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 REVISAL 
 
 O F 
 
 Shakefpear's Text, 
 
 WHEREIN 
 
 The Alterations introduced into it by 
 
 the more modern Editors and Critics, 
 
 are particularly confidered. 
 
 DlOG. LAERT. / SOLONE. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed for W. Johnston, in Ludgate-Street, 
 MDCCLXV."
 
 3070 
 
 H3S^ 
 
 T O TH E 
 
 HONOURABLE the LORD KAIMES, 
 
 THE TRUEST JUDGE AND MOST INTELLIGENT 
 ADMIRER OF SHAKESPEAR: 
 
 THIS IMPERFECT ATTEMPT TOWARDS 
 RESCUING HIS REMAINS FROM THE LICENTIOUS 
 
 INNOVATIONS OF INJUDICIOUS CRITICISM, 
 
 IS, IN GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF Htf 
 
 OWN OBLIGATIONS TO HIS LORDSHIP'S 
 
 ELEGANT AND INSTRUCTIVE WRITINGS, 
 
 WITH THE MOST RESPECTFUL DEFERENCE 
 
 SUBMISSIVELY DEDICATED BY HIS LORDSHIP'S 
 
 UNKNOWN HUMBLE SERVANT, 
 
 THE AUTHOR.
 

 
 THE 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THAT the reader may not be difap- 
 pointed, by expecting an entertainment 
 from the following meets which he is not likely 
 to find, it may be not improper to premife this 
 advertifement, that the whole fcope, and only 
 defign of the author of them is, to contribute 
 his endeavours towards a more correct and ge- 
 nuine edition of Shakefpear's text than hath 
 been yet publifhed, It is a misfortune which 
 will ever be lamented by all perfons, who have 
 the lead pretence to tafte or fentiment, that 
 the publication of the works of this amazing 
 genius, fecond to none in any age or language, 
 Bath fallen to the lot of the moft illiterate 
 and incapable editors ; who feem to have given 
 themfelves no farther trouble or concern in the 
 execution of their undertaking, than merely 
 that of handing to the prefs fuch copies as the 
 playhoufe could moll: readily furnifh them 
 with, however defective or erroneous. And 
 what adds to this misfortune is, that it is now 
 become in great meafure irreparable, fince even 
 thele playhoufe copies are now loft, and the 
 mod exact refearche have not hitherto pro- 
 
 A 3 duced 
 
 Jf v^ v, o' r .<
 
 [ vi ] 
 
 duced a difcovery of more than fifteen plays 
 printed while the author was yet living j and 
 even thefe mod probably not under his in- 
 spection. At leaft, though they fometimes 
 differ confiderably from the pofthumous edi- 
 tions, they appear upon the whole to have little 
 advantage over them in point of correctnefs ; 
 and though it muft be confeffed that they fre- 
 quently furnim a very valuable afliftance to- 
 wards the retrieving the original text, yet in 
 other refpecls they feem to have been thruft 
 into the world with full as great negligence and 
 inadvertency. 
 
 But the firft Editors are not the only perfons 
 of whom Shakefpear and the publick have 
 reafon, and that perhaps the greateft reafon, 
 to complain. They have been Succeeded by a 
 race of criticks, who have treated him flill 
 more injurioully. Under the fpecious pretence of 
 re-eftablifhing his genuine text, they have given 
 it us mangled and corrupted, juft as their own 
 particular turn of imagination prompted, or the 
 iize and pitch of their own genius fuggefted tp 
 them j and by difcarding the traditionary read- 
 ing, and interpolating their own fanciful con- 
 jectures in its place, they have, to the utmoft 
 of their power, endeavoured to continue the 
 corruption down to diftant pofterity. 
 
 The gentlemen who have dill inguifhed them- 
 felves in this difplay of their critical abilities are 
 Mr. Theobald, Sir Thomas Hanmer, and Mr. 
 Warburtoc. To Mr. Theobald the publick is 
 
 under
 
 t * 3 
 
 under real and confiderable obligations. By a 
 careful collation of fuch original editions as have 
 efcaped the efforts of time and accidents, he has 
 been enabled to reftore many paffages upon in- 
 difputable authority, in which laudable under- 
 taking Mr. Pope too hath a juft, though not 
 an equal, mare of merit ; and though the cri- 
 tical talents of the former in the way of con- 
 jecture fecm to have been but feeble, yet they 
 have been fometimes not unfuccefsful. Sir 
 Thomas Hanmer's performance is known to 
 the author only from Mr. Warburton's repre- 
 fentation of it, which though it is certainly by 
 no means a favourable one, yet it furnimed 
 him with facts fufficient, in his judgment, to 
 fupport the conclufion he had formed from them, 
 that it was quite unneceffary for him to givehim- 
 felf the trouble of a particular and fcrupulous 
 examination of it. Mr. Warburton's preten- 
 tions are pompous and folemn, calculated to 
 raife the higheft expectations in the reader, 
 which were never furely before fo milerably 
 defeated by the execution. The, author, in 
 the courfe of his reading, hath found occafion 
 to have recourfe to critical writers in more thai! 
 one language, but he hath never yet had the 
 fortune to meet with one fo peculiarly un- 
 happy. The licentioufnefs of his criticifm 
 overleaps all bounds or reitraint, while tl^e 
 flighted glitter of a heated imagination is fuf- 
 ficient to millead him into the moll improbable 
 conjectures, which are at the fame time con- 
 ftantly enforced by the authoritative, and fre- 
 A 4 cuicntly
 
 [ viii ] 
 
 quently almoft oracular, manner in which they 
 are delivered. The author confeffes that he 
 could nor avoid feeling fome indignation rifing 
 up in his mind at a ftile of criticifm to which 
 he had been fo little accuftomed, but at the 
 fame time could not help perceiving the ftrong 
 and impofing influence fuch powers of imagi- 
 nation would inevitably have on the minds of 
 the generality of readers. He imagined there- 
 fore, he mould render a fervice neither unufe- 
 fui nor unacceptable to the republick of letters, 
 if he attempted to diflblve the charm by en- 
 tering into a particular examination of this 
 gentleman's criticifms. He accordingly under- 
 took and compieated it in the fpace of a few 
 months about fix years ago, intending it as a 
 kind of fupplement to the Canons or Criticifm, 
 which are conftantly and regularly referred to 
 throughout the courfe of this work. At the 
 fame time, apprehending it might be of more 
 general and extenfive ufe, if be availed himfelf 
 of all other affiftances within his power towards 
 the re-eftabli(hing the genuine text of his au- 
 thor, he carefully collated Mr. Pope's and Mr. 
 Theobald's editions, to which he added Mr. 
 Upton's Critical Remarks, Mr. Theobald's 
 Shakefpear reftored, Mr. Johnfon's Remarks 
 on Macbeth, and a pamphlet or two befides. 
 He was not fo fonunate as to be furnifhed with 
 cither of the folio editions, much kfs with 
 any of the ancient quarto's: a misfortune he 
 acquiefced under with the lefs reluctance, as 
 he faw reafon to perfuade himfelf, that all the 
 
 dif-
 
 I m ] 
 
 different readings of thofe editions, which d&r 
 ferved his attention, were to be found in the 
 more modern ones of Mr. Pope, or Mr. Theo- 
 bald. Though the explication of the true 
 meaning of the ancient readings hath enabled 
 him for the moft part to vindicate the text from 
 the hafty innovations of the later cfiticks, yet 
 he hath found himfelf fometimes under the 
 neceflity of having recourfe to conjecture. He 
 hath therefore ventured to lay before the reader, 
 fuch as the general tenor of the difcourfe, com- 
 mon fenfe, and fome acquaintance with Shake- 
 fpear's language dictated to him j which he 
 defires however may be accompanied with a 
 caution to all future editors who may think them 
 worth their notice, that they may be confidered 
 merely as conjectures, and as fuch may find 
 their place at the bottom of the page, and not 
 be admitted into the text, to the exclufion of 
 the ancient and authorized reading, unlefs they 
 happen to be fupported by fuch convincing and 
 undeniable evidence of their truth, as leaves no 
 room for the leaft doubt or hefitation. He 
 hath thought nothing, how little foever im- 
 portant it might appear, beneath his animad- 
 verfion, that might be of the leaft advantage 
 towards the correclnefs of a future edition ; 
 and, in this view, he hath condefcended even 
 to correct the errors of the prefs left unnoticed 
 in Mr. Warburton's edition, which he confiders 
 as the text to which his remarks are adapted, 
 and both joined together as the plan of a much 
 more exact one than any we have at prefent. 
 
 The
 
 t * ] 
 
 Tne-tobrfe thus edmpleated lay by> fhs au- 
 thdr abiblutely undetermined as to the pub- 
 lication,- till laft spring, and might probably 
 have continued in the fame obfcurity for years 
 to come, if a general report and expectation 
 had not about that time prevailed, that Mr. 
 Johnfon, in confequence of engagements he 
 had entered into with the publick, would give 
 a new edition of our poet about the beginning 
 of the winter. Notwithstanding the very high 
 opinion the author had ever, and very de- 
 servedly, entertained of the utiderftanding, ge- 
 nius, and very extenfive knowledge, of this 
 diftinguifhed writer, he thought he faw fuf- 
 ficient reafon to collect, from the fpecimen al- 
 ready given on Macbeth, that their critical ien- 
 timents on the text of Shakefpear would very 
 frequently, and very widely, differ. He ap- 
 prehended therefore, that the prefent publica- 
 tion would not be unfeafonable, that the pub- 
 lick might receive about the fame time what- 
 ever information was ready to be laid before it 
 relative to this fubjecl:. This gave occafion to 
 the prefent appearance of this work, which 
 hath received no other improvements fince it 
 was firft written, than fome few alterations 
 which on the review feemed neceffary, the re- 
 ferences to the additions inferted in the lad: 
 edition of the Canons of Criticifm, and fome 
 notice taken of Mr. Roderick's remarks there- 
 in firft published. 
 
 Having thus accounted for the defign, the 
 original, and the progrefs, of this work, the 
 
 author
 
 1*1', 
 
 author fhould now in courfe take his ldave of 
 the courteous reader, but that it happens to 
 occur to him, that it may poiTibly be thought 
 that he hath treated Mr. Warburton with too 
 great fharpnefs and afperity, and with lefs re- 
 gard and deference than his merits and rank in 
 the learned world may feem to require. He is 
 therefore defirous of juftifying himfelf on this 
 head, and thinks it proper in the firft place to 
 declare, That he is an abfolute ftranger to that 
 gentleman's perfon, never converfed with himi, 
 never faw him, never had the lean: communi- 
 cation with him of any kind, never hath re- 
 ceived or follicited any favour frcm him, nor, 
 on the other hand, hath been ever perfonally 
 difobliged by him, fo that it is impo-fiible his 
 proceeding can have been influenced either by 
 difappointment or refentment. The truth is, 
 that he hath always underftood it to be art 
 eftablifhed law in the republick of letters, 
 wifely calculated to reftrain the excefles of in- 
 fult, petulance, and ill nature, too apt to (hoot 
 up in the fplenetick recenes of folitary literature, 
 that every writer mould be treated on the fame 
 foot of civility, on which, when unprovoked 
 by prior ill ufage, he hath been accuftomed to 
 treat others. If this law will indeed admit of 
 fome exceptions, they are wholly in favour of 
 the perfon executing it, not of him on whom 
 it is executed, who hath certainly no juft rea- 
 fon to complain. Whereas the former will, or 
 fhould, always confider, not only what is 
 flriclly juftifiable towards the perfon offending, 
 9 but
 
 but what is decent, and fit, and becoming his 
 own character. Bat within thefe reftrictions, 
 the common intereft of the republick requires* 
 that this law mould be carried into due execu- 
 tion, and it is the concern of every member of 
 which it is compofed to contribute his afliftance 
 towards it, as opportunity may offer, and 
 whenever he is not reftrained by considerations 
 of fuperior moment. On this bottom, together 
 with that exprefled in the motto of his title 
 page, the author is contented to reft his juftifi- 
 cation in the opinion of the publick. For as 
 to the learned peribn himfelf who is more im- 
 mediately concerned, the author hath not the 
 leaft conception that he can poflibly be offend- 
 ed at a conduct, which is a faint copy only 
 of his own, towards almoft every one (and 
 they are not a few, and fome of them of high 
 rank and diftinguiflied eminence for piety as 
 well as learning) with whom he hath happened 
 to be engaged in controverfy. He certainly 
 hath at all times been careful to treat others in 
 the fame manner that he thought it juft and 
 realbnable he fhould be treated himfelf. So 
 that, notwithftanding that great partiality fb 
 natural to mankind in their own favour, the 
 author can fafely truft the decifion of this 
 whole matter to the learned perfon's own con- 
 fcience. 
 
 There is one incident more which hath laid 
 the author under fome little embarraiTment, 
 and on which it may be expected he mould give 
 fome fatisfaction. This is an event which hath 
 
 happened
 
 happened between the writing and the pub* 
 lication of thefe papers. When they were 
 written, the author apprehended he was re- 
 marking on Mr. Warburton, and in this cha- 
 racter he faw no reafon to reproach himfelf with 
 impropriety as to thofe freedoms he had taken 
 with him. But he is fince become a Right 
 Reverend Father of our Church. What (hould 
 the author have done in this cafe ? Should 
 he have ilruck out the name of Mr. War- 
 burton, and inferted the Right Reverend the 
 Bifhop in its place ? He hath for the experi- 
 ment's fake attempted it. But there is fo 
 ftriking an inconfiftence between that facred 
 and venerable character, and the levity fo in- 
 feparably connected with the common fubject 
 of thefe criticifms, fomething fo awkward, fo 
 ludicrous, fo ridiculous, and even fo burlefque, 
 in the perpetually recurring contraft, that this 
 change appeared to him utterly infupportable, 
 and no lefs ofFenfive than impracticable. He 
 was convinced then that the name of Mr. 
 Warburton was of neceflity to be ftill con- 
 tinued, and this being once admitted, the 
 epoch of the publication muft in courfe be 
 confidered as removed backward to the time 
 of the writing, and confequently, upon this 
 fuppolition, the freedoms then taken are ftill 
 jullifiable. They do not relate to the Bifhop, 
 but to the critick, and can throw no juft re- 
 flection on the former character more than 
 any other forgotten folly of his youth. This 
 
 toj
 
 too would have been forgotten, if it had not 
 left confequences behind it which ftiil con- 
 tinue, and which the intereft of the publick 
 required fhould be obviated. For the Bifhep 
 the author fincerely profefies all that veneration 
 which is due to his facred and exalted Nation ; 
 but with the fame fincerity he makes no 
 fcruple to declare, that the critick on Shake- 
 fpear is in his opinion the mod unfortunate of 
 all criticks ; and he fees no neceffity to apolo- 
 gize for this declaration. This is the total 
 amount of what is faid to his difadvantage in 
 the following notes. For the author hath 
 ever had the utmoft abhorrence and deteftation 
 of every insinuation, or even hint, that hath 
 the moft remote tendency to injure any per- 
 fon's reputation, either in his religious or mo- 
 ral character. 
 
 POST-
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 AS the preface was drawn up in a hurry, 
 on a fudden call from the printer, a 
 circumflance was forgot to be mentioned, which 
 it is abfolutely neceflary the reader mould be 
 informed of. As the author had, throughout 
 the whole progrefs of his notes, always con- 
 fidered Mr. Warburton's text and notes, joined 
 with his own, as making up together the plan 
 of fome future edition, and as there are a very 
 considerable number of alterations, either made 
 in the text, or propofed in the notes, of Mr. 
 Warburton's edition, which are parted by in 
 thofe of the author unnoticed and without 
 animadveriion ; he defires therefore to be un- 
 derftood, that a great part of them are fuch as* 
 he entirely approves, and thinks ought to be 
 admitted to a place in the text, as being fup- 
 ported, either by undoubted authority, or clear 
 intrinfick evidence ; that there are others of 
 them which appear to him to be probable and 
 ingenious conjectures, and as fuch deferve a 
 place at the bottom of the page ; and that the 
 reft are fuch as, though he is not convinced of 
 their truth or propriety, no decifive objection 
 however occurring to him at the time, he would 
 chufe to refer to the farther confideration of 
 the future editor. 
 
 THE
 
 THE 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 rr'HETempeft. ' i 
 
 **> Midfummer Night's Dream. 4 1 
 
 The Two Gentlemen of Verona. 59 
 
 The Merry Wives of Windfor. 65 
 
 M' a fur e for Meafure. 77 
 
 Much Ado about Nothing. ; 1 00 
 
 The Merchant cf Venice. - 1 1 1 
 
 Loves Labour Loft. 12.1 
 
 As you like it. 143 
 
 The Taming of the Shrew. \ 55 
 
 All is Well that Ends Well. 161 
 
 Twelfth Night, cr What you Will. 1 84 
 
 The Comedy cf Errcrs. 194 
 
 The Winter's Tale. 202 
 
 The Life and Death of King John. 222 
 
 The Life and Death of King Richard the Second. 232 
 The Firft Part of Henry the Fourth, with the 
 
 Life and Death of Henry firnamed Hot [pur. 242 
 The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, and the 
 
 Coronation cf King Henry the Fifth. 256 
 
 The Life of Henry the Fifth. 2 65 
 
 1 The
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 The Firjl Part of King Henry the Sixth. 280 
 
 The Second Part. 284 
 
 The Third Part. . 288 
 
 The Life and Death of Richard the Third. 290 
 
 The Life of King Henry the Eighth. 302 
 
 The Life and Death of King Lear. 3 1 2 
 
 Timon of Athens. > . 352 
 
 Titus Andronicus. . . . ^yo 
 
 Macbeth. . 374 
 
 Caius Marcius Coriolanus. .. 409 
 
 Julius Ctffar. - 434 
 
 Anthony and Cleopatra. 448 
 
 Cymbeline. 469 
 
 Troilus and Creffida. .. 490 
 
 -fowft? tf/?^ 7//V/. . 506 
 
 Hamlet^ Prince of Denmark. 519 
 
 Othello^ the Moor of Venice. 551
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 
 
 line 
 
 
 
 
 ii. 
 
 29. 
 
 /or over again, 
 
 read over againft. 
 
 22. 
 
 16. 
 
 
 refrefhing, 
 
 refrefhed. 
 
 11' 
 
 7- , 
 
 
 properties, 
 
 arts. 
 
 82. 
 
 penult. 
 
 no Englishman, 
 
 no other Englifhraan, 
 
 98. 
 
 zz. 
 
 
 of Mr. Ainfworth, 
 
 that of Mr. Ainfworth, 
 
 ibid. 
 
 36. 
 
 
 alternative, 
 
 alternate. 
 
 114. 
 
 21. 
 
 
 if put, 
 
 is put. 
 
 116. 
 
 8. 
 
 
 ruin, 
 
 ruins. 
 
 117. 
 
 8. 
 
 
 genuine, 
 
 genuine one. 
 
 124. 
 
 7- 
 
 
 not utterly, 
 
 not only utterly. 
 
 127. 
 
 11. 
 
 
 exaftnefs, 
 
 exa&nefies. 
 
 138. 
 
 39- 
 
 
 Palcephatus, 
 
 Palaephatus. 
 
 243. 
 
 *3- 
 
 
 I know fenfe, 
 
 I know no fenfe. 
 
 414. 
 
 14. 
 
 
 mp cap, 
 
 my cap. 
 
 430. 
 
 5- 
 
 
 for mere, 
 
 from mere. 
 
 462. 
 
 11. 
 
 
 atrait, 
 
 a trait. 
 
 519. 
 
 5- 
 
 
 beggartly, 
 
 braggartly.
 
 A 
 
 R E V I S A L 
 
 O F 
 
 SHAKESPEAR's TEXT, 
 
 AS PUBLISHED BY 
 
 Mr. WARBU R T O N. 
 
 VOLUME I. The TEMPEST. 
 
 P. 3. Z>LOfV, till thou burft thy wind, if room 
 *-* enough. 
 
 Mr. Sympfon, in his notes on Fletcher, vol. v. p. 
 505. objects to the prefent text, as not being fenfe, 
 and thinks it ought to be altered thus, 
 
 Blow till thou burjl thee, Wind. 
 
 By which reading, the wind being addrefTed as a 
 perfon, the fentence, in his opinion, acquires a dig- 
 nity, which it had not before. But furely that 
 gent!eman*s thoughts were otherwife employed when 
 he wrote this. In both readings the wind is equally 
 addrefied as a perfon. The only difference is, in one 
 it isaddieffed byname, in the other, the object of the 
 addrefs is fo evidently determined by the a&ion, ex- 
 preflfed by the word blow, that it is not poflible to mif- 
 take it. In the vulgar reading, the defiance extends 
 
 B "' co
 
 [ 2 ] 
 
 to the burfting oF the lungs, the organ of breath, or 
 the wind, a word frequently ufed in the fame fenfe, as 
 particularly in the words, wind-broken, long-winded, 
 wind instruments of mufick, and many others, by 
 which means the perfonality is more plainly diltin- 
 guifhed from the action or effect : In Mr. Symp- 
 fon's, the defiance is exprefled in more general 
 terms ; but whether with any advantage in point 
 either of cleamefs or elegance, is fubmitted to the 
 reader. It is certain, that both are equally juftified 
 by common language. 
 
 P. 4. Make the rcpe of his defiiny our cable, for 
 our own doth little advantage. 
 
 The author of a pamphlet printed in 1749, and in- 
 titled, ' An attempt to refcue that aunciente Eng- 
 
 * lifh poet and playwrighte, Maifter William Shake- 
 
 * fpere, from the many errours faulfely charged on 
 ' him by certa'n new-fangled wittes, by a gentleman 
 
 * formerly of Grays-Inn/ which we fhall have fre- 
 quent occafion to quote in our notes on this play, 
 thinks the mention of the cable improperly intro- 
 duced, as being of no ufe but when the fhip is at 
 anchor, whereas it is here plainly reprefented as be- 
 ing under fail. But I apprehend this gentleman is 
 miftaken. When a Ihip is embayed, and driven by 
 a violent ftorm on a lee-fhore, the only means of 
 fafety are, in the firft place, by the help of the fails, 
 to endeavour to double the point, and get clear of 
 the bay j and, if that be found impracticable, then 
 to drop one or more anchors. Thefe are, in fuch 
 a cafe, theonlydependan.ee, and, if they fail, and 
 the fhip drives, a wreck is inevitable. It doth not 
 indeed appear from the play, that this laft method 
 was attempted, the fhip having been fuddenly driven 
 on the rocks, while the failors were bufily employed 
 about the former - P but as it might reafonably be 
 
 imagined
 
 t i 3 
 
 imagined that recourfe would be had to it in the laft 
 extremity, there is certainly no impropriety in the 
 allufion to it here, though it was never actually car- 
 ried into execution. 
 
 P. 5. Bring her to try with main courfe. 
 Read, with the main courfe. 
 
 Ibid. Set her two courfes off to fea again. 
 
 The above quoted gentleman of Grays-Inn, p. 19; 
 rightly corrects the pointing thus, 
 
 Set her two courfes ; off to fea again > 
 
 and rightly explains what is meant by the fhip's 
 courfe^ to wit, the loweft and largeft fails. 
 
 P. 7. The very virtue of compaffion in thee. 
 
 The very virtue means no more than the virtue it- 
 felf. Mr. Warburton's refinement, in diflinguifh- 
 ing two different kinds of compaffion, one of which 
 is a virtue, and the other merely fympathy, is ut- 
 terly destitute of all foundation, either in nature, or 
 in the intention of the poet, into whofe thoughts it 
 certainly never entered. All compaffion is fym- 
 pathy, though, in virtue of that arbitrary uiage 
 which determines the precife fignification of words 
 in a language, all fympathy is not compaffion. Nei- 
 ther of them can, in ftricc propriety, be termed 
 a virtue, fince they are, in truth, no other than 
 mere natural emotions of the human heart. But 
 when we confider them as principles implanted in 
 our conftitution by the great Author of ir, calcu- 
 lated with admirable art to promote the moil ex- 
 teiifive and mod effectual benevolence, and to excite 
 us to the practice of thofe virtues which could not 
 be fafely trufted to the fmgle influence of reafon, 
 they affume, by an allowed figure, and not undeferv- 
 B 2 idly,
 
 C % I 
 
 edly, the title of virtuous emotions or affections ; 
 whence the tranfition is eafy to beftow the appellation 
 of virtue even on the emotions themfelves. When 
 reafon hath added the fanction of its approbation-, 
 by pronouncing them to be right and fit, and we 
 act in conformity, fuch actions are, in the fhicteft 
 form of exprefiion, virtuous, and the habit of them 
 virtue. When we proceed one flep further, and re- 
 cognize fuch conformity as a law prefcribed to us 
 by the Supreme Being, it then becomes a duty, and 
 a part of religion. But nothing can be more frivo- 
 lous than the reafon aiTigned by Mr. Warburton, 
 why Miranda could not, in the prefentcafe, feel the 
 emotion of companion, namely, that (he had never 
 ventured to lea, and therefore could have no fenfe or 
 apprehenfion of the misfortune attending a (hip- 
 wreck. Yet flie had jufl before declared,, that the 
 fea had fwallowed the good fhip and the freighting 
 fouls within her, and that, poor fouls ! they perifh- 
 ed. Is this gentleman fo ignorant of human nature, 
 as to imagine, that we can have no pity for misfor- 
 tunes of any kind, even happening before our eyes, 
 which we have not actually felt ourfelves, or to the 
 danger of which, ac leaf!:, we have not been before 
 expoled ? 
 
 Ibid. I lave, "joilh fuch prcvifion in mine art, 
 So fafely ordered, that there's no foul lofl y 
 No, not fo much perdition as an hair, 
 Betid to any creature in the veffel. 
 
 Tre frcond of thefe lines, in all the editions pre- 
 ceding that of Mr. Rowe, flood thus, 
 
 So fafely order' d y that there is no foul 
 
 Mr. Rowe, offended at the irregularity of the con- 
 ftruclion, altered it ro the piefent reading in which 
 he is fo lowed by Mr. Pope and Mr. Warburton, 
 but, i;i my opinion, without neccflity. The cor/- 
 
 '6 it ruction
 
 [ 5 1 
 
 ftruction is of that kind which the grammarians call 
 the muat4x^m 3 and inftances of it occur not rarely 
 in the works of the beft writers. In the prefent cafe, 
 the conftruction is broken off, and left imperfect at 
 the end of the fecond line, and it takes a new form 
 in what follows; lb that to compleat it, the parti- 
 ciple, loft, muft be fupplied from the word perdi- 
 tion, in the third line. The import is exactly the 
 fame as if the poet had written, I have fo fafely or- 
 dered, that there is no foul. Why do I fay foul ? 
 
 No, there is not fo much perdition as an hair betid 
 to any creature in the veffel. The ancient reading 
 correfponds with the impetuofity of the poet's ge- 
 nius, the prefent with the timid regularity of the 
 critical corrector. Mr. Theobald fubftitutes his own 
 conjecture ; 
 
 So fafely order 'd that there is no foyle ; 
 
 interpreting the word foyle to fignify damage, lofs, 
 detriment, in order to accommodate it to the con- 
 text. But in truth, this is a fenfe that it will by no 
 means bear. Its true meaning is that of defeat or 
 difappointment, a meaning utterly inconfiftent with 
 the fcopeof the poet, fince it is certain, the king and 
 his attendants were foyled and difappoinred in the 
 purpofe of their voyage, their intended return to 
 Naples. 
 
 P . i o . Like one. 
 
 Who haling, unto truth, by telling oft, 
 Made fuch a /inner <f his memory, 
 To credit his own lie, he did believe 
 He was, indeed, the duke. 
 
 The fecond line, in all the old editions, flood thus, 
 
 Who having, into truth, by telling of it, 
 
 the conftruction of which is foexrremely perplexed, 
 and indeed the expreffion itfelf fo plainly repugnant 
 
 13 3 to
 
 t * J 
 
 t0 the idiom of the Englifh language, as to give 
 juft ground for fufpicion, that it hath been corrupted 
 by the editors. Mr. Warburton's correction, which 
 I have given above, is undoubtedly more plaufible, 
 though by no means unexceptionable, and there? 
 fore ought not to have been admitted into the text. 
 A critick, where the cafe is not extremely clear, 
 mould have the modefty to confider, that, though 
 he hath done his bed, it is very pofTible another 
 may do (till better ; and therefore mould hand down 
 the text untouched, as a fubject for others to exer- 
 cife their abilities upon. To make a man's memory 
 a finner unto truth, is, it muft be owned, ftrange 
 Englifh. The conftrucYion too is miferably defec- 
 tive, the nominative one, with its adjective or par- 
 ticiple, and their connecting pronoun relative, who 
 having made, being left deftitute of any correfpond- 
 ing verb, to which they may be referred. Sir Tho-r 
 mas Hanmer's correction, 
 
 Who, loving an untruth, and telling 1 ' t oft, 
 Makes 
 
 reuores indeed the conftruction, but wants that ap- 
 pearance of probability neceffary to recommend it 
 to our acceptance as genuine. I fhould incline to 
 believe, not only that the pafiage is corrupted, but 
 that a line too hath been dropped, which it would 
 be too great prefumption to pretend to fupply from 
 mere conjecture, and without the affiftance ot other 
 copies. 
 
 P. i r . Hearks my brother' 's fuii. 
 
 Read agreeaby to the old editions, 
 
 Hearkens my brother's fuit. 
 
 An anapo?fl for an iambick is a common licence in 
 our trngick metre, and of which our ancient poets 
 more especially have very frequently availed them- 
 
 felves.
 
 C 7 1 
 
 felves. The fact is too notorious to need being par- 
 ticularly exemplified. 
 
 P. 1 2 . When I have mocked, the fea with drops full- fait ; 
 Under my burthen groan* d. 
 
 1 can by no means approve of Mr. Warburton's 
 emendation, fubftituting the word, mock'd, in the 
 place of the ancient reading, decked. To deck is com- 
 monly interpreted to adorn, and even in this fenfe, 
 the expreffion of decking the fea with tears may 
 appear tolerable, fince however inconfiderabie and 
 trifling the prefent may be, a perfon or thing is very 
 properly faid to be decked or adorned with it, efpe- 
 cially when it is confidered as a tribute or offering. 
 But the word may alio fignify to cover, tegere, in 
 which fenfe the Anglo-Saxons ufed it. See Lye's 
 Etymologicon. Thus the earth is faid to be decked 
 with flowers, that is, either adorned, or covered, 
 with them, when they are fcattered here and there 
 on its furface. I cannot therefore difcern any im- 
 propriety in the expreffion. On the other hand, 
 how the giving or adding any thing, the effedfc cf 
 which is not felt or perceived, can properly be called 
 mocking, when, at the fame time, the expectations 
 or wants of the perfon or thing to whom it is given 
 or added, are neither deceived nor dilappointed, is 
 not fo eafy to apprehend. If any alteration is ne~ 
 ceflary in this place, I think it fhou!d be in favour 
 of the construction, which, in the prefent reading, 
 is certainly lame, but may eafily be re-eftablifhed 
 by a very fmall change, thus, 
 
 When J, who deck'd the fra with drops full fait, 
 Under my burthen groan'd. 
 
 P. 13. Now I arife. 
 
 Mr. Warburton's interpretation, c Now I come to 
 * the principal part of my llory,' is not only with- 
 
 B 4. out
 
 \ 
 
 I f ] 
 
 out the leaft foundation in the Englifh idiom, but 
 falls very little fhort of being ridiculous. I am per- 
 fuaded not a fingle inftance can be produced, where 
 the word, arife, is ufed in the fignification. here at- 
 tributed to it. Mr. Warburton indeed pretends, 
 that it is ufed ' to ufher in a matter of importance. 
 
 So Richard III. when he comes to the murther of 
 
 * his nephews, fays to Tyrrel, 
 
 * Rife, and lend an ear* 
 
 But in this place too, the wprd may be underftood 
 jn its natural and obvious meaning. The ufurper 
 having taken Tyrrel afide to a private conference, 
 after having previouOy founded him by degrees, at 
 Jaft, when he comes to the point, fays, 
 
 Hark, come hither, Tyrrel - 9 
 Go t by this token, 
 
 Here we mud fuppofe Tyrrel making his obeyfance, 
 and bowing, or, perhaps, even falling on one knee, 
 jn order to receive the token ; when Richard, for 
 the more fecret communication of his orders, in a 
 whifper, bids him 
 
 Rife, and lend an ear. 
 
 So, in the place under confideration, Profpero hav^ 
 ing fat down with Miranda at the time he laid afide 
 his magic garment, and being now come almoft to 
 the end of his narrative, arifes to give his orders to 
 Ariel, and foon leaves Miranda in a deep fleep, 
 into which, by his art, he had thrown her. 
 
 P. 1 6. Prof What is the lime o"the day? 
 
 A:i. Paji the mid fe a/on, at leaft twaglajfes. 
 
 Mr. Upton hid anticipated this emendation in his 
 Critical Obfervations on Shakefpear, p, 259, 260, 
 published a year before Mr. Warbui ton's edition, 
 
 and
 
 [ 9 3 
 
 and which it is evident this editor muft have feen 
 from the mention he makes of them in his preface, 
 p. 13. where he treats them with great, though 
 very undefei ved, contempt. 
 
 P. 19. Caliban. 
 
 When Lord Falkland, Lord C. J. Vaughan, and 
 Mr. Selden, concurred in obferving, that Shake- 
 fpear had not only found out a new character in his 
 Caliban, but had alio devifed and adapted a new 
 manner of language for that character, I fuppofe 
 they muft be under flood to mean, that the poec 
 had given him a language adapted to the brutality 
 of his manners, and the coarfenefs of his fenti- 
 ments ; and accordingly we commonly find him 
 exprefling himfelf in terms which betray his dia- 
 bolical origin, and the bafenefs of his Qavifh na- 
 ture. Among people who fpeak the fame tongue, 
 the language is extremely different, and in parti- 
 cular perfons, in great meafure, determined by the 
 natural difpofition, the degree of understanding, the 
 education, the converfation they have been accuf- 
 tomed to, and other circumftances of a fimilar nature. 
 I do not well underftand Mr. Warburton's expla- 
 nation, that Sh ikefpear gave his language a certain 
 grotefque air of the favage and antique, which, he 
 adds, it certainly has. The epithet, antique, muft 
 refer to the terms and expreffions ; and he fancies 
 he hath difcovered one antique word in this page, 
 to wit, wicked dezv y which perhaps may be lb, 
 though he doth not feem to have hit upon its true 
 meaning in the place where it ftands, when he 
 fays it is ufed for unwholfome. This latter epithet 
 immediately follows, applied to the fen from 
 whence the dew was bruftied, and the immediate 
 repetition of the faine idea is certainly not very 
 elegant. I (hould rather think, the poet, in giving 
 
 this
 
 this qualification to the dew, intended to exprefs 
 the wickednefs of the purpofes for which it was 
 gathered, that is, the pernicious and deftrucYive 
 ufe the witch defigned to make of it. But be this 
 as it may ; it would perhaps be difficult to find 
 another inftance of antique expreflion in the whole 
 part afiigned to Caliban, whofe language, in point 
 of antiquity, feems to be juft of the fame date with 
 that of his mafter Profpero, of whom, indeed, he 
 learned it. As to the epithet, favage, if that too 
 be underftood of the terms and exprelfions, inde- 
 pendently of the fentimerits, as we may prefume 
 is intended from its being coupled with that other 
 we have jult confidered, I muft own myfelf at a 
 lofs to comprehend what idea it is defigned to con- 
 vey, fince 1 know of no favage terms or expreflions 
 in the part of Caliban, nor indeed where they are 
 to be found in the whole Englilh language. 
 
 P. 2 1. when thou couldjl not, favage, 
 
 Shew thine own meaning, but wouldft gabble like 
 A thing moft hrutiflo, I endowed thy ptrpofes 
 With words that made them known. 
 
 The ancient and authentick reading was, 
 
 when thou didft not, favage^ 
 
 Know thy oivn meaning. 
 
 The prefent reading is a mere conjecture of Mr. 
 Warburton's, and, in order to introduce and re- 
 commend it, he has endeavoured to caft'a milt be- 
 fore the reader's eyes, which at firft view, indeed, 
 hath fomtthing of a philofophical appearance, but, 
 when examined to the bottom, the learned duft is 
 foon difnpated, and we prefently difcover, that it 
 was not raifed from any ground which nature will 
 acknowledge, but owes its origin folely to the cri- 
 tick's Qwn cloudy imagination. Though brute 
 creatures fometimes exprefs their wants 3 their pafllons, 
 
 or,
 
 [ ft ] 
 
 6r, if you pleafe, their purpofes, by certain founds, 
 yet who doth not know, that in general they utter 
 the founds peculiar to their kind, without any par- 
 ticular defign, or certain purpofe vvhatfoever. They 
 are no more than the natural cuftomary expreffion 
 of their actual feeling. At leaft this is the common 
 received opinion, which is fufficient to jaftify the 
 poet in adopting it. So in the cafe under consider- 
 ation, when Profpero firft met with Caliban, this 
 latter would gabble out certain uncouth noifes, 
 like the jabbering of an ape, deftitute of any de- 
 terminate meaning; and though he had indeed pur- 
 pofes, yet he had never adapted any of thofe noifes 
 to a particular expreffion of them, nor, perhaps, 
 could fignify them twice fucceffively by the fame 
 precife found. So that though he had purpofes, 
 and knew the purpofes he had, yet it may very 
 properly and truly be faid, that he did not know 
 his own meaning, that is, the meaning of that 
 gabble he was perpetually uttering, without any 
 certain defign or determinate fignincation. 
 
 P. 22. Weeping againji the king my father's ivreck. 
 
 The old editions, as is evident from Mr. Pope's 
 teftimony, give us, 
 
 Weeping again ; 
 
 that is, after having wept it at my feparation from 
 him. There was therefore no neceflity for altering 
 the text, which is the only juftifiable pretext for 
 doing it. Againfl, for over again, or oppofite to, is 
 not the natural or ufual idiom of the Knglifh lan- 
 guage, though I do not deny it may be fometimes 
 met with in that fignification. The common im- 
 port of this prepofition is, in oppofition to, or, in 
 expectation of, or preparation for, any thing. 
 
 P. 26.
 
 [ 12 ] 
 
 P. 26. If you be made or noi 
 
 If this is not the original reading of the firft folio 
 edition, as 1 am inclined to believe it is, but an al- 
 teration of Mr Pope's, I think however it is fuf- 
 ficiently warranted by the former part of this fpeech. 
 
 Ibid, The king my father wreck* d. 
 
 Xes, faith, and all his lords \ the duke of Milan ', 
 And his brave fon, being twain. 
 
 Though Anthonio's fon doth not appear in this 
 play, nor has any further notice taken of him, yet 
 it is manifeft from the very conftruction that he is 
 here intended. The imagination of the gentleman of 
 Grays-Inn, that Ferdinand meant himfelf as being 
 fon of the king of Naples, is utterly without foun- 
 dation. He had juft before mentioned himfelf as 
 having feen the wreck, and therefore could not 
 count himfelf again with any propriety among thofe 
 who, he believed, had perifhed in it. The (tiling 
 himfelf (he king's brave fon, carries with it an air 
 of boafting, utterly inconfiftent with the modefty 
 of his character. Laftly, The oppofition in the 
 fpeech of Profpero, immediately following, of his 
 own ' more braver daughter,' cannot be fo properly 
 referred to the rightful Prince of Naples, as to the 
 fon of his own ufurping brother. 
 
 P. 28. Make not too rafh a tryal of him; for 
 He's gentle, and not fearful. 
 
 Miranda affigns two reafon?, to induce her father 
 not to make too rafh a tryal of Ferdinand, that is, 
 not to attempt a combat, which, fhe apprehends, 
 will be attended with great hazard and danger. 
 The firft is, That he is gentle, which every one fees 
 is fo far from being pertinent, that its natural ten- 
 dency is rather to encourage fuch an attempt. The 
 
 fecond,
 
 3 ] 
 
 fccond, That he is not fearful, is indeed, in the 
 common and ordinary acceptation of the word, a 
 perfuafive one i but to pafs over the faintnefs and 
 coldnefs of the exprefllon, he is not fearful, to de- 
 note that he is a man of fpirit and refolution, the 
 propriety of language would, in this cafe, have 
 inclined the poet to have faid, though he is gentle, 
 he is not fearful, or at lead, he is gentle, but not 
 fearful, that the oppofuion between thofe characters 
 might have appeared. I cannot, therefore, help 
 thinking that Shakefpear wrote, 
 
 Make not too harfh a tryal of him ; for 
 He's gentle, and not fearful. 
 
 That is, do net treat him with too much feverity, 
 for he is gentle, and by no means one from whom 
 you can juftly entertain any apprehenfions. That 
 the word, fearful, is frequently ufed in this fenfe, 
 is too well known to need particular proof. See 
 however, our fubfequent note on the Merchant 
 of Yenice, p. 113. The pertinence alfo of this 
 allegation, appears from thofe apprehenfions which 
 Profpero had juft before expreffed, and which his 
 daughter now endeavours to remove. 
 
 -'Thou doft here ufurp 
 
 The name thou oivjl not, and haft put thy felf 
 Upon this ifland, as a fpy, to win it 
 Fran me, the lord on't. 
 
 P. 3.0. - Our flint of woe 
 
 Is common. 
 
 The old reading, * our hint of woe,* that is, the fub- 
 ject of complaint, which our calamity hints or 
 fuggefts to us, was certainly right, and ought not 
 to have been altered. Mr. Warburton, however, 
 alTerts, that hint of woe, can fignify only prog- 
 
 ' noltic
 
 noftic of woe.' What fenfe then will he make of 
 the following pafTage in Othello, Act I. Scene 8th ? 
 
 And with it all my travel's hijlory : 
 - Wherein of antres vaft, and defarts idle, 
 
 Rough quarries, rocks, and hills whofe heads 
 touch heav'n, 
 It was my hint to [peak. 
 
 That is, my fubject led me to fpeak. I find, in- 
 deed, Mr. Warburton hath altered the word here 
 too, adopting a miftake of 'the printer of the old 
 quarto, which will be confidered in its proper place. 
 His own conjecture, ' Hint of woe,' properly figni- 
 fies reftriction or limitation of woe, which is not 
 the idea required in this place. I am tempted to 
 fancy, this gentleman, when he made this emen- 
 dation, might probably be thinking on his tythes, 
 which, when they are compounded at a certain li- 
 mited fum agreed on, commonly go, in the weftern 
 part of this ifland at lead, by the name of Jtint. 
 
 Ibid. Alon. Frythee, -peace. 
 
 All that follows from thefe words, to the fpeech of 
 Alonzo which begins, 
 
 You cram thefe words into my ears, 
 
 is rejected by Mr. Pope, with Mr. Warburton's, 
 at lead, tacit approbation, as unworthy of Shake- 
 fpear, and probably the interpolation of the players. 
 I wifh I could nor fay, that there are too many in- 
 ftances to be found in our poet's works, which in- 
 difputably prove, that his great genius did not dif- 
 dain, and that pretty frequently, to gratify the 
 wretched tafte of a vulgar audience by ribaldry, 
 even below this which is objected to. 5 Tis too evi- 
 dent to be controverted, that he could condcf end 
 to catch the laugh of the crowd, at the expence of 
 his reputation with better judges, whofe indulgence, 
 
 no
 
 [ 15 3 
 
 no doubt, he hoped would make great allowances 
 for it. For as to his reputation with pofterity, that 
 feems fcarce to have entered into his thoughts, as 
 is manifeft from his extreme negligence in the pub- 
 lication of his works, and themiferable condition in 
 which they are handed down to us. In the prefenc 
 cafe, however, it is certain, that the whole of what 
 is propofed to be rejected, cannot be expunged, not 
 only becaufe it contains circumftances relative to 
 Claribei's marriage, which in feveral following paf- 
 fages are fuppofed to be already known to the au- 
 dience, but becaufe in the above mentioned fpeech of 
 Alonzo, they are exprefly referred to, and fuppofed 
 to have been juft talked of. For inftance, 
 
 would I had never 
 
 Married my daughter there ! for, coming thence* 
 My Jon is loft. 
 
 where the words, there, and, thence, as Mr. Theo- 
 bald rightly obferves, have no fenfe, but upon the 
 fuppofition that the marriage at Tunis had been juft 
 mentioned. 
 
 Ibid. The 'vifer will net give o'er fo. 
 
 This 'vifer, for advifer, is a corre&ion of Mr. War- 
 burton's. The original reading was, vifitor; which, 
 whoever fhall happen to recollect the vifits of con- 
 folation ufual among friends or acquaintance upon 
 any great calamity befalling any one of them, and the 
 trite formal common-place topicks enlarged upon on 
 fuch occafions, will fcarce think needs an alteration. 
 
 P. 33. Where foe, at leaft, is banijlfd from your eye, 
 Who hath caufe to wet the grief on't. 
 
 The eye is here treated as a dittinct perfon, by 
 being joined to the mafculine relative, who. The 
 
 meaning
 
 C 16 1 
 
 meaning is, who hath fufficient caufe to accompany 
 1 he grief which appears in it with its tears, as it 
 never more will be blefled with the fight of Claribel. 
 
 Ibid. - Milan and Naples have 
 
 More widows in them of this bufinefs* making* 
 'Than we bring men to comfort them. 
 
 We muft underftand, what the poet did not think 
 it neceflary to exprefr, if we (hould be fo lucky as 
 to find fome paflage out of this ifland. 
 
 P. 37. For he's a fpirit of perfuafion* only 
 Profeffes to pcrfuade. 
 
 That is, tvho has no other fcope but perfuafion, 
 without being himfeif convinced of the probability 
 of the very thing he endeavours to perfuade you 
 into the belief of. 
 
 P. 38. Ambition cannot pierce a wink beyond* 
 But doubt dijccvery there. 
 
 Mr. Warburton's interpretation of this paflage is 
 ingenious , but 1 apprehend the propriety of con- 
 ftruction points out to us another reading, which 
 makes a great alteration in the fenfe; 
 
 But doubts difcovery there. 
 
 The meaning of which, I underftand to be this : 
 Ambition, which cannot carry its utmoft view be- 
 yond the prolpect this * no hope* opens to it, doubts 
 even the difcovtry which it actually make?, or may 
 make if it pleafes. In faying which, I fuppofe, 
 .Anthonio alludes to the difficulty he found in 
 making Scbaftian comprehend, or at leaft to own 
 he comprehended, the fcope he had been fo long 
 aiming at. 
 
 Ibid.
 
 [ >7 1 
 
 Ibid. fhe that from Naples 
 
 Can have no note, unlefs the fun wgre pofi, 
 (The man /" th* moon's loo jl.w) till new- torn 
 
 chins 
 Be rough and razor able. 
 
 By * no note' I underhand, no notice of any kind, 
 by mefTenger, or otherwise. Mr. Pope's interpre- 
 tation, adopted by Mr. Warburton, * no advices by 
 letter,' feems to fuppofearegularcorrefpondcnce by 
 poft between Naples and'Tunis; though the very 
 objection to Claribel's receiving timely advice of 
 her father's fuppofed death is founded wholly in 
 the contrary fuppofition, that there was noeftab'lifh- 
 ed or eafy communication between thofc two cities. 
 
 Ibid. /he from whom 
 
 We werefea-fwallow'd , tko* fome, ca/i again.- 
 
 The edition of 1632 has, 
 
 We all were /ea-fw allow* d. 
 
 Which feems to be right, on account of the oppo- 
 fition between the words, all, a,nd fme, which laft 
 immediately follows. The prefent reading is pro- 
 bably owing to the later editors not recollecting, 
 that our tr.igick metre admits an anapsrt in any pare 
 of the verfe. 
 
 Ibid. ' tho* feme, cajl again, 
 
 May by thai defiiny perform an ail, 
 
 Whereof, what's pojt is prologue ; what to come, 
 
 Is years and my difebarg . 
 
 The edition of 1632 gives us the fecor.d line thus, 
 
 And by that defiiny to perform an aSi, 
 
 which, if it be confirmed by the edition of 1623, 
 I mould believe to be the genuine reading, as \z 
 marks fo Ihongly the rooted and determined villany 
 of Anthonio; who feems to ccnfider their miracu- 
 
 C lous
 
 I i* ] 
 
 Jous,efcafJe fiom fhipwreck in no other light than 
 &> a preparation of deftiny itfelf, to facilitate the 
 perpetration of" that miirther his thoughts were fo 
 full of. In the fame edition of 1632, the follow- 
 ing lines are read thus, 
 
 JVhereof, what's paft in prologue, what to corns, 
 In your* j and my d\f charge. 
 
 In the firft of which variations, I think, a regard 
 . to the conftruction fufficiently juftifies the liberty 
 -taken by the later editors, notwithstanding the fri- 
 volous objection of the Grays-Inn gentleman, that 
 . what is paft cannot, confidently with common fenfe, 
 be joined to the verb of the prefent tenfe, is : the 
 words, what is paft, (land here for a fubfrantive, 
 and enjoy all the privileges of that part of fpeech, 
 
 - and, among the reft, that of being joined to verbs 
 denoting any diftinction of time, prefent and future 
 as well as paft. I would fain be informed, whether 
 it is not good Englifh to fay, What is paft is irre- 
 vocable, and will terminate in your ruin. As ro 
 the fecond variation, if it be warranted by the 
 edition of 1623, I mould prefer it to the prefent 
 
 - text, fince the preceding verb fubftantive may, by 
 
 - the rules of conftrucTion, be underftood here too, 
 and this expreflion of Anthonio leaves the execution 
 of the at r empt he was propofing in fufpenfe, till he 
 had heard Sebattian's thoughts of it , whereas, in 
 the modern reading, it is mentioned as a point al- 
 
 ' ready determined upon. 
 
 , P. 39. Ten confdences, that ftaxd'tzvixt me and Milan, 
 Ondfd be tb.y, and melt, e*er they molejt ! 
 
 Mr. Warbmton's ir.t -rpretaroi of this pufXag? is* 
 4 Did tea consciences, fametimes prove very ftub- 
 . ' born, and fometimes a^ain as fuppie, ye. r hey mould 
 ' nter moled. 1 If a:-.y man can fin 1 any glimmering 
 of fenfe in this, which I proiefs my felt utterly un- 
 
 ah! 
 
 e
 
 i 9 ] 
 
 able to do, be is very welcome to it. In the mean 
 time, I muft beg leave to acquiefce in Mr. Upton's 
 Correction, in his Critical Observations on Shake- 
 fpear, p. 202. 
 
 Difcandy'd be the), and melt, e'er they moleji ! 
 
 which he hath well explained, and fupported by a 
 fimilarexprefiion in another play of our poet. Thus 
 the fecond foot will be an ariapseft. 
 
 P. 40. This ancient Moral, this Sir Prudence, 
 
 All the former editions give us, 
 
 This ancient morfel, this Sir Prudence. 
 
 for the correction admitted into the text we are 
 indebted to Mr. Warburton, who, in order to en- 
 force it, afks, ' How does this (the word morfel) 
 c characterize the perfon fpoken of?' But who told 
 him the poet intended to characterize that perfon 
 by this expreffion, which he (o fully does in the 
 very next words, c this Sir Prudence,' and not ra- 
 ther to intimate the contemptuous light in which 
 Anthonio looked upon hirr, as one fallen into 
 dotage, and fit for nothing now but to be a mor- 
 fel for the worms ? Mr. Warburton affurcs us, 
 an ancient moral is almoft proverbial, and that this 
 way of fpeaking is familiar with our author; yet 
 he hath not thought fit to fupport this afierrion by 
 any one inftance, either from him or any other 
 writer, except a fingle pafiage from the Romeo 
 and Juliet of our poet, in which this expreflion is 
 not to be found. 
 
 Ibid. My majler through his art fore fees the danger \ 
 That you his friend, are in; and fends me forth 
 (For elfe his project dies) to keep them living. 
 
 If we believe Mr. Warburton, by the word, them, 
 
 ^.lonzo and Anthonio are intended, ' for it v/as on 
 
 C 1 * their
 
 [ 20 ] 
 
 their lives that Profpero's project depended. ' But 
 furely this gentleman did not recollect, that Ariel 
 was not fent to keep Anthonio living, fince he was' 
 at that time in no more danger of death than Prof- 
 pero himfclf, how much foever the project of the lat- 
 ter might depend on the life of the former, in my 
 opin on, we ought to correct the fecond line thus, 
 
 That his yon friends are in ; 
 
 which removes every difficulty. This conjecture 
 will be greatly confirmed, if we confider, that this 
 palTage is not defigned to be whifpered into the ear 
 of Gonzalo afleep, who appears, by what follows, 
 not to have heard a fyllable of it, but is fpoken a 
 parte by Ariel, merely for the inftruction of the 
 audience. The abfurdity of Mr. Warburton's in- 
 terpretation did not efcape the notice of the gentle- 
 man of Grays-Inn. 
 
 P. 4}. There would this monjler make a man ; any 
 jtrange bsa/i there makes a man. 
 
 See Canons of Criticifm, 6th edition, p. 115. 
 
 P. 45. His backward voice is to /patter foul 
 fpeeches, and to detracl. 
 
 I am not certain whether it was Mr. Warburton or 
 Mr, Theobald who fir ft altered the reading of the 
 preceding editions, which was, utter, into /patter. 
 The former is charged with it by the gentleman of 
 Grays-Inn-, the latter in his laft edition at lead 
 adopted it; neither of them gives the lead hint of 
 fuch an innovation. Accordingly the fuccefs of the 
 c; icicle is fuch as might be expected from hrs pre- 
 emption ; for lam much deceived if to * fpatter foul 
 * fVeeches,' is either Englifh or fenfe ; and I have the 
 pleaiure to find the Grays-Inn gentleman of the 
 Tame opinion. 
 
 P. 4C
 
 [ 2' ] 
 
 P. 45. How cam* ft thou to be the fiege of this 
 nwon-calf? can he vent Urinculd *s ? 
 
 The words, fiege, and vent, are allufions to certain 
 effects of medicine, as the gentleman of Grays-Inn 
 has very properly obferved. As to the meaning of 
 the word moon-calf, fee the fame \gentleman, and 
 the Canons of Crincifm, p. 78. 
 
 P. 47. Young jhamois from the rock. 
 
 The former editions give us, 
 
 Young (camels from the rocks. 
 
 Mr. Warburton authoritatively tells us, c we fliould 
 ' read Jhamois, i.e. young kids,' without affigning 
 any reafon. It is plain however he did not un- 
 derfland his own emendation , for the fhamois is 
 a particular fpecies of quadruped, very different 
 from the goat, though referred to the fame com- 
 mon genus. They are frequent in the Alps of 
 Savoy and Switzerland, and remarkable for their 
 fwiftnefs, and therefore (as the gentleman of Grays- 
 Inn very rightly obferves) not likely to be intended 
 by Caliban, whom we may conclude, from the 
 whole reprefentation of his character, not to have 
 been remarkable for that quality. The fame gentle- 
 man informs us, limpets are in fome parts of Eng- 
 land called fcams, and therefore is for retaining 
 the old reading. The word, fcams, hath not come 
 to my knowledge, but I know that limpets are 
 foun 1 every where in fuch quantities, on the rocks 
 near the fea, as to render any afliftance in gathering 
 them unneceffary : and I muftadd too, that I never 
 heard of the diftinftion between old and young 
 limpets (the largeft being always preferred) any 
 more than between old and young oy Iters or 
 cockles. I am inclined therefore to accept Mr. 
 Theobald's emendation, fea mells, fea- malls, or fea- 
 
 V J ViCIVS,
 
 [ 22 ] 
 
 mews, a well known name of a particular kind of 
 fea fowl, which ufually build and breed in the rocks 
 near the fea fide. 
 
 p. 4 8. 1 forget; 
 
 But thefe fweet thoughts do etfn refrejh my 
 
 labour, 
 Mofl bufie-lefs, when I do it. 
 
 The reading of the elder editions was, 
 
 Mcji bujie lead, when I do it. 
 
 The conftruction of which words being fomewhat 
 difficult, hath puzzled all the later editors, and 
 driven them to the ufual refuge of an emendation. 
 Mr. Pope fubftitutes, 
 
 Leaft bufy when I do it. 
 
 The fenfe of which, I fuppofe, is, That the labour 
 of the lover is fo refrefhing by the fweet thoughts 
 of his miftrefs, that he feels himfelf lefs burthened 
 when employed in it, than if he had no employ- 
 ment at all for his time. But this fenfe, however 
 pertinent it may at firft fight appear, labours under 
 this misfortune, that it hath abfolutely no connec- 
 tion with, or dependanceon, what goes immediately 
 before. Ferdinand checks himfe f for neglecting 
 his labour to think of his miftrefs in thefe words, 
 4 I forget,' and immediately an excufe occurs to 
 remove this objection, and with which he fatisfies 
 hirnfclf -, but this excufe, according to Mr. Pope's 
 reading, doth not remove the objection, by (hew- 
 ing, as it ought to do, that he is not in effect ne- 
 glecting his labour j it terminates only in a regard 
 to himfelf and his own enfe, by alledging, that 
 when he thinks of his miftrefs his labour is lefs 
 troublefome to him. Mr. Theobald conjectures, 
 
 Mofi bufy h-fs t when 1 do it. 
 
 the
 
 die fenfe of which amounts tojuft the fame as that 
 of Mr. Pope's correction, and is liable to the fame 
 difficulty. The alteration from the vulgar read- 
 ing is indeed fomewhat lefs, but this is, perhaps, 
 more than compenfated by the baldnefs of the ex- 
 preffion, moft bufy-lefs. Mr. Warburton gives us 
 Mr. Theobald's conjecture as if it were the au- 
 thentick text, without condefcending to take the 
 leaft notice, either of Mr. Theobald, or of the an- 
 cient reading. The gentleman of Grays-Inn, after 
 propofing a conftru&ion fo violent as to be utterly 
 incompatible with the very nature of language, 
 imagines he hath obviated every difficulty by read- 
 in^ 
 
 M r ft bufieft when 1 do it. 
 
 Which words, he tells us, will bear a double inter- 
 pretation ; either, That thefefweet thoughts, being 
 moft bufy when he is at work, refreth his labour ; 
 or, That they rtfrefh his bufieft labour when he 
 does it. The latter of thefe fuppofes an inverfion 
 which the idiom of our. language will fcarce admit, 
 labour moft bufieft, for moft bufieft labour ; and 
 bef:dss makes a mere bctch of the fibfequent 
 words, when I do it y the fenfe being as compleat 
 without as wirh them. The former gives us a fen- 
 timent which hath no foundation in nature, That 
 the lover's thoughts are mere bufily employed about 
 his miftrefs while he is at work, than they would 
 be if he had no other employment for them. It 
 were to be wii"hcd that criticks, when any difficulty 
 arifes, would not immediately, and with fuch pre- 
 cipitation, have recourfe to the laft remedy, an 
 alteration of the common reading, than which no- 
 thing is more eafy, but would firft vouchfafe to be- 
 ftow a little of their confederation on it, and try if 
 it be not poflTible to make fenfe of it. In the pre- 
 sent cafe, I am perluaded the common reading is 
 C 4 genuine
 
 [ 24 ] 
 
 genuine, and wants no other afiiftance than that of 
 a comma after the word bufy. The fenfe of the 
 whole padage I take to be this ; " I forget myfelf, 
 44 and while the thoughts of my miftrefs employ 
 * c my whole attention, the bufinefs enjoined me 
 " fuffers by the delay , but upon recollection, this is 
 " really not the cafe-, for I findfuchrefrefhmentfroin 
 *' thofe fweet thoughts, that I am moft bufy when 
 " I am employed in them, and my labour is more 
 " advanced by the alacrity with which they infpire 
 " me, than retarded by the delay which they occa- 
 " (Ion. I am in truth more effectually compleating 
 " the tafk fee me by rhele intervals of interruption, 
 " than if i were inceffantly at work about ir, as I 
 " am thereby enabled to exert myfelf with double 
 " vigour whenever I refume it." If any one is 
 offended with the inverted order of the words, ' lead 
 ' when I do it,' for, ' when leafr. I do ir,' he is at li- 
 berty to alter that order accordingly, if he pleaf-s. For- 
 mv own part, I am inclined to believe, Shakeipear 
 left us the text in the order it now (lands. We 
 have an inftance of an inverfion full as harfh as this, 
 but a few p3gts before; to wit, p. 13. 
 
 Here in this ifiand we arri-S d, and here 
 Have /, thy ftbtolmafter, made tkee more profit 
 ^br, made thee profit more. 
 
 P. 54. Why, what did I? I did nothing \ Yllgo 
 further of. 
 
 The old editions gi*" us, * I'll go no furt'ier off.' 
 Mr. Theobald and Mr. Warburtcn have thought 
 proper to expunge the nega r ive particle, without 
 the lead in'imarion of their having taken this 
 liberty, and without reafon too, as I apprehend. 
 ,As Stephano's command to Trinculo, to fianl fur- 
 ther off, is twice repeated in the compafs of a lew 
 lines, we may probably fuppofe, with the Grays Inn 
 
 gentle-
 
 t *5 ] 
 
 gentleman, who is alfo my authority for the ancient 
 reading, that fome hint by fign, motion, orgefture, 
 had juft before been given him to the fame purpofe. 
 
 P, c$. If thou be ft a man^ flew ttyfelf in the likenefs. 
 
 Mr. Pope's edition hath, thy likenefs. I fuppofe 
 the other reading in Mr. Theobald's edition may 
 be owing to an error of the prefs, which hath been 
 blindly copied by Mr. Warburton's printer. 
 
 P. 56. Trin. Wilt come? V 11 follow Stepbano. 
 
 The firft words are addrefled to Caliban, who, 
 vexed at the foily of his new companions idly run- 
 ning after the mufick, while they ought only to 
 have attended to the main poinr, the difpatching 
 Prwfpero, feems, for fome little time, to have ftaid 
 behind. 
 
 P. 5 7. their manners ere more gentle^ kind. 
 
 The two laft words mould be joined with an hyphen, 
 gentle-kind^ agreeably to the general turn of Shake - 
 fpear's phraftoiogy. 
 
 P. 58. which now we find \ 
 
 Each putter cut en five for one will bring us 
 Good warrant of. 
 
 The following paflage of Ben. Johnfon, in his 
 Every Man out of his Humour, Acl II. Scene 3. 
 p. 170. will fufnciently explain our poet's meaning. 
 44 Punt. I do intend, this year of jubile coming 
 " on, to travel : and (becau'e I will not altogether 
 " go upon expence) I am determined to put forth 
 44 fome five thoufand pound, to be paid me five 
 44 for one, upon the return of myfelf, my wife, 
 44 aod my dog, from the Turks court in Conftan- 
 *' tinople. \\ all or either of us mifcarry in the 
 
 " journey,
 
 [ 26 ] 
 
 "journey, 'tis gone: If w^ be fuccefsful, why, 
 " there will be rive and twenty thoufand pound 10 
 M entertain time withal." See alfo, in the fame 
 play, Act IV. Scene 3. p. 215, 216. alfo Mory- 
 ibn's Itinerary, Part I. p. 19S, 199. This laft 
 quotation, Dr. Thirlby had already fuggefted to 
 Mr. Theobald. 
 
 P. 60. It did br.fe my trefpafs. 
 
 That is, it ferved as the bafs in a concert, to proclaim 
 my trefpafs in the loudeft and fulleft tone. 
 
 P. 61. -for I 
 
 Have giv'n you here a thread of mine own life-, 
 Or that for which I live. 
 
 The ancient reading was, ' a third of mine own life,' 
 but no foundation appearing, either in nature or 
 reafon, for the poet's preferring the precife propor- 
 tion of a third, before the half, or any other, 
 Mr. Theobald, from conjecture, gave the prefent 
 reading, which is adopted by Mr. Warburton, but 
 whether juftly or not may, I think, be much 
 queftioned. The exprefiion of the thread of life draws 
 its fole origin from the well-known, mythology of 
 the ParcjE or Deft nies, who were believed to i'pin a 
 thread far every individual of the human race, on 
 the meafure cf which the duration of his life ab- 
 solutely depended ; but it was never imagined that 
 more threads than one were fpun for any man. 
 Whereas Mr. Theobald's conjecture, a thread, ne- 
 cefiarily fuppofes, that the threads of Protpero's life 
 were more than one, and that he gave away one of 
 them in giving away his daughter. This objection 
 will, indeed be obviated if we read, 
 
 The thread of mine own life ; 
 
 &nd 
 6
 
 [ *7 1 
 
 and this reading will be greatly confirmed by what 
 immediately follows by way of explanation, 
 
 Or that for which I live. 
 
 But I much doubt the neceflity of any alteration at 
 all, it being a liberty commonly taken by the poets, 
 in a view either of exaggerating or depreciating, to 
 put a certain number or proportion for an uncer- 
 tain. Thus Horace, Od. I. xiii. 15, 16, 
 
 La dent em ofcula, qua Venus 
 Quintd parte fui r.eclaris imbuit. 
 
 P. 61. If thou dofi break her virgin knot, before 
 All fanftimon'wus ceremonies may 
 With full and holy rite be minijler'd, 
 No fweet afperftons fhall the heav'ns let fall, 
 To make this contrail grow : but barren hate, 
 Sour-eyd difdain, and difcord fhall beftrew 
 The union of your bed with weeds fo loathly, 
 That you fhall hate it both. 
 
 The gentleman of Grays-Inn in his introduction 
 fuppofes this play to have been intended as a com- 
 pliment on the marriage contracted, in 1606, be- 
 tween the young Earl or Eflex and the Lady Frances 
 Howard, which was not attempted to be confum- 
 mated till four years after, at the Earl's return from 
 his travels, which laft circumftance, he thinks, is 
 hinted at in the above lines; though, as far as my 
 enquiries have reached, without the leaft foundation 
 in hiftory to countenance fuch an imagination. 
 The cafe, indeed, was wholly different; for the 
 marriage ceremonies had actually been celebrated 
 between the young couple, and the confummation 
 fufpended on no other confideration than merely 
 that of their tender age. But, what is amazing, 
 the fame gentleman, in his note on this pafTage, 
 fixes the date of this play to the year 1614, when 
 the fad train of mitchjefs here threatned with 
 
 fuch
 
 [ 28 ] 
 
 fuch energy of expreffion, had already fallen to 
 that nobleman's lot, and yet at the fame time ad- 
 heres to his former conjecture, that the following 
 mafque was intended as a compliment to the young 
 Earl on his contract of marriage with the Lady 
 Frances Howard, which he admits was celebrated 
 eight years before. To reconcile fuch manifeft 
 contradictions is, I mud confefs, a talk far beyond 
 my abilities , and therefore, as the gentleman owns, 
 this pafTage was the chief motive to his conjecture 
 as to the date of the play, and the compliment in- 
 tended by it, I cannot avoid concluding that it is 
 abfolutely groundlefs. 
 
 P. 63. Now come, my Ariel; bring a corollary, 
 Rather than want a fpirit. 
 
 Mr. Warburton's note on the word corollary is 
 tranfcribed from Robert Stephens Latin Thefaurus, 
 though he hath not thought proper to acknowledge 
 the obligation. The meaning is, Bring more fpirits 
 than are fufficicnt, rather than want one. 
 
 Ibid. 'Thy banks with ponied, and tulip* d brims. 
 
 The word, tulip*d, is a conjecture of Mr. Theo- 
 bald, adopted by Mr. Warburton, but without 
 any notice taken, as ufual, either of its author, or 
 of the ancient rt-ading, which is twilled; and, though 
 evidently corrupt, fuggefls to us the true one, to 
 wit, Hilled. That lillies grow on the banks of 
 rivers, we have Milton's authority in his Arcades, 
 v. 97. 
 
 By fandy Laden s lillied banks. 
 
 and the fame authority for their being ufed in gar- 
 lands, in his Mafque, v. 862. 
 
 In twifted braids of lillies knitting 
 'The locfe irain of thy amber- dropping hair. 
 
 Tulips
 
 t *9 3 
 
 Tulips are neither found on river banks* nor ap- 
 pear ever to have been ufed in garlands, which the 
 very brittlenefs of their foot- (talks renders them ut- 
 ter y unfit for. 
 
 P. 6 2> And thy brown groves. 
 
 The reading of the elder editions is, broom groves, 
 which for what reafon it is altered I cannot conceive. 
 Ceres was certainly not the goddefs of the woods ; 
 and thofe very broom groves feem to be exprefly 
 hinted at, in the very words of Ceres which follow 
 a little below, 
 
 My bojky acres ; 
 
 which very properly exprefs a broom-brake, as it 
 it is called, at lead in the weftern part of the 
 ifland. 
 
 Ibid. I'by pale-dipt vineyard. 
 
 This reading we are indebted for to Mr. Warbur- 
 ton, who peremptorily afierts that thus Shake- 
 fpear wrote, though the ancient editions give us, 
 pole-d'pt. His objection to it is, that dipt in this place 
 fignifies embraced, and vines are not embraced by 
 the poles, but the poles by the vines. He might 
 however have recollected that dipt figniries alio 
 pruned, and confequently that the compound word 
 might here fignify, that the vines by proper pruning 
 were trained up to the poles which fupported them. 
 Perhaps it would be a difficult tafk for him to direct: 
 us to one of his pale-dipt vineyards. At leaft, I 
 do not remember to have met with ore of them 
 either in France or Germany. 
 
 P. 65. This is a moft majeftick vi/ton, aid 
 Harmonious charming lays. 
 
 The old reading was, * harmonious charmingly, 9 
 
 which,
 
 t 3 J 
 
 which, I think, Mr. Warburton hath rightly alter- 
 ed, only, as Mr. Edwards in his Canons of Cri- 
 ticifm, p. 76. very properly obferves, it fhould 
 have been 
 
 Harmonious charming lay s 
 
 as the preceding verb is in the lingular number, arid 
 the benediction, though fung by two gbddeffes, is 
 yet but one lay or hymn. 
 
 P. 6S. And, like the bafelefi fair ick of th* air- vifions,. 
 
 Air-vifions is a word coined by Mr. Warburton^ 
 no where elfe, I believe, to be met with in the fenfe 
 in which he ufes it ; at leaft he hath not been able to 
 produce a fingle in (lance of its. being ufed by our 
 poet, or any other writer. The reading of the 
 firft folio edition is, of this vifton, which Mr. Theo- 
 bald hath very rightly fubftituted in the place of" 
 the erroneous reading of the later editions of their 
 vifton. Mr. Warburton's objections to it are, firtr, 
 That it introduces a wretched tautology, fince it is 
 followed a few lines after by an exprefiion of the 
 fame import, 
 
 And like this unfubftantial -pageant faded \ 
 
 and, according to this reading, l all fublunary things, 
 4 on account of their fleeting exiftence, are compared 
 ' to the mafque of fpirits which, at the beck of 
 
 * Profpero, vanifhed fuddenly away.' But are they 
 not all equally compared to the mafque of fpirits 
 |pi the text, as corrected by Mr. Warburton ? No, 
 fays this gentleman, c the poet, with great perfpicuky 
 ' and phyfical exactnefs, compares the globe, and 
 
 * all inanimate things upon it, to air-viflons; and 
 
 * men and animals in the words " yea, all which it 
 " inherit," tothevifionof fpirits, which the fpeaker 
 1 had juft before prefented to them ,* that is, I fup- 
 
 pofe,
 
 t 3' ] 
 
 pofe, to Ferdinand and Miranda. As I can {"carte 
 believe my own eyes, I think it neceflary to lay 
 the whole paflage before the reader, that he him- 
 felf may be a judge from his own infpfcetion of the 
 perfpicuity and exactnefs fo much boafted of, and 
 on which fuch flrefs is laid. Thus then Mr. War- 
 burton's edition ; 
 
 And, like the bafelefs fabrick of th* air-vifionSy 
 The cloud- cap t towers, the gorgeous palaces \ 
 The folemn temples, the great globe it felf, 
 Tea, all, which it inherit, Jball-dijfohe -, 
 And, like this unfubjlantial pageant faded. 
 Leave not a rack behind! 
 
 Let me appeal now to every reader of a plain com- 
 mon underfla: ding, whether the very fame precife 
 tautology objected to the authentick text, doth not 
 equally fubfift in that altered as we have above 
 given it ? Are not the globe, the inanimate things 
 upon it, the animals, and the men, all equally 
 compared in both, to ' the bafelefs fabrick,' and to 
 the ' unfubftantial pageant ?' Or is it poffible tofup- 
 port the diftindt dihYibution imagined by Mr. War- 
 burton, but by a conftruction, which overturns and 
 is repugnant to all rules of conftruction in all 
 languages? In truth, the tautology complained of 
 is merely vifionary, the effect of a heated imagina- 
 tion, which by long puzzling upon a fubjecl: has 
 quire loft the view of it. The fame thing is in- 
 deed illuftratcd by both the comparifons, but then 
 tt is fo under very different confiderations. The 
 line before us regards only the diffolution of thofe 
 airy forms which had juft before appeared, and; the 
 other, their abfolute difappearance without leaving 
 the lead trace behind ; and the exprefTion in the 
 two paflages i<; as much, and as elegirt'y, varied, 
 ns could be wifhed. But fuppofing this charge of 
 tautology w-.rc juft, I am y t to learn, that the 
 
 dutv
 
 [ 32 i 
 
 duty of an -editor, which is commonly underftood 
 to be confined to the faults of the printer or tran- 
 scriber, ought to be extended to the correction of 
 thofe of the author. The next objection is, that 
 bafelefs fabrick is an expreffion c not fo well fuited to 
 ' ipiritsinahumanform-,' the drift and aim of which, 
 I muft confefs, pafTeth my comprehenfion. Would 
 he revive the long exploded belief of fairies, and 
 of the apparition of departed ghofts ? or is it his 
 religion which is alarmed by this expreffion ? Jf the 
 latter, his zeal is certainly too timorous and ap- 
 prehenfive. Let the ground of exiftence in fpirits 
 be ever fo real and fubftantial, yet he himfclf, I 
 fhould imagine, would fcarce venture to deny, that 
 their vifible appearance, at leaft, is a mere ' bafelefs 
 fabrick,' or, as the poet more ftrongly expreffts it 
 in the other line above quoted, an c unfubftantial 
 pageant,' which, when the purpofe is anfwered, va- 
 nifhes into empty air. Thirdly, the rack men- 
 tioned jufl afterwards, 
 
 c leave net a rack behind ! 
 
 * can refer only to air-vifions , for rack is the veftige 
 4 of an embodied cloud, which hath been broken and 
 ' diffipated by the winds.' To fpeak plain Englifli, 
 the rack is the drift of clouds broken by the wind. 
 But the poet, when he ufes this expreffion, is not 
 fpeaking of the air-vifions, which do not appear to 
 have even occurred to his thoughts but of fome- 
 thing elfe, to wit, of the towers, palaces, temples, 
 the globe and its inhabitants, whole fudden future 
 diflblution and entire difappearance, without leaving 
 the leaft trace of thdr prior exiftence, lie illuftrates 
 by comparing it to that of the vifion juft vani fried, 
 very poetically reprcfented under the double image 
 of a Fabrick and a Pageant. The laft objection is, 
 
 * That Profpero ufts this fimilitudccf the air-vifions 
 
 * in the evening, when only, as he i: forms us, they 
 
 * appear.'
 
 [ 33 1 
 t appear.* But it would be too great an' affront td 
 the reader's underftanding, not to truft this entirely 
 to his own difcernrnent. 
 
 P: 69. We wijh ycur -peace. 
 
 Mr. Pope's edition has, 
 
 We wijh you -peace. 
 
 Very pofilbly the prefent reading may have been 
 owing to a flip cf Mr. Theobald's printer, faithfully 
 copied into Mr. Warourton's edition. 
 
 P. 70. The trumpery in my houfe, go bring it bilker, 
 Fcr Jlah to catch thefe thieves. 
 
 See Canons of Criticifm, p. 81. and the Grays Inn 
 gentleman, p. 78. 
 
 1 
 P. y^, . and jhall not tnyfelf, 
 
 One of their Una 1 , that relijb all as fjjarrly, 
 Pajfwn as they, be kindlier mcy'd than thou art f 
 
 I cannot but entirely concur in Mr. Pope's cor- 
 rection, 
 
 Paflion'd as they. 
 
 The alteration is but a fingle letter added, and the 
 fenfe feems to require it. Mr. Theobald in his firft 
 edition replaced the ancient reading, pajfwn, whence 
 Mr. Warburton inconfiderately copied it; but in 
 his 1 alt edition, upon fecor.d thoughts, Mr. Theo- 
 bald rejected it, and reinftated Mr. Pope's conjec- 
 ture, diflatisBed, 1 fuppofe, with his former rea- 
 foning, which it is unneceflary therefore to examine 
 or refute. As to the Grays Inn gentleman's pre- 
 tenfion, that pajfion is a fubftantive to be joined to 
 the a ij'.ctive all, io that the construction is, ' that 
 4 relifh all pailion as fharply as they,' it is utterly in- 
 conliitent v/ith the idiom and genius of our language. 
 
 D Indeed
 
 [ 34 ] 
 
 Indeed his other fcheme of interpreting and defend- 
 ing the old reading, by fuppofing the word, ally 
 to be ufed adverbially, for full, or quite, and 
 making pajfion ihe accufative cafe, governed by the 
 verb, relijhy is lefs exceptionable. But to c relifh 
 ' pailion,' for fimply feeling it, is a very forced ex- 
 preflion ; and the flight change made by Mr. Pope 
 gives us fo very natural and eafy a one, that I can- 
 not help concluding it is the true one. 
 
 P. 75. Weak maflers the? ye be. 
 
 It is not eafy to apprehend in what fenfe thefe aerial 
 fpirits are called matters.' I fhould fufpect Shake - 
 fpear wrote, minijlers. 
 
 P. 76. graves at my command 
 
 Have open* dy and let fourth their Jleepers, wak r d 
 By my fo potent art. 
 
 This reading is Mr. WarburtonV, that of the for- 
 mer editions was, 
 
 -graves at my command 
 
 Have wak'd their Jleepers, op'd, and let them forth 
 By my fo potent art. 
 
 which exprefiion, of * graves waking their fleepers,' 
 he infills upon it, is evidently * abfurd, and confe- 
 quently none of Shakefpear's,' who, he allures us, 
 certainly wrote what he hath been pleafed to give us. 
 He further pretends to authenticate this his emen- 
 dation by a parallel paflfage in Ovid, in which Medea 
 in like manner enumerates the mighty prodigies of 
 her art, and which, he infills upon it, is here copied 
 by our poet. But I can find nothing in this paflage 
 to his purpofe tefides the very laft wods, 
 
 Manefque exire fepulcris y 
 
 That
 
 [ 35 ] 
 That at her command the ghofts left their fepulchres, 
 which they are equally reprefented to do in the old 
 reading. Yes, he will fay, it is by Medea's exprek com- 
 mand that they leave them, whereas here the graves 
 firft wake their fleepers, before they open and let them 
 forth. I admit it; but then, though Medea fays 
 nothing exprefly of the means by vhich they are 
 waked, yer, as the gentleman cf Grays-Inn very 
 pertinently obferve?, the circumfcances me men- 
 tions as preceding their appearance, the 
 
 tremefcere mentes, 
 Et mugire folum, 
 
 fufficient'y juftify our poet's fuppofition, that they 
 were firft waked by the rocking and bellowing of 
 the ground, before the paffage was opened for them 
 into the other world. It may perhaps feem un- 
 necefiary to remind the reader, that the propriety 
 of our poet's expreffion muft be tried by the vulgar 
 notions of magick, inchantments, and apparitions, 
 on which this whole play is founded, and not by 
 the truth of nature. The gentleman cf Grays-Inn 
 hath very properly alfo animadverted on the am- 
 biguity in the con ft ru 61 on arifing from Mr. War- 
 burton's tranfpofuion, which makes it a queftion, 
 whether the graves or the fleepers are faid to be 
 waked , a fault carefully avoided by all correct 
 writers. 
 
 P. 77. and when I have required 
 
 Some heavenly mitfuk, which ev*n now I Jo, 
 To work mine end upon their fnfes, that 
 This airy charm has f rail' d. 
 
 This is another of Mr. Warburton's emendations. 
 All the preceding editions give us 
 
 that 
 
 This airy ch.irm i^ for. 
 
