more, my maids ; break off, break off. Biron.' By heaven, all dry-beaten with pure feoff! King. Farewel, mad wenches ; you have fimple wits. \_Excunt king y and lords* Pr'm. Twenty adieus, my frozen Muscovites. Are thefe the breed of wits fo wondred at ? Boyet. Tapers they are, with your fweet breaths pufFd out. Rof, Well-liking wits 6 they have ; grofs, grofs ; fat, fat. Prin. O poverty in wit, kingly-poor flout ! Will they not, think you, hang themfelves to night? Or ever, but in vizors, fhew their faces ? This pert Biron was out of countenance quite. Rof. O ! they were all in lamentable cafes ! The king was weeping-ripe for a good word. Prin. Biron did fwear himfelf out of all fuit. Mar. Dumain was at my fervicc, and his fvvord : 6 Well-liking wits] Jfell-Uking is the fame as embonpoint. So, in Job ch. xxxix. v. 4. " Their young ones are in good- liking" STEEVBXS, No, LOVFs LABOURS LOST. 487 No, point, quoth I ; my fcrvant ftrait was mute. Katb. Lord Longaville (aid, I came o'er his heart; And trow you, what he call'd me ? Prin. Qualm, perhaps. Katb. Yes, in good faith. Prin. Go, ficknefs as thou art ! Rof. Well, better wits have worn plain flatute- caps 7 . But will you hear? the king is my love fworn. Prin. And quick Biron hath plighted faith to me. Katb, And Longaville was for my fervice born. Mar. Dumain is mine, as fure as bark on tree. 7 better ivits have ivorn plain Jlaitite-caps.] This line is not univerfally underilood, becauie every reader docs not know that a iVatute cap is part ot the academical habit. Lady Rofa- line declares that her expectation was difappointed by thef'e courtly itudents, and that letter ivits might be found in the common phices or" education. JOEXSOX. Rof. Well, letter ivits have ivorn plain Jlatute-cap\t\ Woollen caps were enjoined by aft of parliament, in the year 1^71, the i3th of queen Elizabeth. ** Belides the bills patted into acts this parlia- ment, there was one which I judge not amifs to be taken notice of it concerned the queen's care for employment for her poor lort of fubje&o. It was for continuance of making and wearing woollen caps, in behalf of the trade of cappers ; providing, that all above the age of fix years, (except the nobility and fome others) Ihould onfallatb days and holy Jays, wear caps of wool, knit, thicked, and dreft in England, upon penalty of ten groats." GRAY. This act may account for the diftinguiihing mark of Mother Red-cap. I have obierved that mention is made of this lign by fome of our ancient pamphleteers and playwritcrs, as rar back as the date of the act referred to by Dr Gray. If that your cap be wool became a proverbial faying. So, in Hans Beer- pot, a comedy, 1618: " You fhall not flinch ; if that your cap le ivool, " You fhull along." STEEVENS. I think my own interpretation of this pafluge is right. JOHXSOX. Probably the meaning is letter ivits may le foinul among tl-e citi^a:.', who are not in general remarkable for tallies of ima- gination, la Marflyn's Dutch Courtezan, 1605, MfSv Mulltgrub lays, "though rny hufoand be a citizen, and his cap's maJe i\f H>W, yet I have wit." Again, in the Family af Love, 1608: " 'i'is a. ia>v cnu&ed by the common-council of Jiatutc-caps." STEEVENS. I i 4 Boy:?. 4 88 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. Boyet. Madam, and pretty miftrefles, give car : Immediately they will again be here In their own fhapes ; for it can never be, They will digefl this harfh indignity. Pnn. Will they return ? Boyet. They will, they will, God knows ; And leap for joy, though they are lame with blows : Therefore, change favours ; and, when they repair, Blow like fweet rofes in this fummer air. Prin. How, blow ? how blow ? fpeak to be un~ derflood. Boyet. 8 Fair ladies, mafk'd, are rofes in their bud ; Dif- * Fair ladies, majtfd, are rofes in their bud ; Difmajk'd, their damajk fwcct commixture Jhcwn, Are angels vailing clouds, or rofes blown. ~\ This ftrange nonfenfe, made worfe by the jumbling together arul tranfpoling the lines, I directed Mr. Theobald to read thus : Fair ladies majked are rofes in their hud : Or angels veii'dln clouds : are rofes blown, DiftnajVd, their damajk facet conimixture Jkewn. But he, willing to ihevv how well he could improve a thought, would print it : Or angel-veiling clouds i. e, clouds which veil angels : and by this means gave us, as the old proverb fays, a cloud for a Juno. It was Shakefpeare's pur- pofe to compare a fine lady to an angel ; it was Mr. Theobald's chance to compare her to a cloud : and perhaps the ill-bred reader will fay a lucky one. However, I fuppoied the poet could never be fo nonfenfical as to compare a majked lady to a cloud, though he might compare her mafk to one. The Oxford editor, who had the advantage both of this emendation and criticifm, is a great deal more iubtile and refined, and fays it fhouhl not be angels veil'd in clouds, but angels vailing clouds, i. e. capping the fun as they go by him, juft as a man vails his bonnet. WAR EUR TON. I know not why fir T. Hanmer's explanation fhould be treated with fo much contempt, or why vailing clouds (hould be capping thv fun. Ladies unmajtfd, fays Boyet, are like angels vailing clouds, or letting thofe clouds which obfcured their brightnefs, link from before them. What is there in this abfurd or con- temptible ? JOHNSON. Holinfhed's Hijiory of Scotland, p. 91. fays: " The Britains began to aval: the hills where.they had lodged." i.e. they began LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 489 Difmafk'd, their damafk fweet commixture fhewn, Are angels vailing clouds, or rofes blown. Prin. Avaunt, perplexity ! What fhall we do, If they return in their own fhapes to woo ? Rof. Good madam, if by me you'll be advis'd, Let's mock them ftill, as well known, as difguis'd : Let us complain to them what fools were here, Difguis'd like Mufcovites, infhapelefs gear 9 ; And wonder, what they were ; and to what end Their fhallow fhows, and prologue vilely penn'd, And their rough carriage fo ridiculous, Should be prefented at our tent to us. Boyet. Ladies, withdraw ; the gallants are at hand. Prin. Whip to our tents, as roes run o'er the land. [Exeunt ladies \ JLnter the King-, Biron, Longavilk* and Dumain in their own habits. King. Fair Sir, God fave you ! Where's the prin- cefs ? Boyet. Gone to her tent : Pleafc it your majefty, Command me any fervice to her ? King. That ihe vouchfafe me audience for one word. to defcend the hills, or come down from them to meet their ene- mies. If Shakefpeare ules the word vailing in this fenie, the meaning is Angels delcending from clouds which concealed their beauties ; but Dr. Johnfon's expofition may be better. TOLLET. To avqle comes from the Fr. aval [Terme de batelier] Down, downward, down the flream. So, in the French Romant de la JRofe, 1415 : " Leaue aloit aval enfaifant " Son melodieux et plaiiant." Again, in Laneham's Narrative of .Vueen Elizabeth's Entertain* meat at Kenclwartb-CaJllc, 1575 : " - as on a fea-fhore when the water is avaiVd." STEF.VEXS. 9 -- fhapelefs gear;] Shapelcfi, for uncouth, or what Shakefpeare elfewhere calls JiffufeJ. WARBURTOX. * Exeunt Ladies.'} Mr. Theobald ends the fourth aft here. Biron. 490 LOVE's LABOUR'S LO Boyet. I will ; and fo will Ihe, I know, p 'L-*- Biron. This fellow picks up wit, as pigeons peL j ; And utters it again, when Jove doth pleafe : He is wit's pedlar ; and retails his wares At wakes, and waffds , meetings, markets, fairs ; And we that fell by grofs, the Lord doth know, Have not the grace to grace it with fuch Ihow. This gallant pins the wenches on his fleeve ; Had he been Adam, he had tempted Eve : He can carve too, and lifp : Why, this is he, That kifs'd away his hand in courtefy ; This is the ape of form, monfieur the nice, That, when he plays at tables, chides the dice In honourable terms ; nay, he can fing A mean moft meanly 4 ; and, in ufhering, Mend him who can.: the ladies call him, fweet ; The flairs, as he treads on them, kifs his feet : This is the flower that fmiles on every one s , To Ihew his teeth as white as whale his bone : And * -as pigeons pf as;'} This expreffion is proverbial: *' Children pick up words as pigeons peas ^ " And utter them again as God fhall pleafe." See Ray's Colleftion. STEEVENS. 