 D 2 The
 
 t 36 ] 
 
 The meaning of which reading is obvioufly this : 
 That is the purpofe of this airy charm which I am 
 now commanding. But though nothing can be 
 clearer, Mr. Warburton hath puzzled himfelf fo 
 long about the feveral charms mentioned or exhi- 
 bited in this play, that he hath at laftboth confounded 
 them, and bewildered himfelf in a labyrinth of in- 
 explicable obfcurity. He firft charges the common 
 reading with ' wretched tautology.' But furely to 
 fay, ' Give me fome heavenly mufick to work, mine 
 ' end upon their fenfes; that is my purpofe in com- 
 ' mandingit,' is nootherwife tautology, than as every 
 repetition is fo ; which yet is a figure the very beft 
 writers have not difdained the ufe of, when they 
 have had it in their view to prevent miftakes, and 
 convey their meaning to the reader's mind with 
 greater clearnefs or ftronger energy. His other ob- 
 jection charges it with * as unpardonable a defect, 
 for that we are not informed what Profpero's end 
 wa?, by not being told the ftate of the fhipwrecked 
 perfons fenfes.' But furely nothing is more blind 
 than a prejudiced critick, wrapped up in the admi- 
 ration of his own conjectures. Ariel had but juft 
 b.fore, in the firft fcene of this very act, acquainted 
 Profpero very circumflantially with the flate of the 
 fenfes of thofe very perfons, in the hearing of the 
 audience : 
 
 .. The king, 
 
 His brother, and y curs, abide all three diflracled, &c m 
 
 And as to Profpero's end in commanding the hea- 
 venly mufick, he himfelf had declared it but a very 
 few lilies before : 
 
 ', releafe them, Arid; 
 
 My charms <F 11 break, their fenfes F 11 reflcrc, 
 And they foall be thernfelves. 
 
 As to Mr. Warburton's correction, I have in my 
 
 turn
 
 [ 37 1 
 
 turn two obje&icns to ir. F'irft, Fie infifls upon 
 it, that * we muft needs by this airy charm under- 
 fland the fire and cracks of fqlphurous roaring, 
 mentioned in Act I. Scene 3. and the thunder and 
 lightning in Act III. Scene 4.' that is to fay, the 
 ftorm which occafioned the fhipwreck, and the 
 fnatching their victuals from their mouths. But if 
 the poet had had thefe fcenes in view, he would 
 have faid, * my airy charms,' or, at lead, * thefe airy 
 charms;' but ' this airy charm' neceffiirily refers to 
 the immediate antecedent^ the * heavenly mufick,' 
 an airy charm he had that very inftan: commanded. 
 The other objection is to the word, fraiVd, which 
 is unknown to our language ; and if we fhould ad- 
 mit this critick's transformation of the adjective, 
 frail, into a verb, upon the authority of fome li- 
 cences of this kind which Shakefpear hath in fact 
 taken, yet, unlefs we would violate all rules of 
 analogy, it cannot fignify, as he would have ir, 
 has difordered or broken ; but muft be underftpod 
 to mean, has rendered liable to be difordered or 
 broken , fince the adjective, frail, doth not de- 
 note what is actually difordered or broken, but 
 what is brittle: and this laft knk is nothing to his 
 purpofe. 
 
 P. 77. -Til break my ftaff; 
 
 Bur ft a certain f adorn in the earth. 
 
 Again, a pretended emendation of Mr. Warbur- 
 ton's ; for in the preceding editions we read, 
 
 Bury it certain fadoms in the earth. 
 
 But we are told, c certain, in its prefent fignification, 
 
 * is predicated of a precife determined number, and 
 
 * this fenfe would make the thought flat and ridicu- 
 e lous.' I wifh this critick had given us but one in- 
 stance of this ufe of the word, certain, and then 
 
 D 3 told
 
 C 38 ] 
 
 told us the precife determined number of which it 
 was predicated. But to come clofer to the purpofe : 
 All finite difcrete quantity, or, to fpeak more 
 plainly, all multitude, is in the nature of things 
 capable of being exprefifed by fome prccife determi- 
 nate number ; but, as this precife number is for the 
 mod part unknown to us, we commonly exprefs it 
 by words of multitude of an indeterminate fignifi- 
 cation, fuch as, fome, certain, many, and the like ; 
 of which the words, certain, and fome, agree pretty 
 nearly in the:r notion, only in the former of them 
 we fcem to have fome reference to that real certainty 
 and precifion which exifrs in nature, though it be 
 unknown to us , in the latter, our notion is more 
 general, and without any fuch reference. And this 
 obfervation is fo true, that Mr. Warburton's word, 
 a certain, falls equally under it with the vulgar word 
 which he rejects. It expreffcs a number unknown 
 to us, accompanied with an obfeure hint, that that 
 number is however precifely determined in nature. 
 All therefore ihat Profpero means i% that he 
 would bury his magical ftaff fome fathoms deep in 
 earth ; but how many, he either did not think pro- 
 per to mention, or left to be determined by future 
 circumftances. I muft not conclude without ob- 
 ferving, that Mr. Warburton's exprefTion, a certain 
 fadom, which he gives us on Bale's authority, is 
 not authorized by it, but is in truth falfe Englifh. 
 A certain, or a many, figmfying a number or com- 
 pany, is always ufed r.s a fubftantive, and con- 
 ftantly followed, as it is in Bale, by the genitive 
 cafe which it governs. Mr. Warburton fhould 
 therefore have fubftituted, a certain of f adorns; but 
 a certain f adorn is a mod: manifeft and glaring 
 folecifm. 
 
 P. 71.
 
 t 39 ] 
 
 P. 77. cure thy brains 
 
 Now ufe'efs, boil' d within thy fkulll 
 
 This metaphor is not unufual with our poet. So in 
 
 Midfummer Night's Dream, p. 157. 
 
 Lovers and madmen have fetch feething brains^ 
 Such Jhaping fantafies, that apprehend 
 More than cool reafon ever comprehends. 
 
 P. 78. fo their rifing fenfes 
 
 Begin to chafe the ign'rant fumes, that mantle 
 Their clearer reafon. 
 
 Mr. Warburton interprets the word, igncrant, to 
 mean ' hurtful to reafon ;' by which interpretation 
 the poet is made to fay, with what elegance let the 
 reader judge, That the fumes which are hurtful to 
 reafon, mantle their clearer reafon. Ignorant fumes 
 are no other than fumes of ignorance. 
 
 Ibid. In a cow/lip's bell I lie : 
 
 There I couch, when owls do cry. 
 On the bat's back I do fly, 
 After fummer, merrily. 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath very fully juftified the prefent 
 reading, and removed every difficulty" Mr. Theo- 
 bald had objected to it. He feems however in the 
 warmth of controverfy to have overlooked a wrong 
 pointing, which greatly contributes to invalidate his 
 own reafening. If Ariel ' couches in the cowfip's 
 bell when the owls do cry,' it follows that he couches 
 there in winter, for that, as Mr. Warburton hath 
 fhewn, from the authority of our poet himfelf, as 
 well as from the general notoriety of the fact, is 
 the feafon when the owls do cry. How then can 
 it confidently be faid, as it is in the words next im- 
 mediately following, that he conftantly flics the ap- 
 proach of winter, by following the fummer in its 
 
 D 4 progrels
 
 C 40 J 
 
 progrefs to other climates ? I mould imagine there- 
 fore that Shakefpear pointed this paffage thus, 
 
 In a cowjlifs bell 1 lie: 
 There I couch. When owls do cry, 
 On the bat's back I do fly, 
 After fummer, merrily. 
 
 P. $6. ' where Jhould they 
 
 Find this grand 'lixir, that hath gilded 'em ? 
 
 For this alteration we are indebted to Mr. Theobald, 
 which Mr. Warburton ha r h not only adopted, but, 
 with that prefumptuous confidence which is ufual to 
 him, afilires us that fo Shakefpear wrote. lam inclin- 
 ed however to believe, that the conftant reading of 
 all the former editions, this grand liquor, is the true 
 one. 1 readily grant with trie gentleman of Grays- 
 Inn, that the poet alludes to what the chymifts call 
 their grand elixir, but as the exprefs mention of it 
 by name was by no means neceffary, it feems quite 
 improbable that he mould luggit in at theexpence, 
 either of the metre, or of aa unjuftifiable and un- 
 precedented elifion. 
 
 P, By. O, touch me not: I am net Stephana, but a cramp. 
 
 Mr. Warburton's critical geftius hath foared to fo 
 tranfeendant a pitch in his attempt towards an emen- 
 dation of this paffage, that he feems to have loft 
 fight of all his brethren both ancient and modern. 
 The very fenfible author of the Canons of Criticifm 
 hath faved me the labour of examining it, fee p. 
 140. I will or.lv add for the reader's fatisfadtion, 
 that Ariofto's Negromante, which I have read, 
 hath not the lead reiemblance to this play, either 
 in the fable, or in any other refpect whatever. As 
 to Petrucci's piece of the fame title, the very bock 
 quoted by Mr. Warburton might have informed 
 him, that it was not printed till 1642, many years 
 after Shakefpear's death.. 
 
 Mid-
 
 [ 41 ] 
 
 Midfummer-Night's Dream. 
 
 P. 93. Long wintering on a young man's revenue. 
 
 Wintering on, is a conjecture of Mr. Warburton's. 
 The c6rrtmon reading was-,- 
 
 Long withering out a young man's revenue: 
 
 an exprefiion which he confidently affures us is not 
 good Englifh, though he hath not condefcended to 
 give us his reaibns. Notwithstanding which unfup- 
 ported affertion, it may however be Shakefpear's 
 Englifh, the eriergy of whofe language not unfre- 
 quentfy foars, as we have already feen, beyond the 
 comprehenfion of the verbal critick. I muftown the 
 metaphor appears to me extremely appofite to de- 
 note the lingering confumption and decay of an 
 eftate, the owner of which is impairing it by con- 
 tinu.il drains, in confequence of his youthful prodi- 
 gality, at the fame time that the cleared part of its 
 income is intercepted bef re it comes to his hands. 
 
 P. 95. By him imprinted ; and within his power 
 To 'leve the figure , cr disfigure it. . 
 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 64, 6$. To 'leve, 
 for releve, by an initial aphasrefis, is a word un- 
 known as well to the French as the Englifh language. 
 Even to releve, in the fenfe of heightening a figure, 
 in which Mr. Warburton would introduce it in this 
 place, is not Englifh, though it be French. The 
 common reading, leave, is mod undoubtedly the 
 true one. 
 
 P. 98. Beteem them: 
 
 To teme, vacuare, exhaurire. Hinc Lincoln. To 
 teem out, iiffundere; ab Hibernico tiorrnm, exant- 
 lare. Eye's Etymolog, 
 
 P. 100.
 
 [ 42 ] 
 
 P. ioo. Her. My good Lyfander^ 
 
 Lyf. I /wear to tbee by Cupid's Jlrongeft 
 bow, &c. 
 
 Mr. Warburton feems fo little acquainted with the 
 genuine undifguifed workings of nature and the hu- 
 man paflfions, that he is unable to recognize them 
 when fairly exhibited to his view. This very paf- 
 fage affords the ftrongeft proof of his inability in 
 this refpecr, fince, in his attempt to correct it, he 
 hath, under the pretext of following nature, dif- 
 torted and mangled the fine drawing our poet had 
 given from her, by putting the greatefr. part of 
 Hermia's anfwer to the propofal of Lyfander, into 
 the mouth of the latter. Let us conHder his ob- 
 jections : c Lyfander does but juft propofe her run- 
 
 * ning away from her father at midnight, and 
 c ftraight (he is at her oaths that fhe will meet him 
 
 * at the place of rendezvous.' No doubt fuch a 
 conduct is not to be juftified according to the ftrict 
 rules of prudence. But when it is confidered, that 
 fhe is deeply in love, and a juft allowance is made 
 for the necefilty of her fituaiion, being but juft fen- 
 tenced, either to death, a vow of perpetual virgi- 
 nity, or a marriage fhe detefted, every equitable 
 reader, and I am fure the fair fex in general, will 
 be more inclined to pity than blame her. ' Net 
 ' one doubt or hefitation, not one condition of 
 ' affurance for Lyfander's conflancy.' The inti- 
 macy of their love, and their perfect confidence in 
 each others fidelity, furely rendered fuch diftruftful 
 precautions unnecefiary. The ladies, I believe, will 
 generally agree, that, if fhe could not rely on her 
 fervant's love, her fecurity would be very little bet- 
 tered by his profeffions and verbal afiurances, how- 
 ever folemnly given. ' Either fhe. was naufeoufly 
 
 * comingi' The poet fuppofes her, not only com- 
 ing, but actually come, and that each of the lovers 
 
 had
 
 [ 43 ] 
 
 had been long in the full and confcious pofieffion 
 of the other's heart ; and, in this fituation, the fame 
 behaviour would be extremely proper, which might 
 reafonably difguft: a ftranger or flight acquaintance. 
 
 * Or (he had before jilted him ; and he could not 
 
 * believe her without a thoufand oaths.' He afks 
 no oaths of her. They are the fuperfluous, but 
 tender effufion of her own heart-felt paffion. On 
 the other hand, how manifeft is the impropriety of 
 the following lines in the mouth of Lyfander? 
 
 And by that fire which burrtd the Carthage queen. 
 When the falfe Trojan under fail was feen ; 
 By all the vows that ever men have broke. 
 In number more than ever women /poke. 
 
 Would any man in his fenfes, when he is giving 
 the ftrongeft aflurances of his fidelity to his miftrefs, 
 endeavour at the fame time to defeat the purpofe, 
 and deftroy the effect of them, by exprefsly remind- 
 ing her how often her fex had been deceived and 
 ruined by trufting to fuch fecurity ? Whereas in her 
 mouth thefe expreflions have the greateft beauty. 
 She finely infinuates to her lover, that flie is not in- 
 fenfible of the hazard fhe runs from the entire con- 
 fidence fhe repofes in him-, but at the fame time 
 fhe lets him fee, that fhe loves him with a paflion 
 above being reftrained by this or any other con- 
 fideration. This excefs of tendernefs exprefleJ with 
 fo much delicacy, muft very ftrongly affec"l every 
 mind that is fulceptible or a fympathy with thole 
 generous fentiments. It is plain that Mr. Warbur- 
 ton hath fo little fenfibility of them that he doth 
 not even underftand their language ; a moft un- 
 happy fymptom of his incapacity for the part of a 
 commentator on fuch a poet as Shakefpear, whole 
 foul was full of them, and felt them in their utmoft 
 force and delicacy. 
 
 P. 102.
 
 [ 44 ] 
 
 P. 102. Emptying our bofoms of their counfels fweird -, 
 There, my Lyfander and my f elf pall meet. 
 
 It is evident, as well from the diflbnance of the 
 rhyme, as from the abfurdity and falfe grammar of 
 theefcpreffion, ' bofomsfwell'dof their counfels,' that 
 the laft Word of the firft line is corrupt. Mr. Theo- 
 bald hath by a very happy conjecture corrected this 
 wrong reading, fubftituting in its place, 
 
 Emptying our bofoms of their counfels fweet ; 
 
 that is, emptying our bofoms of thofe fecrets upon 
 which we were wont to confult each other with fo 
 fweet a fatisfaction. The poet feems to have had 
 in his eye the following paflage in Pfaim lv. 14, 
 15. " But it was even thou, my companion, my 
 " guide, and mine own familiar friend. We took 
 " fweet counfel together, and walked in the houfe of 
 " God as friends." Mr. Warburton hath given us 
 the old corrupted text, without vouchfafing fo much 
 as to mention Mr. Theobald or his emendation. 
 
 Ibid. And thence from Athens turn azvay our eyes, 
 Tofeek new friends and f range companions. 
 
 Here too the rhyme is defective, which Mr. Theo- 
 bald hath with fome probability reftored by fubfti- 
 tuting, 
 
 To feek new friends and ftranger companies. 
 See his note on the place. 
 
 P. 103. And fo go on to a point. 
 
 So Mr. Warburton enjoins us to read -, the common 
 text was, ' and fa grow on to a point ;' that is, and 
 fo by degrees proceed to fome conclufion of the 
 bufinefs in hand. It is by no means fo clear as this 
 critick pre fumes, that this reading is wrong. The 
 expreiTion feems rather to have fome propriety and 
 
 humour
 
 ['45 ] 
 
 humour in the mouth of a weaver, whofe piece is 
 continually growing on or encreafing till it is termi- 
 nated in the laft thread. 
 
 P. 104. / could pl.iy Ercles rarely, or .'a -part to 
 tear a cap in. 
 
 Mr. Warburton informs us, that ' a ranting bully 
 was called a tear- cap,* but he gives us no other au- 
 thority for it but his own bare afiertion, which by 
 this time perhaps the reader may be inclined to 
 think is no very good one. 1 fuppofe it might 
 not be unufual for a player, in the violence of his 
 rant, fometimes to tear his cap ; and, if fo, the 
 emendation may pofllbly be right. It ;s poffible too 
 that the explanation of the common reading, c a part 
 ' to tear a cat in,' given us in the Canons ofCriticifm, 
 p. 14. to wit, that it is a burlefque upon Hercules's 
 killing a lion, may be the true one, in which cafe 
 Mr. Warburton's correction is unneceffary. The 
 determination is fubmitted to the reader. 
 
 P. 109. Didft thou not k ad him glimmerings through 
 the night ? 
 
 It is not eafy to guefs at the reafon which induced 
 Mr. Warburton to corrupt the text in this place. 
 The common reading was, 
 
 Didft thou not lead him through the glimmering night. 
 
 which prefents us with an image univerfally known, 
 and readily apprehended. But to reprefent the Queen 
 of Fairies hctfelf as fupplying the place of a Jack 
 o' the lanthorn makes a mod burlefque contrail' 
 with that dignity of character with which the poet 
 hathcloathed her, and is indeed perfectly ridiculous. 
 
 Ibid. And never fince that middle fummer's ffring. 
 We mould re-eftabljfh the ancient and authentick 
 S reading.
 
 [ 4 ] 
 
 reading* c the middle fummer'sfpring,' that is, never 
 fince the fpring preceding laft Midfummcr. Mr. 
 Warburton's correction fuppofes fome certain more 
 diilant fummer to have been mentioned or referred to 
 before. But no fuch mention or reference is to be 
 found. He adds, that ' it appears to have been 
 ' fome years lince the quarrel firft began.' In the 
 preceding fcene Puck tells us, that this quarrel took 
 its rife from a changeling, whom the Queen kept 
 in her train, and would not give up to Oberon, 
 who from a motive of jealoufy had demanded him 
 of her ; but how long before this had happened is 
 no where, except in this place, faid. Mr. Warbur- 
 ton's imagination, that the following defcription of 
 the miferies of the country is copied from a paf- 
 fage in Ovid on a fimilar fubject, appears to me to 
 be without foundation, though he thinks it will 
 admit of no difpute. The appeal mud be made to 
 the reader, who, upon companion of both, will de- 
 cide according to his own judgment. And for Mr. 
 Warburton's own private fatisfaction, I would refer 
 him to the excellent Difcourfe on Poetical Imitation, 
 by his ingenious friend and admirer, Mr. Hurd. 
 
 P. no. The human mortals want their winter heried. 
 
 Heried, for the old reading, here, which is evidently 
 corrupt, is an emendation firft propofed by Mr. 
 Theobald, who however offers it with a modeft 
 hefitation, for which he is fharply reprehended by 
 Mr. Warburton, who, it may be thence prefumed, 
 had communicated it to him, and who roundly pro- 
 nounces that ' Shakefpear without queflion wrote, 
 heried, that is, according to him, praifed or cele- 
 brated.' The propriety of the word, he thinks, he 
 hath fufficiently eftablifhed by the authority of 
 Chaucer, and a quotation from Spencer's Shepherd's 
 Ca'cndar, a work in which it is notorious that poet 
 
 arte els
 
 [ 47 3 
 
 affects to employ the mod obfolete words in our 
 language. But not to difpute this point with him, i 
 would only afk, if human mortals wanted to have 
 their winter heried, why did they not hery it? This 
 furely was a thing in their power, and depended 
 merely on themfclves. It can be only anfwered, 
 that the diforder of the feafons having ruined their 
 harveft, and deftroyed their cattle, they wanted the 
 means i that empcy ftomachs were ill fuited to feftival 
 celebrations. I grant it ; and this very confedera- 
 tion plainly points out the reading which I am con- 
 vinced is the true one, and for which we are obliged 
 to Sir Thomas Hanmer, though Mr. Wat burton's 
 fpleen againtr. that gentleman prevailed on him to 
 reject it as below his notice. 
 
 The human mortals want their winter's cheer ; 
 
 after which follows very naturally, 
 
 No night is now with hymn or carol- bleft. 
 
 For I fuppofe the poor hufbandmen, when forced 
 to go without their Chriftmafs cheer, found them- 
 fclves but in an ill difpofition either to hymn or 
 to carol. 
 
 P. in. 'The fpring, the fummer, 
 
 The childing autumn, angry winter, change 
 'Their wonted liveries \ and th' amazed world, 
 By their incbafe, now knows not which is which. 
 
 The fubflantive, inchafe, is a word utterly unknown 
 to the Englifh language. If we fhould even admit 
 the word, it can fignify only the metal or ether fub- 
 ftance in which my thing is ki. What then is that 
 fubftance in which the feafons can properly be faid 
 to be fet, or inchafed ? Mr. Warburton will tell 
 you, it is their refpecYive temperature -s. But a fta- 
 jfon fet in a warm or cold temperature borders very 
 nearly upon downrght nonfenfe. It is not difficult 
 
 to
 
 [ 43 ] 
 
 to difcover by what means and in what manner this 
 critick was betrayed into fo improbable an abfurdity. 
 In plain truth, he did not underftand the common 
 reading, by their increafe ; and therefore, as his con- 
 ftant practice is in fuc'h cafes, he inftantly takes re- 
 fuge in an emendation, and his recollection not 
 fupplying him with a word for his turn from the 
 Englilh language, he has recourfe to coining*, 
 chufing rather to fay any thing than to fubmit to the 
 honeft but mortifying confeffion that he had nothing 
 to fay. If he had beftowed a little thought on the 
 propriety of his own language, or if he had even 
 recollected the pfalm he every day repeats in the 
 evening fervice of the Common Prayer, he would 
 have found that increafe fignifies product, growth ; 
 and if he had but cad his eyes on the lines imme- 
 diately preceding, he muft have feen that this is the 
 fignification of the word in the place under con- 
 fideration. The poet had been juft faying, that 
 rofes, the ufual livery of the fpring, were nipped 
 in the bud by the hoary-headed frofts, white the 
 fweet fummer-buds made their appearance in the 
 depth of winter, fo that the feafons had changed 
 their wonted liveries, and it was no longer poflible 
 to diftinguifh them one from the other by their pro- 
 duct. Sir Thomas Hanmer hath made the fame 
 miftake, and in confequence of it, hath given us for 
 an emendation, by their inverfe , which I mult own 
 I can make no fenfe of, nor conceive how things are 
 commonly known and diftinguifhed from each other 
 by their inverfe. 
 
 P. H2. Which fie , with pretty and with fwimming 
 gate, 
 
 Follying {her womb then rich with my young 
 
 fquire) 
 Would imitate \ and fail upon the 'land. 
 
 There is no fuch Englifh word as, follying ; nor 
 
 hath
 
 [ 49 ] 
 
 hath Mr. Warburton with all his endeavours been 
 able to find an authority for it. He hopes how- 
 ever to impofe on the reader by its affinity to the 
 word folyly, which he hath had the luck to light upon 
 in Maundeville. But even this refuge fails him j 
 for in his quotation it plainly means, fooli/hly, not 
 wantonly^ in the fenfe of the French word folatrer, 
 as he would perfuade us. But what fenfe can we 
 then make of the common reading, following f 
 ' Following what ? She did not follow the fhip, 
 1 whofe morion fhe imitated : for that failed on 
 c the water, fhe on the land.' Notwithstanding 
 the irrefiftible force of this reafoning, I muft own 
 myfelf (till dull enough to think the poet meant, 
 that me did follow on the land the fhip which failed 
 on the water, after it had paft the Queen and her, 
 and that fhe continued following it for fome time, 
 or perhaps till it was out of fight, and then would 
 pick up a few trifles, 
 
 and return again, 
 
 As from a voyage, rich with merchandize. 
 
 P. 114. And beard a mermaid, on a dolphin's back. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 182. 
 
 P. 115. Cupid alarm 'd. 
 
 The common reading, Cupid all arm'd, ^ doth not 
 mean (as Mr. Warburton, to make way for his own 
 correction, would perfuade us) armed cap a pied, 
 in a fuit of compleat armour, with cuirate, cuif- 
 farts, greaves and gauntelers, but ready armed, 
 with his bow and arrow in his hand, prepared for im- 
 mediate execution. The former is an appearance 
 he never makes, and which it would be riJicuious 
 to imagine, much more to impute to our poer with- 
 out rhe lealt foundation for it in his text. There is 
 therefore no iult ground for this al;tra:ion, an-l 
 
 E the
 
 ' C 50 3 
 
 the lefs, for that there appears as yet no reafon for 
 the alarm which is pretended. It may be proper to 
 add, that it is not the bufinefs of an editor to im- 
 prove upon his author, but to explain him , not to 
 father upon him every beauty his own imagination 
 may fuggeft to him, but to point out thofe which 
 he himfelf avows, and which are to be found in 
 his own editions. If we mould therefore even 
 admit Mr. Warburton's conjecture to be a finer 
 compliment to Queen Elizabeth, it would ftill be 
 wrong to attribute it to Shakefpear, who, for ought 
 appears, never thought of it. But in fact, in the 
 prefent cafe, the fpirited picturefque attitude of 
 Cupid makes more than amends for any difference 
 there may be apprehended in the compliment. 
 
 P. 116. The one VII flay , the other Jlayeth me. 
 
 There is not the leafl: foundation for imputing this 
 bloody difpofition to Demetrius. His real intemion 
 is fufficiently exprefied in the common reading, 
 
 The one Til ftay , the other ftayeth me. 
 
 4 I will arreft Lyfander, and difappoint his fcheme of 
 carrying off Hermia -, for 'tis upon the account of 
 this latter that i am wafting away the night in this 
 wood.' I believe too another inflance cannot be 
 given, wherein a lady is faid to flay her lover by 
 the flight me expreffes for him. The verb, flay, 
 always implies violence, and generally by fome kind 
 of weapon. 
 
 P. 119. Then, lor the third part of the midnight, hence. 
 
 As to this emendation of Mr. Warburton's, fee the 
 Canons of Criticifm, p. 89. Mr. Theobald's con- 
 jecture is, 
 
 Then 'fore the third pari of a minute, hence. 
 
 1 I fiiould
 
 [ 5i ] 
 I ftiould rather incline to read, 
 
 Then, in the third part of a minute \ hence. 
 
 That is, after your fong and dance ended, vanifh in 
 the third part of a minute, and leave me to my reft, 
 
 P. 119. At our queint /ports. 
 
 The common reading is* fpirits, which the feadef 
 may fee fufficiently juftined in the Canons of Cri- 
 ticifm, p. 33. 
 
 P, 121. take the fenfe, fweet+ of my conference; 
 Love takes the meaning, in love's innocence. 
 
 The common reading is, 
 
 O take the fenfc, fzveet, of my innocence ; 
 Love takes the meaning in love's conference. 
 
 Which Mr. Warburton not understanding altered 
 as we fee above. But the poet's meaning is ex- 
 tremely plain. " Do not mifunderftand me, my 
 " dear, but judge of my propofal from the expe- 
 * 4 rience you have had of the purity of my inten- 
 " tions towards you ; in a converfation of lovers, 
 ** their mutual love, and the confidence arifing from 
 " the afTurance of it, are the only proper interpre- 
 " ters of whatever happens to drop from them." 
 Let us now examine Mr. Warburton's emendation. 
 He explains it thus ; ' Judge of my meaning by the 
 ' drift of my whole fpcech, and do not pervert the 
 * fenfe of an ambiguous word to a meaning quite 
 ' foreign to the difcourfe.' If he were to be afked, 
 what the ambiguous word is that gave the occafion 
 to this apology, I doubt he would be at a lofs to 
 point it out. But he was fo wrapped up in the con- 
 templation of his own emendation, that he had ab- 
 folutely forgot the context. He is right in inter- 
 preting conference to mean, not the laft words thac 
 were fpokcn, but the whole of the converfation. 
 E 2 Now
 
 C 5* ] 
 
 Now it unfortunately happens here, that the Iaft 
 words of Lyfander are the whole of the difcourfe 
 to which the prefent difpute can have any pofiible 
 reference, and they contain no more than the bare 
 propofal, that the two lovers fhould lie down to reft 
 clofe by each other's fide, which Lyfander is on the 
 point of carrying into immediate execution, when, 
 upon Hermia's objecting to the indecency of it, he 
 juftifies himfelf in the lines now under confideration. 
 Nor is there a fyllable in the preceding conference 
 tending to abate his miftrefs's apprehenfions, or to 
 fatisfy her, that he had not the lead view of taking 
 improper advantages of her fnuation, or any confi- 
 dence fhe fhould repofe in him. The propofal is not 
 made in ambiguous terms, as Mr. Warburton would 
 reprefent it, but as clearly and as explicitly as it is 
 poffible to find words to exprefs it. It was necef- 
 fary therefore for Lyfander to remove all occafion 
 of umbrage arifing from the propofal he had juft 
 made, by recalling to his miftrefs's mind the well 
 known innocence of his paffion, and appealing to 
 her own mutual affection for a candid interpreta- 
 tion of his intention, before he proceeded to quibble 
 upon the words, as he doth in the lines immediately 
 following. 
 
 P. 122. Near to this lack love kill- cur tefie. 
 
 Mr. Theobald hath with great judgment, in my 
 opinion, expunged the word, lack-love, as a mere 
 interpolation of the players or tranferibers by way 
 of comment, which adds nothing to the fenfe, at 
 the fame time that it diforders the metre. 
 
 P. 133. Her brother's noon- tide i* tF Antipodes. 
 
 Thecommon reading, ' with th* Antipodes,' is abun- 
 dantly juftified in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 82. 
 
 P. 136.
 
 [ 53 1 
 
 P. 136. O let me kifs 
 
 This purenefs of pure white, this feal of blifs. 
 
 I can fee no objection to the common reading, 
 
 'This Princefs of pure white, this feal of blifs. 
 
 'Tis not an unufual exprefiion to call the mod ex- 
 cellent and perfect in any kind, the prince of the 
 kind. 
 
 Ibid. Can you not hate me, as 1 know you do, 
 But mufi join infolents to mock me too? 
 
 The common reading, 
 
 But you mufi join in fouls, 
 
 is undoubtedly nonfenfe; but I think Sir Thomas 
 Hanmer's conjecture, 
 
 But you mufi join in flouts, 
 
 bids the faireft for being the genuine text. The 
 alteration is much Jefs, and the exprefiion more ap- 
 pofite as well as natural, than the correction ima- 
 gined by Mr. Warburcon. 
 
 P. 139. Away, you Mthiopei 
 
 In order to compleat the metre, which is otherwife 
 lame at leaft, if not defective, perhaps we mould 
 read, 
 
 Away, you Mthiope, you ! 
 
 P. 141. You Minimus. 
 
 I am inclined to believe Mr. Theobald's conjecture, 
 ' You Minim you,' maybe the genuine reading. 
 
 P. 142. My legs are longer, though, to run away. 
 
 After this line Mr. Pope hath added the following 
 one from the firft edition , 
 
 E 3 Her.
 
 t 54 1 
 
 Her. / am amaz'd, and know not what to fay. . '- 
 
 For what reafon Mr. Warburton hath rejected it, I 
 cannot comprehend, 
 
 P. 143. EtfnUill theeaftern gate, all fiery-red, 
 
 Opening on Neptune, with far- bleffihg beams. 
 
 Thus is the text altered by Mr. Warburton, who 
 aflures us that fo ' Shakefpear without doubt wrote,' 
 rejecting the corpmon reading, ' with fair blejfed 
 beams,' and condemning the two epithets as * an in- 
 fipid unmeaning expletive.' That, fair, is a fig- 
 nifrcant and proper epithet of the fun beams, I 
 fhould have imagined no one would have difputed i 
 nor can there be any juft exception to the other, 
 blejfed, that is, whofe genial influence is univer- 
 fally acknowledged and celebrated. When the text 
 therefore is well, it is the duty of a modeft editor 
 to be conterit with it, and not to fuffer himfelf to be 
 hurried away with the rage of correcting, fo as to 
 palm upon the reader his own imaginations inftead 
 of the genuine expreffions of his author. I wonder 
 how yellow gold, in the next line, happened to efcape 
 the penetrating accuracy of our critick, fince, though 
 it is ftrictly juftifiable, yet at firft fight it is certainly 
 a much more exceptionable epithet. But 1 fuppofe 
 his ordinary magazines of old French and obfolete 
 Englifh did not readily fupply him with a conve- 
 nient word to fubftitute in its place. 
 
 P. 146. Naught Jhall go ill 
 We mould read, nought. 
 
 P. 148. Fairies, begone, and be all ways away. 
 
 The common reading was, { be always away.' For 
 lIiC prefent text we are indebted to Mr. Theobald, 
 vho explains it, ' Difperfe yourfelve?, and fcout out 
 
 ieve-
 
 [ 55 ] 
 feverally in your watch.' Mr. Warbnrton adopts 
 this emendation, but, as is frequent with him, 
 takes not the leaft notice either of Mr. Theobald, 
 or the old reading. Mr. Upton, Critic. Obferv. 
 p. 242. gives us, 
 
 Fairies* begone* and he away away. 
 
 The laft word he fuppofes added by the Queen on 
 feeing the fairies loiter. I fhould rather imagine 
 Shakefpear might have written, 
 
 Fairies , begone y and be always i' th' way. 
 
 That is, be (till ready at a call. I am the rather in- 
 clined to think ths may be the true reading, as the 
 fairies here fpoken to are evidently thofe very fai- 
 ries whom the Queen had above, p. 130. appointed 
 to attend peculiarly on her paramour. 
 
 P. 148. So doth the woodbine ', the fweet honey- fuckle, 
 Gently entwift the maple ; ivy fo 
 Enrings the barky fingers of the elm. 
 
 We are wholly obliged to Mr. Warburton for the 
 maple in this place. The ancient text was, 
 
 So doth the woodbine, the fweet honey -fuckle 
 Gently entwift ; the female ivy fo 
 Enrings the barky fingers of the elm. 
 
 But a very fmall alteration merely in the pointing, 
 to wit, a comma only after entwift, and another 
 after enrings, will render any further change ynne- 
 ceflary. For then the conftruction will be thus, 
 ' So the woodbine, the fweet honey fuckle doth gently 
 entwift the barky fingers of the elm, fo the iemale 
 ivy enrings the fame fingers.' Where the different 
 manner in which the honeyfuckle and the ivy avail 
 themfelves of the fuppcrt of the elm branches is 
 very aptly and naturally exprefied by the two dif- 
 
 E 4 ferent
 
 [ 5 3 
 
 ferent verbs, entwift, and enring % the former gently 
 and loofely twifting round them, the latter adhering 
 to them with a firicter embrace. 
 
 P. 149. The pretty jlouriefs eyes. 
 Read flcuret's, 
 
 P. 150. And blefs it to all far pofterity. 
 
 I can fee no reafon for altering the common reading, 
 
 And blefs it to all fair pojlerity. 
 
 The meaning is, e And bellow on it the blefling of a 
 fair fortune to all pofterity ;' or, to come nearer the 
 literal conft ruction, And blefs it lb that the fortunes 
 of all pofterity who fhall enjoy it may be fair.' Thus 
 by this beautiful figure the two parts or branches of 
 the blefling are united and confolidated into one 
 expreflion ; its extent, ' to all pofterity ;' -and its ob- 
 ject, ' that all that pofterity may be fair,' that b % 
 both deferving and fortunate. 
 
 Ibid. Then, my Queen, in filence fad. 
 
 See Upton's Critic. Obferv. p. 172, 175. to whom 
 Mr. Warburton would not have done amifs to have 
 acknowledged his obligations. 
 
 P. 151. The fkies, the fountains. 
 
 Mr. Warburton here modeftly offers his conjecture 
 in a note, without interpolating the text, and tells 
 us, he believes * the true reading is, mountains' I 
 agree wiih him in his belief, and think it no ordi- 
 nary reward of his model! y, that this is the firft 
 conjecture of his own on this play, that hath the 
 Jeaft probable foundation. 
 
 P f 154-
 
 [ 57 ] 
 
 f. 154* And I have found Demetrius like a GemeH> 
 Mine own, and not mine own. 
 
 This Gemell comes frelh out of Mr. Warburton's 
 mint of old French, but we may fairly return it on 
 his hands, for neither the French nor Englilh lan- 
 guage will own it ; though I am not ignorant there 
 is fuch an old French word as gemeau, which whe- 
 ther Shakefpear ever heard of may bejuftly queftion- 
 ed. Even if it mould be admitted, it hath nothing 
 to do in this place. Helena is fpeaking of the De- 
 metrius fhe had juft now found, not of what had 
 pad in the wood, where (he had good ground from 
 the preceding circumftances to doubc whether any 
 credit could be given to his profeffions. But now, 
 at laft, when fhe utters thefe words, fhe hath mod 
 certainly found him to be her own Demetrius, not 
 a twin -brother of his, whom (he might poftibly 
 miftake for him by an impofition arifing from too 
 perfect a refemblance. Her prefent hefitation there- 
 fore could not with any propriety be compared to 
 that which arifes from the near refemblance of 
 twins, but proceeded from a very different fenti- 
 ment. The common reading, 
 
 And I have found Demetrius like a jewel, 
 Mine own, and not mine own. 
 
 gives us this fentiment, which is much more natural, 
 as well as more (triking, and aflferts its own propriety. 
 ' I have found Demetrius, but I feel myfelf in the 
 " fame fituation as one who, after having long loft 
 ' a moil valuable jewel, recovers it at laft, when 
 " he lead hoped to do fo. The joy of this recovery 
 " fucceeding the defpair of ever finding it, toge- 
 " ther with the ftrange circumftances which reftored 
 91 it to his hands, make him even doubt whether it 
 " be his own or not. He can fcarcely be perfuaded 
 ** to believe his good fortune." 
 
 ?. i6p.
 
 [ 58 ] 
 
 P. 1 60. And what poor (willing) duty cannot do, .. 
 Noble refpe5i takes it in might, not merit. 
 
 The epithet, willing, is a conjecture of Mr. Theo- 
 bald, inferted to fill up the imperfect metre, and 
 bids fair for having bten the original expreflion of 
 the poet. The fenfe is, * And whatever failure 
 " there may be in the performance attempted by 
 " poor willing duty, the regard of a noble mind 
 " accepts it in proportion to the ability, not to the 
 * f real merit." 
 
 P. 164. No remedy, my lord, when walls are fo 
 wilful to rear without warning. 
 
 The common reading was, ' to hear without warn- 
 ing,' which is certainly not right. But I cannot fay 
 I am much better fatisfied with Mr. Warburton's 
 emendation, though a better doth not at prefent 
 occur to me ; unlefs perhaps the reader may be 
 pleafed to think the poet might poffibly have writ- 
 ten, e to difappear without warning-,' and in that cafe, 
 the words, without warning, muft be underftood to 
 have a reference folely to the neighbours whofe 
 dwellings the wall in queftion parted. 
 
 Ibid. Here come two noble beajls in a man and a lion. 
 
 The fenfe requires a comma after the particle, in ; 
 for the conttruction is, * Here come in two noble 
 beads.' Mr. Theobald thinks that, as the text 
 ftands, the jeft is neither compleat nor right, in or- 
 der to remedy which he would perfuade us that 
 our author very probably wrote, 
 
 A moon and a lion. 
 
 But how the jeft is either the compleater or the 
 righter by this alteration, is beyond my appre- 
 henfion. 
 
 P. 167.
 
 t 59 ] 
 
 P. 167. A moth will turn the ballance. 
 
 I believe we mould read, A w<?/* will turn the bal- 
 * lance.' 
 
 Ibid. Thefe lilly brows. 
 
 We are indebted for this correction to Mr. Theo- 
 bald, though Mr. Warburton, who adopts it, hath 
 not vouchfafed to give him the credit of it. The 
 common reading, 
 
 Tbefe lilly lips, 
 
 interrupts the rhyme, which, except in this inftance, 
 is regularly continued throughput the lamentation. 
 
 P. 168. 'The heavy gate of night. 
 
 I believe our poet wrote, ' the heavy gait? that is, 
 thetedioufneis of its progreffion. 
 
 The Two Gentlemen of Verona. 
 
 P. 181. Should cenfure thus on lovely gentlemen. 
 
 I can conceive no reafon why Mr. Warburton mould 
 alter the reading of Mr. Pope's edition, 
 
 Should cenfure thus a lovely gentleman. 
 
 which, by the anfwer, evidently appears to be the 
 true one. 
 
 Ibid. Why not on Protheus, as of all the reji? 
 
 I think the particle mould be the fame, either, cf, 
 or, on, in both places. 
 
 P. 87. With Valentine in the Emfror*s court. 
 
 I fuppofe this is a miftake of the printer, fince both 
 
 Mr.
 
 [ o ] 
 
 Mr. Pope's and Mr. Theobald's edition give us, 
 Vatentinoy as the metre requires. 
 
 P. 1 94. Oh thatjhe could /peak now like a wode woman ! 
 
 The firft folios agree it feems in the fame reading* 
 would woman, for which Mr. Pope fubftituted by a 
 very natu.al conjecture, ould weman. Launce fup- 
 pofes one of his (hoes to ftand for his mother, and, 
 to make the reprefentation more lively, withes it 
 ' could fpeak like an old woman.' It is uncertain to 
 whom the honour of the prefent reading is due, 
 whether to Mr. Theobald, or to Mr. Warburton, 
 fince both in their feveral editions have admitted and 
 recommended it, without mention of the other. 
 But this is a claim not worth the determining, fince 
 the conjecture, whofe foever it be, is certainly wrong. 
 In this paflage it is not the mother who is fpoken of, 
 but the fhoe which reprefents her, as is evident from 
 what immediately follows, " Well, I kifs her ; 
 *' why there 'tis j here's my mother's breath up and 
 " down." It is plain therefore that the expref- 
 fion, like a wode or mad woman, can have no pro- 
 priety here. 
 
 P. 20 1. Bragadifm. 
 Read bragardifm. 
 
 P. 205. fweet-fuggejling love J if I have Jinrfd, 
 Teach me, thy tempted fubjeel, to excufe it. 
 
 I can fee no objection to the common reading, 
 
 Jf thou haft /'< 
 
 The fenfe is, " If thou haft finned in fuggefting this 
 " perjury to me, teach me, thy fubject,. whom 
 " thou art actually tempting, to frame fome excufe 
 ' for it, that I may make the lefs refiftance to thy 
 
 * temptav
 
 [ 6i ] 
 
 " temptations.'' The lover himfelf had not yet 
 actually finned, but is deliberating with himfelf, 
 whether he Ihould venture on the fin in obedience 
 to the command of love, or not. 
 
 P. 213. Why, Phaeton, for thou art Merops 1 fon. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 202. 
 
 P. 217. My mafter is a kind of a knave: but 
 thafs aU one, if he be but one kind. 
 
 The common reading is, * if he be but one knave? 
 which, if Mr. Warburton had underftood, I fifp- 
 pofe he would not have altered. He is looking for 
 humour, where nothing more was intended than a 
 poor quibble, which turns upon the word, one. ' If 
 he be but one knave, then all is one.' Inftead of 
 the common acceptation of the phrafe, all is one> 
 for, it comes to the fame thing, it matters nothing, 
 the footman endeavours to be witty, by underftand- 
 ing it literally, " If my mafter be a knave, yet 
 " all is one, as long as you cannot fay, he is more 
 " than one knave." But the quibble is not worth 
 the time bellowed in explaining it. 
 
 P. 223. That may difcover fuch integrity. 
 
 Integrity feems to be ufed here for entire fubmiflion 
 and abfolute dependence on the lady's favour. 
 
 P. 225. Thru ft from the company of awful men, 
 I fhould rather think the poet wrote, * lawful men.* 
 
 Ibid. My f elf was from Verona banijh'd. 
 
 Read, baw'fied, agreeably to Mr. Pope's and Mr. 
 Theobald's editions. 
 
 P. 22.C
 
 [ 6t ] 
 
 P. 225. An heir, and neice allfd unto the Dukti 
 
 Mr. Theobald is very juftly diffatisfied with this 
 reading, and fubftitutes in its place his own very 
 probable conjecture, 
 
 An heir, and near ally y d unto the Duke. 
 
 See his note on the place. 
 
 P. 228. How now? are you fodder than you were 
 before ? 
 
 We fhould certainly read, e you are fadder than you 
 were before.' 
 
 P. 232. Madam, I pity much your grievances. 
 
 Grievances* for forrows, as appears by the line im- 
 mediately following, 
 
 Whkhy ftnce, I know, they virtuoufy are placed. 
 
 P. 233. When I took my leave of Madam Julia. 
 
 The common reading was, c of Madam Silvia. 1 Mr. 
 Warburton is very pofitive ' we mould certainly read 
 Julia, meaning the leave he took when his mafter 
 and he lefc Verona.' But it is plain from the pre- 
 ceding pages, 193 195, that he did not take his 
 leave of Julia when he left Verona. And why not 
 Silvia? whom he had juft taken leave of, after 
 having offered his dog to her as a prefent from his 
 mafter. 
 
 P. 237. The air hath Jlarv'd the rcfes in her cheeks, 
 And pitched the lilly-tinblure of her face, 
 That now floe is become as black as I. 
 
 The former editions give us, 
 
 And pinch'd the li!ly- tin dure of her face. 
 Mr. Warburton is full of his philofophy on this or-
 
 [ 63 ] 
 
 cafion. He reproaches the blundering editors,' for 
 not having feen, * that it was a tanning, fcorching, 
 
 * not a freezing air, that was fpoken of. For how 
 ' could this latter quality in the air fo affect the 
 4 whitenefs of the fkin as to turn it black ?' The 
 ladies, however, who, though they may have lefs 
 philofophy, have more experience in this matter 
 than our critick, would, if he had confulted them, 
 have informed him, that a conflant expofure of the 
 fkin to the air and weather, at all times of the year 
 as well as in the fummer, darkens the complexion. 
 Hath he never read that the people near the pole, 
 the Efquimaux, the Greenlanders, and the Samoi- 
 edes, are nearly as black as the negroes under the 
 line -, and that the extremes of cold have nearly the 
 fame effect on the colour of the fkin as thofe of heat? 
 If he is a ftranger to this fact, I would refer him, 
 as he is particularly fond of French writers, to 
 Buffon's Natural Hiftory. Our poet here afcribes 
 the change of Julia's complexion to two caufes. 
 Firfl the fun, 
 
 She- threw her fun- expelling majk away. 
 
 This caufe, which operates chiefly in fummer, by 
 fcorching and tanning, is taken notice of by Mr. 
 Warburton, who feems to have been utterly igno- 
 rant of the other, to wit, the air and wind, which 
 almoft equally tarnilh the (kin, and that at all feafons 
 of the year, by corrugating and roughening it, fo 
 as to deftroy its bloom, and give it a brown caft. 
 This however is what our poet hath principally in 
 view in this place, and elegantly exprefies by the 
 phrafe of * pinching the tincture of her face.' l But 
 
 * what is pinching a tincture ?' cries our critick. 
 Since he appears ignorant of it, I will take the li- 
 berty of telling him. It is a metonymy of the ad- 
 junct for the fubject, of the tincture itfclf for the 
 face tinctured, and amounts to the fame as if the 
 poet had faid, * her lilly-tinc~tured face* Examples
 
 [ <H ] 
 of this metonymy he may find enough in the com- 
 mon books of rhetorick. But I will fay that for our 
 critick, when once his hand is in, he doth his bu- 
 finefs effectually, and leaves no room for any one 
 to come after him. So in the prefent cafe; not 
 content with a complexion turn'd fallow only, or a 
 little brownifh, he will needs have it that it was as 
 black as pitch, though the lady herfelf fays in the 
 uery next line, that it was only as black as fhe then 
 appeared to be, which I prefume was fcarcely as 
 black even as a negroe, much lefs as black as pitch. 
 
 P. 238. I made her weep a-good. 
 that is, in good earneft. 
 
 Ibid. If I in thought felt not her very forrow, 
 
 Mr. Seward, in the preface to the late edition of 
 Beaumont and Fletcher's works, p. 29. offers us 
 reafons, which have a great deal of weight as well 
 as delicacy, to incline us to believe our poet wrote, 
 feel, in the prefenr tenfe, not felt. 
 
 P. 239. My fuhflance jhould be ftatued in thy ftead. 
 
 The authentick reading is, flattie, which is fully 
 vindicated and well explained in the Canons of Cri- 
 ticifm, p. 66. 
 
 P. 246. Milan /hall not behold thee. 
 
 The ancient reading wa<?, ' Verona fhall not hold 
 thee,' which being evidently abfurd and faulty, we 
 are obliged to Mr. Theobald for the emendation he 
 hath fubftituted in its place, and which Mr. War- 
 burtcn hath adopted, though he hath not done 
 him the juftice promifed in his preface, of carefully 
 affigning it to its proper author. But indeed the 
 inftances of his failure in this refpect are too nume- 
 rous to be always animadverted on. 
 
 6 The
 
 [ 6 5 3 
 The Merry Wives of Windfor. 
 
 P. 252. Mafter George Page, 
 
 Mr. Theobald hath reftored the true reading inftead 
 of, * Mafter Thomas Page,' the erroneous reading 
 of all the preceding editions. 
 
 P. 256. Lalten bilboe. 
 
 Mr. Theobald informs us, that latten fignifies a thin 
 plate of a compound metal called mountain copper. 
 Mr. Warburton explains it to ' be tinned plates 
 beaten out thin.' They are both miftaken. The 
 truth is, it means a thin plate of iron tinned over, 
 which is ftill known by that and no other name in 
 the weftern part of the ifland. The farcafm in- 
 tended by this cant expreflion, I fuppofe, is, That 
 Slender had neither courage nor ftrength, as a latten 
 fword hath neither edge nor fubftance. 
 
 P. 257. Upon All Hallowmas laft, a fortnight 
 afore Michaelmas. 
 
 Mr. Theobald conjectures that the poet wrote 
 Martlemas, not Michaelmas, and I think the rea- 
 fon he gives in fupport of his conjecture makes it 
 a very probable one. 
 
 P. 258. That the lips is parcel of the mind. 
 
 It is furprifing that this abfurd piece of nonfenfc 
 fhould have efcaped the animadverfion of the latter 
 editors, fince the ancient editions gave us, ' parcel 
 of the mouth, as is evident from Mr. Pope's inti- 
 mation at the bottom of his page. There can be 
 no doubt, from the mention made of the mouth in 
 
 F the,
 
 t 66 ] 
 
 the words immediately preceding, but that it is the 
 genuine text of our poet. 
 
 P. 259. I hope t upon familiarity will grow more 
 contempt. 
 
 This is an emendation of Mr. Theobald, for in all 
 the former editions we find, more content* I muft 
 however own myfelf too dull to difcover, either 
 more fait and humour, or a more reafonable caufe 
 of laughter, in the mifapplication of the proverb, 
 than in the blunder which miftakes the moft effen- 
 tial word in it. 
 
 P. 260. / keep but three men and a hoy yet. 
 See Canons of Criticifm, p. 169. 
 
 P. 2 63 . And U anjlated her out of honejly into Englifh. 
 
 That is, fays Mr. Warburton, ' into a corrupt lan- 
 guage.' But why is Engliih a corrupt language ? 
 Falftaff had juft been interpreting Mrs. Ford's beha- 
 viour into a declaration in plain Engliih ; on which 
 Piftol obferves, that he had tranflated her out of 
 honefty into a declaration, amounting to a plain 
 confeffion, in fo many Engliih words, of her lafci- 
 vioufnefs. 
 
 P. 265. Fcrgords and fullam holds. 
 
 I mould rather think the poet wrote, c ifGord and 
 Fullam holds,' and in confequence put a comma 
 only at the end of this and the next line. 
 
 Ibid. For the revolt of mien is dangerous. 
 
 This nonfenfe is fubftituted in the place of the com- 
 mon reading, which, as appears from Mr. Pope's 
 edition, was, v tor this revolt of mine is dangerous ,' 
 
 1 the
 
 t 67 1 
 
 the fenfe of which is obvious, and plainly alluded 
 to in Piftol's reply, \ Thou art the Mars of malecon- 
 tents.' Neither Mr. Theobald nor Mr. Warburton 
 have given the lead hint of this unwarrantable li- 
 berty they have taken with the text. 
 
 P. 272. TVhy, Til exhibit a hill in the parliament 
 for the pitting down of mum. 
 
 I can fee no pretext, not even the flighteft, for in- 
 troducing mum in this place. It is a German, not 
 a Flemifh liquor, and FalftafF, as is well known, 
 dealt chiefly in fack. The preceding appellation of 
 ' Flemifh drunkard' alludes to the general corpulency 
 of that people, a circumftance which in the fatyrical 
 reprefentations of it is continued to this very day. 
 Mr. Theobald's conjecture, c for the putting down 
 of fat men* is much more tolerable. But I can fee 
 no reafonable objection to the common reading, * for 
 the putting down of men* that is, for the reftrain- 
 ing the licentious impudence of men, and taking 
 them, as the vulgar phrafe is, a peg lower. But 
 the fimplicity of it feems to have difgufted Mr. 
 Warburton, whofe profufion of learning on this oc- 
 cafion is befide every other purpofe, except that of 
 throwing duft in the eyes of the reader. 
 
 P. 273. Tbefe knights will lack, and fo thou Jhouldjt 
 not alter the article of thy gentry. 
 
 Mr. Warburton's bile is not a little moved at the 
 common reading, * thefe knights will hacks * the un- 
 
 * intelligible nonfenfe of which, he fays, is hardly to 
 
 * be matched.' Yet I am much millaken if he hath 
 not overmatched it by his own emendation, efpe- 
 cially if we take his own interpretation of it too 
 into the account. It is this, ' Thefe Knights will 
 4 lack a title, that is, rifquethe punifhment of de- 
 4 gradation, rather than not make a whore of thee.' 
 
 F 2 I can
 
 t 68 ] 
 
 I can fcarce believe my own eyes, while I go over 
 the particulars of this enormous impofition on the 
 reader's underftanding. To lack, is to lack a title ; 
 to lack a title, is to rijk the punijhment of degradation ; 
 ' and fo thoujhouldjl not, is a mode of fpeech amongft 
 
 the writers of that time equivalent to, rather than 
 
 * thoufhouldfi not * a mode fo repugnant to the idiom 
 and conftruction of our language, that I will ven- 
 ture to afifert, ourcritick will never be able to pro- 
 duce a fingle inftance of it. He feems indeed to 
 have confounded and miftaken, rather than thou 
 Jhouldfl not, for */ fo be, or, in cafe, that thou. 
 Jhouldfi not, expreffions of a very different import, 
 and which by no means fuit his purpofe. But to 
 crown the whole, to alter the article of thy gentry, 
 is, to be a whore. It would be an affront to the 
 common fenfe of the reader, to wafte his time in 
 animadverting ferioufly on fuch a heap of confufion 
 and abfurdity. Let me rather try, if it be not pof- 
 fible to make fenfe of the common reading. To 
 hack, is, to cut, wound, or flafh ; and as the proper 
 employment of a Knight in that age was fighting, 
 hacking or flafhing may be imputed to them with- 
 out impropriety, as the practice of their profeflion. 
 But, as they could not be fuppofed to exercife their 
 valour on the perfons of their miftreffes, we muft 
 conclude this hacking to be intended of their repu- 
 tations. If fo the fenfe will be, " If you are fo 
 " fond of quality as to be flattered with the ad- 
 " dreffes of a Knight, your reputation will be in 
 44 danger of being wounded and mangled by his 
 ct boalting of favours, which perhaps you have 
 " never granted. You had better therefore be 
 M content with your prefent quality of a plain 
 "' gentlewoman, than be ambitious of the title of 
 " my Lady, at the expence of being pointed at as 
 tc a Knight's pa r amour." I am by no means fure 
 that 1 have hit on the poet's meaning in this very 
 
 obfeure
 
 [ 9 J 
 
 obfcure paflage, but at lead I have not interpreted 
 it into non.'enfe. 
 
 P. 274. Unlefs he knew fome ftrain in me. 
 
 We fhould read, Jlain, as it is in Mr. Pope's edi- 
 tion , I fhould have thought it to be an error of 
 the prefs, if I had not found it alfo in that of Mr. 
 Theobald. 
 
 P. 276. / have a /word, and it Jhall bite upon 
 my necejftty. 
 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 115. 
 
 P. 279. Will you go on, Heris ? 
 
 The nonfenfe of the former editions was, * Will you 
 go an heirs ?* Mr. Warburton allures us, heris is 
 an old Scotch word for mafter.* It may be fo for 
 ought I know. But as my experience hath taught 
 me fome diftruft of this gentleman's pofitive aflcr- 
 tions in matters of this nature, I muft beg leave to 
 doubt of it. Befides, this word, according to this 
 interpretation of it, is of the fingular number, and 
 yet is addrefTed, not to Ford, but to Page and 
 Shallow, as is evident from what immediately fol- 
 lows. I fee no reafon neither why, either Shake- 
 fpear, or mine hoft of the garter, fhould chufe to 
 talk old Scotch, and therefore I mould rather fup- 
 pofe our poet might have written, ' Will you go on, 
 hearts ? y an expreffion fuited to the jovial character 
 of mine hoft, and not very different in appearance 
 from the common reading, efpecially when fpelled, 
 as it anciently was, herts. Mr. Theobald's con- 
 jectures, ' Will you goon hereV or, * Will you go 
 mynheirs? carry with them, in my opinion, very 
 little probability. 
 
 F 3 P. 279.
 
 [ 7 1 
 P. 279. And fiand fo firmly on bis wife's frailty. 
 
 Mr. Warburton takes great pains to explain and 
 juftify this reading, but, in my opinion, with little 
 fuccefs. To confider his own illuftration ; if I flood 
 on a rotten bridge, and one, to warn me of my 
 danger, mould tell me I flood firmly on a rotten 
 plank, I Ihould think it very extraordinary language. 
 So if any one fhouidtell me his neighbour was a fecure 
 fool, and refted upon his wife's frailty, I ihould con- 
 clude it to be a flip of his tongue, or that he affected 
 to talk nonfenfe, Mr. Upton, Critic. Obferv. p. 1 76, 
 goes another way to work. According to him, 
 Ford was going to fay hcnejiy, but corrects him- 
 felf, and adds unexpectedly, frailly, with an em- 
 phafis. I muft own this appears to me too ftudied 
 and affected to be probable. I therefore readily 
 agree with Mr. Theobald and Sir Thomas Hanmer 
 in fubftituting/&z//y, or rather, to avoid ambiguity, 
 though the alteration be fomewhat greater, fidelity. 
 
 P. 280. 1 will retort the fum in equipage. 
 
 I fuppofe the meaning is, I will allow up whatever 
 you ihall lend me by a longer attendance on you 
 as a part of your equipage ; for that equipage was 
 ever ufed as a cant term for floien goods, wants cer- 
 tainly fome proof. 
 
 P. 281. Tour bold-bearing oaths, 
 
 The common reading was, * bo\d-beating oaths ;' 
 perhaps the poet m'ght have written, * Your bold 
 (beating oaths.' 
 
 P. 284. This pink is one of Cupitfs carriers. 
 
 A pink is properly a veflel with a fmall narrow 
 ftern, Mr. Warburton is miftaken throughout in 
 his account of it, It is not ' a veflel of the fmall craft,' 
 
 fince
 
 t 7' ] 
 fince many of them are of great burthen ; it is not 
 peculiarly a carrier,' other wife than all merchant 
 mips may be fo termed j nor is it ever fo called. 
 
 P. 284. Up with your fights. 
 
 The fights of a fhip I take to be the nettings, and 
 other fhelter on the decks and tops, which give fome 
 protection to the failors while they are fighting the 
 fliip. 
 
 P. 290. Is he dead, my Fran f ayes ? 
 
 In every other edition, I apprehend, we find, 'my 
 Francifco* Mr. Warburton ought to have inform- 
 ed the reader upon what authority he hath fubfti- 
 tuted a word, which, as it is here fpelled, is of no 
 language. 
 
 P. 292. Cry aim. 
 
 See my notes on Fletcher's Falfe One, vol. iv. p. 
 169. 
 
 P. 300. He /peaks holy-day. 
 
 That is, his converfation infpires mirth and feftivity, 
 fuch as would become a holyday. Mr. Warburton's 
 interpretation, ' he fpeaks in a high-flown, fuftian 
 ' ftile,' is quire foreign to the purpofe, as well as 
 the authorities by which he pretends to fupport it. 
 The language of Mr. Fenton, wherever he is in- 
 troduced in this play, hath not the leaft tincture of 
 that high-flown fuftian with which our critick 
 groundlefsly charges him. 
 
 P, 303. 'the tire-vailant. 
 
 Notwithftanding the profound refearches Mr. War- 
 burton hath made in the learning of head-dreffes, 
 F 4 I am
 
 t 7* ] 
 
 I am afraid he hath committed a fmall overfight in 
 this emendation, fince his explanation of it is ut- 
 terly inconfiftent with the text of our poet. He in- 
 forms us, that the tire-vailant was * fo fecurely inclofed 
 in kerchiefs, &c. that nothing could be feen above 
 the eyes or below the chin.' How then could ' the 
 right arched bent of Mrs. Ford's brow* become it, 
 as the poet allures us it did, when it could not even 
 fo much as be feen under it ? The common reading 
 was, the tire- valiant, but the old quarto, it feems, 
 reads, * the iire-vellet.* Poflibly the poet might have 
 written, ' the tire-velvet.* But this is fubmitted with 
 all due deference to Mr. Warburton's confummate 
 erudition. 
 
 P. 308. So, now uncape. 
 
 To uncape, may, for ought I know to the con- 
 trary, fignify in fox-hunters language, ' to dig out 
 the fox when he is earthed.' But it cannot fignify 
 in this place, as Mr. Warburton would perfuade 
 lis, ' take out the foul linnen under which theadul- 
 c terer lies hid.' Mr. Ford feems to have had no 
 fufpicion of the buck-balket, which had been car- 
 ried away without examination fome time before. 
 It muft mean here, difperfe and fearch for his hiding- 
 place. I think therefore Sir Thomas Hanmer's 
 emendation, uncouple, a thing ufually done when 
 the dogs are turned loofe and put to hunt, is by 
 no means improbable. 
 
 P. 3 1 1 . If opportunity and humbleji fuit 
 Cannot attain it, why then 
 
 1 think Dr. Thirlby's emendation, 
 
 If importunity and humbleft fuit, 
 
 is extremely probable. Opportunity might be of 
 
 fome
 
 t 73 3 
 
 fome advantage towards winning the good will of 
 the lady, but what it could avail with the father, 
 who might be readily and equally applied to at all 
 times, is not fo eafy to conceive. 
 
 P. 313. Ann. Alas, I bad rather be fet quick ? th* 
 earth. 
 Quick. And bowVd to death with turnips. 
 
 I can fee no reafon for giving the laft line, which 
 in the preceding editions is part of Anne's fpeech, to 
 Quickly ; nor do 1 underftand how it ridicules the 
 imprecation, as Mr. Warburton is pleafed to call it, 
 which immediately precedes it. The expreflion in- 
 deed is nor very cklicate, but it appears to be quite 
 ferious. I am fure there is nothing in it to c mock 
 the young woman's averfion to Qiiickly's matter, 
 the doctor,' for whom too this latter doth not ap- 
 pca. to intereft herfelf in the leaft. 
 
 P. 315. A bit cFs blind puppies. 
 
 The honour of this correction, which efcaped Mr. 
 Pope, is due to Mr. Theobald, though Mr. War- 
 burton hath not thought proper to give it him. 
 
 P. 3 1 7. By her invention, and Ford's wife's direction. 
 
 The common reading was, dijlratlion, and fo it 
 might ftill have been, if Mr. Warburton's wits had 
 not been in fome little diffraction when he took it into 
 his confideration. To authorize his correction, he 
 tells us, * Falftaff is here fpeaking of the part which 
 ' Ford's wife bore in an artful contrivance to deceive 
 * him.' He did not confider that Falftaff was utterly 
 ignoiant there had been any contrivance to deceive 
 him, ?nd imputes the difagreeable confequence of 
 the laft meeting, to the hurry Mrs. Ford was in on 
 
 her
 
 [ 74 3 
 
 her hufband's approach, which occafioned the mif- 
 take he fuppofed the fervants made in the direction 
 given them. 
 
 D 
 
 P. 328. 'they muft compt off. 
 
 Notwithftanding Mr. Warburton's authority, I can- 
 not eafily perfuade myfelf that, to compt off, is 
 ufed to fignify, ' to clear the reckoning ;* and if it 
 were fo ufed here, it would be quite befide the pur- 
 pofe. For, if I miftake not, the poet is in this paf- 
 fage fatyrizing the impofing difpofition of hofts or 
 inn-keepers , but fure nothing can be more reafon- 
 able than that every gueft mould pay his reckoning. 
 The old reading, come off, means, I fuppofe, in 
 our hoft's phrafc, ccme off handfjmely, that is, pay 
 exorbitantly for their entertainment. Mr. Warbur- 
 ton had but three pages before acquainted us, that 
 ' Englishmen hate long fpeeches, which hath made 
 ' our tongue abound with half fentences, and, what 
 * is more, with half words.' This obfervation will, 
 I flatter myfelf, fufficiently juftify the interpretation 
 I have given of the text. See however the Canons 
 of Criticifm, p. 72. 
 
 P. 330. With feme diffufed fong. 
 
 I take 'diffufed fong' to fignify a fong of fome length, 
 fufficient to afford leifure for all the circumftances 
 that were to follow. 
 
 P. 335. But that my admirable dexterity of wit, 
 counterfeiting the aclion of an old woman, delivered me. 
 
 Mr. Theobald very feverely reproaches the former 
 editors with want of fagacity, for not having dif- 
 covered, that the counterfeiting the action of an old 
 woman was the ready way to be fet in the flocks 
 inftead of being delivered from them, as none but 
 
 old
 
 t 75 1 
 
 old women are fufpected of being witches. He is 
 therefore very pofitive in the certainty of his cor- 
 rection, a weed woman, that is, a crazy frantick 
 woman. But Mr. Theobald mould have confidered 
 that all old women were not fufpected of being 
 witches, at the time this play was written, nor fet 
 in the ftocks as fuch ; unfortunately Sir John was 
 taken dreffed in the very cloaths of the wife woman 
 of Brainford, a generally reputed witch, and from 
 this appearance believed to be herfelf in perfon, till 
 by dexteroufly managing his difguife, he perfuaded 
 the conftable and mob that he was a quite different 
 woman, and not the witch they had taken him for, 
 and that without being himfelf detected. 
 
 P. 342. Tou cupben heirs of fixed dejliny. 
 
 The common reading was, orphan-heirs-, the epi- 
 thet orphan Mr. Warburton rejected, becaufe c Def- 
 tiny, whom they fucceeded, was yet in being.' But, 
 if (he was, I mould be glad to be informed with 
 what propriety they are called heirs, fince it is a (land- 
 ing maxim in the law, Nemo eft hceres viventis. He 
 adds by way of explanation, ' they minifter and 
 ' fucceed in f,me of the works of deitiny.' As to 
 their fuccefllon (to pafs over their miniftry) this cri- 
 tick mifleads us by an equivocal fenfe of the verb, 
 fucceed, which fignifies as well, to perform with ef- 
 fect, as, to inherit. In this latter fenfe, the only 
 one which can be applied to the word, heirs, he 
 furely will not fay that the fairies fucceed ;:eftiny, 
 which he himfelf fuppofes to exift eternally. Mr, 
 Up:on, Critic. Obferv. p. 301. obferves that the 
 Greek wo:d 'c^pfa, from which \^<potvoq is derived, 
 fignifies, dark, ob'cure ; and would [perfuade us 
 that Shakcfpear, well acquainted with this Greek 
 etymology, calls the fairies the orphan heirs of 
 deftiny, becaufe they adminifter in her works act- 
 ing
 
 [ J6 ] 
 
 ing in darknefs and obfcurity. the bare mention 
 of fuch an interpretation is a fufficient refutation of 
 it. Till fome critick of a happier imagination (hall 
 furnifh us with a better reading, I would fuppofe 
 our poet might have written, 
 
 Tou harbingers of fixed deftiny. 
 
 P. 342. Rein up the organs of her fantafy. 
 
 The common reading is, ' raife up.' But though 
 this expreflion eafily admits of an interpretation not 
 unfuitable to the occafion in which it is ufed, to wit, 
 
 * elevate her imagination above the fphere of fenfual 
 ' objects,' yet I very readily acquiefce in this emen- 
 dation of Mr. Warburton's, and believe he may 
 have given us the true reading. 
 
 P. 345. Luft is but ? tb* blood, afire. 
 
 If Shakefpear wrote thus it appears hardly con- 
 ceivable by what miftake his editors mould give us, 
 
 * a bloody fire,' which is the common reading. I can- 
 not therefore help thinking this latter came from the 
 poet. The fenfe is exactly the fame in both. The 
 only difference is in the form of the expreflion, and 
 the ufe of the adjective, bloody, to fignify, of, or, 
 in the blood? a fignification of which there are few, 
 if perhaps any, other examples to be found. 
 
 Ibid. As thoughts to blow them, higher and higher. 
 
 Read, agreeably to all the other editions, * do blow 
 them.' The miftake is certainly the printer's. 
 
 P. 348. / am not able to anfwer the Welch flannel. 
 
 I think it mould be, this Welch flannel.' Mr. War- 
 burton tells us, Shakefpear poflibly wrote, 4 Welch 
 flamen.' Undoubtedly it would have been perfectly 
 
 in
 
 [ 77 ] 
 
 in character , for I fuppofe this gentleman, byfome 
 infpiration or other, hath difcovered, that Falftaff 
 was as well acquainted with the Roman antiquities as 
 himfelf. But fee the Canons of Criticifm, p. 96. 
 
 Meafure for Meafure. 
 
 P. 356. Put that to your fufficiency, as your worth is 
 able. 
 
 I cannot underftand that by the word, fufficiency, 
 in this place is meant, as Mr. Warburton interprets 
 it, 4 authority, or delegated power ;* nor do I be- 
 lieve that it is ever ufed in that fignification. It 
 means in general abilities of every kind, and I take 
 it to comprehend on this occafion all the moral vir- 
 tues of an able governor , integrity, courage, ftea- 
 dinefs, refolution, vigilance, diligence, &c. To all 
 thefe taken together the Duke bids Efcalus add his 
 own fcience, that is, his fkill in the properties of 
 government, as that by which they were all to be 
 directed, and, as opportunities fhould arife, called 
 forth into action. As your worth is able,' means, 
 As your good underftanding and difpofition will 
 enable you to do. I think however with Mr. 
 Theobald, that it is not improbable that a line im- 
 mediately following this may have been dropped 
 by the tranferiber or the firft editor, as the old edi- 
 tions ghe us, 
 
 But that to your fufficien r y, as your worth is able. 
 
 I bid. For yen muji know, we have with fpecial roll 
 Elected him our ab fence to fupply. 
 
 The common reading is, 'with fpecial foul.' Where 
 th<: foul is put for one of its principal faculties, the 
 judgment , or, at leafl: for one of its principal ope- 
 rations, deliberation. Mr. Wai burton was there- 
 fore
 
 [ 7 ] 
 
 fore too hafty in charging this expreflion with rion- 
 fenfe. I am afraid his own emendation is much 
 more juftly liable to the fame imputation. For 
 though officers may be appointed by a roll, which 
 by the by is but an uncouth word for a patent or 
 commiflion, yet it can fcarce be faid with propriety, 
 that they are elected by a roll, this being in truth 
 the action of the mind, and not of a piece of parch- 
 ment, which can only teftify that election. Seethe 
 Canons of Criticifm, p. 29. 
 
 P. 358. We have with a prepaid and levelFd choice 
 Proceeded to you. 
 
 The ancient reading was, c leaven'd choice,* which 
 Mr. Upton, Critic. Obferv. p. 211, juftifies by tel* 
 ling us, that leaven is a four and falted dough, pre* 
 pared to ferment a whole mafs, and to give it a re- 
 lifh ; and accordingly he interprets the word in this 
 place, rightly feafoned, as they prepare leaven. It 
 were to be wifhed, that criticks, when they give us 
 the interpretation of a difficult word, would be 
 pleafed only to take the trouble to put their inter- 
 pretation in the place of the word interpreted, and 
 confider how it fuits with the fenfe of the whole paf- 
 fage. In that now under confideration, I muft con- 
 fefs, that a rightly feafoned choice, or a well re- 
 lifhed choice, convey no determinate idea, and in 
 truth no idea at all to my mind: It appears to me, 
 that Mr. Warburton's emendation, levelled choice, 
 is liable to the fame objection. He tells us that 
 
 * the allufion is to archery, when a man has fixed 
 
 * upon his object after taking good aim.' But, be- 
 fides the very juft obfervation of the author of the 
 Canons of Criticifm, p. 167. that, people generally 
 fix upon the object they would (hoot at before they 
 take aim, 1 apprehend a choice levelled at one ob- 
 ject is juft equivalent to no choice at all. If I may 
 
 have
 
 [ 79 ] 
 
 have leave to offer my own conjecture, I mould 
 fuppofe the poet might have written, 
 
 JVe have with a prepared unleaven'd choice. 
 
 where, by unleavened, I would be underftood to 
 mean, unbiaffed, uninfluenced, by any private af- 
 fection or other partiality whatever. Mr. Upton, 
 in the place above quoted, rightly informs us that 
 the expreflion is borrowed from the Scriptures, where 
 the word, leavened, is generally ufed to fignify 
 fomething corrupt and amifs, and quotes in the 
 fame fenfe a pafifage of our poet in Cymbeline, vol. 
 vii. p. 291. 
 
 P. 2,60. Lucio. In any proportion, or in any language. 
 
 If we confider the connection of the feveral parts of 
 this dialogue, and their mutual dependance on and 
 reference to each other, we mail, I imagine, be con- 
 vinced, that this reply ought to have been given to 
 the fecond gentleman, not to Lucio. 
 
 Ibid. Grace is grace, defpight of all coiitr over fie. 
 
 The meaning is, Saying grace is faying grace, in 
 all religions, whatever controverfy there may be 
 concerning their refpective truth. The quibble upon 
 the word grace does not begin till the fentence imme- 
 diately following. Mr. Warburton, with his head 
 full of theological controverfy, and by the afliftance 
 of a warm imagination, can difcover in thefe words 
 a reference to the difputes concerning the doctrine 
 of grace, which it cloth not appear the poet fo much 
 as thought of. 
 
 P. 366. A man of Jlrift ure and firm abjlinence. 
 
 The common reading is, ftriclurc, a word which 
 1 take to be one of the numerous peculiarities of 
 Shakefpear's language, and ufed for llrictnefs. Ure, 
 
 as
 
 [ So ] 
 
 as Mr. Warburton informs us, fignifies ' conduct 
 or pra&ice.' I believe not, and he ought at leaft 
 to have produced an example to prove it, which the 
 compound verb enure doth not, as the meaning ot 
 the fimple original word is frequently much altered 
 in the compound derivative. The common accepta- 
 tion of the word, ure, is the fame as that of the 
 fimilar word, ufe, only it hath generally a reference 
 to the thing ufed, rarely to the perfon ufing. In 
 Chaucer it fignifies the fame as the French word, 
 beur, fortune, luck. 
 
 P. 367. 'The needful bits and curbs for bead-ftrong 
 Jieeds, 
 Which for thefe nineteen years we have let 
 Jleep. 
 
 The three emendations, jieeds for weeds % nineteen 
 for fourteen, fleep for flip, were, I apprehend, firft 
 publimed by Mr. Theobald, though Mr. Warbur- 
 ton hath thought proper topafs by this circumftance 
 without notice. 
 
 Ibid. And yet , my nature never in the fight 
 To do in flander, 
 
 I confefs I can make no fenfe of thefe laft words. 
 Perhaps the poet wrote, 
 
 To do it flander. 
 
 That is, fo as that any one may be able to fix the 
 flander upon it. 
 
 P. 368. How I may formally in perfon bear. 
 
 Read, 'my perfon,* agreeably to Mr. Pope's edition. 
 I fuppofe it was a miftake of the printer in Mr. 
 Theobald's edition, and from thence faithfully 
 copied into that of Mr. Warburton. 
 
 P. 375-
 
 [ It ] 
 
 IP. $J5. Which at that very diftant time* 
 
 in Mr. Pope's edition it is, which at that very /- 
 ftant time,' which I fuppofe is right ; for the poet 
 through this whole dialogue places the abfurdity of 
 expreflion to the account of the conftable, not of 
 the tapfter, whofe character is that of impudent im- 
 pertinence. 
 
 . P. 378. They will draw you, mafter Froth, and 
 you will hang them. 
 
 I muft own I do not underftand the meaning of 
 this paflage. If we fuppofe the poet might have 
 written, * you will hang on them,' the fenfe will be, 
 you will be reduced to the wretched employment of 
 ferving as an underling to them for a mean lively- 
 hood. 
 
 P. 3 S3. Why, all the fouls that are, were forfeit once. 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath rejected the common reading, 
 c all the fouls that wee,' becaufe, as he tells us, it 
 is falfe divinity.' By which 1 apprehend he doth 
 not mean that what is faid is falfe, but that it doth 
 not come up to the whole of what divinity teaches 
 us on this head. He ca-not however be ignorant 
 that this is a point upon which even divines differ, 
 and which the poet in all probability did not intend 
 to decide in this place. 
 
 P. 384. And mercy then will breathe within your lips, 
 Like man new made. 
 
 Mr. Warburton rightly obferves, that * this is a fine 
 1 thought, and finely exprefied ;' yet he ieems not 
 rightly co have understood, either the thought, or 
 the expreflion. I take our poet's meaning to be 
 this , \i you allow this confideration its due weight, 
 
 G you
 
 [ 82 ] 
 
 yoo will find mercy breathing within your lips, as 
 if a new man were formed within you, fo totally 
 different will your fentiments be from thofe which 
 have the afcendant over you at prefent. 
 
 P. 385. Mojl ignorant of what he's mojl ajfur'd, 
 His glajjy effence ; 
 
 So this place mould be pointed. The latter expref- 
 fion hath fome ambiguity in it. It may either mean 
 his brittle elfence, or, his effence like a looking- 
 glafs, which exhibits the relemblance or reprefenta- 
 tion of whatever is prefented before it, as the mind, 
 by the ideas impreffed on it, exhibits a certain re- 
 femblance of all the objects which furround it. Ic 
 Js not certain which of thefe fenfes was intended by 
 the poet, though the firft fcems beft adapted to the 
 level of common apprehenfion. 
 
 P. 386. She [peaks \ and 'tis fuch fenfe, 
 That my fenfe bleeds with it. 
 
 Mr. Warburton would perfuade us, that, bleeds, is 
 
 * a very fenfible word, but, breeds, which is the 
 
 * reading of the firft folio, hath no meaning in it.' 
 The very contrary of this appears to me to be the 
 truth. It is plain from the context and the whole 
 progrefs of the play, that lfabella had moved no 
 companion in the breaft of Angelo, which indeed 
 might have been properly expreffed by the word, 
 bleeds : But fhe had excited luft there, which was 
 even then teeming with new conceptions and de- 
 figns, as is properly hinted by the word breeds. 
 
 P. 387. Prayers from preferved fouls. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 160. 
 
 P. 387.
 
 t 8 3 3 
 
 P. 387. tfab. Heav'n keep your honour fdfet 
 Ang. Amen: 
 For I am that way going to temptation^ 
 Where prayers crofs. 
 
 That is, For I am labouring under a temptatiori 
 
 * of that peculiar and uncommon kind, that 
 
 * prayers, and every other act of piety or virtue, 
 
 * tend to inflame inftead of allaying it.' For it 
 was the very piety and virtue of Ifabella that gave 
 an edge to the luft of Angelo. The long mono- 
 logue of Angelo which immediately follows efta- 
 blifhes inconteftably the juftnefs of this interpre- 
 tation. 
 
 P. 390. Oh, injurious love, 
 
 That rejpites me a life, whofe very comfort 
 Is fall a dying horror I 
 
 Mr. Warburton jufliiies this reading upon the fup- 
 pofition that Juliet was to fuffer death as well as 
 Claudio, but that * her execution had been refpited 
 4 on the account of her pregnancy, the effect and 
 4 confcquence of her love.' A fuppofition abfo- 
 lutely without foundation, and of which there is not 
 the leaft hint given in the play, which on the con- 
 trary very clearly infinuates, that her puniihmenc 
 was not to extend farther than the infamy and fome 
 confinement. I cannot therefore but concur in Sir 
 Thomas Hanmer's correction, 
 
 Oh, injurious law. 
 
 Ibid. Grown fear* d and tedious. 
 