3 wafTels,] WaJJch were meetings of ruflic mirth and in- temperance. So, in Antony and Cleopatra : " Antony, " Leave thy lafcivious ivajfels" STEEVEXS. * A mean moft meanly ; &c.] The mean, in mufic, is the tenor. So, Bacon : " The treble cutteth the air fo (harp, as it returneth too fwift to make the found equal ; and therefore a mean or tenor is the fweeteit." Again, in Herod and Antlpater, 1622 : " Thus fing we defcant on one plain-fong, kill ; " Four parts in one, the mean excluded quite." Again, in Drayton's Barons' Wars, Cant. iii. *' The bafe and treble married to the mean" STEKVENS. s Tins is the flower, that fmiles en frery onc^} The broken dif- jointed metaphor is a fault ill writing. But in order to pa's a true judgment on this fault, it is ililUo be obferved, that when 2. metaphor is grown fo common as to defert, as it were, the figu- rative, LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 491 And confciences, that will not die in debt, Pay him the due of honey-tongued Boyet. rative, and to be received into the common ftyle, then what may- be affirmed of the thing reprefented, or ihefiibjlance, may be af- firmed of the thing reprefenting, or the image. To illuftrate this by the intfance before us, a very complaifant, finical, over-gra- cious peribn, was fo commonly called the^-twr, or, as he elfe- where expreffes it, the fink of courtefy, that in common talk, or in the lowed ftyle, this metaphor might be ufed without keeping up the image, but any thing affirmed of it as an agnomen : hence it might be laid, without oftence, to Jhiile, to flatter, &c. And the rcafon is this ; in the more Iblemn, lefs-ufed metaphors, our mind is fo turned upon the image which the metaphor conveys, that it expects this image fliould be, for fome little time, continued by terms proper to keep it in view. And if, for want of thefe terms, the image be no {boner prefented than difmified, the mind fuffers a kind of violence by being drawn oft" abruptly and unexpe&edlv from its contemplation. Hence it is, that the broken, disjointed, and mixed metaphor fo much fnocks us. But when it is once be- come worn and hacknied by common ufe, then even the very firil mention of it is not apt to excite in us the representative image ; but brings immediately before us the idea of the thing repreient- ed. And then to endeavour to keep up and continue the bor- rowed ideas, by right adapted terms, would have as ill an effect on the other hand : becaule the mind is already gone off from the image to the Jubilance. Grammarians would tlo well to conlider what has been here laid, when they let upon amending Greek and Roman writings. For the much -ufed hacknied metaphors being now very imperfectly known, great care is required not to at in this cafe temerariouily. WAR BUR TON. This is tbc Jlowei' that j'miles OK eveiy one, Tojbew his tcctb as white as whale bis bone.~\ As white as whale's bone is a proverbial companion in the old poets. In the Faery Queen, b. iii. c. i. ft. 15 : " Whole face did feem as clear as cryftal ftone, " And eke, through feare,. as white as whales lone" And in Turberville's Poems, printed iu the year 1570, is an ode ^titled, " la Pralfe of Lady P." " Her n.outh fo fmall, her teeth fo white, " As any whale his bone ; " Her lips'without fo lively red, " That pafle the corall Itone." And in /-. Surrey, fol. 14. edit. 11:67 : " I m:ght perceive a wolf, as wLlfe as whales lone, " A fairer bealt of frtflier hue, beheld I never none.'* Again, 49* LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. King. A bliftcr on his fweet tongue, with my heart, That put Armado's page out of his part ! Enter ike Princefc, Rofatine, Maria y Katharine* Ecyet^ and attendants. Birofi. See, where it comes ! -Behaviour, what wert thou 6 , 'Till this mad man Ihew'd thee ? and what art thou now ? King. All hail, fweet madam, and fair time of day ! Again, in the old romance of Syr Degore : '' The kyng had no chyldren but one, *' A daughter, as white as whales bone" Skelton joins the whales bone with the brighteft precious ftones, la slefcribing the pofition of Pallas : " A hundred fleppes mounting to the halle, " One of jafper, another of -whales bone ; *' Of diamantes, pointed by the rokky walle." Crowne of L,awrell, p. 24. edit. 1736. WAR TON, It fliould be remember'd that fome of our ancient writers fup- fjofed ivory to be part of the bones of a whale. The fame fimiJe occurs in the old black letter romance of Syr Eglamvure of Ay- toys, no date : ' * ' The erle had no chylde but one, " A mayden as white as whales bone." Again, " That a fayre fonne had Chryftabell, ** As wtyte as whales bone." Again, in the ancient metrical romance oSyrIfenbras,\A. 1. no date; " His wyfe as white as whales bone" ^orain, in the Squhr of Low Degree, bl. 1. no date : " Lady as white as w/:-ales bone" Again, in Nafh's Lenten Stuff, &c. 1599: ** his herrings which were tuvobiteastubahs bone, Sec." We fliould, however, read whales bone, the Saxon genitive cafe, and not whale his bone as it is here printed. So, in the Miafina* pier Night's Dream : " Swifter than the moones fphere." STEEVEXS. f> JSehaviour y what wert thou, *7Y// this man jhew'd thcc ? and what art thott now ? Thefe are two wonderfully fine lines, intimating that what courts call manners,* and value themfelves fo much upon teaching, as a thing no where elfe to be learnt, is a modeft lilent accomplifhment under the direction ot nature and common fenfe, which does its- cffice in promoting focial life without being taken notice of. But tha; .LOVE's LABOURS LOST. 493 Prln. Fair, in all hail, is foul, as I conceive. King. Conftrue my fpeeches better, if you may, Prin. Then wiih me better, I will give you leave. King. We came to vifit you ; and purpofe now To lead you to our court : vouchfafe it then. Prin. This field ihall hold me ; and Ib hold your vow : Nor God, nor I, delight in perjur'd men* King. Rebuke me not for that which you pro- voke ; The virtue of your eye rriuft break my oath 7 . Prin. You nick-name virtue; vice you ihould have fpoke ; For virtue's office never breaks men's troth. Now, by my maiden honour, yet as pure As the unfully'd lily, I proteft, A world of torments though I fliould endure, I Would not yield to be your houfe's gueft : S6 much I hate a breaking caufe to be Of heavenly oaths, vow'd with integrity. King. O, you have liv'd in defolation here, Unfeen, unvifited, much to our fliame. Prin. Not fo, my lord ; it is not fo, I fwear ; We have had paftimes here, and pleafant game ; A mefs of Ruffians left us but of late. that when it degenerates into fhevv and parade, it becomes an un- manly contemptible quality. WAR BURTON. What is told in this note is undoubtedly true, but is not com- prifed in the quotation. JOHNSON. 1 The virtue of your eye muft break my oatb.~[ Common fenfc requires us to read : made break my oath, \: e. made me. And then the reply is pertinent.