 Sear'd, which Mr. Warburton hath fubftituted in 
 the place of the old corrupt reading, fear'd, figni- 
 fies fcorched, not old, as he is pleafed to interpret 
 it. lie fhouid have carried his correction a little 
 G 2 far-
 
 [ U ] 
 
 farther, and given us, fear, or, fere, which indeed 
 fignifies, dry, and by a metaphor, old.. We are 
 obliged to an unlucky flip of our ci kick's memory, 
 otherwifethe French word, fade, would undoubtedly 
 have found its place here. 
 
 P. 394. As Ifubfcribe not that, ncr any other, 
 But in the lojs, of qu*ftion. 
 
 I cannot difcover any fenfe in thefe laft words. I 
 would therefore offer my conjecture, that the poet 
 might poffibly have written, 
 
 But in the lift of quefion, 
 
 that is, as a mere fuppofition only, as a queftion of 
 pure curiofity which accidentally occurred, not as a 
 propofa), 
 
 P. 395. Let me intreat ycu, fveak the formal language. 
 
 The common reading was, 
 
 Speak the former language. 
 
 That is, ' Tell me, as you did at firft, that there is no 
 hope of mercy for my brother, he muft die. It would 
 give me much lefs pain to receive this fhort though 
 mofl difagreeable anfwer, than to hearken to this 
 infidious attempt upon my honour.' Mr. Warbur- 
 ton, not understanding this, would impofe upon us, 
 
 Speak the formal language. 
 
 That is, as he interprets it, ' Speak the plain direct 
 language,' which I fuppofe muft mean, tell me in 
 plain downright terms you have a mind to lie with 
 me. A propofition the 11 oft indecent in a virgin of 
 Ifabeila's character, as well as an expreffion, which 
 I will venture to fay hath never been ufed in this 
 ier.fe by any one Engiifh writer, and which noEng- 
 hfhman would ever fo underftand, 
 
 P. 3 ofi.
 
 t 85 i 
 
 P. 396. Anil ticzv I give my fenfual race thi tein^ 
 
 So this line fhould be pointed. This is a pretty 
 bold metonymy, race for racers. It is indeed fome- 
 what qualified by the epithet, fenfual, and, I fup- 
 pofe, means, And fince now I give my fenfes the rein 
 in the race they are now actually running. 
 
 P. 398. If I do lefe thee, Id) lofe a thing) 
 That none but fools would reck. 
 
 Mr. Warburton, according to the ufual cuftom of* 
 criticks, takes a great dral of pains to prove by 
 parallel examples, that the word, reck, may be ad- 
 mitted here without impropriety, which no body, I 
 preftime, doub;s. His bufmefs was to (hew, that 
 the word, keep, which is the ancient reading, can- 
 not maintain its ground without abfurdity. This 
 he attempts to do by teliing us, that this expreffion 
 conrains c a direct perfuafive to fuicide.' I muft own 
 it looks fomewhat that way, as he underftands it. 
 But, befides that there could not be the leaft danger 
 of its having that tendency in the prefent cafe, we 
 ought to treat the poet's language with great indul- 
 gence, and not hurry away immediately to an altera- 
 tion, than which nothing is more obvioufly eafy, 
 if it be pofTible by any means to reconcile it to com- 
 mon fenfe. What hinders us therefore from ac- 
 quiefcing in the interpretation cf Mr. Upton, Critc. 
 Oblerv. p. 3 1 2. ' That which none but fools would 
 * be eager or anxious about keeping, as if it were 
 ' a thing of n al wor h or value ?' The whole drift 
 and tenor of the following difcourfe anlwers exactly 
 to this explanation. It is well known that the ex- 
 preflion, to lake kepe, in our old language fignifit-s, 
 to be careful, heedful, or anxious about a thing. 
 
 G 3 l>. 39 
 

 
 t 86 ] 
 
 P. 398. ~ Thou art not noble ; 
 
 For all tb' accommodations^ that thou bear*Jl % 
 Are nursed by bafenefs. 
 
 This pafiage is perfectly well explained in the Ca- 
 nons of Criticifm, p. 133. where Mr. Warburton's 
 aftonifhing interpretation of it is at the fame time 
 clefervedly expofed. 
 
 P. 400. for falFd, thy blazed youth 
 
 Becomes affuaged, and doth beg the alms 
 Of paified eld. 
 
 For this moft incomprehenfible nonfenfe, to which 
 I might fafely defy any man to produce a parallel 
 out of Chapman, Howard, Davenant, or even the 
 well-known Hurlcthrumbo itfclf, we are obliged 
 to the critical acumen of Mr. Warburton. Who 
 e'fe could ever have imagined, that, ' to beg the 
 * alms of paified e!d,' fignified 4 to contract the in? 
 firmities cf age ?' 1 he. common reading, 
 
 for all thy bleffed youth 
 
 Becomes as aged, and doth beg the alms 
 Of paified eld. 
 
 is fully and very juflly explained in the Canons of 
 Criticifm, p. 31. 
 
 Ibid. and when thotfrt old and rich, 
 
 Thou haft neither heat, affetlicn, limb, nor bounty 
 To make thy riches pleafant. 
 
 The common reading was not bounty, but beauty. y 
 which Mr. Warburton thhks he harh effectually 
 difcarded by afking, 4 1 low does beauty make riches 
 pleafant?' But what can be more obvious than the 
 anfwer, By recommending the poffeffor to the fa- 
 vour of thofe, in whofe power it is to contribute 
 iu his pleafure ? On the other hand the critick. 
 hhnfelf cannot avoid confe fling, that the obferva- 
 
 tion.
 
 [ 87 J 
 tion, as he hath altered it, ' is not altogether jutt.* 
 For though bounty is not the peculiar virtue of old 
 age, yet every one muft be convinced by numer- 
 ous examples, that it is by no means incompatible 
 with it. 
 
 P. 401 . JVhy, as all comforts are ; moft good in deed. 
 
 The meaning is, That the comfort (he brought him 
 was in its own nature, and in reality, good and ad- 
 vantageous to him, though the words in which (he 
 was about to exprefs it would found harflri and un- 
 comfortable in his ears. What follows fufficiently 
 afcertains this interpretation : For (he immediately 
 goes on to give him notice, that he was with all 
 fpced to fet out to take poffeflion of the happinefs 
 referved in heaven. 
 
 Ibid. Therefore your beft appointment make with fpeed, 
 
 appointment here includes confefiion, communion 
 and abfolution, as Mr. Upton, Critic. Obferv. p. 
 190, rightly obierves. It fignifies in general pre- 
 paration for a journey, or for battle. 
 
 P. 402. Why give you me thisfhame? 
 
 Think you, I can a refolution fetch 
 From flov/ry tendernefs? 
 
 I cannot fee in what fenfe this pafilige, as it is now 
 pointed, can be applicable to, or confident with, 
 what immediately preceded and gave occafion to it. 
 Ifabella had been expreifing pretty ftrongly her ap- 
 prchenfions that the love ot life, or fear of death, 
 might prevail on Claudio to encourage a propofal 
 which dishonoured him. He exprefles fome indig- 
 nation at this apprehenfion, 
 
 Why gh'C you me this flame f 
 
 Q 4 and
 
 r ss 3 
 
 and begs his fifter to entertain a better opinion of 
 him in the following words, which I think, Ihould 
 be thus pointed. 
 
 Think you I can a refolution fetch 
 From flow'ry tendmiefs. 
 
 That is, I mud defire that you, on your part, will 
 do me the juftice to think, that I am able to draw 
 a refolution even from this tendernefs or my youth, 
 which is commonly found to be lefs eafily recon- 
 ciled to fo Hidden and fo harfh a fate. This inter- 
 pretation is fully confirmed by what immediately 
 follows in Ifabella's anfwer, 
 
 {*. 402. The priejlly Angela? 
 
 The damned' fl body to invejt and cover 
 In priejlly guards. 
 
 We mould undoubtedly refixre the ancient reading 
 in both places, ' the princely Angelo,' and ' in 
 * princely guards.' Nothing can be weaker, or more 
 deftitute of all foundation, than Mr. Warburton's 
 criticii'm. Angelo is reprefented as fupporting the 
 date of a prince, and the authority of govern^ 
 ment, by exceffive feverity , but there is not the lead 
 Jiint in the whole play of his affecting a fanclified 
 exteiior, or letting up for a devot< e. Priejlly guards^ 
 we are told, c means fanffity,' but how the body 
 could bejnvefteJ orcoveied with fancYity Mr. War- 
 burton hath not thought proper to explain ; for I 
 prefume he doth not imagine that he wore the 
 priedly habit, to which he could be no way en- 
 titled, as appears by his marriage afterwards, as well 
 as froii many other c ire um fiances necdlefs to enu- 
 merate. c In prince.'y guards ,' mod certainly fignifies, 
 in a habit adorn-rd as became a prince. See the 
 C^npns of Criticifm, p. Si. 
 
 V. 403.
 
 [ 9 ] 
 P. 403. Tes, he would give thee for this rank offence, 
 So to offend him JIM. 
 
 The prefent reading is a conjecture of Sir Thomas 
 Hanmer adopted by Mr. Warburton. I muft own 
 I think the vulgar text much more elegant and ex- 
 preflive. 
 
 Tes, he would give't thee, from this rank offence, 
 So to offend him JIM. 
 
 Yes, he would put it in your power, from the ad- 
 vantage this rank offence of his v^ould give you 
 over him, to go on in the commifllon of the fame 
 fin, without fear of the law, or of his authority, 
 for the future. 
 
 P. 404, And the delighted fpirit. 
 
 See this exprefiion finely illuftrated by Mr. Seward 
 in his preface to Beaumont and Fletcher, p. 68. 
 
 Ibid. Of'thofe, that lawlefs and uncertain thoughts 
 Imagine howling, 
 
 I think the more elegant expreflion would be, 
 
 Of thofe, whom lawlefs and uncertain thought 
 Imagines howling. 
 
 Mr. Pope's edition hath, uncertain thought, but then 
 it is inconfiftently joined with the verb plural, ima- 
 gine, 
 
 P. 41 1. What, is there none of Pigmalions images, 
 newly made woman, to be had 'now. 
 
 I fuppofe the meaning of this very affefted cant is, 
 Are there no frefh women, no maidenheads, to be 
 had no.v ? For Pigmalion's ftatuc newly made wo- 
 man, was certainly a pure virgin. Mr. Warburton 
 chufcs to undcrltand it, ' Are there no women come 
 
 ' out
 
 I 90 ] 
 
 * out cured from a falivation ?' With what propriety 
 is left to the reader's judgment. 
 
 P. 41 1. It's not down 1 th' lafi reign. 
 
 The common reading was, ' Is't not drown 3 d i* th' 
 
 * laft rain V For a refutation of this moft nonfenfical 
 conjecture, fee the Canons of Criticifm, p. 25. 
 where this whole paffage is well explained. 
 
 Ibid. Go, fay, I fent thee thither for debt, Pompey ; 
 or ho&j 
 
 This emendation may vie with the preceding one, 
 and it is hard to fay which is the ftrongeft proof of 
 a judgment naturally biafled towards what is wrong. 
 The old reading, ' Go, fay, I fent thee thither. 
 4 For debt, Pompey, or how ?* is fo clear, and fo 
 much in character, that it needed neither to be ex- 
 plained nor juftified. The author of the Canons of 
 Criticifm, p. 25, 26. hath however performed both 
 thofe good offices with exactnefs , except that it 
 happens, I know not how, that he falls into the 
 fame miftake with Mr. Warburton, of putting the 
 following words, 4 for being a bawd, for being a 
 ' bawd.' into the mouth of Pompey, which pro- 
 perly belong, and in the editions I have (ten are 
 given, to the conftable. 
 
 P. 412. // is too gentle a vice. 
 
 The common reading, ' It is too generals, vice,' 
 js well explained and vindicated, and Mr. Warbur- 
 ton's fophiftry fufficiently detected and expofed in 
 the Canons of Criticifm, p. 26. 
 
 P. 413. And he is a motion iinicnerail've, thai* sin* 
 fallible. 
 
 Mr. Upton, Critic, Obferv. p. 224. rejects the vul- 
 gar
 
 [ 9> 3 
 
 gar reading, l he is a motion generative, 9 which it 
 indeed nonfenfe, and fubftitutes in its place, he is 
 
 * a notion generative,' which exprefiion he thus ex- 
 plains; ' Though he hath organs of generation, yet 
 
 * he is a mere idea , all fpirit, no flelh and blood.' 
 But though notion mould be allowed to (land for an 
 idea, it can furely never fignify a fpirit ; much lefs 
 can it be admitted on his fingle authority, that the 
 word, generative, means, that which hath the or- 
 gans of generation, efpecially as from the whole 
 drift of the difcourfe it appears, that Lucio was even 
 doubtful on this very head with regard to Angelo, 
 whom he exprefly calls a little lower, an * ungenitur'd 
 ' agent.* This incongruity therefore was too palpable 
 to impofe on Mr. Warburt< n, who hath chofen to 
 admit into his text (though, as ufual, without the 
 lead acknowledgment or notice) this co-jecture of 
 Mr. Theobald, ' he is a motion ungenerative,* an ex- 
 prefiion protected by its own obfcurity, and which 
 it is impoflible to attack, becaufe it is impofiible to 
 underftand it. The true reading however is fo ex- 
 tremely obvious, that I imagine it can hardly be 
 miffed by any one, whofe eyes have nor been clouded 
 by the mift of erudition. Though I am fteadily of 
 opinion, that conjectures ought to be propofed with 
 modcfty, not obtruded with a dictatorial air, yet I 
 will venture for once to fay, that Shakefpear wrote, 
 and be has no motion generative, the meaning of which 
 needs no explanation. 
 
 P. 415. This would make mercy fwerve, and play 
 the tyrant. 
 
 The common reading was, * This would make 
 ' mercy fa-ear,' which, agreeably to a very common 
 form of exprefiion, This would make a faint fwear, 
 I Juppofe means no more than that theexcefsof the 
 provocation would get the better of the mild difpo- 
 
 fition
 
 I 9* ] 
 
 fifiort even of Mercy herfelf, and put her in a paf- 
 fion, and therefore can fee no fufficiem foundation 
 for altering the text* 
 
 P. 418. How may that likenefs, fnade in crimes i 
 Making praclice on the times, 
 Draw with idle fpiders' firings, 
 Mojl ponderous and fubftantial things! 
 
 Mr. "Wai burton acknowledges, and with good rea- 
 fon, the obfeurity of this palfage. I muft own, I 
 fern by no means fatisfied, either with the above 
 emendation, or with the interpretation he hath given 
 of it. Th: likenefs cf an angel made in crimes, to fig- 
 nify bypocrify, though he is pleafed to term it a 
 * pretty paradoxical expreffion,' appears to me to be 
 fiat nonlenfe. Nor can I readily believe our poet to 
 be fo barren of language, as to {et, made in crimes, 
 inaking practice, the one clofe by the fide of the other, 
 efpccially, as for the former of th. fe phrafes there is 
 not ihe lejft. pretext, even of propriety. But, in 
 Order to c ftablifh. the genuine reading, ic is necefiary 
 in the firft piace to lay bcfoie the leader the ancient 
 text, which Mr. Pope's edition gives us thus, 
 
 IIgzv m:iy likenefs made in crimes, 
 Making praclice en tie times, 
 To draw with idle [riders'' firings 
 Mojl pellagrous and fubftnntial things! 
 
 As the deft cl in the conftnetion difcovers this read- 
 ing to be in fome meafure -corrupt, may I aave 
 leave to offer the io'io-ving conjecture? 
 
 How may fuch likenefs trade in crimes 
 M-d.ing frailu e on the times, 
 To draw with idle fpiders 9 firv gs 
 Mojl pend'reus and fu.Lfiantiul things! 
 
 By thofc * pond'rous and fubftantial thirgs,' I ap- 
 prehend,
 
 [ 93 ] 
 
 prehend, the pcet underftands pleafure and wealth. 
 The former of thefe Angelo's hypoerify was evert 
 then dragging to its den at the expence of I label la's 
 chaftity , and it might juftly be concluded from his 
 treatment of Mariana, he would be as little fcrupU? 
 lous, when a fair opportunity offered, of gratifying 
 his appetite for the latter, 
 
 P, 419. My mirth is much difpleas 'd, but pteas'd my 
 woe. 
 
 In Mr. Pope's edition I find, 
 
 My mirth it much difpleas" d. 
 
 That i% I fuppofe, The mufick J was attending to 
 was not of a kind to difpofe me to mirth and gaiety, 
 which it rather damp'd, though it Toothed at the 
 fame time the fenfe of my misfortune. I muft own 
 I do not underftand the meaning of Mr. Warbur- 
 ton's reading. 
 
 P. 421. O place and great n^p 1 
 
 Mr. Wurburton fuppofes, ' the players removed 
 this line with the five following from their proper 
 place, at the end of the fixth Scene of the precec|r 
 ing Act, and inferted them here, in order that fome 
 time might be given to the two women to confer 
 together.' And fo far they were undoubtedly in the 
 right, that fome foliloquy of this kind was abfo-? 
 lutely nectiTary to fill up that time. No other hath 
 cone down to us from the poet, and I mud own I 
 can fee no reafonable objection, why this very pnf* 
 f'ge might not have been applied to that purpofe 
 by the poet himfelf ; or why thofe groundlefs and 
 fcan.lalous reflections on the Duke's character, which, 
 had fo very lately been thrown out in his hearing 
 by Lucio, might not very n.iturojiy recur to his 
 3 thought*
 
 t 94 1 
 
 thoughts at this time, and draw from him the corn- 
 plaint which is here fo finely exprefied. 
 
 P. 422. Dothfiourijh the deceit. 
 
 That is, takes off that deformity which is naturally 
 inherent in all deceit, and gives it a fair and com- 
 mendable countenance. So in Twelfth Night, Vol. 
 III. p. 183. 
 
 Virtue is beauty ; hut the beauteous evil 
 
 Are empty trunks, o'er-flourijhed by the Devil. 
 
 P. 424. Clown. Sir, it is a miftery t &c. 
 
 If Mr. Warburton had attended to the argument by 
 which the bawd proves his own profefllon to be a 
 miftery, he would not have been driven to take re- 
 fuge in the groundlefs fuppofition, * that part of the 
 ' dialogue had been loft or dropped.' The argu- 
 ment of the hangman is exactly fimilar to that of 
 the bawd. As the latter puts in his claim to the 
 whores, as members of his occupation, and in vir- 
 tue of their painting would enroll his own fraternity 
 in the miftery of painters, fo the former equally 
 lays claim to the thieves, as members too of his oc- 
 cupation, and in their nght endeavours to rank his 
 brethren the hangmen under the miftery of fitters 
 of apparel or taylors. The reading of the old edi- 
 tions is therefore undoubtedly right, except that the 
 laft fpeech, which makes part of the hangman's ar- 
 gument, 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, it is a miftery. 
 
 ' Clozvn. Proof. 
 
 4 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 be too big for your 
 
 thief,.
 
 [ 95 1 
 
 * thief, your thief thinks ic little enough ; fo every 
 ' true man's apparel fits your thief.' 
 
 I muft do Mr. Warburton the juftice to acknow- 
 ledge, that he hath rightly apprehended, and well 
 explained, the force of the hangman's argument. 
 
 P. 427. Were he meaVd 
 
 With that, which he cor r efts. 
 
 That is, daubed, fmeared. See the Canons of Cri- 
 ticifm, p. 202. 
 
 P. 428. FGr which the pardoner himfelf is in. 
 
 That is, ' is plunged in guilt, and obnoxious to the 
 animadverfion of the law.' 
 
 P. 429. Shave the head, and tie the heard. 
 
 Mr. Sympfon on Fletcher's Double Marriage, in vol. 
 vii. of his works, p. 191. hath reftored the true 
 reading, ' dye the beard.' 
 
 P. 430. But, by chance, nothing of what is here writ. 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath very unneceffarily interpolated 
 the adverb, here, which is not in the preceding edi- 
 tions, neither does the fenfe require it. 
 
 P. 434. Ly cold gradation and weal-balanced form. 
 
 So the editions of Mr. Theobald and Mr. Warbur- 
 ton, upon what authority, and with what meaning, 
 I own myfclf ignora- r. Mr. Pope had given us, 
 4 well- balanced form,' which I am perfuaded is the 
 genuine reading. 
 
 P. 437. Yet reafon dares her No. 
 
 That is, as Mr. Warburton interprets it, ' the cir- 
 4. * cum-
 
 1 96 ] 
 
 1 cumftances of our cafe are fuch, that fhe will he* 
 1 ver venture to contradict me : dares her to reply 
 ' No to me, whatever I fay.* But this gentleman 
 did not confider, that Angelo in the prefent cafe, was 
 the defendant, not the plaintiff; that he confe- 
 quently had no (lory to tell, which might give 
 llabel an opportunity of contradicting, or faying, 
 No, to it; and that her proper province was riot to 
 contradift, or fay No, to a ftory, which from the 
 very nature of the thing (he might be fure would 
 never be told by Angelo, but to complain, to 
 charge, and to accufe. Befides, the peculiar pro- 
 priety of the expreflion leads us to a quite different 
 meaning. The adverb, yet, implies an objection 
 made to what had been juft before faid, and figni- 
 fies the fame as, however, or, fuppofing it Jhculd 
 fo happen that, and confequently is utterly incon- 
 fiftent with Mr. Warburton's interpretation. I am 
 convinced therefore that Mr. Upton, Critic. Obferv. 
 p. 182. has, by a fmall alteration in the pointing, 
 given us the true reading and fenfe of this paffage, 
 thus, 
 
 Yet reafon dares her. No : 
 
 That is, Yet the reafon and juftice of her caufe may 
 poffibly furnifh her with boldnefs enough to fur- 
 mount even her regard for her own honour, which 
 mufl neceilarily fuffer by the difcovery. No, upon 
 better confederation, neither can this motive have 
 any influence : For how can (he hope to be believed 
 in contradiction to fo eftablifhed a character as mine ? 
 
 P. 439. He fays, to vail full purpofe. 
 
 This is the common reading, which Mr. Warbur- 
 ton defends by telling us, that, full, fignifies the 
 the fame as, beneficial , and that the meaning of the 
 whole is, ' lie fays, it is to hide a beneficial pur -
 
 [ 97 ] 
 
 * pofe.' But furely fuch Englifh is not to be found 
 in any Englifh writer. An Englifhman would at 
 kaft have faid, ' a full purpofe,' or, * fome full 
 purpofe,' or, ' his full purpofe. Befides, in truth 
 full is never ufed in the Englifh language to fignify 
 beneficial^ further than that every thing which is 
 full and compleat is in the nature of the thing, if it 
 be not in itfelf evil, better than that which is im- 
 perfect and defective. I have therefore not the leaft 
 doubt of the truth of Mr. Theobald's correction, 
 /' availful purpofe \ unlefs perhaps the reader mould, 
 with Mr. Upton, Critic. Obferv. p. 326. prefer, 
 vailful purpofe, by an aphasrefis of the firft fyllablc 
 very frequent in our language, and of which he 
 produces many fimilar inftances. 
 
 P. 443. Oh, that it were as like, as it is true ! 
 
 Ifabella wanted only to perfuade the Duke of the 
 truth of her accufation. She therefore wifhes that 
 the probability of it were equal to its real truth, 
 having then no doubt of her obtaining all the credit 
 fhe could defire. This natural fentiment could not fa- 
 tisfy Mr. Warburton, but he muft needs make a 
 quibble of it; though he hath unfortunately mis- 
 carried even in this attempt. For, like, doth not 
 fignify the fame as, feemly, as he would fain per- 
 fuade us j and, if it did, the exprefiion would be 
 ftill mere nonfenfe, fince the wifh, that Angelo's 
 crime fhould appear feemly, is a contradiction to 
 the very purpofe of her accufation. See the Canons 
 ofCriticifm, p. 144. 
 
 P. 444. Whenever he' s convented. Firft, for this woman. 
 
 This is the reading of the firft folio, which Mr. 
 Warburton upon another occafion, p. 390. fliles 
 
 * the old blundering folio i' but as the metre appi- 
 -rejntly fuflers from this reading, all the fubfequent 
 
 H edi-
 
 [ 9 ] 
 
 editions have given us, convened, a correction 
 which Mr. Warburton rejects, with a very fharp 
 reprimand to one of the editors only who has adopted 
 it, though it muft equally reach every other of 
 them, and his friend Mr. Pope among the reft. 
 He peremptorily affirms it to be nonfenfe, becaufe, 
 as, convened, fignifies cited, orfummoned, fo, con- 
 vened, fignifies, afiembled together. But doth, con- 
 vened, never fignify, cited, or fummoned ? We 
 mud fuppofe him to afiert this, otherwife his ob- 
 jection is frivolous, and his charge groundlefs. I 
 appeal now to every one but moderately converfant 
 with Englifh writers, efpecially thofe whofe fubject 
 leads them to mention the proceedings in the ec- 
 clefiailical courts, whether the verb, convene, is not 
 as frequently ufed as, convent, to fignify citing, or 
 caufing to appear. I own I cannot readily quote 
 examples of this ufe, having never had the precau- 
 tion to provide myfelf with a common-place book 
 to anfwer fuch a purpofe. I am therefore obliged 
 to have rccourfe to an authority, which I think not 
 a bad one, of Mr. Ainfworth in his Englilh Latin 
 Dictionary, who gives a double fenfe to the verb, 
 convene, one of which he renders by the Latin verbs, 
 cito, dec, which anfwer exactly to the Englifh ones 
 of citing, or caufing to appear. The obfervation 
 our critick makes on this occafion, ' that Shakefpear 
 * entirely neglected the metre of his verfe,' is fo in- 
 jurious to the character of the prince of our drama- 
 tick poets, that it ought not to be pafied over in 
 filence. He hath not indeed confined himfelf, like 
 our modern tragick poets, to metre of one kind 
 only. His is very various, and of very different 
 kinds, but it is in general regular, with very few ex- 
 ceptions, unlefs where it is interrupted by the alter- 
 native interpofition of the feveral fpeakers in the 
 dialogue-, in which cafe the incompleat verfes ought 
 to be regarded with the fame indulgence as the" 
 9 he mi-
 
 t.] 
 
 hemiftichs of Virgil ; and in this liberty he hath 
 been followed both by Otway and Dryden. 
 
 P. 445. In this PU be impartial, 
 
 Mr. Theobald hath offered very convincing, and I 
 think unanfwerable, reafons to fatisfy us that this 
 reading is corrupt", and that we ought to fubftitute 
 in its place, 
 
 In this I will be partial. 
 
 P. 455. Her worth works yours. 
 
 This is a conjecture of Sir Thomas Hanmer adopted 
 by Mr. Warburton. The conftruction of it is, * Her 
 worth works your worth,* the meaning of which is, 
 I muft confefs, much above my comprehenfion. 
 The common reading was, * Her worth worth yours/ 
 which it was obvious to reftore by the infertion of a 
 fingle letter, 'Her worth's worth yours -,' that is, You 
 can have now no pretence of refufing her for ine- 
 quality of fortune, fince fhe hath brought you no 
 lefs a dowry than your own life ; or poffibly the 
 fenfe intended might be, You can certainly have no 
 objection to her which will not recoil more ftrongiy 
 on your felf -, fhe is in all refpe&s as good and wor- 
 thy as you have fhewn your felf to be. 
 
 Ibid. / [poke it but according to the trick. 
 
 That is, 1 meant no harm, but fpoke it only in'con- 
 fequence of an ill habit I have unluckily acquired. 
 
 H 2 V O-
 
 L i*> I 
 
 VOLUME the SECOND. 
 
 Much Ado about Nothing. 
 
 P. 4. Even fo much, that joy could not Jhew it felf 
 wo deft enough, without a badge of bitternefs. 
 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 122. 
 
 Ibid. He fet up his bills here in Meffina, and chal- 
 lenged Cupid at the flight ; and my uncle's fool, read- 
 ing the challenge, fubfcrib'd for Cupid, and chal- 
 lenged him at the bird-bolt. 
 
 See Mr. Theobald's Shakefpear reftored, p. 174. 
 where thhs emendation, bird-bolt, or, bui-bolt, for 
 the nonfenfical reading of the common editions, bur- 
 bolt, is eftablifhed from parallel paflages of our poet. 
 I apprehend however Mr. Theobald is miftaken, in 
 underftanding Benedict's challenge to Cupid to have 
 been to fly with him. I imagine the flight to mean 
 the flight of ah arrow, and the purport of the chal- 
 lenge to Cupid to have been, which of the two 
 fhould throw the arrow fartheft; and accordingly 
 the fool, who took up the challenge, chofe for his 
 weapon that particular kind of arrow called the 
 bird-hit. 
 
 P. 5. So that if he have wit enough to keep him- 
 I elf from harm, let him bear it for a difference between 
 him felf and his horfe. 
 
 There is no fault to which criticks are more prone, 
 and none at the fame time wnich hath more con- 
 tributed to the fpoiling their credit with the world, 
 than their intemperate licentiouinefs in altering the 
 text of their author, upon the flightefl:, and even 
 4 upon
 
 [ ioi ] 
 
 upon no pretext. In the prefent pafTage the text 
 was, ' if he have wit enough to keep himfelf warm* 
 an expreflion merely proverbial, which fignifies no 
 more than, if he have wit enough to take care of 
 himfelf, or, if you pleafe, to keep himfelf from harm. 
 Put Mr. Warburton underflands it literally, and 
 obje&s to it by afking very ferioufly, * How this 
 would make a difference between him and his 
 6 borfe V a. queftion which deferves only to be an- 
 fwered by another, Did he ever know a horfe that 
 had wit enough to keep himfelf warm ? See the Ca- 
 nons of Criticifm, p. 98. 
 
 P. 18. Leon. Well then , go you into hell? 
 Beat. No, but to the gate ; &c. 
 
 So, I think, this paflage mould be pointed. Mr. 
 Warburton's religion is alarmed on this occafion, 
 and in the overflowing of his zeal he treats the whole 
 as ' impious nonfenfe,' which he pronounces to have 
 been i foifted in by the players,' with as pofitive an 
 aflurance, as if he himfelf had Mood by and been 
 privy to the doing it j though indeed without the 
 leafr. pretence of authority to lupport his peremptory 
 affertion. To me it appears no other than the harm- 
 lefs pleafantry of a lively girl. 
 
 P. 19. If the prince be too important. 
 
 In Mr. Pope's edition we find, importunate, which 
 I fuppofe is right. 
 
 P. 20. Pedr. Speak low, if you f peal: love. 
 
 This fpeech is quite foreign to the converfation 
 which immediately precedes between Pedro and 
 Hero. It fhould therefore undoubtedly be given to 
 Margaret, as the beginning of that which follows 
 between her and Balthazar. 
 
 H o \\ 20.
 
 C ft* ] 
 
 P. 20. And that I had my good wit out of The 
 Hundred merry Tales. 
 
 Our poet means Les Cent "Nouvelles nouvelles, pub- 
 lifhed in 1455, by Louis XI. of Prance, then 
 Dauphin, during his retreat from his father's court 
 to that of the Duke of Burgundy. 
 
 P. 2 1 . Only his gift is in devifing impaffible flanders. 
 
 I know no fuch Englifh word as> impaffible^ to fig- 
 nify what will ' pafs on no body ;' and fee no reafon 
 why we fhould not be content with the common 
 reading, impofiible flanders > -that is, fuch flanders, as 
 by their very impoflibility confute themfelves. 
 
 P. 2 2 . Therefore all hearts in love ufeyour own tongues. 
 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 17. To what is 
 there faid may be added, that the Englifh language 
 cafiiy admits the imperative in the third perfon, even 
 without the afliftance of the auxiliary, let. 
 
 Ibid^ "Beauty is a witch, 
 
 Againji wiofe charms faith melteth into blood. 
 
 That is, ' The firmnefs or folidity of faith, or fidelity 
 in frienjfhip, is, by the charms of beauty, diflblved 
 and loft in the fenfibility of conftitution.' I know 
 of no fuch old fuptrftitious opinion concerning 
 witches, that ' they turned wholefome liquors into 
 blood by their charms,' to which Mr. Warburton 
 would perfuade us this expreflion alludes. But the 
 propriety of the metaphor fully refutes fuch an ima- 
 gination. For wholefome liquors, however they 
 may be changed, are never faid to be mlted into 
 another liquor. The charms, which are here faid 
 to have this effect, upon faith, are perpetually repre- 
 fented in poetical language ;is operating in the na- 
 ture of fire. And that blood in our poet's language 
 
 fia.
 
 [ *3 I 
 fjgnifics, ' warmth of conftitution,* is evident from a 
 pafiage in this very play, p. 36. *' Wifdom and 
 
 * blood combating in (b tender a body, we have 
 
 * ten proofs to one, that blood hath the victory/ 
 
 P. 24. With fuch impaaMe conveyance upon me. 
 
 The common reading was, ' impojfible conveyance ;* 
 and the honour of this emendation is claimed both 
 by Mr. Theobald and Mr. Warburton, neither of 
 them taking the lead notice of the other. I believe 
 it may be right, but I underftand it differently from 
 both thofe gentlemen, not being fatisfied that, in 
 the terms of fencing, to pafs, fignifres the fame 
 thing as to parry. I (hould therefore apprehend the 
 fenfe to be, With fuch conveyance, that you cannot, 
 with your utmoft fpeed and caution, pafs within 
 the reach of it, without being wounded. 
 
 Ibid. She would infecl to the Nortb-ftar. . 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 173. 
 
 P. 25. / cannot indure this Lady Tongue. 
 
 In Mr. Pope's edition it is, ' I cannot endure this 
 Lady *s Tongue,' which, as a difh had been juft 
 mentioned, I fuppofe is right. 
 
 P. 26. And fome thing of that jealous complexion. 
 
 Mr. Pope's edition, which I fuppofe exhibits the 
 reading of the preceding ones, gives us, ' and lome- 
 4 thing of a jealous complexion.' 
 
 P. 30. To draw Don Pedro, and the Count Claudio, 
 alone. 
 
 Mr. Pope's, and, I fuppofe therefore, the common 
 editions give us, * to draw on Don Pedro,' which 
 1 fee no reafon for altering. 
 
 H 4 P. 33-
 
 [ io4 ] 
 
 P. 33. But that foe loves him with an imaged, af- 
 fefiion, */ is pajt the definite of thought. 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath happily explained the broken 
 conftrucYion of this pafiage ; but I think he is mif- 
 taken in his correction, by which he fubftitutes, de- 
 finite, for the common reading, infinite. His ob- 
 jection is, that c human thought cannot lure be 
 
 * called infinite with any kind of figurative pro- 
 
 * priety.' But, if we may be allowed to talk meta- 
 phyfically on fo trifling an occafion, I would ob- 
 serve, that thought may be confidered in a double 
 view, as it refpects the being in which it refide?, 
 and as it refpects the objefl which it apprehends. 
 In the former view, as it is the action of a finite 
 agent, it is undoubtedly finite , but in the latter 
 view, if it were not infinite, we could not have even 
 the conception of infinity. Thus there can be no 
 number, no magnitude, no diftance, no duration, 
 no finite perfection in any degree how great foever, 
 but we find ourfelves ftill abk to conceive a greater ; 
 nay we find ourfelves even neceffitated, from the 
 very nature of the thing, to carry our conceptions 
 further, fince otherwife the idea of infinite would be 
 abfolutely unknown to us. In this fenfe therefore 
 thought may be very properly termed infinite, as 
 we can fet no limits to its apprehenfion. And it is 
 in this very fenfe that the word is ufed in this place. 
 The affection of Beatrice is paft the comprehenfion 
 of thought, however in its own nature unlimited. 
 An hyperbolical exprefnon, for which every reader 
 will naturally and readily make the proper allow- 
 ances. See alio the Canons of Criticifm, p. 99. 
 
 P. 41. If lozv, tin ogle- zsry vilify cut. 
 
 For the aglet we are indebted to Mr. Warburton, 
 fence the ancient reading was, 'an agat? lie ad- 
 mits
 
 [ io5 ] 
 
 mtts that * this (lone was ufed by the ancients to cut 
 upon,' but then, it feems, it was c very exquifitely.* 
 Is he fure there were no bungling artificers among 
 the ancients ? If there were, it might pofiibly hap- 
 pen, that fometimes it might be cut very vilely. I 
 would add, that the modern artifts, as well as the 
 ancient, employed the agat to the fame purpofe of 
 engraving figures on it, as appears from our poet's 
 own teftimony, in Love's Labour's loft, p. 212. 
 
 His heart, like an agat, with your print imprcjfed', 
 
 for fo this paflage ought to be pointed. See alio 
 Mr. Warburton's own note on the iecond part of 
 Henry IV. vol. iv. p. 213. Where the poet ufes 
 this very appellation of an agat, to denote a little 
 man. * But what likenefs between a little man and 
 ' an agat ?' Only the very Gme there is between a 
 little man and a figure in miniature cut on the agat. 
 The fize of the ftone, generally ufed for feals, and 
 fuch other little ornaments, would not admit a figure 
 which was not extremely fmall. But let me afk in 
 return, What refemblance between a little man and 
 the tagg of a point ? Why, our critick tells us, 
 thefe were commonly in the fhape of .little images, 
 ' or at lead had a head cut at the extremity.' Allow- 
 ing this to be true, I can fee no advantage, in point 
 of refemblance to a little man, the image on the 
 aglet hath beyond the image on the agat. But how 
 doth he prove this ? He quotes an inftance from 
 Mazeray, that once, H-nry III. of France, on 
 the occafion of a certain Lady's death, wore 
 death's heads on his tnggs. But how doth he know 
 thofe death's heads were cut on them ? As far as we 
 can judge, at fo great a diftance of time, in a mat- 
 ter of iuch profound and important erudition, I 
 fhould thi,.k it more likely they were (lamped upon 
 them. 
 
 P- 45-
 
 [ io* J 
 
 P. 45. She Jhall be burfd with her face upwards, 
 
 Mr. Theobald afks, * What is there any ways par- 
 ticular in this ? Are not all men and women buried 
 fo ?' He therefore would perfuade us the poet wrote, 
 
 She Jhall he buried with her heels upwards. 
 
 But he quite miftakes the fcope of the poet, who 
 prepares the reader to expect fomewhat uncommon 
 or extraordinary ; and the humour confifts in the 
 difappointment of that expectation, as at the end of 
 Jago's Poetry in Othello, vol. viii. p. 310. 
 
 She was a wight, (if ever fuch wight were) 
 To fuckle fools, and chronicle ftnall beer. 
 
 P. 47. And for your writing and reading, let that 
 appear when there is more need of fuch vanity. 
 
 "We may thank Mr. Warburton for this mod faga- 
 rious emendation, but the old reading, ' when there 
 * as no need of fuch vanity,' is certainly the true 
 one, as being perfectly well adapted to the humour 
 of Dogbery's character reprefented through the reft 
 x>f the play. See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 1 8. 
 
 P. 5 1 . In the reachy painting. 
 
 That is, ' in the painting ftained and fmutty with 
 fmoke, or fome other vapour.' Reechy, is from the 
 verb, reek, to emit a vapour. I am not able to 
 guefs what led Mr. Pope to think it fignified, va- 
 luable. 
 
 Ibid. Like the Jhaven Hercules in the fmirch 
 worm-eaten tapejlry, where his codpiece feems as maffe 
 as his club. 
 
 Mr. Warburton informs us, that ' by the floaven 
 1 Hercules is meant Samfon, the ufual iubject of 
 
 'old
 
 t ">7 1 
 
 * old tapeftry j' and takes this occafion to run out 
 into a rong encomium on the retenue, as he calls 
 it, of Shakefpear, and of the influence which a 
 fenfe of religion had on his writings, by retrain- 
 ing that licentroufnefs he was naturally inclined to: 
 Our cricick's zeal is undoubtedly very commend- 
 able; it happens only a little unfortunately, that it 
 is exerted on the prefent occafion quite befide the 
 purpofe. For this fame ' fhaven Hercules' is mod 
 certainly no other than the Grecian Hercules him- 
 feif, when he was fhaven, and drelTed like a wo- 
 man, and fct to work at the diftaff by his Lydian 
 miftrefs Omphale. One would have imagined Mr. 
 Warburton fhould have known him by his club, 
 which is mentioned in the fame fentence. See alfo 
 the Canons of Criticifm, p. 123. 
 
 P. 60. Out on thy feeming ! I will write again fl it. 
 
 Mr. WarBurton's propofed correction, ' I will rate 
 * againft it,' is fufficiently expofed and refuted in 
 the Canons of Criticifm, p. 14. But what fenfe can 
 we make of the common reading ? Write ? c what ? 
 
 * a libel ? No, not quite that ; but I take the 
 meaning to be this, In oppofition to thy feeming 
 innocence, I will teftify and avouch under my hand 
 the truth exprefled in the five lines which immedi- 
 ately follow, and to which the reader is referred. 
 
 P. 6 1 . Who hath, indeed, like an illiberal 'villain. 
 The common and true reading was, 
 
 Mod like a liberal villain. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 18. 
 
 p. 62. Griev'd I, 1 had but one? 
 
 Chid I for that at frugal nature's 'fraine ? 
 
 This ill-coined and then clipped word, 'fraine, is 
 
 not
 
 t 108 ] 
 not to be imputed to Shakefpear. Every reader 
 will know it at firft fight to be the abortive iffue of 
 Mr. Warburton's criticifm. The common reading, 
 matures frame, is well explained and vindicated in 
 the Canons of Criticifm, p. $%, 197. 
 
 P. 63. But mine, as mine I lov'd, as mine I prais*d, 
 As mine that I was proud on. 
 
 This nonfenfe is Mr. Warburton's. It will not, but 
 in defpite of all grammatical conftruction, bear even 
 the interpretation which he himfelf gives of it, with 
 which the particle, that, in the fecond line is ut- 
 terly inconfiftent, as it points out at the fame time 
 the true conftruftion of the common reading, 
 
 But mine, and mine I lov'd, and mine I prais'd, 
 And mine that I was proud on, 
 
 fo clearly and ftrongly, that it is aftonifhing how it 
 could have efcaped him. See the Canons ofCri^ 
 ticifm, p. 18. 
 
 P. 64. Truft not my reading, nor my obfervations, 
 Which with experimental feal do warrant 
 The tenour of my book: 
 
 We may reafonably afk, What book ? To which 
 queftion as no reafonable anfvver can be given, I 
 think it is evident that our poet wrote, 
 
 'The tenour of my books. 
 
 P. 69. And men are only turtfd into tongue, and 
 trim Gnes too. 
 
 I apprehend we ought rather to read, tongues. 
 
 P. 73. And forrow waive ; cry, hem! when he f/jould 
 groan. 
 
 This is an emendation of Sir Thomas Hanmerr., 
 
 adopted
 
 t 109 -] 
 
 adopted by Mr. Warbufton. I muft own it ap- 
 pears to me flat and unnatural. . The reading of 
 the old editions was, 
 
 And forrow wagge ; 
 
 from which I am inclined to think it not improbable 
 our poet wrote, 
 
 And forrovving cry, hem! when he Jbould groan. 
 
 The participle, farrowing, fignifies, while he is un- 
 der the a&ual influence of his forrow, as in the fol- 
 lowing line, 
 
 'Patch grief with proverbs j make misfortune drunk. 
 
 For if the man doth not himfelf feel the grief, Leo- 
 nato, juft below, acknowledges it to be eafy for him 
 to adminifter comfort and counfel : 
 
 -for, brother, men 
 
 Can counfel, and give comfort to that grief 
 Which they themf elves not feel-, but tajling it, 
 Their counfel turns to paffwn. 
 
 And to the fame purpofe a little lower, 
 
 1 V/'j all mens office to fpeak patience 
 
 To thofe, that "during under the load of forrow ; 
 But no marts virtue, nor fuffciency, 
 To be fo moral, when he ihall endure 
 The like himfelf. 
 
 Mr. Theobald, from the fame reading of the old 
 editions, conjectures the true one to have been, 
 
 And forrow wage ; cry, hem I when he fiould groan ; 
 
 which he interprets to mean, l combat with, or 
 ' drive againft, forrow ,' but this expreflion is cer- 
 tainly not Rngliih, nor can it be fupportcd by the 
 authority of any one Englifh writer, much lefs by that 
 
 of
 
 [ no ] 
 
 of our poet, though Mr. Theobald would perfuade 
 us it is not unfrequent with him. 
 
 P. 77. Gentlemen both, we will not wrack your patience* 
 
 That is, according to the interpretation of Mr. War- 
 burton, to whom the honour of this correction is 
 due, c we will not deftroy your patience by tanta- 
 * lizing you.' Even this is but an uncouth expref- 
 fion ; but I am afraid that which he hath given us 
 for the text is worfe, for it is not Englifh. Patience 
 may properly enough be faid to be wracked, or to 
 fuffer fhipwreck, but I believe there is not a (ingle 
 inftance in our language, where one man is. faid to 
 wrack the patience, or any other difpofition, of an- 
 other. The common reading, 
 
 We will not wake your patience, 
 
 will, I think, very well exprefs a fentiment very 
 properly adapted to the occafion ; We hope, gentle- 
 men, you bear your calamity with patience ; but, 
 be this as it will, we will not on our parts awaken 
 it into anger by further provocation. If this doth 
 not fatisfy the reader, I fuppofe however he would 
 rather read, 
 
 We will not rack your patience. 
 
 That is, We will not Jlrain it by prolonging this al- 
 tercation. 
 
 P. 92. I would not deny you. 
 
 This expreflion is the exar, counterpart to that of 
 Benedick juft preceding ; * Come, I will have thee-,' 
 which eftablifhes the truth of this reading, a point 
 which the obfeure and intricate reafoning of Mr. 
 Warburton can fcarce make out. 
 
 The
 
 [ III ] 
 
 The Merchant of Venice. 
 
 P. 97. Argofies. 
 
 Mr. Pope was mifta-ken in imagining the word, 
 Argofie, to fignify ' a (hip from Argo.* This laft is 
 an inland town of the Morea, and confequently 
 could have no (hipping. In the primary fignifica- 
 tion of the word, it denoted a (hip of Ragufa ; 
 and as that city was in the middle ages famous for 
 its trade, and extenfive navigation, and particularly 
 for building merchant (hips of the largeft fize, every 
 very large merchant veffel came to be called an 
 Argofie. Hence too Ragozine, for Ragufain, the 
 name of the pirate in Meafure for Meafure. 
 
 P. 99. Now by two-headed Janus. 
 Sec the Canons of Criticifm, p. 1 84. 
 
 P. 102. / owe yen much, and, like a witlefs youth, 
 That which I owe is loft. 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath altered this paffage for want 
 of underftanding it. The common reading was, 
 
 And, like a wilful youth. 
 
 That is, It hath happened to me, as it generally doth 
 to a wilful youth ; I have fquandered away what I 
 am now a debtor for. But Mr. Warburton urges, 
 ' He had juft before promifed, that, what followed, 
 ' mould be pure innocence. Now wilfulnefs is not 
 ' quite fo pure.' Would any reafonable man have 
 imagined, that the intention of this promife was to 
 reftrain the promifer from all mention of the follies 
 of his youth, when he was at the fame time to pro- 
 pofe a fcheme to retrieve the unhappy confluences 
 of them? The promife therefore could relate only 
 
 to
 
 [ Ul ] 
 
 to the new propofal, which immediately follows 
 this preamble. Befides, to talk with Mr. Warbur- 
 ton in his own way, the very Hate of the cafe which 
 precedes the propofal, the owing much when he 
 4 had nothing to pay,* that is, the extravagance of 
 making a figure at the expence of his creditors, is 
 undoubtedly as great a breach on the purity of in- 
 nocence, as the wilfulnefs of youth, which is not 
 always inconfiftent with ir, at leaft is always ad- 
 mitted as fome excufe for wrong conduct. 
 
 P. in. 0, what a goodly out fide s falfehood hath ! 
 
 The common reading was, 
 
 O, what a goodly outfide falfehood hath ! 
 
 Thefc words mud be underftood as fpoken in an 
 ironical contemptuous manner, by which they are 
 peculiarly applied and confined to the inftance which 
 had juft then preferred itfelf to obfervation. They 
 are not intended to exprefs a general maxim, which 
 holds univerfally ; fo that Mr. Warburton's objec- 
 tion, that * it is not true that falfehood hath always 
 
 * a goodly outfide,' is befide the purpofe. Still more 
 fo is his other objection, that ' this doth not take 
 ' in the force of the fpeaker's fentiment, who would 
 
 * obferve, that that falfehood which quotes Scrip- 
 ' ture for its purpofe hath a goodly outfide ;' fince 
 this is the very circumftance which gave occafion to 
 this farcafm, arid is particularly alluded to in it. 
 The difagreeable hifling of Mr. Warburton's read- 
 ing, which betrays, either great infenfibility, or at 
 lealt great indelicacy, of ear, is another ftrong rea- 
 iun againft our admitting it. See the Introduction 
 to the Canons oi" Criticifm, p. 28. 
 
 P. 113. See to my bcufe, left in the f eerie fs guard. 
 
 The common reading was, fearful guard, an epi- 
 thet
 
 t 113 ] 
 
 thet which fignifies as well, what ives juft occafion 
 for fear, as what is ape to tear. So in our author's 
 Tempefi, p. 28. 
 
 He's gentle, and not fearful. 
 and in the Fir ft Part of Henry IV. vol. iv. p. 163. 
 
 A mighty and a fearful head they are. 
 
 Mr. Warburton fecms to have been ignorant of this 
 twofold fenfe of the word, fearful, and therefore 
 corrupted the text under the pretence of amending 
 it, which is an expedient always ready at the cri- 
 tick's hand. But I believe it will be difficult for 
 him to prove by the authority of any one good Eng- 
 li(h writer, that, fearlefs, is ever ufed to fignify, 
 negligent. S;e the Canons of Criticifm, p. 19. 
 
 P. 118. Dobbin my t\\i\\-ho'-'fe. 
 
 For this correction, which Mr. Warburton afllimes 
 to himfelf, we are indebted to Mr. Theobald's 
 Shakefpear reftorcd, p. 165. 
 
 P. 120. Thou fpealCfi it well. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 51. 
 
 Ibid. If any man in Italy have a fairer table, 
 which doth * * * offer to fivear upon a book, I Jhall 
 have good fortune. 
 
 Mr. Warburton not underftanding part of this pai- 
 fage, nor readily apprehending that the fentence is 
 abruptly broken off, without an explicit conciufion, 
 a practice not unfrequent wi:h Shakefpear, as our 
 critick himfelf el few here (Much Ado about Nothing, 
 p. 33. note 5.) acknowledges, is plealed to trea: 
 the whole as nonfenfe. He is therefore obliged to 
 have recourfc to a fuppofition (the. ufuai refuge of 
 
 I his
 
 [ H4 ] 
 
 his brethren the criticks in the like cafe; that a line 
 hath been loft in the tranfcribing, which he iupplies 
 by afterifks, and proceeds to give us, if not the very 
 words, at leaft the fenfe of it. But I think we have 
 no occafion for it, and that confidering the hu- 
 mourous and fantastical language in which the poet 
 hath dreffed the character of Launcelot, the place 
 will very well bear the following interpretation. ' If 
 4 any man in Italy have a fairer table, which pro- 
 ' nounces that I fhall have good fortune, with as 
 
 * much atTurance as if it was ready to fwear it upon 
 ' a book ' Here the fentence breaks off, and 
 we mu ft fupply, ' I am miftaken,' or fome other ex- 
 preflion of the like import. Mr. Theobald had 
 not the leaft conception of the meaning of this paf- 
 fage, and therefore hath put us off with a piece of 
 incomprehenfible nonfenfe. 
 
 P. 123. We have not /poke us yet of torch-bearers. 
 
 I have no objections to this reading if it be war- 
 ranted by the authority of the elder editions. Spoke 
 us, if put for, befpoke us, that is, provided our- 
 felves. However, Mr. Pope's edition gives us 
 
 We have not [poke as yet of torch-bearers. 
 
 P. 126. O, ten times f after Venus' widgeons fly 
 
 'To fcal levels bonds new made, than they are 
 
 wont 
 To keep obliged faith unforfeited! 
 
 The common reading was, ' Venus'' pigeons'. To 
 this Mr. Warburton objects, * That it is a very odd 
 
 * image, of Venus's pigeons flying to feal the bonds 
 
 * of love ;' though, he fays, c the fenfe is obvious, and 
 c that he knows the refpect due to the afore faid 
 
 * pigeons.' However he will needs have it that a 
 
 * -joke was certainly intendtd,' and, to make it out. 
 
 infor.rs
 
 [ "5 ] 
 
 informs us, that ' the widgeon is one fpecies of 
 ' pigeons, and Hkewife fignifies a filly fellow : and 
 
 * in this ambiguity of fignification, he afilires us the 
 'joke confifts, and that it is in high humour.* Now 
 I have put all this together, I muft confefs it ap- 
 pears to me fome of the moil unaccountably ftrange 
 fluff I ever met with. Our critick doth not fee, 
 what one would imagine even the dulleft reader muft 
 fee, that it is not the pigeons who are underftood. 
 
 * to feal the bonds of love,' any more than l to keep 
 ' obliged faith unforfeited ;' but that it is Venus 
 herfelf (who is drawn by them, and regulates their 
 flight according to her own good pleafure) who is 
 fuppofed to be afliftanc in both. It is plain there- 
 fore that he mifunderftood the fenfe of the paflage, 
 and that to him at leaft it was not obvious, though 
 I believe there are few readers to whom it would not 
 be fo. As to a ' widgeon being one fpecies of 
 
 * pigeons,' this is a point of natural hiflory utterly 
 unknown to the weftern part at leaft of this ifland, 
 where a widgeon is univerfally ufed to denote a par- 
 ticular fpecies of water-towl, of a middle fize be- 
 tween a duck and a teal. It is reckoned a filly bird, 
 perhaps from the eafe with which it is fnared, and 
 the name metaphorically applied to fignify * a filly 
 fellow ;' but then, as it is no way connected with 
 Venus, it can have no place here. But granting our 
 critick every thing he can afk, what do we get I y 
 it ? Why, we have an infipid conundrum fathered 
 upon Shakefpear, at the expence of a moil elegant 
 image of his own, which is quite defaced by it. 
 
 P. 132. Tet do no 7 fuddeny, for it may grieve him., 
 I am inclined to believe Shakcfpear wrcte, 
 Tet do't not fuddenly. 
 
 I 2 P. 12?.
 
 [ u6 ] 
 
 P. 133. Let it net enter in your mind of love. 
 
 There ought ro have been a comma after the word, 
 mind, for the fenfe is, Let me intreat you by our mu- 
 tual love, that you take not the leaft thought of it. 
 
 Ibid. And quicken his embraced heavinefs. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 66. 
 
 P. 135. how much honour 
 
 Pickt from the chaff and ruin of ihe times, 
 'To be new -vanned ? 
 
 The common reading was, ' new varnijfrd,' which 
 Mr. Warburton rejects, in order to avoid a confu- 
 fion and mixture of metaphors. But in truth the 
 confufion was introduced before, by adding the 
 word, ruins, to the chaff, and it is to the former of 
 thefe words that the epithet, c new varnijtfd* is 
 adapted. Mr. Warburton's conjecture is abun- 
 dantly refuted in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 84. 
 
 P. 137. Let me fay Amen betimes, left the devil 
 crofs thy prayer. 
 
 The former editions gave us, my prayer. But Mr. 
 Warburton tells us 4 the prayer was Salanio's, and 
 ' therefore we muft read, thy prayer* It is fomewhat 
 wonderful this reverend gentleman fhould not have 
 recollected, that the people pray as wei! as the pried, 
 though the latter only pronounces the words, which 
 the people make their own by faying Amen to them. 
 It is after this neediefs to add, that the Devil in the 
 fbape of a Jew could not crofs Salanio's prayer, 
 which, as far as it was fingly his, was already ended. 
 
 P. 138. A bankrupt, fcr a prodigal. 
 
 See the common reading, ' A bankrupt, a prodigal/ 
 fully vindicated in the Canons of Criticifm, p. S3. 
 
 5 P. 139-
 
 r "7 3 
 
 P. 139. HeaPd by the fame means '. 
 
 Mr. Warburton is inclined to believe that Shake- 
 fpear wrote, medicines. It is poflible he might. In 
 the mean time, the word m the text is full as pro- 
 per, more comprehenfive, as it includes all opera- 
 tions too, and, being fuppoited by the authority of 
 the feveral editions, bids fai.elt for being the ge- 
 nuine. 
 
 P. 142. And fo though yours \ not yours, prove it fo, 
 Let fortune go to bed for it. Not I. 
 
 Mr. Warburton by wrong pointing this pafiage hath 
 puzzled the fenfe of it ; which is fufficiehtly clear if 
 we follow Mr. Pope's edition. 
 
 And fo though yours, not yours ; prove it fo, 
 Let fortune go to hell for it, not L 
 
 The meaning is, " If the worft I fear mould hap- 
 " pen, and it mould prove in the event, that I, 
 " who am juftly yours by the free donation 1 have 
 " made you of myfelf, fhould yet not be yours in 
 " confequence of an unlucky choice, let fortune go 
 " to hell for robbing you of your juft due, not I 
 * c for violating my oath." The pronoun 7, in the 
 nominative cafe, luppofes a different conftruction 
 to have preceded , c ' go fortune to hell for it.'* 
 Nothing is more common in all languages, and with 
 the belt writers, than fuch a fudden variation of the 
 confl: ruction, which creates little or nodifiiculty to the 
 reader, and is frequently fcarce even perceived by 
 him. 
 
 P. 144. Look on beauty, 
 
 And you pall fee 'tis purchased by the weight, 
 Which therein works a miracle, in nature, 
 Making them light ejl, that wear mofl of it. 
 
 This paflageat firft view fcems pretty obfeure, but, 
 
 I 3 by
 
 [ *i8 1 
 
 by beauty, I apprehend, is meant only artificial 
 beauty, which is procured by painting, and is mere 
 adf iti ious fhew and ornament fuperinduced upon 
 true and real nature, like that falfe hair, the men- 
 tion of which immediately follows. This factitious 
 beauty, though purchafed by weight, the more of 
 it is laid on, the more lightnefs it indicates in the 
 wearer. Painting and falfe hair are joined together 
 in the fame view in Love's Labour's loft, p. 244. 
 
 0, if in black my lady's brow be deckt, 
 
 It mourns, that painting and ufurping hair 
 
 Should ravijh doters with a falfe afpetl : 
 And therefore isjhe born to make black fair. 
 
 P. 146. but the full fum of me 
 
 Is fame of font; thing, which, to term ingrofs, 
 Is an unlejfon 'd girl, unfchcol'd, unpraclisd. 
 
 Some of fomething, which is a correction of Mr. War- 
 burton's, is I muft confefs beyond my comprehenfion. 
 He tells us indeed, that it fignifies ' a part only of 
 ' an imperfect account.' But how comes, fomething, 
 to iignify an imperfect account? Somethings in this 
 place, molt certainly fhnds, as our poet himfelf 
 goes on to explain it, for 'an unlefToned girl.' And 
 if w mould afk, Why Portia chufes to term herfelf 
 a part only of an unlefibned girl ? I fuppofe our cri- 
 tick would be at a lofs to inform us. The common 
 reading was, 
 
 Is fum of fomething. 
 
 The meardng, I apprehend, is this \ The full fum 
 o!" me is (to exprefs myfelf in grofs) the fum of what 
 may be expected to be found in an unlefToned girl. 
 I muft confefs, that Sha ! :efpear's expreliion in this 
 place is juftly chargeable with affected perplexity. 
 
 P. *55>
 
 [ 9 ] 
 
 P. 155. J thank you for your wi/b, and am well pleased 
 'To zvif/j it back on you. 
 
 See the Canons of Criricifm, p. 49- 205. where the 
 reader will find this paffage well explained, and 
 the very extraordinary conjecture propofed by Mr. 
 Warburton abundantly expo'ed. 
 
 P. 161. I'll now anfwer that 
 
 By faying 'tis my humour , is it anfwer' d? 
 
 This is another of Mr. Warburton's extraordinary 
 emendations. The common reading was, 
 
 /'//not anfujer that. 
 
 But fay, it is my humour ; is it anfwer* d? 
 
 That is, I will not give a direct anfwer to the quef- 
 tion you afk, nor give you a particular account of 
 the motives of my prefent proceeding : But fuppofe 
 it is my particular fancy to act thus ; Will you ac- 
 cept of that for an anfwer ? But Mr. Warburton 
 not underftanding plain Englifh, objects, * This 
 c Jew is the ftrangett fellow. He is a Iked a quef- 
 ' tion -, fays he will not anfwer it , in the very next 
 ' line fays, he has anfwered it ; and then fpends the 
 ' nineteen following lines to juftify and explain his 
 4 anfwer.' All which neither needs nor deferves 
 any other anfwer than this, That he mult bz almoH: 
 as ftrange a man, as Mr. Warburton reprefents the 
 Jew, who thinks a ferious expoftulation of a fu- 
 preme magiftrate, on a moft extraordinary proceed- 
 ing, in any meafure anfwered, by the perfon ad* 
 dreffed to telling him, ' lis his humour, or particu- 
 lar fancy, to act thus. Every man of common 
 fenfe immediately fees, that lefufing to give any 
 anlwer, and the giving luch nn anfwer as this, 
 amount to pft the fame thing. Nor doth the Jew, 
 throughout the nineteen lines which follow, allign 
 
 I 4 any
 
 C *f* 3 
 
 ariv dther reafon for a conduct fo (hocking, than a 
 fettled hatred of, and antipathy to, Anthonio, 
 which is juft the fame with what he here calls his hu- 
 mour ; and therefore he may be juftly faid to per- 
 fift in his declared refolution not to anfwer the 
 Duke's queftion. Accordingly BalTanio immedi-r 
 ately replies, 
 
 This is no anfwer thou unfeeling man \ 
 
 which very reply overturns the whole of Mr. War- 
 burton's fine-fpun reafoning. . 
 
 P. 161. Mailers of poffwn [way it to the mood 
 Of what it likes, or baths. 
 
 I have no doubt but t'ns reading of the elder edi- 
 tions is the genuine one j but Mr. Warbjrton, at 
 the fame time that he is admirng the obfei vation, 
 plainly difcovers that he does not undrrftand it. He 
 interprets it t his, ' The mailers of paflion or the 
 k muficians, here denoted by that tite, fway the 
 * paflions or afFtcYions as they pleafe.' A fenfe which 
 the words will by no means bear, and which is totally 
 jdifferent from that intended by the poet. The true 
 meaning undoubtedly is ; The matters of paffion, 
 that is, fuch as are pofTefied of the art of engaging 
 and managing the human pafilons, influence them 
 by a fkilful application to the particular likings and 
 loathings of thj pe Ton they are addreffing; this is 
 a proof that men are generally governed in their 
 conduct by thofe likings and loathings : And there- 
 fore it is by no means Orange or unnatural, that I 
 fiiould be fo too in the prefent inftan.e. 
 
 Ibid. Why he, a woollen bagpipe. 
 
 f A woollen bagpipe' is, I believe, an inftrument 
 that never exiftcd. I fuppofe therefore we mould 
 read, * a wooden bagpipe.' 
 
 P. 167.
 
 [ * J 
 
 P. 167. That malice bears down truth. 
 
 Though Mr. Theobald's emendation in his Shake- 
 fpear reftored, p. 167. fubftituting ruth for truths 
 may perhaps appear plaufiblc, yet I adhere with 
 Mr. Warburton to the common reading, and ap- 
 prehend that the word truths here denotes that fu- 
 preme rule of right and equity, bv which all hu- 
 man actions ought to be directed. If Mr. Woollafton 
 had lived before Shakefpear, I doubt not the criticks 
 would have told us, that the latter had borrowed 
 the expreiifion from the former. 
 
 P. 179. Nothing is good, I fee, without refpeB. 
 
 The fenfe is, Nothing is good without a regard to 
 the propriety of the circumftances in which it is in- 
 troduced. 
 
 P. 185. Fair ladies , you drop manna in the way 
 Of Jiarved people. 
 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 173. 
 
 Love's Labour's lofl. 
 
 P. 192. 'Too much to know, is to know nought : but 
 feign; 
 And every godfather can give a name. 
 
 This whole fpeech, as well as a great part of this 
 fcene, is in rhyme , confequently this emendation 
 of Mr. Warburton, which deftroys the rhyme, can- 
 not poiTibly be the genuine reading. The preced- 
 ing editions give us, 
 
 'Too much to know, is to know nought hut fame. 
 
 The fenfe of which lines is obvious, and extremely to 
 
 the
 
 [ 122 ] 
 
 the purpofc, though Mr. Warburton is pleafed to 
 treat it as 8 abfurd and impertinent.' Too eager a 
 purfuit of knowledge is rewarded, not with the real 
 poffcffion of its object, but only with the reputa- 
 tion of having attained it. And this obfervation is 
 th more pertinent on this occafion, as the king him- 
 felf, in his exhortation to his companions at the be-, 
 ginning of the play, propofed fame to them, as the 
 principal aim and motive of their ftudies : 
 
 Let Fame, that all hunt after in their lives, 
 Live regifter'd upon our brazen tombs ; 
 And then grace us in the difgrace of death ; 
 When, fpight of cormorant devouring time, 
 Th' endeavour of this prefent breath may buy 
 'That honour which Jh all bate his fyt he's keen edge ; 
 And make us heirs of all eternity. 
 
 But, admitting the common reading to be as abfurd 
 and impertinent as our critick would reprefent it, 
 how doth his correction help the matter ? He gives 
 us indeed the choice of two. The firft of them is 
 this, 
 
 Too much to know, is to know nought but fhame ; 
 
 which, if the idiom of our language permitted us to 
 underftand fhame in the fenfe of difappointment, 
 and the text 'wanted mending, which it certainly 
 doth not, might poffibly pafs, fince it preferves the 
 rhime, and gives us an obfervation, which whether 
 we do, or do not, fuppofe an allufion to Adam's 
 fall, is founded in truth. But our critick himfelf 
 rejects it, and unluckily enough, for a reafon which 
 will not hold. He alledges, that if it fhouid be ad- 
 mitted, * the following line would be impertinent, 
 and confequently lpurious.' Why fo ? What necef- 
 iity is there that the fecond line fhouid bean illurtra- 
 tion only of the obfervation contained in the firft ? 
 Why may it not as well give us a new obfervation, 
 
 adapted
 
 [ 123 1 
 adapted to what had juft preceded ? His fecond cor- 
 rection he hath inferted in the text, and he gives us 
 this interpretation of it ; ' To know too much is to 
 1 know nothing; it is only feigning to know what 
 4 we do not ; giving names to things without know- 
 4 ing their natures ; which is falfe philofophy.' But 
 I apprehend he quite miftakes the truth of the cafe : 
 There is, generally fpeaking, no feigning, in the 
 point which is the fubject of this complaint. Thofe 
 who fct up for univeri'al knowledge are commonly 
 themfelves the deceived, not the deceivers. They 
 do not feign a knowledge which they are confcious 
 they have not, but they perfuade themfelves they 
 know, where in fact and reality they are ignorant. 
 Upon this occafion Mr. Warburton enters deeply 
 into philofophy. He will have it, that our poet points 
 our. ' the peculiar defect of the Peripatetick philo- 
 4 fophy then in vogue ; and, with the higheft humour 
 ' and good fenfe, calls thofe philofophers the god- 
 * fathers of nature, who could only give things a 
 ' name, but had no manner of acquaintance with 
 ' their eflfences.' All this is extremely fine, but un- 
 happily it is abfolutely without foundation. As 
 much as I honour Shakefpear, I cannot perfuade 
 mylclf he was that adept Mr. Warburton makes him. 
 He had been juft reflecting upon the empty pride of 
 the aflronomers, who highly valued themfelves 
 upon giving a name to every confteHation, or as 
 our poet, perhaps a little too haftily, fays, to every 
 fixed ftar ; and he continues to expofe this pride in 
 rhe paffage before us, by telling them, this was no 
 more than every godfather could do. For the reft, 
 I have a juft cfte.-m and veneration for the mighty 
 improvements philofophy, in many of its branches, 
 and particularly in that which is termed natural phi- 
 lofophy, hath received from the labours and the 
 genius of the laft and the prefent ages ; but I am 
 not quite fatisficd, that our acqua ; ntance with the 
 
 cflences
 
 [ 124 j 
 
 efleoces of things, is fo much fuperior to that of the 
 peripateticks in our poet's time. Things may be 
 divided into thofe of the fenfible, and thofe of the 
 intellectual world. The efie. ices of the things of 
 the fenfible world are, either their real, or their no- 
 minal, effences. As to their real efiences, they are 
 not utterly unknown to the human underftanding, 
 but, as Mr. Locke, after many others, hath with 
 great clearnefs fhewn, are abfolutely undifcoverable 
 by it. As to their nominal eflences, or, thataffem- 
 biage of appearances to the fenfe by which we dif- 
 tinguifh one thing from another, it muft be owned, 
 that the modern philofophy / hath, by a clofer at- 
 tention to them, and by fubjecting them to mathe- 
 matical calculation, affifted and confirmed by fkilful 
 experiment, greatly enlarged our acquaintance with 
 thofe feveral appearances. But ftill it cannot with 
 truth or juftice be faid, that thofe poor defpifed peri- 
 pateticks were utterly deftitute of any acquaintance 
 wkh them ; unlefs we will deny them the know- 
 ledge even of a common day-labourer, that fnow is 
 white and cold, glafs tranfparent and brittle, and 
 the like. As to things intellectual, the objects of 
 metaphyseal and moral fcience, it may perhaps be 
 iuftly doubted, whether our later advances have been 
 fo confiderable. To pafs over thofe remains of the 
 antients which have been tranfmitted down to us, 
 and of which the belt and moft accurate accounts 
 are to be found in the laborious and very valuable 
 works of Dr. Cudworth, by thofe who have not 
 either the leifure or the ability to make themfelves 
 mailers of the originals, I think I could name- one, 
 even from among thofe decried peripateticks, com- 
 monly called fchoolmen, who, * take him forall in all,' 
 to borrow our poet's expreffion, hath not perhaps been 
 exceeded on thofe fubjects, either for clearnefs of 
 conception, or itrength of reafoning, by any writer 
 of the more modern ages. But. there is in philo- 
 sophy,
 
 [ "5 3 
 
 Tophy, as well as in the common intercourfeof life, 
 a language in fafhion. This language Mr. War- 
 burton hath learned to fpeak, though perhaps he doth 
 not always underftand himielf in the application of 
 it, of which thefe very notes on Shakefpear afford 
 not a few inftances, if it were worth while to exa- 
 mine them critically in this view. 
 
 P. 193. Than wifh a fnow in May's new-fangled 
 
 ftJOWS. 
 
 I think Mr. Theobald hath hid before the reader 
 reafons fufficiently cogent, for fubftituting in place 
 of the vulgar reading, this conjecture of his, 
 
 Than wifh a /now on May's new-fangled earth. 
 
 Ibid. A dangerous law again fl gentility ! 
 
 Mr. Theobald hath extreamly well explained the un- 
 common fenfe of the word, gentility r , in this place. 
 
 P. 1 95. A man of complements, whom right and wrong 
 Have chofe as umpire of their mutiny, 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath beftowed a great deal of his 
 ufual ingenuity in commenting on this pafiage, and 
 by the help of a warm imagination drawn very con- 
 fiderable confequences from it. I am afraid how- 
 ever the whole of his elaborate nore is attended with 
 one fmall misfortune, that of being quite befide the 
 purpofe. I apprehend our author's meaning is no 
 other than this, ' That Armido valued himielf on 
 the nicety of his (kill in taking up quarrels accord- 
 ing to the rules of art, and adj lifting the ceremonies 
 of the duello.' Hear him difplay his own charac- 
 t r at the end of this Act. " The firlt and fecond 
 tc caufes wi!l not ferve my turn; the Paflado he 
 " (Love) refpects nor, the Duello he regards not." 
 
 P. 197.
 
 t 1*6 ] 
 
 P. 197. I was taken in the wanner. 
 
 See the common reading, ' I was taken with the 
 * manner,' re-eftablifhed on Mr. Warburton's own 
 authority, in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 149. 
 
 P. 198. The need of punifhment. 
 
 A miftake of the printer. Read agreeably to the 
 other editions, ' the meed of punishment.' 
 
 P. 201. And how eafie is it to put years to the 
 word three. 
 
 The conftruction obliges us to read agreeably to the 
 other editions, ' And how eafy it is* 
 
 P. 203. Arm. Boy, 1 do love that country girl 
 
 j he deferves well 
 
 Moth. To be whipped; and yet a better love than 
 my majler deferves. 
 
 This laft word is interpolated by Mr. Warburton, 
 on the authority of a conjecture of Sir Thomas 
 Hanmer. Having not feen the edition of this taft 
 named gentleman, I cannot even guefs at the rea- 
 fons of this alteration, unlefs it might be owing to 
 his not recollecting, that love for lover, is a very 
 common expreflion in our language. The fenfe of 
 both readings amount to much the fame. According 
 to the common reading, ' the girl deferves a bet- 
 ter love than Armado*,' according to Sir Thomas 
 Hanmer's, (lie is a better love than Armado de- 
 ferves.' Perhaps the miftake might arife from the 
 two learned editors not perceiving, that the verb, 
 deferves, in the firff. line, is equally applicable, and 
 ought to be applied, to both parts of the ffcntence. 
 
 P. 207.
 
 [ I2 7 3 
 
 P. 207. And much too little of that good I faw 9 
 Is my report to his great wortbinefs. 
 
 The construction of this paffage, which is very per- 
 plexed, is, I fuppofe, thus; And my report of 
 that good I faw is much too little, compared to 
 his great worthinefs. 
 
 P. 214. Thefe are 'complements. 
 
 Mr. Warburton doth not appear to have known, 
 that the common reading, complements, is a very 
 different word from compliments, and fignifies the 
 fame as acccmplijhments, or thofe niceties and exact - 
 nefs of behaviour on every occafion, which make up 
 the character of the complete courtier. 'Tis in this 
 fenfe that the King, p. 195, calls Armado 'a man 
 4 of complements,' ironically meaning, one who af- 
 fectedly pretended to them. 
 
 P. 216. No fa he in the male. Sir. 
 
 I fuppofe we fhould read, mail; that is, No falve 
 within the bandage. 
 
 P. 217. Ccftard running out. 
 
 Undoubtedly we fhould read, agreeably to Mr. 
 Pope's edition, ' / Coftard running out.' 
 
 P. 218. Like the fequele, I. 
 
 Mr. Warburton by writing the word, fequele, ac- 
 cording to the French orthography, thinks he hath 
 re ft o red a j )ke, which he tells us confifts in intimat- 
 ing, l that a fingle page was all Armado's train.' If 
 we fhould grant him his French word, I cannot 
 difcover how this joke is intimated by ic. I fhould 
 
 rather
 
 [ 128 ) 
 
 rather think Shakcfpear wrote, as the other editions 
 give it lis, 
 
 Like the fequel, /. 
 
 That is, I follow you as clofe as the fequel doth the 
 premifes. This at leaft refembles the fantaftical 
 language which feems intended to mark the charac- 
 ter of Moth throughout the play. 
 
 P. 219. This Signior Juniors giant-dwarf, Dan Cupid. 
 
 I think it not improbable that Mr. Theobald's con- 
 jecture, 
 
 This Signior Junior giant -dwarf, Dan Cupid, 
 
 may be right. His other imagination, of an allu- 
 fion to the character of Junto in Fletcher's Bonduca, 
 hath not the leaft likelyhood to fupport it. 
 
 P. 2*22. The poor deer's Mood, that my heart means 
 no ill. 
 
 Mr. Warburton tells us, * we mould read, tho* my 
 heart.'' Probably it did not occur to him, that 
 Shakefpear frequently ufes, that for whom, and this 
 latter for, to whom. 
 
 Ibid. An my wafte, mijlrefs, were as /lender as your wit, 
 One d thefe maids girdles for my wajiejhouldbe fit. 
 
 Mr. Warburton thinks it an affront to a Princefs 
 to be complimented on her embonpoint, if I may 
 make free with an expreflion of his favourite lan- 
 guage, and feems to think a (lender fhape an indif- 
 penfable concomitant of her dignity. He hath al- 
 tered the text accordingly, fur the common reading 
 was, 
 
 An your wajle, mijlrefs, were as Jlender ^ my wit, 
 One o' thefe maids girdles for your wajle JJoould be fit. 
 
 Shake-
 
 [ 129 1 
 Shakefpear however was certainly of a different 
 opinion, and feems to have thought a majeftick 
 fhape bed-became a Princefs. He hath even taken 
 more than ordinary care to prevent any mifappre- 
 henfion on this head, both in the line immediately 
 preceding this, 
 
 The thickejl and the tallefl ? it is fo ; truth is truth, 
 
 and in that which immediately follows, 
 
 Are net you the chef woman ? you are the thickejl here. 
 
 But when a determined critick hath once taken his 
 party, fuch trilling difficulties as thefe are beneath 
 his notice. 
 
 P. 229. And fuch barren plants are fet before us, 
 that we thankful Jhould be for thefe -parts (which we 
 tafle and feel, ingradarej that do fruclify in us, more 
 than he. 
 
 For this mod extraordinary emendation we are in- 
 debted to Mr. Warburton. The common reading 
 was, ' And fuch barren plants are ft before us, thac 
 * we thankful fhou'd be ; which we tafle, and feel- 
 ' ing are for thofe -parts that do fructify in us more 
 c tlun he.' Which Sir Thomas Hanmer much 
 more judicioufly corrects thus, 
 
 And thefe barren plants are fet before us, that we 
 
 thankful fhou'd be 
 For theft -parts, which we tafle and feel do fruclify 
 
 in us more than be. 
 
 I (hould imagine however, that this paffage might 
 be as well rcflo-ed, with much Iels alteration of the 
 ancie.it text, after this manner, 
 
 And fuch barren plants are fei before us, that we 
 
 thankful Jhould be, 
 While we taife and feeling have, for thofe parts 
 
 that do fruclify in us, more than he. 
 
 K See
 
 I 13 3 
 
 See the Canons of Critkifm* p. 155. 
 
 P. 232. j$ui non U <vedi> 
 
 Mr. Theobald who undertook to reftore this little 
 fcrap of Italian, which had been monftroufly cor- 
 rupted by the ignorance of the tranfcriber or printer, 
 fhould have given us good Italian at leaft. Read, 
 chi non te vede, or, vidde. 
 
 P. 233. The trfd horfe his rider. 
 
 The common reading was, tired horfe, which epi- 
 thet Mr. Warbunon very rightly judged to be im- 
 proper , but the epithet, try'd, which he hath fub- 
 itiiuted in its place, is very little better. We never 
 fay in Englifb a iryd horfe to fignify a horfe exer- 
 cifeJ in the manege. Undoubtedly we fhould read, 
 the train'd horfe. 
 
 P. 234. Where if (being repajl) it pall flea fe you 
 co gratify the table with a grace. 
 
 As I do not underftand the meaning of the words 
 (bring repajl) I mud b'g leave to put in my claim 
 to the undoubted privilege of a critick on the like 
 occafions, that of amending the text, by fubftitut- 
 ing, being requejt, for requefted. 
 
 P. 236. Disfigure not his flop. 
 See Mr. Theobald's Shakefpe.ir reftored, p. 169. 
 
 P. 237. And wretched fools' fecrets headfnlly o'er-eye. 
 We fhould read, * heedfully over-eye.' 
 
 Ibid. Durnain transformed four woodccks in a dijh? 
 
 Mr. Pope's edition gives us this lint; much better 
 pointed, 
 
 "Da main
 
 [ IJI I 
 
 Dtmaia transform^', four woodcocks in a dijh. 
 
 P. 237. Dum. Bybeav'n, the wonder of a mortal eye! 
 Biron. By earthy Jhe is but corporal ; there 
 you lie. 
 
 The antithefis between the exclamation and the re" 
 ply is very obfcurely exprefed. I fuppofe the poe c 
 meant we (hould underftand in the exclamation* 
 that the Lady was of a rank above mortals, or, in 
 plain Englifh, an angel, otherwife (he could not 
 have ftruck a mortal's eye with fuch wonder at her 
 beauty. Mr. Theob.-.ld rightly inftructs us that, 
 corporal, is here ufed in the fame fenfe as corporeal. 
 
 Ibid. Her amber hairs for foal have amber co ted. 
 
 We mould read, quoted, that is, have caufed amber 
 ro be efteemed as foul. See Mr. Warburton farther 
 on p. 282. It is a metonymy of the effect for 
 the caufe or occafion of the effect. 
 
 P. 239. How will he triumph, geap, and laugh at it ? 
 
 As the common reading, leap, is a very natural ex- 
 preflion of joy and exultation, I cannot lee the lead 
 reafon, befides the critical rage of emendation, for 
 altering it. See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 197. 
 
 P. 240. To fee a King transformed to a knot! 
 
 This is the reading of Mr. Theobald's and Mr, 
 Warbunon's editions ; that of Mr. Pope gives us, 
 a gnat. This latter be ft fuits the rhime; as to the 
 fenfc y their merits are pretty equal. If we read knot, 
 we may fuppof^ it may refer to the King's pofiure, 
 wrapped and folded up in contemplation of his mif- 
 trefs : If gnat, we may underftand it as an allufion to 
 the finging of that infect, fuggeded by the poetry 
 the king had been detected in. 
 
 K 2 P. 240,
 
 t 132 ] 
 
 P. 240. With vane-like men, of jlrange inconjlancf. 
 
 The common reading was, 
 
 With men, like men, of Jlrange inconftancy. 
 
 As this line was wrong pointed in the common edi- 
 tions, though this fault is corrected in the laft at 
 leafl: of Mr. Theobald's, its meaning efcaped Mr. 
 Warburton's fagacity, who accordingly calls it ' a 
 ' ftrange fenfelefs line,' and without more ado inferts 
 his own conjecture in the text. The fenfe however 
 is obvious enough ; With men of ftrange incon- 
 ftancy, as men in general are. 
 
 P. 242. As true as we are, as flefb and blood can he. 
 
 A miftake of the printer. Read, agreeably to the 
 other editions, 
 
 As true we are as flefb and' blood can be. 
 
 P. 2 13. O paradox, black is the badge of hell-, 
 
 The hue of dungeons, and the fcowl of night. 
 
 That night is black every one readily apprehends ; 
 and that the fcowl, or frown, of the heavens, on the 
 approach of a ftorm, may be properly termed dark, 
 or, if you pleafe, black, will be admitted with as 
 little difficulty ; but the fcowl or frown of night is 
 a vague expreffion, which conveys no determinate 
 idea, bur, by aiming at lbmething which is not in 
 nature, really difappoints the imagination, inftead 
 cf" afiifting it. For the property of night itfelf being 
 blacknefs or darknefs, its frown, or fcowl, being 
 only faint refemb'anc s of that blackttefs, fuggelted 
 by the imagination merely, and not exifting in real 
 nature, a e lb far from heightening the image, that 
 in truth they obfeure anil weaken it. I am inclined 
 . ' re to think that c:ir poet wrote, ftc-k. '-he 
 y robe
 
 [ 33 1 
 robe or drefs of night, a word frequently u r ed by 
 Chaucer. Nor doth this reading differ id greatly 
 from the common one, fchool, as it may appear to 
 do at firft fight. For we find this latter word con- 
 stantly written, fchole, in Chaucer; and from the 
 refemblance of the two words it hath actually hap- 
 pened, that/tf/c, by the miftake of the tranferiber, 
 is fubftituted in the place of, /dole, in the Mer- 
 chant's Second Tale, v. 1669. I had not feen Mr. 
 Theobald's edition Gf our poet when this nore was 
 firfl written, but I find he hath anticipated me in 
 this correction, though with fuch hefitation and un- 
 certainty, that he hath given the preference to that 
 of Mr. Warburton. 
 
 P. 243. And beauty* s crele becomes the heavens well. 
 
 This emendation is one of thofe in the highefl ftile 
 of Mr. Warburton, and at firft fight we may be fure 
 it could come from no hand but his. The com- 
 mon reading was, beauty's creji, which I think he 
 hath rightly rejected, not fo much for the reafon he 
 hath afiigned, as becaufe it prelents no idea to the 
 imagination. But, to ufe his own expreffion, how 
 hath he ' mended the matter?' In the firft place, he 
 hath obtruded on our poet a word which our lan- 
 guage difavows. In the next, if we admit the word, 
 it can fignify only chalk ; and I appeal to the reader, 
 whether he can difcover any fenfe in this line, when 
 diverted of that venerable obfeurity it borrows from 
 its Latin difguife -, 
 
 And beauty's chalk becomes the heavens well. 
 
 But our critick's manner of accounting for the blun- 
 der, as he calls it, of the tranferiber, is as extraor- 
 dinary as the emendation. He fuppofes him to 
 have imagined, that Shakefpear wrote French when 
 he was writing Englifh, and, finding the French 
 
 K 3 word,
 
 [ '34 J 
 word, crite, before him, a r d at the fame time being 
 perfectly ignorant that there was an Englifh word 
 of the fame orthography, which fignirled chalk, he 
 very fairly tranlates the French word into Englifh, 
 and inferts his own tranflation in the text. Whit 
 wretched fhifts is a man driven to, when he will 
 needs appear to fay fomething, though he hath 
 really nothing to fay ? For my own part, I cannot 
 but approve of Sir Thomas Hanmer's correction, 
 
 And beauty's drefs becomes the heavens well. 
 
 But, in order to preferve a confiflent fenfe, we mult 
 take this line from the King, and give it to Biron. 
 And this indeed is evidently necefFary, which ever 
 way it be read. For it caonot poflibly have any 
 confident connection with what the King bad im- 
 mediately before faid \ and the particle, and, fuf- 
 fl i ntly indicates that this is the beginning of a re- 
 ply. The King had juft imputed as a difparage- 
 ment to B'ack, that it was the ftole, or drefs of 
 night ; to which Biron replies, It is io, and it is at 
 the fame time the drefs of beauty, as it appears from 
 its becoming the heavens fo well. If this interpreta- 
 tion is right, our emend>tioi of the preceding line 
 is efhblimed beyond ail reafonable queftion. 
 
 F. 246. For where is any author in the world, 
 Teaches fuch duty as a woman s eye? 
 
 B/ duty, Mr. Warburton tells us, we are to under- 
 fland ' eth.ck% or the offices and devoirs that belong 
 to man.' A moft wonderful difcovery indeed, that 
 * a woman's eye' is able to teach us all this! Mr. 
 Warburton himfclf feems to feel f*me mifgivings 
 on this head. For in the very next period, all thele 
 ethicks, offices, and devoirs, are dwindled down 
 into obfervance, winch, he fays, ' a woman's eye 
 teaches above all other t ing.' What he means by 
 
 cb-
 
 [ '35 1 
 
 obfewame I cannot guefs, unfefs it be that fubmif- 
 fron and obedience which is generally paid by a lover 
 to his miftrefs. If this be the whole of what is in- 
 ten fed, all that mighty inftruction the reader's ex- 
 pectation was amufed with, is eluded by a poor in- 
 inmificant qu bble. But Shakefpcar, bad as this 
 play is, could not defcend To low. The common 
 leading was, 
 
 Teaches fuch beauty as a woman's eye. 
 
 But th ; s Mr. Warburton pronounces to be l abfo- 
 lute nonien'e.' lam however too we I acquainted with 
 his peremptory decilions to be difcou raged by them. 
 I fuppofe therefore our poc t meant, That there is no 
 author in the world who can L;ive us lo true an infight 
 into, or io jud a lenfeof beauty, as a woman's eye. 
 D d our critick. ntver hear of the philofophy of the 
 -' acaAeuf of that celebrated platonick lcale of beauty, 
 by which the mind, begnning at the loweft ftep, 
 tat ot corporeal beauty, afcends through the intel- 
 lectual, and the moral, till i arrive at the Supreme 
 and Eifential Fair, the f urce an .1 centre of all fin te 
 and created beauty, in the contemplation and love 
 of which alone the mind can acquiefce, and attain 
 "that perfection of happinefs which is adapted and 
 proportioned to its nature? Not ro mention Plato 
 him (elf, an J his followers and commentators both 
 ancunt and modern, Mr. Warburton pretends to 
 fome acquaintance with the Italian poets. Has he 
 read Pet rare \ Cafa, or Ang lo di Coftanzo, or in- 
 deed any one of the numerous tribe of the r Lyrick 
 potts? !t he hath, it coul 1 n<>t have e leaped him, 
 that tins doctrne is the ve y bafisof all their Lyrick 
 poetry, the \>v< dominant pi in- ipL which runs through 
 it, from Dante down to the prelent age, when it 
 be^in to gro v rather hh in fafh'oo. liven CVel- 
 t.i ! beni's tract, Delia B ih/za delta volgar Po.fia, 
 would havi luif.cicr.tly inftrucied him in it. But 
 
 K. <t wht-
 
 [ 136 ] 
 
 whether this gentleman was, or was not, ignorant, 
 of this doctrine, I think it is extremely probable 
 that Shakefpear was no ftranger to it. It is evident 
 from this very play, that he was not unacquainted 
 with the Italian language : What wonder then to 
 find him adopting a femiment fo familiar to that 
 poetry ? 
 
 P. 246. In leaden contemplation have found out 
 Such fiery numbers. 
 
 At the mention of ' fiery numbers,' Mr. Warbur- 
 ton's imagination, no lefs fiery, inftantly takes flight, 
 and carr.es him above the clouds ; where he per- 
 ceives that there is a double allufion in thefe words, 
 the one ' to the difcoveries of modern aftronomy, at 
 
 * that tine greatly improving ' one of which difco- 
 veries he is gracioufly pleafed to communicate to us, 
 as indeed without his help no man living would ever 
 have dreamt of it, which is, that * in this aftro- 
 c nomy the ladies eyes are compared, as is (I fup- 
 ' poft- he means, as is fill!) ufual, to fiars.' The 
 other allufion, it Jeems, is * to the Pythagorean prin- 
 
 * ciples of altronomy, which were founded on the 
 c laws c f harm ny.' And he hold- the Oxford editor 
 (as he conft'i tly affects to flyie him) in great con- 
 t:mp', hecaufe, not having penetration enough to 
 hit upon th s conceit, he ' changes numbers to no- 
 1 tiens, and lo lofts both the fenfe and the gallantry 
 ' of the ahufion.' What motive induced Sir I nomas 
 Hanrmr to think of an alteration, J am quite at a 
 Jofi to guefs. But the common fer.fe of a plain 
 rea'.er could, I fho Id think, fcarce rave miffed 
 the perceiving at firft fight, that the f.erx numbers 
 here mentioned can be no other than thofe little 
 pieces of p:.c ry, comp-.f d by the lovers in praife 
 of their refpective mifticfles, and recited by each of 
 
 them
 
 [ ?37 ] 
 them as they fuccefiively made their appearance on 
 the ftage. What follows to the conclufion of the 
 (Sentence, 
 
 Such fiery numbers, as the prompting eyes 
 Of beauteous tutors have enriched you with? 
 
 fufficiemly points out our poet's meaning. For T 
 fuppofr, even Mr. Warburton, if he had given 
 himfelf time tor reflection, would fcarce have per- 
 fuaded himfelf, that the eyes of the Princefs and 
 her fair attendants had, during fo Ihort an interview, 
 already enriched the lovers with the modern im- 
 provements in aftronomy, and the Pythagorean 
 doctrine of numbers. 
 
 P. 247. For valour ; is not Love a Hercules, 
 Still climbing trees in the Hefperides ? 
 
 The valour of Hercules, as Mr. Theobald very pro- 
 perly obfervcs, was not fhe vn in climbing trees in 
 the gardens of the Hefperides. Hercules climbed 
 thofe trees once, in order to gather the precious 
 fruits that grew on them , Love is represented as Mill 
 climbing thofe trees for the fame purpofe. What 
 thofe trees are, and what their fruits, which are here 
 alluded to, the reader, if he hath any delicacy of 
 imagination, will readily apprehend without my in- 
 ftrucl on. I am perfuaded therefore that Mr. Theo- 
 bald's correction, 
 
 For favour, is not Love a Hercules, 
 
 ought to be admitted without hefitation. 
 
 Ibid. - as fweet and mu/ical 
 
 As bright Apollo' s lute, fining voilh his hair. 
 
 This cxpreflion, Mr. Warburton tells us, * is ex- 
 * tremeiy beautiful and highly figurative. ' How mull 
 
 the
 
 [ 4 3 ] 
 
 tht reader be difappointcd,. when he finds, thar, 
 according to that gentleman's interpretation, if 
 amoun s to no more than this, That Apollo** lute is 
 ftrung with gilded wire ? How much more fublime i* 
 the imagination of our poet, which reprefents that 
 in.lrume.it as ftrung with the fun-beams, which ia 
 poetry are called Apollo's hair r^ 
 
 P. 247, Andvihen Love /peaks the voice of all the Cods, 
 Mark, heaven drowfie with- the harmony! 
 
 This is another of Mr. Warburton's emendations, 
 w.Yich, for the corrtctntfs < f the grammatical co.i- 
 ftrc<ftion, the propriety of the exprtfiion, and 
 the truth and elegance o! the fentiment, may vie 
 with ;he moil extraordinary of them. 1 hec <mmon 
 reading was s 
 
 Make heaven draw/te with the harmony. 
 
 The natural correction is (o obvious that it wjs 
 fcarce poffible to mils it: 
 
 And iihen Love fpeaks^ the voice of all the Gods 
 Makes heaven drowfie with the harmony. 
 
 That is, Whenever Love fpeaks, all the Go Is join 
 their voices with his in harmonious concert. Mr. War- 
 burton's note on this place is a curi<fity, an J de- 
 ierves to be prefcrved as one of the compleatcft pieces 
 of nonfenfe extant. ' In the voice of Love aione is 
 4 included the voice of all the Gods. Alluding to 
 4 the ancient Theogony, thac love wa the parent 
 4 and fupport of all the Gods. Hence,' [Whence, 
 I befeech you?] 'as Suidas tells us, Palcephatus 
 4 wrote a poem called, 'Appdirnf xzi *Eawtc? <pun 
 
 y.tzt Xoyog, c j'he voice and fpcech of Venus and 
 4 Love, which appe.rs to have been a kind of cof- 
 
 * mogony,' [It could not have bten a kind of col- 
 mogony, fince the fame Suidas informs us, that the 
 
 fame
 
 [ 39 ] 
 
 fame author wrote another poem entitled K<xr/A07r* 
 of an equal number of verfes, which title is exactly 
 equivalent to that of Cofmogony] the harmony of 
 * which' [the harmony of what? of a cofmogony? 
 or, of the po a m of Palcephatus ?] is fo great that 
 ' it calms and allays all kinds of diforders.' 'Tis a 
 mod irrep irable lofs that this cofmogony poem, or 
 whatever elfe it be, hath by a mod deplorable ne- 
 gligence been fuffl-red to fink into oblivion, and to 
 be buried under the ruins of time. It would un- 
 doubted y have faved the publick the expence of 
 purchafingMrs. Stephens's medicine, and Ml War- 
 burton might himfelf have found no inconfiderable 
 benefit from it in his co.u. overfial diforders. This 
 is the man, who not only pretends to write Englifh 
 himfelf, but afTumes to himfelf the office and autho- 
 rity of a critick in that language. 
 
 P. 248. Tor wifdom* s fake (a word, that all men love) 
 Or for love's fake (a word all women love) 
 Or for mens fake (the author of the fe women) 
 Or wemens fake (by whom we men are men) 
 
 The parenthefis in the fecond line is *n emendation 
 of Mr. Warburton, and a very bold one it is \ fcr 
 the common reading was, 
 
 (a word, that loves all men) 
 
 If Mr. Warburton had attended to the ar.ificial 
 ftructure of thefe lines, in which the word which 
 terminates every line is prefixed to the word, fake, 
 in that immediately following, he could fcarce have 
 m'fled the true reading, which is, 
 
 Or for love's fake (a word that joyes all men) 
 
 Theexpreffion in the next line, thefe women, hath a re- 
 ference to ihe line next but one preceding thefe verfes. 
 
 'Then fools y.ii zvere, tl*fe ivomen to fcrfwear. 
 
 P. 249.
 
 [ 140 ] 
 
 P. 249. Allans I Allonsl fawn cockle reap' d no com. 
 
 Second thoughts are not always the wifeft. Mr. 
 Warbur ton's fir ft interpretation of this pafiage, 
 which is preferved in Mr. Theobald's edition, ' If 
 we don't take the proper rneafures for winning thefe 
 ladies, we (hall never atchieve them,' is undoubtedly 
 the true one, as appears from the very import of the 
 words. His fecond interpretation, which he gives 
 us in his own edition, expreffes the fenle only of the 
 two laft lints of this Act. 
 
 P. 250. 7/ infinuatetb me of infanity. 
 
 The author of the Canons of Criticifm, p. 2. juflly 
 prefers Mr. Theobald's conjecture, iifanie, inftead 
 of the vulgar reading, infamy. 
 
 P. 253. To be rendred by cur affiflants. 
 
 We mould undoubtedly read, affiftance, as at the 
 clofe of Armado's fpeech juft preceding. 
 
 P. 263. The virtue of your eye mujl break ray oath. 
 
 That is, makes it necefifary for me to break it ; fo 
 that there items no neceflity for any alteration. 
 
 P. 271. Tour oath once broke, you force not tcforfwear. 
 
 The exprefTion is extremely harfh and uncouth , but 
 I fuppofe the meaning is, Now you have once broke 
 your oath, you find little reluctance to forfwearing 
 ycurfcLf a fecond time. 
 
 P. 272. That [miles his cheek in years. 
 
 That is, according to Mr. Warburton, ' That (miles 
 
 1 his cheek into wrinkles' But no:with(landing his 
 peremptory afTertion, that the phrafe, ' in years, fig- 
 
 mf cs
 
 [ i4i 1 
 
 c nifies, into wrinkles, an affertion unfupported by any 
 other proof than a quotation out of the Merchant of 
 Venice which is nothing to his purpofe, and teaches 
 us only, that mirth and laughter will bring 01 
 wrinkles as well as age, I am inclined to think Mr. 
 Theobald's conjecture, in jeers, bids faireft for be- 
 ing the true reading. 
 
 P. 272. Do not you know my Lady's foot by th* fquier. 
 
 From the French word, efquierre, a rule, or fquare. 
 The fenfe is nearly the fame as that of the prover- 
 bial expreflion in our own language, He hath got 
 the length of her foot ; that is, he hath humoured 
 her fo long that he can perfuade her to what he 
 pleafes. 
 
 P. 274. A hare throw at novum* 
 
 I fuppofe it mould be, e A fair throw at novem,' as it 
 carried fomething more than half that number. 
 
 P. 280. I have feen the day of right through the 
 tittle hole cf difcretion. 
 
 The common reading was, ' [ have feen the days 
 of wrong* But this Mr. Warburton tells us hath no 
 meaning. Why f ? I fuppofe the poet meant, X 
 have been duly confidering the wrong I have re- 
 ceived to day, as a difcreet man ought, who doth 
 nothing but upon mature deliberation ; and my de- 
 termination now is, that I will right myfelf like a 
 foklier. Mr. Warburton's conjecture, ashehimfelf 
 interprets it, flatly contradicts this la ft refolution. 
 The man who profefles prudently to referve him- 
 fclf for the juftice he hopes will one day be done him 
 by other-, can never in the fame breath declare, that 
 he will r;J.: himfelf like :t ioldier. 
 
 P. 23r,
 
 [ H* ] 
 
 P. 281. And often, at its very loofe, decides 
 
 'That, which long procefs could not arbitrate. 
 
 Jit its very loofe, means, as I apprehend, at its get* 
 ting loofe, or parting. 
 
 P. 283. If 'this , cr more than this, I would deny, 
 
 To fetter up thefe powers of mine with reft. 
 
 This too is an emendation of Mr. Warburton's, 
 which he himfelf interpret?, If I would not do 
 * more than this to gain my wonted repofe \ but 
 in plain Englifh fignifies, If I would not do more 
 than this in order to fall afleep. The common read- 
 ing, 
 
 flatter up thefe fewer s of mine with reft, 
 
 gives us a much better fenfe ; If I would not do even 
 more than this in the flattering expectation of ob- 
 taining eafe at laft by your favourable allowance of 
 my pafiion. 
 
 P. 286. Do paint the meadows much-bedight. 
 
 Though Mr. Warburton is pleafed to call that part, 
 of the common reading, 
 
 Do paint the meadows with delight, 
 
 which differs from his own conjecture, ' a fenfelefs ex- 
 pletive,' the reader will readily fee that it is done only 
 to put off his own wares the better. The meaning 
 is evidently, Do give the meadows a florid and de- 
 lightful afpect. Thus the image is improved by 
 fnggeffing the effect it hath on the human mind. 
 This is more than can be faid of Mr. Warburton's 
 trivial unmeaning epithet. See the Canons of Cri- 
 ticifm, p. 19. 
 
 2 
 
 P. 287.
 
 [ i ] 
 
 P. 287. While greafy Jone doth keel the poU 
 
 The monthly Magazines have taught us, that the 
 verb, keel, is a northern word, and fignifies toctvl^ 
 and that the meaning of the who'e line i.% Whiic 
 the greafy houfe-maid doth by the help of her ladle 
 cool the pot, and prevent the broth from boiling 
 over, which fhe is preparing for the Cupper of the 
 labourers at their return from the field. 
 
 As you like it. 
 
 P. 29T. As 1 rem ember > Adam, it was npcn thh^ 
 my father bequeathed me by will, hit a pocr thou/and 
 crowns. 
 
 The cHd reading was, * it was upon this fajhivn be- 
 queathed me by will,' which plainly indicates, thar 
 fome.hing neceffary tocompleat and fupportthecon- 
 ftruclion had been accidentally omitted. Now from 
 the near refemblance between fafkion and father, it 
 fecms extremely probable that this laft word was the 
 word omitted, which led in confequence to the 
 omifilon alfo of the p )iTefiive, my. I fuppofV there- 
 fore that our poet wrote, ' As 1 remember, Adam, 
 ' it was upon th\s fa/hi on ; my father bequeathed me,' 
 &c. Mr. W^rburton's correction leaves the con- 
 ftruction ftill lame and imperfect. c It was .upon 
 * this,' Upon what? Why, upon fomething that had 
 been talked of before the play begins, and of which 
 the reader is left entirely ignorant. This, I think, 
 falls very little fhort of the whifper of the U flier and 
 the Phyfician to the Kings of Brentford, and of 
 Prince Prettymar/s refolution in his ileep. 
 
 P. 292. Stys me here at heme. 
 
 The rules of juft criticilm condemn all alteration, 
 
 wher e
 
 t H4 ] 
 
 where the authentick reading affords a good fenfe, and 
 the emendation is founded merely in the pretext of 
 greater elegance, or ftronger expreflion. I am there- 
 fore for retaining the ancient reading, Si ays me here 
 at home. It is no reafon for intruding a word where- 
 ever we can find place for'it, that the poet had ufed 
 it once before ; though I am fenfible that a great 
 part of modern criticifm refts on no better a foun- 
 dation. 
 
 P. 294. Albeit, I confefs your coming before me is 
 nearer to his revenue. 
 
 For the reafon mentioned in the preceding note, we 
 ought to re-eftablifh the ancient reading, ' nearer to 
 his reverence' 
 
 P. 296. For the new Duke's daughter her coufin. 
 
 *The interpolation of the word, new, without autho- 
 rity from any of the editions, is quite unnecefTary, 
 and could proceed only from an itch of emendation. 
 The words which follow, her coufin, fufliciently dif- 
 tinguifh the perfon intended. 
 
 P. 300. One, that old Frederick your father loves. 
 
 It appears from the latter end of this play, p. 384, 
 that Frederick was the father of Celia, not of Rofa- 
 lind, as Mr. Theobald hath rightly obferved. It 
 mould be added too that thefe words are addreffed 
 to Celia, in anfwer to a queftion fhe had juft afked. 
 3 Tis with great propriety therefore, and very juftly, 
 that the fame gentleman hath transferred the reply 
 from Rofalind to Celia. 
 
 P. 301. Rof. With bill on their necks. 
 
 C!o. Be it known unto all menby thefe pfefents. 
 
 Mr. Warburton firft divided this fpeech between 
 
 Rofa-
 
 ( H5 I 
 fcofalind and the Clown; the preceding editions 
 give the whole to Rofalind ; and rightly, for it con- 
 tains only a very poor pun on what Le Beu had juft 
 faid, That ' the young men were men of excellent 
 prefence.' The impropriety of Mr. Warburton's 
 divifion and explication of this paffage is fufficiently 
 fiiewn in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 78. 
 
 P. 302. But is there any elfe longs to fet this broken 
 mufick in his fides ? 
 
 The old reading was, * to fee this broken mufick,' 
 which Mr. Warburton tells us ' is a flupid error, for 
 
 * that the pleafantry of the repartee muft confift in 
 
 * the allufion to the cempofing in mufick , from 
 
 * whence it neceflarily follows that the poet wrote, 
 * c to fet this broken mufick." I muft own myfelf 
 dull enough not to comprehend the pleafanrry of this 
 allufion, nor can I form any image of a man whofe 
 ribs have been broken in wreftling, compofing, or 
 fetting mufick in his fides. PoiTibly the poet might 
 have written, ' get this broken mufick in his (ides.* 
 
 P. 303. If you faiv your f elf with cur eyes, or 
 knew your felf with our judgment. 
 
 A very modeft propefal truly, that Orlando, who 
 muft have been taught by experience the meafure of 
 his own fkill and flrength, fhould rather refer him- 
 fclf to &he judgment upon the firft view of two la- 
 dies to whom he was till that momenta perfect 
 (banger. The common reading was, i If you faw 
 your felf with your own eyes, or knew your felf with 
 your judgment.' The fenfe of which ftems to be, 
 Jf you would give credit to the faithful report of 
 your own ryes, and to the cool dictates of your judg- 
 ment, rather than fufter your felf to be feduced by 
 the bold fpirits of your youth. What is there ab- 
 furd in this ? But the ufual train of Mr. Warburton's 
 
 L imag;-
 
 C Hfc* ] . 
 
 imagination is, fiift to create an ahfurclitv where 
 there was none, in order to find employment for his 
 critical talents in removing it by an emendation. 
 
 P. 310. And thou wilt Jbow more bright , and /bine 
 more virtuous. 
 
 Shine, for, feem, which was the ancient reading, is 
 an alteration of Mr. Warburton's ,. bur, if the for- 
 mer word mean 2ny thing in this place more than 
 the latter, it mud be, thatCelia would not only feem, 
 but in truth and reality be more virtuous by the ab- 
 fence of Rofalind, which is palpably abfurd. See 
 alio the Canons of Criticifm, p. 79. 
 
 P. 3 j 2. Ami. I would not change ity happy is your 
 
 Grace. 
 
 Mr. Upton, Critic. Obferv. p. 260, with great 
 propriety gives the former part of this line to the 
 Duke. 
 
 P. 315. 'The honey prifer. 
 
 The word, lonny, which was the ancient reading, 
 fignifks not gay, or good-humoured, only, but, 
 high-fpirited, active. Mr. Warburton's alteration 
 therefore was unnectfTary, 
 
 P. 318. I cannot go no further. 
 
 The oth r editions concur in giving us more cor- 
 redly, ' 1 can go no further.' 
 
 P. 328. Whtrein we play in. 
 
 Mr. Pope gives m more correctly, ' Wherein we 
 play.' 
 
 Ibid. Full of wife f aw s end modern inflames. 
 
 3y the laft words I apprehend are meant, not ab- 
 
 lurdities,
 
 t H7 ] 
 furdities, as Mr. Warburton feems to imagine, but 
 ftories of whatever had happened within his own 
 obfervation and remembrance, which the JufHce is 
 conftantly repeating and applying on every occafion 
 that offers. 
 
 P. 329. B ec au [e thou art not (been. 
 
 This emendation of Mr. Warburton's is abundantly 
 refuted and expofed in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 
 6 j, 68. What the meaning of the common reading, 
 
 Becanfe thou art not feen, 
 
 may be, it is extremely difficult to difcovcr, which 
 gives great ground for fufpicion that it may be cor- 
 rupt. Poflibly in might be intended to be this-, The 
 impreflions thou makeft on us are not fo cutting, 
 becaufe thou art an unfeen agent, with whom we have 
 not the leaft acquaintance or converfe, and therefore' 
 have the lefs reafon to repine ?x thy treatment of us. 
 
 P. 534. Gcd make iricljion in thee, thou art raw, 
 
 I apprehend the meaning is, God give thee a better 
 underftanding, thou art very raw and iimple as yet. 
 The expreffion probably alludes to the common 
 proverbial faying, concerning a very fi'ly fellow, 
 that he ought to be cut for the fimples. Mr. War- 
 burton tells us, trut, ' To make an incifion, was a 
 4 proverbial exprefllon in vogue in Shakefpear's age 
 * for to make to underfland.' But the only proof he 
 gives of it is a quotation from Fletcher's Humour- 
 ous Lieutenant, which is moil probably corrupt, 
 at lean, he hath not certainly been fo lucky as to hie 
 upon the fenfe of it, and therefore it proves nothing, 
 
 P. 336. Let the f err eft er judge. 
 
 We mould reftore the old reading, c the forrefi.* 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 1 7. 
 
 L 2 P. 337:
 
 [ 148 ] 
 
 P. 337. mojt gentle Jumper* 
 We fhould reftore the original reading, 
 
 O mojt gentle Jupiter ! 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 20. 
 
 P. 338. Good my complexion! 
 
 Mr. Warburton tells us the meaning is, * Hold 
 4 good my complexion ! that is, let me not blufh.' 
 Not to infift on the impropriety of putting good, for 
 hold out, or hold good, of which curtailed expreflion 
 there is not perhaps a fingle example to be found in 
 our language j the prefent occafion afforded nothing 
 which might provoke the lady's blufhes, unlefs it 
 were the fuddennefs of the news that Orlando was 
 fo near her, and that had already produced its effecl:, 
 either in blufhes, or in palenefs, as the lady's emo- 
 tions happened to determine her : This appears from 
 the queftion afked her by Celia fome fhort time be- 
 fore, " Change you colour ?" She had alfo long 
 before made Celia her confidante, and owned her 
 pafTion to her, fo as to have got the better of her 
 bafhfulnefs in that refpect too*, and now nothing re- 
 mained but thofe agitations which were excited in 
 her by Celia's tantalizing her curiofity. I muft pro- 
 fcfs my felf therefore to concurr in opinion with Mr. 
 Theobald and Sir Thomas Hanmer, in defiance of 
 that fupenilious haughtinefs with which they are 
 treated by Mr. Warburton, that c this is a mode of 
 * expreflion nor reconcileable to common fenfe.' I am 
 inclinable to imagine that the poet may pofiibly 
 have written, Good my ccz perflexer, that is, I 
 pr'ythce my perplexing coz ; and that the laft word, 
 perplexer, was in the copy lint to the prefs written 
 with the common abbreviation, thus, Pplexer, which 
 might eafi'y miilead the printer to take the whole 
 
 I coz
 
 [ H9 ] 
 
 coz typlexer, for complexion, and to infert that word 
 in the text accordingly. Coz, for coufin, occurs 
 frequently throughout this play. 
 
 t 
 P. 3 %g. JV herein went he? 
 
 That is, In what manner was he cloathed ? How 
 did he go drefled ? 
 
 Ibid. 'To fay, ay, and no, to thefe particulars, is 
 more than to anjwer in a catechifm. 
 
 I fuppofe we mould read, c to anfwer a catechifm.' 
 
 * To anfwer in a catechifm,' implies no more than 
 to anfwer a fingle queftion in it. The fenfe requires 
 that the anfwer mould be to every part of it. 
 
 P. 340. I found him under a tree like a dropped acorn* 
 
 Mr. Warburton tells us ' we mould read, " under an 
 " oak tree ," for that it appears that the tree in quef- 
 
 * tion was an oak from what follows "like a 
 
 " dropp'd acorn." For how did he look like a 
 
 * dropp'd acorn unlefs he was found under an oak 
 ' tree V But this very reafoning proves the contrary 
 of what it is intended to prove , for if the kind of 
 tree is fo certainly determined by the comparifon of 
 the dropped acorn, what occafion is there for the ex- 
 prefs mention of it ? And where is the neceffity of 
 admitting this gentleman's interpolation ? It is plain, 
 that Rofalind takes it for granted from this compa- 
 rifon to an acorn that the tree was an oak, and talks 
 of it accordingly. 
 
 P. 346. I am here with thee and thy goats, as the 
 mojl capricious poet honejl Ovid was among the Goths. 
 
 The reader may, if he pleafes, fee the quibbles of 
 this pafTage explained in Mr. Upton's Critic. Obferv. 
 p. 245, 2 4 6 
 
 L 3 P. 350-
 
 P. 350. As concave as a covered goblet. 
 
 If the reader hath a mind to divert himfelf at feeing 
 folemn pedantry properly ridiculed, let him turn to 
 *the Canons of uriticifm, p. 75. 
 
 JP. 25 2 ' Than he that deals , and lives by, bloody drops. 
 
 The old reading, 
 
 Than be that dies and lives by bloody drops, 
 
 is manifeftly wrong. But how is the matter mended 
 by Mr. Warburton's correction, which he fo per- 
 emptorily aflures us the ' poet muft certainly have 
 ' wrote V Unhappily it is repugnant to the very idiom 
 of our language. For what fenfe in this place hath 
 ' dealing bloody drops ?' or what fenfe at all hath 
 ' dealing by bloody drops ?' Perhaps the poec might 
 have written, 
 
 Than he that daily lives by bloody drops? 
 
 P. 2$?. That you infult, exult, and rail, at once. 
 
 The common reading was, 
 
 And all at once. 
 
 But here Mr. Warburton's criticifm is extremely 
 precife and punctilious. If but two actions had been 
 mentions ! , it fhould have been, * both at once,' 
 However this cavil cannot impofe on a reader who 
 hath il.c le-il knowledge of our language, and who 
 oy,S que ntly cannot be ignorant th.it it doth not re- 
 quire this j r.ci ion Bu< the word is, that Phebe 
 had in tr th both infulted and exulted, but had not 
 faid one lingle word which could dtfe^ve the impu- 
 tation of railing. Mr. VVarburton was fo wholly 
 abforbed in the plaufibility of his emendation, that 
 he did not chink ;t worth h's while to confult the 
 
 COilttZZ. 
 
 P. 354-
 
 [ Si ] 
 
 P. 354. That can entame my fpirits to your worfoip. 
 
 To entame, for, to tame, is, I fuppofe, one of Shake- 
 fpear's peculiarities, formed however agreeably to 
 the general analogy of our language, as in the verbs, 
 enforce, endamage, engender, enfnare, entangle, 
 engrave, &c. There was therefore no need of 
 obtruding French upon him while he was writing 
 Englifh, as Mr. Warburton would do by fubftkuting 
 th : French word, entraine. 
 
 I ' Foul is mojl foul, being found to be a f coffer. 
 
 1 immon reading was, 
 
 is mojl foul, being foul, to he a ft offer : 
 
 t , An ill favoured perfon appears ro be mo ft 
 
 i soured, when to his ill favour he adds fcoffing. 
 Mr. Warburton firft of all gives us a very falfe and 
 abfurd interpretation of this paflfage, ar;d then on 
 the" foundation of that very abfurdity, which is 
 wholly his own, and not to be found in the text, he 
 rejects the auth^ntick reading, to make room for his 
 own very flat emendation. 
 
 P. 363. The mofi atheijlical break promife. 
 
 The ancient reading was, ' The mod pathetical 
 break-promife.' But according to Mr. Warburton, 
 ' there is neither fenfe nor humour in this exprefiion-,' 
 that is, he h-th difcovered none, which the reader 
 I believe wiii by this time agree with me is nothing 
 ftrange. The meaning is, That of all break-pro- 
 mifes he belt counterfeit- a real paftion. What the 
 epithet, atheijlical, hath to do here, I cannot con 
 ceive. I fuppofe the old filvo of faithlel\ lovers 
 Pirjuria ridet amantum maintained its ground even 
 
 L 4 P- 36
 
 [ 5* ] 
 
 P. 365. Meaning me ', abeafll 
 
 This is ftark nonfenfe. We fhould point thefc 
 words agreeably to Mr. Pope's edition, 
 
 Meaning me a beajl. 
 
 That is, infinuating that I am no man, but a beaft. 
 
 P. 367. He fends his bloody napkin. 
 
 Read, agreeably to the former editions, ' this bloody 
 napkin.' 
 
 P. 371. / will deal in pcifon with thee, or in bajli- 
 fiadoy or in fleet; 1 will bandy with thee in facl'ion. 
 
 Mr. Warburton inftruts us, that ' all this feems to 
 ' be an aliufion to Sir Thomas Overbury's affair.' 
 See how far a pregnant imagination can carry a man. 
 The Earl of Somerfet employed, neither baftinado, 
 nor flee I, nor did he bandy in faction, againfl Sir 
 Thomas Overbury. He only caufed him to be poi- 
 foned. At the bare mention therefore of fo'ifon y 
 Mr. Warburton's imagination ftreight takes flight, 
 and ' all this is an aliufion to Sir Thomas Overbury's 
 * affair.' But, if he had had patience enough but to 
 have caft his eye on our hiftory, he would have found, 
 that this affair of the poifoning Overbury did not 
 break out till the year 1615, long after Shakefpear 
 had quitted the flage, and within a year or a little 
 more of his death. 
 
 P. 373. But the fight of two rams. 
 
 Read, agreeably to Mr. Pope's edition, ' But the 
 fight of two rams.' 
 
 Ibid. Ten are a gentleman of good conceit* 
 That is, of good eftimatipn and rank. 
 
 p. 375.
 
 I *5$ ] 
 
 P. 375. All purity, all tr idly all cbfervance. 
 
 As the word obfervance, had been already employed 
 but two lines before, might not the poet poffibly 
 have written in this place, all perfeverance y which 
 follows very aptly after tryal? The metre will very 
 well admit it; only an anapaeft is fubftituted for an 
 iambick juft before the hypercatalectick fyllable. 
 
 P. 377. As tbofe that fear their hap % and know their 
 fear, 
 
 I agree with Mr. Warburton, that the common read- 
 ing. 
 As tbofe that fear they hope, and know they fear* 
 
 is ftrange nonfenfe. I think however it may be 
 better corrected with lefs alteration, thus, 
 
 As thofe that fear their hope, and know their fear. 
 
 That is, as thofe that fear a difappointment of their 
 hope, whofe hope is dafhed and rendered doubtful 
 by their fear, but who are moll undoubtedly certain 
 that they fear. 
 
 P. 379. Here come a pair of unclean beafts, which 
 in all tongues are caWd fools. 
 
 The common reading was, very ftrange beafts-, on 
 which Mr. Warburton exclaims, * What! ftrange 
 beafts ? and yet fuch as have a name in all lan- 
 ' guages ?' Yes, a rhinoceros, or a tyger, may be 
 properly enough called ftrange beafts, and yet have 
 fome n:ime or other, as our poet tells us fools have, in 
 ail languages. But I fuppofe our poet meant, very 
 ftrange in their kind, very extraordinary fools. Mr. 
 Warburron aim res us his reading 4 is highly humour- 
 ' ous.' Taftes for humour often differ extremely ; I 
 may therefore the more eafily be pardoned, when, 
 
 in
 
 [ 154 3 
 in my turn, I fay, that I cannot difcern the lead hu- 
 mour in ir. I acknowledge indeed the authority of 
 the maxim, De Gujlibus non eft difputandum ; but 
 1 know at the lame time that our critick's reafoning, 
 if it be good for any thing, makes unclean beads of 
 the whole fet of lovers, a^ well as of the Clown and 
 poor Audrey, fince they all equally make their ap- 
 pearance in couples, as Jaques himfelf in the very 
 next preceding words remarks. 
 
 P. 379. I defire of you the like. 
 
 The common reading, c I defire )cu of the like/ 
 expreffes exacliy the fame fenfe, and I think is as 
 good Englifh, and therefore ought to have been 
 preferved as a remain of our old conftrudion. 
 
 P. 380. to J 'wear ', and to for fw ear* according as 
 marriage binds* and blood breaks. 
 
 Mr. Warburton quite miftakes the conftruflion, and 
 then, in order to help it out, ima.ediately recurs to 
 his ufual remedy, an emendation. The conT'ruc- 
 tion is not, to Jw ear as marriage binds , as he under- 
 flands it, but to for fw ear only, c as marriage binds, 
 and blood breaks :' that is, to forfwear myfelf, if 
 the cafe (hall To happen, which will depend upon the 
 trial which of the two proves ftrongeft, my fidelity 
 to my marriage vows, or the temptation of my 
 blood. 
 
 P. 386. And I charge )ou* men* for the love 
 
 you bear to women, to like as much as p!e>ifts 
 
 them : that between you and the women* the play way 
 fleafe. 
 
 The words, to like as much as pleafes them* are an in- 
 terpolation of Mr. Warburton's. L Without this ad- 
 ' ditton,' he tells us, ' the inference contained in the 
 
 < iol-
 
 ( ~}S5 ] 
 following words would he tinfupported by any pre- 
 ceding premifes :' that is, he firft by his own inter- 
 polation makes that an inference, which originally 
 was only a charge, and then alledges the neceffity 
 of fupporting the inference of his own making, in 
 order to.juftify the interpolation which created that 
 inference. But, as he hath managed his cards, the 
 poet is juft between two ftools. The men are to like 
 only juft as much as pleafrd the women ; and the 
 women only juii as much as pleafed the men ; nei- 
 ther are to like any thing from their own tafte ; and 
 if both of them difliked the whole, they would each 
 of them equally fulfil what the poet defires of them. 
 So that upon a thorough examination of the matter, 
 Mr. Warburton's inference is not fupported by his pre- 
 mifes, notwithftanding'the liberty he hath taken with 
 thejtextinordertociju ft them together; and he hath 
 confequently proved himfelf as ill a reafoner, as he 
 is an injudicious critick. But Shakefpear did not 
 write fo nonfenfically ; he defires the women to like 
 as much as pleafed the men, and the men to fet the 
 ladies a good example, which exhortation to the men 
 is evidently enough implied in thefe words, ' that 
 ' between you and the women, the play may pleafe.' 
 
 The Taming of the Shrew. 
 
 P. 389. Induction. 
 
 I have no doubt I fiiall receive the reader's thanks 
 f.r directing him to a very elegant entertainment, 
 which he v.i 1 certainly find in the ingenious Mr. 
 Hull's i\ < i.fnion of the Moral of this Induction, 
 ji.le.t d i his N jtes on Horace's Epiftle to Auguf 
 tus, p. S3 ^ 1. 
 
 P. 
 
 3., p.
 
 t is* ] 
 
 P. 390. The deep-mouth'' d hracb. 
 
 Brach, is properly a bitch, more particularly of the 
 harrier kind. See Lye's Etymologicon. 
 
 P. 398. Above fome fifteen years and more. 
 We mould read, ' about fome fifteen years and more.' 
 
 P. 400. I am arrived from fruitful Lombard}. 
 
 Lucentio prefently after tells us, he came from Pifa, 
 which is a city of Tufcany, not of Lombardy, and 
 was arrived at Padua, which is indeed a city of 
 Lombardy. We Ihould therefore undoubtedly read, 
 
 / am arrived in fruitful Lombardy. 
 The ancient reading was, ' for fruitful Lombardy.' 
 
 Ibid. Vincentio his fon, brought up in Florence. 
 
 Lucentio is here fpeaking of himfelf, as is indifput- 
 ably evident from what immediately follows. We 
 muft certainly therefore place a full flop at the end 
 of the preceding line, and read, 
 
 Lucentio his fon, brought up in Florence. 
 
 P. 401. Me pardonato, gentle majler mine. 
 
 Read Mi per donate. Mr. Warburton, as he under- 
 flands Italian, Ihould have corrected this blunder, 
 
 P. 405. But fee, while idly I flood looking on, 
 I found th' effetl of Love in idlenefs. 
 
 ' That is, fays Mr. Warburton, the effect, or virtue 
 ' of the flower fo called ;' for the knowledge of which 
 he refers us to our Author's Midfummer-Night's 
 Dream, vol. i. p. 113, 114. But it appears from 
 thence, that this virtue was oniy known to the King of 
 
 the
 
 [ 157 3 
 
 the Fairies ; confequently Lucentio could not allude 
 to it. Nor doth the fenfe indeed require any fuch 
 allufion, being perfectly juft and apt in the literal 
 interpretation of the words, to which the firft of 
 thefe lines manifeftly directs us. 
 
 P. 405. If love hath toyl'd you, nought remains but fo, 
 Redime te captum quam que as minitno. 
 
 The common reading, 
 
 If love hath touch'd you, 
 
 gives us a very good fenfe. Why therefore is it ne- 
 ceffary, becaufe the next line is borrowed in fo many 
 words from Terence, that this line too muft allude 
 to another exprefllon of the fame poet, to be found 
 in a different play of his ? See the Canons of Criti- 
 cifm, p. 124. 
 
 P. 410. Where fmall experience grows but in a mew. 
 
 So Mr. Warburton, not troubling his head about 
 the infignificance, and indeed impropriety of the 
 particle, but, in the conftruction in which it ftands. 
 The other editions give us, but in a few ; which the 
 author of the Canons of Criticifm, p. 22, hath very 
 ingenioufly reftored to fenfe, by only altering the 
 punctunion, thus, 
 
 Where fmall experience grows. But in a few, 
 
 Ibid. She moves me not ; or not removes, at haft, 
 slffefiion fieg 1 d in coin. 
 
 This ftrange and uncouth exprefllon is not to be im- 
 puted to Shakefpear. The whole honour of it be- 
 longs to Mr. Warburton. The common reading 
 was, 
 
 /IffecJicrfs edge in me. 
 
 That
 
 C 158 1 
 
 That is very evident fy, the edg of my affection^ 
 What was the chief object of that affection Petruchio 
 had fufflciently informed us before : 
 
 As wealth is barthen of fny wooing daritti 
 
 Yet Mr. Warburton will needs have it, that the ob- 
 ject of this affection muft be the perfon of the lady, 
 and (0 ftreight introduces his emendation. But what 
 if afcer all we mould humour Mr. Warburton in this 
 interpretation, and admit that the affection regards 
 the lady ? Where, I pray, is the impropriety of 
 Petruchio's faying ; Be fhe never lo foul, old, and 
 curft, thefe objections will not take off the' edge of 
 my appetite to her, provided me hath money 
 enough ? 
 
 P. 4 1 5. Bion . He, that has the two fair daughters ? 
 is't he you mean? 
 
 It is evident from what immediately precedes, that 
 Tranio's enquiry was addrefTed to the gentlemen he 
 met, not to his own fervant, nor are the queftions 
 afked in reply fuitable in the fervant's mouth. It is 
 plain therefore that Biondel!o ? s fpeech muff be given 
 either to Hortenfio or to Gremio. 
 
 Ibid. Tran. Even he, Biondello. 
 
 It follows from what is fald in the preceding note, 
 either that the word Biondello muft be (truck out, or 
 that Tranio muft be fuppofed to call his lervant for 
 fome purpofe, which he is prevented from expref- 
 fing by the interruption of Gremio. 
 
 P. 417. PI cafe yc, we may contrive this afternoon. 
 
 I muft own 1 think Mr. Warburton's interpretation 
 of this very difficult paiTage is the mod probable; 
 but he mould have had the moc>. *o acknowledge 
 
 that
 
 [ *59 ] 
 that he'toas indebted for it, as well as for' the quo* 
 tation out of Spencer, to Mr. Upton's Critic. Obferv. 
 p. 290. The fenfe of the word, contrive, propofed 
 in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 90, 91. doth not 
 feem fo well fuited to the quaffing caroufes to their 
 rniftrefs's health, with which it is here connected. 
 
 P. 420. B ace alar e. 
 
 This Italian word properly fignifies, c a graduated 
 fcholar-,' but ironically and farcaftically, 4 a pretender 
 to fcholarmip.' 
 
 P. 430.. Two thoufand ducats by the year of land! 
 My land amounts but to fo much in all: 
 That flje fhall have, bcfides an Argofie, 
 
 Mr. Warburton owns that the reading of the fecond 
 of thtfe lines is in all the copies, 
 
 My land amounts not to fo much in all: 
 
 but rejects it, upon the pretext, that l fomething is 
 * wrong in the reafoning, which makes the whole to 
 ' be a play at crofs purpofes.' But this wrong rea- 
 foning is to be found, not in the text iifclf, but in 
 his mifreprefentation of it only. According to him, 
 Gremio fays, His whole eftare in land cannot match 
 Tranio's propofed fertlernent, yet he'il fettle fo 
 much a year upon her ; whereas Gremio only fays, 
 his whole eftate in land dorh not indeed amount to 
 two thoufand ducats a year, but me mall have that, 
 whatever be its value, and an Argofie over and 
 above ; which Argofie muft be underftood to be of 
 very great value from his fubjoining, 
 
 What, have I choak'd you with an Argofie ? 
 
 Thus the charge of wrong reafoning, and playing 
 at crofs purpofcs, founded merely in the mifappre- 
 heniion or the critick, being removed, we mould 
 
 of
 
 t 16 ] 
 
 of courfe reftore the authentick reading to its place 
 in the text. 
 
 P. 432. Wrangling pedant* this is, 
 
 Mr. Theobald, feeing no reafon why the poet mould 
 begin this fpeech with an hemiftich, hath thought it 
 incumbent on him to compleat the verfe from his 
 own conjecture. But this very play fupplies nu- 
 merous inftances of a hemiftich at the beginning of 
 a fpeech, where there appears as little reafon for it 
 as in the prefent cafe. 
 
 P. 433. Pedafcale, ril watch you better yet. 
 
 See Mr. Theobald's Shakefpear reftored, p. 156. 
 to whom Mr. Warburton ought to have acknow- 
 ledged his obligation for diftributing the fpeeches 
 which follow to the proper perfons. 
 
 P. 434. Old fajhions pleafe me beft ; Ptn not fo nice 
 To change true rules for ?ieiv inventions. 
 
 All the genuine copies, as Mr. Theobald informs 
 us, concur in giving us, old inventions^ for which 
 that gentleman with great appearance of probability 
 would fubftitute, odd inventions. I am inclined how- 
 ever to believe that the reading adopted by Mr. 
 Warburton is the true one; and that the miftake 
 was occafioned by the word which begins the firft of 
 thefe lines impoitunely obtruding itfelf upon the 
 tranfcriber's imagination. 
 
 &* 
 
 P. 438. Who? that Petruchio came not? 
 
 We fhould read, agreeably to Mr. Pope's edition, 
 ' Who ? that Petruchio came ?' 
 
 P. 442. The oats have eaten the horfes. - 
 
 This apparent blunder feems intended for a ftroke 
 
 of
 
 [ .6i ] 
 
 of pleafantry in the valet, intimating that the horfeS 
 were lb poor that the oats were the more fubftantial 
 creature of the two. See the Canons of Criticifm, 
 p. 204. 
 
 P. 453. Ftith\ he* s gone into the taming- fchool. 
 
 Mr. Pope and Mr. Theobald give us, ' unto the 
 taming-fchoo) ;' I would rather read, 4 to the tam- 
 ing- fchool.' 
 
 P. 457. Wby 9 Sir, Itruft, I may have leave to /peak. 
 
 As to Mr. Warburton's comment on this pafifage, 
 fee the Canons of Criticifm, p. 170, 171. 
 
 P. 474. Have at you for a better j eft or two. 
 I believe we ought to read, * for a bitter jeft or two.* 
 
 VOLUME the THIRD. 
 
 All's Well that Ends Well. 
 
 P. 3 . In dijfcvering my [on from me, I bury a fe' 
 cond hufband. 
 
 The common reading was, ' In delivering my fon 
 from me,' to which Mr. Warburton oppofes two 
 objections, which are the pretext of his attempt to- 
 wards an emendation. Thefirft is, that 'to deliver 
 1 from, in the fenfe of giving up, is not Englifh.' I 
 grant in , but, to delivir, in that fenfe, is Englifh -, 
 and, this being eltablifhed, nothing hinders but that 
 the circumftance of the delivery or giving up, to 
 wit, from me, that is, from my care and infpeclion, 
 may with great propriety be added. Let me afk 
 
 M this
 
 [ 162 ] 
 
 this critick, Whether, * In giving up my Ton ffoT>. 
 me,' would not have been good Englifh ? The other 
 objection is drawn from the words immediately fol- 
 lowing, / bury a ftcond hujband, which he fays f de- 
 
 * mand the reading he hath fubltituted. For to 
 ' dijfever implies a violent divorce, and therefore 
 
 * might becompa r ed to the burying a hufband; which 
 c del .v ring doth not.' This reasoning, like many 
 Othtrs of Mr VVarburton, hath at firtt fight a plau- 
 fible appearance, but at bottom it u pitiful. Let 
 me afk him another queftion ; Whether violence 
 may not be offered to the will by a command which 
 cannot be difobeyed ? Whether a mother, who de- 
 livers^ or gives up, an only fon, againft her inclina- 
 tion, and over-ruled by iuch a command, may not 
 fuffer as much violence, as if he were feparated from 
 her by fome other accident out of her power to con- 
 troul? 
 
 P. 4. Whofe wortbinefs would Jlir it up where it 
 wanted^ rather than flack it where there is fucb abun- 
 dance. 
 
 The common reading was, * rather than lack it ;' 
 Mr. Warburton's objection to which is a mere ca- 
 vil. He tells us there is no contrail beween, lack, 
 and, ftir up, as there is between, wanted, and, 
 abundance. But why fo ? To Jlir up, is, to excite, 
 and, to lack, is, to mifs of? Ana is there no con- 
 trail between Jtirri?7% up and mijfmg the effecl of? 
 For in Mr. YV a burton's reading, as well as in the 
 authentick one, goodnefs. denoted by the accusative, 
 it, mull ftand tor tlv effects of goodnels in the le- 
 cond member of this Sentence, or elle I am atraid 
 it i fcarce Knnlifh , fir.ee it is not ealy to underlland, 
 bow wortbinefs in one perfun can be faid to Hack 
 goodnefi itfclf i.j another. 
 
 P. 4.
 
 t '63 ] 
 
 P. 4. 0, that had ! 00; y?*i a pre/age 'tis f 
 
 The common reading was, * how fad a paffage 'tis!' 
 which Mr. Warburton allures us * is unintelligible.* 
 It may be fo to him without any difparagement to 
 the reading ; but every reader elfe will, I d.<re fay, 
 readily under ftand the grief the Countefs express 
 on recollecting the melancholy paffage of her friend 
 from bath to bad. As to Mr. Warburton's prefage, 
 it muft be allowed to be one of the mod extraordi- 
 nary in its kind. I he death of a fkilful phyfician 
 is declared to be a prefige to all fick people for the 
 future, that they muft now expect no cure. 
 
 P. 5. In her they are the better for her ftmplenefs. 
 
 The common reading, c for their fimplenefs,' is full 
 as good Englifh, conveys the very fame idea as [his 
 correction o. Mr. Warburton, and therefore- fhould. 
 not have been altered. Their fimplenefs is the fimple- 
 nefs with which they are accompanied. This per- 
 haps will appear more clearly, if inftead of fimple- 
 nefs we fubftitute another word of the fame figniii- 
 cation, as purity, for mliance. Thefe accomplish- 
 ments are the better in her, f r their purity and 
 freedom from the leaft taint of uncleannefs. All 
 our critick's fubtle reafoning therefore on this paffage 
 might as well have been (pared. 
 
 P. 10. Tour dale is better in your pye and y cur -por- 
 ridge, than in y cur check. 
 
 This is an idle quibble, ridiculous enough in itfelf, 
 but not unfuitable ro the frivolous empty character 
 or the fpeaker. A dale fisnifies a certain point of 
 time from which th - duration of anv thing is com- 
 muted, or wherein lb me particular event firft took 
 place, h fjgmfies alfo a certain kind of fruit, the 
 product chiefly of hot climates and iandy foils, fuch 
 M 2 as
 
 C i^4 1 
 
 as Barbary, Arabia, &c. It was formerly much 
 more in requelt than at prefent, and chiefly ufed in 
 pyes and porridge , and hence I apprehend our 
 plum-porridge derived its name. 
 
 P. 10. Not my virginity yet. 
 
 There foall your mqfter have a thou/and love** 
 A mother , and a mifirefs, and a friend^ &c. 
 
 The meaning of the hemiftich which begins this 
 fpeech is, My virginity is not yet that old virginity, 
 which in your defcription is a mere withered pear. 
 In order to afccrtain the fenfe of the two next lines, 
 on which depends that of the eight following ones, 
 may I have leave to afk, Where Bertram was to find 
 all thefe thoufand loves, with a mother, a miftrefs, 
 and a friend, into the bargain ? Not furely in He- 
 lena's virginity. That were as errant nonfenfe as 
 any Mr. Warburton hath rejected. But at court un- 
 doubtedly, whither he was then going. It is evi- 
 dent therefore, that fomcthing hath by fome acci- 
 dent been omitted, in which his going to court was 
 mentioned. There indeed he might foon have 
 amours enough on his hands, and find fair ones 
 enough, who would fupply the place of, and whom 
 h ; s paflion for them would induce him to treat with 
 all the duty, tendernefs, and confidence, due to, a 
 mother, a miftrefs, and a friend ; whom he would 
 addrefs with the fantaftick appellations of a phoenix, 
 an enemy, a guide, a goddefs, and a world more 
 
 Of pretty fend adoptious chrijhndoms^ 
 That Ui; iking Cupid gojjips. 
 
 For all the other intermediate whimfical titles are in 
 truth the offspring of a poetick lover's imagination, 
 which he hath at fome time or other bellowed on 
 his miftefs ; and I believe it would not be difficult, 
 if it were worth the learch, to fi ,d in the love poetry 
 
 of
 
 [ >5 ] 
 of thofe times an authority for mod, if not every 
 one, of them. At lead I can affirm it from know- 
 ledge, that far the greater part of them are to be 
 found in the Italian Lyrick poetry, which was the 
 model from which our poets chiefly copied. Upon 
 the fuppofition then of this omiilion, which per- 
 haps was only of thefe five words, * You're going to 
 court,' the lollowing eight lines lofe all that abfur- 
 dity which induced Mr. Wa: burton to reject them, 
 as being * fuch finimed nonfenfe as is never heard out 
 4 of Bedlam,' and we perceive them to be a not inele- 
 gant fatire on the extravagance of love-poetry. As 
 they (land at prefent, they are much too abfurd to 
 have proceeded from the mod * foolifh conceited 
 player' that ever lived. But indeed thefe players are 
 of great convenience to the criticks on Shakefpear. 
 When thefe do not readily apprehend his meaning, 
 the nonfenfical player is ever ready at hand to bear 
 the whole blame, and relieve them from any further 
 trouble or concern about it. 
 
 P. r 4 . Haggifh age. 
 
 That is, Age which brings on the fame debility and 
 deformity which is vifible in hags, or aged women. 
 I fee no probability in the allufion Mr. Warburton 
 fuppofes to the accidental malady called the Epialtis. 
 
 Ibid. Ere they can hide th.tr levity in honour. 
 
 That is, Ere they can hide the levity of their be- 
 haviour from publick obfervation by cloathing it in 
 the i'plendor of honourable action. Mr. Warburton 
 fuppofes honour^ to fignify titles^ in direct contra- 
 diction to the whole drift of the paflage. 
 
 Ibid. His tongue oleyd his hand. 
 
 Tfi3t i", His courage was more forward to exert it- 
 felf in action than in talking. 
 
 M 3 P. 15-
 
 C x66 ] 
 
 P. 15. So in approof lives not his epitaph , 
 As in your royal fpeech. 
 
 Thai: is, His epitaph, or the character he left behind 
 him, is not fo well eftablifhed by the fpecimens he 
 exhibited of his worth, as by your royal report in 
 his favour. 
 
 P, 1 6. Tou lack not folly to commit them, and have 
 ability enough to make fuch knaveries yours. 
 
 After premifing, that the accufative, them, refers 
 to the precedent word, complaints, and that this by 
 a metonymy of the etft-ct for the caule, ftands for 
 the freaks which occafioned thofe complaints, the 
 f nfe will be extremely clear ; You are fool enough 
 to commit thofe irregularities you are charged with, 
 and yet not fo much fool neither, as to difcredit 
 the accufation by any defect in your ability. Mr. 
 Warburton, utterly mi'laking the meaning of this 
 pafTage, huh given us one of the ftrangelt emen- 
 dations that ever d;opped fro:n a critick's, or even 
 from his own, pen -, c to make fuch knaveries yare, 
 < i. e. nimhle, dextrous.' Yet he tells us, 'he dares 
 * fay, thefe are Shakefpear's own words.' 
 
 P. it}. Fond done, fond done ; for Paris, he, 
 IV as this Kiig Priam s joy. 
 
 Thus hath Mr. Warburton endeavoured to fill up 
 the defective metre, and reltore the fenfe, of the an* 
 cient reading, which was, 
 
 Fond done, done, fond, 
 Was 1 his King Priam's joy. 
 
 But he found it impracticable, either to give the 
 rnramng of the words fond don:, fond done, or to 
 explain the propriety of the particle, for, as it Hands 
 in this place ; and therefore he wifely pafTes over both 
 
 thofe
 
 [ i6; ] 
 
 thofe articles in filence. Indeed the reftorirvg fuch a 
 fcrap of an old ballad may with truth be laid to be 
 feeling out one's way in the dark. It is poflible 
 however that the original reading may have been, 
 
 Por it undone, undone, quoth he, 
 IVas this King Priam' *s joy. 
 
 For it, that is, for Helen's face. 
 
 P. 20. That man that fmuld be at a woman' 's com- 
 mand, and yet no hurt done ! 
 
 The conftruftion obliges us to read, ' That man 
 fhould be,' &c. 
 
 P. 22. and choice Ireeas 
 
 A native Jlip to us from foreign feeds. 
 
 I cannot perceive how the integrity of the metaphor 
 is ijured by this expreftion, nor confequemly any 
 need for an alteration. The fenfe is, Anfi (Air choice 
 furnifhes us with a flip propagated from foreign 
 feeds, which we educate and treat as if it were na- 
 tive to us, or fprung from our felves. 
 
 Ibid. I can 110 more fear, than I do fear heav'n. 
 
 We are indebted for this ingenious emendation, 
 which I believe is the true reading, to Mr. War- 
 burton ; but I apprehend he hath not rightly under- 
 ftood its meaning, which I take to be this, Heaven, 
 or God, whom I fear beyond any other being, 
 knows my fecret already, why fhould I therefore 
 fear to chLover it to the Countefs ? I cannot fear her 
 more than I c'o heaven. The expreffion too would 
 be neater if we rea 1, 
 
 / cannot more fear, than 1 do fear heav'n. 
 
 M 4 P. 25.
 
 [ i68 ] 
 
 P. 25. If you Jhould tender yonr fuppofed aid. 
 
 That is, The affiftance you imagine you can give the 
 King. Mr. Warburton molt unaccountably inter- 
 prets it, ' your propping, fupporring aid.' See the 
 Canons of Criticifm, p. 209. 
 
 Ibid. EmboweWd of their doffrine. 
 
 It is rightly obferved in the Canons of Criticif'Tt, p. 
 96. that this expreflion plainly means, that the 
 phyficians had exhaufted al! their (kill. The beau- 
 tiful fatire Mr. Warburton fancies he hath difcovered 
 in it, is merely the offspring of his own imagina- 
 tion, without the leaft hint given of it by the poet. 
 
 P. 26. The well-loft life of mine. 
 I fhould rather read, ' This well- loft life of mine.' 
 
 Ibid. And, pray God's bleffing into thy attempt* 
 Perhaps, ' unto thy attempt.' 
 
 P. 28. There, to mufler true gate. 
 
 Mr. Warburton tells us this expreflion fignifies, 'to 
 ' arTemb'e tog-ther.' This may poffibiy hold with 
 regard to the word, mufter, but then he finks the 
 other two word?, true gate, m if they had no mean- 
 ing at all. See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 203. 
 The old reading was, ' there do mufter true gate.' 
 Poflibly the poet might have written, ' There do 
 tnafter true gait,' that is, There they make them- 
 felves matters of a genteel carriage. 
 
 P. 29. I have feen a medicine. 
 
 I am inclined to believe, that our poet was pleafed 
 to be beholden for this once to the French language, 
 
 by
 
 L 169 ] 
 
 by humouroufly inventing a feminine to the word, 
 medecin, in order to exprefs the fex of the phyfician, 
 which he afterwards doth more intelligibly by the 
 appellation of doftor-Jbe. 
 
 P. 32. I am not an impojlor, that pre dram 
 Myfelf agcinfi the level of mine aim* 
 
 The level of the impoftor's aim muft be fuppofed 
 to be reward in cafe of fuccefs. Whenever therefore 
 the impoftor vnunts his fkill and ability, at the fame 
 time that he is confeious of his own deficiency in 
 thofe refpecls, and that he muft mifcarry when they 
 are put to the trial, he may be properly faid to pro- 
 claim himfelf againft the level of his aim. 
 
 P. 33. A flrumpeC 's boldnefs, a divulged Jh am e 
 
 Traduc d by odious ballads : my maiden s name 
 Seard other wife, no worfe of worft extended 5 
 With vilejl torture let my life be ended. 
 
 It is impoflible to make fenfe of thefe lines as they 
 now ftand, and therefore Mr. Warburton prudently 
 pafTes them over in filence. Perhaps our poet might 
 have given them thus : 
 
 AjlrumjcCs boldnefs, a divulged flame ; 
 Tradnc d by odious ballads my maiden name, 
 Fear, otherwife, to word of worfe extended, 
 With vdcfi torture let my life be ended. 
 
 Ibid. Methinks, in thee fome bleffed fpirit doth /peak : 
 His power full founds within an organ weak. 
 
 The oVl reading was, His powerful found, to which 
 Mr. Warburron objects, that * fpeaking a found is 
 4 a barbarifm , becaufe to fpeak fignifies ro utter an 
 * articulate found, and found, being a general term, 
 ' comprehends thofe which are inarticulate.' But Mr. 
 Warburton takes the advantage of the wrong point-
 
 t *7 ] 
 
 Jng of the preceding editions to mifunderftand the 
 construction, and make room for his own correction. 
 The verb, doth /peak, in the firft line mould be un- 
 derftood to be repeated in the conftruction of the 
 fecond, thus, His powerful found fpeaks within a 
 weak organ. In this cafe, I apprehend, as well this 
 objection, as the other drawn from the two abla- 
 tives, fall both together to the g-ound. I own I 
 find great difficulty to perfuade myfclf, that Shake- 
 fpear was guilty of fo aukward an expreffion as, His 
 power full founds. If the reader likes it better, he 
 may underftand the conduction of the whole line to 
 be that of an ablative ahfolute, His powerful found 
 manifefting irfelf in a weak organ. But I take the 
 firft to be the true conftruction. 
 
 P. 34. With arty branch or imp age of thy flate. 
 
 Mr. Warburton afiures us, that ' Shakefpear un- 
 4 queftionabiy wrote, imrage. 1 For my own part, I 
 hold it to be a point much more unqueftionable, 
 ^hat he himfelf is the only Englim writer that ever 
 Jerioufly committed the word to paper. The com- 
 mon reading was, image, which may with great pro- 
 priety be applied to Princes of the blood, as, in 
 their feveral degree, they may be faid to reprelcnt, 
 and exhibit an image of the ftate and majefty of, 
 their roy.ij head. See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 
 
 200. 
 
 P. 37. When we fuould [ubmit curfelves to an un- 
 known fear. 
 
 That is, a fear, of the grounds of which we are ig- 
 norant. 
 
 Ibid. Par. So I fay, both of Galen and Paracelfus. 
 Laf. Of all the learned and authenlick felloivs 
 
 Mr. Warburton is always fond of difplaying the ex- 
 tent
 
 t *7 3 
 
 tent of his learning, and fometimes unfortunately 
 upon fubjects which he doth not underftand. For, 
 notwithstanding his quotation from D' Aubigne, if 
 he had confulted the hiftory of phyfick, he would 
 have found, that neither Paracelfus, nor his follow- 
 ers were ever authenticated by the approbation of the 
 faculty, any more than Mr. Ward, among ourfelves, 
 though the authentick phyficians in their particular 
 practice may have fometimes availed themfelves of 
 the remedies difcovered by thofe empiricks. 
 
 P. 38. Which JJjould, indeed, give us* * * a far- 
 ther ufe to be made. 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath inferted thefe afterifks to de- 
 note, that fome words have been dropped, of which 
 the purpofe, he tells us, is c [notice, that there is of 
 * this]' but he is really more fcrupuloufly provident 
 than is neceffary ; for the expreflion, give us, in the 
 common reading, which means the lame as, fugged 
 to us, conveys fingly the whole fenfe intended to be 
 fupplied by our critick's interpolation. See the 
 Canons of Criticifm, p. 157. 
 
 P. 40. Let the white death fit on thy cheek for ever. 
 
 The white death is a beautiful metonymy, for (he 
 whitenefs or palenefs of death. Mr. Warburton hath 
 betrayed his uttirr want of tafte, by degrading this 
 ex predion, and fubftituting in its place the moil 
 unmeaning and enigmatical one that can well be 
 imagined, * the white dearth.' Dearth, cf what ? 
 Why, ' of blood, 'as he tells you, though, without 
 this intimation, the reader might be long puzzled 
 before he would guefs at it. But what fo lows is 
 dill more extraordinary. The white dearth * more 
 4 figuratively fignifies barrenness, want of fruit or 
 ' iflue.' It feems then that barrennef% and want of 
 jilue, fit in a young virgin's cheek, that is, difplay 
 3 them-
 
 C i7* 3 
 
 themfelves to the view of the beholder, and that 
 (which is dill worfe) before the Lady hath had the 
 opportunity of trying whether this barrennefs is her 
 fault or not. Is it pofiible, that the man who wrote 
 this could be awake and in his fenfes ? 
 
 P. 41. Laf. There's one grape yet y 
 
 Par. I am fur e, thy father drunk wine. 
 
 Laf. But if thou be' eft not an afs, I am a 
 Youth of fourteen. I have known thee already. 
 
 Mr. Warburton tells us, ' he hath here regulated the 
 * fpeeches as they ought to be.' Mr. Theobald puts 
 in his claim, and affirms that * he ha:h divided the 
 fpeech.' In the mean time the regulation and the 
 divifion are exa&ly the fame, and to whom the ho- 
 nour of this correction is due is beyond my informa- 
 tion to determine. It is not eafy to guefs what in- 
 duced thefe gentlemen to depart from the reading of 
 the prior editions, which concur in giving the 
 whole of this to Lafeu ; Mr. Theobald indeed pro- 
 nounces it to be mod incongruous fluff, but then his 
 diflike of it is evidently owing to a miftake. He 
 fuppofes the fourth Lord, who had given Helena a 
 favourable anfwer, is here referred to, whereas in truth 
 Bertram, who had not yet been afkcd the quedion, 
 is the perfon intended. In this view I can fee no ob- 
 jection to the propriety of this fpeech. Helena had 
 given her anfwer already to all the young Lords ex- 
 cept Bertram. On which Lafeu fays, There is one 
 grape Rill left {meaning Bertram) -, and I am furethy 
 father drunk wine, that is, was no milkfop, and 
 confcquently if thou haft inherited thy father's nature, 
 thou mud have too good a tade to be indifferent to 
 fo much beauty and merit; but I am midaken in 
 thee ir thou be not an afs , for I have had occafion 
 to know thee aheady; alluding probably to Ber- 
 tram's familiarity with and partiality for Parolles. 
 
 To
 
 [ m. 3 
 
 To introduce Parolles, a creature and dependant of 
 Bertram's, as intermeddling in a converfation of fuck 
 confequence, in the King's prefence, is contrary to 
 all the rules of decency and behaviour, and what he 
 is made to fay is in his mouth absolutely without 
 meaning. Mr. Theobald afks, Why mould Lafeu 
 quarrel with ParolKs in the very next fcejie, if the 
 latter were not a little pert and impertinent to him 
 here ? It will be time enough to anfwer this queftion, 
 when this pertnefs or impertinence is pointed out 
 and explained. 
 
 P. 42. good alone 
 
 Is good; and, with a name, vilenefs is fo. 
 
 A ftrange difcovery indeed ! that e good alone is 
 ' good ;' but what lollows is frill more extraordi- 
 nary, c and vilenefs with a name is fo.' Is fo ? Is 
 what? Why, good, to be fire, fmce the conftruction 
 neceflfarily determines us ro this anfwer. For, vile- 
 nefs is fa can never, after what had preceded, fig- 
 nify, in E^glifh, vilenefs is vilenefs. Such nonfenle 
 doth M r . Warburton obtrude upon us under the 
 name of Shakefpear ! The common reading was, 
 
 . good alone 
 
 Is good without a name; vilenefs is fo : 
 
 the meaning of which one would imagine mould be 
 pretty plain. Good fingly by itfelf, without the 
 addition of title, is good (till ; it is the fame thing 
 with vilenefs. It takes its nature from itfelf, and 
 not fom j'uch external circumftances as title and the 
 like. And this interpretation is given by the poet 
 himfelf, in the lines immediately following, 
 
 The property by what it is fljould go t 
 Not by the title. 
 
 Notwithstanding all this Mr. Warburton miftuok 
 
 7 the
 
 E m ] 
 
 the meaning, and then murthered the text as we 
 have feen. 
 
 P. 42. She is good, wife, fairy 
 
 In thefe, to nature foe's immediate heir ; 
 And thefe breed honour. ' 
 
 Inftead of, good, all the other editions give us, 
 young ; and to turn this epithet out of its place, and 
 make room for his own conjecture, Mr. Warburton 
 hath employed all the depths and fubtleties of his 
 philofophy, but to very little purpofe. According 
 to him, ' what we immediately inherit from nature 
 ' we muft be underftood to poflefs in a fupreme de- 
 
 * gree ; but youth admits not of different degrees of 
 
 * excellence; therefore this muft be a faulty read- 
 ' ing.' But unhappily he happens to be wrong in 
 both his premifes. For neither doth it follow from 
 our inheriting any quality from nature, that we muft 
 poffefs that quality in a fupreme degree; if it did, 
 we mould be all upon an equality in this refpect, 
 and there would be no difference among men as to 
 natural advantages: nor is it true, that youth is a 
 quality that admits not of different degrees. We 
 may imagine a certain acme, or point as the perfec- 
 tion of youth, on both fides of which there is a great 
 latitude, and variety of degrees, all which are ne- 
 verthelefs comprehended in the general notion of that 
 quality. But to infift no longer on fo clear a point ; 
 hy good, our critick himfelf tells us, he un.ierftands, 
 virtuous. Will he avow this then to be a principle of 
 his philofophy, that virtue is an inheritance from na- 
 ture; or, in other words, that it is the mere offspring 
 of conftitution? If this be his fentiment, I have feen 
 no reafon for thinking that it was that of Shakefpear. 
 Nothing can be plainer than the fenfe of the com- 
 mon reading; She is yourg, wife, and fair; all 
 thefe accomplifhments fne inherits immediately from 
 nature; 2nd thefe accomplifhments draw honour 
 
 af:er
 
 [ >75 ] 
 after them. No, ' fays Mr. Warburton, 'youth 
 
 * cannot be faid to do fo; on the contrary, it is age 
 
 * which hath this advantage.' Mr. Warburton un- 
 luckily never thought of making a di(tin<5tion as to; 
 the fex. But let him only flep into one of the long 
 rooms at Bath fome evening when he is at leifure, 
 and obferve the difference of the refpect that is paid 
 by the youthful part of the company to a fine young 
 lady in her bloom, from that which is paid to her 
 mamma, how wife and prudent foever fhe may be, 
 and 1 fancy he may be induced to alter his opinion. 
 
 P. 44. The prifed of the King. 
 
 I think the common reading, ' The fraifed of the 
 King,' is the jufter and more elegant expreflion. 
 Honourable title conferred is but one method of ac- 
 knowledging virtue, and proclaiming the praife due 
 to it, and it is in this view only that it can be truely 
 faid to ennoble the perlon on whom it is bellowed. 
 
 P. 46. For doing, 1 am pafl \ * * * as I will by 
 thee y in what motion age will give me leave. 
 
 See Mr. Warbur tern's imagination, which intro- 
 duced thefe afterifks into the text, fully refuted, and 
 the true fenfe of the paffage explained, in the Canons 
 of Criticifm, p. 156. 
 
 P. 49. To have mine own good fortune. 
 
 It is plain, from what immediately follows, that 
 Shakefpear wrote, fortunes. 
 
 Ibid. Many a man's tongue fpeaks out his wafer's 
 ur.doing. 
 
 Mr. Warburton bids us read, fpeaks out \ and why 
 not, /hakes cut? which is the reading of rhe other 
 tdi;i us, and is certainly, of the two, iiAich the 
 
 molt
 
 r 176 ] 
 
 molt poetical expreflion, as it alludes to the vibrat- 
 ing motion of the tongue in fpeaking, and fuggefts 
 its being done accidentally and without defign. See 
 the Canons of Criticifm, p. 3. 
 
 P. 54.J By felf -unable notion. 
 
 Mr. Warburton ought to have acknowledged his 
 obligation to M-r. Upton, who in his Critic. Obferv. 
 p. 224. furnimed him with this emendation. 
 
 P. 55. For your avails they fell. 
 
 Grammatical construction requires us to read, they 
 fall y in (lead of, they fell, otherwife the difcourfe, as 
 it relates to a future time, is nonfenfe. An attempt 
 towards a rhime feems to have occafioned this faulty 
 reading ; but this fcene is not in rhime. 
 
 P. 58. The fellow has a deal of thai too much, 
 which holds him much to have. 
 
 * That is,' fays Mr. Warburton, ' his vices (land 
 ' him in ftead.' He might as well have faid, That is, 
 God profper long our noble King. For thefe words 
 exprefs the fentiment contained in the text as truly 
 as the interpretation he hath given us. I apprehend 
 the poet means folly and ignorance; for what elfe 
 could hold, or judge, Parolles to have much in him? 
 
 P. 59. Whence honour but of danger "joins a fear-, 
 As oft it lofes all. 
 
 The fenfe is, From that abode where all the advan- 
 tage that honour ufually reaps from the danger it 
 rufhes upon, is only a fear in teftimony of its bra- 
 very, as, on the other hand, it often is the caufe of 
 lofing all, even life itfelf. 
 
 P. 63.
 
 t W 3 
 
 ?. 63. Are fie things they go under 1 i 
 
 The common reading was, Are not the things they 
 go under, which not affording a tolerable fenfe, Mr. 
 Warburton hath altered by ftrikingout the negative-, 
 and he Teems much difpleafed with Sir Thomas Han- 
 mer for daring to improve on his emendation, and 
 fubftituting in its room, Are but the things they go 
 under. And why not ? fince the exprefiion is by this 
 means rendered more emphatical, and the lcnfe is 
 made much clearer. Befides that the miftake of, 
 not, for, but, is a very common one with the 
 printers of Shakefpear's works, as to which fee 
 Theobald's Shakefpear reftored, p. 173, 174. The 
 poet's meaning is, Are the cloak under which they 
 difguife their knavery. For though the fcene doth 
 happen to be a befieged city, and the perfons fpoken 
 of foldiers, 1 fee no reafon to fuppofe with Mr. War- 
 burton, women alluding to covert ways and mili- 
 tary fortifications. Not but that indeed they are 
 capable of talking of them full as pertinently, and 
 with as much understanding, as Mr. Warburton 
 himfelf, who is pleated to inform us, that ' the mili- 
 4 tary ufe of covered ways is to facilitate an approach 
 1 or attack j' whereas the mereft novice in military af- 
 fairs knows, that a covered way is a fortification 
 merely defenfive, intended to protect the body of 
 the place, and to keep the enemy at a diftance. 
 
 Ibid. Though there were no farther danger found, 
 but the modejty which is Co loft. 
 
 The common reading was, known, not, found, 
 which is a mere conjecture of Mr. Warburton's. The 
 fenfe of borh readings is prccifeiy the fame, nor h..s 
 this innovation any other advantage in point of the 
 expreffion, befides that of introducing an antitht-fis ; 
 a figure which, though Shak* fpear did nor difcb.in 
 
 "N the
 
 [ i7 1 
 
 the ufe of it, ought not therefore to be crammed 
 upon him at every turn. Mr. Warburcon indeed 
 principally infifts upon a difiincYion, between the 
 ' confequences of a woman's lofing her honour, and 
 * Diana's experience of the matter in her own cafe,' 
 which, if the reader can underftand, he is welcome 
 to. For my own part, I frankly own, I cannot. 
 All I know of the matter is, that the play repre- 
 fents Diana as virtuous, and not to have loft her ho- 
 nour, and that the lofs of honour is not the thing 
 intended in this place, but that imputation, which 
 the very attempt itfelf, though unfuccefsful, brings 
 upon modefty. 
 
 P. 64. Ay, furely, meerlye truth. 
 
 The common reading was, * meer the truth i' which 
 fee fully vindicated in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 8. 
 
 P. 67. y oncTs that fame knave, 
 
 That leads him to tkefe places. 
 