- It was the force ot your beauty that made me break my oath, therefore you ought not to upbraid me with a crime which you yourielf was the caufe oh WARBURTON. I believe the author means that the virtue, in which word goodnefs and power are both comprifed, mufl dijjblve the obliga- tion of the oath. The princefs, in her anfwer, takes the moil invidious part of the ambiguity. JOHNSOX. King. 494 tOVE's LABOUR'S LOST; King. How, madam ? . Ruffians ? . Prin* Ay, in truth, my lord ; Trim gallants, full of courtihip, and of Rof. Madam, fpeak true : -It is not fo, my lord ; My lady, (to the manner of thefe days) In courtefy, gives undeferving praife; We four, indeed, confronted were with four In Ruffian habit : here they itay'd an hour, And talked apace ; and in that hour, my lord, They did not blefs us with one happy word, I dare not call them fools ; but this I think, When they are thirty, fools would fain have drink* Blron* This jeft is dry to me. Fair, gentle, fweety Your wit makes wife things foolilh : when we greet * With eyes beft feeing heaven's fiery eyej By light we lofe light : Your capacity Is of that nature, that to your huge flore Wife things feem fqolifh, and rich things but poof* Rof This proves you wife and rich ; for in my eye, Blron.' I am a fool> and full of poverty* Rof. But that you take what doth to you belong^ It were a fault to (hatch words from my tongue. Blron. O, I am yours, and all that I poilefs. Rof. All the fool mine ? Biron. I cannot give you lefs. Rof. Which of the vizors was it, that you wore ? Biron, Where ? when ? what vizor ? why demand you this ? Rof. There, then, that vizor ; that fuperfluous cafe, That hid the worfe, and fhew'd the better face. JCmgt We are delcry'd ; they'll mock us now down right. Ditm. Let us cohfefs, and turn it to a jeft. Prin. Amaz'd, my lord ? Why looks your high* nefs fad ? * when we greet &c.] This is a very lofty and elegant compliment* JOHNSON/ Rof. LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST. 49$ JRojl Help,' hold his brows ! he'll fwoon ! Why look you pale r Sea-fick, I think, coming from Mufcovy. Biron. Thus ponr the ftars down plagues for perjury. Can any face of brafs hold longer out ? Here ftand I, lady , dart thy Ikill at me ; Bruifo me with fcorn, confound me with a flout ; Thruft thy fliarp wit-quite through my ignorance ; Cut me. to pieces with thy keen conceit ; And I will wilh thee never more to dance, Nor never more in Ruffian habit wait. ! never will I truft to fpeeches penn'd, Nor to the motion of a fchool-boy's tongue; Nor never come in vizor to my friend ; Nor woo in rhime, like a blind harper's fong " Taffata phrafes, filken terms precife, Three-pil'd hyperboles 9 , fpruce affectation^ Figures pedantical ; thefe fummer-flies Have blown me full of maggot oilentation : 1 do forlvvear them : and I here proteft, By this white glove, (how white the hand, GocS knows !) Henceforth my wooing mind iliall be exprefs'd In ruflet yeas, and honeft kerfey noes : And to begin, wench, fo God help me, la ! My love to thee is found, fans crack or flaw. Rof. Sans SANS^ I pray you '. Biron. Yet I have a trick Of the old rage : bear with me, I am (ick ; I'll leave it by degrees. Soft, let us fee ; 9 Three-pil'd hyperboles,] A metaphor from the pile of velvets So, in the Winter's Tale, Auto lye us fays : " I have worn three-pile.^ STEEVEXS. 1 Sans, fans, I pray you.] It is fcarce worth remarking, that the conceit 'here is obfcured by the punduation. It fiiould be written Sans SANS, i.e. without SANS; without French words: an affectation of which Biron had been guilty in the laft line or" his fpeech, though juft before he had forfoiorn all affeZlation in phr-afes, terms, &c. TYRWHITT. Write,: 496 LOVFs LABOUR'S LOST* Write *, Lord have mercy on us, on thofe three ; They are infe&ed, in their hearts it lies ; They have the plague, and caught it of your eyes 5 Thefe lords are vifited ; you are not free, For the Lord's tokens on you do I fee. Prin. No, they are free, that gave thefe tokens to us. Biron. Our flates are forfeit, feek not to undo us. Rof. It is not fo ; For how can this be true % That you (land forfeit, being thofe that fue ? . Biron. Peace ; for I will not have to do with you, Rof. Nor ihall not, if I do as I intend. .Biron. Speak for yourfelves, my wit is at an end. King. Teach us, fweet madam, for our rude tranf- greflion Some fair excufe. * Write, &c.] This was the infcription put upon the door of the houfes infected with the plague, to which Biron compares the love of himfelf and his companions ; and purfuing the metaphor finds the tokens likewife on the ladies. The tokens of the plague are the firft fpots or difcolorations, by which the infection is known to be received. JOHNSON. So, in Hiftriomajlix, 1610: " It is as dangerous to read his name on a play-door, as a printed bill on a plague ;door." Again, in the Whore of Babylon, 1607 : " Have tokens flamp'd on them to make them known, *' More dreadful than the bills that preach the plague." Again, in Antony and Cleopatra : . . " On our fide, like the token* d peflilence." Again, in Two wife Men and all the reft Fools, 1619: " A will and a tolling bell are as prefent death as Gael's tokens* STEEVENS. So, in Sir T'bo. Overlury's Characters, 1632 : " Lord have mercy on us may well fland over their doors, fot debt is a moft dangerous wxy pejiilcnce" MALONE. 3 how can this be true^ Yhat ytu.lbould forfeit, being thofe that fue ? ~] That is, how can thofe be liable to forfeiture that begin the pra- cefs. The jeil lies in the ambiguity of fue, which fignifies to fro- fecute by la'Wy or to effer a petition. JOHNSON, Prin. LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST. 497 'Prin. The faireft is confeffion. Were you not here, but even now^ difguis'd ? King. Madam, I was. Prin. And were you well advis'd ? King. I was, fair madam. Prin. When you then were here, What did you whilper in your lady's ear ? King. That more than all the world I did refpecther. Prin. When fhefhall challenge this, you will reject her. King. Upon mine honour, no. Prin. Peace, peace, forbear ; Your oath broke once, you force not to forfwear *. King. Defpife me, when I break this oath of mine. Prin. I will ; and therefore keep it : Rofaline, What did the Ruffian whilper in your ear ? Rof. Madam, he fwore, that he did hold me dear As precious eye-fight ; and did value me Above this world : adding thereto, moreover, That he would wed me, or elfe die my lover. Prin. God give thee joy of him ! the noble lord Moft honourably doth uphold his word. King. What mean you, madam? by my life, my troth, I never fwore this lady fuch an oath. Rof. By heaven, you did ; and to confirm it plain, You gave me this : but take it, fir, again. King. My faith, and this, the princefs I did give; I knew her by this jewel on her fleeve. Prin. Pardon me, fir y this jewel did (he wear; And lord Biron, I thank him, is my dear : What ; will you Have me, or your pearl again ? Biron. Neither of either ; I remit both twain. -^- * you force not to forpivear.] 1'ou force not is the fame VJ\t\\you make no difficulty. This is a very juft obfervation. The crime which has been once committed, i? committed again with lefs reluctance. JOHVSO.NT. So, in Warner's Albiorfi England, b. x. ch. 59 : " he/inft/not to Jhidehow he did err." STEEVEXS. VOL. II, K k I fee 498 LOVE r s LABOUR'S LOST.. I fee the trick on't ; Here was a confent 5 , (Knowing aforchand of our merriment) To dafh it like a Chriftmas comedy : Some carry -tale, fome pleafe-man, fome flight zany % Some mumble -news, fome trencher -knight, fome Dick, . That fmiies his cheek in years 7 ; and knows the trick To make my lady laugh, when flie's difpos'd, Told our intents before : which once difclos'd, The ladies did change favours ; and then we, Following the figns, woo'd but the fign of me. Now, to our perjury to add more terror, We are again forfworn ; in will, and error *. Much upon this it is : And might not you [To Eoyet. 5 a confent,] i. e. a conf piracy. So, in K. Henry VI. Part I : " the ftars " That have confcntedto king Henry's death." STLEVENS.. 6 ---zany,'] A zany is a buffoon, a merry Andrew, a grois mimic. So, in Antonio's Revenge, 1602: " Laughs them to fcorn, as man doth bufy apes, " When they will zany men." STEEVENS. 7 jmiles his cheek ///.years'; Mr. Theobald fnys, he cannot for his heart, comprehend thefcnfe of this phrafe. It was not his heart but his head that flood in his way. In years, lignifies, into wrinkles. So, in Ths- Merchant of fcnice : " With mirth and laughter let old wrinckles come" Seethe note on that line. But the Oxford editor was in the fame cafe,, and fo alters it tojteers. WAR BURTON. Webftery in his DutcheJJe of Malfy, makes Caftruchio declare of his lady : " She cannot endure merry company, for flie fays much laughing fills her too full of the wrinckle,"' FARMER. Again, in Lingua,, or- the Combat of the Tongue, &c. 1 607 : " That light and quick, with wrinkled laughter painted.'