 Mr. Theobald rightly obferves, that no mention 
 had been made of any places, to which the words, 
 thefe places, can have any polible reference. He 
 therefore conjecTures we mould read, ' thefe paces,* 
 that is, to fjch irregular fteps, to courfes of de- 
 bauchery, to not loving his wife. But this expref- 
 fion is fo extremely (tiff, and remote from the com- 
 mon ufe of our language, that I think it much more 
 probable that our poet might write, ' thefe pranks.' 
 
 P. 70. Let him fetch off his drum in any hand. 
 I take it the ufual phrafe is, l at any hand.' 
 
 P. 73. As we'll direfl her how, y tis heft to bear it. 
 
 Mr. Pope's edition rightly omits the comma after, 
 hove. 
 
 9 P. 74.
 
 t m 1 
 
 P. 74. Is wicked meaning in a lawful deed ; 
 And lawful meaning in a wicked acl \ 
 Where both not fin, and yet a finfulfaft* 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath not rightly interpreted this 
 riddle. I think it may be explained in this manner. 
 In the firft line, the * deed was lawful,' as being the 
 duty of marriage between the hufband and wife, but 
 the hufband's ' meaning in it was wicked,' becaufe he 
 intentionally committed adultery. In the fecond line," 
 the * act was wicked' in the hufband, for the reafon 
 juft mentioned, but the ' meaning was lawful' in the 
 wife, who enjoyed no more than her own, and that 
 with a view to reclaim her hufband. In the third 
 line, the ' fact was finful' on account of the intentional 
 adultery, yet neither finned in it, not the hufband, be- 
 caufe he only intended adultery, but did not commie 
 it ; nor the wife, becaufe in her both the intention 
 and the commiHion were perfectly innocent and juf* 
 tifiable. 
 
 P. 78. What is not holy, that we fwear, not 'bides, 
 But take the High'Jl to witnefs. 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath fo ftrangely puzzled himfelf 
 about this paffage, that he hath at latt quite loft fight 
 of its drift and purpofe, and given us one of the 
 mod elaborate pieces of nonfenie to be found in his 
 whole performance. The common reading how- 
 ever, 
 
 What is not holy, that we fwear not by, 
 But take the Higb'fl to witnefs : 
 
 is, if he could have been content with it, extremely 
 plain and clear. The fenfe is, We never fwear by 
 what is not holy, but fwtar by, or take to witnefs, 
 the Higheft, the Divinity. The tenor of the rea- 
 foning contained in the following lines perfectly cor- 
 N 2 refponds
 
 t 180 ] 
 
 rcfponds with this , If I fhould fwear by Joye's great 
 attributes, that 1 loved you dearly, would you be* 
 lieve my oaths, when you found by experience that 
 I loved yon ill, and was endeavouring to gain cre- 
 dit with you in order to feduce you to your ruin ? 
 No, furely, but you would conclude that I had no 
 faith either in Jove or his attributes, and that my 
 oaths were mere words of courfe. For that oath can 
 certainly have no tye upon us, which we fwear by 
 him we profefs to love and honour, when at the fame 
 time we give the ftrongeft proof of our diibelief in 
 him, by purfuing a courfe which we know wM of- 
 fend and difhonour him. By not comprehending 
 the poet's fcope and meaning, Mr. Warburton hath 
 been reduced to the neceffity of fathering upon him 
 fuch ftrange Englifh as this : 
 
 ' What is not holy, that we fwear * to fignify, If 
 we fwear to an unholy purpofe ; a fenfe thole words 
 will by no means bear. ' Net * hide's.^ to fignify, 
 'The oath is diffohed in the making ; a meaning which 
 can no more be deduced from the v/ords than the 
 Former. 
 As to the remaining words, * But take the High'ji to 
 
 * witnefs* they fo plainly and directly contradict 
 Mr. Warburton's interpretation, that it was utterly 
 impracticable for him to reconcile them to it, and 
 therefore he hath very prudently palled them over 
 without notice. 
 
 P. Si. -Since Frenchmen are fo braid, 
 
 Marry 'em that will, Fd live and die a maid, 
 
 The fecond line in the prior editions flood thus, 
 Marry that zlUI> I'll live and die a maid. 
 
 * What!' fays Mr. Warburton, 'becaufe Frenchmen 
 c wcrefalfe, Ihr, that was an Italian, would marry no 
 
 body *'
 
 [ is* ] 
 
 c body ?' I muft own the force of the objection, but 
 cannot therefore prevail upon myfeJf to father falfe 
 Engliflb upon Shakefpear. The expreffion, Ivooald, 
 aJthough it doth not exprefs fo ftrong a reibiution 
 as, 1 will % yet (till it exprefles a wifh at lead, but 
 can never exprefs a condition, fuch as, rather than 
 merry a Frenchman, which is the figniftcation in 
 which Mr. Warburton ufes ic, and indeed the only 
 one in which it can be applied to his purpofe. As 
 to the objection itfelf, all that I can fay is, that I 
 fuppofe poor Diana in her prefent mood, full of in- 
 dignation at the perfidious defign of the Frenchman 
 upon her chaftity, had little better opinion of her 
 own countrymen, and begun to entertain unfavour- 
 able thoughts of the whole fex. Braid fignifies, 
 crafty, deceitful; fee Lye's Etymologicon in the 
 word, h rede. 
 
 P. 82. We fill fee them reveal t b em f elves, till i bey 
 attain to their abborr'd ends. 
 
 The fenfe feems to require that we fhould read, 
 * ere they attain.' 
 
 Ibid. Is it not meant damnable. 
 
 I believe Shakefpear wroie, Is it not mean time dam- 
 nable. 
 
 P. 86. Men are to mell with, beys are not to kifs. 
 
 Mr. Theobald hath in my opinion reftored the true 
 reading, thus, 
 
 Men are to mcll with, boys are but to kifs. 
 See my note on p. 63. of this play. 
 
 P. 90. Our waggon is prepared, and time revyes us. 
 
 If this correction of Mr. Warburton's be right, the 
 
 word, revyes, cannot iH'nify, ' looks us in the face, 
 
 N 3 c calls
 
 [ I4 ] 
 
 * calls upon us to haften,' which are his interpreta- 
 tions, it being never ufed in either of thofe fenfes, 
 but muft fignify, challenges us, which is its proper 
 import. The old reading, revives us y may poflibly 
 fignify, awakens us, animates us. 1 think it how- 
 ever not altogether improbable that our poet might 
 bave written, invites us. 
 
 P. 9.2. More advantaged by the King. 
 
 The old reading was, advanced* which fignifies, not 
 only, preferred, but raifed either in fortune or efti- 
 mation. Thus we fay, a man is advanced, or hath 
 advanced himfelf, in the world, by his own abilities 
 and induftry, when he hath raifed himfelf to a more 
 eminent rank in the world, than could be expected 
 from his birth and fituation. There was therefore 
 no occafion for an alteration. 
 
 P. 94. // rejoices, me* that hope* that I Jhall fee 
 him ere I die. 
 
 The common reading was, c It rejoices me, that / 
 hope I fhail fee him ere I die / that is, the hope I have 
 of feeing him once more before 1 die gives me joy ; 
 which is an expreffion full as unexceptionable as that 
 which Mr. Warburton hath fubftituted in its place. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 180. 
 
 P. 95. Bui it is your carbinado"dfacc. 
 
 The ancient reading, carbonadoed, is undoubtedly 
 the true one. See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 59. 
 
 *93- 
 
 P. 98. I do pity his difirefs in my Jimilies of comfort. 
 
 Thefe jimilies, it feems, are the appellations of ' for- 
 < tune's cat, carp, &c. 7 but what comfort th^y could 
 
 a<imi-
 
 [ iH ] 
 
 adminifter is not eafy to conceive, nor hath Mr. 
 Warburton been pleafed to inform us. But what 
 exception could be taken to the ancient reading, 
 ' I do pity his diftrefs in my /miles of comfort?' The 
 meaning is, 1 teftify my pity for his diftrefs by en- 
 couraging him with a gracious fmile. 
 
 P. 103. Noble fee was, and thought 
 
 IJiocd engaged. 
 
 That is, by acceptance of the gage, or ring which 
 me had thrown me. Mr. Theobald would per- 
 fuade us to fubftitute, ungag'd, for, unengaged, but 
 I doubt the word is fcarce Knglifh. 
 
 P. 104. then if you know \ 
 
 That you are well acquainted with y our f elf, 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath quite miftaken the fenfe of this 
 paflage, which I take to be this, Iam as well ac- 
 quainted with this ring as you can poffibly be with 
 your own perfon ; if therefore you know that you 
 have a perfect acquaintance with your own perfon, 
 confefs without more fhifting that the ring was hers. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 39. 
 
 P. 105. Who hath fome [cur or five removes come Jhort 
 To tender it herfelf. 
 
 I can fee no objection to the common reading, 'for 
 four 01 five removes ,' but what the gentleman adds 
 two lines fa;ther on, 
 
 who by this, I know, 
 
 Is here attending, 
 
 makes it evident that we mould read, 
 
 Who fad for four or five removes comefljort. 
 
 N 4 P. 106.
 
 t *4 1 
 P. J 06*. Derived from the ancient Capulet. 
 
 I believe we mould read, Capulets, from the ancient 
 family of the Capulets. 
 
 |*. 1 08. * and in fine, 
 
 Her infuit coming with her modern grace, 
 Subdu'd me to h$r rate. 
 
 The fecond of thefe lines is neither Englifh nor fenfe. 
 I fhould fufpect the poet wrote, 
 
 Her own fuit joining with her mother's, fcarce 
 
 Subdu'd me to her rate, 
 
 Ibid. May juftly diet me. 
 
 That is, May juftly conftrain me to faft, by depriv- 
 ing me of the dues of a wife. Mr. Warburton moit 
 unaccountably imagines the expreflion to allude to 
 * the fevere meihods of cure in the venereal diforder.' 
 An apt allufion indeed in the mouth of a young wo- 
 man, who pretended great virtue and delicacy. 
 
 Ibid. Sir, much like the fame upon your finger. 
 
 This is no verfe, but may be made one by the eafy 
 tranfpofiuon of a fingle monofyllable, 
 
 Much like the fame upon your finger, Sir. 
 
 Twelfth-Night : or, What you will. 
 
 p. 117. -= : that, fur fei ting 
 
 The appetite, Love may ficken, and fo die. 
 
 The common reading was, 
 
 - that forfeiting, 
 
 The appetite may fu ken, and fo die. 
 
 But
 
 [ i8 5 ] 
 
 But in this reading Mr. Warburton difcovers an im- 
 propriety of expreftion, which renders his emenda* 
 tion necetfary. For * we do not fay, that the appetite 
 " fickens and dies through a furfeit ; but the fubject 
 c of that appetite.' This defect he thinks he hath fup^ 
 plied by introducing love as that fubject. But, I 
 apprehend, love is fo far from being the fubject of 
 the appetite, that it is the very appetite itfelf ; and 
 is fo underflood to be by the poet in this paffage. If we 
 were to admit our critick's obfervation, there would 
 (till be no juft ground for exception to the common 
 reading, for the appetite would ftiil have a reference 
 to the word, love, mentioned but two lines before, 
 and would (land for the appetite of love. So that 
 there is not the leafl: foundaiion for any alteration. 
 I would beg leave to obferve farther, that Mr. War- 
 burton, for want of knowing, that an anapeft may 
 fupply the place of an iambick, and that the lafl: fyl- 
 Jable of the word, appetite, may be pronounced ei- 
 ther long or fhort, as the exigency of the metre re- 
 quires, hath given us a molt uncouth and unmulical 
 abbreviation by writing it appUite. 
 
 P. 1 1 8. Stealing, and giving c dour. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. no. 
 
 P. 119. Three fov reign thrones, are all fupplfd, and 
 filVd, 
 (Ofweet perfection!) with one f elf -fame King! 
 
 The old reading was, c Theft fov'reign thrones.* 
 But Mr. Warburton affures us his emendation is 
 4 exactly in the mannerof Shakefpear ;' and, to prove 
 it, quotes one fingle paffage, wherein, after having 
 particularized the things, he mentions their number. 
 As if it followed, that therefore he mult do fo every 
 where ; or that variety of expreflion in an author, who 
 is remarkable for abounding in it more than any other, 
 
 were
 
 r is* ] 
 
 were a fufficient reafon for an alteration. As to his 
 other emendation, * (O fweet perfection !)* inftead 
 of, Her fweet perfections? which reading he hath 
 thought fit to difcard, he doth not even vouchfafe 
 to give a reafon for it, and it wo^ld be difficult to 
 affign any other than his not understanding his au- 
 thor. I would beg leave therefore to inform him, 
 that the fweet perfefiions here mentioned are, her 
 affections, her judgment, and her fentiments, fuf- 
 fkiently denoted by the preceding mention of the 
 liver, brain, and heart, the feveral feats where they 
 are vulgarly and poetically fuppofed to have their 
 refpective refidence. Whereas Mr. Warburton*s 
 reading is lefs complaifant to the lady, and a little 
 afiuming in the lover, as it infinuates, that the per- 
 fection of the three fovereign thrones depends upon 
 their being filled by, and tubjected to a King. 
 
 P. 125. And yet I will not compare with an old man. 
 
 The fenfe feems to be, And yet I look on myfelf as 
 above being put on a level with an old man in this 
 matter, how fuperior foever he may be to me in 
 other refpects. Mr. Warburton tells us, ' This is in- 
 
 * tended as a fatire on the common vanity of old 
 
 * men, in preferring their own times, and the paft 
 
 * generation, to the prefent.' If our poet had this 
 intention, he was very unhappy in the exprefiing 
 it; for the words have not the leaft tendency to this 
 fenfe. And in truth, a fatire in the mouth of Sir 
 Andrew Ague-cheek would be Something very ex- 
 traordinary, as ic would be no lefs fo, that the poet 
 fhould pitch on him as the organ to convey his own 
 fentiments. 
 
 P. 126. In fame- colour" d flocking. 
 
 Probably an error of the profs. Read, * In a flame- 
 colour'd docking,' agreeably to ihe prior editions- 
 
 P. 127.
 
 t 187 ] 
 
 P. 127. Yet % abarrfulftrifel 
 
 The reading we find in Mr. Pope's edition is much 
 more natural, as well as more intelligible : 
 
 Tet y baneful Jtrif el 
 
 P. 129. Put me into a good fooling! 
 
 Mr. Pope's edition gives us a more correct reading, 
 
 * Putme into good fooling.' 
 
 P. 130. AW Mercury indue thee with pleajing^ 
 for thou freak' ft well of fools ! 
 
 The old reading was, * indue thee with leafing* 
 the humour of which efcaping Mr. Warbui ton, he 
 immediately has recourfe to his ufual expedient, an 
 emendation. Olivia had been making a kind of 
 apology for fools ; and the fool in recompenfe prays 
 Mercury, who was the God of cheats, and conle~ 
 quently of liars, to beftow upon her the gift of 
 leafing, or lying ; humoroufly intimating, that who- 
 ever undertook the defence of fools would have 
 plentiful occafion for that talent. The word Mr. 
 Warburton hath fubftituted for it, pkafing, is vague 
 and unmeaning, without any determinate fi^nifica- 
 tion, and hath no more relation to eloquence than 
 to any other accomplifhment Olivia was pofTefled of. 
 Yet he plumes himfelf mightily on this conjecture, 
 infults Sir Thomas Hanmer for not adopting it, 
 and calls the genuine reading ' a foolifh and a itu^ 
 
 * pid blunder.' 
 
 P. 132. 'Tis a gentleman-heir. 
 
 The common reading, * 'Tis a gentleman : here* is 
 fully vindicated in the Canons ot Criticifm, p. 198. 
 
 P. "34-
 
 [ iS8 ] 
 
 P. 134. 1 am very complibk, even to the leaftfux- 
 Jkr ufage. 
 
 Mr. Wafburton interprets thefe words as if they 
 were the expreffion of a bully ; I am ready to call 
 any one to account who offers me the leaft finifter 
 ufage. The words immediately preceding, 'Good 
 beauties, let me fuftain no fcorn,' which breathe the 
 titmoft gentlenefs, as well as the brutality of man- 
 ners implied in fuch an infult, might have taught 
 him better. The meaning is plain, I am very apt 
 to take to heart, and to make accompt of, the lead 
 finifter ufage. 
 
 P. 135. 1 am a meffaiger. 
 
 It i extremely odd that Mr. Warburton fhould un- 
 derstand thefe words to exprefs Viola's inclinations, 
 not her bufinefs. 
 
 P. 137. The reverter ate hills. 
 See Upton's Critic. Obferv. p. 311. 
 
 P. 139. With fuch ejlimabk wonder. 
 
 That is, With an admiration that held her in as 
 high account as they did who thought her beautiful , 
 Or, in Abort, with lb high a degree of admiration. 
 It is ftran^e, that one fo much accuftomed to 
 Shaktf f Tsr's phrafeology as Mr. Warburton, mould 
 pronounce this to be l an interpolation of the players." 
 
 P. 141. Il.r eyes had crojl her tongue. 
 
 The old reading, c Pier eyes had loft- her tongue,' 
 gives us a much better ka(e, and therefore flight 
 rot to have been altered. Her eyes had loft the af- 
 fiftance f her tongue, 'hat is, were fo very bufy in 
 cxprefiing her meaning, as if they could not rind 
 
 her
 
 r .89 ] 
 
 her tongue to do it with. I never yet heard that the 
 fuperftitious notion of the fafcination of the eyes was 
 carried fo far, as to fuppofe a per lbn, or any part 
 of him, was fafcinated by his own eyes. 
 
 P. 143. In decay there lies no plenty. 
 
 Mr. Warburton alTures us 'this is a proverbial fay* 
 * ing.' It may be fo for ought I know, though I 
 confefs it is the firft time I ever met with it. ''But 
 I am fure, its meaning is trivial. For what wonder 
 there fhould be no plenty in decay, when the very 
 terms ftand in direct oppofition to each other ? The 
 common reading, 
 
 In delay there is no -plenty, 
 
 gives us a much better, fenfe, and much more ap 
 pofite to trie context; If we imagine that by delay- 
 ing our enjoyments, we are treafuring up a larger 
 mare of them, we (hall find purielves difappointed. 
 
 P. 1 45. Tilly valley, Lady! there dwelt a man 
 in Babylon, Lady, Lady. 
 
 Tily vallex, is an expreffion of contempt, of much 
 the fame import as our modern fiddle f addle. This, 
 with the word, Lady, which is three times repeated, 
 and ought to be pronounced with a like fcornful 
 tone, makes no part of the finging, as Mr. War- 
 burton, following the later editors, by printing them 
 in Icaiicks, midcads the reader to apprehend. 
 
 Ibid. Cottiers catches. 
 
 The old reading, coziers catches, that is, colder; 
 catches, in which fenfe the word is (till ufed in thy 
 wellem part of this kingdom, ou;:hr undoubtedly 
 t* be reltored. S.e the Onons of Criticifm, p. 5 1 . 
 Us etymology is from cGrdivainer, which was hfifc 
 
 3 t>.
 
 f *9 1 
 
 abbreviated into eordier, and then by degree:, in vif* 
 tue of the weftern pronunciation, coardier* came ta 
 be cozier. 
 
 P. 149. Unjlaid and fkittifi in all notions elf c\ 
 
 Save in the conjtant image of. the creature 
 That is belov'd. 
 
 Mr. Warburton informs us that the folio gives us, 
 ' notions, which he fays is right.' On the contrary 
 we learn from the Canons of Criticifm, p. 188. 
 that both the folio's read, motions j to which read- 
 ing, I apprehend, no juft exception can be taken. 
 The fenfe is, Unftaid and fkittifh in every other 
 emotion of their mind, except that of conftantly 
 fuggefting the image of the creature beloved. 
 
 Ibid. // gives a very echo from the feat 
 Where love is throrid. 
 
 * The feat where love is thron'd,' is, I fuppofe, the 
 heart ; but the tune could not properly be faid to 
 be in the heart, and therefore could not give an 
 echo from it. The common reading therefore, 
 
 // gives a very echo to the feat 
 Where love is throrfd y 
 
 is certainly right. It gives the heart a very echo -, 
 that is, It is fo confonant to the emotions of the 
 heart that they echo it back, again. 
 
 P. 150. it is filly footh, 
 
 And tallies with the innocence of love, 
 Like the old age. 
 
 Mr. Warburton, not apprehending the meaning of 
 the old reading, 
 
 And dallies with the innocence 0/ love, 
 
 hath
 
 t '9' ] 
 
 hath altered it as we fee above : But fee it fully jus- 
 tified and well explained in the Canons of Criticifm, 
 p. 27. 
 
 P. 151. That their bufinefs might be every thing* 
 and their intent no where. 
 
 This is an emendation of Mr. Warburton's. The 
 old reading was, ' and their intent every where,' 
 which exprefles exactly the fame fenfe, though the 
 fire of our muck's imagination would not fuffer him 
 to underftand plain Englifh. An intent every where 
 is juft the fame as an intent no where, as it hath no 
 particular place more in its view than any other. 
 
 P. 152. But 'tis that miracle, and Queen of Gems, 
 
 That nature pranks, her mind, at trails my 
 foul. 
 
 Mr. Warburton confeffes he did not underftand the 
 common reading, 
 
 That nature pranks her in : 
 
 and therefore he purfued his conftant practice in the 
 like cafe, he altered it. He objects, that we are 
 not told in this reading, what is * that miracle, and 
 c Queen of Gems.' There was no need of telling 
 us. Every reader, befides himfelf, would readily 
 underftand it to be Olivia's beauty. He afks too, 
 ' What is meant by nature's pranking her in a mi- 
 * racle ?' To prank, is to deck out, to adorn ; fee 
 Lye's Etymologicon. Ic may therefore be anfwer- 
 ed, It is nature's decking her out in a beauty which 
 appeared to her lover miraculous, and furpafiing 
 the luftre of the brighteft gems. 
 
 P. 15S. Why, this is evident to any formal capacity. 
 
 The fcnfc. is, This is evident to the capacity of any 
 
 man
 
 [ i 9 2 ) 
 ti&n in his fenfes. See the Canons of Criticifm, p< 
 196. So our poet in the Corhedy of Errois, p. 
 262. of this volume. 
 
 'Till I have us'd th y approved means 1 have. 
 With wholfome fyrups, drugs, and holy prayers. 
 To make of him a formal man again. 
 
 P. 163. But wife mens folly -faWn, quite taints their wit. 
 
 I fuppofe folly-fall* n, in one word, is an error of the 
 printer, as it deftroys the conftruclion, by depriving 
 it of a fubftantive. The fenfe is, But wife mens 
 folly, when it is once fallen into extravagance^ 
 overpowers their discretion. 
 
 P. 164. Moft pregnant and vouch fafed ear. 
 
 Pregnant, fignifies, apprehenfive, quick of apprehen- 
 fion. 
 
 P. 1 70. As might have drawn one to a longer voyage. 
 I believe we mould read, * drawn me.' 
 
 P. 178. Thy interpreter* 
 
 This word hath no fenfe in this place ; the other 
 editions concur in giving us, intercepter, which is 
 undoubtedly right. 
 
 P. 185. Thefe wife men, that give fools money, get 
 themfelves a good report after fourteen years pur chafe. 
 
 That is, Purchafe a good report at a very extrava- 
 gant price. I can fee no probability in Mr. War- 
 burton's imagination, that this is intended as a fa* 
 ' tire on monopolies,' in virtue of which the fenfe 
 js degraded into an idle quibble. 
 
 P. 186.
 
 t m 1 
 
 ft 1 86. how many f'ru'itlefs franki 
 
 This ruffian hath botch d up. 
 
 Botch'd up, is a metaphor taken from the employ- 
 ment of a botcher, who fets patches on old worn-out 
 cloaths. The fenfe is, How many fruitlefs pranks 
 this ruffian hath been obliged to make fatisfacYion 
 for, at the expence of his fortune arid reputation. I 
 can fee no fenfe in Mr. Warburton's interpretation, 
 * fwelled or inflamed, from a botch or boil;' 
 
 P. 191. Like to the old vice. . 
 
 For the explication of this pafiage, fee Upton's 
 Critic. Obferv. p. 8 11. 
 
 Ibid. So far exceed all inftance, all difcourfe. 
 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 201. where injlanct 
 is rightly interpreted, example. 
 
 P. 193. So that, ccnclufwn to be ajked, iSj if your 
 four negatives make your two affirmatives, why, then 
 the worfe for my friends, and the better for my foes. 
 
 Men often afk premifes, and femetimes even beg 
 them, as Mr. Warburton well knows, but no man 
 ever afked a conciufion. This is always inferred as 
 a thing of right and neceflity. Such ftufF as this 
 could never fall from the pen of Shakefp?ar. Thd 
 common reading was, * So that conclujiom to be as 
 kijfes' which being evidently abfurd and corrupt, I 
 may be allowed to guefs rhat our poet wrote, ' So that 
 conclusions follow a. ikiffes* thatis clofeon each other's 
 heels. As to wi.at follows, * if your four negatives 
 ' make your two affirmatives,' I fuppofe it is one of 
 thofe abfurdities commonly put into the mouth of 
 clowns or jefters, which make a part of their cha- 
 racter, and feems to be intended to ridicule the for- 
 
 O mui
 
 [194* ] 
 
 mal folemnity of the men of fcience. In any other 
 view it is quite befide the purpofe of the arguments 
 
 P. 201. I was preferv'd tofirvejhis noble Duke. 
 
 I believe the poet wrote, * I was preferred,' and I 
 find Mr. Theobald concurs with me in opinion. 
 
 P. 203. Anyo'tr Laiyjhip will have it as is oug&t 
 to be, you mujl allow Vox. 
 
 The word, vox, hath abfolutely no meaning. Per- 
 haps we mould read, ? you muft allow fort -, that 
 is, You muft make the proper allowances for the 
 condition he is in. 
 
 Ibid. One day /hall crown th 1 alliance otft, [0 pleafeyou* 
 
 The word, cn't, in this place is mere nonfenfe. I 
 doubt not the poet wrote, * an't fo pleafe you.' 
 
 P. 204. And in fitch forms which here were pre fuppos'd 
 Upon thee in the letter. 
 
 Prefippos'd, Signifies in this place, previously pointed 
 out to thee, in fuch a manner as to deceive thee. 
 
 The Comedy of Errors. 
 
 P.. 213. That by misfortunes was my life prolonged, 
 I rather fancy Shakefpear wrote, 
 
 Thus by misfortunes was my life prolonged. 
 
 P. 2 1 8. Drug-working forcerers, that change the mind. 
 
 l'fee no reafon for preferring this conjecture of Mr. 
 Warburton to the common reading, ' Bark-working 
 forcerers.' His pretext is, that,. ' in the lines which 
 
 precede
 
 [ '95 ] 
 precede and follow this, the epithet given to each 
 kind of thefe mifcreants declares the power by 
 which they perform their feats, and therefore this 
 epithet ought to do fo too.' But this obferva:ion 
 is not juft. For thofe epithets do not exprefly declare 
 that power, but only fupply Mr. Warburton with 
 fome foundation for inferring it. And the common 
 reading doth the fame. For the epithet, dark-work* 
 ing, plainly denotes thofe who work by unknown 
 powers, fuch as charms, inchantments, talifmans, 
 and the like. And they are as plainly diftinguifhed 
 from the witches, as the epithet given thefe laft im- 
 plies that they work by compact with the Devil* 
 which the epithet under confideration doth not. So 
 that this alteration feems to be groundlefs. 
 
 P. 222. and the gold 'bides ft ill, 
 
 'That others touch ; yet often touching will 
 Wear gold: and Jo no man, that hath a ridme^ 
 But falfehood and corruption doth it ftjame, 
 
 That is, according to Mr. Warburton, ' The great- 
 ' eft character may in time be injured by the repeated 
 ' attacks of falfehood and corruption.' Theexpref- 
 fion of this fentiment, even in Mr. Warburton's own 
 words, is very cloudy, not readily intelligible,, and 
 eafiiy miftaken. But, what is worfe, the words he 
 gives us lor the text do by no means convey it. The 
 natural fenfe of them is, There is no man that hath a 
 character but (names it with falfehood and corruption ; 
 which is evidently abfurd. To recover the true 
 reading it is necefTary to lay before the reader the 
 corrupted one of the el^eft editions : 
 
 yet the geld 'bides ft ill, 
 
 Th.it others touch, and often touching will : 
 Where gold and no man, that hath a name, 
 By falfehood and corruption doth it Jhame. 
 
 O 2 Upon
 
 [ i 9 6 J 
 
 Upon confideration of which I am inclined to be- 
 lieve the poet might have written, - 
 
 yet the gold 'bides flill, 
 
 That others touchy though often touching will 
 Wear gold: and fo a man that hath a name, 
 By falfehood and corruption doth it Jhame. 
 
 The alteration is inconfiderable, and the text thus 
 amended is too plain to need any explanation. 
 
 P. 225. Nay, not Jure in a thing falfing. 
 
 I fuppofe we mould read, falling. The hair, every 
 one knows, is fubject to falling. 
 
 P. 226. And tear the ftain d Jkin of my harlot-brow* 
 I believe we fhould read, 
 
 \And tear the Jiain'd Jkin off my harlot-brow, 
 
 P. 227. I live dtjlaindy thou undifhonoured. 
 
 How is that poffible, when the whole drift of this long 
 fpeech is to prove, that the hufband and wife are 
 fo intimately and individually incorporate, that no- 
 thing could be with truth and juftice faid of the one, 
 in which the other would not equally participate ? 
 infomuch that, by the fuppofed adultery of the huf- 
 band, the lady declares herlelf to be pofiefled wirh 'an 
 adulterate blot,' and 'ftrumpeted by his contagion.' 
 Could fhe then notwithstanding live diftained, and 
 her hufband not difhonoured r I fhould therefore 
 make very little- fcrup'e to alter the text thus, 
 
 1 live diftained, thou difhonoured. 
 
 That is, As long as thou continued to difhonour 
 thyielf, I alio live diftained. Mr. 1 heobald per- 
 ceived the noufenfe of the common reading, but was 
 
 HOC
 
 [ 197 ] 
 
 not happy in his endeavours toward the correcting 
 it. 
 
 P. 2 2 8 . We talk with goblins, . owls, and elvifb fprights. 
 
 Mr. Warburton was beholden for the fubftance of 
 his note on this paflage to Mr. Upton, Critic. Obferv. 
 p. 301, 302, though he hath not thought proper to 
 acknowledge it. 
 
 P. 234. And, in defpight of mirth, mean to be merry. 
 
 That is, Though mirth hath withdrawn herfelf from 
 me, and feems determined to avoid me, yet in de- 
 fpight of her, and whether fhe will or not, I am 
 iefolved to be merry. Mr. Warburton's explana- 
 tion differs very little from nonfenfe. 
 
 P 2 35- ~~ /ball, Antipholis, 
 
 Ev'n in the fpring of love, thy love- firings rot ? 
 
 Mr. Theobald, from the defect of the rhime, con- 
 fpicuous in the former of thefe verfes, juftly con- 
 cluded, that the reading had been corrupted. He 
 therefore reftored the rhime by adding the word, 
 bate, at the end of the firft verfe ; but I think he 
 did not carry his correction far enough, and I fuf- 
 pect that the poet wrote, 
 
 -fhall a nipping hate, 
 
 Ev'n in the fpring of love, thy lovc-fprings rot ? 
 
 By love-fprings, I underftand to be meant the buds 
 and fhoots of love, which are fuppofed to be nipped 
 by hate even in the very feafon of their fpring. 
 
 P. 237. And as a bed I'll take thee, and there lye : 
 And in that glorious fuppofuion think, 
 He gains by death, that hat b fitch means to die. 
 
 The author of the Canons of Criticifm, p. 145, 146. 
 
 O 3 hath,
 
 C ?98 1 
 
 hath, I think, rightly altered, thee, to them, in the 
 firfi: of thefe lines, and given us the true fenfe of 
 this paflage, as well as juftly expofed Mr. Warbur- 
 ton's interpretation of it. 
 
 P. 237. Let Love ? being tight, be drowned iffhefwh. 
 
 There is no perfon mentioned in this whole paiTage, 
 to whom the pronoun, /he, cm poffibly by referred; 
 for Luciana is always addrefied in the fecond perfon. 
 We muft therefore certainly read, 
 
 Let Love, being light, be drowned if he fink. 
 
 P. 239. S. Ant. Where France? 
 S. Dro. In far forehead; armed and reverted, mak- 
 ing war again]} her heir. 
 
 We are told, that by the word, heir, c Henry IV. 
 of France is alluded to, againft whom the League 
 was at that time in arms.' Thofe who interpret it 
 in this manner had not confidered, that in afligning 
 the feveral countries their feats in the different parts 
 of the woman's body, it was necelTary there fhould 
 be fomething in the latter, which correfponded to, 
 the former; ottarwife the affignment would be im- 
 pertinent and nonfenfical. Now what is there in a 
 woman's forehead that correfponds to an heir? We 
 fhould therefore undoubtedly read, ' making war 
 againfl: her hair.'' I will not deny but that, by the 
 help of a filly quibble, fomeallufion might poffibly 
 be intended to Henry IV. but I am much rather in- 
 clined to think with Mr. Upton, that the allufion, 
 was to the French difeafe. See his Critic. Obferv. 
 p. 163, 164. 
 
 Ibid. Whole Armado.es of carraUs. 
 
 We mould read, Caraques, or Carracks, a fort of 
 
 mer-
 
 C '99 1 
 
 trrerchant fhip of great (towage, formerly ufed by the 
 Spaniards and Portuguefe in their Weft-India trade, 
 
 . P. 240. fbis drudge of the Devil, this diviner. 
 
 The former editions gave us no more than, * This 
 drudge, or diviner,' both which appellations as the 
 kitchen-wench is the perfon fpoken of, and as (he 
 informed the fpeaker of all his privy marks, fuit her 
 very properly. But Mr. Warburton finding her 
 called a witch a few lines lower, will needs have ir, 
 that fhe muft "be called a witch here too. * A word,* 
 he is pofitive, c is certainly dropped out of the text,* 
 and therefore on his own authority he inferts, of the 
 devil. 
 
 P. 242. Ev*njujl the fum, that I do owe to you* 
 Is growing to me by Antipholis. 
 
 I cannot conceive in what fenfe the word, growings 
 can find a place here. It cannot mean, growing due, 
 for the money was grown due by the delivery of the 
 chain. I fuppofe therefore we mould read, owing, 
 
 P. 243. Or fend the chain, or fend me by fame token. 
 I mould rather read, 
 
 ; or fend by mefome token. 
 
 P. 245. Might' 'Jl thou perceive aujlerely in his eye. 
 
 The word, aujlerely, hath no meaning fuited to this 
 place. I fufpect that the poet wrote, 
 
 Might'' Jl thou perceive afTu redly in his eye\ 
 
 and that the tranferiber or editor altered it out of re- 
 gard to the metre, not knowing that a tribrachys 
 may fupply the place of an iambick in our tragick 
 verfe. 
 
 O 4 p. 254.
 
 [ 200 j 
 
 P. 254. Or rather the prophecie, like the parrot^ 
 beware the rope's end. 
 
 The conftruction of thefe words is imperfect, the 
 verb being wanting. Mr, Warburton's interpretar 
 tion of them, which I believe is right, would direct 
 us to read, ' or rather I'll prophefy.' 
 
 P. 261. Sweet recreation karr'd, what doth eufue, 
 But moodie and dull melancholy, 
 {Kinfman to grim and comfort lefs Defpair ?] 
 And at her heels a huge infectious troop. 
 
 I cannot concur with Mr. Warburton in opinion, 
 that the third of thefe lines was an ' infertion of the 
 * fir ft editors,' much lefs that it is zfoolifb infertion. 
 I agree with him however, that ' Shakeipear could 
 ' never make melancholy a male in this line, and a 
 c female in the next.' But the defective metre of the 
 fecond line, which wants a whole foot, is a plain 
 proof that fome dim/liable word hath been dropped 
 there s the reftitution of which may greatly contri? 
 bute to the removing our critick's objection. I 
 think it therefore probable our poet may have 
 written, 
 
 Sweet recreation barfd, what doth enfue, 
 But moodie [moping] and dull melancholy ', 
 Kinfman to grim and comfortlefs Defpair ? 
 And at their heels a huge infeclious troop. 
 
 I have placed the word, moping, between crotchets, 
 becaufe I will not anfwer for it, that this was the 
 very word made ule of by Shakefpear, 
 
 P. 26.4. My wafer preaches patience 'to him, avd the 
 
 while. 
 
 The metre is fpoiled by the redundancy 6f a foot. 
 The fenie will be equally prefer ved if we read,
 
 [ 201 ] 
 
 My majier peaches patience to him, while. 
 
 P. 265. To fcotcb your face, and to disfigure you. 
 
 I fhould be glad to be informed why we muft read, 
 ' fictch your face,' and not, fcorch, as all the other 
 editions have it, fince we were told but a few lines 
 before, that Amipholis had a fire-brand in his hand, 
 and was actually fcorching the face of the conjurer. 
 
 P. 269. //; fap-confuming winters drizzled [now. 
 
 I am much miftaken if Shakefpear did not write, 
 grizzled fnow.' 
 
 Ibid. All thefe hold witneffes I cannot err, . 
 Tell me thou art my fon Antipholis. 
 
 It is evident that in this reading, the copulative, and, 
 is wanting to connect the two verbs, hold, and tell, 
 and to make out the conftruclion. I am therefore 
 convinced the old reading, 
 
 All thefe old wilneffes, 
 
 is right. iEgeon calls them * old witneffes,' becaufe 
 they were of the fame age with himfelf, and he had 
 from his youth been accuftomed to give credit to 
 them, and had hitherto feldom found they had de- 
 ceived him, efpecially when they all concurred in the 
 fame tcftimony. 
 
 P. 272. Go to a goffip's feafi and gaude with me : 
 After fo long grief fuch nativity ! 
 
 There is no fuch Englifh verb as, gaude, for, re- 
 joice ; we fhould return it therefore to Mr. Warbur- 
 ton's mint where it was firft coined. The common 
 reading was, go with me. I am inclined to believe 
 the whole mould be thus corrected and pointed, 
 
 Go
 
 [ 202 ] 
 
 Go to a goffip's feafl, and joy with mt^ 
 After fo long grief fetch nativity. 
 
 That is, I confider myfelf as juft now brought to bed 
 of thefe children. Let me therefore invite you, 
 who have afiifted at this my delivery, to accept of a 
 feafl , and to congratulate and wifh me joy on fuch 
 a birth, after fo long and tedious a labour. 
 
 The Winter's Tale. 
 
 P. 279. Nine changes of the watry ftar hath been 
 
 (The fhepherd *s note) ftnce we have. left our 
 throne. 
 
 The common reading was extremely clear and intel- 
 ligible, if Mr. Warburton could but have let it 
 alone , but in the rage of correction, he hath made it 
 both nonfenfe and falfe Englim. For how do the 
 words, hath been, come to fignify, have pajfed ever 
 our heads? We mould therefore undoubtedly read, 
 on the authority of the other editions, 
 
 Nine changes of the watry Jiar hath been 
 
 The fhepherd s note, fince we have left our throne. 
 
 The conftrucYion is, The fhepherd's note hath been 
 nine changes of the watry ftar ; the fenfe is, The 
 (hepherd hath noted nine changes of the moon. 
 
 P. 281. To let him there a month, beyond the gefl 
 Prefixed f of s parting. 
 
 Mr. Warburton defends this reading, and informs 
 us that ' gefl fignifies a ftage or journey.* Be it fo. 
 Let us therefore fubftitute either of thofe two words 
 in the place of gefl , and we (hall ftiil find the paffage 
 will be nonfenfe. I am inclined to believe our poet 
 wrote, * 
 
 beyond the lid, 
 
 that
 
 [' >3 J 1 
 
 that is, beyond the limit, in which fenfe Shakefpear 
 hath feveral times ufed that word. 
 
 P. 282. Grace to boot! 
 
 Mr. Warburton informs us, that this is c a pro- 
 ' verbiai expreilion, and fignifies, though tempta- 
 
 * tions have grown up, yet I hope grace too has 
 c keptpace with them.' This gentleman feems to 
 think the coining proverbs, which no man befides 
 ever heard of, is one of his own peculiar privileges. 
 We have feen already feveral inftancesof it. When he 
 meets with an expreflion which he can make nothing 
 of, he inltantly calls it a proverbial one; and then, 
 thinking he hath done the bufinefs, he affigns it a 
 meaning, whether the words will bear it or no, 
 which he can befl fit to the context. This proceed- 
 ing ought to have been inferted among the Canons 
 of his Criiicifm. In the prefent cafe, I will venture 
 to fay no fuch proverb ever exifted, neither, if it 
 did, would it bear the fenfe he hath put upon it. 
 The text is certainly corrupt, and I believe we ought 
 to read, 
 
 Grace to both ! 
 
 that is, Pray fpare your reflections on us both, your 
 Queen as well as myfelf. 
 
 P. 283. Tou may ride's 
 
 With one/oft kifs a thouf and furlongs* ere 
 With fpur we heat an acre, but to th* goal. 
 
 Mr. Warburton tells us, c the fenfe is plain enough, 
 
 * when the line is thus pointed,' to wit, * good ufage 
 
 * will win us to any thing; but, with ill, we (top 
 
 * fhort, even there where both our interefl: and in- 
 
 * clination would otherwife have carried us.' But 
 plain as this i'cn[c is, it is ftill plainer, that he could 
 not conftrue his own Englifh, and that the meaning 
 
 of
 
 [ 204 J 
 
 of the text as he hath pointed it, is clearly contrary 
 to that which he afcribes to it. The text, as he 
 gives it us, can admit no other interpretation than 
 this, With good ufage you may win us to any thing, 
 but with ill, our advances will be extremely flow, 
 except in cafes where our own interefts and inclina- 
 tions would have made your interpofition unnecef- 
 fary. But this fenfe did not anfwer Mr. Warbur- 
 ton's purpofe, as he could not help feeing, that it 
 degrades thofe important words, but to tb' goal, 
 into a mere botch, a flat unmeaning appendage, 
 which adds nothing to the fentiment intended to be 
 expreflfed. For who would doubt that intereft and 
 inclination would generally preferve their influence 
 on the fex, even though the ill-natured authority of 
 the hufband mould be exerted to the fame purpofe? 
 I am therefore for retaining the old punctuation, 
 which places the full flop after the word acre. The 
 words, but to the goal, which begin the next fen- 
 tence, very clearly mean, But to keep in view the 
 point I was driving at. 
 
 P. 287. He would not ft ay at your petitions made*, 
 His bufinefs mere material. 
 
 I mould rather chufe to point thefe lines thus, 
 
 He would not flay, at your petitions made ; 
 His bufinefs more material. 
 
 To ftuy, in this place, doth not mean, to tarry, 
 but, to put or;, or delay. 
 
 P. 289. if ever fearful 
 
 To do a thing, where I the iffue doubted, 
 Whereof the execution did cry out 
 shainjl the non -performance, U'xas a fear 
 Which oft infecli the wifift. 
 
 I would defire the reader to confider well this paf- 
 
 fage,
 
 [ 20 5 3 
 
 fage, and try whether he can make any fenfe of it. 
 What is the thing, ' whereof the execution cries 
 out againft the non- performance ?' What is the idea 
 which this laft *exprefiion conveys to us ? If he is 
 not able to reconcile this apparent nonfenfe to any 
 apprehenfion of common ftnfe, he may perhaps be 
 inclined to think with me, that we ought to read, 
 
 * the now-performance,' which gives us this very rea- 
 fonable meaning ; At the execution whereof fuch 
 circumftances difcovered themfelves as made it pru- 
 dent to fufpend all further proceeding in it. 
 
 P. 289. if thou wilt, confefs ; 
 
 (Or elfe be impudently negative* 
 
 To have nor eyes, nor ears, nor thought) then fay, 
 
 My wife's a hobby-hcrfe. 
 
 The comma after, wilt, fpoils the fenfe of this paf- 
 fage. The true conftruftion is, ' If thou wilt con- 
 fefs, then fay.' 
 
 P. 291. Tvt lov'd thee. Make't thy qiieftion, and 
 go rot. 
 
 If the reader can make any thing of this nonfenfe, 
 he is welcome to it. I mull profefs I cannot ; and 
 therefore think it probable the poet wrote, 
 
 rze lov'd thee. Mark this qiiejlion, and go do'c. 
 
 Camillo had juft faid, ' Fie knew well enough how 
 to poifon the King of Bohemia, without incurring 
 the leaft fufpicion, but had too high an opinion of 
 his Royal Miflrefs's honour, to give credit to 
 the imputation laid upon her.' The King anfwers ; 
 
 * My pad favours fufficiently prove the affection I 
 bear thee. Now mark this one fingle queftion I 
 am about to afk thee-, and then, if it doth, as it 
 muff, appear unanfwerablc, go, and do what I have 
 
 re-
 
 i 206 ] 
 
 requefted of thee, without farther fcruple or delay/ 
 This queftion, which was to determine Camillo's 
 obedience, immediately follows in the next fucceed- 
 ing lines. 
 
 P. 294. As he hadfeen't, or been an injirument 
 To vice you to't. 
 
 Mr. Warburton will never be able to perfuade me* 
 nor I believe any perfon who hath any tolerable 
 knowledge of our language, that the exprefllon in 
 the fecond line is Englifh, notwithstanding his 
 having difcovered, by ftudying our old plays, that 
 in them c the character called the Vice was the temp- 
 ' ter to evil.* The genuine reading is fo very ob- 
 vious, one can fcarce mifs it, 
 
 To 'mice you lo't. 
 
 P. 296. Good expedition be my friend, and comfort 
 
 The gracious Queeji's ; part of his theme, but 
 
 nothing 
 Of his ill-tc'en fufpkion ! 
 
 Mr. Warburton was fo bufy in reftoring fenfe to the 
 former part of this fentence, that he hath quite for- 
 gotten the latter part of it, which he hath left mere 
 nonfenfe. For he himfelf would certainly be puzzled, 
 if he were called upon to account for, or make fenfe 
 of, thefe words, 
 
 part of his theme , but nothing 
 
 Of bis ill-ta'en fufpkion ! 
 
 Who, I would afk, is intended by this defcription ? 
 According to the natural confiruction it can be no 
 other than the Queen. But could Bohemia fay, after 
 what Camillo had told him, that the Queen had no 
 fhare in her hufband's fufpicion ? The reading there- 
 fore which Mr. Pope hath given us is certainly right, 
 and Mr. Warburton altered it for no other realon than 
 
 that
 
 r 207 i 
 
 that he did not understand it , and it feems he had 
 the luck to puzzle Sir Thomas Hanmer too. Thus 
 fhen we find it in Mr. Pope's edition, 
 
 Good expedition be my friend, and comfort 
 
 The gracious Queen, part of bis theme ; but nothing 
 
 Of his ill- 1 a 1 en fufpicion ! 
 
 The verb, comfort, as appears by the ftile of our 
 Jaws, had a double fignification. It fignified, to al- 
 leviate forrow, and to aflift, or encourage. The 
 poet employs the word in both fenfes in this paffage, 
 according to the fubject to which it is applied. Bo- 
 hemia's wi(h therefore is, That the expedition he 
 was about to ufe might be fortunate to himfelf, and 
 prove a comfort to the Queen too, his partner in 
 the King's imputation, as he was allured from her 
 gracious difpofition, that fhe could not but be very 
 deeply affected with grief if any misfortune mould 
 befal himfelf; but at the fame time he wifhes too, 
 that his flight might not give the lead handle or 
 encouragement to Strengthen the King's ill-ground- 
 ed fufpicion. Mr. Warburton's queftion, ' Hovr 
 ' could his expedition comfort the queen ?' muft 
 appear ftrange to any one who is confeious of any 
 fentiments of generofity, friend (hip, or even com- 
 mon companion ; but was certainly very innocently 
 afked by him, who appears to Iiave been fo wholly 
 taken up in contemplating his own emendation, 
 that he did not fee what was immediately before his 
 eyes. 
 
 P. 298. Alack, for kffer knowledge, how accursed 
 In being fo blejll 
 
 It is evident from what precedes and follows, that 
 " l .r paffage Ihould be thus pointed : 
 
 1 Alick
 
 [ 208 ] 
 
 Alack for lejfer knowledge ! bow accursed 
 In being Jo blefs'd ! 
 
 That is, Alas would my knowledge had been lefsl 
 how accurfed am 1 now in being what I called blcft 
 with greater ! 
 
 P. 298. He hath difcover'd my defign, and I 
 
 Remain a pinch* d thing ; yea, a very trick 
 For them to play at will* 
 
 The fenfe, I think, is, He hath now difcovered my 
 defign, and I am treated as a mere child's baby, a 
 thing pinched out of clouts, a puppet for them to 
 move and actuate as they pleafe. Mr. Warburton's 
 fuppofed allufion to enchantments is quite befide the 
 purpofe. 
 
 P. 300. He, who /hall fpeak for her, is far off guilty, 
 But that he fpeaks. 
 
 The language of this paffage is obfeure, and the 
 conftruction fomewhat intricate. The fenfe, I ap- 
 prehend, is this, He, who fhall fpeak for her, will 
 be confidered by me as participating in her guilt, at 
 lead: in a diftant degree, though he doth but barely 
 fpeak. Mr. Theobald would read, 
 
 1 is far of guilty, 
 
 that is, partakes deeply of her guilt i but this ex* 
 predion is certainly not Englifh, nor is the fenti- 
 ment conveyed by it that which the poet intended 
 to give us. 
 
 P. 302. byfome putter-on, 
 
 Th.it will be damrfd for't ; 'would I knew 
 
 the villain, 
 I would land-damm him. 
 
 Mr. Pope's edition gives us, c land-damn him.' But 
 
 nei*
 
 [ 20 9 ] 
 
 neither he, nor Mr. Warburton hath vouchfafed to 
 inform us, what is the meani g of either of :hofe 
 words. For my own part I muft proteis my utter 
 ignorance in this matter ; urttefs perhaps the poet 
 poflibly might have written, 
 
 I would half-damn him. 
 
 that is, I would give him his portion for this world. 
 I am full as much a ft ranger ro the verb, glib my- 
 felf % fix lines lower, and find as little relource in Mr. 
 Pope, Mr. Theobald, and Mr. Warburton. I think 
 it however not altogether improbable that the poec 
 might have written, 
 
 And I had rather unCib myfelf than they 
 Should not produce fair ijfue. 
 
 That is, I had rather deprive myfclf f the fatisfacYion 
 of leaving my heritage to kindred of my own, than 
 that the iiTue of my daughters mould be juftly fuf- 
 pected of being illegitimate. The verb, u'nfib, 
 which I muft confefs is of my own coining, with- 
 out any authority that I know of to juftify it, is de- 
 rived from the od Englifh word, fib, fignifying 
 kindred, relation of both k;i,ds, o. affinity, as well 
 as of confanguinity. I muft therefore abandon this 
 correction (after p'emifing, that Shakefpear, in hi9 
 language, hath indulged himfelf in many liberties 
 of this kind full as extraordinary as thisj to the 
 ir.ercy of the reader. 
 
 P. 502. I [eft and feel 7, 
 
 As you feel doing thus ; and fee withal 
 The injiruments that feel. 
 
 Ant. If it befo, 
 We need no grave to bury hone fly. 
 
 The inftruments we employ in doing any thing do 
 not feci, but are felt. This paffage therefore is un- 
 
 P doubtudly
 
 t *io ] 
 
 doubted !y corrupt. I would conjecture that the 
 
 poet might have written, 
 
 - 
 
 The injiruments of that you feel. 
 Ant. Iffo. 
 
 The King had faid, He both faw and felt the wrong 
 that had been done him, and he now adds, juft as 
 you feel the impreflion on your fenfe at the prefent 
 moment, and not only feel it, but at the fame time fee 
 too the inftruments which are the caufe or occafion 
 of this your feeling ; that is, in fhort, I fee and feel 
 my wrong with the fame certainty, as you fee and 
 feel the prefent object of thofe fenfes. To preferve 
 the metre, which however our poet is not always fe- 
 licitous to preferve in divided verfes, I have fubfti- 
 tuted at the beginning of the reply of Antigonus, 
 Iffo, for, If it be fo. 
 
 P. 308. And would by combat make her good, fo were I 
 A man, on tb* worjl about you. 
 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 20, 21. where the 
 common reading, 
 
 A man, the worft about you, 
 
 is fully vindicated. If I might however have liberty 
 to alter any thing here, I mould rather read in the 
 iirft line, make it good, that is, make good what I 
 fay. 
 
 P. 311. - Jove fend her 
 
 A better guiding fpirit I 
 
 I mould rather believe our poet wrote, fend him. 
 
 Ibid. The baftard brains. 
 We mould undoubtedly read, ' The baftard'' 's brains.* 
 
 p 3 r 3-
 
 I 211 ] 
 
 P. 313. Sir, be prof per ous 
 
 In more than this deed does require , and bking\ 
 Aga'mft this cruelty, fight on t by fide! 
 Poor thing condemned to lofs. 
 
 Mr. Roderick hath very ingenioufly reftored the 
 true reading of this paflage thus, 
 
 -Sir, be prof per ous, 
 
 In more than this deed dees require ! and bleffmg 
 dgainft his cruelty, fight on thy fide, 
 Poor thing, condtmn'd to lofs ! 
 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 212, 21 3.' 
 
 P. 314. It Jhames refort. 
 
 Foremojl it caught me, the celeftial habits, 
 (Methinks, 1 fo Jhould term them) and the re- 
 verence 
 Of the grave wearers. 
 
 It is pleafant to obferve the weighty reafons on which 
 
 Mr. Warburton grounds his alteration of this paf- 
 
 fage. The common reading was, 
 
 I (hall report, 
 
 For moft // caught me, the celeftial habits, Sec' 
 
 To this Mr. Warburton objects as follows, ' What 
 
 * will he report ?' Why, he immediately tells you 
 himfelf what he will report, * the celeftial habits, 
 ' the reverence of the wearers, and the folemnity of 
 
 * the facriftce ,' for that too we may be fure he in- 
 tended n report, as he mentions it with fo much 
 admiration. Our critick goes on to afk, ' What 
 ' means this reafon of his report, that the celeftial 
 4 habits moft (truck his obfervation ?' let me afk a 
 qu-ftion in my turn. What bett r inducement can 
 a man have for reporting any thing, than that the 
 fight of it made a very ftrong imprcflion on him ? 
 
 P 2 For
 
 [ 212 ] 
 
 For thefc wife reafons, and not fo much as the (hadow 
 of any other, hath this gentleman taken upon him 
 to difcard Shakefpear's expreflions, and introduce 
 his own whimfies in their room. But Shakefpear is 
 amply revenged on him by the abfurdity into which 
 his own precipitancy hath led him. He makes 
 Dion firft join with Cleomines in the praife of the 
 climate, the air, the foil, and the temple itfelf, and 
 yet at the fame time fay, that ' the priefts veftments 
 and reverend deportment were the firft things that 
 (truck him.' Now let the reader compare this 
 with the good fenfe of the vulgar text. * You feem 
 to be moft ftruck with the delicacy of the climate, 
 the fweetnefs of the air, the fertility of the foil, and 
 the furpafiing magnificence of the temple ; for thefe 
 are the circum (lances you have chofen to expatiate 
 upon. For my part, my report will chiefly turn 
 upon the celeftial habits and reverend deportment of 
 the priefts, and above all the folemnity and fanclity 
 of the facrificial rites , for thefe were the things 
 which mod ftruck me.' 
 
 P. 316. Even to the guilt , or the purgation, 
 
 Mr. Roderick very juftly obferves, that the word, 
 even, is to be underftood here, not as an adverb, but 
 as an adjective, and fignifies equal, or indifferent. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 213. 
 
 P. 318. laftly, hurried 
 
 Here to this place, ? th y open air, before 
 I have got ftrength of limit. 
 
 I apprehend the meaning is, Before I have recovered 
 that degree of ftrength, which women in my circum- 
 ftunces ufually acquire by a longer confinement to 
 their chamber. 
 
 P. 321.
 
 [ 2i 3 3 
 
 P. 321. That did but fhew thee off, a fool, inconjlant, 
 And damnable ingratefuL 
 
 The common reading, which is certainly faulty, 
 
 was, 
 
 That did but /hew thee, of a foot, inconfiant, 
 
 is with much more propriety and probability cor- 
 rected by Mr. Theobald, thus, 
 
 That did but jhew thee of a foul inconjlant, 
 
 P. 327. 'Would, I had been by to have help'd the 
 old man. 
 
 I concur in Mr. Theobald's conjecture, that the 
 poet wrote, ' to have helped the nobleman.'' 
 
 Ibid. Tou're a mad old man. 
 
 I am perfuaded Mr. Theobald hath recovered the 
 genuine reading, c You're a made old man,' chough 
 Mr. Warburton would not hearken to him. 
 
 P. 328. Enter Time, as Chorus. 
 
 Mr. Theobald and Mr. Warburton have very inju- 
 diciously placed this Chorus at the end of the Third 
 Act, which in Mr. Pope's edition is placed in the 
 beginning of the Fourth; as undoubtedly it ought 
 to be, fince its purp ofe is to prepare the fpectatur or 
 reader for a new fcene of action, at a greatly dif- 
 tant time, in a different court, and in which new 
 per'onages are introduced, with whom, without this 
 inflruction, he would be utterly unacquainted. I 
 am perfuaded however, from the infipid flatnefs of 
 the expredion, and the poverty of the fer.timcnr, 
 that this Chorus is an interpolation of the players, 
 and not the genuine product of Shakefpear's pen. 
 
 V 3 P. 3^8.
 
 I 2^ 3 
 
 P. 328. - ; that make and unfold error. 
 
 I think Mr. Theobald hath given us very ftrong 
 reafons to induce us to believe that the true reading 
 
 was, 
 
 1 that rnafk and unfold error. 
 
 Ibid. and leave the gulph untrfd 
 
 Of that wide gap. 
 
 Mr. Warburton, in order to difeard the common 
 reading, which was, 
 
 ' ' and leave the growth tintry*d, 
 
 is immediately at his queftions, as ufual. ' The 
 * growth of what ? The reading is nonfenfe.' If he 
 had had the patience to defer his decfion, only till 
 he had read the four next words, Shakefpear him- 
 felf would have told him the growth o f what, to 
 wit, the growth of that wide gap of time which 
 had intervened.' The mea dng is very clearl this, 
 And leave unexamined what had been the product 
 of that wide gap of time he was Hiding over, that 
 is, of fixteen years. 
 
 P. 330. And my profit therein > the reaping friendships. 
 
 Mr. Warburton, to whom weowethi^ reading, dog- 
 matically pronounces that the common text, c heap- 
 < ing friend/hips, is nonlenfe.' Let me try if 1 can- 
 not make fenie. of it. And all the profit I propofe 
 to myfelf in this itudy of mine to be more friendly 
 to thee for the future is, the heaping ftih more 
 friendfhips on thee, and by that means laying ftill 
 ftronger obligations on rl ee ro continue with me. I 
 mould think this fentiment more delic.te, and more 
 fuitable to royal g nero'ity, than that of Mr. War- 
 burton, ' And my profit therein fhall be the reaping 
 
 the
 
 C "5 I 
 
 the advantage of thy further fervices in which I 
 mean to employ thee.' 
 
 P. 330. But I have (miffing him) noted. 
 
 The common reading, miffingly, gives exactly the 
 fame fenfe as Mr. Warburton's correction. Mffrngly^ 
 that is, like a perfon that hath miffed him, or, as I 
 found him miffing. We mould not take upon us to 
 modernize Shakefpear, or alter his phrafeology, 
 except the corruption be evident. 
 
 P. 331. That's likewife a "part of my intelligence ; 
 but, I fear, the angle that -plucks our fon thither. 
 
 I agree with Mr. Theobald, that we ought to read, 
 and I fear, in Head of, but I fear, which in this place 
 is repugnant to propriety of language. But he is 
 furely greatly overfeen in fubftituting, engle, for 
 angle. The latter word fignifies a bait, and is fol- 
 lowed with true integrity of metaphor by the verb, 
 pluck* thither. The former, according to Mr. 
 Theobald's own interpretation in his note on The 
 Taming of the Shrew, vol. ii. p. 406. to which 
 he here refers, means a gull, a cully, one fit to be 
 made a tool of, which is the direct contrary of the 
 fenfe he affigns it here, of a firen, or decoy. 
 
 P. 331. Why, then come in the fweet 0' tb* year % 
 'Fore the red blood reins-in the winter pale. 
 
 I think it would be extremely difficult to match this 
 nonienfe, which is purely Mr. Warburton's, except 
 it be with his own interpretation of it. Let us fee 
 how he conftrues it into Englifh : 
 
 Why then come (Why then let us enjoy pleafure, 
 or life) in the fieet 0' th' year (while the leafon fcrves, 
 that is, in youth) 
 
 P 4 'Fore
 
 [ 2l6 ] 
 
 9 pore the rd blood (before, pale winter, or old age) 
 reins in ; comes a d fre zes up) the winter pale (the 
 red or youthful blood.) 
 
 Of this- the reader hath feen enough The common 
 reading, which Mr. WarbiTton ca.l nonfenfe, was, 
 
 Why* then comes in the fweet o' th' year ; 
 For the red blood reigns tn the winter's pale. 
 
 The meaning of the fir ft line is too plain to need ex- 
 planation. That of the fecoid I take to be this ; 
 For though the winter is not quite over, the red 
 blood rtfumes its genial vigour. I he firft appear*. 
 ance of the daffodil in the fie! : s is at the latter end 
 of winter, where it joins the Spring. So our poet a 
 little farther on, 
 
 -daffodils-. 
 
 That come before the /wallow dares, and take 
 ybe winds of March with beauty. 
 
 P. 541. ; : : 1 think, you have 
 
 As little Jkill to fear, as I have purpofe 
 To put you to t. 
 
 Skill is generally attained by experience and frequent 
 practice. I apprehend therefore Florizel's meaning 
 is i I have given you fo little occafion for fear, fines 
 my acquaintance with you, that you a; little know 
 how to begin :o fear me, as I am far from giving 
 you any jult ground for doing it. 
 
 P. 342. She does any things tho* I report it. 
 
 At the beginning of this verfe a monofyllable par- 
 ticle is omitted by the negligence of the printer. 
 Read therefore, agreeably to the preceding editions, 
 
 Soffje does any thing, tho' I report it. 
 
 p. 347.
 
 [ 2i 7 3 
 
 P. 347. There are three carters, three fhepherds, 
 three neat .herds \ and three j wine-herds, that have 
 made themfdves all men of hair, they call (htm/elves 
 faltiers, 
 
 Mr. Theobald, inftead of, carters, harh wi:h great 
 probability fubftituced goat-herds. Mr. Warburton's 
 extraordinary note on this place is properly remarked 
 on in the Canons of Criticiim, p. no. 
 
 P. 351. Not hold thee of our blood, no, not our kin, 
 Far than Deucalion off. 
 
 Grammar obliges us to read, 
 
 Farther than Deucalian off. 
 
 Nor is the metre injured by this reading, though I 
 fuppofe a miftaken folicitude for it occafioned this 
 corruption. 'TV no more than a tribrachys fubfti- 
 tuted for an iambick. Mr. Warburton was aware 
 of the true reading, and endeavoured to compound 
 the matter between the fenfe and the metre, by put- 
 ting the mark of an apocope at the end of the word, 
 far\ But our language will not admit fo great li- 
 berties The fenfe is, No, not our kin, unlefs it 
 be as far off as Deucalian, or, as we fhould exprefs it, 
 as Noah's Ark. 
 
 P. 255- 'The which Jhall -point you forth at every fitting, 
 What you mujl fay ; 
 
 By, every fitting, I fuppofe is meant, every con- 
 ference you (hall hav^ with the king; for I believe 
 it is not ufual to admit foreign princes, coming ei- 
 ther upon hufinefs or a vifit of compliment, at the 
 privy council, much lefs at thole ordinary flattd 
 firings of that body, which Mr. Warburton men- 
 tions. 
 
 P. 361.
 
 [ 2t8 ] 
 
 P. 361. And they often give us foldiers the lie ; but 
 ive pay them for it with fiamped coin, not ftabbing 
 fteel, therefore they do give us the lie. 
 
 The common reading was, therefore they do not give 
 us the lie ; which Mr. Warburton altered in order 
 to make fenfe of it ; in which he hath fucceeded as 
 might be expected, where the editor will needs make 
 fenfe of what the author intended for nonfenfe. That 
 this is the prefent cafe, that the poet intended no 
 more than mere puzzle and amufement, and even- 
 that Autolicus fhould contradict himfelf, is evident 
 from the Clown's reply. But it is not unufual to 
 Mr. Warburton, not to give himfelf the leifure to 
 read the very next words, before he proceeds to 
 emendation. 
 
 P. 366. Confider little. 
 
 Too fcrnpulous an apprehenfion for the metre hath 
 fpoiled the fenfe. We mould read, 
 
 Confider a little. 
 An anapseft only inftead of an iambick. 
 
 P. 367. and on this fl age , 
 
 (Where we offend her now) appear foul -vex t. 
 
 This is a conjecture of Mr. Theobald's, adopted by 
 Mr. Warburton, and fubftituted in the place of the 
 ancient corrupted reading, which was, 
 
 (Where we offenders now appear) foul-vex t. 
 
 But how did the King and Paulina offend the de- 
 ceafed Queen at the time of this converfation ? Mr. 
 Theobald anfwers, ' By making a fecond match the 
 fubjeft of it.' But could (he pofiibly be difpleafed 
 with the King for rejecting the folicitation to it, or 
 
 with
 
 [ ai9 1 
 with Paulina for earneftly diffuading him from it ? 
 It would be unreafonable to fuppofe it ; and it is 
 neceffary therefore to have recourfe to fome more 
 plaufible conjecture. For my own part I have little 
 doubt but that the poet wrote, 
 
 and on this Jiage, 
 (Were we offenders now) appear Joul-vext, 
 
 That is, If we mould now at laft fo far offend her. 
 
 P. 369. Jo mufi thy grave 
 
 Give way to what's Jeen now. 
 
 See this paffage rightly explained in the Canons of 
 Criticifm, p. 114. 
 
 P* 37 * f rom h m -> whoje daughter 
 
 His tears proclaim d his parting with her. 
 
 Grammar obliges us to read, 
 
 His tears proclaimed at parting with her."* 
 
 That is, From him, whole tears at parting with her 
 proclaimed her to be his daughter. 
 
 P. 372. The odds for high and low's alike. 
 
 That is, My father will think there is as great a 
 diftance, as to rank and pro; onion of birth, as there 
 is between the ftars and the vallies. 
 
 P- 373' w ^h thought of fuch affections. 
 
 Step forth mine advocate. 
 
 There mould be a romma only at the end of the firft 
 line, in which pointing all the other e .irions concur. 
 
 P. 377. that rare Italian mafler, Julio Romano. 
 
 Mr. Warburton is very fcvere, as well upon Shake- 
 fpear himfelf, as upon Mr. Theobald for admiring 
 
 this
 
 [ 220 ] 
 
 this elogium of the poet. He tells us, ' the paiTage 
 happens to be quite unworthy Shakefpear ;' and 
 that for two reafons. c i. Becaufe he makes his 
 
 * fpeaker fay, that was Julio Romano the God of 
 
 * Nature, he would out-do Nature. This, he fays, 
 
 * is the plain meaning of the words.' I believe he 
 is himfelf miftaken, and that the plain meaning is 
 no other than this; Were Julio Romano as im- 
 mortal as Nature, and could, like her, put breath 
 into his works, he would be fo generally preferred 
 as to beguile her of her cuftom. The compliment, 
 it mull be confefled, is fomewhat exorbitant:, but 
 not by a great deal fo much fo as the famous epi- 
 taph of Cardinal Bembo on Rafaelle, 
 
 Ilk hie eft Raphael, timuit, quo fofpite, vinci 
 Rerum magna parens, ei moriente, mdri. 
 
 With which Mr. Pope however was fo highly pleafed, 
 as to adopt it by a tranflation in his own epitaph on 
 Sir Godfrey Kneller : 
 
 Living, great Nature fear'd he might ontvye 
 Her works, and, dying, fears her/elf may dye. 
 
 ' 2. Julio Romano was not a ftatuary, but a 
 ' painter.' This is true ; but a miftake, fuppofing 
 it to be one, in a mere matter of fact, can be no 
 detraction from the poet's genius. The calling him 
 a painter of ftatues, in confequence of what is here 
 faid of him, is a mifreprefentation. I fuppofe, the 
 painting a ftatue executed under his own direction, 
 on a parsicular occafion, and for a particular pur- 
 pofe, could be no difparagement to him. At leaft, 
 I have known more than one of our mod eminent 
 portrait painters, who have not thought it beneath 
 them to paint a bud moulded from the life, and 
 corrected under their own eye, and who have fuc- 
 ceeded extremely well in it. 
 
 P. 3S2.
 
 [ 221 ] 
 
 P. 382. Would I were dead, but that > me thinks, al- 
 ready 
 
 Mr. Warburton compleats the imperfect fentence 
 thus, * already I Oonverfe with the dead.' The 
 poet's meaning was the direct contrary, * methinks, 
 already fhe is on the point of moving.' 
 
 Ibid. The fixure of her eye has motion in* t. 
 
 See this reading well explained and fully juftified in 
 the Canons of Criticifm, p. 9. Mr. Warburton in- 
 deed fays, ' this is fad nonfenle,' and would perfuade 
 us to read, * the JiJ/ure or focket of the eye ;' but I 
 believe there are few readers who will not agree, 
 that the MiTure or focket of the eye which hath mo- 
 tion in it, is in truth fad nonfenfe. 
 
 Ibid. I could ajflicl you further. 
 
 It is evident that the word, afflicl, is ufed in its 
 proper anr! ufual fenfe (and not to fignify, affeft, as 
 Mr. Warburton would perfuade us) from the reply 
 of Leontes, 
 
 For this afflitlion has a tajle as fweet 
 As any cordial comfort. 
 
 The affliction here meant is the remorfe of Leontes, 
 for having been, as he imagined, the caufe of Her- 
 mione's death, which is revived by the fight of the 
 ftatue. See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 80. 
 
 The
 
 The Life and Death of King John. 
 
 P. 392. Why, what a mad-cap hath beav* n lent us here ? 
 I would rather read, fent us here, 
 
 P. 393. Lord of the prefence, and no land beftde ? 
 
 * Lord of the prefence' never yet fignified c a Prince of 
 ' the blood,' nor can Mr. Warburton produce a fingle 
 inftance of this expreffion. The common reading, 
 
 Lord of thy -prefence, 
 
 means, Lord of thine own perfon, which compre- 
 hends the whole of thy lands, lordfhips, and titles. 
 Mr. Warburton objects, that Robert ' might be 
 
 * lord of his perfon without parting with his land.' 
 So undoubtedly he might j but our critick feems not 
 to have underftood the alternative propofed by Queen 
 Elinor, which was this; Whether he would chufe 
 to be the heir of Falconbridge with the enjoyment 
 of his lands, or to be the acknowledged fon of Coeur 
 de Lion at the expence of giving up his claim to 
 thofe lands, to which, if he were really the fon of 
 Coeur de Lion, he could not have the lead title. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 202. 
 
 P. 395. For thou was got. 
 Read, wajl got. 'Tis an error of the prefs. 
 
 P. 396. ' and catechife 
 
 My piked man of countries. 
 
 Mr. Pope tells us, that, piked, fignifies ' formally 
 bearded.' Every one knows, that a piked beard, 
 that is, a bea;d terminating in a point, was a com- 
 mon fafhion in Shakefpear's age, and that it is fre- 
 quently
 
 t 223 ] 
 
 quentty mentioned by his cotemporary writers; 
 but that, a piked man, fignifies, a man with a fbr^ 
 mal beard, I do not recoiled to have obferved ; and 
 it ought certainly to have been fupported by better 
 proof than the bare aflertion. From the Canons of 
 Criticifm, p. 204. I collect, that fome editions give 
 us, a picked man, which I think is a better reading, 
 efpecially if we point the whole thus, 
 
 -and catechife 
 
 My picked man, of countries. 
 
 That is, And catechife the man I have vouchfafed to 
 cull out for my entertainment, concerning the coun- 
 tries he hath feen. 
 
 P. 396. Andfo e'er anfwer knows what quejlion would. 
 Saving in dialogue of compliment ; 
 And talking of the Alps and Apennines y 
 The Pyrenean, and the river Po, 
 
 If we follow Mr. Pope's edition, which includes the 
 three laft lines in a parenthefis, the conftruction, as 
 well as the fenfe, is extremely clear. Mr. Warbur- 
 ton however thinks, it is nonfenfe to fuppofe ' quef- 
 ' tion and anfwer to ipend all the time between din- 
 
 * ner and fupper, before either of them knows what 
 
 * the other would beat ;' and he allures us, c we may 
 ' avoid all this nonfenfe, if inftead offaving, we read, 
 
 * fervingS I have made the experiment myfelf, and 
 fubftituted Mr. Warburton's word for that in the 
 common text, and I defire the reader would do the 
 fame, and I fancy his fuccefs will not differ from mine, 
 who have not yet been able to difcover, how it appears 
 that anfwer knows what quefh'on would be at, one. 
 jot the fooncr or the better in Mr. Warburton's cor- 
 rection, than in the former reading. But there is a 
 farther objection to this conjecture (as it is fcarce
 
 [ 22 4 ] 
 
 pofllble to adjuft error fo well with truth, but the 
 learn will betray itfelf fomewhere or other) ferving 
 in, is a participle, and confequently requires a fub- 
 ftantive. Now I would fain know what fubftantive 
 it can be joined with in this pafTage, confidently 
 with grammatical conftruction. I muft own myfelf 
 utterly at a lofs to find one, unlefs we mould fup- 
 pofe, He the faid anfwer, to be underftood, which 
 if Mr. Warburton pleafes to accept, it is entirely at 
 his fervice. But in truth our critick did not com- 
 prehend the delicacy of the poet's fatire, which re- 
 prefents the traveller, after having fufficiently efta- 
 blifhed his character for good breeding by the com- 
 pliments in vogue, as launching out into a tedious 
 common-place relation of his travels, without giving 
 himfelf the leifure to inform himfelf, with what view, 
 and to what purpofe his patron had begun his en- 
 quiry. 
 
 P. 398. Philip! /pare me, James. 
 
 Mr. Theobald and Mr. Warburton concur in dis- 
 carding the common reading, 
 
 Philip, fparrow, James. 
 
 The firft, evidently becaufe he did not underftand it, 
 as appears from his own note ; the fecond, becaufe 
 he had forgot the diftinction between a chriftian 
 name, and a firname, or family name , for thus he 
 interprets his own conjecture, ' Don't affront me 
 ' with an appellation that comes from a family which 
 4 I difclaim.' The fenfe of the genuine reading is, 
 Doft call me Philip ? Call a fparrow fo, James, but 
 not me for the future. The reafon of this inhibition 
 was his having been jufl: knighted, and new chrif- 
 tened, which, being then engaged in converfation 
 with his mother, he had not leifure to inform the 
 
 fer-
 
 [ 225 ] 
 
 fervant of. This is plainly implied in the next 
 line, 
 
 There's toys abroad; anon Til tell thee more. 
 See Upton, Critic. Obferv. p. 185. 
 
 P. 398. Knight, Knight, gocd mother Bafrfifco like. 
 
 See the allufion in this paffage very clearly explained, 
 and Mr. Warburton's idle refinement fully refuted 
 in Mr. Theobald's note, and the Canons of Criti- 
 cifm, p. 80. 
 
 P. 403. The hits and ft aim of right. 
 Read, blots. It is an error of the prefs. 
 
 P. 404. Liker in feature to his father Geffrey, 
 
 'Than thou and John, in manners being as like 
 As rain to water, or devil to his dam. 
 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 213. where Mr. 
 Roderick reftores fenfe to this paiTage by altering 
 the pointing of the fecend line thus 
 
 Than thou and John in manners; being as like 
 
 P. 405. I have but this to fay, 
 
 That he is net only plagued for her fin, 
 
 But Go J hath made her fin and her the plague 
 
 On this removed ifftte, plagu\i for her, 
 
 ylnd with her plague her Jin ; his injury , 
 
 Her tnjury, the beadle to her fin, 
 
 All ptinijVd in the perfon of this child. 
 
 We are obliged to Mr. Roderick for reftorinp; fenfe 
 in fome mealuie to this moil intricate and enigma- 
 tical paftage. This he hath done by altering the 
 pointing ( f , and adding a fingle letter in, the fifth 
 
 iine, thus, 
 
 Q_ And
 
 [ 226 ] 
 
 And with her plagu'd ; her fin, his injury, 
 
 The meaning then will be, I have no more than this 
 to fay, that my Ton is not only plagued upon account 
 of h-r fin, but God hath made that very fin of hers, 
 and her, the inftruments of plaguing this her grand- 
 child, who is plagued both on her account, and by 
 her means. And thus her own prior fin, the very 
 wrong my fon now fuffers from her, her prefent in- 
 juftice which inflicts the punifliment on him which 
 is due to her own fin, all concur and centre in the 
 punifhment of this child. See the Canons of Cri- 
 ticifm, p. 214 216. 
 
 P. 426. In likenefs of a new un trimmed bride. 
 
 I am perfuaded that Mr. Theobald's emendation, 
 
 In likenefs of a new and trimmed bride, 
 
 is the true and genuine reading, convinced by the 
 reafons offered in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 112 
 1 14. See alfo Mr. Theobald's Shakefpear re- 
 ftored, p. 120 122. 
 
 P. 428. And mak'ft an oath the furety for thy truth, 
 Aga'mjl an oath the truth thou art unfure -> 
 To jivear, Jwear only not to be for fa or n. 
 
 As thefe lines are now pointed, it is impofTible to 
 make fenfe of this paffage. I think they ought to 
 be pointed thus, 
 
 And malC ft an oath the furety for thy truth 
 Againji an oath. The truth thou art unfure 
 Tcfu-ear, [wear only net to be jcrfvurn. 
 
 That is And makt ft an oath the furety for thy truth 
 jn this lately concluded treaty, againft a prior oath 
 to heaven to be the champion of the church. If
 
 [ 227 ] 
 
 thou couldft have any doubt, which of the two 
 oaths is in fupport of truth and right, yet this at 
 lead thou canft have no doubt about, that no oath 
 can be valid which neceflfarily makes thee forfworn if 
 thou keep'ft it. Interpret therefore thy laft oath ac- 
 cordingly. 
 
 P. 431. Some fiery devil hovers in the Jky, 
 And pours down mif chief. 
 
 See the old reading, airy devil, fufficienlty juftified 
 in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 1 5. 
 
 P. 436. And /corns a modem invocation. 
 
 The epithet, modern, hath no meaning in this place. 
 We mould undoubtedly readi 
 
 And /corns a mother's invocation. 
 
 We have a fimilar inftance of the word, modem, 
 corruptly crept Into the editions for, mother's, in my 
 note on All's Well that Ends Well, p. 108. of the 
 third volume. 
 
 P. 443. 1 would not have believed him: no tongue, but 
 Hubert's. 
 
 This is it feems an emendation of Mr. Theobald's, 
 which, as Mr. Warburton (chough he hath admit- 
 ted it into the text) rightly obferves, ' roughens the 
 meafure urine. elTarily, without much advantage to 
 the fenfe.' Indeed, the reading, which Mr. vVarf 
 burton aflures us c Mr. Pope found in the old edi- 
 tions/ (for I cannot find a fy liable to this purpofe in 
 Mr. Pope's edition) 
 
 I would not have believ'd a tongue but Hubert's, 
 
 expreffes exactly the fame fenfe with that Mr. Theo- 
 bald hath given us, only in a little fmoothef metre. 
 Q_2 Of
 
 C 223 ] 
 
 Of thefe two the reader may take his choice, fince 
 it may be prefumed they are both fupported by fome 
 authority or other. But as to that propofed by Mr. 
 Warburon, which he tells us ' he is perfuaded 
 4 Shakefpear wrote,' 
 
 I would not have believed* a tongue 'bate Hubert, 
 
 it is fo amazingly extravagant, that it would be an af- 
 front to the r ader's underffanjing to detain him a 
 moment in the refutation of it. If he hath a mind 
 to fee a number of words jumbled together, which 
 looks fomething like reafoning, but mean abfolutely 
 nothing, I would recommend him to Mr. Warbur- 
 ton's note on this paffcge. 
 
 P. 444. Well, fee to live. 
 
 The fenfe is, Well, I grant you your fight, that you 
 may hereafter have the means of preferving your 
 life. Mr. Roderick's correction therefore, in the 
 Canons of Criticifm, p. 216. 
 
 Well, fee, and live, 
 
 is quite unnecefTary. For though the King might 
 intend that Arthur's death fhould follow his blind- 
 nefs, yet it is plain, from Hubert's own declaration 
 of the purport of his oath at the beginning of this 
 fcene, that the King had not yet communicated this 
 his intention to him, and that he ipeaks of it only 
 from rational conjecture. 
 
 i 
 
 P. 449. From France '0 England never fuch c. pozvrr. 
 
 Mr. Rod' riek in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 216. 
 hath, in my opinion, proved by very fufneient rea- 
 fons, that the fen lie require a full flop after the word, 
 England, and that the following words, ' never iuch 
 a power,' begin another .'en tc.ee. 
 
 P. ..tro.
 
 r 229 j 
 
 I\ 450. 0, let me have no fuhjeel enemies. 
 
 J believe the reading of Mr. Pope's edition is the 
 .true one, 
 
 0, let me have no fubjecls enemies. 
 
 P. 453. The dreadful motion of a murderer's thought. 
 
 This is Mr. Warburton's emendation, who would 
 have us underftand by it, * that remorfe, an i gloomy 
 confeioufnefs of guilt, which torments the mur- 
 derer's mind after the perpetration of the crime \* 
 and in this, he adds, c Hubert fpoke the truth. 
 For, fince he had not actually committed the mur- 
 der, he could not feel that remorfe which would 
 have been the confequence of it.' So that, ac- 
 cording to this realbning and interpretation, the 
 fenfe of the paflage wou'd amount to this, I have 
 not committed the murder. But is this the natural 
 fenfe ( f the words ? or, would any reader, whole 
 mind had not been prepoffefie:! by the fubti.'tics or 
 Mr. Warburton's reafoning, ever have underflood 
 them f o ? I appeal to the reader himfelf, whether 
 the obvious meaning, even of this reading, be nor, 
 I have never entertained even a thought of murder ^ 
 which is precifely the meaning too of the common 
 reading, 
 
 The dreadful motion of a murd'rous thought : 
 
 for the thought of a premeditated murder is at- 
 tended with its terrors too before the actual corn- 
 million. And in faying this alio Hubert would 
 equally fpeak the truth. For it is evident from the 
 firff. Scene of this Act, that Hubert had n > ii ten- 
 don to murder Arthur, but only to burn out h's 
 eyes-, an operation which, however fho !: nu- 
 
 merous examples in hiflory, and the eft-biifiK , . - 
 0.3 *iu-e
 
 [ *3 3 
 
 tice oF the Perfian court under the late monarchy, 
 fufficiently prove may be performed with fafety to 
 life. 
 
 P. 457. rilfirike the dead. 
 A miftake of the prefs, for, * I'll ftrike thee dead.* 
 
 P. 458. For villany is not without fuch a rheum. 
 Read, fuch rheum? as in the other editions. 
 
 P. 460. 'Take again 
 
 From this my hand, as holding of the Pope, 
 
 The fenfe feems to require that we mould read, 
 
 This from my hand. 
 
 That is, The crown, which the Cardinal at the fame 
 time re-delivers. 
 
 Ibid. To flop the marches. 
 An error of the prefs. Read, ' their marches.* 
 
 P. 463. Return the prefident to thefe Lords again. 
 
 We mould undoubtedly read, precedent, that is, 
 the original treaty between the Dauphin and the 
 Lords. 
 
 Ibid. Should feek a plaifler by contemn* d revolt. 
 
 The epithet, ccntcmrfd, hath no propriety here; we 
 fhould certainly read, condemned, that is, which the 
 general voice of mankind condemns, and which 
 therefore Salifbury himfelf cannot help deploring. 
 
 P. 464. Full warm of blood, of mirth, of goffipping. 
 
 As the adjective, warm, hath in this con ftruction 
 
 equally
 
 [ 231 ] 
 
 equally a reference jp mirth and goffping, as well as 
 to blood % I fhould rather think the poet wrote, 
 
 Full of warm blood, of mirth, and goffiping, 
 
 P. 467. Vbis unheard faucinefs and boyi/h troops. 
 
 Mr. Theobald with fome probability conjectures, 
 that the poet wrote, ' unhair*d faucinefs,' that is, 
 unbearded. 
 
 P. 470. Unthread the rude eye of rebellion. 
 
 The metaphor, as Mr. Theobald rightly obferves, 
 is indeed very poor, and debafes the idea inftead of 
 illuftrating it. 1 think his conjecture therefore is 
 very probable, that the poet wrcte, 
 
 Un tread the rude way of rebellion. 
 
 P. 471. For I do fee the cruel pangs of death 
 Fight in thine eye. 
 
 This is a correction of Sir Thomas Hanmer's, 
 adopted by Mr. Warburton, which, if admitted, 
 feems to require, that, pangs, too in the firft line 
 mould be altered to, phangs, or, fangs. For pangs 
 pight, or pitched, in an eye, feems to be but an incon- 
 fiftent metaphor. But I can fee no neceffity for al- 
 tering the old reading, 
 
 Right in thine eye. 
 
 or, as Mr. Pope's edition gives it, ' fn thine eyes,* 
 that is, full, or plainly, in thine eyes. 
 
 P. 472. / did not think to be fad to night. 
 Read, agreeably to Mr. Pope's edition, 
 
 / did not think to be fo fad to night. 
 
 Q.4 P- 477-
 
 [ *3* ] 
 
 P. 477. Such offers of^our peace. 
 
 In the Canons of Criticifm, p. 217. Mr. Roderick 
 conjectures that the poet might have written, ' 
 
 Such offer's of fair peace : 
 
 which appears to me not improbable, though the 
 common reading may very well be defended. 
 
 P. 478. Thus England never did, nor never fjj all. 
 
 I cannot fee the lead neceffity for this alteration of 
 Sir Thomas Hanmer, adopted by Mr. Warburton, 
 which iubft tutes, thus, for the common reading, 
 this. Rather there is fome impropriety in the par- 
 ticle thus, as it implies a reference of fimilitude to 
 fomething preceding, though in truth no fuch cor- 
 ndence is to be found. I am not however ig- 
 norant, that this reference may pofTibly be under- 
 ilood to be, to the event which terminates the play. 
 Vn.it the whole is fubmitted to the reader's judgment. 
 
 VOLUME the FOURTH. 
 
 The Life and Death of King Richard 
 the Second. 
 
 P. 5. Or any other ground inhabitable. 
 
 That is, uninhabitable. See Upton, Critic. Obferv. 
 p. 250. 
 
 P. 6. It mufl be great, that can inhabit us 
 So much as of a th Light of ill in him. 
 
 The ancient reading was, inherit us, which verb is 
 
 > here
 
 [ *33 ] 
 here ufed actively, and fignfies, to make us heir to, 
 or to tranfmit to us as firmly as if ii were by inheri- 
 tance. This is one inftance of a phrufeology per- 
 haps peculiar to Shakefp.-ar, and fhould not have 
 been altered. 
 
 P. 8. This we prefer ibe, though no pbyfician* 
 
 As to Mr. Pope's note on this place, fee the Canons 
 of Criticifm, p. 34. 
 
 P. 15. As gentle and as jocund, as to jufl, 
 Go I to fight. 
 
 The common reading, as to jeft, is diffidently efta- 
 bliflied by the teftimony of the rhime in its favour. 
 To jejl, fignifies here, to engage in a mock fight, 
 the very meaning Mr. Warburton intended to ex- 
 prefs in his emendan'on, which is confequently need- 
 lefs. See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 35. 
 
 P. 1 6. To wake our peace \ which in our country' s cradle 
 Draws the fweet infant breath of gentle fieep. 
 
 Thefe lines with the three preceding ones are re- 
 ftored by Mr. Pope from the firft quarto; but Mr. 
 Warburton is for rejecting them as having been 
 omitted by Shakefpear himlelf on revifing the play, 
 and, in his opinion, ' with great judgment , for as 
 ' pretty as the image is in thefe two lines, yet they 
 
 * are abfurd in the fenfe. Peace awake is, it feems, 
 4 ftill peace, as well as when aflcep ; only peace afleep 
 
 * gives one the notion of a happy people funk in flotli 
 ' and luxury, from which (fate the fooner it was 
 
 * awaked the better.' But Shakefpear's imagination 
 was much iupcrior to fuch drained refinement as 
 this, which undoubtedly never once entered into his 
 thoughts. He is fpeaking of the peace of Richard's 
 reign, which was happy in the enjoyment of the 
 
 molt
 
 [ 234 3 
 mod profound tranquillity, imaged under the meta- 
 phor of fleep , till it was difturbed and awakened out - 
 of it by the civil jarrs and broils of thefe two great 
 noblemen. Our critick thinks it was of advantage 
 to the kingdom that its peace mould be fo difturbed 
 and awakened, for fear it mould be a fleep of floth 
 and luxury. But I believe he will find few of his 
 opinion, or who would not think that kingdom very 
 unhappy the management of whofe affairs fhould 
 be conducted by fuch politicks. As to the five lines 
 confidered in themfelves, they are very fine ones, and 
 breathe the very fpirit of Shakefpear. 
 
 P. 19. new no way can I flray, 
 
 Saie back to England ; all the world's my way. 
 
 That is, Now every courre to which I can addrefs 
 my feet is my right path, except that which leads me 
 back to England : With this exception, the whole 
 world is open before me. Mr. Roderick's alteration 
 therefore of the pointing, in the Canons of Criticifm, 
 p. 217. was unnecefiary, 
 
 P. 24. If they comejhorts 
 
 The antecedent is revenue \ grammar therefore 
 obliges us to read, either, revenues^ or, ' if this 
 * comes fhort.' 
 
 P. 27. Should dying men flatter thofe that live ? 
 The metre is defective. PofTibly the poet wrote^ 
 
 Should dying men then flatter thofi that live ? 
 
 P. 28. Thy flat e of law is hondflave to the law. 
 
 That is, Thy royal cftate, which is eftablifhed by 
 ihe law, is now, in virtue of thy having leafed it out, 
 
 -be und
 
 [ *35 ] 
 
 . > bound in with Jbarne, 
 
 With inky blois y and rotten parchment-bonds* 
 
 as Gaunt exprefifes himfelf a little before , and Tub- 
 jecled, like that of thy vaffals, to every common 
 procefs of the law. Mr. Warburton hath quire 
 miftaken our poet, when he fuppofes him to mean, 
 * the King's being enflaved to his favourites.* 
 
 P. 29. Refpeffs not. 
 An error of the prefs j read, * refpetfft not.' 
 
 P. 25- ' wy inward foul 
 
 At fomething tremble 'J, yet at nothing grieves \ 
 More than with parting from rny lord the king. 
 
 We are indebted for this very flat, unmeaning read- 
 ing, to the conjecture of Mr. Warburton ; who thus 
 altered the text, becaufe the delicacy of the fenti- 
 ment in the common reading was beyond his com- 
 prehenfion. The other editions give us, 
 
 At nothing trembles, yet at fomething grieves. 
 
 The fenfe of the whole is, My inward foul trembles 
 without the leaft caufe, or reafon, which my imagi- 
 nation can fuggeft to me, indeed trembles at what 
 is nothings yet at the fame time I feel I grieve for 
 fomething, whatever it be, to me quite unknown, 
 beyond what I fhould otherwife do for the bare ab- 
 fence of th,e King. Mr. Warburton, if he had 
 looked before him, which he is generally too much 
 in a hurry to do, might have learned from Bufhy's 
 reply, 
 
 -gracious Queen, then weep not 
 
 More than ycur lord's departure \ more* s not feen : 
 
 (hat the latter part of the common reading is cer- 
 tainly genuine, and that his alteration is utterly in- 
 confident
 
 [ 2 3 6 ] 
 
 Confident with this reply. The former part of it is 
 equally confirmed by the Queen's own words in re- 
 turn to Bufhy, 
 
 I cannot but be fad * fo heavy-fad* 
 
 As* though* on thinking, on no thought 1 think, 
 
 Makes me with heavy nothing faint andjhrink : 
 
 and ftill much more ftrongly by the Queen's very 
 next fpeeth, which the reader is defired to attend to. 
 
 P. 25' Glaz'd with blinding tears. 
 Kead, glazed, as in the other editions. 
 
 P. 39. And yet yGur fair difcourfe has been as fugar. 
 
 Your* for, our* which the common editions gave us, 
 is an alteration made by Mr. Theobald, Shakefpear 
 reftored, p. 178, which Mr. Warburton would not 
 have done amifs to have acknowledged. 1 think it 
 however unneceffaryj for I conceive there can be 
 but little entertainment in a converfation in which the 
 hearer bears no part. ' Our fair difcourfe,' fignifiet, 
 the difcourfe that hath pad between us. 
 
 P. 40. Sent from my brother Worcefler : whence foever, 
 
 The colon mould be placed at the end of the line, 
 and a comma only after Worcefler. 
 
 P. 47. From the rnofl glorious of this lend. 
 
 Even the metre, as well as the fenfe, indicates, that 
 a word harh been dropped alter, glorious. Perhaps 
 rtgnil* or lome other of like import. 
 
 I bid. 7'o take cdzwittge of the abfint lime. 
 
 Thar 1?, ol the time when the King is abfent. See 
 the Canons of Criricifrn, p. oj_, b'5. 
 
 P. 42.
 
 [ 2 S7 ] 
 
 P. 42. But more than, why, why, have they 
 
 dar'd to march. 
 
 As this line now (lands, it is difficult to difcover 
 either its fenfe or conftru&ion. I believe Mr. Pope 
 hath given us the true reading, 
 
 But more then, why, why have they dar'd to march ? 
 
 That is, After having afked you this queftion, much 
 more then may I afk you this other. 
 
 Ibid. And oft eni 'at ion of d'fpofed arms ? 
 
 I am yet to learn, that the words, difpofed arms, fig- 
 nify 'forces in battle array.' But Mr. Warburton, in 
 oppofition to the common reading, ' defpifed arms,' 
 allures us, that fuch ' arms would not flight any 
 ' one.* This is not quite fo certain, but admit it; 
 yet notwithfranding, the arms defpifed by the Duke of 
 York, the King's vicegerent, and who is the fpeaker 
 here, might very reafonably fright the pale-faced 
 villages. Z)*///ft/, in this place, fignifies no more than, 
 which I defpife. 
 
 P. 43. 'To rouze his wrongs, and chafe them to the bay. 
 
 Here too the fenfe hath probably been facrificcd to 
 a millaken concein for the metre. What realbn- 
 able or confident idea can be fuggefted to us by this 
 exprefiion, rcuzir.g and chafing wrongs? The meta- 
 phor is evidently taken from ltag-hunting, but hath 
 no meaning, applied, as it is here, to wrongs. Iain 
 perfuaded therefore we mould read, 
 
 To rouze his wronger 5 , and chafe them to the hay. 
 
 Nor is the truth of the metre injured by this a'r 
 tie:: ; only an anapxft takes the place of an :./.
 
 [ *# ] 
 
 P. 47. It* execution, and the hand of death. 
 
 By this alteration the metre is abfolutely deftroyed* 
 and the verfe becomes trochaick. "We fhould un- 
 doubtedly read j agreeably to the other editions* 
 
 To execution, and the hand of death. 
 
 Ibid. To fight with Glendower dnd his complices, 
 
 Mr. Theobald hath rejected this line as fpuriousj 
 but for reafons utterly infufEcient to juftify fuch a 
 proceeding. I find in the hiftory of thofe times* 
 that the Duke of Lancafter marched his army from 
 Briftol directly to Chefter. I fuppofe in order to 
 attack the Welfh army aflembled by the Earl of 
 Salifbury, before it was joined by the King with his 
 forces from Ireland ; but that army had already dif- 
 peried kfelf on a falfe rumour of the King's death. 
 It is not improbable that Glendower was on this oc- 
 cafion with his countrymen \ efpecially as it appears 
 from p. 45. juft before, that fuperftition had a prin- 
 cipal fhare in influencing the difperfionof the Welfh, 
 xvhich weaknefs too is one of the diftinguifhing pe- 
 culiarities in Glendower's character as drawn in the 
 Firft; Part of Henry IV. Till therefore I am better 
 informed, I fhould conclude this line to be genuine. 
 
 P. 5 1 . And lis full low, graved in the hallow* d ground t 
 
 Mr. Warburton is a little too hafly in this emenda- 
 tion. It was by no means certain, that men, who 
 had been executed as traitors, were buried in hal- 
 lowed ground. Wc mould therefore reinftate the 
 old reading, he How ground, alluding to the hollow- 
 nefs or their graves. 
 
 P. 52. throw a iv ay refpeft, 
 
 Tradition, form, and ceremonious duty. 
 
 Mr. Roderick, in the Canons of Crkicifm, p. 217. 
 8 con-
 
 [ *39 ] 
 
 conjectures, and in my opinion, with great proba- 
 bility, that, inflead of tradition, which the vulgar 
 text gives us, our poet wrote, addition, that is, ho- 
 nourable title. 
 
 P. 57. Ten thoufand bloody crowns of mothers* fons 
 Shall ill become the flow V of England's face. 
 
 * The flower of England' \> face, todefign her choicefl: 
 
 youth, is,* in Mr. Warburton's opinion, c a fine and 
 ' a noble expreflion.* Every one hath their pe- 
 culiar tafte. To me it appears an abortive ex- 
 preflion, of which the imagination had mifcarried. 
 It aimed at giving an image, but gives none. The 
 flower of England, exprefles the meaning afiigned by 
 
 Mr. Warburton very handfomely ; but what is the 
 image fuggefted by two fuch jumb'ed metaphors as 
 the flower of the face of England ? The bloody crowns 
 ill becoming the flower of the face of England is ftill 
 much worfe. The (imile of Pericles, quoted in juf- 
 tification of this fuftian, bears not the leaft refem- 
 blance to it, except in this fingle circumftance, that 
 they are both intended by the writer to denote the 
 youth of a country, which the former doth very 
 happily, while the latter hath quite failed. Sir 
 Thomas Hanmer's correction, 
 
 Shall mifbecome the flowery England's face, 
 
 is, as Mr. Warburton rightly obferves, unmeaning, 
 and, I will venture to add, infipid. That of Mr* 
 Theobald, 
 
 Shall ill become the floor of England s face, 
 
 is fo palpably abfurd, that it is not worth the while 
 to detain the reader by remarking on it. I think it 
 mod probable that the poet wrote, 
 
 Shall ill become the flower of England s race *, 
 
 which
 
 [ 240 ] 
 which exprefiion indifputably gives the image re* 
 quired with the greateft perfpicuiry. 
 
 P. 58. And by the warlike hand ofhurfd Gaunt. 
 
 Mr. Seward, in his Notes on Fletcher's Two Noble 
 Kinfmen, vol. x. p. 92. hath fufficiently vindicated 
 the common reading, 
 
 And by the buried hand of warlike Gaunt. 
 
 The firft thing here fworn by is the fepulchre of Ed- 
 ward III. grandfather to Henry IV. which makes 
 the old reading, by the buried hand of Gaunt, that 
 is by the hand now buried of his father Gaunt, the 
 more probable. On the other hand, there is lefs 
 propriety in joining the epithet, warlike, to a hand 
 which deathMiad Jong deprived of all force. 
 
 P. 6*2. TVoe is fore-run with mocks. 
 
 There is certainly no ground for this emendation, 
 which is neither pertinent to the context, nor is the 
 propofition which it expreflfes true. For woe is fel- 
 dom fore-run by mocks, feldoni mocked at till it 
 actually happens, though it be too frequently at- 
 tended with rhem afterwards. In this latter cafe in- 
 deed inferiors are too apt to take this advantage of 
 the condition of their betters, but not till that con- 
 dition is determined, or forefeen with the fame cer- 
 tainty as if it were determined. The meaning of 
 the common reading, 
 
 Woe is fore- run with woe, 
 
 is a very juft one. Woe feldom befalls us without 
 being preceded by fome other woe, fome mortifica- 
 tion or other, which gives us the firll notice of it. 
 Befides, the rhime Hrongly confirms the common 
 reading; and Mr. Warburron's fubterfuge, that his 
 emendation 'jing'es to the following line though not 
 
 to
 
 [ 2 4 1 ] 
 
 to the preceding one,' is quite frivolous. Through- 
 out this play, the two laft lines of a fpeech often 
 rhime, though what precedes them be in blank verfe; 
 but I believe there is not a (ingle inft.ince to be found 
 in it, where the laft line of a fpeech rhimes with the 
 firft of the following one, unl-.-fs they are both of 
 them in rhime. 
 
 P. 65. Shall I fo much dijkonour >ny fair jlars. 
 
 Fair Jiars, in this place, fignify, fair fortunes, and 
 comprehend the particular one of being; of the blood 
 royal. So that there is no neceftity for admitting 
 Mr. Warburton's conjecture, fair ji em. 
 
 P. 72. Thou haught-inf dting man. 
 
 The Englifh language knows no fuch word a?, 
 haught-infulting. We fhould read, * haughty intuit- 
 ing man * fo an anapsft will iupply the place of an 
 iambick. 
 
 P. 89. and love to Richard 
 
 Is a ftrange arocch, in this all-haling world. 
 
 The fenfe is, And love to Richard reduced t > the 
 lowed ebb of ill fortune is a ftrange ornament in- 
 deed to make its appearance in a wo; Id, mnde upcf 
 nothing but malevolence and malice. Mr. Warbur- 
 ton inftrucls us to read, fall-hatirg world, which he 
 interprets * a world that (buns and avoids thofe that 
 4 are fallen.' But this is a fenfe which the word, 
 though cc.ined for that very purpo'e, will not bear. 
 If it means any thing, it mean , a world which hath, 
 an avc rfi n to falling, or to a change of fortune for 
 the worie. 
 
 I 1 id. But that fad drudge. 
 
 1 his is an alteration wantonly made by Mr. War- 
 
 R burton,
 
 [ 2 4 2 ] 
 
 burton, and adopted by Mr. Theobald inftead of, 
 fad dog, which is the reading of all the prior editions. 
 The only objection thefe gentlemen make to it 
 (which we learn from Mr. Theobald, for Mr. War- 
 burton contents himfelf with diclatorially bidding 
 us read) without condefcending to give us his rea- 
 fon) is, that it favours too much of the comedian, 
 and of the oratory of the late facetious Mr. Penketh- 
 man. It is intended undoubtedly as a word of con- 
 tempt, but if any affbciation of the comick or ridi- 
 culous kind hath accrued to it from the life made of 
 it by later comedians, that furely can be no reafon 
 why it may not have been more ferioufly employed 
 by Shakefpcar. 
 
 The Firft Part of Henry the Fourth, 
 with the Life and Death of Henry, 
 firnamed Hotfpur. 
 
 P. 97. Shall trempe her lips with her own children's 
 
 blood. 
 
 Our language knows no fuch word as, trempe, 
 and furely Shakefpear wrote ia Englifh, not in 
 French. See the common reading, * Shall damp 
 her lips,' fufficiently vindicated in the Canons of 
 Criticifm, p. 58. 1 think it however not impoffible 
 that the poet might write, ' Shall dawb her lipb.' 
 
 P. 98. Whofe fcldier now. 
 Grammar obliges us to read, fo'diers. 
 
 Ibid. To chafe thefe Pagans, in thefe holy fields. 
 
 Perhaps we fhould nrad, c from thofe holy fields.' 
 \i the particle, from, was written in the original 
 
 with
 
 [ ^43 ] 
 with an abbreviation, thus, f?, the miftake might 
 eafily happen. 
 
 P. 98. This dear expedience. 
 
 That is, fomething which, from its being expedient 
 is incumbent on us to do. Mr. Warburton, by in- 
 terpreting it to fignify, expedition, carries its import 
 farther than any good authority in our language will 
 warrant. 
 
 P. 99. And mar.y limits of the charge fet down. 
 
 By the word, limits, is meant, outlines, rough 
 fketches, or calculations. 
 
 P. 100. Balk'd in their own blood. 
 
 I know fenfe of the word, balk, which fuits this paf- 
 fage. l( the reader be not better informed, he may 
 be perhaps inclined to read with me, 
 
 Bath'd in their own blood. 
 
 Ibid. Mordake the Earl of Fife, and eldefl fon 
 To beaten Dozvglas. 
 
 See Mr. Watburton's note on Corioianus, vol. vi, 
 p. 487. 
 
 Ibid. And call mine Percy. 
 Read, caWd, It is an error of the prefs, 
 
 P. 1 o 1 . Which makes him flume himfelf, and brijlle up 
 The crcft of youth againfl yjur dignity. 
 
 Mr. Warburton afluri's us with as much confidence, 
 as if lie had flood at Shakefpear's elb >w, tii it ' he 
 1 doubtlf.fs wrote, plume* I cannot help however 
 bting fliil a little doubtful. I even more t',ian doubt, 
 
 K 2 whz*
 
 [ 244 1 
 whether Mr. Warburton himfelf hath not clearly 
 miftaken the poet's meaning. According to his 
 reading, it is Worcester's malevolence to the King, 
 that makes him plume himfelf, that is, think highly 
 of his own worth. Butthis, I take it, is quite reverfing 
 the order of nature, and putting the effect for the 
 caufe. Malevolence feldom produces pride, buc 
 pride hurt generally begets malevolence. Let us try 
 if we cannot make better fenfe of the defpifed com- 
 mon reading, 
 
 Which makes him prune himfelf. 
 
 It is well known, that birds prune their feathers with 
 their bill, to make them lie fmooth and even. The 
 fenfe then, I apprehend, is, Worceller's malevo- 
 lence to you makes him prune his own feathers, in 
 order to carry a fair outfide, and hide his being 
 ruffled from difcovery, at the fame time that he 
 brillies up the creft of youth, or eggs on young 
 lictfpur, to infult your dignity. 
 
 P. 104. "The mcjl incomparative, rafcaliiejl, fweet 
 young Prince. 
 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 12. wherethecom- 
 mon reading, comparative^ is fully eftablifhed. 
 
 Ibid. 0, thou haft damnable atlraclhn. 
 
 The common reading was, iteration^ which the au- 
 thor of the Canons of Criticifm, p. [3. interprets, 
 a way of repeating or quoting S:ripture. If this doth 
 not iatisfy the reader, why mould we not read, ir- 
 ritation ? that is, thou art always ftirring me up to 
 do what will prove my damnation. 
 
 P. 108. By [0 much floall I falfify mens fears. 
 The common reading was, 
 
 By
 
 [ 245 ] 
 
 By fo much fh all I falffy mens hopes. 
 
 Nothing is fo eafy as to fubftitute, fears, for, hopes, 
 in attending to the obvious fcop; of the pafiage. 
 But it is not probable, that either the printer, or the 
 tranfcriber, mould have made fuch a miitake as this; 
 which inclines me to doubt, whether the common 
 reading may not be the genuine one. The expref- 
 lion indeed looks a little oddly , but why may it not 
 fignify, By fo much fiiall I convince men of their 
 error, in entertaining fuch (lender hopes of my fu- 
 ture conduct. 
 
 ' P. 109. The moody frontlet of a fervant brow. 
 
 Mr. Warbuiton allures u, that the common read- 
 ing, * froniir, is nonlenfe,' and therefore bids us 
 read, frontlet, which lie fells us fignifles i fore- 
 ' head.' I believe he is miftaken in both. If I am 
 not deceived, frontlet, fignifies an ornament bound 
 round the forehead, but I do not rccdlle<5t to have 
 ever feen it ufed for the forehead itfelf. A frontier 
 is a fortification erected to face an enemy, and to 
 oppofe his inroads. 1 cannot therefore fee, why it 
 is not a very proper metaphor to exprefs the difcon- 
 tented oppofi ion, which lifts its head againft its 
 mailer, and threatens obstruction to his progrefs. 
 Mr. Warburton was in too much hafte to perceive 
 that his own reading is certainly nonlenfe. For what 
 can letter deferve that character than the forehead 
 of a brow ? 
 
 P. 1 10. 7, then all J "mar ting with my wounds; being gal' & 
 To be fo pefier'd with a popinjay. 
 
 The old reading was, 
 
 /, then all fmarting with my wounds being cold : 
 
 Concerning which I entiiely concur in opinion 
 
 K 3 with
 
 t 246 ] 
 
 with the author of the Canons of Criticifm, p. 1 $* 
 1 7. that its embarrafTed conftruttion is wholly owing 
 to the tranfpofition of a line, and that therefore we 
 ought to read, 
 
 7, then all fmar ting with my wounds being cold, 
 Out of my grief \ and my impatience 
 To be fo pefter'd with a popinjay, 
 Anfwer d neglettingfy, &c. 
 
 In the fune place, whatfoever Mr. Warburton hath 
 offered in fupportof his emendation is fully refuted. 
 
 P. in. Let not his report. 
 
 So Mr. Warburton tells^us * we fhould read -,' but 
 why is not the common reading, 4 Let not this re- 
 port,' full as good ? 
 
 Ibid. To do him wrong, cr ar,y way impeach. 
 
 What then he faid, fee., he unfays it now. 
 
 Mr. Warburton, after a laborious fearch fornonfenfe 
 in this paffage, hath, it muft be owned, at length 
 luckily detected it; but it vanifhes again immedi- 
 ately, u;;on his putting a proper (lop at the end of 
 the firft of thefe line-. When this is done, there is 
 net the leaft occafion for any further alteration, and 
 the King's anfwer is full as pertinently adapted to 
 the common reading, 
 
 What then he faid, fo he unfay /'/ now ; 
 
 that is, * provided he unfay now what he then faid,' 
 as to that he hath interpolated in the place of it. 
 
 P. 112. He never did fall off, my fovereign Liege, 
 
 But ly the chance of war\ to prove that true. 
 
 This reading, as no.v pomred, being indifputably 
 nonfenfc, Mr. Warburton tells us, ' the poet cer- 
 * t-unly wrote, 
 
 But
 
 [ 247 ] 
 But 'bides the chance of war. 
 
 That is, according to him, continues ' to endure the 
 1 rigors of imprifonment,' which by the chance of 
 war fell to his lot. But I apprehend, ' to abide the 
 chance of war,' fignifies, to run the rifque of the 
 event, whatever in may happen to be -, not to endure 
 the confequences of it, after the chance is deter- 
 mined. I therefore entirely agree with Mr. Upton, 
 Critic. Obierv. p. 176, that there is nooccafion for 
 the lead alteration j only the paflage mould be 
 pointed thus, 
 
 He never did fall off, my fovereign Liege, 
 
 But by the chance of war To prove that true. 
 
 Hotfpur was going on to fay, c But by the chance 
 of war he was made prifoner;' but hurried away by 
 the violence and impatience of his temper, he breaks 
 off abruptly and leaves the fcntence imperfect. 
 
 P. 116. If he fall in, goodnight. 
 
 There is nothing precedes to which the pronoun, 
 he, can poilibly be referred. I conceive therefore, 
 we mould read, 
 
 If we fall in, good night. 
 
 P. 117. He apprehends a world of figures here. 
 
 See this paffage well explained in the Canons of Cri- 
 ticifm, p. 111. 
 
 P. 119. I f peak not this in efiimation. 
 
 By the word, this, I apprehend, is meant the arch- 
 bishop's indifpofition towards the King on account 
 of his brother's execution, and his readinefs to em- 
 brace a fair opportunity of revenge. This-, lays 
 Worceller, is not a fimp'e conjecture only, but hath 
 R .!. bce.i
 
 [ 248 ] 
 
 been well confidered, and fet down as a part of our 
 plot, as a thing to be depended upon. I fee there- 
 fore no reafon to fuppofe, with Mr. Warburton, 
 that any thing hath been ftruck out or omitted 
 here. 
 
 P. 123. Burgomafiers^ and great money ers. 
 
 The common reading wa?, cne-eyers \ the prefent 
 reading was a conjecture fuggefted by Mr. Hardinge, 
 and adopted by Mr. Theobald and Mr. Wai burton. 
 Bur, though I have a very high refpect for the judg- 
 ment of the gentleman firft named, whom I had the 
 honour to know, 1 cannot concur with him in his 
 emendation. The word required was a cant- word, as 
 is plain from its alTociate, burgomajlers, and the cha- 
 racter of the perfonsdeOgned by it that of protectors 
 and accomplices of highwaymen, neither ot which cir- 
 cumftances can poflibly fuit with the word, money ers, 
 whether we underftand by it, officers of the mint, 
 or bankers and dealers in turning and returning 
 money. I mould therefore think it right, either to 
 content ourfelves with the reading of all the editions, 
 the meaning of which, as being a cant word, hath 
 hitherto eicaped us, and may poflibly hereafter be 
 difcovered, or to take up with Mr. Theobald's con- 
 jecture in his Shakefpear reftored, p. 138. great 
 fe'igniors. 
 
 Ibid. Such o.s vnll Jlrike fooner than /peak; and 
 /peak footer than think ; and think fooner than pray. 
 
 The common reading was, ' fpeak fooner than drink; 
 and arink fooner than pray \ but Mr. Warburton 
 objects, that ' we have no reafon to think this dif- 
 * lolute gang was lefs ready to drink than fpeak.* 
 I admit it-, but furely he very injudicioufly exacts 
 a phikfophical precifion in fuch a rambling conver- 
 sation as this. Sxncr than drinks means, fooner than 
 
 do
 
 C 249 ] 
 
 do what we are moft ready and inclined to do; and 
 in this fenfe, I would do it affoon as drink, and, It 
 were as good a deed as to drink, are proverbial ex- 
 prefilons. The fenfe therefore is, They have fo little 
 command of their tongues, that they are readier to 
 give the loofe to them, than to do any thing elfe 
 they are moft inclined to. On the other hand, Mr. 
 Warburton's reading, think fooner than pray, befides 
 the impropriety of putting fo fenous a reflection, as 
 his interpretation of thefe words amounts to, into 
 the mouth of a profligate highwayman, gives us a 
 fenfe which is neither true nor juft. For by thinking, 
 in this place, muft be meant ferious thinking, and fo 
 Mr. Warburton himfelf understands it ; and to this, 
 it is well known, perfons of the character here de- 
 fcribed, debauched rakes of quality, are full as averfe 
 as to faying their prayers. Thus this gentleman's 
 4 very regular and humourous climax,' on thediico- 
 very of which he fo much plumes himfelf, hath neither 
 propriety nor humour in this place, and fub lifts in 
 truth no where, but in his own heated and precipi- 
 tate imagination. 
 
 P. 124. If 1 travel hit four f go t by the f^uare 
 farther afoot. 
 
 That i?, four foot in a line directly forward , for a 
 fquare is another name for a carpenter's rule, in 
 French, efquierre. See Nicot and Cotgravc. Mr. 
 Warburton's explanation is fo very much out of the 
 way of common fenfe, that it may be fafely trufted 
 to the animadvcrfion of the reader. 
 
 P. 128. / could brain him with his Lady's fan. 
 
 See Mr. Warburton's obfervation on this paffage 
 very plcafantly ridiculed in the Canons of Criticifm, 
 
 P- 77- 
 
 P. 129.
 
 [ 250 ] 
 
 P. 129. Of palifadoes, for tins, parapets. 
 I can fee no reafon for difcarding the common read- 
 ing* 
 
 Of palifadoes, frontiers, parapets', 
 
 efpecially when it is confidered that the fpeaker is a 
 Jady, and confequently cannot be expected to be 
 perfectly well (killed in the terms of fortification. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 5 7. 
 
 P. 130. To play with mammets, 
 
 That is, with puppets or dolls. See Lye's Etyrno- 
 logicon. 
 
 P. 132. And when you breathe in your watering, 
 they cry, hem ! and bid you play it off. 
 
 I can make no fenfe of this reading, and fhould 
 therefore prefer the other which Mr. Pope hath de- 
 graded to the bottom of his page, ' break in your 
 watering,' that is, 1 fuppofe, break wind. 
 
 P. 135. (Pitiful-hearted Hi tan !) that melted at the 
 fjoeet tale of the fun ? 
 
 Mr. Warburton very aukwardly attempts to ridicule 
 Mr. Theobald's emendation, pitiful-hearted butter, 
 which is fo far from being n on fenfe, as that gentle- 
 man is pleafed to call it, that it is evidently neceffary 
 to refcuethe paffage itfelf from being nonfenfe. For 
 nonfenfe it is, as he gives it us, notwithstanding his 
 parenthefis ; (met pitiful-hearted, in the male at Jeaft, 
 never fignified, amorous, though it fignifies in the 
 female, tender and yielding. 
 
 P. 143. That rafcal had good mettle in him. 
 
 Read, agreeably to the other editions, * ha'.h good 
 rmttle.' I fuppofe it is an error of the prefs. 
 
 P, I4 4.
 
 t tfl ] 
 
 P. 144. I will do it in King Camfofes* vein. 
 
 Alluding to an old play of King Cambyfes, written 
 by one Thomas Prefton. See Langbaine's account 
 of our Dramatick Poets, p. 408. 
 
 P. 145. If then the fruit may be known by the tree, 
 as the tree by the fruit. 
 
 Sir' Thomas Hanmer, who is followed by Mr. War- 
 burton, hath, for want of duly attending to the con- 
 text, given us the very reverfe of the true reading. 
 The King is made to fay, * I fee virtue in his looks, 
 therefore I conclude there is virtue in the man.' 
 Virtue is confidered as the fruit, the man as the 
 tree , confequently the old reading muft be right ; 
 ' If then the tree may be known by the fruit, as the 
 fruit by the tree,' that is, If I can judge of the man 
 by the virtue I fee in his looks, he muft be a virtu- 
 ous man. 
 
 Ibid. Or a poulterer's hare. 
 
 ' Meaning,' as Mr. Warburtoninftructs us, * a painted 
 ' hare, fhaped on a board ufed by poulterers for a 
 ' fign.' But why not a real hare hung up by the heels 
 for fale ? 
 
 P. 146. That reverend vice. 
 See Upton, Critic. Obferv. p. 7 .11. 
 
 P. 152. Me thinks, my portion, north from Burton 
 here. 
 
 See the common reading, my moiety, fufHcicntly juf- 
 titled in the Canons of Criticilm, p. 13. 
 
 P. 159. Such lewd, fuch mean attaints. 
 
 Thus Mr. Warburtoii allures us Shakcfpear cer- 
 
 4 tainly
 
 C 2 5* ] 
 c tainly wrote,' and adds, that attaints fignify ' uo- 
 ' lawful actions.' He is certainly miftaken in both. 
 Attaints, which word fignifies properly a conviction, 
 with the judgment upon it, are frequently, though 
 not always, the confequence of unlawful actions, 
 but not the actions themfelves. In a lefs proper or 
 metaphorical fenfc the word is fometimes ufed to 
 iignify imputations. But neither will it in this fenfe 
 fuic this place. For who ever heard of a man 
 matched with, and grafted to, imputations ? We 
 fhould therefore recal the genuine reading, attempts, 
 -which is fupported by the authority of all the edi- 
 tions. 
 
 P. 160. ^ Bearded his ji ate. 
 
 We have no fuch Englifh abbreviation as 'fcarded, 
 for, difcarded, nor is it necdfa-y here. The word 
 at length may be inferted without prejudice to the 
 metre, and then we fhall have an iambick and an 
 anapaefl: inftead of a choriambick. I fuppofe it was 
 an ill-grounded apprehenfion for the metre, which 
 robbed us of the firit fyllable of the word, difcarded. 
 
 P. 161. Afford no extraordinary gaze. 
 
 The conflruction of the whole paflfage is, With fuch 
 
 eyes as afford no gaze, -but rather drowzed and hung 
 
 - -ffpt and rendered, which evidently fhews 
 
 the verb in this line fhould be of the pad, and not 
 the prefent, time; otherwife the propriety of the 
 conftruction is deftroyed. I conclude therefore that 
 the poet might probably have written, 
 
 OfTer'd no extraordinary gaze ; 
 
 that is, Did not pay the tribute of an extraordinary 
 gaze,' fuch as is ulually paid to Majefly when leldom 
 ken. 
 
 P. 162.
 
 [ 253 ] 
 
 P. 162. And fain my favour in a bloody majk. 
 
 I have no doubt but the common reading, my fa- 
 vours, is the true one. It was a known cuftom of 
 chivalry in the times of our anceftors, for the Knight 
 to appear in the field, either of tournament, or of 
 battle, dreffed in the favours of fome Lady whom 
 he acknowledged for his miftrefs. Thefe favours 
 were, either a glove, or fome ornament to wear on 
 his creit, or a [carf to be hung acrofs his fhoulders. 
 Thus in our poet's Richard II. p. 82. it is faid of 
 Prince Henry : 
 
 His ar. fiver was, he 'would unto the Jlews, 
 And from the common' ft creature pluck a glove 7 
 And wear it as a favour, and with that 
 He would unborfe the luftieft challenger : 
 
 and thefe are the favours meant in the palTage under 
 confideration. 
 
 P. 167. No more truth in thee than in a drawn fox. 
 
 That is, a fox drawn over the ground to leave a 
 fcent, and keep the hounds in exercife, while they are 
 not employed in a better chafe. It is faid to have 
 no truth in i r , becaufe it deceives the hounds, who 
 run with the fime eagernefs as if they were in pur- 
 fuit of a real fox. 
 
 P. 173. Baited like eagles. 
 
 We mould read, bated. See Cotgrave, and Cham- 
 bers's Didtionary under the word, hawking. 
 
 P. 176. Ten timts more difhonourably raggedy than 
 
 en old-fcaft ancient. 
 
 Mr. Wurburton, by jumbling together and con- 
 founding feafts and procefllons, hath made a fhifc to 
 
 cobblj
 
 254 ] 
 cobble up an emendation. For the colours of the 
 city companies, though they are carried in their 
 proceffions, are not, I apprehend, difplayed at their 
 feafrs, nor are thefe colours ufually called ancients. 
 I think it not improbable that the poet wrote, old 
 cafi ancients, that is, old difbanded enfigns, the dis- 
 honour of whofe raggednefs is well explained by 
 Mr. Theobald* 
 
 P. 178. He is certain. 
 
 Read, agreeably to Mr. Pope's edition, * His is cer* 
 tain.' 
 
 P. 181. To be encag'd in Wales. 
 See Theobald's Shakefpear reftored, p. 178. 
 
 P. 186. More active, valiant, or more valued young; 
 
 This is an emendation of Sir Thomas Hanmer's, 
 approved by Mr. Warburton. The common read- 
 ing was, 
 
 More active- valiant, or more valiant-young. 
 
 The Prince is fpeaking here of Hotfpur's perfonal 
 accompiiihments, not of his reputation ; I rather 
 therefore incline to think the poet might have written, 
 
 More aclive- valiant, or more valiant tough. 
 
 That is, whofe valour hath either more activity in it, 
 or holds out with greater endurance. 
 
 P. 188. And his corruption, being ta en from us, 
 
 Perhaps,' fays Mr. Warburton, * Shakefpear wrote, 
 1 being a taint from us. 3 But why fhould we take pains 
 to pick holes in a found place merely to have the 
 honour of mending them ? The verb, take, in this 
 place, fignifies "undoubtedly to catch by infection; 
 
 3 
 
 and
 
 [ *55 ] 
 and the propofed emendation gives us exactly the 
 fame idea. What need then of an alteration ? 
 
 P. 189. Making you ever better than his praife : 
 
 By ftill difpraifwg praife, valued with you, 
 
 I can fee no reafon fur Mr. Warburton's pofuive af- 
 fertion, that the fecond of thefe lines ' is evidently 
 ' the players nonfenfe,* or for his beftowing on it the 
 epithet of foolijh. He ought at lead to have told 
 us, how he makes fenfe of the firft line without it. 
 For it is difficult to conceive, how a man can make 
 another better than his pra'.fe of him, unlefs it be 
 by doing what the fecond line tells us the Prince did, 
 undervaluing all praife in comparifon with the per- 
 fon praifed. 
 
 P. 192. Here's no vanity ! 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 85. 
 
 P. 197. But let my favour hide thy mangled face. 
 
 Favour, is a conjecture of Mr. Warburton's, who 
 tells us, it fignifies ' face, or countenance,' and that 
 upon faying thefe words the Prince c (looped down 
 ' to kifs Hotfpur.' But fo drained and flat an ex- 
 prefiion could never come from Shakefpear. We 
 mould therefore undoubtedly reinflate in the text the 
 old reaiing, favours, which intimates, that the 
 Prince covered Hotfpur's face with his fcarf. As to 
 his killing him, or not, I leave it to the reader's 
 imagination to determine as he pleafes. The text 
 indeed fuggefts nothing about it, but is equally con- 
 fident witii either of thefe fuppofitions, 
 
 The
 
 [ 256 ] 
 
 The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, 
 and the Coronation of King Henry 
 the Fifth. 
 
 P. 209. And I will take as a fweet dif grace. 
 
 We fhould correct the flip of the printer by reading, 
 
 And I will take it as a fweet difgrace. 
 
 P. 212. And doth enlarge his rijing with the blood 
 Of fair King Richard. 
 
 Mr. Warburton thinks it probable that Shakefpear 
 ' wrote, enlard y that is, fatten and encourage his 
 c caufe.' I muft beg leave to think differently, and 
 that the poet would net have ufed fo homely a me- 
 taphor, to exprefs the effect of fomething reprefented 
 as holy, and full of fanctity, the blood of Richard. 
 The cafe is very different in the paffage quoted as 
 paral'el from Henry V. belides, it is not the caufe, 
 as Mr. Warburton mifreprefents it, but the rifing, 
 that is, the number of followers, which is faid to be 
 enlarded, with what propriety let the reader judge. 
 See the Canons of Cricicifm, p. 54. 
 
 P. 220. Fillip me with a three- man beetle. 
 
 The ' humourous allufion to a catch in three parts,' 
 whi<~h Mr. Warburton hath difcovered in this ex- 
 predion, is, I will undertake for it, incomprehen- 
 fibl to every imagination but his own. They have 
 nothing common to both but the bare number three. 
 
 P. 234. I will imitate the honourable Reman in brevity. 
 
 I believe Mr. Warburton may be right in his cor- 
 rection, Roman, for Romans, tut I conceive he is 
 
 3 w">"g
 
 Wrong in his application. The poet's reprefentatiori 
 of "FalftafFs character is fcarce reconcileable to the 
 fuppodtion, that he had learning enough ever to' 
 have heard, that M. Brutus affected great brevity 
 of ftile. I fuppofe by the honourable Roman' is in-* 
 tended Julius Caefar, whofe vent, vidi, vie:; feems 
 to be alluded to iri the beginning of the letter, 4 1 
 ' commend me ro thee, I commend thee; arid t 
 ' leave thee.* The very words of Caefar are ex- 
 prefsly quoted by Falitaff a little farther o'rt in the 
 playj p. 279. ' that I may juftly fay with the hook- 
 * nofed fellow of Rome there, Casfar, I came, favv,' 
 ' and overcame.' 
 
 P. 235. That's to make him eat 'plenty of his words: 
 
 I think the common reading, ' twenty of his words, 
 is much more natural, a certain number for an, un- 
 certain. But fl^r. Warburton hath found out a joke 
 in the word, plenty, which is indeed too (lender for 
 my apprehenfion, and fo I leave it to the difcovery 
 of" the reader. 
 
 P. 23-6. From a God to a lull? a heavy defcenfiom 
 It was Jove's cafe. From a Prince to a prentice ? d 
 low transfer mat id ft ; that fhall be mine, 
 
 Mr. Upton, Critic. Obferv. p. 229. thinks, if the 
 words defce'nfion and transformation were tranfpofed, 
 the expreffion would be more accurate. Undoubt- 
 edly it would , but I fuppofe Shakefp'ear hirhfelf 
 mutually transferred the proper appellation of each' 
 to the other, with the view to make the two cafes 
 tally the better, and render the difference lefs fenfible 
 between a transformation to a ! bull, and a defcenfiort 
 to a prentice. 
 
 P. 237, But he did long in vain! 
 
 f entirely concur with Mr. Theobald in opinion 
 
 S rhaf
 
 t 258 ] 
 
 that Shakefpear more probably wrote, * but he did 
 look in vain.* 
 
 P. 240. Tour brooches. 
 
 This word is rightly interpreted in the Canons of 
 Criticifm, p. 193- a bodkin, or fome fuch ornament, 
 from the French, broche. 
 
 P. 243. What? your poor ; bafe, r of catty, &c. 
 
 Read, ' you poor, bafe, rafcally, &c.' agreeably to 
 Mr. Pope's edition. 
 
 P. 253. It is but as a body flight dijlemperd. 
 
 The common reading was, 
 
 It is but as a body yet dijlemper'd. 
 
 That is, It is but as a body not yet quite recovered 
 from its diitemper. And now let me afk Mr. War- 
 burton in my turn, What would be have lefs? or, 
 What occafion for amendment ? 
 
 Ibid. My lord Northumberland will fobn be cool'd. 
 
 Doth not this reading give us a very juft and perti- 
 nent fenfe? Why then muft we be tampering with 
 it, and cbtruoing oh the reader our own imagina- 
 tion 1 , in the place of the genuine expreflions of 
 
 Shakefpear ? 
 
 P. 264. That his dimenjions to any thick Jight were 
 in n jin< ible. 
 
 Read, according to Mr. Pope's edition, inviftble. 
 
 Ibid. This vice's dagger. 
 See this phrafe explained in Upton's Critic. Obferv, 
 P- 7- 
 
 P. 26 r.
 
 [ *59 1 
 
 P. 265. / will make him a philofopher's two J} ones 
 to me. 
 
 That is, twrce the worth of the philofopher's ftone, 
 as it is rightly explained in the Canons of Criticifm, 
 p. 86. 
 
 P. 266. Let us way on. 
 
 To way, for to march, is a word of Mr. Warbur- 
 ton's own coining, unknown, I believe, to every 
 other writer. The common reading was, /way on; 
 and the verb, /way, fignifying nearly the fame as to 
 wave, as when we fay, to /way a fcepter, or /word, 
 (See Lye's Etymologicon) it may perhaps be ufed 
 not improperly to expre's the fluctuating march of 
 an army. However, even wag on, though it be ra- 
 ther a burlefque exprefTion, and upon that account 
 lefs proper in fcrious difcourfe, is ftill better than 
 Mr. Warburton's conjecture, as it is at leaft Englifh. 
 
 P. 269. My brother general, the ccmmon-wealth, 
 To brother born an houfchold cruelty, 
 I make my quarrel in particular. 
 
 The fenfe is, As to my own particular quarrel, or 
 ground of my complaint, 1 avouch it to be founded 
 upon the injuries done to the commonwealth ; to 
 which I confider myfelf as connected by that general 
 relation of 'motherhood, wh>ch unites all thole who 
 live under tiie fame government ; and upon the pri- 
 vate cruelty exercifed upon my own family, by the 
 tumultuary, and illegal, execution of my own born 
 brother. That this lalt provocation was the arch- 
 bifhop's principal motive for taking up arms, ap- 
 pears from the Fir ft Part of Henry IV. p. 119. 
 
 Wore. TF archbijhop. 
 
 Hotfp. York, is' 't not? 
 
 S 2 Wore,
 
 [ *<5o I 
 
 Wore, 'true, who bears hard 
 His brother's death at Bfijlcl, the lord Scroop, 
 
 Mr. Warburton, who did not recoiled this circum- 
 stance, hath with great pains hammered out an in- 
 terpretation, the mod ftrange and nonfcnfical that 
 ever entered into the mod unhappy critick's imagi- 
 nation. 
 
 P. 271. And prefent executions of our wills 
 
 'To us, and to our properties, confined. 
 
 F or properties, the other editions gave us, purpofes, 
 which Mr. Warburton mifunderftanding to mean, 
 appetites and paffions, whereas in truth nothing elfe 
 is meant by that word but the propofals contained in 
 the fchedule, he made this, at leaft unnecefTary, al- 
 teration. Indeed this gentleman is not very con- 
 fident with himfclf. For he firft lays down this po- 
 fition, tfyat ' this line contains fome demands of ad- 
 * vantage for the rebels/ and then at the conclufion 
 tells us, it means * no more than fome fecurity for 
 c their liberties and properties j' which being before 
 fufficien-tly provided for in the condition for their ac- 
 quittal and pardon, gives them in truth no advan- 
 tage at all, but leaves them juft as it found them. 
 
 P. 275. The time mifordefd doth in common fenfe. 
 
 That is, in the feeling we have of the common and 
 national grievances. There is therefore no need of 
 Mr. Warburtoa's fanciful amendment,- ' in common 
 fence* 
 
 P. 277. And, good my Lord, fo pie aft 'you, let cur trains 
 March !y us, that we may perttfe the men 
 We Jhould have cop'd withal. 
 
 This fpeech is addrefled to the archbifhop, for the 
 Earl of Wcftraorland had juft before quitted the 
 
 ftage*
 
 [ *' ] 
 
 ftage. It is evident therefore that we mould read, 
 your trains. The defign of the Prince in making 
 this requeft appears very clearly from the event to 
 have been, to draw in the rebels, under the fpecious 
 pretext of taking a view of the men he was to have 
 coped with, to difband their army in his prefence, 
 while he preferved his own entire ; that he might 
 feizc the opportunity of arrefiing the chiefs when 
 abandoned by their followers, and of falling upon 
 thefe, when they were fcattered, and unable to make 
 refinance. This whole proceeding, as it is repre- 
 fented by the poet, is founded in ftrict hiftorical 
 truth, and therefore, in an hiftorical play like this, 
 he is undoubtedly juftifiable in giving it us as he 
 found it. It hath however a very unhappy and dif- 
 agreeable effect on the reader or fpectator, as inflead 
 or acquiefcence, at lead in the punifhment of the re- 
 bels, it cannot fail of exciting in him companion 
 towards them when fo treacherously enfnared, as 
 well as a very high degree of indignation againfl 
 Prince John, who is on all other occafions repre- 
 fented as a Prince of great gallantry, and magna^ 
 nimity, forproftituting his character by fo deliberate 
 and odious a piece of pt rfidy. I believe there are 
 few readers who do not wifh Shakefpear's plan had 
 permitted him to follow Horace's rule, 
 
 et qua 
 Defperaf trafiata r.itefccre pojfe, relinquat. 
 
 P. 281. /ind learning a meer heard of gold kept by 
 a devil, till Jack commences it, and Jets it in aft and 
 ufe. 
 
 I know no fenfe in which the verb, commences it, can 
 find any place here with propriety. 1 beg leave to 
 conjecture, that our poet might have written, com- 
 merces ilj that is, introduces it into converfation, 
 
 3 3 and
 
 [ 262 ] 
 
 and by that means makes it fubfervient to the ge- 
 neral entertainment and improvement of mankind. 
 
 P. 283. As flaws congealed in the fpring of day. 
 
 See the true meaning of this paflage explained in the 
 Canons of Criticifm, p. 85, 
 
 P. 284. Rajh gun-powder. 
 
 Rightly explained in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 
 205. fudden, eafily inflammable. 
 
 P. 287. Unlefs feme doleing, favourable hand. 
 
 See this innovation properly animadverted on, and 
 the ancient reading, 
 
 Unlefs fume dull and favourable hand, 
 
 well explained and fully vindicated in the Canons of 
 Criticifm, p. 70. 
 
 P. 293. Wounding fuppefed peace. 
 
 That is, wounding that peace which we apprehended 
 we had eftablifhed, and were in the actual enjoyment 
 of. 'Tis hard to guefs by what analogy Mr. War- 
 burton interprets it, ' undermined peace,' or, if we 
 grant him his explanation of the word, what fenfe 
 he can make of it. 
 
 Ibid. All their bold feats 
 
 Thou feejl, with peril 1 have anfwered. 
 
 Feats, do not fignify, as Mr. Warburton would per- 
 fuade us, (and in this fenfe only the word can anfwer 
 his purpofe) ' plots, commotions of confpirators/ 
 but actual performances in the field. This gentle- 
 man would never have obtruded on Shakefpear fo 
 flit and improper an expreflion, if he had under- 
 stood the common reading,
 
 [ 263 1 
 
 ^//thefe bold fears. 
 
 The word/^r, hath here an attive import, and fig- 
 nifies the caufe of the paffion, not the paffion itfelf ; 
 what affrights, not the fear produced by it. Mr. 
 Warburton himfelf underftood the verb in this very 
 fenfe but a little before, p. 286, for thus fays his 
 note, 
 
 ' The people fear me ;] i. e. make me afraid.' 
 
 * All thefe bold fears' therefore fignify, All thofe 
 bold attempts which might naturally beget fear in 
 me. 
 
 P. 293. And now my death 
 
 Changes the mode. 
 
 That is, introduces a new and very different man- 
 ner of confidering what is in reality and at bottom 
 the felf-fame thing it was before. Mr. Warburtcn's 
 fuppofed allufions to ' time and meafure in finging, 
 
 * and to the pitch in fpeaking/ are quite befide the 
 purpofe, and can ferve fur nothing but to perplex 
 and miflead the reader. But he could not refift the 
 temptation of letting him know, that he underftood 
 what was meant by the word, modus, in the ancient 
 drama. 
 
 P. 294. To lead our many to the Holy Land. 
 
 This is a conjecture of Mr. Warburton's j for c plau- 
 
 * fible as the common reading, 
 
 To lead out many, 
 
 ' is,' he affures us c it is corrupt.' But why fo ? The 
 King had juft faid, That he had cut off part of his 
 rebellious nobles, and he now adds, that he had 
 intended, if he had lived, to lead out many more of 
 them, fuch v/e may prelume as he moft fufpecled, 
 
 S 4 to
 
 t 264 ] 
 
 fo the Holy Land. Is not this much better fenfe, 
 and more to the purpofe, than to fay, he had in- 
 tended to lead his own followers thither ? For this, 
 is the true fenfe of the word, many, or, meiny t not his 
 people, which the word neither fignifies, nor, if it 
 did, would common fenfe admit, Thqfe who are ac- 
 quainted with thehiftory of the Croifades know, that 
 noue but volunteers, and thofe who were properly 
 foldiers, that is, men inlifted for pay, engaged in 
 thofe expeditions ; with which the body of the people 
 were by no means obliged to concern themfelves, 
 pn account of any tenures or fervices whatfoever. 
 
 P. 299. A rated and foreJlaW d rem'ijpon. 
 
 The common reading wa^, 
 
 A ragged and foreJlalVd remijjion. 
 
 The firft of which epithets Mr. Warburton is pofi- 
 tive ' hath no fenfe here.? I think it hath, and that 
 it means a remiiTion which hath a mean and fcanda- 
 Jpus appearance. But this gentleman, while he fo 
 decifively pronounces concerning the authentick 
 readings, without giving himfelf the trouble of en- 
 deavouring to underftand them, contents himfelf with 
 putting off on the publick the firft whimfey that 
 pomes into his head, without the lead concern whe- 
 ther it expreffes the fenfe he intends, or not. How 
 elfe, could he palm upon his readers a rated remiffica, 
 for one that mgft be fought for and bought with 
 fupplicarion, which no man alive but himfelf would 
 ver have understood to be the meaning of that term 2 
 
 P. 303. Give Mr. Bard,ol$h fome %i'ine, Davy. 
 
 Tfye rpading rejected by Mr. Pope and the later edi- 
 tprs is, I apprehend, the true one -, * Good Mr. Bcr- 
 folpk Same wine, Davy.'< Shallow firft pays his 
 ffimpjiment to Bardolph, and then orders Davy to 
 
 bring
 
 [ *6 5 ] 
 
 jbring in the wine. And accordingly we fee Davy, 
 in imitation of his matter, firft defires Mr. Bardolph 
 to feat himfelf, and then in obedience to the orders 
 given him goes out for the wine. 
 
 The Life of Henry the Fifth.* 
 
 P. 319. Wbofe high upr eared, and abutting fronts 
 Perillous, the narrow ocean parts a/under. 
 
 Mr. Warburton, in his note on this paftage, gives us 
 a fpecimen of a very peculiar manner in which he not 
 unfrequently difplays his critical talent. It ought in- 
 deed to have found a place among the Canons of his 
 Criticifm. He firft of all forms in his imagination 
 fomething, which he thinks proper to call c the intent, 
 the fcope, or the purpofe of the poet ;' that is, 
 what he imagines the ppet ought to have intended, 
 and what he hjmfelf would have intended on the 
 fame occafion. He next alters the text To as to ac- 
 commodate it to this intention ; and then makes ufe 
 of this very fiction of his own to prove the common 
 text to be corrupted, becaufe it doth not correfpond 
 with it, and to eftablifli his own innovation. Thus in 
 the pafoge before us, he firft of all takes it for grant- 
 ed, that the poet's * purpofe is to (hew, that the high- 
 
 * eft danger arifes from the mock of the meeting of 
 f the two monarchies, and that it is bqt a little thing 
 
 * that keeps them afunder.' Then follows his con- 
 clufion of courfe, that c his emendation is right, be- 
 
 * eaufe it gives us this fenfe, and the common read- 
 
 * ing wrong, becaufe it gives us a contrary one.' 
 For he adds. ' thofe whom a perillous ocean parts 
 
 * afunrler, are in no danger of meeting.' But here 
 indeed the enthufiafm of his criticifm tranfports him 
 a little too far, even fo far as to contradict the very 
 principle he lets out with. For if the perils of the 
 
 ocean
 
 [ 266 ] 
 
 ocean were a fufHcient fecurity againft the meeting 
 of the two monarchies, much more would the fhock 
 of their meeting, from whence he tells us * the 
 * higheft danger would arife,' mod effectually deter 
 them from running the hazard of it. But this very 
 blunder of his luckily furnifhes us with a clew, by 
 the help of which we may unravel all this fophiftry. 
 The intent of the poet, it now plainly appears, was 
 not to point out the danger from the fhock of the 
 two monarchies, but to exalt the character of his 
 own hero, who was not deterred by the perils of the 
 intermediate ocean, from eroding it, to profecute his 
 generous refolution of recovering by the fword his 
 inheritance in France. And this intent correfponds 
 perfectly well with the common reading, 
 
 Whofe high upr eared, and abutting front 's, 
 The perillous narrow ocean parts a/under, 
 
 P. 323. So that the aft, and praftic part of life, 
 Muji be the mijtrefs to this tbeorique. 
 
 The fenfe of this pafifage, which is quite miftaken by 
 Mr. Theobald, I apprehend to be this : So that the 
 King muft have drawn this mafterly fkill, which he 
 fo manifeftly difcovers in the theory of thofe fcienccs, 
 from the inftruction of his own experience while he 
 was converfant in the active and practic part of life, 
 
 P. 328. King Lewis his poffeffion. 
 
 I think the ancient reading given us by Mr. Theo-* 
 bald, 
 
 King Lewis's fatisfaction, 
 
 is more likely to be the true one. See what is men- 
 tioned of Lewis IX. in the preceding page. 
 
 P. 3 2 ^
 
 [ 26 7 ) 
 
 P. 28. 'Than amply to imbare their crooked titles. 
 
 I doubt, imbare, is fcarce Englifh ; I mould there- 
 fore prefer Mr. Theobald's correction, unbare. The 
 reading of the two old folios is, imkarre. 
 
 P. 329. They know, your race had caufe, and means, 
 and might : 
 So hath your highnefs. 
 
 I cannot difcern any the leaft reafon for altering the 
 common reading, in which there appears no other 
 miftake than a fmall one in the pointing, which is 
 thus eafily corrected : 
 
 <Tbey know your Grace hath caufe, and means* 
 
 and might ; 
 So hath your highnefs. 
 
 The emphafis in the pronunciation ought to be laid 
 on the verb, hath, not on the nominative, highnefs \ 
 and then the fenfe will be, They know the goodnefs 
 of your Grace's caufe, and that you have means and 
 might to profecute it ; nor is this knowledge of theirs 
 a miftaken knowledge, for fo in truth your high- 
 nefs hath. 
 
 P. 330. Ne'er went with his full forces into France, 
 
 The word, full, is an unnecefTary interpolation of 
 Mr. Warburton's. The common reading was, 
 
 Never went with his forces into France. 
 
 An expedition into France from its very nature and 
 circumftances implies a very large force, which is 
 all that the fcope of the text requires, for it is not 
 to be fuppofed that King Edward III. ever carried 
 with him the whole force of his kingdom, as our 
 critick would perfuade us to imagine. 
 
 P. 3j-
 
 [ 268 J 
 
 P. 330. For hear her heji exampled by herfelf. 
 
 There was certainly no oecafion for altering the 
 common reading, 
 
 For hear her but exampled by herfelf '; 
 that is, For only hear her exampled by herfelf. 
 
 Ibid. And make his chronicle as rich with prize. 
 
 If Mr. Warburton had given himfelf the Jeifure to 
 attend to the propriety of the word, chronicle, and 
 to the line immediately next preceding, 
 
 To fill King Edward's fame with pHfoner Kings, 
 
 he muft have feen, that the common reading, praife, 
 was the genuine one. 
 
 tr 
 
 P. 331. Yet that is but a ' feus' 'd neceffity. 
 
 Befides the general averfion I have to the fathering 
 fuch difguftful aphserefes as this, fcus'd, for ex- 
 cufedy on the poet, without the lead pretence of au- 
 thority from any of the elder editions, the expref- 
 fion itfelf is wrong, and doth not exprefs the fenfe 
 Mr. Warburton affigns it. A neceffity that may be 
 excufed, is not a feeming neceffity in oppofition to 
 a real one, but fo very real a neceffity that it carries 
 its excufe with it. The reading of the old quarto, 
 we are told, was, * a curs'd neceffity,' from whence 
 1 imagine the poet might have written, 
 
 a coward's ncceffly : 
 
 That is, fuch a neceffity as a coward would alledge. 
 We may fuppofe the word was written with a mark 
 of elifion, thus, cow'rds, to adapt it to the metre, 
 which might poffibly have contributed to lead the 
 printer into a miftafce. 
 
 P- 33 2 <
 
 [ 269 3 
 
 P. 332. Creatures, that ly a ruling nature teach. 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath exercifed hisphilofophy fo long 
 on this paffage, that he hath at laft quite confounded 
 and loft himfelf in a labyrinth* The common read- 
 ing was, ' by a rule in nature,' that is a rule founded 
 in the very constitution of their nature, and dictated 
 by k. * This,' he fays, ' is directly contrary to 
 " what the poet intended. He would fay, that 
 
 * the bees inftinctively teach.' But pray, Sir, what 
 is inftinct but a rule of conduct wrought into the very 
 nature of the creatures guided by it ? It is pleafanc 
 to obferve the progrefs of his reafoning, for it is very 
 curious. ' For if bees did it by a ruling or govern- 
 
 * ing nature, it is a reafon why we mould imitate 
 
 * them ; not fo, if only by a rule in nature ; for all 
 c animals are not to go by one and the fame rule.' 
 A very accurate and profound diftinction indeed, as 
 well as extremely instructive ! The refult of which 
 amounts to this, That all animals a6t agreeably to 
 the rules of conduct prefcribed by the particular na- 
 ture of the feveral (pedes to which they belong ; 
 but thefe can be no rule of conduct to us, becaufe 
 different animals are to go by different rules. But 
 the rules of the governing nature, which are in truth 
 no other than thofe very fame rules, peculiarly 
 adapted to the particular nature, fltuation, and cir- 
 cumstances of the feveral kinds of animals, and dif- 
 ferent in each kind, are a rule to us, according to 
 which we ought to regulate our own conduit. And 
 now, I prefume, the reader is juft as wife as he was, 
 before he was initiated into the mysteries of tins oc- 
 cult philofophy. 
 
 Ibid. Others, like merchant-venturers, trade abroad. 
 
 The common reading was, 
 
 Others, like merchants, venture trade abroad. 
 
 Mr.
 
 t 2?0 J 
 
 Mr. Warburton alks, ' What is the venturing trade t* 
 Since he doth not know, I will venture to tell him. 
 a Tis the venturing to trade abroad, a peculiarity of 
 conftruction familiar to the writers of Shakefpear's 
 age, and ftill in ufe as low as that of Milton, who 
 frequently ufes it. 
 
 P. 332. The civil citizens kneading up the honey. 
 
 Mr. Warburton acknowledges * this reading may 
 * pofiibly be right,' and with unufual modefty offers 
 his emendation only as a conjecture. But as, knead- 
 ing up, means working the honey up into as narrow 
 a compafs as poflible, in order to fave room, I can 
 fee no occafion for it, nor indeed any thing which 
 mould incline us to give it the preference. 
 
 ^-333' $ ma y a thonfand affions, U once a-foot* 
 
 I entirely agree with Mr. Warburton in this his 
 emendation ; only, I fhould without fcruple have 
 read, at once a-foot. I obferve this gentleman, fup- 
 pofing it neceflary, from his imperfect notion of our 
 Englilh tragick verfe, that it mould confift only of 
 iambicks, hath been milled to make many unnecef- 
 fary elifions, fome of them intolerable to an ear of 
 any fenfibility, and by this means hath frequently 
 given his adverfaries advantages they had no juft 
 claim to. But in truth this kind of Englifh verfe 
 admits equally with the iambick, the rribrachys, the 
 fpondee, and its folution, the anapseft , and for a 
 dipody, very frequently the choriambkk, the ftcond 
 epitrite, the fourth pseon, and the lefler ionick. 
 
 Ibid. Not worjhipt zvhh a izaxen epitaph. 
 
 By a zvaxen epitaph I apprehend our poet means 
 fuch an epitaph, as, though defigned for an enco- 
 mium, yet, being unfupported, or contradi&ed by 
 
 foft, 
 8
 
 [ *7* ] 
 fact, may, by a juil application of irony, be- as 
 cafily conftrued into a fatire on the deceafed. 
 
 P. 336. When time fhall ferve, there Jhall be. [fmilcsj 
 
 I cannot believe with Mr. Warburton, that the word, 
 /miles, was a marginal direction to inftruct the player 
 in his action ; fince we meet with ho other of the 
 kind throughout the whole of Shakefpear's works, 
 though there are numberlefs places where fuch a di- 
 rection would feem more neceflary. I fuppofe the 
 word is no other than part of an ironical expreflion, 
 in that fantaftick peculiarity of language which con- 
 stitutes the character of corporal Nim, like what im- 
 mediately follows, I dare not fight.' 
 
 P. 337. Tho 9 Patience be a Hr'd dame. 
 
 The common reading was, ' a tired name 9 In this hu- 
 mourous and whimfical language emendations muft 
 of neceflity be extremely uncertain, efpecially at this 
 diftance of time, when many of the allufions are 
 quite worn out of memory ; I think therefore they 
 are better let alone. 
 
 P. 342. and -well digeft 
 
 Tb' abufe of diftance, while we force a play. 
 
 That is, while, by doing violence to the circum- 
 ftances both of time and place, we make out our 
 play. I muft own I have no great appetite to Mr. 
 Warburton's conjecture, farce a play, and I fancy* 
 it will meet with as little reception from the gene- 
 rality of his readers. 
 
 Ibid. But, till the King come forth, and not till then. 
 
 Mr. Roderick in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 218. 
 hath, I think, inconteftably proved that we ought 
 to read, 
 
 But,
 
 [ 272 ] 
 ut, till the King come forth, and but till theni 
 
 P. 343. For which we have in aid ajfembkd them f 
 
 t am amazed Mr. Warburtdn mould deny the com- 
 mon reading, 
 
 For which we have in head ajfembled them t 
 
 to be 'Englifh phrafeology.' It is Shakefpear's owrf 
 phrafeology. Thus in the Firft Pare of Henry IV.- 
 p. 119. 
 
 Won And 'tis no little reafon bids usfpeed 
 To fave our heads, by raifing of a head: 
 
 Ibid. p. 163. Blunt fpeaking of the rebel army? 
 
 A mighty and a fearful head they are. 
 
 Ibid. p. 173. 
 
 If we without his help can make a heady 
 To $ufh agninjt the kingdom. 
 
 Ibid. p. 182. 
 
 And there" 'J my lord of Worcefter, and a head 
 Of gallant warriors, noble gentlemen. 
 
 Bit f yet the King hath drawn 
 
 The fpecial head of all the land together. 
 
 See Theobald's Shakefpear reftored, p. 187. As to ? 
 Mr. Warburton's emendation, ih aid, it is fufficierit 
 to fay, that perfonal fervices in War by Virtue of te- 
 nure were never called aids. 
 
 . 344. If little faults, proceeding oh diftemper. 
 
 Diftempered in liquor, is a common exprelTion, 
 though Mr. Warburton did not happen to recollect 
 it, when he interpreted the word to fignify in this 
 place, ' fudden palTions,.' See the Canons of Critic 
 cifm, p. 194. 
 
 ?. 54 
 
 ,y 

 
 [ 273 ] 
 
 P. 34.5. That though the truth of it ft and off as grcfs 
 As black and white, my eye will fear cely fee it. 
 
 Mr. Warburton rather thinks Shakefpear wrote, as 
 * black from white.' But I apprehend it is not Eng- 
 lish to fay, a thing ftands off grofs from another. I 
 take thephrafe, ft and off as grofs , to fignify in this 
 place, exhibits, or prefents itfelf as clearly and with 
 as indifputable an evidence. 
 
 P. 346. Working fo grofsly in a natural caufe. 
 
 The fenfe feems to be, Working fo apparently un- 
 der the influence of fome motive, which nature ex- 
 cufes at leaft in fome meafure, if it doth not wholly 
 juftify, fuch as, felf-prefervation, revenge, and the 
 like, which have the greateft fway in the constitution 
 of human nature. 
 
 Ibid. Garniflfd and deck' d in modejl compliment. 
 
 We mould read, complement, for the fenfe is, Gar- 
 nifhed and adorned with all accomplifhments, with- 
 out pride, affectation, or fingularity. As to the 
 fignification of the word, complements, fee our note 
 on Love's Labour loft, in p. 127. 
 
 P. 347. Not working with the ear, but with the eye. 
 
 We are indebted for this alteration to Mr. Warbur- 
 ton's want of apprehenfion. He utterly miftook the 
 meaning of the original reading, 
 
 Not working with the eye, without the ear ; 
 
 that is, Not trufting fo abfolutely to his own judg- 
 ment, as t neglect, or defpife, the advice of others. 
 
 P. 351. And more than carelefsly it us concerns. 
 
 This flat and aukward expreffion came from Mr. 
 
 T War-
 
 [ 274 ] 
 Warburton, who did not, or would not, underftand 
 the plain Englifh of the common reading, 
 
 And more than carefully it us concerns , 
 
 that is, With more than common care-, though the 
 fev.fe is fo evident, that it is fcarce conceivable how 
 it could efcape him. 
 
 P. 253' B ul ri Q * we think it fo, it is no matter. 
 The fenfe is, But notwithstanding my own private 
 fentiments as to this point, if we fhould concur in 
 your opinion of it, no hurt or detriment can poffibly 
 accrue from it. 1 cannot therefore conceive any good 
 reafon for admitting the alteration Mr Roderick 
 propofes in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 218. 
 
 Ibid. While that his mounting fire, en mountain ft anding, 
 \Up in the air, crown\i with the golden fun.] 
 
 Mr. Ssvvard, in his notes on Fletcher's Thierry and 
 Theodorick, vol. x. p. 171, 172. haih fully vindi- 
 cated the old reading, 
 
 While that his mountain fire ; 
 
 and with great elegance of tafte hath refcued the fe- 
 cond line from the groundlefs imputation, of having 
 been foifted in by 'fome nonfenfical player.' 
 
 P. 371. Fcr he hath Jloln a pax. 
 
 Mr. Theobald, in his note on this place, hath, I 
 think, demonftrated, that we ought to read, a pix, 
 that is, a little box in which the confecrated holt is 
 ufually kept. 
 
 P* 375- Chez les Nari?ies de feu ! 
 
 This is ftark nonfenfe. Perhaps we mould read, 
 * Vo\ez les Narines de feu !' The horfe indeed is not 
 
 pre-
 
 [ 275 3 
 prefent; but, agreeably to the French vivacity, the 
 Dauphin fpeaks of him as if he were. 
 
 P. 380. Fills the wide vejfel of the univerfe. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 127. 
 
 IbiJ. Each battle fees the ether's umber* d face. 
 
 This exprefiion is extremely picturefque, and points 
 out rhat brown light of the fires in a dark night re- 
 flected from every object near them. Mr. Warbtir- 
 ton interprets it, ' fhadowed face/ the meaning of 
 which is beyond my comprehenfion. 
 
 P . 381. and their gefiure fad, 
 
 Invejiin lank-lean cheeks and war-worn coats* 
 
 This emendation of Mr. Warburton's is certainly (as 
 is well obferved in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 87.) 
 as much nonfenfe as the common reading, 
 
 Inverting lank-lean cheeks and war-worn coats, 
 
 with this additional difadvantage, that the word, 
 inveftt ufed as a participle pafiive, is not Englifh. 
 I fancy Shakefpear might have written, 
 
 In faffing lank-lean cheeks and war-worn coats. 
 
 That is, in lank-lean cheeks which teftify their having 
 long failed. Orleans had faid but a little before, 
 * Ay ; but thefe Englifh are fhrewdly out of beef:' 
 and the Conftable of France, 
 
 His foldiers fick % and famijb'd in their march. 
 
 P. 387. Out-run native punifhtnent. 
 
 That is, punifhmtnt in their native country, as the 
 phrafe is wdj explained in the Canons of Cnticilm, 
 p. 203. 
 
 T 2 P. 390.
 
 [ a 7 6 ] 
 
 P. 390. What is thy toll, O adoration t 
 
 I cannot perfuade myfelf, that in fo noble a paffage 
 Shakefpear would have admitted fo low, and indeed 
 fo unmeaning an expreffion. For af.er all, What 
 can be the toil ( that is, according to Mr. Warbur- 
 ton, c the duties and imports') which adoration re- 
 ceives, but adoration itfelf ? The common reading 
 was, 
 
 tVhat ! is thy foul of adoration ? 
 
 Pofilbly the poet might have written, 
 
 What is this coyl of adoration? 
 
 So the fenfe will be, To what purpofe or advantage 
 is all this coyl made in the world about being ferved 
 on the bended knee ? 
 
 P. 391. But, like a lacquey, from the rife to fet, 
 Sweats in the eye of Phoebus. 
 
 Mr. Seward, in his preface to Fletcher's works, p. 
 25, 26. bellows, very unneceffarily as I apprehend, 
 a great deal of time and pains to prove, that our 
 poet wrote, ' like his lacquey,' that is, like the 
 lacquey of Phoebus. But every circumftance in the 
 whole fentence fo plainly determines the prefent read- 
 ing to this very meaning, that no one could poflibly 
 mifunderftand it, and confequently all alteration on 
 this account was unnecefTary. The flave here men- 
 tioned fweats all day in the eye of Phoebus, like a 
 lacquey in the eye of his mafter, then, when his 
 mafter is retired to reft, fleeps too, and rifes before 
 him again in the morning, to help him to his horfe ; 
 and fo follows the ever-running year. What need 
 then to fay exprefly he was like Phoebus his lacquey, 
 when the whole tenor of the fentence will admit no 
 other interpretation ? 
 
 P T* ?
 
 [ *77 ] 
 
 P. 392. Though all that I can do t is nothing worthy 
 Since that my penitence comes after calf. 
 Imploring pardon. 
 
 I will not prefume to examine Mr. Warburton's 
 theology, as being above my fphere, but I may be 
 allowed to confider his reafoning. According to him 
 therefore, the reafon the King al ledges, why his 
 works of piety and charity were nothing worth, is, 
 that his penitence comes after a call of the Divine 
 grace. But furely, according to common fenfe, 
 his obedience to this call could not be the circum- 
 ftance which rendered his good works worthlefs. 
 For this I muft appeal to the divines. The com- 
 mon reading, 
 
 Since that my penitence comes after all, 
 
 which Mr. Warburton, becaufe he would not be at 
 the pains of understanding it, pronounces to be * un- 
 4 intelligible,' gives us this fenfe, which in my poor 
 opinion is very intelligible, and very confiftent , I 
 am fenfible that every thing of this kind (works of 
 piety and charity) which I have done, or can do, 
 will avail nothing towards the remiflion of this fin ; 
 fince I well know, that after all this is done, true 
 penitence, and imploring pardon, are previoufly apd 
 indifpenfably requifite towards my obtaining it, 
 
 Ibid. Montezcheval. 
 
 This is nonfen r e. It is plain we mould read, Mon 
 cbeval, which is in(tantly repeated in Englifh, My 
 kcrje. 
 
 P. 393. Dau. Via! les eaux clh terre. 
 
 Or!. Run puis! le ar etfeu. 
 
 Dau. Gel ! coufin Orleans. 
 