* Again, in Twelfth Night : " he dothy/;;//^ his cheek into more lines than is in the new map,. &c." 8 i in will, and error. Much upon this it is : - And tnigbt not you] ^ I. believe this pailage fhould be read thus : in will and error. Boyet. Much upon this it is. Biron. And might not you, &c. JOHNSON. In will and error, i.e. firft in will, and afterwards in error. MUSGRAVJ:. Fore- LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST. 499 Foreflal our fport, to make us thus untrue ? Do not you know my lady's foot 9 by the fquier, And laugh upon the apple of her eye ? And ftand between her back, fir, and the fire, Holding a trencher, jefting merrily ? You put our page out : Go, you are allow'd ' ; Die when you will, a fmock fhall be your fhrowd. You leer upon me, do you ? there's an eye, Wounds like a leaden fword. Boyet. Full merrily Hath this brave manage, this career, been run. Biron* Lo,heistiltingftraight! Peace; I have done, Enter Coftard. Welcome, pure wit ! thou parteft a fair fray. Cqft-. O Lord, fir, they would know, Whether the three worthies iliall come in, or no* Biron. What, are there but three ? Coft, No, fir ; but it is very fine, For every one purfents three. Biron. And three times thrice is nine. Cqft. Not fo, fir ; under correction, fir ; I hope, it is not fo : You cannot beg us % fir, I can allure you, fir ; we know what we know : I hope, fir, three times thrice, fir, Biron. Is not nine. 9 ly t/je/;/rt:er,'] Efyuierre, French, a rule, or fqnart. The fenfe is nearly the fame as that of the proverbial expreilion in our own language, he hath got the length of her foot ; i. e. he hath humoured her to long that he can pei iuade her to what he pleafes. REVISAL. 4 Go, you art allow* d ; ] i.e. you may fay what you will ; you are a licenfed tool, a common jefter. So, in Twelfth Night: " There is nojlaKcler in an ailow'd/W." WAR BURTON. a Ton cannot beg us, ] That is, we are not fools ; our nct relations cannot be? the wardftiip of our perfons and fortunes. One of the legal tefts of a natural'^ to try whether he can number. JOHNSON. K k a Ccft. 500 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST, Coft. Under correction, fir, we know whereuntil it doth amount. Biron. By Jove, I always took three threes for nine. Coft. O Lord, fir, it were pity -you fhouid get your living by reckoning, fir. Biron. How much is it ? Coft. O Lord, fir, the parties themfelves, the actors, fifj will {hew whereuntil it doth amount : for my own part, I am, as they fay, but to parfect one man in one poor man ; Pompion the great, fir. Biron. Art thou one of. the worthies ? Coft. It pleafed them, to think me worthy of Pompion the great : for mine own part, I know not the degree of the worthy ; but I am to ftand for him J . Biron. Go, bid them prepare. Coft. We will turn it finely off, fir; we will take fome care. King. Biron, they will {hame us, let them not ap- proach. [Exit Cojlard. Biron. We are {hame-proof, my lord : and 'tis fome policy To have one {how worfe than the king's and his com- pany. King. I fay, they {hall not come. Prln. Nay, my good lord, let me o'er-rule you now ; That fport beft pleafes, that doth leaft know how 4 : Where 3 1 know not the degree of tbt worthy, &c.] This is a flroke of fatire which, to this hour, has loft nothing of its force. Few performers are felicitous about the hiftory of the character they are to reprefent. STEEVENS. * That fport beft pleafes , ivbicb dotb leaft know bow ; Where zialjirives to content, and the contents Dies in the zeal of that ivbicb it prefciitSj There form y &c. The third Hne may be read better thus : the contents Die in the zeal of him ivbicb them prefents. This fenthnent of the Princefs is very natural, but Icfs generous than LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 501 Where zeal flrives to content, and the contents Dies in the zeal of that which it prefents, There form confounded makes moft form in mirth ; When great things labouring perilh in their birth. Biron. A right defcription of our fport, my lord. Enter Armado s . Arm. Anointed, I implore fo much expence of thy royal fweet breath as will utter a brace of words. [Converfes apart with the King. Prin. Doth this man ferve God ? Biron. Why alk you ? Prin. He fpeaks not like a man of God's making. Arm. That's all one, my fair, fweet, honey monarch : for, I proteft, the fchopl-mafter is exceeding fantaf- tical ; too, too vain ; top, top vain : But we will put it, as they fay, tofbrtuna delta guerra. I wifti you the peace of mind, moft royal couplement i King. Here is like to be a good prefence of wor- thies : He prefents Hector of Troy ; the fwain, Pom- pey the great ; the parifh curate, Alexander ; Arma- do's page, Hercules; the pedant, Judas Macchabaeus. And if thefe four worthies 6 in their firft ihow thrive, Thefe four will change habits, and prefent the other five. Biron. There is five in the firft ihow. King. You are deceiv'd, 'tis not fo. than that of the Amazonian Queen, who fays, on a like occafion, in the Midfummer-Nigbt's Dream : " I love not to fee vjretchednefi o'erchargJ^ " Nor duty in bis fer-vice periling " JOHNSON. 5 Enter Armado.] The old copies read Enter Braggart. STEEVENS. 6 And If thefe four worthies &c.] Thefe two lines might have been defigned as a ridicule on the concluiion of ScHmus, a tra- gedy, 1594-: " If this firft part, gentles, do like you well, " The fecond part fhall greater murders tell." ST&EVEVS. K k 3 Biron. 50* LOVE f s LABOUR'S LOST, i-on. The pedant, the braggart, the hedgc-prieft, the fool, and the boy : A bare throw at novum 7 ; and the whole world again, Cannot prick 8 out five fuch, take each one in his vein. King. The Ihip is under fail, and here Ihe comes amain. [Pageant of the Nine Worthies 9 . Enter 1 A bare throw at novum, ] This paffage I do not under- ftand. I fancy that novitm fhould be novem, and that fome allulion is intended between the play of nine-fins and the play of the nine worthies, but it lies too deep for my inveftigation. JOHNSON. Novum (or novem) appears from the following paflage in Green's Art of Legerdemain, \ 6 1 ? , to have been fome game at dice : " The principal ufe of them (the dice) is at novum, &c." Again, in The Bell-man of London, by Decker, $th edit. 1640: "The prin- cipal ufe of langrets is at novruu; for fo long as a payre of ba.rd eater treas be walking, fo long can you caft neither 5 nor 9 tor without cater treay, 5 or 9, you can never come." Again, in A Woman never Vex'd: " What ware deal you in ? cards, dice, bowls, or pigeon-holes ; fort them yourfelves, either paflage, novum, or mum-chance." STEEVENS. Novem " a bare throw atnovrm." The former editions read novum. Dr. Johnibn retains the old reading, but with great inge- nuity conjectures, " novnm fliould be noi-e>n y and the fame allti- fion is intended between the play of nine-pins and the play of the nine Worthies." There is no neceffity for this emendation ; r.ovum was an old game at dice, as appears from a paflage in Green's Tu quoque : " Scat. - By the hilts of my fword, I have loft forty crowns, in as fmall time almoft as a man might tell it. " Spend. Change your game for dice, we are a full number for " See Dodf. Old Pla\--, vol, iii. p. 31. HAWKINS. 8 Cannot prick out, &c.] Dr. Gray propofes to read, pick out. So, in K.HcK. IV. Part I: "Could the world pick thee out three fuch enemies again?" The old reading, however, may be right. To prick out, is a phrafe ftill in ufe among gardeners. To prick may likewife have reference to vein. STEEVENS. 9 Pageant of the Nine Worthies.] In MS. Harl. 2097, P-3'* is " The order of a fhowe intended to be made Aug. i. 1621." " Firft, 2 woodmen &c. i *' St. George fighting with th.e dragon. *' The 9 worthies in compleat armor with crownes of gould en thpir heads, every one having his efquires to beare before him his LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 503 Enter Coft ard for Pompey. *Cqft. I Pompey am, Boyet. You lye, you are not he. Coft. IPompeyam, Boyet. With libbard's head on knee *.. Biron. Well faid, old mocker ; I muft needs be friends with thee. Coft. 1 Pompey am y Pompey fur named the Big, Di'.m. The great. Coft. It is great, fir ; Pompeyfurnanfd the great ; That oft in field ^ with targe andjhleld y did make my foe to fweat : And) travelling along this coajl^ I here am come by chance ; And lay my arms before the legs of tins fweet lafs of France. If your ladyfhip would fay, Thanks, Pompey, I had done. Prin. Great thanks, great Pompey. Coft. 'Tis not fo much worth ; but, I hope, I was perfect : I made a little fault in, great. his flueld and penon of armes, drefled according as thefe lords were accuftomcd to be : 3 Affaralits, 3 Infidels, 3 ChrilHans. " After them, a Fame, to declare the rare virtues and noble deedes of the 9 worthye women." Such a pageant as this, we may fuppofe It was the defign of Shakefpeare to ridicule. STEEVENS. 1 With libbard's bead on knee.] This alludes to the old heroic habits, which on the knees and fhoulders had ufually, by way of ornament, the refemblance of a leopard's or lion's head. WAR BUR TON. The lillard^ as fome of the old Englifh gloflaries inform us, is the male of ti\z panther. This ornament is mentioned in Sir Giles Goofecap, 1606 : *' poflet cuppes carv'd with HbbarcTs faces, and lyon's. heads with fpouts in their mouths, to let out the poflet-ale molt artifi- cially." Again, in the metrical chronicle of Robert dc Brunne: " Upon his flioulders a flieldc of ftele, " With the 4 liblardes painted wele." STEEVENS.- See "Mafquine in Cotgrave's Diflionary : " The repreientation of a lyon's head, &c. upon the elbow, or knee of fome old fa- (hioned garments." TOLLET. K k 4 Biron. LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. Biron. My hat to a half-penny, Pompey proves the . beft worthy. Enter Nathaniel for Alexander. Nath.' When in the worldlliv'd, I was the world's commander ; ~ ty soft, weft, north, and fouth, I fpreadmy conquering might; My '.fiutcheon-plain declares, that I am Alifander. Boyet. Your nofefays, no, you are not ; for it ftands too right *. Biron. Your nofe fmells, no, in this, naoft tender- fmelling knight. Prin. The conqueror is difmay'd : Proceed, good Alexander. Nath. When in the world I liv*d, I was the world's commander ~ Boyet. Moft true, 'tis right ; you were fo, Alifander. Biron. Pompey the great, ..Cnft.. ..Your fervant, and Coftard. Biron. Take away the conqueror, take away Ali- fander. Coft. O, fir, you have overthrown Alifander the con- queror"! [To. Nath.~] You will be fcraped out of the painted, glo.th for this.; -your lion, that holds his poll- ax * fitting on a clofe-ftool, will be given to A-jax ; ; he * ^itJlandsfiOQ v'rght.] It fhould be remembered, to relifh thi$ joke, that the head of Alexander was obliquely placed on his fhoulders. STEEVEN^. a lion, that holds his poll-ax, fitting on a clofe-fiool,'} Alluding to the arms given to the nine worthies in the old hiftory. HANMER. This alludes to the arms given in the old hiftory of the Nine Worthies, to " Alexander, the which did beare geules, a lion or, Jeiante in a chayer, holding a battell-ax argent." Leigh's Acci- Jetice af. Armory,- 1597. p. 23. TOLLET. 3 A-jax ;] There is a conceit of Ajax and a Jakes. JOHNSOK. This conceit, paltry as it is, was ufed by Ben Jpnfon, and Camden the antiquary. Ben, among his Epigrams, has thefe f\yo lines : '* And I could wifh, for their eternis'd fakes, **, My mufe had plough'd with his that fung A-jax." So, LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 505 he will then be the ninth worthy. A conqueror, a^d afeard to fpeak ! run away for fhame, Alifander. [Exit Nath.~] There, an't lhall pleafe you ! a foolifli mild man ; an honeft man, look you, and foon dalh'd I He is a marvellous good neighbour, infooth ; and a very good bowler : but, for Alifander, alas, you fee, how 'tis; a little o'er-parted: But there are worthies a coming will fpeak their mind in fome other fort. Biron. Stand afide, good Pompey. Enter Hob/ernes for Judas, and Moth for Hercules. Hoi. Great Hercules is prefented by this imp, Whofe club kill* d Cerberus, that three-headed cznus z And, when he was a babe, a child, a Jhrimp, Thus did he Jlr -angle ferpents in his manus : Quoniam, he feemeth in minority ; Ergo, / come with this apology. [To Motb.~] Keep fome ftate in thy exit, and Vanifh. Hoi. Judas I am,-~- [Exit Moth* Dum. A Judas ! Hoi. Not Ifcariot, fir. Judas I am, ycleped Macchabxus. Dum. Judas Macchabzeus clipt, is plain Judas. Biron. A kitting traitor : How art thou prov'd Judas ? Hoi. Judas I am, Dum. The more ftiame for you, Judas* Hoi. What mean you, fir ? Boyet. To make Judas hang himfelf. Hoi. Begin, fir ; you are my elder. Biron. Well followed ; Judas was hang'don an elder. So, Camden, in his Remains, having mentioned the French word pet, fays, * Enquire, if you underftand it not, of Cloacina's chap- lains, or fuch as are well read in A-jax." Again, in TbeMaftive, &c. a collection of epigrams and fatires : no date : *' To thee, brave John, my book I dedicate, " That wilt, from A-jax with thy force -defend it." " STEEVENS. Hol 506.. LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. . Hoi. I will not be put out of countenance. Biron. Becaufe thou hafl no face. Hoi. What is this ? Boyet. A cittern head 4 . Dum. The head of a bodkin. Biron. A death's face in a ring. Long. The face of an old Roman coin, fcarce feen. Boyet. The pummel of Caefar's faulchion. Dum. The carv'd-bone face on a flaik 5 . iron. St. George's half-cheek in a brooch. Dum* Ay, and in a brooch of lead. Elron. Ay, and worn in the cap of a tooth-drawer : And now, forward ; forwe have put thee in countenance. HoL You have put me out of countenance. Biron. Falfe ; we have given thee faces. HoL "But you have out-fac'd them all. Biron. An thou wert a lion, we would do fo. Boyet. Therefore, as he is, an afs, let him go. And fo adieu, fweet Jude ! nay, why doft thou flay ? Duni- For the latter end of his name. Biron. For the afs to the Jude; give it him: Jud-as, away. Hoi. This is not generous, not gentle,not humble. Boyet. A light for monfieur Judas ; it grows dark, he may (tumble. Prin. Alas, poor Macchabasus, how he hath been baited ! * A cittern head.] So, in The Fancies, 16-48 : ** a cittern-headed gew-gaw." Again, in Decker's Match me in London, 1631 : " Fiddling on a cittern with a man's bro- ken bead at it." Again, in Ford's Lover's Melancholy, 1629 : '* I hope the chronicles will rear me one day for a head-piece " *' Of woodcock without brains in it ; barbers fliall wear thee on their citterns, &c. STEEVENS. 5 r>n aflafcJ\ i. e. a foldier's powder-horn. So, in Romeo and Juliet : " like powder in a fldllefs foldier's/^, " Is fet on fire." Again, in the Devil's Charter, 1607 : *' Keep a light match in. cock ; wear fajk and touch-box." STEEVENS. Enter LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 507 Enier Armado, for Heffor. Biron. Hide thy head 3 Achilles ; here comes Hec- tor in arms. ' Dum. Though my mocks come home by me, I will now be merry. King. Hector was but a Trojan 6 in refpect of this. Boyet. But is this Hector ? Dum. I think, Hector was not fo clean timber'd. Long, His leg is too big for Hector. Dum. More calf, certain. Boyet No ; he is beft indu'd in thefmall. Biron. This can't be Hector. Dum. He's a god or a painter ; for he makes faces. Arm. 'fhe armipotent Mars, of lances the almighty 9 Gave Heftor a gift^ Dum. A gilt nutmeg. Biron. A lemon. ' Long. Stuck with cloves 7 . Dum. No, cloven. Arm. Peace! The armipotent Mar s^of lances the almighty y Gave Hettor a gift, the heir of Ilion ; A man fo breath* 'd, that, certain^ he would fight? ysa % From morn till night, out of his pavilion. I am that flower, Dum. That mint. Long. That columbine. 6 Heflor was lut a Trojan ] A Trojan, I believe, was in the time of Shakelpeare, a cant term for a thief. So, in K. Henry IV. Part I : " Tut there are other Trojans that thou dream'il: not of, &c." Again, in this fcene, " unlefs you play the bonejl Trojan, &c." STEEVENS. 7 Stuck with cloves.] An orange Jluck with cloves appears to have been a common new-year's gift. So, Ben Jonfon, in his Chriftmas Mafque : " he has an orange and rofemary, but not a clove to ftick in it." A gilt nutmeg is mentioned in the lame piece, and on the fame occafiou. STEEVENS. 