 U is hardly worth while to n-er^ this nonfenfe. But, 
 T 3 the
 
 f 278 ] 
 
 dull duty of an editor, (and fuch I in fome meafure 
 confider myfelf in thefe notes) as Mr. Pope very 
 prop rly calls it, obliges him to think nothing be- 
 neath his attention, which his author did not think 
 it beneath him to wiite. I fufpecl: therefore the true 
 reading might poffibly have been this, which hath 
 at leaft one advantage, that it approaches much 
 nearer to the common one, than that given by Mr. 
 Tneobald and Mr. Warbunon, 
 
 Dau. Voyez les eaux et h terre, 
 Orl. Bien puis 1' air et \tfeu ? 
 Dau. Le del cliifin Orleans. 
 
 We muft fuppofe the Dauphin, feeing his horfe cur- 
 vet at fome diflance from the ftage, cries out, ' See, 
 
 ' the waters and the earth' he was going to fay, 
 
 how high he mounts above them ! but.is interrupted 
 by Orleans, who anlwers, * This is very well; but 
 * as to the other elements, the air and the fire, what 
 c fay you to them ?' To which the Dauphin replies, 
 4 Ay, and the heaven too, couftn Orleans ;* meaning 
 by this rodomontade of his, that his horfe would 
 even furmount that too if there were occafion. 
 
 P. 40 t . This roaring devil /' tF old play ; every 
 me may pare bis nails with a wooden dagger. 
 
 See Upton's Critic. Obferv. p. 9. 
 
 P. 404. The French have re-inf ore 1 d their [catter dmen. 
 
 Mr. Upton, Critic. Obferv. p. 260, gives this line 
 to a mefferger, who enters purpofely to bring this 
 news, fuppofmg the King could not othervvife have 
 come to the knowledge of it. This is fubmitted to 
 the reader. To me it appears to be a conclufion 
 drawn by the King himfelf from the alarm then 
 given ; nor is it likely, or agreeable to the ufual 
 pracYce of Shakefpear, that a meffeng< r fliould be 
 j lb
 
 [ 279 J 
 fo bluntly introduced, barely to fpeak this line, with- 
 out either preface, or any further relation of what 
 had happened. 
 
 P. 408. As even his black Jhoe. 
 
 Read, ' As ever his black fhoe.' It is an error of 
 the prefs. 
 
 P. 410. / will give treafon his payment into -plows, 
 I think we mould read, in two plows. 
 
 P. 415. The Emperor s coming in behalf of France. 
 
 In order to preferve the juftnefs of the contraction, 
 this line fhould be an ablative abfolute, thus, 
 
 The Emperor coming in behalf of France. 
 
 P. 420. And all our vineyards, fallows, meads, and 
 hedges. 
 
 Mr. Roderick, in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 219* 
 hath in my opinion eftabhfhed beyond difpute the 
 authenticity of his very ingenious conjecture, 
 
 And as our vineyards, fallows, meads, and hedges. 
 
 P. 428. So the maid, that food in the way for my wifh, 
 
 I think we mould rather read, c that flood in the 
 ' way of my wifh.' 
 
 P. 430. Our bending author hath purfud the fiory _ 
 
 See this reading well explained and vindicated in the 
 Canons of Criticifm, p. 21. 1 underdand the epi- 
 thet, bending, to fignify in this place, fuppliant. 
 
 T 4 The
 
 [ 280 ] 
 
 The Firft Part of King Henry the Sixth. 
 
 P. 433. Comet s , importing change of times and ft at es. 
 
 Mr. Warburton fays, * times, for manners > I rather 
 think, for Fortunes. 
 
 Ibid. Brandifh your cryftal trejfes in the Jky. 
 
 See Mr. Roderick's note in the Canons of Criticifm, 
 p. 220. 
 
 P. 438. He being in the v award, (placed behind, 
 With purpofe to relieve and follow them.) 
 
 I fee no neceflky for any alteration , the fenfe is, He 
 being in theforemoftdivilionof the army, and placed 
 at the rear of that div.fion, with the view, that he 
 might relieve the main body if attacked, or follow 
 it if it mould march forward to attack the enemy. 
 
 P. 446. How now, ambitious Umpire, what means this P 
 
 Mr. Theobald hath undoubtedly reftored the genuine 
 reading, ambitious Humphry* 
 
 Ibid. FieVdpriejl, 
 
 See the true explication of this word in the Canons 
 of Criticifm, p. 164, 165. 
 
 Ibid. /// canvas thee in thy broad Cardinal's hat. 
 
 See Mr. Roderick's note in the Canons of Criticifm, 
 p. 220. 
 
 P. 449. Went through a fecret grate of iron bars, 
 In )onder tow"r, to over peer the city. 
 
 Mr. Roderick, in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 221. 
 
 fen-
 
 [ 281 ] 
 
 fenfible, I fuppofe, of the impropriety of going 
 through a grate of iron bars in order to overpeer 
 the city, propofes to read, view, inftead of went. 
 But this conjecture too is liable to juft exception ; 
 for viewing to overpeer is, I apprehend, fcarce fenfe 
 or Englifh. I am perfuaded the poet wrote, 
 
 Are wont, through a fecret grate of iron bars. 
 
 The anapseft in the fecond place very probably (truck 
 the transcriber or editor with fome apprehenfion for 
 the metre, and this might have given occafion to the 
 introducing the prefent corrupt reading. 
 
 P. 466. I /corn thee and thyfajhion, peevijh boy. 
 
 I entirely agree with Mr. Theobald, that we ought 
 to read, fatlion, not fajhion. The words of Somer- 
 fet, to which the paffage under confideration is a re- 
 ply, fufficiently eftablifh this emendation, 
 
 Well, rilfind friends to wear my bleeding rofes 9 
 That fhall maintain what I have f aid is true. 
 Where falfe Plant agenei dare not be fe^y. 
 
 To fay in anfwer to this, he fcorned his badge of the 
 red rofe, is a very poor return indeed. 
 
 P. 471. Thou art my heir ; the reft Iwijh t bee gather. 
 
 The fenfe is, 1 acknowledge thee to be my heir ; the 
 confequences which may be collected from thence, I 
 recommend it to thee to draw. 
 
 P. 475. Pity the city London, pity us\ 
 
 An unnecelTary caution about the metre was, I fup- 
 pofe, the occafion, that thb line was altered from the 
 common form of expreffion, 
 
 Pity the city of London, pity us. 
 
 The third foot is an anapseft.
 
 [ 282 ] 
 
 P. 488. Yet never have you tafted your reward. 
 
 We fhould read, agreeably to Mr. Pope's edition, 
 * our reward,' that is, any reward at our hands. 
 
 P. 489. 'That, whofo draws a /word in th' prefence 
 Vj death. 
 
 I believe this emendation of Mr. Warburton's is 
 right. For the general enunciation in the common 
 reading, 
 
 'That, whofo draws a /word, 'tis prefent death, 
 
 is both falfe and nonfenfical. The great objedion 
 to Mr. Warburton's correction arifes from thofe in- 
 judicious and unnecefiary elifions, with which he 
 hath crowded it to that degree, that it is fcarce pof- 
 fible to be pronounced by the human organs. But 
 this objection will be removed by the reftoration of 
 one anapaeft, in conformity to which, the verfe 
 ought to be written and pronounced thus, 
 
 That, whofo draws a fword in tb' -pre fence, 'tis death. 
 
 P. 495. And, if 1 wis, he did. But let it refl. 
 
 Mr. Theobald hath quite miftaken the true fenfe of 
 this paflage, and hath corrupted the pointing accor- 
 dingly. We mould read, 
 
 And if 1 wis he did But let it reft. 
 
 It is an imperfect menace, which upon recollecting 
 himfelf York breaks off abruptly. This is evidently 
 implied in what immediately follows, 
 
 ' But let it refl ; 
 
 and ftill more plainly in Exeter's reflection upon it, 
 
 Well didfl thou, Richard, to fupprefs thy voice. 
 
 The
 
 [ *&3 1 
 
 The fenfe is, And if I thought that he really in- 
 tended harm by it, or meant to fupport the caufe of 
 
 Somerfet againft myfelf, I would But let it reft 
 
 for the prefent, till a more convenient opportunity 
 of difcovering myfelf. 
 
 P. 495. "Tismuch, when fceptres are in children* bands; 
 But mere, when envy breeds unkind divifwn : 
 There comes the ruin, there begins confufion. 
 
 This reading is certainly unexceptionable, and wants 
 no alteration. That propofed by Mr. Roderick in 
 the Canons of Criticifm, p. 221. feems to have been 
 owing to his mif.ipprehendingthe conflruclioh. The 
 third line hath no conftructive dependence on the 
 two preceding ones, as he imagined it to have. 
 
 P. 511. Under the lordly monarch of the North ; 
 that is, Satan. See Upton's Critic. Obferv. p. 214. 
 
 P. 520. Betwixt our nation and th* refpiring French, 
 
 The common reading was, ' th' afpiring French ;' 
 but Mr. Warburtcn allures us that ' without doubt 
 Shakcfpear wrote, refpiring, becaufe an ambafiador, 
 who came to perfuade peace with France, would 
 not ufe it as an argument, that France was afpiring.' 
 Perhaps not, but notwithstanding that, an Englifli 
 ambafiador, ipeaking to his countryman, and barely 
 informing him that a peace with France was in- 
 tended, might without the leaft impropriety term 
 her fo. 
 
 VO-
 
 C 284 ]' 
 
 VOLUME the FIFTH. 
 
 The Second Part of King Henry the 
 Sixth. 
 
 P. 4. Mine alder -lievefi fovereign. 
 
 The word, alder-lieve/t, is a corruption of the Ger- 
 man word, now in common ufe, aller-liebjie^ be- 
 loved above all things. 
 
 P. 5. We thank you for all this great favour done. 
 
 Undoubtedly we mould read, from a regard both 
 to the fenfe and the metre, 
 
 We thank you all for this great favour done. 
 
 P. 8. And all the wealthy kingdoms of the Eafl, 
 
 So Mr. Warburton tells us * Shakefpear certainly 
 wrote. 5 His printer however is one very credible 
 witnefs that he certainly wrote, 
 
 And all the wealthy kingdoms of the Weft. 
 
 That is, I apprehend, all the wealthy kingdoms of 
 Europe, which were much more convenient for a 
 King of fngland than all the Afiatick kingdoms 
 together, which he could not hope to keep even for 
 a moment. When Mr. Warbunon can afllgn any 
 good rcafon why this witnefs fhould not be credited, 
 or can produce better evidence to contradict him, ic 
 will then be time enough to attend to him. In the 
 mean time, the poiTeffion of the old reading mould 
 not be difturbed. 
 
 P. 22.
 
 [ 285 ] 
 
 P. 22. The filent of the night. 
 
 Mr. Warburton feems to have puzzled himfelf with 
 his clafTical learning, till he had quite miftaken 
 what he was about. Becaufe the abfence of the 
 moon during her interlunar period had been termed 
 by clafiical writers the filence of the moon, therefore 
 the filent night muft mean an interlunar night.' 
 As if every fchool-boy did not know, that, filent 9 
 is the common, and very proper, epithet of the 
 night itfelf. The filent * is ufed here for, thefilence % 
 the adjective for the fubftantive, a peculiarity fre- 
 quent in Shakefpear's phrafeology. See Upton's 
 Critic. Obferv. p. 305, 306. 
 
 P. 26. With fuch holinefs can you do it? 
 
 Mr. Warburton very rightly obferves that ' this 
 verfe,' befides its defect in fenfe, ' wants a foot.' He 
 therefore bids us read, 
 
 With fuch holinefs can you not do it ? 
 
 But if he had underftood any thing of the metre of 
 an Englifh verfe, more than barely counting the 
 number of fyllables, he muft have feen that this 
 verfe is (till too fhort by half a foot, or a fyllable, 
 though it already contain ten fyllables. Poflibly 
 therefore the poet might write, 
 
 Wtiat ? with fuch holinefs can you not do it? 
 
 P. 39. For by his death we do perceive his guilt. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 1 1 1. 
 
 Ibid. So cares and joys abound, as feafons fleet. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 50. 
 
 P. 40.
 
 [ 286 ] 
 
 P. 40. Unneatb may [he endure the flinty greets. 
 
 Read, uneath, that is, uneafily or hardly. See the 
 Gloffaries to Chaucer and Spencer, and Lye's Ety- 
 mologicon. 
 
 P. 42. Muft you, Sir John, -protect my Lady here?- 
 
 I apprehend we fhould read, ' protect my Lady 
 hence ?* 
 
 P. 51. As Humphrey prov'd by reafons to my Liege. 
 
 Partly the conftruction, and partly the fenfe, oblig* 
 us to read, 
 
 As Humphrey's prov'd by treafons to my Liege. 
 
 P. 60. Oft have Ifeen a timely-parted ghoft. 
 
 I concur with Mr. Roderick, in the Canons of Cri- 
 ticifm, p. 221, that it would be better to read, ' a 
 timely-parted coarfe* 
 
 P. 90. Henry hath mercy, you are jirong and manly : 
 God on our fide, doubt not of victory. 
 
 The motive urged by Clifford to the rabble in this 
 place could not be the bare hope of the King's 
 mercy, for the full afifurance of pardon had been al- 
 ready given them by Buckingham, but was indeed 
 that lure, which hath ever tempted Englishmen, 
 of a gainful and honourable expedition to France. 
 For the r better encouragement to engage in it, he 
 represents to them, that their King is well provided 
 with money, the finews of war; appeals to their 
 own breads ror their own valour and hardinefs, and 
 allures them of rhe Divine protection and afTiftance ; 
 fo that there was not the leaft doubt to be made of 
 
 their
 
 [ 18; ] 
 
 their being victorious. We fhould therefore reftore 
 the common reading, 
 
 Henry hath money. 
 
 P. 95. As for more words ; let this my /word report 
 (Whofe greatnefs anfwers words) what fpeecb 
 forbears. 
 
 This is an emendation of Sir Thomas Hanmer's, 
 approved and adopted by Mr. Warburton. But I 
 mud own myfelf at a lofs to comprehend what is 
 meant by the greatnefs of Iden's fword, or how that 
 greatnefs, whatever it be, anfwers words. 1 chink 
 the common reading, % 
 
 As for more words, whofe greatnefs anfwers words, 
 Let this my fword report, what fpeecb forbears : 
 
 hath a very plain and a very pertinent meaning, if 
 che criticks could have been fo contented. Cade 
 had bragged that he was more than a match for 
 Iden and five other men into the bargain. Iden in 
 anfwer boafts in like manner of his own fuperior 
 fize, and larger limbs, and then concludes ; But 
 inflead of talking big any further in anfwer to thy 
 vaunts, let us come to the trial, and let my fword 
 fpeak for me what I do not think worth while to 
 give my tongue the trouble of enlarging upon. 
 
 P. 1 01. They may aftcniflj thefe fell-lurking curs. 
 
 I fhould rather imagine the poet wrote, c fell lurch- 
 ing cur^' that is, who dare not meet us in fair battle, 
 but wait to take us at advantage. Mr. Roderick, 
 in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 222. conjectures 
 ' ieW-barking cur?,' becaufe the lords of the Lan- 
 cafter faction with flood openly with threats and me- 
 nacing language. The decifion mult be left to the 
 reader. 
 
 P. IC2.
 
 [ 288 } 
 
 P. 102. Wilt thou go dig a grave to find out wan 
 
 The fenfe is, Art thou fo enamoured of war that 
 thou wilt even go and dig thy own grave to find it 
 out ? I think therefore the alteration propofed by 
 Mr. Roderick is at lean: unnecefiary. See the Ca- 
 nons of Criticifm, p. 222. 
 
 P. 103. And dying mens' cries do fill the empty air. 
 
 The metre of this verfe is rough indeed, on account 
 of the anapseft in the fecond place, but it is not 
 Jame, as Mr. Roderick apprehended it to be ; nor 
 is it a fufficient reafon to juftify the altering the au- 
 thentick text, that we have hit upon a conjecture 
 which is more poetical. See the Canons of Criti- 
 cifm, p. 222. 
 
 The Third Part of King Henry the 
 Sixth, with the Death of the Duke 
 cf York. 
 
 P. 1 20. Will coaft my crown. 
 
 I apprehend the verb, to coaft 9 when applied to de- 
 note the hovering of an eagle or hawk over its prey, 
 though originally metaphorical, yet by ufe is become 
 the proper exprefiion of that action. Confequently 
 the objection raifed againft it in the Canons of Cri- 
 ticifm, p. 159, 160. that it violates the integrity of 
 the metaphor, falls to the ground. 
 
 P. 142. As if a channel fhould be calVd the fea. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 122. 
 
 P. 14I
 
 I *9 J 
 
 P. 148. Oboyl thy father %ave thee life too foon % 
 And hath bereft thee of thy life too late. 
 
 I think the author of the Canons of Criticifm, p. ? 
 87. hath given the bed explanation of thefe lines, 
 which are as obfcure in their expreflion, as if they 
 were intended for a riddle, purpofely to puzz'e the 
 criticks and commentators. 
 
 P. 165. O, But impatience wailing, rues to morrow* 
 
 This emendation is a manifeft proof, that Mr. 
 Warburton doth not understand the propriety of his 
 own language. To rue y is to grieve for fome paft 
 mifchance or ill conduct, of which we actually feel 
 the unhappy confequences ; but this gentleman ufes 
 the word to exprefs the higheft degree of dread with 
 regard to the future. The common reading, 
 
 O, but impatience waiteth on true for row, 
 
 is undoubtedly genuine, and in the cleared words 
 teaches us a maxim authorized by common fenfe, 
 that true grief is generally impatient for redrefs. 
 Mr. Warburton admits the truth of it, if the grief 
 be occafioned by fome fudden calamity, but feems 
 to deny it, where the grief came gradually on 
 through a long courfe of misfortunes j which he will 
 have to be the cafe of the Queen. But furely this 
 is a mere cavil. What is more ufual than for people 
 to fupport a run of ill fortune for a confiderable 
 time with fome temper and moderation , till at laft, 
 fome great calamity fupervening which compleats 
 their ruin, they all at once lofe the command of 
 themfelves, and are driven beyond all bounds of 
 patience ? See Mr. Warburton's fophiftry on this 
 point genteelly expofed in the Canons of Criticifm, 
 p. 88. 
 
 U P. 17c,
 
 [ 290 ] 
 
 P, 1 70. And now, to footh your forgery and his. 
 
 The verb, footh, gives us no fenfe appofite to the 
 context. I have little doubt but the poet wrote, 
 
 And now, to fmooth your forgery and his. 
 
 P. 205. Where is that devil's butcher? 
 
 This is the reading of all the elder editions ; but I 
 think Mr. Theobald's conjecture, devil-butcher, is 
 by much preferable to it. See his note, and the Ca- 
 nons of Criticifm, p. 48. 
 
 The Life and Death of Richard the 
 Third. 
 
 P. 213. To fright the fouls of fearful adverfaries. 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath no objection to alledge againft 
 this reading , however he rather thinks Shakefpear 
 wrote, the foule, that is in Englilh, the crowd. But 
 I believe every Englifh reader will concur with me 
 in returning back on his hands this French importa- 
 tion, which our language difclaims, as indeed it has 
 no occafion for it. 
 
 P. 214. Cheated of feature by diffembllng nature. 
 
 That is, flattering nature, who, by giving me a 
 great mind, would perfuade me fhe hath not been 
 deficient in other refpects, though fhe hath at the 
 fame time cheated me of my feature. The fig- 
 rjifiration which Mr. Warburton gives to the parti- 
 ciple, diffembling, to wit, ' putting things together 
 ' of a dillimilar kind,' is not, I believe, warranted 
 by any authority or analogy in our language. 
 
 P 2u
 
 [ 291 ] 
 
 P. 214. And j if King Edzvard be as true and jufti 
 
 That is, as true in the declarations he hath made, 
 and as exact and punctual in executing the refolu- 
 tions he hath taken. 
 
 P. 220. From cold and empty veins, where no blood 
 dwells. 
 
 Mr. Warburton admits the propriety of this read- 
 ing, yet ftill thinks it probable that Shakefpear 
 Wrote, 
 
 whence no blood wells. 
 
 Why To ? except it be to make the Lady contradict 
 herfelf, and the eye-fight of all that were prefenc,- 
 to which fhe appeals. See the Canons of Cntieifm, 
 p. 46. 
 
 P. 222. Tbeu waft the caufe, and tnoji occurs* d effect. 
 
 Mr. Warburton feems to have been caught in the; 
 net of his own fubtilty, and to have employed his 
 fophiftry fo iuccefsfully, as to have deceived himfelf 
 into the perfuafion, that the word, effecJ, may really 
 fignify ' an executioner.' But he could not help feel- 
 ing, that it would be a more difficult matter to im- 
 pofe fo far on his rea ier. Confcious of this, he at- 
 tempts to get rid of Sir Thomas Hanmer's emen- 
 dation, 
 
 Thou wajl the caufe, and mqft occurs' d th' effect j 
 
 by affecling airs of fuperiority, and treating it with a 
 fn?er of contempt, as * a fine oratorical period.' But 
 thefe are the dale artifices of a difingenuous critick ; 
 notwithftanding which, I think it is extremely pro- 
 bable that this is the genuine reading. And I pre- 
 tJ 2 fcr
 
 [ 2 9 2 ] 
 
 fer it to the conjecture offered in the Canons of Cri- 
 ticifm, p. 194, 195. 
 
 Thou wert the caufe of that mofi curs'd effeff, 
 
 as it departs much lefs from the printed text. 
 
 P. 226. My dukedom to a beggarly denier.. 
 
 I fancy I fhall be fupported by the univerfal confenfc 
 in returning the French word, taniere, which Mr. 
 Warburton would palm upon us, to keep company 
 with its comrade, foule. See the Canons of Criti- 
 cifm, p. 57. 
 
 P. 231. No, Devil! I remember thee too well. 
 
 So Mr. Warburton commands us to read. But 
 why may we not as well follow the ancient copies, 
 which give us, Out, Devil i in the fame fenfe as the 
 fame fpeaker adds a little lower, 
 
 Hie thee to hell for Jbame> and leave this world. 
 
 P. 232. A little joy enjoys the Queen thereof. 
 
 I apprehend we fhould read, As little joy, for, a little 
 joy, inftead of, Utile joy, is fcarce Englifh ; and the 
 Queen immediately adds, c that fhe is altogether 
 joylefs.' 
 
 P. 235. Thou wrack of honour. 
 
 This exprefiion gives me no idea that can with any 
 propriety be applied to Richard j nor is my appre- 
 henfion in the leaft afiifted by Mr. Warburton's in- 
 terpretation, c Thou dcftruclion of honour.' On 
 the other hand the common reading, 
 
 Thou rag of honour y 
 
 hath a very intelligible and pertinent meaning, 
 2 which
 
 [ 2 9i ] 
 
 which is, Thou outcafr. of honour, whom honour 
 throws off as a difgrace to her, like a rag, which, 
 inftead of being either of fervice or ornament, is be- 
 come fcandalous, and thrown to the dunghill. So 
 towards the clofe of the play, p. 334. Richard calls 
 Richmond's party, 
 
 thefe over -weening rap of France. 
 
 P. 240. That woo'd the Jlimy bottom of the deep. 
 
 See Mr. Warburton's interpretation very juftly 
 animadverted on in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 210. 
 For my own part, the metaphor appears not only 
 fo overftrained beyond all proportion of nature, but 
 fo naufeous too, that I can fcarce think the com- 
 mon reading genuine, but fhould rather imagine 
 the poet might have written, 
 
 That ftrew'd the /amy bottom of the deep. 
 
 P. 243. 'Take the devil in thy mind, and beHeve it 
 not : it would infinuate with thee but to make thee 
 figb. 
 
 The common reading was, ' believe him not, he 
 would infinuate,' which Mr. Warburton altered in 
 both places to, it, in order to make room in the 
 conftruction for confeience, which is plainly and 
 undoubtedly intended here. But he forgot to ufc 
 the fame precaution in the reply, which full as much 
 requires it. 
 
 / amJlrong-fram\l, he cannot prevail with me. 
 
 This threefold repetition, his, h', and, he, gives 
 nie a ilrong fufpicion, that the miftake is in the lirft 
 part of this fentence, and not in what follows ; and 
 I am confirmed in it by the aukwardnefs cf the ex- 
 predion, ' Take the devil in thy mint!,' for, ' Take 
 
 U 3 the
 
 [ 294 ] 
 
 the devil for thy counfellor* I am inclined there- 
 fore to believe that the poet might have written, 
 
 Shake off this devil in thy mind, and believe him 
 not : he would infmuate with thee but to make theefigh. 
 
 With this the reply, according to the common read- 
 ing, will be perfectly confident. 
 
 P. 263. Weigh it but with the greennefs of his age. 
 
 A miftake in the pointing of the former editions 
 milled Mr. Warburton to mifunderftand the con- 
 ftruction, and in confluence the meaning of this 
 paflage, and occafioned his having recourfe to this 
 emendation. This is evident from his own reafon- 
 ing in fupport of it. * The more grofs, that is, 
 ' the more fuperftitious the age was, the (tronger 
 ' would be the imputation of violated fanctuary,' 
 This is the very meaning of the ancient reading, 
 which is objected as being a contradiction to it. Put 
 but a femicolon at the end of the preceding line, 
 and a full flop at the end of this, and then we may 
 fairly reinftate the common reading clear of all ob- 
 jection, 
 
 Weigh it but with the grofTnefs of this age. 
 
 That is, you confider it only according to that grofs 
 undiftinguilhjng fuperltition which prevails in the 
 prefent age. 
 
 P. 265. As 'twere intaiVd to all pojlerity. 
 
 What is there amifs in the common reading, 
 
 As 'twere retail'd to all pojlerity, 
 
 that mould induce us to reject it, though warranted 
 by the authority of all the editions ? Mr. Warbur- 
 ton's only objection is, 4 And fo it is retailed, and 
 
 ' by
 
 [ 295 ] 
 ' by that means, like molt other retailed things"; 
 * became adulterated.' But may not this very ob- 
 jection be urged with equal lfrength againft hisowrt 
 emendation ? Whether we confider truth as entailed 
 upon our pofterity as their natural inheritance, or as 
 handed and delivered down to them from one to the 
 other (which is the idea exprened by the word, re- 
 tailed) is it not in both cafes equally liable to adul- 
 teration, and in fact equally adulterated ? I cannot 
 therefore fee the leaft advantage gained to the fenfe 
 by this alteration. Only the expreffion of Shake- 
 fpear is more fimple and natural, that of Mr. 
 Warburton more ftudied and remote from common 
 apprehenHon. 
 
 P. 265. Thus, like the formal-wife antiquity 
 
 I moralize : 'Two meanings in cne word. 
 
 As Mr. Warburton in his note on this paffage hath 
 been extremely formal-wife^ and hath wafte'd a good 
 deal of what looks like literature and reafoning ab- 
 folutely to no purpofe, I am obliged to be the more 
 particular in my examination of it. I fhall therefore 
 begin with laying before the reader the ancient text, 
 
 Thus like the formal Vice, Iniquity, 
 I moralize two meanings in one word. 
 
 That the Vice was a (landing character in our ancient 
 drama; that the Vice properly fo called, as diftin- 
 guifhed from particular vices, was named Iniquity \ 
 that the character of this Vice was that of a buffoon 
 or jefter, hath been fully proved by Mr. Upton, 
 Critic. Obferv. p. 7 1 1. and is not only acknow- 
 ledged, but even confirmed by Mr. Warburton him- 
 felf. That it is part of the character of a buffoon or 
 jefter ro deal largely in double meanings, and by 
 the help of them to aim at cracking 3 jolt, and 
 needs no other proof than the read- 
 U a. er's
 
 t 9 ] 
 
 er's oV*n knowledge and experience, Thefe poifitS 
 beii g granted j one would Imagine nothing more was 
 wanting to eftablifh the truth, and explain the mean* 
 ing of this reading. But from thefe very premifts 
 Mr. Warburton draws the direct oppofite conclufion, 
 that 'it is corrupt, and the interpolation of forrie fool- 
 4 tfh player.' Arid he gives three rtrafons to fupport 
 his inference : Firft, That ' the Vne, Iniquity, was 
 4 not a formal, but a merry, buffoon character :' 
 Secondly, ' That the fubject Shakefpear is upon is 
 ' traditi >n and antiquity, which have no relation 
 * to this character :' Thirdly, * Thar from the turri 
 ' of tie paffage it appears, that Richard is apolo- 
 6 gizing for his equivocation, as a reputable prac- 
 ' tice.' It is fcarce poifible to find even in Mr. 
 Warburtoh's works* any thing more weak than thefe 
 three reafons. The firft is founded in a grofs ig- 
 norance of Shakefpear's phrafeoiogy -, who by the 
 formal Vice doth hot mean, the ftiff folemn Vice, 
 but the Vice which performs all the functions which 
 properly and peculiarly conftitute and diftinguifh 
 that character. Thus, a formal man \ according to 
 the poet, is one who performs all the functions 
 proper and peculiar to a man j fo in the Comedy of 
 .Errors, vol. iii. p. 262. 
 
 Till I have usd th 9 approved means I have, 
 With whohfome firups, drugs, and holy prayers , 
 fT<? make of him a formal man again. 
 
 As to the fecond ; he is quite miftaken in the fub- 
 ject the pnet was upon, as he terms ir, or rather, 
 in the drift and fcore of Richard in thefe lines, 
 which was not either tradition, or antiquity, but 
 the deceit he had juft practifed on his nephew the 
 King, by his fuddenly giving a very different turn 
 to fome dangerous words which had efcaped him., 
 and which the latter in part had over-hear<). And 
 as to the third, that the turn of the pa/foge (hews 
 
 him
 
 [ *97 5 
 
 him to be apologizing for his equivocation, as be- 
 ing a reputable practice-, to whom then doth he 
 apologize ? to any perfon prefent ? No ; for thefe 
 words are fpoken afide, and as fuch Mr. Warbur- 
 ton himfelf hath given them. To himfelf? No, 
 furely. The reader is by this time too well ac- 
 quainted with his character, to admit fuch a fup- 
 pofnion, after having feen him fo often, deliberately, 
 and without the leaft fcruple or remorfe, recogniz- 
 ing, and with fatisfaction contemplating the villany 
 of his own heart. The fmfe of the palfage then is 
 this ; ' Thus my moralities,- or the fententious ex- 
 
 * prefllon I have juft uttered, refemble thofe of the 
 
 * Vice, Iniquity, in the play ; the indecencies which 
 ' lie at the bottom are fheltered from exception, 
 ' and the indignation they would excite if nakedly 
 
 * delivered, under the ambiguity of a double 
 ' meaning.* After this, it is needlefs to enter into 
 a particular examination of that fblemn fophiftry, 
 with which Mr. Warburton endeavours to recom- 
 mend his own conjecture. It is fufficient to add, 
 that in fact, as the reader mud evidently fee, Richard 
 doth not in this pafTage ferioufly moralize at all, or 
 even dream of fo doing, and confequently could not 
 fay, that he 4 moralized like the formal-wife anti- 
 quity,' which, in virtue of its allegorical mythology, 
 might indeed very properly be faid to do fo. The 
 term, moralize, is only introduced in allufion to the 
 title of our old dramatick pieces, which were com- 
 monly called moralities, in which the Vice was al- 
 ways one of the mining characters. And now, may 
 1 not be excufed in teftilying my aftonifhment, to 
 find fo acute and fenfible a writer as Mr. Seward, 
 in his preface to Beaumont and Fletcher, p. 27. 
 licking up this fpittle, and applauding this emen- 
 dation as a moll exceeding ingenious conjecture ? 
 
 P. 266.
 
 [ 298 ] 
 
 P. 266. Death makes no conqueft of this conqueror. 
 
 The ancient reading was, ' his conqueror ;* for the 
 correction we are indebted to Mr. Theobald, Shake- 
 fpear reftored, p. 180. 
 
 P. 295. Ah ! Buckingham, now do I ply the touch. 
 
 There was no necefllty to alter the common reading, 
 
 now do I play the touch. 
 
 That is, Now do I perform the part of the touch- 
 ftone. As I think however Mr. War burton's emen- 
 dation recommends itfelf by its fuperior elegance 
 and propriety, I cannot but approve of it ; but then 
 it ought fir ft to be made Englifh, by fubftituting 
 the verb, apply, for ply, which in the fenfe here re- 
 quired is not fo. The reader who hath an ear, will 
 fee, that the metre too is much improved by this 
 alteration, as it throws the emphatical accent on the 
 particle, now, where the fenfe requires it to be 
 placed. For the verfe ought to be thus pronounced, 
 
 00 'J o 
 
 Ah ! Buckingham now do I apply the touch. 
 
 P. 297. Uncertain way of gain! 
 
 Mr. Warburton's interpretation, uncertain, for, un- 
 conjlant, is downright nonfenfe. Lee the reader 
 fubftituce the one for the other, and he will find it 
 fo. It is evident from what follows, that the fenfe 
 is, A way of gain, the fuccefs of which is uncertain, 
 but which neceflity enforces me upon. The un- 
 certainty feems to confift in this, That every flep 
 which Richard takes towards fecuring himfelf in the 
 poiTcflion of the crown, flill requiics fome farther 
 ilep to bear it out, and remedy the inconveniencies 
 and hazards which fpring up out of it; and it was 
 great odds but a milcarriage in fome one or other of 
 
 thofe
 
 [ 299 ] 
 thofe neeeffary fteps might terminate in the difap- 
 pointment of the whole project. 
 
 P. 302. Hover about her \ fay, that wrong for wrong 
 Hath dimm'd your infant-morn to aged night* 
 
 The old reading was, right for right, which Mr. 
 Warburton not understanding altered as we fee above. 
 To comprehend the meaning of the poet in this ex- 
 preffion, it is neeeffary that the reader mould recol- 
 lect, that Margaret makes her appearance once be- 
 fore in this play, to wit, Aft I. Scene 4. in which 
 fhe upbraids Richard, in the prefence of Edward's 
 Queen, with the murther of her hufband, King 
 Henry, and her fon, Prince Edward. Richard, in 
 his own justification, imputes the unhappy end of 
 thefe two to the Divine vengeance for the murther 
 of young Rutland, and to Margaret's participation 
 in the guilt of that murther, by infulting the old 
 Duke of York with the offer of a clout to dry his 
 tears, 
 
 Steep'd in the fault Iff s Mood of pretty Rutland ; 
 
 and concludes, 
 
 And God, net we, has plagued thy Moody deed. 
 
 On that very occafion Edward's Queen chimes in 
 wjih Richard, in imputing the murther of Henry 
 and Edward to a jufl: difpenfation of the Divine 
 Providence, retaliating vengeance for the blood of 
 Rutland : 
 
 Sojuft is God, to right the innocent ! 
 
 Queen Margaret, in the bitternefs of her heart, puts 
 in her claim tco, in her turn, to the Divine Juftice, 
 with imprecations, That the murther of Henry and 
 Edward may he retaliated upon the children of Ed- 
 ward's Queen. What puffed on that occafion is 
 
 now
 
 C 30 3 
 
 now alluded to, and, right for right , means, ajufr 
 retaliation for that very retaliation, which thou thy- 
 felf didft pronounce to be juft, hath now taken 
 place, agreeably to the imprecation I then made, 
 and dimmed the infant morn of thy children too to 
 aged night. As rhefe imprecations of Margaret 
 were intended by the poet to be confidered as in- 
 spired prophecies, he is very exact in marking their 
 completion in all its circumitances ; and particularly 
 jn this, of Edward's Queen's drawing down on her 
 own children the Divine vengeance for the murther 
 of King Henry and his fon, by adopting Richard's 
 juftification of it. 
 
 P. 303. TF adulterer Haflings. 
 
 See the ancient reading, ' Th' adulterate Ha(tings>' 
 fully juftified in the Canons of Criticiim, p. 9. 
 
 P. 304. 'The flattering index of a direful page. 
 
 This emendation of Mr. Warburton's gives me no 
 image, nor idea, though I think I very well under- 
 ftand Shakefpear's meaning in the ancient reading, 
 
 The fiat 1' ring index of a direful pageant. 
 
 That is, the flattering induction to a pageant which 
 hath a direful cataftrophe. For a pageant is a re- 
 prefentation in dumb mew. 
 
 P. 309. Lafl longer telling than thy kindnefs do. 
 Grammar obliges us to read, doth. 
 
 P. 3 1 1 . Of all one pain, fave for a n':ght of groans 
 Endur'd of her, for whom you bid like for row. 
 
 We fhould read, 'bid, that is, abode, the praeter- 
 perfect tenfe of the verb, abide. The fenfe is, All 
 proceeding from one and ihe lame pang of child- 
 birth
 
 [ 30i ] 
 
 birth which gave your daughter to the world, ex- 
 cept thofe groans only which (he in her turn muft 
 endure, as you have already endured them on her 
 account. 
 
 P. 312. But bow long jhall that title ', ever, lafi? 
 
 Undoubtedly the word, title, is ufed in this place 
 in a forenfic fenfe, for the intereft in an eftate. There 
 is therefore no neceflity for Mr. Roderick's conjec- 
 ture, that little ever, though I admit it to be inge- 
 nious, and perhaps not improbable. See the Canons 
 of Criticifm, p. 223. 
 
 P. 313. Which now, two tender bed-fellows for dujl, 
 Thy broken faith bath made a prey to worms, 
 
 I entirely concur with Mr. Roderick, who in the 
 Canons of Criticifm, p. 223. hath thus reftored 
 this paflage, 
 
 Which now, too tender bed- fellows for dujl ! 
 
 P. 320. This, this All-fouls day to my fearful foul, 
 Is the determined refpetl of my wrongs. 
 
 Mr. Warburton, who hath fubftituted, refpetl, in 
 the place of the common reading, refpite, interprets 
 it to fignify, requital-, but this is a fenfe in which 
 that word is never ufed in the Englifli language. 
 See the authentick reading fully vindicated and well 
 explained in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 35, 36. 
 where the injury the metre fuffers from Mr. War- 
 burton's alteration is not forgot. 
 
 P. 335. "Daring an eppojite to every danger! 
 
 That is, Challenging any of his enemies to encoun- 
 ter him at every danger into which he thrufts him- 
 fejf. If Mr. Wurburton had undcrftood the text, 
 
 I fup-
 
 t 32 1 
 
 I fuppofe he would hardly have attempted an al- 
 teration. 
 
 P. 336. Wear it, enjoy it, and make ufe of it. 
 
 After the exhortations to wear and enjoy the crown, 
 the following one, to make ufe of it, is extremely 
 flat. It is an anticlimax with a witnefs. The read- 
 ing cf the elder editions, 
 
 Wear it, enjoy it, and make much of it, 
 
 is liable to no juft exception ; for the verb, to make 
 much of 'a thing, doth not only fignify to be fond of 
 it, but to preierve it with the moft heedful care, 
 an injundlion which Henry VII. punctually com- 
 plied with during the whole courfe of his reign. 
 
 The Life of King Henry the Eighth- 
 Prologue. Think ye fee 
 
 The very perfons of our noble flory, 
 
 As they were living. 
 
 The failure in the rhime evidently mews that the 
 text is corrupt. Mr. Theobald would reftore it by 
 altering the firft verfe thus, 
 
 Think before ye 
 
 I rather think the defect lies in the fecond, and that 
 Shakefpear more probably wrote, 
 
 The very perfons of our hiftory. 
 
 The epithet, noble, is one of thofe the Italians call 
 epithets to be lett. It is perfectly unnecefTary, and 
 may be rejected without the leaft detriment, either 
 to the fenfe, or to the elegance of the pafTage. 
 
 7 p - 344.
 
 t 303 ] 
 
 P. 344. - Each following day 
 
 Became the next day's majler, till the loft 
 Made former wonders, its. 
 
 Mr. Roderick, in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 223. 
 hath very ingeniouily reftored fenfe to this palTage, 
 by a tranfpofition of two words only in the fccond 
 of thefe lines thus, 
 
 Became the laft day's mafler y till the next* 
 
 P. 345. The office did 
 
 Diftindly his full funclion, 
 
 Mr. Roderick, in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 223. 
 conjectures with fome probability that the poet 
 might write, Each office did. 
 
 P. 346. A gift that heaven gives , which buys for him 
 A place next to the King. 
 
 It is impoflible any thing can be flatter than the 
 pafTage thus ahered by Mr. Warburton, tfpecially 
 the end of the rirfb line. I prefume he did not un- 
 deriland the common reading, 
 
 A gift that heaven gives for him, which buys 
 A -place next to the King. 
 
 That is, As he is a man of no parentage or fortune, 
 and confequenly unable of himfelf to rife by interell 
 or purchafe, his merit is the purchafe, which hea- 
 ven, to whom lie is indebted for it, lays down for 
 him, and thereby advances him to the higheit pre- 
 ferment. 
 
 P. 347. 77/ amhaffador is f:Unc\l. 
 
 That is, relufed audience. See the Canons of Cri- 
 ticifm, p. 207. 
 
 P. --:
 
 C 34 1 
 
 P. 350. i 1 his mind and place 
 
 Infecting one another, yea, reciprocally. 
 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 124. 
 
 P 353' My life it 'J "elf, and the befi heart of it. 
 
 See Mr. Warburton*s cenfure of this expreffion re- 
 futed with great pleafantry in the Canons of Criti- 
 cifm, p. 38. 
 
 P. 354. u 1 compel I'd by hunger 
 
 And lack of other means. 
 
 The plain meaning is, The lack of all other means 
 whereby to procure the redrefs of their grievances, 
 and their relief from the calamity which opprefTed 
 them. And thus Mr. Warburton's fine cobweb 
 fuper-ftructure tumbles to the ground. For though 
 the word, means, fometimes fignifies a man's having, 
 or that portion of worldly goods and advantages 
 whereon he fubfifts himfelf, yet I apprehend it is 
 never ufed in the Englifh language to denote the 
 neceflaries of life. 
 
 P. 356". Byfick interpreters: 
 
 In the ufe of this epithet the poet feems to have 
 adopted the ftoick philofophy, which confidered the 
 paftions as fo many difeafes of the foul. By fick in- 
 terpreters therefore he intended fuch as were under 
 the actual influences of envy, hatred, or any other 
 of the malevolent paffions. 
 
 P, 257' ^ ei f ee -> when noble benefits /ball prove 
 Not well difpes'd. 
 
 The fenfe is, When noble accompli foments fhall 
 happen to be coupled with an evil difpofition. 
 
 P. 361.:
 
 [ 35 ] 
 
 P. 361. titpoftible, the fpells of France Jhsuld juggle 
 Men into fuch ft range mockeries? 
 
 Notwithstanding -Mr. Warburton's long and la- 
 boured note on this paiTage, in fupport of this his 
 emendation, the mod material point ftill remains to 
 be proved, which is, that it is English. Mockeries, he 
 tells us, are things mocked at ; and it is on this paffive 
 fignification of the word that he grounds the prefe- 
 rence, which he claims as due to his conjecture be- 
 fore that of Sir Thomas Hanmer. But he fhould 
 have given at lead one inftance of its being ufed in 
 this fenfe in fome good Englifh writer. For my 
 own part, I can recollect none ; and can indeed fee 
 no objection to the ancient reading, ftrange myfte- 
 ries, that is, whimfical vanities, as Mr. Upton, 
 Critic. Obferv. p. 304, 305. hath well explained ir. 
 And I am the rather induced to adhere to this read- 
 ing, as we find prefently after the very thing com- 
 plained of was a foolilh affected myfterioufnefs. 
 
 A fit or two o* th y face, but they are fhrewd ones 5 
 For when they hold 'em, you would fwear direfitfy 
 Their very nofes had been counfellors 
 To Pepin or Chtharius, they keep ft 'ate fo. 
 
 P. 362. And fpr'wg-hah reign'd among *em. 
 
 Read, ftringhalt ; and fee Theobald's Shakefpear 
 reftored, p. 180. 
 
 P. 372. no black envy 
 
 Shall mark my grave. 
 
 I cannot fay I am quite fatisfied with this emenda- 
 tion of Mr. Warburton's. The common reading 
 was, ' make my grave.' Might not the poet poi- 
 fibly have written, 
 
 Shall fhake my grave. 
 
 X ' Tha*
 
 C 306 3 
 
 That is, Shall difturb me, or make me uneafy after 
 my death. 
 
 P. 377. Into what -pinch he pleafe. 
 
 This metaphor feems rather taken from the butler's 
 office of pinching napkins, than from the baker's, 
 and confequently doth not remedy that ' diUonance 
 in the metaphor' which Mr. Warburton complains 
 of. The ancient reading, 
 
 Into what pitch he pleafe, 
 
 that is, into what fize he pleafes, needed in my 
 opinion no mending. 
 
 P. 382. Cheveril confcience. 
 See Theobald's Shakefpear reftored, p. 145. 
 
 P. 383. YoiCd venture an emlalling. 
 
 The word, emballing, if it means any thing, mud 
 fignify, the being packed up, which gives- us no 
 image which will fuit this place. I can guefs at a 
 correction which would tally with it -, but I chufe 
 to leave this difcovery to the reader's own imagina- 
 tion. 
 
 Ibid. More than my all, which is nothing. 
 
 The pronoun, which, is an interpolation of Mr. 
 Wai burton's, which he feems to have been mifled 
 into by the wrong pointing of the prior editions. 
 For the next immediately preceding line ought to 
 have terminate. i in a full ftop, fo that this line might 
 begin a new period. The common reading therefore, 
 
 Mere than my all is nothing, 
 
 fhould be reinflated, as it is fully juftified in the 
 Canons of Criticifm, p. 32. 
 
 3<M-
 
 [ 307 1 
 
 P. 384. Forty pence ; no. 
 
 Mr. Roderick, in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 224. 
 hath undoubtedly reftored the true reading, for two 
 pence, no. 
 
 P. 3S9L. Foujign your place and calling, in full feemlng, 
 With meeknefs and humility. 
 
 The verb, fign, is in this place employed in a very 
 fingular and unufual acceptation. Mr. Warburton 
 interprets it by the word, anfaer ; I rather think 
 the fenfe of the whole is, You teftify your high rank 
 in the church, and your prieftly charade^ by that 
 rneeknefs and humility, the femblance of which you 
 know perfectly well how to aftume. Every one 
 knows that atteftations are authenticated by figning 
 them, whence, I fuppofe, by a pretty violent cata- 
 chrefis, the poet fubltituted the verb, fign, inftead 
 of the more fimple and obvious one, atteft. 
 
 P. 390. for where Vm robb'd and bound, 
 
 There mufi I be union* d; although not there 
 Atari 'd, and fully fatisfy 'd. 
 
 The ancien: reading was, 
 
 At once, and fully fatisfy d. 
 
 That is, Where I am robbed and bound, there it is juffc 
 I mould be at leaft unloofcd ; although full reparation 
 is not there made me at the fame time ; for that is 
 the meaning of the adverb, at once. What is there 
 even in Mr. War' u ton's interpietation of his own 
 reading, which is not here fully exprelled ? His 
 conjecture, atend, which figniries, reconciled, hath 
 . rthing to do with what he himfeif declares to be 
 the poet's aim, and is not fo much as comprehended 
 in his o'.Vii c\[ lanation. 
 
 X ? P. 39c
 
 t 308 ] 
 
 P. 394. They JhouJd be good men, their affairs are 
 righteous. 
 
 That is, The proper bufinefs and employment of 
 their function is righteous. 
 
 P. 396. They, forfooth, my friends 
 
 So Mr. Warburton tells us we mould read; but 
 why not as well, what all the editions concur in, 
 
 Nay, forfooth, my friends ? 
 
 P. 29 j. You turn the good we offer into envy. 
 
 That is, you put an invidious conftruction on what 
 we mean well , as this pafiage is rightly explained 
 in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 195. 
 
 P. 399. We are to cure fuch forrows, not to fow 'em. 
 
 Thus all the editions except that of Mr. Theobald, 
 who objects, that between, cure, and, fow, there 
 5s no antithesis, nor any confonance of metaphors.' 
 It is true ; but then neither is there any inconfiftency 
 of metaphors ; and admitting the poet's exprefiion 
 to be rather faulty in this refpect, I apprehend the 
 duty of an editor is to give us the genuine text of 
 his author, not to corrupt it under the pretext of 
 correcting it. Befides, the word, ear, which Mr. 
 Theobald would fubftitute in the place of, cure, 
 doth not fignify, as he would interpret it, to weed 
 or root our, cither by the harrow or otherwife, but 
 to plow, or to g-ither in. 
 
 P. 400. Which of the peers 
 
 Have uncontemtfd gone by him, or at Ieajl 
 Steed not negkcled ? 
 
 Thus Mr. Warburton, not underftanding a peculi- 
 2 arity
 
 C 309 1 
 
 arity of conftruftion, of which divers other exam- 
 ples are to be found in the works of our poet. But 
 fee the ancient reading, 
 
 Strangely neglecled? 
 fully vindicated in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 7. 
 
 P. 400. ' -when did he regard 
 
 The ft amp of nobknefs in any per/on ; 
 Out oft himfelf? 
 
 See this auk ward and almoft nonfenfical expreffion 
 obtruded on our poet by Mr. Warburton, juftly 
 animadverted on, and the ancient reading, 
 
 Out of himfelf > 
 clearly juftified, in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 23. 
 
 P. 401. And edges his own way. 
 
 The common reading was, 
 
 And hedges his own way : 
 
 which Mr. Warburton mifunderftanding to mean, 
 Obftructs his own way, thought it necefTary to 
 alter ; but the fenfe evidently is, Guards againft 
 every private inconvenience to himfelf; which is juft 
 the very fenfe which the fcope of the paflage re- 
 quires. See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 199. 
 
 P. 402. Now all joy 
 
 Trace the conjunction ! 
 
 The verb trace hath no fignification which fuits the 
 context. I believe we mould read, 
 
 Grace the conj unci ion ! 
 
 X 3 P. 406,
 
 [ 3io 1 
 
 V* 4v. Myfovereign, I confefs your royal graces 
 
 Shower* don me daily have been more than could 
 My ftudicd purpofes requite, which went 
 Beyond all man's endeavours. 
 
 Mr. Warburton feems to have miftaken the con- 
 ftrucTio.n of this paflage, which led him to mifinter- 
 pret endeavours to fignify dejerts. I apprehend the 
 conftruclion and fenfc is this. My fovereign, I con- 
 fefs your royal graces daily fhowered on me have 
 been more than my ftudied purpofes, if I had been 
 able to carry them into full execution, could requite ; 
 which ftudied purpofes however went beyond what- 
 ever could poffibly have been attained by any one 
 man's endeavours. 
 
 P. 407. Should notzvithflanding that your bond of duty. 
 
 Mr. Roderick, in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 225. 
 hath with great accuracy pointed out the peculiar 
 acceptation of the word, notwiihftandtng, in this 
 place, where it plainly is employed to fignify, fet- 
 ting afide, not confidering. 
 
 P. 410. You ajk with fuch violence, the King. 
 In all the other editions the metre is entire, thus, 
 Tou cjk with fuch a violence, the King. 
 
 P. 413. Caftles, and what fo ever. 
 
 I believe Mr. Theobald hath reftored the true read- 
 ing, 
 
 Chattels, and whatfoever. 
 
 Ibid. Nips his root. 
 
 Mr. Warburton imagines the poet wrote, Jhoot , 
 
 but
 
 [ 3 ] 
 
 but the reafons he alledges for this his imagination 
 are fully refuted, and the truth of the common 
 reading well afTerted in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 
 73- 
 
 P. 4 1 6. Say, Wolfey, that once trod the ways of glory* 
 
 Mr. Warburton, out of regard to the uniformity of 
 the metaphor, is inclined to think, Shakefpear wrote, 
 the waves of glory. But what an unmeaning ex- 
 preffion is, ' treading the waves of glory ?* What 
 image doth it reprefent to the imagination ? When 
 a thought is illuftrated by a metaphor, the object 
 from which the metaphor is drawn, ought to be more 
 clearly apprehended, and better known to the reader, 
 than the thing illuftrated ; elfe this laft would be 
 obfcured by it, inftead of being reprefented in a 
 clearer and more linking light, and thus the inten- 
 tion of the writer would be difappointed. If the 
 poet's defign therefore had been to purfue the fame 
 metaphor throughout, he would have chofen fome 
 exprefllon which had a reference to (hipping and na- 
 vigation. But in truth, our critick is miftaken in 
 the very nature and purport of that rule concerning 
 the ufe of the metaphor, which he is inculcating on 
 every occafion, and frequently mifapolying. The 
 integrity of the metaphor doth not denote its uni- 
 formity, but its confiftency. It is not meant by it, 
 that metaphors may not be accumulated, when 
 they are confident with each other , as in the pre- 
 fent cafe, the fame perfon may very confidently 
 tread the ways of glory, and found the depths 
 and fhoals of honou , but only that the propriety 
 of the metaphor is to be preferved as far as it goes. 
 Thus it would have been wrong to have faid, 
 founded the ways of glory, and trod the depths and 
 fhoals of honour. 
 
 X 4 P. 417.
 
 [ 3^2 ] 
 
 . P. 417. Cherijh thofe hearts that bate thee. 
 
 I apprehend the meaning of this precept is, Do not 
 immediately treat thofe hearts that hate thee, as if 
 they were thy inveterate and irreclaimable enemies ; 
 perhaps their hatred may proceed from a mifappre- 
 henfion of thy character and intentions , endeavour 
 therefore to win them over by the integrity of thy 
 conduct. And this feems to be the view of the 
 poet in immediately adding, 
 
 Corruption wins not more than bonejty. 
 
 That is, fuch an irreproachable conduct as this, is 
 as likely to make thofe very men your friends, as 
 the extrcife of your liberality thofe, whom you may 
 have pitched upon for its objects. I can therefore by 
 no means approve of Mr. Warburton's conjecture, 
 
 Cherijh thofe hearts that wait thee. 
 
 That is, Cherifh thofe who are thy dependents and 
 fcrvile followers, for fo Mr. Warburton himfelf in 
 effect interprets it ; an advice very little neceffary to 
 be inculcated on ministers, who are univerfally too 
 apt to fall into a very blameable excefs in adhering 
 to it without dillinction. Befides that the expref- 
 fion itfelf, ' the hearts that wait thee, 5 to fignify 
 dependents and followers, is fcarce Englilh, and I 
 belitve it would be difficult to find another example 
 of it. 
 
 P. 418. May 1 be hid to tc.Jk what that contains. 
 
 Read, * to ojk what that contains :* 'tis an error of 
 the pre fs. 
 
 P. 424. one, that by fuggejiion 
 
 Ty\i all the kingdom. 
 
 I believe the word, tye, is feldom if ever vM in 
 our language to fignify, en/lave -, and therefore, not- 
 
 with-
 
 [ 3 X 3 1 
 
 withftanding the averfion I have to tampering with 
 the text, when it affords a tolerable fenfe, I cannot 
 help concurring in Sir Thomas Hanmer's emenda- 
 tion, 
 
 Tyth'd all the kingdom \ 
 
 that is, Pillaged all the kingdom. The complaints 
 of the commons mentioned in the beginning of this 
 play go much farther, and charge Wolfey with 
 compelling from each fubject the fixth part of his 
 fubftance , and upon the King's examination into 
 the matter, it appears that the com millions to this 
 purpofe were iffued at Wolfey's fuggeftion. Not- 
 withftanding the alteration I have ventured to re- 
 commend, all that fine fenfe, which Mr. Warbur- 
 ton fo pompoufly difplays the lofs of, is preferved 
 entire, except juft fo much of it as is varied by the 
 different fignificatiort of the words, ty'd, and, tyth'd. 
 
 P. 439. we are all men 
 
 In our own natures frail, and capable 
 Of frailty. 
 
 That is, We are all men, whofe very natures are 
 frail, liable to be crufhed or overfet by every ex- 
 ternal accident, and ourfclves too as fubject to frailty 
 as our natures. The exprefllon thus underftood 
 implies no abfurdity, as Mr. Warburton would per- 
 iuade us it doth ; nor need we have recourfe with 
 him to ' original fin,' and ' fin by imputation,' 
 which is neither hinted at in the poet's words, nor, 
 as is more than probable, was fo much as thought 
 of by himfelf, at the time he wrote them. For 
 what relation hath the frailty of our nature to a fin 
 by imputation ? 
 
 P. 446. Tbefe are but fwitcbes. To 'em. 
 
 This mod ridiculous reading is a conjecture of Mr; 
 
 War-
 
 [ 3H ] 
 Warburton's, fubftituied in the room of the ancient 
 
 text, 
 
 Thefe are but /witches to 'em. 
 
 That is, The mob I am engaged with, regard tbefe 
 no more than they would fo many i witches. See 
 the Canons of Criticifm, p. 10. 
 
 VOLUME the SIXTH. 
 The Life and Death of King Lear. 
 
 P. 5. And 'tis our firji intent. 
 
 A man muft have very penetrating eyes indeed, who 
 can difcover in this exprefTion what Mr. Warburton 
 allures us the poet inter ded by it, c That the firfl 
 ' or principal reaion of Lear's abdication was the 
 c love of his people, and that his natural affeclion for 
 c his daughters, was only his fecond or fubordinate 
 ' reafon.' But both the firft and the fecond reafons 
 have in truth their exiflence only in the critick's fruit- 
 ful imagination. The poet doth not mention a fyl- 
 lable of either. The text of both the folio editions 
 gives us, as we are affured by the author of the Ca- 
 nons of Criticifm, p. 189. 
 
 And 'tis our fad intent. 
 
 That is, as the fame author rightly interprets it, ibid, 
 p. 52, 'our determined refolution i' and this is un- 
 doubtedly the true reading. 
 
 Ibid. Beyond a! I manner of fo much I love you. 
 
 That is, Beyond all imaginable extent of whatever 
 I have yet exprcfTtd. 
 
 P. <
 
 [ 35 ] 
 
 P. 6. Which the moft precious fquare offenfe poffeffes. 
 
 That is, the full complement of all the fenfes, as it 
 is very properly explained in the Canons of Criti- 
 cifm, p. 132. where Mr. Warburton's very extra- 
 ordinary note is defervedly animadverted upon. 
 
 Ibid. Then poor Cordelia ! 
 
 And yet not fo, Jince, I am Jure, my love's 
 More ponderous than my tongue. 
 
 Mr. Warburton advifes us to read, their tongue, 
 meaning the tongue of her fitters. Why fo ? The 
 poet's fenfe is plain > ' Then poor Cordelia indeed ! 
 
 if it be expected that I outvie my fillers in vaunt- 
 
 ingi but yet upon fecond thoughts not poor nei- 
 
 ther, fince my love, which is the effential point, 
 4 far furpafles whatever my tongue is apt. to ex- 
 c prefs.' On the contrary, if we admit Mr. War- 
 burton's conjecture, fhe declares her love to exceed 
 by far the utmoft exaggerations of her two fifters 
 tongues, in exprefs contradiction to what fhe herfclf 
 afterwards profeffes : 
 
 I love your Majefly 
 
 According to my lond, no more nor lefs. 
 Sure, If/oall t.ever marry like my fipcrs, 
 To love my father all. 
 
 P. 8. Hence, avoid my fight I 
 
 Thefe words are in all the editions directed to Cor- 
 delia, which undoubtedly are addreffed to Kent. 
 For in the next wor s Lear fends for France and 
 Burgundy, in order ro tender them his youngtft 
 daughter, if" either of them would accept her with- 
 out a dowry. At fuch a time therefore to drive her 
 out of his prefence would be a contradiction to his 
 declared intention. 
 
 P. 3.
 
 [ 3'6 ] 
 
 I 
 
 P. 8. The /way, revenue, execution of tV hejl. 
 
 Heft, Mr. Warburton tells us, ' is an old word for 
 regal command.* So it is for a regal command, 
 not for regal command confidered generally , for 
 the command itfelf, not for the right and power of 
 commanding. The execution therefore of this re- 
 gal command neceflarily preluppofes fome fuperior 
 authority from whom the command ifiues, and in 
 whom the power of ifluing it is lodged. This con- 
 jecture confcquently implies a contradiction to itfelf 5 
 the two fons-in-law are inverted with the fovereign 
 power, and yet fubjected to fome power dill fupe- 
 rior, of whofe hefts or commands they were to be 
 only the executioners. This abfurd emendation 
 took its rife from a corrupt reading of fome of the 
 elder editions, which give us, 
 
 The fway, revenue, execution of the reft. 
 
 The metre, which is not merely faulty, but abfolutely 
 annihilated, abundantly evidences the corruption of 
 this reading ; and in confequence, the fucceeding edi- 
 tors rejected the three lafl: words, of the reft, and in 
 my opinion with great juftice and propriety. If 
 any one however (hould fcruple this rejection, from 
 a deference to the authority of thofe editions, it will 
 be neceflary at leaft to reftore fome fenfe to thefe 
 words, which as they ftand at prefent are un- 
 doubtedly nonfenfe, and this may poffibly be done 
 by an eafy alteration, if inftead of them we fubfti- 
 tute the word, inter eft, which will fignify the legal 
 right and property , and by this means the metre 
 too will recover its integrity. 
 
 P. 10. To come betwixt cur fentence and our power. 
 
 That is, our power to execute it, as it is rightly 
 explained in the Canons of Crkicifm, p. 204. 
 
 P. 10.
 
 [ 3i? 1 
 
 P. io. Which nor our nature^ nor our place , can bear 9 
 Our potency make good, 
 
 I think thVconftruction requires us to read, 
 
 Nor potency make good. 
 
 The fenfe will be the fame as that given us by Mr. 
 Warburton in his interpretation of this pafiage. 
 
 P. 14. And well are worth the want that you have 
 vaunted. 
 
 That is, according to Mr. Warburton whofe con- 
 jecture this is, ' You deferve that difherifon which 
 ' you fo much glory in.' But in truth it no where 
 appears that Cordelia gloried in her difherifon. The 
 ancient reading was, 
 
 the want that you have wanted. 
 
 From whence I mould be apt to fufpect that Shake- 
 fpear might have written, 
 
 the want that you have wafted. 
 
 That is, You well deferve to want that which you 
 have yourfelf fo waftefully and unnecefTarily thrown 
 away. 
 
 Ibid. Time Jh all unfold what plaited cunning hides. 
 
 We are indebted for this emendation to Mr. Theo- 
 bald. See his Shakefpear reflored, p. 171. 
 
 P. 15. ' Wherefore Jhould I 
 
 Stand in the plage of cujiom, and permit 
 The curlefy of nations to deprive me. 
 
 Mr. Waiburton, to whofe erudition in the ancient 
 Engltfh language we owe this elegant word, plage, 
 tcJJs us it means ' the place, the country, the boun- 
 
 * dary.'
 
 C 318 ] 
 
 ' dary.' Let us therefore try how it fits the context 
 by fubftituting either of thefe words in its place* 
 and by reading, ' Stand in the place of cuftom,' or, 
 ' Stand in the country of cuftom,' cr, c Stand in the 
 boundary of cuftom ;' and, when this is done, let 
 me appeal to the reader, whether he underftands 
 either of thefe exprefiions ; and whether all of them 
 are not much more abfurd, and lefs adapted to com- 
 municate any idea to the imagination than the com- 
 mon reading, 
 
 Stand in the plague of cuftom ; 
 
 the meaning of which is plainly this, Bear patiently 
 the difadvantages which nothing but the meer in- 
 fluence cf cuftom fubiects me to. But indeed, one 
 would imagine that Mr. Warburton underftood he 
 had fufficiendy difcharged his duty as a critick, 
 when he had given us an obfolete or a foreign 
 word, and it was the reader's bufinefs to make fenfe 
 of it afterwards a3 lie could ; he, for his part, had 
 warned his hands of it. As to the curtefy of nations \ 
 in the third line, which is an emendation of Mr. 
 Theobald's adopted by Mr. Warburton, I fhould 
 guefs they both concurred in it from the fame mo- 
 tive, to wit, out of too great a regard fur the exact - 
 nefs of the metre ; for, as to other regards, the ex- 
 preffion wants propriety, nor is it fuuable to Ed- 
 mund's character to term that a curtefy, which he 
 endeavours to expofe as a folly, and in virtue of 
 which he was to be himfelf fo great a fuffercr. The 
 coir.mon reading, curiofily, is the aprcft word that 
 could have been chofen on this occafion, to exprefs 
 the fpeaker'c fentiment of it , neither is it abfolutely 
 inconfiftent with the regularity of the metre, i he 
 difference 'i-, only a proceleufmatic for the fecond foor, 
 inftead of an anapreft or fpondee. As to Mr. War- 
 burton's imagination, that the third line was fol- 
 lowed by another which is now loft, it leems abfoluu ly 
 
 with-
 
 [ 3*9 J 
 
 without foundation. He exprefifes the reafon of his 
 fufpicion by this queftion, * Deprive ! of what ?' I an- 
 fwer, Of what every reader readily apprehends from 
 the context, and which for that reafon the poet did 
 not think it ncceffary to exprefs, that is, his right 
 to a fhare of the inheritance from his father. 
 
 P. 1 6. Edmund the bafe 
 
 Shall be tb* legitimate. 
 
 This is a correction of Mr. Theobald's, (fee his 
 Shakefpear reftored, p. 177,) which Mr. Warbur- 
 ton condefcends to pat r onize. But it is certainly 
 wrong, becaufeit is abfurd. Admitting legitimacy 
 to be as much as you pleafe a di [Unction founded in 
 civil institution, it can never however, without vio- 
 lating truth and propriety, be predicated of any 
 perfon who is deftitute of the qualifications efifen- 
 tially requifite to conftitute that character. The an- 
 cient reading was, 
 
 Shall to the legitimate. 
 
 From which Sir Thomas Hanmer, with great pro- 
 bability, conjectures that the poet wrote, 
 
 Shall toe tb* legitimate. 
 
 The meaning of which Sir Thomas himfelf (if we 
 truft Mr. Warburtcn's reprefentation, for 1 have not 
 fcen the Oxford edition) feems not to have rightly 
 underftood, but I apprehend it to be, Shall have a 
 flio:<e at the heels of the legitimate, in order to 
 trip chem up and overthrow him. I own, I prefer 
 this conjecture (excepting the unneceffary and ciii- 
 agreeable elifion in the particlr, the) to that pro- 
 poleJ in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 183. 
 
 Shall top the legitimate. 
 
 That is, as it is there explained, fliall get the inhe- 
 1 ritancc
 
 t 320 ] 
 
 ntance from him ; though I acknowledge this cor- 
 rection alfo to be a very ingenious one. Let the 
 reader decide for himfelf. 
 
 P. 1 7. Subfcritfd his pow'r ! 
 That is, fubmitted. So p. 73. 
 
 You owe me no fubfcriptkn \ 
 that is, Submiflion. And p. 94. 
 
 All cruets elfe fubfcrib'd. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 208, 209.' 
 
 P. 19. To no other pretence of danger. 
 
 That is, with no other view which might endanger 
 your perfon. 
 
 Ibid. I would unflate my [elf-, to be in a due refolution. 
 
 That is, I would give even my rank and fortune to 
 be refolved in this point. 
 
 Ibid. I will convey the bujinefs, as Ifhall find means. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 121. 
 
 P. 20. This is the excellent foppery of the world, &c. 
 
 Mr. Warburton, in his prolix note on this fpeech of 
 Edmund's, hath given us an ample proof of the crea- 
 tive power of his imagination, which is able to 
 make fumething out of nothing, and any thing out 
 of any thing. The conclufion of plain common 
 fenfe from this fpeech and the preceding one of 
 Glo'fter, would be no other than this, That a plain 
 honeft worthy man, but withal a little weak, may 
 very naturally be led, by the prevalency of the gene- 
 ral prejudices, to believe with the vulgar the abfur- 
 
 dities
 
 [ 3 21 3 
 
 dities of judicial aftrology, while greater penetra* 
 tion, and a better tinderftanding, in a thorough vil- 
 lain, may fee through the cheat, and laugh at if* 
 and both of them very confidently with their moral 
 character. But all this is a mere trifle to Mr. War- 
 burton's profound difcoveries. The age of Shake- 
 fpear was it feems ' ftrangely befotted with judicial 
 aftrology, and paid a kind of religious reverence to 
 it ; but it became however the honefty of the poet 
 to expofe it. But how was this to be done ? In 
 compliance with the manners of the times, the good 
 characters mud not fpeak ill of it, on the contrary 
 they were to profefs the belief of it ; but in order 
 to counteract any influence which might be derived 
 from the goodnefs of thofe characters to the credit 
 and advantage of this impious doctrine, the poet 
 hath made them all Pagans and Fatalifts, and this 
 would of courfe difcredit the very commendations 
 they might give it. This point once gained, he was 
 now at liberty to put his ridicule into the mouth of 
 a determined villain and confirmed atheift, which 
 we are told he was obliged to do, both in paying a 
 regard to cuftom, and in following nature, fince 
 the ridiculing judicial aftrology was defigned as one 
 mark of fuch a character. 5 And now all difficulties 
 being removed, and propriety perfectly pfeferved, 
 to the utmoft extent of the poet's wifh, the ridicule 
 thus ' obliquely aimed,* as our critick chufes to ex- 
 prefs himfelf, could not fail of producing the molt 
 wonderful effects on the minds of the au Jience, and 
 of rooting out their religious prejudices in favour of 
 judicial aftrology. All this is nodoubtextremely inge- 
 nious, and extremely plaufible; notwithstanding which 
 however, the whole contexture is fo evidently felf-de- 
 ftrudtive, and the feveral parts of it lb difcordant and 
 even contradictory to each other, that I believe I may 
 Venture to fay, there is not a man of common fenfe in 
 (he kingdom, btfides our critick, who will differ from 
 
 Y me
 
 [ 2" I 
 
 rtie in opinion, that the poet could not have purfuect 
 a more infallible method of rivetting in the minds of 
 his audience the reigning prejudices, if fuch they 
 were, in favour of judicial aitrology, than by inte- 
 refting the publick. religion in their fupport, uniting 
 them in the fame common caufe with it, and giving 
 both of them the fame friends and the fame enemies ; 
 which is the very plan chalked out for the poet by 
 the amazing genius of Mr. Warburton. As on the 
 one hand, the virtues, the good intentions, and the 
 concurrence in the fame religious reverence of ccr- 
 rain principles, would have obtained candid allow- 
 ances for the paganifm and fatalifm with which they 
 were unhappily accompanied ; fo, on the other, the 
 ridicule in the mouth of the atheiftical villain, being 
 infeparably connected with the moft barefaced im- 
 piety, would excite no other emotions than thofe of 
 indignation and abhorrence. 
 
 P. 22. An admirable cvofion of whoremafler man y 
 to lay his goatijh difpofilhn on the change of a jlr.r ! 
 
 The profeffors of judicial adrology did not impute 
 the influence on the human difpofirions to the change 
 of a ftar at the nativity, but to the ftar itfeif which 
 happened to have the afcendcrrcy at the time, with- 
 out troubling themfeives to enquire, what was the 
 ufpecl: of the heavens immediately preceding, or 
 what would have been the confluences of a dif- 
 ferent afpect, if the birth could have been accele~ 
 rated or retarded. They always calculated upon 
 the very moment of the nativity as it was given 
 them, an J the leneme cf the heavens which th.n 
 exilic d. There is therefore no nec-fllty, on the ac- 
 count of any allrologica! principles, for fubilituting, 
 chi7ige, in the place oi the old reading, charge, as 
 Air. Warburton hath thought fit to do. As to the' 
 grammar, it in true we ulua'ly fay, lay a thing to 
 the charge, and not; a: the charge ; and therefore 
 
 ths 
 
 .-**
 
 [ 3*3 J 
 the reader, if* he pleafcs, may correal the text accor- 
 dingly, though perhaps our language miy bear ei- 
 ther of thofe expreffions. As to the preceding word, 
 tvcjicn, it anfwers full a$ well to charge, as change* 
 itrtd confequehtly can give no additional elegance ta 
 one of thefe expreffions more than to the oilier. 
 
 P. 23. Pat! he comes like the cntajlropbe of the eld 
 comedy. 
 
 That is, Juft as the circumftance which decides the 
 cataftrophe of a play intervenes in the very nick of 
 time, when the action is wound up to its criHs, 
 and the audience are impatiently expecting it. As to 
 all that critical parade concerning the dramatick uni- 
 ties, the hackneyed topick of every Italian, PYer.ch, 
 and Englifhcritick, for aboveacenury la'i pad, and 
 which the bount.ful fecundity oi Mr. Warburton's 
 imagination makes a prefent of to Shakefpear on the 
 occafion of this pafiage, there is not the leaft reafon 
 to believe it ever entered into his thoughts ar the 
 time he wrote it, nor indeed that he was ever initiated 
 in this doflrine, much lefs that he was convinced 
 cf the neceffity and advantages of conforming to it. 
 The trite argument drawn from the obflrvation of 
 thefe unities in the Temped hath very little force in 
 it i this circumftance appears to have been owing, 
 not to choice and defign, but to a neceffity arifing 
 from the very nature of his fubjecl:. The conftitu- 
 tion of the fable was fuch, by the whole tranfaclion 
 being confined within a little defolate ifland, as not 
 to admit of a violation of the unities of time and 
 place ; and as to that of action, he hath actually 
 violated it to a vc-ry great degree by the introduc- 
 tion of thofe eptfodick fcenes of Tririculo, Stepharo 
 and Caliban, which maybe all ftruck out- without 
 the leaft injurv or inconvenience to the main action. 
 And after all, what doth the poet get by this ill- 
 judged liberality towards him ? Only the imputation 
 
 Y 2 of
 
 t 324 ] 
 
 of a fneaking fubmiflion to the ignorance and uninn 
 proved tafte of the age he lived in, when he him- 
 felf had it in his power, by the fuperior knowledge 
 we would attribute to him, to have inftructed, and 
 by the unrivalled afcendency of his genius, which is 
 indifputable, to have reformed it. 
 
 P. 25. I do feme you in this bufinefs. 
 
 1 imagine we mould rather read, 
 
 111 ferve you in this bufinefs. 
 
 Thus it will be the anfwer to the queftkm Edgar 
 afks juft before his leaving the ftage. 
 
 P. 26. Old folks are bales again. 
 
 'Tis true the proverb fays, Old age is a fecond child- 
 hood ; but thofe general obfervations are not in- 
 tended to be underftood ftrictly, but to be inter- 
 preted with great latitude of exception. When the 
 obfervation therefore is limited in conformity to the 
 exception, it (till preferves its good fenfe, and doth 
 not incur the ridicule of an identical propofition. 
 Thus, to fay, That old age when degenerated into' 
 folly is afecond childhood, and mould be treated as 
 fuch, rs as good fenfe as the more general proverb 
 which it limits. There was therefore no occafion tO' 
 alter the old reading, 
 
 Old fools- are babes again. 
 
 P. 27. To aonverfs with him that is wife ; to fay tilth. 
 
 The common reading was, 
 
 To converfe with him that is wife, and fays little y 
 
 Mr. Warburton thinks thisquality of ' fa-ving little non 
 a dc-firablcone in a companion.* I own fuc h a compa- 
 nion would not be of the moft entertaining con 
 
 ; ;
 
 { 325 ] 
 
 tion ; but the arcumftances of prudence and fafety 
 might notwithstanding recommend him to one of 
 Kent's blunt, rough, honeft character, preferably to a 
 more agreeable man who was a blab of his tongue. 
 I fee no reafon therefore for admitting this alteration. 
 
 P. 31. As thou canjl not /mile. 
 
 A miftake of the printer ; read, * An thou canfl not 
 fmile.' 
 
 P. 32. Let bim be whifd that firjl finds it footb. 
 
 There was not the leaft occafion for altering the old 
 reading, c that firft finds it fo 9 ' that is, finds it fo 
 to be, which gives the fame fenfe as Mr. Warbur* 
 ton's emendation. 
 
 P. 34. Thou art a JheaVd peafccd. 
 
 The fool terrified by Gonerill's frown, and the fear 
 of the whip, had juft promifed to hold his tODgue. 
 It is not to be fuppofed therefore, that he would 
 immediately go on to upbraid Lear with his folly, in 
 having fur rer.de red his whole power and authority 
 into the hands of his daughters. But he doth the 
 fame thing in an indirect and oblique manner, by 
 repeating a fcrap of an old fong, with the interpre- 
 tation of which he fur nifties Lear, by adding, accorcU 
 jng to the old reading, That is, a (heaV d peafcod \ 
 leaving him to make the application. There is 
 therefore no need of Mr. Warburton's amendment. 
 
 P. 35. Either his notion weakens, h's difeernings 
 
 /ire Uthargied* Ha ! waking-? tis not fo. 
 
 I think the true and natural fenfe of this paflage may 
 be thus ex pre fled : c Hither his apprehenfion is de- 
 4 cayed, his faculty of difcemment, whereby he is 
 ' enabled to riiftinguifh perfons and things, and 
 * know one thing from another, is buried under a 
 y 3 lethar*
 
 [ 3^ ] 
 ' Ie>Ha;gick deep.' Here Lear was proceeding to 
 mention the other alternarive, ' or he is in his fober 
 ' fenfes, and broal awake ;' but the fudden and rapid 
 whirl of paffion, burfting in upon him from all 
 quarters, on the bare imagination, that what had 
 paffed was real, overwhelms him to that degree, 
 that he cannot bea" the thought of" it for a moment, 
 and obliges him to break off and reject that fuppo- 
 fition inftantaneoufly. ' Ha! what? that it fhould 
 ' be podible that I am now awake ? It cannot be, 'tis 
 6 impoffible.' No language in the world could ex- 
 prefs Co frrongly and feelingly thofe violent convul- 
 sions of pafilon, which agitated the bread of Lear, 
 or the dreadful fhock which his whole frame, both 
 of mind and body, mud have received from this 
 unexpected difcovery of his daughter's undutiful and 
 ungrateful behaviour. All the flattering hopes and 
 promifes of happinefs for the remainder of his life, 
 which he had fo fondly indulged, and with the mod 
 entire confidence relied on, under the full affurance 
 of his daughters love and du:y, vanifh in an inflant , 
 and his own folly in depending on their continuance 
 flares him at the fame time in the face. But this is 
 a view he is net able to fuflain ; he therefore Marts 
 from t at once, and with the utmoft eagernefs taj^es 
 refuge in the only tolerable fuppofition which re- 
 maned to h m, that he is either difordered in his 
 fences, or afieep and in a dream. Mr. Roderick's 
 in: rpreration n. the Canons of Criticifm, p. 228 
 : 20. in hich thefe lines, with the two preceding! 
 .- 1 i the fubfequent one, are confidered as a mere 
 iron.; and a taunt as alio the feveral emendations he 
 ]!' ;" ' s in con equence of it, are in my poor opi- 
 v,\'u) or only miftaken, but unnatural to a perlon 
 in Leer's fituation, juft then tr.nirorted to the high- 
 eft pitc.i of aftonifhment, ana not yet fufrlcientiy fa- 
 miliarized t > his misfortunes, nor cool enough, to 
 trea^ the author of them ironically. By undcrfbmd- 
 
 ir.e
 
 t 3*7 ] 
 
 ing too the pafifage in this light, all that druggie of 
 the paflions, which is affecting to the liighelt de- 
 gree, and painted with all the force and energy 
 which words can pofiibly give it, is quite loft and 
 obliterated, by being degraded into a bare ironical 
 expreftion of anger and refentment. 
 
 P* S5' "-" , ' J or h thewM'ks 
 
 Of fovereignty of knowledge , and of renfon. 
 
 Sovereignty of knowledge, is an exprefiion without a 
 meaning. Mr. Warburton indeed tells us it figni- 
 fies ' the under/landing ;' but we have only his bare 
 word for it ; he doth not tell us how it acquired 
 this fignification ; nor do I believe any man befides 
 himfelf ever called the human undemanding the fo- 
 vereignty of knowledge. We had better therefore be 
 content with the old pointing, 
 
 Of fovereignty, of knowledge, and cf rtafon. 
 
 I understand fovereignty to fignify that felf-command 
 which diftinguifhes the man in his fenfes from a lu- 
 natick or idiot, and in virtue whereof he is fit to be 
 trufled with his own actions and conduct. It hath 
 the fame fenfe in the pafTage in Hamlet quoted by 
 Mr. Warburton, where too, for wan: of understand- 
 ing it, he hath had re-courfe to his ufual refuge of 
 corrupting the text. The ftnfe of the whole paf- 
 fage is, If I fliould g'u'e credit to thofe marks I per- 
 ceive in myfeif of being in my right fenfes, and en- 
 dued with knowledge and reafon, I muft at the fame 
 time be perfuaded 1 had daughters, though it is evi- 
 dent, from what I actually lee and hear, that fuch a 
 peifjafion would be a talfe one. Mr. Warburton's 
 interpretation is the very reverfe of this, and utterly 
 Lnconfiftent with the exprefHon of the text. 
 