3 be would figbt, yea,] Thus all the old copies. Theobald very plaufibly reads he would fight ye ; a common vulgarifm. STEEVENS. Arm. 508 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. Arm. Sweet lord Longaville, rein thy tongue. Long. I muft rather give it the rein ; for it runs againft He&or. Dum. Ay, and Hector's a greyhound. Arm. The fweet war-man is dead and rotten ; fweet chucks, beat not the bones of the buried : when he breath'd, he was a man But I will forward with my device ; [To the Princefs~\ fweet royalty, bellow on me the fenfe of hearing. ' Prln. Speak, brave Hector ; we are much delighted, .Arm. I do adore thy fweet grace's flipper. Boyet. Loves her by the foot. Dum. He may not by the yard. Arm. This Heftor far furmounted Hannibal, 'Coft. The party is gone, fellow Hedtor, fhe is gone ; ftie is two months on her way. Arm. What mean'fl thou ? Coft. Faith, unlefs you play the honeft Trojan, the poor wench is caft away : fhe's quick ; the child brags in her belly already ; 'tis yours. Arm. Dofl thou infamonize me among potentates ? thou flialt die. Coft. Then lhall Hector be whip'd, for Jaquenetta that is quick by him ; and hang'd, for Pompey that is dead by him. Dum. Mofl rare Pompey ! Boyet. Renowned Pompey ! Biron. Greater than great, great, great, great Pom- pey ! Pompey the huge ! Dum. Heclor trembles. Biron. Pompey is mov'd : More Ates, more Ates 9 ; ftir them on, ftir them on ! Dum. Hedtor will challenge him. Biron. Ay, if he have no more man's blood in's belly than will fup a flea. 9 more Ates ;] That is, more inftigation. Ate was the mif- fhjevous goddefs that incited bloodfhed. JOHNSON. So, in K. John : " An Ate^ fiirring him to war and flrife." STEEVEK*. Arm. LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 'Arm. By the north pole, I do challenge thee. Cqft. I will not fight with a pole, like a northern man ; I'll ilafh ; I'll do't by the fword : I pray you, let me borrow my arms l again. Dum. Room for the incenfed worthies. Co/}. I'll do it in my fhirt. l)um. Moft refolute Pompey ! Moth. Matter, let me take you a button-hole lower. Do you not fee, Pompey is uncafing for the combat > What mean you ? you will lofe your reputation. Arm. Gentlemen, and foldiers, pardon me ; I will not combat in my fhirt. Dum. You may not deny it ; Pompey hath made the challenge. Arm. Sweet bloods, I both may and will. Biron. What reafon have you for't ? Arm. The naked truth of it is, I have no fhirt ; I go woolward for penance. Boyet. True, and it was enjoin'd him in Rome for want of linen * : fmce when, I'll be fworn, he wore none, 1 my arms ] The weapons and armour which he wore in the character of Pompey. JOHNSON. ~ it was enjoin \i him in Rome for ivnnt of linen, &C.] This may poflibly allude to a {lory well known in our author's time, to this effect. A Spaniard at Rome falling in a duel, as he lay expiring, an intimate friend, by chance, came by, and offered him his belt fervices. The dying man told him he had but one requeil to make him, but conjured him, by the memory of their paft friend - fhip, punctually to comply with it, which was not to fuffer Him to be ftript, but to bury him as he lay,' in the habit he then had on. When this Was. promifed, the Spaniard clofed his eyes, and expired with great compofure and relignation. But his friend's curiofity prevailing over his good faith, he had him ftript, arid found, to his great furprile, mat he was without a fhirt. WAREURTON. Boyet. True, and it was enjoined him in Rome for want of linea, ice.} This is a plain reference to the following ftory in Stow'a Anhals, p. 98. (in the time of Edward the Confeflbr.) " Next after this (king Edward's full: cure of the king's evil) mine au- thors affirm, that a certain man, named Vifunius Spileorrie, t^e ion of Ulmore of Nurgarrtwil, who, when he hewed timber in the 5 io LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. none, but a dilh-claut of Jaqtienctta's ; and that 'a wears next his heart for a favour. Enter the wood of Brutheullena, laying him down to fleep after his fore labour, the blood and humours of his head fo congealed about his eyes, that he was thereof blind , for the fpace of nineteen years ; but then (as he had been moved in his fleep) he ivent tuoolvjard and bare-footed to many churches, in every of them to pray to God for help in his blindnefs." Dr. GRAY. The fame cuftom is alluded to in an old collection of Satyres r &c. And when his fhirt's a \vafhing, then he mufl Go woolward for the time ; he fcorns it, he, That worth two lairts his laundrels fliould him fee." Again, i Mery Gefte of Rolyn Hoode, bl. 1. no date : Barefoot, ivoohvard have I hight, Thether for to go." Again, in PowelFs Hijl. of Wales, 1584: " The Angles and Saxons flew 1000 prieib and monks of Bangor, with a great number of lay-brethren, &c. who were come bare-footed and ivoolward to crave mercy, &c. STEEVENS. In Lodge's Incarnate Devils, 1596, we have the character of zfivajhbuckler : " His common courle is to go always untruft ; except when hlsjbirf is a -ivafliing, and then he goes -ziw/awv/." FARMER. TFoolvoard] I have no fliirt : "I go Is not by much fo wholefome, profitable, As to rejoice at friends but newly found. Prln. lunderftand you not, my griefs are double. Biron. 9 Honeft plain words belt pierce the ear of grief ; And by thefe badges underftand the king. For your fair fakes have we ncgledted time, Play'd foul play with our oaths ; your beauty, ladies, Hath much deform'd us, fafhioning our humours Even to the oppofed end of our intents : And what in us hath feem'd ridiculous, As love is full of unbefitting flrains ; All wanton as a child, fkipping, and vain ; " Envy difcharging all her pois'nous darts, " The valiant mind is temper'd with that fire, ** At her fierce ioofc that weakly never parts, *' But in deipight doth force her to retire. STEEVE.VS. , fxbiJjfain it would convince ;] We muft read : "which fain would it convince ; that is, the entreaties of love which would tain over-fencer grief. So Lady Macbeth declares, " 1 bat Jl;c vaill convince the chamberlains with ivifie." JOHNSON. 9 Honejl plain worth &c.j As it feems not very proper for Bi- ron to court the princefs for the king in the king's prefence at this critical moment, I believe the fpeech is given to a wrong peribn. I read thus : Prin. / undtrjland you not, my griefs are double ' llonejl plain eti nightly /lags thejlari/ig owl, to-who, a rnerry note, White greajy Joan 5 doth ked the pot. epithet is proper, and the compound not inelegant. WARBURTOX. Much lets elegant than the preient reading. JOHNSON. 5 - doth keel ti-t pot.} This word is yet uied iu Ireland, and Signifies to/t//'v the pot. GOZ.PSMITK. 'So, in Marfton's What you Will, 1607 : " Faith, Doricus, thy tl brain boils, &r/it, ketl it, or all the fat's in the fire." STEEVENS* To keel the pet is certainly to cool it, but in a particular man- ner : it is to itir the pottage with tke Uiule to prevent the lo&ig aver. FAR ML:?. To keel ligniric? to cool in general, without any reference to tk kitchen. So T in Gower DeCoitfeJJione Amantli. lib. \. ibl. 121, b* ** '1'he cote he found, and eke he fcleth *' The mace, and than his herte kdetb " That there clurft he not abide." Again, fol. 131. b. " \\ich water on his finger endc *' Thyne hote tonge to kele" Mr. Lambe obferves in his notes on the ancient metrical Hiltorv ot the Battle of Floddon, that it is a common thing i:r the North' * tor a maid lervant to take out of a boiling pot j.~\J)ten, i.e. a fmall quantity, viz. a porringer or two of broth, and then to fill up the put with cold water. The broth thus taken out, is *lled die/frT////^ -ir.'Vfv/. In this manner greaiy Joan keeled the pot." " Gie me- beer, and gie me grots, *' And lumps of beet to fwum abeen ; *' And ilka time that I ftir the pot, ** He's hae frae me the keeling wlefu." STEEVEX--. 6 the pa;fon's law} ISavj teems anciently to have meant, not a a at prefent, a proverb, a lenience, but the whole tenor of any in- itrutive difcourfe. So, in the fourth chapter of the firft book of the Tragedies of John 'Bochas, tranllated by Lidgate : " Theie old poetes in their fav.'ss fv/ete *' Full covertly in their verfes do fayns, &c.-" STSEVSXS. 522 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST, When all aloud the wind doth blow, And coughing drowns the parfon's faw % And birds fit brooding in thejnow, And Marian's nofe looks red and raw, When roajled crabs hifs in the bowl 7 , Then nightly fings the Jlaring owl t To-who ; 'Tu-ivhit) to~who, a merry note, While greafy Joan doth keel the' pot. Arm. The words of Mercury are harfti after the fongs of Apollo. You, that way ; we, this way. [Exeunt omnes 8 . 7 When roafted crabs hifs in the &w/,] So, in the Mulfummcr Night's Dream: ' And fometimes lurk I in a goflip's bo-ivl, ' In very likenefs of a roafted crab" Again, in Like ivill to Like, quoth the Devil to the Collier, 1587 : * Now a crab in the fire were worth a good groat : ' That I might quafte with my captain Tom Tofs-pot." Again, Good hoftefs lay a crab in the fire, and broil a mefs of foufe-a." STEEVENS. 8 In this play, which all the editors have concurred to cenfure, and fome have rejected as unworthy of our poet, it mufr. be coii- fefled that there are many pafiages mean, childifti, and vulgar ; and fome which ought not to have been exhibited, as we are told they were, to a maiden queen. But there are fcattered through the whole many fparks of genius ; nor is there any play that has more evident marks of the hand of Shakefpeare. JOHNSON. A C T I. SCENE I. Page 350. THIS child of fancy, that Armado bight, &c,] This, as I have {hewn in the note in its place, relates to the Tories in the books of chivalry. A few words, therefore, concerning their origin and nature, may not be unacceptable to the reader. As I don't know of any writer, who has given any tolerable account of this matter : and efpecially as monlieur Huet, the bifhop of Avran- ches, who wrote a formal treatife of the Origin of Romances, has faid little or nothing of thefe in that fuperficial work. For having brought down the account of romances to the later Greeks, and entered upon thofe compoied by the barbarous weftern writers, which have now the name of Romances almoft appropriated to thepn, he puts the change upon his reader, and inftead of giving us an account of thefe books of chivalry, one of the moft curi- ous and interefting parts of the fubje6t he promifed to treat ,of, he contents himfelf with a long account of the poems of the pro- vincial writers, called likewife romances j and fo, under the equi- voque LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 523 voque of a common term, drops his proper fubjecT:, and enter- tains us with another, that had no relation to it more than in the name. The Spaniards were of all others the fondeft of thefe fables, 33 fuiting beft their extravagant turn to gallantry and bravery ; which in time grew fo exceffive, as to need all the efficacy of Cervantes's incomparable fatire to bring them back to their fenfes. The French luftered an eafier cure from their doctor Rabelais, who enough difcredited the books of chivalry, by only unng the extravagant itories of its giants, &c. as a cover for another kind of fatire againft the refined politicks of his countrymen ; of which they were as much poHefled as the Spaniards of their ro- mantic bravery. A bravery our Shakefpeare makes their charac- teriftic, in this defcription of a Spanilh gentleman : A man of compliments, luhorn right and wrong Have chofc as umpire of their mutiny : This child of fancy, that Armado hight, For interim to our Jludies, Jhall relate , In high-born words, the worth of ?natty a knight, From tawny Spain, loft in the world's debate. The fenfe of which is to this effect : This gentleman, fays the fpeaker, foall relate to us the celebrated jiories recorded in the old ro- mances, and in their very Jlyle. Why he fays, from ta^vny Spain t is becaufe thefe romances, being of the Spanilh original, the he- roes and the fcene were generally of that country. He fays, lojl in tlx world'f debate, becaufe the fubjetfs of thofe romances were the crufades of the European Chriitians againil the Saracens 01 Afia and Africa. Indeed, the wars of the Chriftians againir. the Pagans were the general fubjeft of the romances of chivalry. They all feem to have had their ground-work in two tabulous monkim hiltorians : the one, who, under the name of Turpin, archbifhop of Rheims, wrote the Hiltory and Achievements of Charlemagne and his Twelve Peers ; to whom, inllead of his hither, they aligned the tafk of driving the Saracens out of France and the louth parts of Spain : the other, our Geoffiy of Monmouth. Two of thofe peers, whom the old romances have rendered moll famous, were Oliver and Rowland. Hence Shakefpeare makes Alencon, in the firftpart of Henry VI. fay ; " Froyllard, a coun- 44 tryman of ours, records, England all Olivers and Rowlands *' bred, during the time Edward the third did reign." In the Spanifli romance of Bernards del Carpio, and in that of Ror.cef- valles, the feats of Roland are recorded under the name of Roldan el encantador ; and in that of Palmerin delOUva *, or limply Oli-ja, thole Dr. Warburton is quite miftaken in deriving Oliver from (Pal- merin de) Oliva, which is utterly incompatible with the genius o' the Spanifli language. The old romance, of which Oliver was the hero, is 524 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. thofe of Oliver : for Olivet is the fame in Spanifh as Olivier is in French. The account of their exploits is in the higeft degree monitrous and extravagant, as appears from the judgment palled upon them by the prieit in Don Quixote, when he delivers the knight's library to the fecular arm of the houfe-keeper, " Ecce- tuando a un Bernardo del Carpio que ada por ay, y a otro llmado Roncefvalles ; que eftos en llegando a mis manos, an de eftar en las de la ama, y dellas en las del fuego fin remiffion al- guna*." And of Oliver he fays, " effa Oliva fe haga luego raxas, y fe queme, que aun no queden della las cenizas f." The freafonable'nefs ot this fentence may be partly feen from one ftory in the Bernardo del Carpio, which tells us, that the cleft called Roldan, to be feen in the fummit of an high mountain in the king- dom of Valencia, near the town of Alicant, was made with a {in- gle back-ltroke of that hero's broad fword. Hence came the pro- terbial expreffion of our plain and feniible anceitors, who were much cooler readers of thefe extravagancies than the Spaniards, of giving one a Rowland for bis Oliver, that is, ot matching one impoffibie lye with another : as, in French, faire h Roland means, tojkvagger. This driving the Saracens out of France and Spain, was, as> we fay, the fubjecl: of the elder romances. And the tirft that was printed in Spain was the famous Amadis dc Gaula, of vrhich the inquifitor prieft fays : " fegun he oydo dezir, efte libro *' fue el primero de Cavallerias qui fe imprimio en Efpana, y todc? *' los demas an tornado principio y origen detfe j ;" and for which he humouroufly condemns it to the fire, coma a Dngmatazador de unafetfa tan mala. When this fubjecl: was well exhautfed, thf affairs of Europe afforded them another of the fame nature. For after that the weftern parts had pretty well cleared themlelves of thefe inhofpitable guefts : by the excitements of the popes, they carried their arms againll them into Greece and Afia, to fupport the Byzantine empire, and recover the holy fepulchre. This gave birth to a new tribe of romances, which we may call of the fecond race or clafs. And as Aniadis dc Gaula was at the head of the firft, fo, correfpondently to the fubjecl, Amadis de Grtecia was at the head of the latter. Hence it is, we find, that Trebizonde is as ce- lebrated in thefe romances as Roncefvalles is in the other. It may be worth obferving, that the two famous Italian epic poets, Ari- oito and Tailb, have borrowed, from each of thefe clafles of old romances, the fcenes and fubjccts of their feveral {lories : Arioflo is entitled in Spanifh, " Hiltorias de los nobles Cavalleros Oliveros de Caltilla, y Artus de Algarbc, in M. en Valladolici, 1501, in fol. en Sevilla, 1507 ;" and in Frencii thus, " Hiitoire d' Olivier de Caf- tille, & Aitus d'Algarbe Ton loyal compagnon, & de Heleine, Fille au Roy d' Angleterre, &c. tranilntee du Latin par Phil. Camus, in fol. Gothique." It has allo appeared in Englifh. See Ames's Typograph. p. 94, 47. PERCY. B. i. c. 6. f Ibid. j Ibid. choofing LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 525 ehoofing the firft, the Saracens in France and Spain ; and Taflb, the latter, the Crufadc again/} them in Afia : Ariofto's hero being Or- lando, or the French Roland: for as the Spaniards, by one way of tranfpoiing the letters, had made it Roldan, fo the Italians, by another, make it Orland. The main fubjeft of thefe fooleries, as we have faid, had its orU o-'mal in Turpin's famous Hiftory of Charlemagne and his Twelve Peers. Nor were the monftrous embelliflnnents of enchantments, &c. the invention of the romancers, but formed upon eaitern tales, brought thence by travellers from their crufades and pil- grimages ; which indeed have a call peculiar to the wild imagina- tions of theeaftern people. We have a proof of this in the travels of fir J. Maundevile, whofeexceffivefuperitition and credulity, to- gether with an impudent monkim addition to his genuine work, fiave made his veracity thought much worfe of than it deferved. This voyager, fpeaking of the Hie of Cos in the Archipelago, tells the following ftory of an enchanted dragon. " And alfo a *' zonge man, that vrifte not of the dragoun, went out of a fchipp, " and went thorghe the iile, till that he cam to the caitelle, and cam into the cave ; and went fo longc till that he fond a chambre, and there he faughe a darnylelle, that kembed hire hede, and lokede in a myrour : and fche hadde moche trefoure abouten hire : and he trowed that fche hadde ben a comoun woman, that dwelled there to reiceyve men to folye. And he abode, till the damy felle faughe the fchadowe of him in the my- rour. And fche turned hire toward him, and alked him what ** he wolde. And he feyde, he wolde ben hire limman or pani- *' mour. And fche afked hirn^ if that he were a knyghte. And *' he fayde, nay. And then fche layde, that he myght not ben *' hire limman. But fche bad him gon azen unto his felowcs, and make him knyghte, and come azen upon the morwe, and fchefcholde come out of her cave before him ; and thanne come and kyfte hire on the mowth and have no drede. For I fchnlle do the no maner harm, alle be it that thou fee me in lykenefs of a dragoun. For thoughe thou fee me hideoufe and horrible to loken onne, I do the to wytene that it is made be enchaunte- ment. Forwithouten doubte, I am none other than thou feeit now, a woman ; and herefore drede the noughte. And zyf thou kytfe me, thou fchalt have all this trefoure, and be my lord, and lord alfo of all that Hie. And he departed, &c."p. 29, 30. ed. 1725. Here we fee the very fpirit or a romance ad- venture. This honeft traveller believed it all, and fo, it feems, did the people of the Hie, " And fome men feyne (fays he) that 44 in the ifle of Lango is zit the doughtre of Ypocras in forme and 44 lykenelfe of a great dragoun, that is an hundred fadme in *' lengthe, as men feyn : for I have not feen hire. And thel of *' the ides callen hire, lady of the land." We are not to think then, thefe kind of frories, believed by pilgrims and travellers, would 526 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. have lefs credit either with the writers or readers of ro- mances : which humour of the times therefore may well account for their birth and favourable reception in the world. The other monkifh hiftorian, who fupplied the romancers with materials, was our Geoffry of Monmouth. For it is not to be fuppofed, that thefe children of fancy (as Shakefpeare in the place quoted above, finely calls them, inlinuating that fancy hath its in- fancy as well as manhood) fhould ftop in the midftof fo extraordina- ry a career, or confine themfelves within the lifts of the terra finna. From him therefore the Spanifh romancers took the flory of the Britifti Arthur, and the knights of his round table, his wife Gueni- ver, and his conjurer Merlin. But {till it was the fame fubjec~t, (eflential to books of chivalry) the wars of Chrifdans againft Infi- dels. And, whether it was by blunder or delign, they changed the Saxons into Saracens, I fufpect by defign ; for chivalry with- out a Saracen was fo very lame and imperfect a thing, that even that wooden image, which turned round on an axis, and ferved the knights to try their fvvords, and break their lances upon, was called, by the Italians and Spaniards, Saracino and Sarazino ; fo clofely were thefe two ideas connected. In thefe old romances there was much religious fuperftition mixed with their other extravagancies ; as appears even from their very names and titles. , The firlt romance of Lancelot of the Lake and King Arthur and his Knights, is called the Hiitory of Saint Greaal. This faint Greaal was the famous relick of the -jioly blood pretended to be collected into a vefTel by Jofeph of Arimathea. So another is called Kyrie Eleifon of Montauban. or in thofe days Deuteronomy and Paralipomenon were fuppofed to be the names of holy men. And as they made faints of their knights-errant, fo they made knights-errant of their tutelary faints ; and each nation advanced its own into the order of chi- valry. Thus every thing in thole times being either a faint or a devil, they never wanted for the marvellous. In the old romance of Launcelot of the Lake, we have the doctrine and difcipline of the church as formally delivered as in Bellarmine himfelf. " Lacon- * 4 feliion (fays the preacher) nevaut rien fi le cceur n'ert repentant; *' et fi tues moult & ejoigne de 1'amourde uoftre Seigneur, tu ne peus eftre recorde fi non par trois chofes : premierementpar la confeflion de bouche ; fecondement par une contrition de cocur, tiercement par peine de cocur, & par oeuvre d'aumone & charite. Telle eft la droitc voyed'aimer Dieu. Or va & fi te confefle en cette maniere& recois la difcipline des mains de tes confefleurs, car c'elt le figne de merite. Or mande le roy fes evefques, dont grande partie avoir en 1'oft, & vinrent tous en fa chapelle. Le roy devant eux tout nud en pleurant &i tenant fon plein point .de vint menues verges, fi les jetta devant eux, & leur dit en foupirant, qu'ils prificnt de luy vengeance, car je fuis le plusvil pecheut, &c. Apres prinit iifcipline &c d'cux & moult doucementla re.- " ceutJ 1 LOVE's LABOUR'S LOST. 527 " ccut." Hence we find the divinity -lectures of Don Quixou? and the penance of his 'fquire, are both of them in the ritual of chit airy. L-.iHy, we find the knight-errant, after much turmoil to hmilelf, and diAurbance t.> the world, frequently ended hit courie, like Charles V. of Spain, in a monartery ; or turned her- mit, and Lo.-ar.ie a faint in good earneft. And this again will let us into the fpitit of thofe dialogues between Sancho ana his maf- ter, where it is gravely debated whether he fliould not turn faint or grchbifhop. There were feveral caufes of this ftrange jumble of nonfenfe and religion. As firft, the nature of the fubjetf, which was a religious war or cruiade : fecondly, the quality of the firft writers, who were religious men ; and thirdly, the end of writing many of them, which \ras to carry on a religious purpofe. We learn, that Cle- ment V. interdicted jufls and tournaments, becaufe he underftood they had much hindered the crufade decreed in the council of Vienna. " Tornenmenta ipfa & haftiludia live juxtas in regnis " Francize, Anglix, & Almanniae, & aliis nonnullis provinciis, in *' quibus ea confuevere frequen'ius exerceri, fpecialiter interdix- " it." Extrav. tie TorneamentisC, unic. temp. Ed. I. Religious men, I conceive, therefore, might think to forward the delign of the cruiade? by turning the fondnefs for tilts and tournaments into that channel. Hence we fee the books of knight-errantry fo full of fuiemn jufts and torneaments held at Trebizonde, Bizance, Tripoly, &.c. Which wife project, lapprehe nd^itwas Cervantes'a intention to ridicule, where he makes his knignt propofe it as th* beft means of fubduiug the Turk, to affemble all the knights- errant together by proclamation*. WAREURTON. See Part ii. 1. 5. c. i. END OF VOLUME THE SECONP. , OF SEP 6 '"lIWj A 000017794 UNi ORNIA