 Y 4 P. &
 
 [ 3*8 ] 
 
 P. 36. Which, like an engine, wrencht my frame of nature 
 From thefixt place. 
 
 Alluding to the rack. Canons of Criticifm, p. 164, 
 
 P. 37. And from her derogate body never ff ring 
 A babe to honour her I 
 
 By derogate, in this place, I underftand whatever 
 deviates from the ordinary courfe of nature, 
 
 Ibid. With candent tears fret channels in her cheeks. 
 
 The old reading was, cadent tears, which gives a 
 very good fenfe. But Mr. Warbqrton is noc con-: 
 tent with what is well , he muft have better; and 
 therefore altered the text ; though with men of plain 
 fenfe, and no criticks, it is generally a rule to let 
 well alone. But Shakefpear hath given tears the 
 epithet of hot in two other places of this very play. 
 Is that a reafon why he muft never mention tears 
 without adding this epithet? Behold, reader, the 
 common and ufual turn of critical reafoning. 
 
 Ibid. Turn all her mother's fains and benefits 
 To laughter and contempt. 
 
 m 
 
 One would imagine nothing could be plainer than 
 the fenfe of this pafiage : May it (that is, the child, 
 whichfoever it mall happen to be, male or female) 
 turn all the pains fhe felt, and all the benefits fhe 
 conferred on it, as a mother, to laughter and con- 
 tempt. I cannot therefore help being greatly afto- 
 nifhed at finding Mr. Roderick in the Canons of Cri- 
 ticilm, p. 23c 232. in defiance of the natural and 
 obvious conftruftion, applying the pofTeffive pro- 
 noun, her, to the chiicl, and thence determining it tQ 
 be, what the poet had left indeterminate, a daughter, 
 and not a fon \ and in confequence dignifying his 
 
 ima-
 
 t 329 ] 
 
 imaginary difcovery with the honourable appellation 
 of a moft exquifite ftroke of nature, in danger of 
 being loft by being couched under one little fyllable, 
 frer. And yet he at the fame time afTerts that the 
 language of Lear's pafTion in this fcene is full and 
 complcat, and every word as exactly placed as it is 
 judicioufly chofen. How is this confiftent with that 
 notorious violation of the conftruction which his in- 
 terpretation mull unavoidably introduce, and in vir- 
 tue of which the tormenting anguifti of being curfed 
 with a thanklefs child is imprecated upon the daugh- 
 ter, and not upon the mother? 
 
 P. 38. T/S untented woundings of a father's curfe 
 Pierce every fence about thee ! 
 
 The common reading was, 
 
 Pierce every fenfe about thee ! 
 
 That is, Strike through every feeling of which thy 
 nature is capable. But Mr. Warburton tells us, 
 
 * this reading, as plaufible as it is, is certainly cor- 
 f rupt,' though without vouchfafing to acquaint us 
 with his objections to it, and that l we fhould read, 
 
 * fence > that is, guard, fecurity, barrier.' It would 
 have been kind to have informed the reader, what 
 thefe guards, fecurities, and barriers, were ; for it 
 certainly requires as lively and active an imagination 
 as Mr. Warburton's to find them out; and there- 
 fore it may well be doubted whether they would 
 have occurred even to Lear, as much heated as he is 
 reprefented by the violence of his refentment. 
 
 P. 44. 'Gainjt parricides did all the thunder bend. 
 More probably, * all their thunder bend.' 
 
 P. 46. Whofe virtue mid obedience in this injiance 
 So much commends itfelf. 
 
 f he old reading was, 
 
 Whofe
 
 [ 33 ] 
 
 Whrfe virtue and obedience doth this inftant 
 So much commend itfelf. 
 
 Whence I fhould rather incline to think the pcet 
 wrote, 
 
 JVhofe virtue and obedience doth in this inflame 
 So much; commend it f elf. 
 
 P. 47. 'Thus cut of feci f on threading dark-ey^d night. 
 
 That is, flipping through it, as if afraid of being 
 tlifcovered. Mr. Theobald objects, ' That this ex- 
 preffion is borrowed from that other of threading of 
 alleys, which is a cant-phrafe.' 1 believe he is miC- 
 taken in this point, and that the phrafe is good Eng- 
 ]ifh , but fuppofing it mould be a cant-phrafe at pre- 
 fent, it by no means follows that it was fo in the age 
 of Shakefpear. As to his own conjecture, which he 
 would fubftitute in the place of it, treading dark-efd 
 night, for travelling in it, it is evidently abfurd, and 
 conveys no confiitent image, as every metaphor 
 ought to do. For who can reprelent to his imagi- 
 nation, treading the night j 
 
 Ibid. Occafions* 'ncbie Gh'fter y of fame pcife. 
 
 And why not as well, ' of fame prize,' which is the 
 ancient reading ? that is, of form: confideration and 
 impoitance in our elteem. 
 
 P. 50. Like rats, oft lite the holy ccrds in twain 
 ( J oq 'intrir.ficate t' unlcrfe. 
 
 Mr. Warburton ought at lead to have given us the 
 ancient reading, as it is found in the fir it editions, 
 
 J. He rats of: b:t J the holy cords atwaine 
 Which are too 'ntrince /' unlocfe : 
 
 to Which I can difcover no reafonable objection, 
 though Mr. Theobald is pleafcd to call it unintel- 
 ligible
 
 [ 33i ] 
 ligible nonfenfe , for what reafon I am ignorant, 
 fince the fenle is the lame as that given by Mr. 
 Warburton, whom Mr. Theobald in this place fol- 
 lows. Intrince is the fame as intrinficate, or intri- 
 cate. See Mr. Upton's Critic. Obferv. p. 327. 
 
 P. 52. But rfjaxis their fool. 
 
 That is, Such a plain blunt brave fellow as Ajax 
 was, is the perfon thefe rafcals always chufe to make 
 their butt, and put their tricks upon. Mr. War- 
 burton tells us, he fhould rather read, foil-, that is, 
 I luppofe, fome one very much their inferior in 
 fome refpect or other, by a comparifon with whom 
 they would recommend their own merit. But the 
 propriety of the obfervation in this fenfe is much be- 
 yond my comprehenfion. 
 
 P. 55. Inforce their charity. 
 Mr, Warburton ' rather thinks Shakefpear wrote, 
 Inforce reer charity ; 
 
 ' that is, (low, backward, charity.' The bare men- 
 tion of this conjecture is fufficient, as I deem it one 
 of thofe which it is impoftible fh'ould find entertain- 
 ment in any other head but Mr. Warburton's. 
 
 Ibid. Poor Turlygcod! 
 
 Mr. Warburton tells us we {hcu'*.l read, Turlupin, 
 which, he informs us, was the name of * a new fpe- 
 
 * cies of gypfies in the fourteenth century, a frater- 
 
 * nity of naked beggars, which ran up and down 
 ' Europe, and were plainly nothing but a band of 
 
 * Tom o' Bedlams.' The only true circumftance 
 in this account of the Turlupins is, that fome of 
 tiiem did follow the courfe of begging. For the reft, 
 they were a religious feci, propagated from the Vau- 
 dois or the Bohemians, I think molt probably the 
 
 6 Jat-
 
 t 332 ] 
 
 Jatter, though Mr. Beaufobre, who hath treated of 
 them at large in his Difiertation on the Adamites, 
 fubjoined to Lenfant's Hiftory of the Wars of the 
 Huffites, vol. ii. p. 380 392, derives them from 
 the former. However that be, it is certain, that 
 this name of Turlupins was known only in France 
 and Germany, to which countries the courfes too of 
 thefe hereticks feem to have been confined ; at lead 
 they do not feem to have penetrated into this ifland, 
 unlefs under the denomination of Lollards, with 
 whom they are by fome writers, though I think 
 without foundation, confounded. See alfo Mof- 
 heim's Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, p. 551 555. lean- 
 not therefore perfuade myfelf that the word, Turlu- 
 pin, came from Shakefpear, to whom, as well as 
 to his audience, it was in all probability utterly un 
 known. 
 
 P. 55. 'Then he wears wooden nether flocks. 
 I fuppofe we mould read, nether focks. 
 
 P. 56. To do upon refpeft fuch violent outrage. 
 
 That is, To commit fo violent an outrage upon the 
 refpecl: which is on fo many accounts due to me. 
 
 Ibid. Refolve me with all modejl hafie. 
 
 Modejly I apprehend, is here oppofed to inconfider- 
 ate. Thus the fenfe will be, With all the hafte 
 confiflent with a confiderate recollection of the 
 true circumftances of the fact. 
 
 J bid. They fummoned up their meiny. 
 That is, their attendants, 
 
 P. 58. The knave turns fool, that runs away \ 
 The fool no knave-, perdy. 
 
 "f he fenfe, in my opinion, requires us to read, 
 
 The
 
 t 333 ] 
 
 T'he fool turns knave, that runs away 5 
 The fool's no knave, perdy. 
 
 P. 60. ~ob Regan, jhe hath tfd 
 
 Sharp-tooth 1 d unkindnefs like a vulture here', 
 
 I entirely concur with Mr. Sympfon in his very infr 
 genious emendation, 
 
 oh Regan, Jhe hath tir'd 
 
 See Mr. Symplon's note on Fletcher's Love's Pil- 
 grimage, vol. vii. p. 54. To tire, is a term in fal- 
 conry, fignifying to feed a hawk. So Chambers in 
 his Dictionary under the word, Hacking. ' The 
 ' giving her a leg, wing, or pinion of a fowl to 
 c pull at, is called tiring* the word however is alfo 
 ufed in a neutral fenfe , and an eagle, hawk, or other 
 bird of prey, is faid to tire upon the flelh of its cap- 
 ture, as Mr. Roderick in the Canons of Criticifm, 
 p. 232. hath fully proved. It feems moft probable 
 that it is ufed tranfitively here, and that ' fharp- 
 tooth'd unkindnefs 5 is the vulture which Gonerill is 
 laid to have tired on the heart of Lear ; though 
 Mr. Roderick thinks differently, that Gonerill her- 
 felf is the vulture, and inclofes ' fharp-tooth'd un- 
 kindnefs 5 in a parenthefis. Let the reader decide. 
 
 P. 61. Look'd black upon me. 
 
 This is a common and familiar exprefiion in the 
 weftern counties at leaft of this ifland, to denote a 
 look of difpleafure and averfion. On the oth.tr 
 hand, a perfon is faid to look blank, which word 
 Mr. Theobald would intrude into the text, when 
 being detected in fomething wrong he (lands felf- 
 convicted, or when he is furprized by fome fudden 
 and unexpected difappointment, 
 
 P. 61.
 
 [ 334 3 
 P. 6 r . Tou taking airs. 
 See Mr. Theobald's Shakefpear reftored, p. 140* 
 
 P. 62. h if your fweet [way 
 
 Hallow obedience. 
 
 Hallowing^ or fanctifying obedience, feems an im- 
 proper and rather aukward exprefiion. The com- 
 mon reading is much more elegant, 
 
 Allow obedience. 
 
 That is, If it be one of the laws of your beneficial 
 adminiftration to authorize and approve obedience* 
 For, to allow, doth not barely fignify, to permit, 
 but to approve, to juftify, to authorize. But fee 
 the authentick reading unanfwerably vindicated in 
 the Canons of Criticifm, p. 92. 
 
 P. 63. JTs net offence, that indifcretion finds, 
 And dotage terms fo. 
 
 See this reading well explained and fully juftified iri 
 the Canons of Criticifm, p. 46. Mr. Warburtori 
 ought at leaft to have given us Englifh, when he 
 questioned that in the text. But, to fine, for, to 
 cenfure, is fuch Englifh as I believe the reader ne- 
 ver before heard of. 
 
 Ibid. I pray you, father leingweak, deeni'tfo. 
 
 The ancient reading was, feem fo; that is, behave? 
 like one who is fenfible he is weak, and do not ex- 
 pect from your friends a different treatment front 
 what is iuited to a man in fuch circumftances. Mr. 
 "Warburton however thinks this ' a very odd an<f 
 6 unreafonable rcqueiV and a fufficient foundation 
 for altering the text. But he does it by fubftr- 
 tuting a conjecture implying a requeft, which is in 
 truth very Ldt\ and unreafonable. It is indeed no 
 
 other
 
 [ 335 ] 
 other than this ; Father, you are a weak man, and 
 fince you are fo, pray be content with the anfwer 
 my hufband hath given you, without enquiting any 
 farther. 
 
 P. 6y. Touch me with noblt anger. 
 
 The author of the Canons of Criticifm, p. 93. hath 
 very juftly expofed the futility of Mr. Warburton's 
 prolix note on this place. Bat fuch are the ufual 
 produces of a predominant imagination. 
 
 P. 70. (Which the impetuous bhjfs with eyelefs rage 
 Ca'.ch in their fury, and make- nothing of.) 
 
 The fenfe is, Which the impetuous blafts with un- 
 difcerning rage catch in their fury, and fcatter or 
 difperfe to nothing as faft as he tears it off. Mr. 
 Warburton condemns thefe lines as ' fome player's 
 ' trafh,' but for no reafon which lam able to difcover. 
 On the contrary they feem to me very much in 
 Shakefpea 's manner, and prcfent us with a very 
 picturefque image. 
 
 Ibid. The cub-drawn bear. 
 
 This epithet undoubtedly denotes a bear whofe cubs 
 have been drawn from her, who hath been robbed 
 of her cubs ; in which circumftance natural afTedion 
 would exert irs utmcft force to goad heron in iearch 
 of them. Sec Upton's Critic. Oblerv. p. 311. 
 
 P. 71. Into this fcath.d kingdom. 
 
 The old reading was, 
 
 Into this fcatter*d kingdom ; 
 
 which epithet fens a very juft one, not barely on 
 account of Lear's divi'ion of it between Albany and 
 Cornwall, b-t on account of the difienfions of thefe 
 
 two
 
 336 1 
 
 two between themfelves, and the parties each wa$ 
 forming throughout the whole of it, to advantage; 
 himfelf againft his antagonift ; but above all on ac- 
 count of the general refentment, which might be 
 fuppofed to prevail, of the wrongs offered to the: 
 old King, and which would induce great numbers 
 to take part with the invader, who efpoufed his 
 caufe. As to Mr. Warburton's conjecture, Jcathed^ 
 it cannot with any the lead propriety be admitted 
 here ; for the kingdom had as yet fuffered no harm 
 or damage, whatever reafon there might be to ap- 
 prehend it ihortly would, from the inteftine dififen- 
 fions above mentioned. If it had been for fome" 
 years over- run and wafted by foreign invafions, or 
 civil and domeftick wars, the epithet would have 
 been proper* 
 
 P. 71. ' have fecret feize 
 
 In fome of our be ft ports. 
 
 This emendation too feems quite unneceflary. The" 
 common reading, 
 
 have fecret fea, 
 
 gives this very proper and very intelligible fenfe % 
 Are fecretly arrived at, and anchored in, fome of 
 our bed ports. Mr. Warburton indeed is pleafed 
 to ca'l this 'a ftrange phrafe ;' but it is not a jot 
 ftranger than his own, fecret feize ', to fignify ' fecret 
 intelligence, by means of a party already fecured to 
 ftcond any attempt on thofe ports.' As to the ridi- 
 cule he borrows from the army incognito at Knightf- 
 bridge in the Rehearfa], it miffes its aim, and flies 
 wide of the mark. In earlier ages, before channels of 
 intelligence were eftablifhed, there was no wonder 
 or improbability in an embarkation arriving in fome 
 of the ports of this kingdom, a confidrrable time 
 before the then governing powers had notice of it. 
 4 Our
 
 [ 337 ] 
 Our poet's hiftorical plays, from King John down 
 to Richard the Third inclufively, furnilh frequent 
 inftances of it. 
 
 .72. Tou fulpFrous and thought-executing fires. 
 Vaunt-couriers of oak-cleaving thunder- bolts, 
 Singe my white head. And thou all Jhaking 
 
 thunder, 
 Strike flat the thick rotundity 0* tb' world. 
 
 Though upon mod occafions Mr. Warburton re* 
 quires the reader's fubmiffion to his dictates, with 
 as much authority as if he had a demonstration in 
 his pocket ; yet at prefent he condefcends to take 
 it out, and lay it before him ; affuring him at the 
 fame time, that it is fuch a one as it is impoflible 
 Ihould be inconclufive. So uncommon a courtefy 
 may feem to deferve in return the deference of a 
 particular examination. His firft propofition is, 
 That * in the firft and third lines, the poet tells us, 
 ' that ic is the flam which doth the execution.' 
 Agreed j he doth fo ; but what execution ? No other 
 than finging the hair of the head. Hisfecond pro- 
 pofition is, That * in the fecond line, the poet talks 
 ' of a thunder-bolt that doth the execution.' Agreed 
 again j he does fo ; but what execution r That of 
 cleaving the fturdy oak. Then follows his conclu- 
 fion ; this is fo glaring a contradiction, as makes it 
 * impoflible to be all of one hand.' Where is the 
 contradiction, when one kind of execution is align- 
 ed to the fkfh, and another very d iff, rent one to 
 the bolt ? Be fi :les that the very execution of the 
 bolt is plainly infinuated to be owing to the force of 
 the fire, which darts and direcls it. But the mat- 
 ter is much worfe. Give him all he afks , ftrike 
 out the leconci line as fpurious , it will be imme- 
 diately fuccecded in the lequel by a much more 
 
 Z "Ian mi
 
 [ 338 ] 
 
 glaring contradiction, according to his own reafon r 
 ing. The fecond line carries the execution of the 
 bolt no farther than barely cleaving an oak. The 
 fourth extends it to the altering even the whole 
 form of the terreftrial globe, beating it out flat, 
 and cracking the very mould of nature. All which 
 I prefume rhe poet did not understand to be done 
 by the mere found of the thunder. There is a paf- 
 fage exactly fimilar to this in Coriolanus, vol. vi. p. 
 550. 
 
 To tear with thunder the wide cheeks o* th* air y 
 And yet to charge thy Julphur with a bolt. 
 That Jhould but rive an oak. 
 
 See alfo the Canons of Criticifm, p. 43. 
 
 P. 73. Tcu owe me no [uhfcripticn. 
 
 See Mr. Theobald's Shakefpear re (lore 4 , p. 140, 
 Upton's Critic. (Jbferv. p. 291, 292. and my own 
 note on p. 17. of this play. 
 
 Ibid. Here I Jland, your brave. 
 
 When I read this I could fcarce believe my own 
 eyes : it is hardly poffible to conceive how any 
 man's imagination could be fo wrongly turned, as 
 thus to rej-c! the mod natural and arlecting fenti- 
 ment, expreffed in the plained and cleareft words, 
 The common reading was. 
 
 Here 1 ft and, your flavp. 
 
 That is, * Here I Hand, fubmitting to every indlg- 
 * nity you can put upon me. Do with me what 
 1 you pleafe.^ Refiftance is out of my power, and 
 would fignify nothing. For I am 
 
 1 A poor, infirm, weak, and defpis'd old man ! 
 
 * But
 
 t 339 7 
 
 * But yet, notwithstanding this my fubmiflion to 
 
 * your power, I think I have a right to expoftulate, 
 
 * and to complain of you,, arid tocali you fervile 
 
 * rn/nifters, Sec.' 'Tis pleafant to ob&rve, what 
 lee? our critick into this mofl: egregious blunder* 
 'Your flave ? Whyfo? Sure Lear owed the ele- 
 
 * ments no fubfeription.' Perhaps even this might 
 be difputed, upon the principles Mr. Warburton 
 hath been inculcating in hi* notes throughout this 
 whole play. But granting it, yet, if he owed them 
 no fubfeription, .he could make no reftftance, and 
 therefore might very properly own hi.mlelf their 
 Have. Mr. Warbuiton adds, to make his emenda- 
 tion pafs the more glibly, that Lear had defied the 
 word rage of the elements juft before. There is 
 not a fingle word of defiance in this whole fcene. 
 What Mr. Warburton calls by that name, is no 
 more than. a declared resignation to the word, that 
 could befal him, as what appeared to him much lefs 
 fhocking, than the ungrateful treatment he had juft 
 received from his daughters. 
 
 P. 74. Thou perjure, thou fimular of virtue. 
 
 To preferve the metre wc mould read, agreeably to 
 the elder editions, 
 
 Then perjure, and thou Ji miliar man of virtue, 
 
 P. 75. That under covert, and convenient feeming. 
 
 Convenient, here mean*, adapted to the views of the 
 perfon who would feem to be what he was not. Mr. 
 Warburton owns c this may be right,' yet his fingers 
 it hed at an emendation ; but he might have ipared 
 himfelf the trouble of giving us fo ridiculous a one, 
 as to be beneath the reader's notice. See -the Canons 
 of Criticifm, p. 47.
 
 [ 340 ] 
 
 l 
 
 P. j 6. Til /peak a prophecy or two ere 1 go. 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath received a very juft, a^ well 
 as a very fmart correction for this blundering emen- 
 dation, in the introduction to the Canons of Criti- 
 cifm, p. 26, 27. No one therefore, I prefume, wil\ 
 for the future oppofe our recalling the old reading, 
 
 Til fpeak a prophecy or e'er I go. 
 
 So in the Tempeft, vol. i. p. 29. 
 
 Or e*er your pulfe beat twice. 
 
 Taming of the Shrew, vol. ii. p. 465. 
 
 Or e'er I journey to your fathers houfe. 
 
 P. 82. Dice early. 
 
 Read, agreeably to all the other editions, dearly. I 
 fuppofe the miftake is to be imputed to the printer. 
 
 Ibid. The web and the pin. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 233. 
 
 P r 83. Aroynt thee right. 
 
 The word, right, which Mr. Warburton hath added 
 from his own conjecture, without any warrant from 
 the editions, feems to have no other bufinefs here 
 but to rhime, which probably is more than the poet 
 intended, as the charm feems to be very properly 
 ended by the execration , with which the word, 
 right, tallies no doubt moft admirably. 
 
 P. 84. But mice, and rats, and fuch fmall geer. 
 
 I Cdn fee no objection to the old reading, * fuch 
 fmall deer,'' that is verjfon. See the Canons of Cri- 
 ticifm, p. 9. 
 
 P. 87.
 
 C 34* I 
 
 P. 87. Nero is an angler in the lake of darknefil 
 
 I think Mr. Upton, in his Critic. Obferv. p. 225, 
 226. hath made it more than probable, that Shake- 
 ijpcar wrote, Trajan, and not Nero. 
 
 Ibid. He is mad that trufts in the tamenefs of a 
 wolf, the beds of a horfe. 
 
 In ihe Canons ofCriticifm, p. 53. it is fully proved 
 that this conjecture of Mr. Warourtqn's cannot be 
 the genuine reading, and that we ought to reftore 
 the ancient text, * trie health of a horfe.' 
 
 P. 89. Br ache, or hym. 
 
 I fuppofe we fhould read with Sir Thomas Hanmei, 
 lym. See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 200. 
 
 P. 90. Leaving free things', 
 that is, Things free from fufK-ring. 
 
 Ibid. Mark the high noifes, and thy f elf bewray, * * * 
 When falfe opinion, whofe wrong thought de- 
 fies thee, 
 In thyjuft [roof repeals, and reconciles thee. 
 
 I can fee no ground for a fufpicion, that any thing 
 hath becrn omitted here. 1 he fenfe is, Oblerve 
 the event of thofe disturbances that are now on foot, 
 a. d difcover thyfelf, \vh?n the prefent falfe opinion 
 entertained of thee, which ftains thy reputation with 
 a crime of which thou art innocent, bting convicted 
 by thy full proof, repeals thy prefent baniihment 
 from focicty, and reconciles thee to thy father. 
 
 P. 91. Hot queflrifls. 
 Jf we would read Englim, we mull read, queflifts* 
 Z 1 P. 94.
 
 C 34* I 
 
 P. 94. The fea 
 
 would have boWd /;, 
 
 And quench' 'd the /I e lied fires. 
 
 In my opinion the common reading, huafd up, is a 
 much more natural and elegant expreffion. The 
 verb, buoy up, is here ufed as a verb deponent, or 
 as the middle form of the Greek verbs, to fignify, 
 buoy or l.fc itfelf up. 
 
 Ibid. All ' cruels elfe fubfcriVd. 
 
 That is, fubmitted their cruelty to the companion 
 they felt at the fight of his wretchednefs. bee my 
 notes on p. 17 and 73. of this play. 
 
 P. 96. his roguifh madnefs 
 
 Allows i If elf to any thing. 
 
 That is, Carries its excufe with it, whatever itdotr^ 
 and L its own j unification. 
 
 P. 98. Bad is the trade nwfi -play the f col to for row , 
 
 jing'fijing itfelf and others. 
 
 I fee no reafon for altering the common reading, 
 
 Ang'ring itfelf and ethers. 
 
 The fenfe is, He hath a very difagreeable tads, who 
 undertakes to relieve the forrow of others, by di- 
 verting it with forced follies. He at the fame time 
 difpleaics Ivmfelf, and the perfon he endeavours to 
 amufe. See the Canons o\ Criticifm, p. 36. 
 
 P. ico. Let the fuprrfluous, and tuft- dieted man, 
 That braves your ordinance. 
 
 There was not the lead reafon for changing the old 
 reading, 
 
 That fiaves ycur ordinance ; 
 
 except
 
 I 343 3 
 
 except that Mr. Warburtpn, as he himfelf confeflfes, 
 did not understand it. The meaning of the expref- 
 fion is, Who, inftead of paying the deference and 
 fubmiiTion due to your ordinance, treats it as his 
 flave, by making it fubfervient to his views of plea- 
 fure or intereft, and trampling upon and fpurning 
 at it, whenever it ceafes to be of fervice to him in 
 either of thole refpetts. 
 
 P. 102. That nature, which contemns its origins t 
 Cannot be border* d certain in itfelj. 
 
 The fenfe is, That nature which is arrived to fuch a 
 pitch o( unnatural degeneracy as to contemn its ori- 
 gine, cannot from thenceforth be retrained within 
 any certain bounds whatever, but is prepared to 
 break out into the moft monftrous exceffes every 
 way, as occafion or temptation may offer. 
 
 Ibid. From her material fap. 
 
 Mr. Warburton, in his tedious note on thefe words, 
 hath laid himfelf extremely open both to criticifm 
 and ridicule; but as I think he is right in the main 
 point, the juftifrcation of the common reading, I 
 fhall not trouble the reader or myfelf with an exami- 
 nation, in which the poet hath no concern. 
 
 P. 103. A man, a Prince by him fo benefited? 
 
 I can fee no reafon for fuppofing that any thing hath 
 been omitted here. Albany, who re fen ted fo highly 
 the wrongs offered to the old King, might very na- 
 turally be expected to be no lefs irritated by the hor- 
 rid execution on old Glo'fler, in revenge of a con- 
 duct which he himfelf appears to approve. It was 
 theiefore by no means neceflary that he fhould make 
 exj d\\ mention of ir, to account for the fubfequenc 
 apology of Gonenll. But, in truth, it is manifefr. 
 from the very next two pages, that if Gonerill 
 
 Z 4. knew
 
 [ 344 ? 
 knew of the cruelty exercifed on Glo'fter, Albany 
 at leaft was as yet utterly ignorant of it, which is 
 fufficiently teftified by his furprize at the firft men- 
 tion of it, and the enquiries he makes into the cir- 
 cumftances attending it. 
 
 P. 103. To tame the vile offences. 
 
 I mould think the poet wrote, thefe vile offences \ 
 for the vile offences , do not conftitute a particular 
 fperies denominated by that expreffion. 
 
 P. 104. But now without. 
 A miftake of the printer, for, * not without.' 
 
 P. 106. her fmiles and tears 
 
 Were like a wetter May. 
 
 As this joint appearance of rain and funfhine fome- 
 times happens in the month of May, the compari- 
 son is not absolutely without: propriety, though ge- 
 nerally fpeaking April is the month the moft re- 
 markable tor this phenomenon, even to a proverb. 
 As therefore the ancient reading was, 
 
 Were like a better day, 
 
 I mould rather imagine the poet wrote, 
 
 Were like an April day. 
 
 Ibid. Made/he no verbal quejl ? 
 
 The word, quejt, for complaint and lamentation, is 
 not Englifb, nor 1 believe ever ufed in that ienfe by 
 any one Englifh writer, imlefs perhaps fome inju- 
 dicious imitator of the Miltonick ftile may have cor- 
 rupted our language in this inftance, as many of 
 them have notorioufly done in innumerable others. 
 Mr. Warburton did not underlrand the common 
 reading, 
 
 Made Jhe no verbal queftion ? 
 
 where
 
 t 345 ] 
 
 where the word, queftion y doth not fignify enquiry, 
 but comment or reflection. Thus the fenfe will be, 
 Did (he not exprefs in words the feeling fhe mull 
 have of her two filters behaviour towards her father? 
 
 P. 107. And, clamour -motion* d. 
 
 That is, according to Mr. Warburton, out of whofe 
 mint the word came, * provoked to a loud expref- 
 * fion of her forrow.' But I think we need not aug- 
 ment Shakefpear's glofiary, when the common 
 reading, 
 
 And y cWcwr-moiften'd, 
 
 affords us at leaft as good and as appofite a fenfe. 
 Only the hyphen mould be omitted, as being cer- 
 tainly a miftake, and clamour- moiften'd pronounced 
 and confidered as two diftinct words. The purport 
 then of the whole paflage will be this ; Cordelia had 
 at firft broke out into exclamations ; 
 
 Sifters I Jijlers ! Shame of ladies ! Jifters ! 
 
 Kent! Father! Jifters! what? 1 th'ftorm? ? tW night? 
 Let -pity ne'er believe it ! 
 
 then followed the tears, with which when me had 
 moiftened thefe exclamations (for the words under 
 confederation are an ablative abfolute) ihe retired to 
 the farther indulgf nee of her grief in private. See 
 Mr. Seward's note on Fletcher's Two Noble Kinf- 
 men, vol. x. p. 12. 
 
 P. 109. With har docks, 
 
 I never heard of fuch a plant as hardocks ; I believe 
 we fhould read, burdocks* which frequently grow 
 among the corn. 
 
 P. in. She gave ceiliads. 
 We fhould read, in conformity with the other editions, 
 
 She
 
 [ 346 ] 
 
 She gave ftrange ee'liads ; 
 for the word ceitiads is but a difTyllable. 
 
 P. 112. for all below the moon 
 
 Would I not leap outright. 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath bewrayed great want of tafte 
 in altering the common reading, 
 
 Would 1 r.ot leap upright. 
 
 * But what danger in that?* (fays this penetrating 
 critick) ' he muft needs fall again upon his feet, on 
 ' the place from whence he rofe.' I fancy how- 
 ever all this ingenious reafoning would fcarce prevail 
 on one of his readers, to take this upright leap on 
 the very edge of fuch a precipice. I am apprehen- 
 five fear would even in himfelf get the better of his 
 reafoning, were he to be put upon the trial. Was 
 it certain he muft needs fall upon his feet on the 
 very place from whence he role? Might not the 
 fmalkft peeble, when he came down, turn his foot 
 afioe, and topple him over? Might not the ground 
 give way under the force of his leap ? But the poet's 
 art was quite loft upon Mr. Warburton. This very 
 exprtfTion he excepts agah.ft, was purpofeiy intended 
 to heighten the horror of the defcription, and to af- 
 fect the reader's imagination the more (Irongly. 
 The fpot is therefore reprefented as fo extremely 
 near the edge of the precipice, within even a foot 
 of it, that there was the utmoit hazard in leaping 
 even upright upon it. Mr. Warburton, by hb emen- 
 dation,, counteracts the poet's intention, and repre- 
 fents the !pot as fo little dangerous, that any man 
 might leap upright upon it with fafety, as often as 
 he pleaftd, provided he did not leap outright. 
 
 P. 1 1 5. That fellow handles his bow like a crew keeper. 
 Sec our note on Romeo and Juliet, vol. viii. p. 21. 
 
 P. 115.
 
 [ 347 ] 
 P. 115. 0, well flow fiy barbf 
 
 That arrows are barbed or bearded is no news. But 
 that an arrow is ever called a barb, is more than I 
 can recollect from my fmall reading; though I 
 fhould hive no objection to the word even in that 
 fenfe, if there were any better authority for it than 
 the whim of an emendator. But in truth the com- 
 mon reading;, 
 
 O, well flown, bird ! 
 
 is unexceptionable. For what impropriety can 
 there be in calling an arrow, a bird, by a very apt 
 metaphor, from the fwiftnefs of its flight; efpe- 
 cially when immediately preceded by the words, 
 ' well flown,' which naturally refer to the fame me- 
 taphor ? 
 
 P. 116. Go to ', they are not men of their words. 
 
 I fee no neceflity to read with Mr. Upton, Critic, 
 Obferv. p. 202. 'women of their words.' 'Tis at, 
 fome diftance before that Gonerill and Regan were 
 mentioned ; and the poet might very well, confidering 
 efpecially the rapid iucceffion of Lear's ideas, pro- 
 ceeding fro-T) his detraction, and exemplified 
 throughout this whole fcene, intend in this place to 
 include all his flatterers, by whom it is plain, from 
 the whole tenor of his character; he had been always 
 furrounded. 
 
 Ibid. Who fe face ' 'tween her forks $ref ages fnow. 
 
 See the true meaning of this paiTage, which efcaped 
 Mr. Warburton's fagacity, modeltly explained in 
 the Canons of Criticifm, p. 89. 
 
 Ibid. "The flailed horfe. 
 
 This epithet wc owe to Mr. Warburton's not un- 
 der-
 
 [ 34 ] 
 
 derftanding the common reading, c the foykd horfe.* 
 A horfe is faid to be foyled, when he is turned out, 
 after having been long flailed, for a few weeks in 
 the fpring, to take the ririt flufh of new grafs, which 
 both cleanfcs him, and fills him with blood. 
 
 P. 117. Pliable 'em. 
 
 That is, I will take off all legal difabilities which 
 they may have incurred by their crimes. 
 
 P 1 2 1 . To knew our enemies 9 minds, we rip their hearts. 
 
 The poet certainly did not intend we fbould under- 
 hand this paiTage according to the rigour of flricTt 
 interpretation, for then we fhould make nonfenfe 
 of it. I apprehend the meaning is, In order to dif- 
 cover our enemies deflgns againff. us, we fhould 
 make no fcruple even of ripping up their hearts, if we 
 were affured they were legible there, and the know- 
 ledge of them abfolutely necefTary to our preferva- 
 tion. Mr. Warburton's fuppofed aliuficn to the 
 rack v\ ill not hold water j for hearts are never 
 rij ped on the rack. 
 
 P. 123. Shortens my laid Intent. 
 
 Mr. Warburton, in his note on this place, hath 
 made a fhift to impofe on himfelf by his own idle 
 ibphiitry. The ancient reading was, 
 
 Shortens ny made intent. 
 
 His objection is, that ' there is a diffonancy of terms 
 ' in the exprefilon, made intent, one implying the 
 ' idea of a thing done, the other, undone.' But 
 this diffonancy immediately vanifhes, when we exa- 
 mine what thefe two things are. The thing done 
 is the intention , the thing undone is the thing in- 
 tended , which two are not only perfectly confident 
 with, bur always and neceffarily accompany, each 
 
 other.
 
 [ 349 ] 
 other. Will any one den/ it to be good Englifh to 
 fav, I made it my intent to do fuch or fuch a thing? 
 The genuine reading ou^hc therefore to be rein- 
 ftated. 
 
 P. 124. '37i wonder,, that tby life and wits, at once, 
 Hcd net concluded. Ab ! 
 
 The common reading was, 
 
 Had not concluded all. 
 
 Which Mr. Warburton altered from miftaking the 
 conftruction. He took, all, to be an accufative, 
 when it is in truth a nominative. For the order is 
 this; 'Tis a wonder that thy life and thy wits had 
 not all concluded at once. 
 
 P. 129. Hard is tbe guefs of their true firength and 
 forces, 
 By diligent difcovery. 
 
 One would imagine, if the difcovery had been dili- 
 gent, the guefs (hould not be fo hard. We learn 
 trom Mr. Pope, that in fome edition he found, 
 
 Here is tbe guefs : 
 
 which I apprehend is the true reading. The fenfe 
 is, Here is an eftimate of the true firength and forces 
 of the enemy, as far as it could be collected by di- 
 ligent t'ifcovery ; but the urgency of the prefenc 
 exigence will allow you but a ihort time for the 
 pcrufal of it. 
 
 P. 131. And take uf on * s the myflery of things, 
 As if -we were God's jpics. 
 
 I take the meaning to be ; And take upon us to pe- 
 netrate and unfold the myftery of pubhek affairs, as 
 if we were commiflaoned and enabled by God him- 
 fjf to pry into their mod hidden fecrets. The 
 
 reader
 
 f 350 J 
 
 reader mud determine between Mr. WarburtonY 
 interpretation and mine. 
 
 P. 132. And fire us hence ', like foxes. 
 
 An allufion to the practice of forcing foxes out of 
 their holds by fire. Mr. Upton, Critic. Obferv. p. 
 218. imagines the Scripture ftory of Samfon's foxes 
 to be here alluded to. He mould have pointed out 
 thofe circumftances which conftitute the fimilitude, 
 which, I muft own, are beyond my apprehenfion. 
 
 Ibid. thy great employment 
 
 Will not bear queftion. 
 
 Mr. Roderick, in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 233: 
 235. harh, in my judgment, given us the true 
 fenfe of this paffage, to this effecl:, The great and 
 important employment in which I now trufl: thee, 
 will not bear the leafb hefitation or doubt. 
 
 P. 135. If not 1 Til ne'er trufl poifon. 
 
 For, poifon, fome editions give us, medicine* which, 
 as it is not likely to be an alteration of the transcriber 
 or printer, though it was natural enough for either 
 of them to fubftitute, poifen* in its place, bids fair 
 for being the true reading:. 
 
 'D l,iiv ' w ""- *^"-> 
 
 P. 1 39. This would have feemd a period. But fuch, 
 As love to amplify another* s furrow* 
 To much, would make much more> and top 
 
 extremity. 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath given us thefe three lines of 
 his own, infte.id of near four of Shake! pear's. His 
 pretence for it is, that thefe lalt are * miferable non- 
 ' (enie. 1 His own certainly deferve that character 
 much better. For what is nonfenfe, if this exprefc- 
 fion, 
 
 To
 
 [ 35i ] 
 
 To much, would make much more, 
 
 be not fo ? Shakefpear's lines were'thefe, 
 
 This would have feem'd a period 
 
 To fuch as love not farrow : But another, 
 
 To amplify too much, would make much more, 
 
 And top extremity. 
 
 That is, This fad difafter, to fuch as love not for- 
 row for for row's fake, would have teemed the ut- 
 moft limit of affliction : But another (meaning Kent, 
 concerning whom the narration is immediately after 
 continued) to amplify what was already too much, 
 would make that much dill more, and ftill accumu- 
 late affliction upon that which was already earned to 
 the very, extremity of fufferance. It is plain Mr. 
 Warburton had not the lead comprehension of the 
 poet's meaning ; and, inftead of givingthe necelfary 
 attention to difcover it, took the eafier method of 
 getting rid of it, by calling it nonfenfe. The reader 
 hath had too frequent occafions of obferving how 
 familiar this proceeding is with him , and no won- 
 der. For it fometimes requires application to pe- 
 netrate the deep ftroncr fenfe of fuch a writer as 
 Shakefpear, but little or none to fubftitute the firft 
 nonfenfe that comes uppermoft in the place of it. 
 
 P. 142. Nor no man elf e. 
 See Theobald's Shakefpear reftored, p. 141. 
 
 Scene the lafl.~\ See Mr. Roderick's juftand beau- 
 tiful obfervation 0,1 tnc character of Lear, and his 
 behaviour under the confummation of\his diitrcf in 
 zhe death of Cordelia, in the Canons of Criticifrn, 
 p. 235, 236. 
 
 2 
 
 Tim on
 
 t 352 ] 
 
 Timon of Athens. 
 
 P. 148. and like the current flies 
 
 Each bound it chafes. 
 Mr. Theobald erroneoufly applies to the tide of the 
 fea what is fpoken of the current of a river, which 
 is perpetually flying from thofe banks which it had 
 juft fretted. 
 
 P. 149. This comes off well and excellent. 
 That is, This is well, and excellently performed. 
 
 Ibid. artificial ft rife 
 
 Lives in thofe touches, livelier thay( life. 
 
 I take ftrife here to mean emulation. Thus ihe fenfe 
 is, The execution of the pencil emulating nature, dis- 
 plays a life in thofe touches, which is livelier than 
 even life itfelf. 
 
 P. 150. no leven'd malice 
 
 lnfecls one comma in the courfe I hold. 
 
 This alteration proceeds from Mr. Warburton's not 
 underftanding the common reading, 
 
 no Ievell'd malice j 
 
 which doth not fignify a malice 4 which hath fome 
 general aim -,' a circumftance, as he rightly obferves, 
 ' which is common to all actions whatfocver,' but a 
 malice levelled at certain particular perfons. But 
 Mr. Warburton would infinuate, that the unifor- 
 mity of metaphor requires this correction, fince 
 infection corresponds very well to leven, but not 
 fo to levelling. To fpeak the plain truth, Shake- 
 fpear is net always himfelf fo curious about preferv- 
 ing this uniformity, as Mr. Warburton is for him. 
 
 The
 
 [ 353 1 
 The prefent pafiage is a full proof of it. For if we-- 
 admit this critick's conjecture, lev en* d, the fame 
 difcordancy of metaphor betrays itfelf in the very 
 next line, 
 
 But flies an eagle-flight , bold, and forth on, 
 
 which correfponds perfectly well to an arrow levelled, 
 but bears no analogy to a thing levened or ferment- 
 ed. The next words too, 
 
 Leaving no traft behind, 
 
 agree extremely well with an arrow, but not at all 
 with fermentation, though Mr. Warburton's pre- 
 poflefiion mifled him to think otherwife. The truth 
 of the cafe is, that this poet, as it evidently appears 
 from his own account a little further on, had com- 
 pofed a general fatire on. the infidelity and ingrati- 
 tude of dependents and flatterers ; and he here pre- 
 mifes, that the fatire is merely general, and not le- 
 velled fo as to flrike at any particular perfons. 
 
 P. 151. 'Tis conceived, to ft ope. 
 This reading feems to be neither fenfe nor Englifh. 
 I mould guefs the poet wrote, 
 
 9 Tis conceiv'd, your fc ope-, 
 
 That is, I apprehend what your fcope or aim is. 
 Mr. Theobald's conjecture, 
 
 f Tis conceived to th' fcope \ 
 
 that is, Your conception hits the very fcope you aim 
 at , appears to me, neither fo properly and naturally 
 expreficd, nor fo appofite to the fequel of the con- 
 text, which contains the painter's propofal of execut- 
 ing the fame image in his own ar.. 
 
 P. 152. To fi? r .v Ird Titnon, that mean eye: hay: fee ft 
 The feci above the head. 
 
 JMf. Pope underfta ds mean eyes t to Hgni r y, ordi- 
 
 A a i:a-ry
 
 [ 354 ] 
 mry common obfervation, with what propriety I 
 cannot well conceive : but if this interpretation be 
 admitted, it certainly implies a pretty fevere reflec- 
 tion of the painter on the poet, as being one of thefe 
 mean eyes , a reflection which, from what had hi- 
 therto paflfed between them, doth not feem likely 
 to be intended. I am therefore induced to concur 
 in Mr. Theobald's conjecture, Shakefpear restored, 
 p. 180. 
 
 ., that mens eyes have feen. 
 
 p X 4 # never may 
 
 That Jiate, or fortune, fall into my keeping , 
 Which is not own'd to you. 
 
 Mr. Warburton had no other reafon for altering the 
 common reading, 
 
 Which is not ow'd to you, 
 
 but th't he did not underftand it. The fenfe is 
 much finer and ftronger than that of his (lender 
 emendation. * May I never attain any degree of 
 4 eftate and fortune, which I mail not coniider as a 
 1 debt ftrictiy due to you, as much your own, and 
 ' in your power to command at pleafure, as if it 
 * were lecured to you by all the formalities of law.' 
 
 P. 157. That I had fo hungry a wit, to be a Lord. 
 
 This is an emendation of Mr. Warburton's. The 
 common reading was, 
 
 That I had no angry wit, to be a Lord. 
 
 I mould rather incline to fufpect the poet might 
 have written, 
 
 That I had fo wrong'd my wit, to be a Lord. 
 
 P. 160.
 
 [ 355 1 
 
 P. 160. If our belters play at that game, wemuflnot. 
 Apem. Dare to knit ate item : faults that are richy 
 are fair. 
 
 The dividing thefe two lines, and the giving the fe- 
 cond to Apemantus, is a refinement of Mr. War- 
 burton's. But befides the impropriety of breaking 
 off' the conftruclion in the middle of a fentence, 
 where the very form of the exprefilon indicates it 
 was defigned to be continued ; there is one circum- 
 ftance, which clearly proves that it is impoflible it 
 can be right. Apemantus addrefTes the fecond line 
 perfona!ly to Timon, and* as it con ains an exhor- 
 tition and advice, he undoubtedly muft intend th3t 
 he fhouid hear it. Now it is evident he did not 
 hear it, fince he did not eve, i perceive or know that 
 Apemantus was in the company, till ten lines lower, 
 when he takes notice of hi.n, and falutes him with 
 fome furprize, 
 
 0, Apemantus ! you are welcome. 
 
 We mould therefore re (lore the old reading, 
 
 If our betters play at that game, ive muft not dare 
 To imitate them : faults that are rich, are fair. 
 
 The fenfe of which, I take to be this : Though fuch 
 a proceeding be not unufual among perfons of the 
 firlt rank and quality, we mud not dare to imitate 
 them. The fau'ts of rich perfon, and which con- 
 tribute to the encreafe of riches, wear a plaufib'e ap- 
 pearance, and, as the world goes, are thought fair, 
 but they are faults notwithstanding. 
 
 P. 161. / [com thy meal \ Uwjtild choak me, 'fore 
 Iftjculd e\r flatter thee. 
 
 4 A very pretty reafon' (to borrow Mr. Warburton's 
 
 exprelfion) why he fhouid fcorn Timon's meat, 
 
 that it would choak him before he could (loop to 
 
 A a i Batter
 
 [ 356 1 
 
 flatter him. On the contrary, as he had deter- 
 mined not to flatter, he might be fure the meat: 
 would not choak him, and therefore could have no 
 reafon to reject it with fcorn. The truth is, Mr. 
 Warburton did not apprehend the delicacy of the 
 fentiment, which is rather hinted than exprefled in 
 the old reading* 
 
 1 fcorn thy meat\ ''twould chdak me, for I fbould 
 ne'er flatter thee. 
 
 The fenfe I take to be this ; I fcorn thy meat, which 
 1 fee is prepared on purpofe to feed flatterers, and 
 therefore it would certainly choak me who am none ; 
 for I fhould never ftoop fo low as to flatter thee for 
 having given me a meal's meat. 
 
 P. 161. He chears them up tool 
 
 Mr. Warburton believes Shakefpear wrote, 
 
 He chears them up to't, 
 
 which is fo flat an expreftion, that I believe he wift 
 fcarce find another man of the fame opinion. 
 
 P. 163. Why have you that charitable title from 
 thoufands, did not you chiefly belong to my heart ? 
 
 I can make no tolerable fenfe of this pafTage, as it is 
 now read. I believe Shakefpear wrote, ' Why have 
 you not that charitable title from thoufands, did 
 not you chiefly belong to my heart?' The fenfe is- 
 this, Why do not thoufands more give you that 
 charitable title of friends,- if it were not that my heart 
 hath a peculiar and principal claim to your friend* 
 fljip? 
 
 Ibid. joy, e'en made a joy creH can be bcrn. 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath adopted this alteration of Sir 
 Thomas Hanmer's, the meaning of which, I own, I 
 do not unckrftand. The common reading, ' O joy, 
 
 e'en
 
 [ 357 1 
 t*en made away, ere it can be born,* is at lead intel- 
 ligible, and, I doubt not, genuine. The fentiment 
 is founded on that unreferved communication of all 
 the bleftlngs and comforts ,of life which mutually fub- 
 fifts between real friends, in virtue of which, the 
 acquifitions of one are the acquifitions of both, and 
 whatever is the fource of joy to the one ^s inftantly 
 transferred to the other, who participates in that 
 joy, even before the original fubjecl: of it hath well 
 felt it. 
 
 P. 163. Thou weep* ft bat to make them drink thee 3 
 Timon. 
 
 I can fee no reafon for admitting this alteration of 
 Sir Thomas Hanmer, the pertinency of which is 
 beyond my comprehenfion. The common reading 
 was, 
 
 Thou weep* ft to inake them drink, Timon. 
 
 The words, Thou weep* ft, do not only refer to the 
 tears then actually fhed, but to thofe future ones 
 for which Timon was laying the foundation , fo that 
 this paffage mould be interpreted as implying a pre- 
 diction, that the excefs of drinking to which he was 
 now encouraging his falfe friends, would, among 
 his other extravagant profufions, prove the fource 
 of tears to him flowing from real regret, and not, as 
 at prefent, from joy. 
 
 P. 166. My lord, you take us even at the heft. 
 
 That is, You rare the entertainment we have given 
 you at the very higheft it will bear. It is plain then 
 that this fpeech mould be given to one of the ladies, 
 and not to Lucius. 
 
 P. 169. 2 Lord. So infinitely endear* d~ 
 
 Tim. All to you. Lights! more 1/gkts, more lights. 
 The fir ft part of Timon's anfwer, All to you, hath 
 
 A a 3 no
 
 [ 358 ] 
 no meaning in his mouth. I think it ought to be 
 added to what the fecond Lord had juft faid, and 
 the following words only given to Timon -, thus, 
 
 So infinitely endeared a!) to you -~ 
 
 That is, All of us fo infinitely endeared to you. 
 
 P. 169. Serving of beds and jutting out of bums! 
 
 TThe old reading was, 
 
 Serving of becks : 
 
 which Mr. Upton, Critic. Obferv. p. 326. appre- 
 hends to be an abbreviation of Shakefpear's, for cb- 
 ferving, To that the fenfe will be, obferving one ano- 
 ther's nods and bows. I leave it to the reader to 
 decide between him and Mr. Warburton, with this 
 notice only, that I know no fuch Englifli word as, 
 ferring. Why might not the poet poflibly have 
 wriiten, fcruing of backs ? that is, concorfion of 
 backs. 
 
 P. 172. nevermind 
 
 Was, to be fo unwife, to be fo kind. 
 
 Mr. Warburton rightly remarks, that * nothing can 
 ' be worfe, or more obfcurely cxprefled.' The 
 metre of the fecond line will very well admit the 
 infertion of a monofyllable, thus, 
 
 Was made to be fo unwife, to be fo kind. 
 
 The word he e added is fuggefted by Mr. Warbur- 
 ton, hut I think either {ram d, or form' d, or known, 
 would fuit the place with more propriety . 
 
 P. 177. What f}:all defend ihe interim, and at length 
 Hold good our reckoning ? 
 
 I cannot fee the leaPc rcafon for altering the common 
 text, 
 
 flow
 
 [ 359 ] 
 How goes our reckoning ? 
 
 It is true Mr. Warburton objects, that * the fteward 
 1 talks very wildly ;' but I am afraid it is he himfelf 
 that apprehends not very foberly. The fteward is 
 not queftioning his lord for information, but repre- 
 fenting to him the defperate ftate of his affairs under 
 the form of a qucftion, in order to convince him of 
 the reality and extent of his diftreis, by his utter in- 
 ability to give a fatisfaclory anfwer to it. The mean- 
 ing is, Confider yourfelf, what our reckoning, the 
 ftate* of your affairs which I have juft laid before 
 you, muft terminate in at laft. 
 
 P. 178. canfl thou the confcience lack, 
 
 To think I jhall lack friends ? 
 
 That is, Is it poffible thou fhouldft be fo deftitute of 
 the confcious knowledge of the feelings of thy own 
 heart, and of what would be thy own conduct on a 
 like occafion, as to entertain a doubt of the grate- 
 ful afijftance of my friends ? 
 
 P. 179. I knew it the mojl general way. 
 
 That is, the mod ufual way, the way that would be 
 moil generally taken upon fuch an emergency. 
 
 P. 180. And thefe hard fratlions. 
 
 See this expreftion fully explained in the Canons of 
 Criticifm, p. 162. Mr. Warburton's interpretation 
 is quite pleafant. 
 
 P. 183. let not that -part 
 
 Oj nurture, my lord paid for. 
 
 The common reading, Of nature, gives a much 
 better fenfe, though the criticks could not forbear 
 nibbling at it, than this their injudicious emenda- 
 tion. Shakefpcar very properly and elegantly con- 
 A a 4 fiders
 
 [ 3*9 ] 
 
 fiders the nutriment Lucullus had received at TU 
 moo's table, as his nature, the more emphatically 
 to exprefs the length of time he had been feeding on 
 him. It was fo lpng, that he was now indebted to 
 Timon for a great part of what, conftituted his na- 
 ture, or bodily fyftem. 
 
 P. 184. Tet had he m flock' 'd him. 
 
 That is, according to Mr. Warburton, whofeexpref- 
 fion this is, 'overlooked, neglected to fend to him.' 
 But I do not know that the word, mijlook'd, hath, 
 ever that fignihxation in the Engliih language. The; 
 common reading, miflook him, exprefifes the poet's, 
 meaning with great propriety, had he by miftake 
 thought him under lefs obligations than me, and 
 had fent to me accordingly. 
 
 Ibid. Be cannot want fifty times Jive hundred talent si 
 
 The common reading, fifty five hundred talents^ 
 feems full as good Englifh as this emendation. 
 
 P. 1 85. That I fljould pur chafe the day he fore for a\ 
 little part, and undo a great deal of honour ? 
 
 I believe it would be difficult to find any fenfe in 
 thefe words, for a little part. I fhould fuppofe the 
 poet might have written, for a little profit, which 
 expreflion anfwers exactly to what follows, and undo 
 a great deal of honour. The an ti thefts is not near fp 
 complcat in Mr. Theobald's conjecture, for a little 
 dirt, neither is ;he conduction of the phrafe fp cor- 
 rect as it ought to be. 
 
 Ibid. Why, this is the world's ful; 
 
 Of the fan: e piece is every flatterer's fpirit. 
 
 The old reading was not, fpirit, but, fpert; and I 
 think Mr. Upton's conjecture (fee his Critic. Obferv. 
 
 p. 220.)
 
 [ 3i 1 
 
 o. 229.) extremely probable, that the words at the 
 end of each line have changed place, thus, 
 
 Why this is the world's fporc ; 
 
 Of the fame piece is every flatterers foul. 
 
 P. 187. And I cannot think, but in the end the vil- 
 lanies of man will fet him clear. 
 
 Mr. Warburton feems to have quite miftaken the 
 poet's idea of the main purpofe of the devil. Ac- 
 cording to Shakefpear, he glories in being the au- 
 thor of man's damnation, and would be difappointed 
 if ic was owing entirely to man himfelf, without his 
 having any lhare in the honour and merit of it. Ac- 
 cording to Mr. Warburton, he aims only at being 
 as little guilty himfelf as pofiible ; and to this his 
 fuppofitipn, that gentleman hath exactly fuited his 
 interpretation, 
 
 P. 193. He is a man, felling his fault afide. 
 
 Mr. Warburton tells us, we muft read, ' this fault.' 
 I admit we may, but why mitfl we ? Surely his fault, 
 as it (lands connected with the context, means the 
 fame as this fault. 
 
 Ibid. And unnoted pajficn. 
 
 That is, Such a pafTion as is feldom fcen under as 
 much command under the like circumftances. 
 
 Ibid. : and make his wrongs 
 
 His outfide wear; hang like his rayment, care- 
 lefsly. 
 
 This is an emendation of Mr. Warburton's, deli- 
 vered in his legislative manner, without condefcend- 
 ing io much as to offer a reafon for it. As I am 
 a freeman in the republick of letters, I muft take 
 leave, without paying the leaft regard to his autho- 
 rity, to prefer the common reading, 
 
 . and
 
 [ 3*2 ] 
 
 and make his wrongs 
 
 His outfides ; wear them like his rayment, carehjsly. 
 
 By ' his outfides,' I apprehend, the poet means, 
 things external, with which he hath no more com- 
 munication of feeling than he hath with his cloaths. 
 
 P. 194. 1*0 kill> J grant , is Jin's extreameji gufl. 
 
 The metaphor here is taken from a guft, or ftroke 
 of wind. 
 
 Ibid. But, in defence, by mercy, His made juft, 
 
 Mercy makes nothing jufl; that is not fo, though it 
 often overlooks and pardons acts of injuftice. The 
 common reading was fenfe, 
 
 But in defence, by mercy, 'tis mott: juft. 
 
 By mercy, here means the fmie as, under favour, 
 if I may be permitted to fay fo. 
 
 V 
 
 P. 196. 77/ cheer up 
 
 My difcontented troops, and lay for hearts, 
 'Tis honour with mojt hands to be at odds. 
 
 Mr. Warburton feems to have been betrayed into 
 this miftaken conjecture, by his head running on a 
 game at cards. Thus, to lay for hearts, came to 
 fignify, ' to game deep and boldly.' I fuppofe juft 
 before this was written hearts happened to be the 
 trump. Thus, moft hands, contrary to the .very te- 
 nor of the expreffion, came to fignify, the beft 
 hands. Thus, the Athenian army, to whofe pro- 
 tection the city was juft before indebted for its fafety 
 from the enemy, being now on the point of revolt- 
 ing, and turning the edge of their fwords upon the 
 unarmed citizens, came to be thought a difadvan- 
 tageous match with the odds againft them. But it 
 is high time to recal the ancient reading, 
 
 and
 
 [ 36i ] 
 
 and lay for hearts, 
 9< Tis honour with mojl lands to be at odds. 
 
 That is, Governments are in general fo ill admi- 
 niftred, that there are very few whom it is not an 
 honour to oppofe. A fentiment which exactly co- 
 incides with thofe of Pierre in the Orphan. To lay 
 for hearts, in this place fignifies, to lay out for 
 gaining the hearts t>f the difcontented foldiery. 
 
 P. 204. bkjing-breeding fun. 
 
 So Mr. Warburton allures us ' the fenfe, as well as 
 ' the elegance of the expreffion, requires that we mould 
 ( read.* I mould imagine the common reading, 
 
 O blefled, breeding fun, 
 
 as it certainly is as good fenfe, is full as elegant too. 
 The meaning is, O fun, whofe genial influence is 
 univerfally celebrated with praife, as thou art the 
 fource of life to every creature. See our note on 
 Midfummer Night's Dream, vol. i. p. 143. 
 
 P. 205. Raife me this beggar ', and denude that Lord, 
 
 1 apprehend the word, denude, is fcarce an Englilh 
 word, though it may be a Scotch one, introduced 
 by the prevalence of the civil law in that kingdom. 
 The common reading was, 
 
 and deny't that Lord. 
 
 I mould incline to fufpect that the poet might have 
 written, 
 
 and deprive that Lord. 
 
 Deprive him ? of what ? Mr. Warburton I fuppofc 
 will object , why, deprive him of his dignity, of 
 the very lame thing to which the beggar is undcr- 
 ftcod to be raifed. The poet ufes this verb in the 
 fame confirmation in Lear, p. 15.
 
 [ 3<H ] 
 
 ; , , and permit 
 
 The curtefy of nations to deprive me. 
 
 P. 211. And mince it fans remcrfe. Swear againfi 
 
 cbjefts. 
 
 The latter part of this line is abfolute nonfenfe, 
 Poffibly the poet might have written,' 
 
 And mince it fans remorfe, whofoe'er againfl objecls. 
 
 That is, Whofoever he be that objects againft it, 
 
 jP. 213. Boar the Flamen. 
 
 Mr. Upton, Critic. Obferv. p. 201, 202. thinks 
 we ought to read, 
 
 Jrloarfe the Flamen 5 
 
 that is, 'make hoarfe,' which conjecture is not im- 
 probable, efpecially as the next line reprefents the 
 Flamen as fcolding. 
 
 P. 2 1 4. With all ih y abhorred births below crip heav'n. 
 
 See this conjecture fully refuted in the Canons of 
 Criticifm, p. 57. The common reading was, crifp 
 beav'n, probably from the curled appearance, or 
 fudden breaking and fcattering of the cloud;. 
 
 Ibid. Let it no mere bring out to ingrateful man. 
 
 As abfurd as the common reading, 
 
 bring out ungrateful man t 
 
 may appear to Mr. Warburton, I apprehend it will 
 prove to be the genuine one. The word, it, refers 
 to * fertile and conceptions womb,' out of which man 
 and all other an mals are by the poer, adopting what 
 he apprehended to be the philofophy of Timon's 
 age, fuppoftd to be brought forth. For in the be- 
 ginning of this fpeech, the womb, and the bread of 
 
 nature
 
 [ 3^5 ] 
 
 fixture are exprefly dillinguifhed. The womb teem* 
 all animated nature, the bread feeds all with its ve- 
 getable product : 
 
 Common mother, thou 
 
 Wbofe womb unmeafurable, .and infinite breaft, 
 Teems , and feeds all. 
 
 Confequently, as the offspring of the womb is here 
 only fpoken of, it is plain that the vegetable produce 
 of the earth cannot be intended. It follows there- 
 fore, thar, agreeably to the common reading, Ti- 
 mon's fupplication to the all-plaftick Nature is, That 
 it would no more concur in the production of man, 
 but rather teem with wild beafts and monfters, as 
 being much lefs odious and unnatural. 
 
 P. 215. Dry up thy harrow* 'd veins, and plough- torn 
 leas. 
 
 As the other editions give us, 
 
 Dry up thy marrows veins, 
 
 I mould guefs the true reading was, 
 
 Dry up thy marrow'd veins. 
 
 Nor is any metaphor hereby violated, as Mr. War- 
 burton without the leaft foundation pretends. For 
 furely no rule of curred writing forbids the illuftrat- 
 ing the fame thing by more metaphors than one-, 
 provided care is taken that they be not mixed or 
 confounded. 
 
 1 bi d . Hug t heir difeas *d perfumes . 
 
 That i?, the perfumes they are obliged to ufe to ren- 
 der their difeafes fupportable to the fmell of their 
 vifitors. Mr. Warburton interprets, d> : fcaftd, to 
 figaify, ' caufing difeafes ,' but I never yet heard 
 that perfumes were the caufe of difeafes. 
 
 9 P- "7.
 
 t 366 1 
 
 P. 217. What a knave thou I 
 
 The old reading, 
 
 What ? a knave too ? 
 
 was much more elegant and emphatical. Timon 
 having remarked, that the vexing a fellow creature 
 was, either a villain's office from malevolence, or a 
 fool's from indifcretion, afks Apemantus whether 
 he took a delight in fo hateful an employmenr, and 
 upon the confefiion of the latter that he did lb, adds, 
 What ? art thou a knave too into the bargain ? Hav- 
 ing before given him the choice of villain or fool, 
 he adds, What haft thou an intereft too to which 
 thou facrificeft my peace and quiet ? 
 
 P. 218. That numberlefs upon me fluck, as leaves 
 
 Do on the oak ; have with one winter's brujh. 
 
 To preferve the conftruttion there fhould be only a 
 comma after oak, for the word, fiuck, is a parti- 
 ciple, not a verb. 
 
 P. 221. Thou art the cap of all the fools alive. 
 
 That is, the top, or chief, as it is well explained in 
 the Canons of Criticifm, p. 193. 
 
 P. 222. Whofe bluflj doth thaw the confe crated fnow, 
 That lies on Dians lap ! 
 
 Mr. Warburton's note is fo very myfterious, that 
 it affords the reader very little afiiftance towards 
 comprehending the meaning of this paiLge. We 
 cannot even learn from it whether he underftood it 
 himfelf. See it more clearly explained by a fingle 
 hint in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 89, 90. 
 
 P. 223. Tour great eft want is, you want much of meet. 
 
 This is a correction of Mr. Theobald's, which Mr. 
 
 War-
 
 [ 367 3 
 
 Warburton hath vouchfafed to adopt. But I muft 
 confefs I am utterly at a lofs to difcover any mean- 
 ing in it which is fuited to this place. The com- 
 mon reading was, 
 
 Tour greateft want is, you want much of meat. 
 
 From which I conjecture that pouibly the poet wrote* 
 
 Tour greateft want ? Is your want much of meat? 
 
 That is, What is your greateft want ? Do you (land 
 much in want of meat ? And, agreeably to this 
 queftion, Timon goes on to tell the thieves where 
 they might readily and in great abundance fupply 
 that want. 
 
 P. 224. The fen's a thief whofe liquid furge refolds 
 The mounds into fait tears. 
 
 See the common reading, 
 
 The moon into fait tears, 
 
 fully vindicated, and Mr. Warburton's conjecture, 
 the mounds, unanfwerably refuted in the Canons of 
 Criticifm, p. 175 177. 
 
 P. 226. What chvige of humour defprate want has 
 made ? 
 
 I think the common reading, 
 
 What change of honour deffrate want has made? 
 
 gives us a much better fenfe. Flavins had juft 
 termed Timon a ' d- .Tpifed and ruinous man,' and he 
 now reflects on the ailonifhiug change, which pre- 
 fcnte 1 to his eyes a man, once the moil highly and 
 univerfally honoure.i of any in Athens, now reduced 
 to the mod forlorn, neglected, and defpicable con- 
 dition. And he accordingly goes on to exprefs his 
 ckc ftation of thofe flattciers and parafkes who had 
 been the caufe of it. 
 
 7 P< 2 25.
 
 [ 368 ] 
 
 P. 226. When man was wilVd to hve his enemies. 
 There was no occafion for altering the old reading,' 
 wijh'd, which fignifies the fame as, advifed. 
 
 P. '230. "Tis thou that rigg'ft ihe bark, andplow'ft thi 
 foam, 
 Settlejl admired reverence in ajlave. 
 
 Mr. Theobald, in order to preferve the rhime, hath 
 fubftituted, wave, inftead of foam, not without 
 probability, as the reft of this fpeech is in rhime. 
 
 P. 232. Keep in your bofim. 
 
 The conftruclion requires us to read, 
 
 Keep him in your bofotit; 
 
 Ibid. You that way, and you this ; but two in com' 
 pany 
 
 Mr. Warburton tells us * this is an imperfect fen- 
 
 * tence, and fhould be fupplied thus, But two in 
 
 * company fpoils all.* He might as well have fup- 
 plied it with any thing elfe; for the fentence indi- 
 cates no fuch fupplement. I apprehend it was a 
 rniftake of the tranferiber or printer, and that we 
 fhould read, 
 
 not two in company 
 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 158. 
 
 P. 235. Hallow* d with abfrfute power, 
 Mr. Warburton tells us the common reading, 
 Allow'd with abfolute power, 
 
 * is neither Eng'ifh nor fenfe.' Surely he is too' 
 hafty , the word, allow'd, is ufed in this place, as 
 it fiequently is, efpecially by our elder writers, to 
 (5gnify> authorized, eftabliflied, confirmed. Se 
 our note on King Lear, p. 61. On the other hand, 
 it may well be doubted, whether Mr. Warburton's 
 
 emen-'
 
 t 369 ] 
 
 emendation be Englifh. Ac lead I do not recollect 
 to have ever met with a Tingle authority to warrant 
 it. ff we fubftitute even his own interpretation in 
 the room of it, ' Thy perfon fhall be made acred 
 with abfolute power,* it (till founds very aukwardly 
 and oddly. Nor is the account he gives of the fen- 
 timents of the ancients on this point juft, if by l the 
 ancients' he means the ancient Greeks and Romans. 
 So far were thefe from imagining, that the polTefiion 
 of abfolute power rendered the perfon facred and in- 
 violable, thar, on the contrary, they efteemed it an 
 act of the moil heroxk virtue, to reflore liberty to 
 their country, and extinguish abfolute power, by 
 the destruction of the tyrant. Nor was this doctrine 
 of the facrednefs of the perfon of the monarchver 
 heard of among the Romans, till after the full efta- 
 blilhment of defpotifm under the Emperors, as Ju- 
 lius Caefar fufficiently, and to his colt, experienced. 
 Nor was the tribunitial power among the Romans 
 called and efteemed facrofantla poteflas, becaufe it 
 was an abfolute and unlimited power, which in fact 
 it never was, but becaufe it was inftituted for the 
 protection of the people, againft the violence and 
 the ambitious encroachments of the nobility ; and it 
 was found necefiary to guard with a religious vene- 
 ration that magistracy, which was defigned to com- 
 bat and overpower the awe and refpect lo naturally 
 paid to high birth and iliuftrious defcent. So many 
 miflakes hath Mr. Warburrcn contrived to commie 
 within the compafs of his Ihorc note. 
 
 P. 235. So I leave you 
 
 To the protection of the projp'rous Gods, 
 /h thieves to keepers. 
 
 The fenfe is, So I abandon you to the protection cf 
 the Gods the fovereign difpenfers of profperity, tor 
 the fanv purpofes as thieves are delivered to jailors, 
 to be refer ve J for condign puniihment. 
 
 B b Titus
 
 37 3 
 Titus Andronicus. 
 
 Mr. Upton, in his Critical Obfervations, p. 273, 
 274, gives us a calculation of Mr. Theobald's, 
 founded on a pafTage in Ben Johnfon's Induction to 
 his Bartholomew Fair, by which it appears, that 
 this play made its firft appearance on the ftage, not 
 later at leaf): than the year 1589, and this he affirms 
 (upon what grounds I know not) was before Shake- 
 fpear left Warwickfliire to come and refide at Lon- 
 don, From thefe premifes Mr. Upton concludes 
 that this play is fptirious, and could not pofiibly be 
 Shakefpear's. But his conclufion is a little too haity. 
 That year was the twenty-Sfth of Shakefpear's age, 
 and it is fcarce conceiveable, that fo ftrong a pro- 
 penfity of genius towards the drama could have lain 
 to long dormant, without exerting itfelf in fome 
 production. This production might have been fent 
 to town, and brought on the ftage, before he him- 
 felf quitted Warwickfhire, and might have been the 
 very circum dance that introduced him to his ac- 
 quaintance with the players upon his firlt arrival. 
 The internal evidence againlt the play is much 
 ftronger. The fable is at the fame time mocking, 
 and puerile, without the lead appearance of art or 
 conduil. The characters are unnatural and undif- 
 tinguifhab'e, or rather abfolut.ly none-, whereas 
 thole of Shakefpear are always ftrongiy marked, 
 beyond thofe of any other poet that ever lived. 
 The fentiments are poor and tiivial. The ftile flat 
 and uniform, utterly deftitute of that flrength and 
 variety of exprcfiion, which, with a certain oblcuruy 
 fometimes attending it, are the diftinguifhing cha- 
 racters of Shakefpear. There are however, fcattered 
 here and there, many ftrokes fomething refcmhling 
 his peculiar mann r, though not his belt manner, 
 
 which,,
 
 [ 37 l 3 
 
 which, a; they could not be imitated from him, would 
 incline one to believe, this might poflibly be his mod 
 juvenile performance, written and acted before his 
 poetical genius had had time to unfold and form itfelf* 
 
 P. 250. Oppofe me, Scytbia, to ambitious Rome. 
 
 I cannot difcover the lead glimmering of fenfe in 
 this line. Poflibly the author wrote, 
 
 Oppofe not Scytbia to ambitious Rome. 
 
 That is, You doScythia great wrong in comparing 
 her, in point of cruelty, with ambitious Rome. 
 
 P. 263. This pretty brabble. 
 
 All the other editions concur in reading, * Th ; s petty 
 brabble,' which I fjppofe therefore is the genuine 
 exprefllon. 
 
 P. 269. and the hounds 
 
 Should drive upon the new transformed limbs, 
 
 Drive upon the limbs, is an exprefiion which fuggefts 
 no image to the fancy. I fhould fufpecl the author 
 wrote, 
 
 Should thrive upon the new-transformed limbs \ 
 that is, after having torn and devoured them. 
 
 P. 271. I come, Semiramis; nay, barbarous Tamora. 
 I agree with Mr. Theobald, that this paiTage, as ic 
 is now read, is nonfenfc ; and I think his correction 
 no: improbable, 
 
 /, come, Semiramis-, nay barbarous T amor a. 
 
 He r'ghtly obftrves that, ay, was very frequently 
 writ, /, in the editions of our author's time. 
 
 Ibid, /lid w ] th that painted cope fie braves your 
 wightlnefs. 
 
 The word, cope, is an innovation of Mr. Warbur- 
 B b 2 to::'?,
 
 [ 372 J 
 ton's, inftead of the common reading, hope ; and 
 according to him fignifies ' a fplendid ecdefiaftical 
 
 * veftment,' which he alfo interprets to ftand for any 
 c gay covering' of what kind foever. But this is an 
 abufe of our language without the lead warrant or 
 authority. Cope fignifies no other covering befides 
 the eccltfiaPcical veftment aforefaid, and the cope of 
 heaven, which is its circumference and extreme 
 boundary. I mould fufpecl: the author wrote, 
 
 And with that painted robe. 
 
 P. 284. Writing dejlruUion on the enemies' cafile? 
 
 As the word, cafile, ftems impertinent in this place, 
 Mr. Theobald and Sir Thomas Hanmer had con- 
 curred to alter it very judieioufly to cafque, which 
 gives the fenfe manifeftly required by the context. 
 Mr. Warburton, who never lets flip an occafion of 
 infulting thefe two gentlemen, unluckily for himfeif 
 happened to think, he had now a fair opportunity 
 of expofing their ignorance, and triumphing in his 
 own fuperior learning. But let me for once return 
 him his own words, as I can find none fitter for my 
 purpofe. Mr. Warburton, * after ridiculing the 
 ' fagacity of former editors, at the expence of a 
 
 * great deal of aukward mirth, will Hand by it, that 
 ' the common reading is genuine. But what a 
 ' flippery ground is critical confidence ?* One fhall 
 fcarcely indeed meet with a more pregnant inftance 
 of it than that now before us. To borrow his words 
 once more ; ' Nothing could bid fairer for an indif- 
 
 * putablc refutation ; yet 'tis all imaginary.' For it 
 refts wholly on two miftakes, one of a printer, the 
 other of his own. One of his proofs is drawn from 
 a pafiage in Shehon's Tranfiation of Don Quixote, 
 where, among feveral kinds of helmets there enu- 
 merated, mention is made of a clofe cafile. But 
 
 this is evidently ;\ fault of the prels, for a dole 
 
 r nf
 
 [ 373 ] 
 cafque, which is the exact interpretation of the Spa- 
 rifh original, celada de encaxe ; this Mr. Warburton 
 mud have feen, if he had indeed underdood Spanifti 
 as well as he pretends to do. For the primitive, 
 caxa, from whence the word, encaxe, is derived, 
 fignifies a box, or coffer, but never a cajlle. His 
 other proof is taken from this paffage in Troilus and 
 Creffida, vol. vii. p. 474. 
 
 and, Diomede, 
 
 Stand f aft, and near a caftle on thy head: 
 
 wherein Troilus doth not advife Diomede to wear a 
 helmet on his head ; that would be poor indeed, for 
 he always wore one in battle, but to guard his head 
 with the mod impenetrable armour, to fhut it up 
 even in a caftle if it were poflible, or elfe his fword 
 ihould reach it. 
 
 P. 286. And do not break into thefe woe- extremes. 
 
 The reading of the latter editions was, two extremes, 
 for which Mr. Warburton gives us the unhappily 
 compounded word, woe-extremes, which favours 
 more of the emendator driven to his fhifts than of 
 the poet, and is not much better than furrow-ex- 
 tremes, which he gives us as its interpretation. In 
 Mr. Theobald's edition we read, deep extremes, but 
 Mr. Warburton charges him with inferring this al- 
 teration 'on his own authority, without notice given.' 
 As I have not feen any of the ancient editions, I am 
 not qualified to decide this point, but I think this 
 charge very improbable and haftily advanced with- 
 out iufneiene examination. But be this as it will ; 
 it is demonflrably evident that Mr. Theobald hath 
 given us the author's own wiiiing, from the anfwer 
 of Titus : 
 
 Is not my for row deep, having no bottom? 
 Then Ic r,.y p ftiens botlomlefs with than. 
 
 B b 3 \YliL\-e
 
 L 374 ] 
 Where a correct writer would undoubtedly have faid, 
 for the fake of the grammar, 
 
 Are not my forrows deep. 
 
 P. 291. But I, of thefe, will reft an alphabet. 
 
 We mould read, agreeably to the former editions, 
 wreji an alphabet, that is, draw or extract an alpha' 
 bet from them. 
 
 Ibid. And buz lamenting doings in the air ? 
 
 I have no exception to Mr. Theobald's conjecture, 
 dronings, inftead of doings. See his Shakefpear re- 
 itored, p; 184. 
 
 P. 295. And fee their blood, or die with this reproach, 
 
 I agree with Mr. Theobald in opinion, that it is 
 more probable the author wrote, 
 
 ere die with this reproach. 
 
 P. 296. Rev er.ge thee, heavens! 
 
 The reading of the former editions, Revenge the 
 heavens! that is, Let the heavens revenge, was 
 much better grammar. 
 
 P. 301. And be received for the Emfror's heir. 
 
 We muft read, received, without an elifion, other- 
 wife the metre is lot. 
 
 P. 312. Ruthfui to hear, yet piteouflj perform d. 
 I think we ought to read, pitilefsly. 
 
 Macbeth. 
 
 P. 332. Of Kernes and Gallcw-glaffes was fupplfd. 
 
 That is. was reinforced with a fupply of Kernes and 
 Cjaiiow'-glaffes. Mr. Warburton needed not to have 
 
 fcrupled
 
 [ 375 ] 
 fcrupled a mode of expreffion, of which there are 
 fundry examples in our elder writers, wherein the 
 conftruclion of the noun implied in the verb is trans- 
 ferred to the verb itfelf. 
 
 P. 333. And fortune , on bis damned quarrel f mi ling. 
 
 Mr. Warburton doth not appear to have understood 
 the common reading, quarry, which is a term in 
 falconry, properly Signifying the game of the hawk 
 after fhe hath feized it and. is feeding upon it, and 
 metaphorically, havock of any kind. In this place 
 it means the {laughter and depredations made by 
 the rebel. J Thus in this fame play, p. 410. 
 
 to relate the manner, 
 
 Were on the quarry of theft murder 'd deer 
 To add the death of you. 
 
 Thus in Coriolanus, p. 438. 
 
 . V d make a quarry 
 
 With thbufands of thefe quarter dflaves, as high 
 As I could pitch my lance. 
 
 P. 334. As whence the fun 'gins bis refetlion. 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath beftowed a deal of phyfiologi- 
 cal criticifm on this place, I think to very little 
 purpofe. Notwithstanding all his reafonings, the 
 fad, in this ifland at Kail, is, that ftorms and thun- 
 der do as frequently take their courfe from the 
 North, and Weft, as from the Eaft. The hurri- 
 canes alwa) s proceed from the North, and turn to the 
 weftward. But this was not the point Shakefpear had 
 in view. He draws the fimilitudefrom a very common 
 appearance i when a clear fky and bright fun-fnine 
 are on a fudden overcafl; with dark clouds, which 
 terminate in thunder and a fhort but very danger- 
 ous temped:, efpecially in the lochs and narrow em- 
 Bb 4 ha 1 raffed
 
 t 375 1 
 
 karrafledTeas of Scotland. It is evident therefore 
 that We ought to prefer the other reading, 
 
 As whence the fun gives his reflection ; 
 
 that is, As from a clear fky whence the light of the 
 fun is tranfmitted in its full brightnefs.' See how- 
 ever the Canons of Criticifm, p. 101 103. 
 
 P. 334. So from that fpring, whence comfort feem'd to 
 
 come, 
 "Difcomfit weWd. 
 
 The poet doth not mention one fyllable of that ' dif- 
 c comfit, rout, and overthrow, atthefirft onfet, till 
 * Macbeth turned the fortune of the day,' which Mr. 
 Warburton's fertile imagination fuggefted to him, 
 in order to fupport a groundlefs and injudicious 
 emendation. The preceding word, comfort, almoft 
 necefiarily requires, difcomforl to be oppofed to it, 
 to prefcrve the exattnefs of the antithesis which is 
 plainly intended ; and this reading is fupported by 
 the authority of all the editions. Nor is there the 
 leafl: necefTity or occafion for Dr. Thiiiby's altera- 
 tion, weird, inflead of fwell'd, which is the com- 
 mon reading, and fignifies, boiled up, and overflowed. 
 
 P. 335. As cannons overcharge d with double cracks. 
 
 That is, with double charges, a metonymy of the 
 effect for the caufe. 
 
 Ibid. Or memorize another Golgotha. 
 
 That is, Or make another Golgotha, which mould 
 be as celebrated, and delivered down to poMerity 
 with as frequent mention, as the firft. See the Ca- 
 nons of Criticifm, p. 202. 
 
 Ibid. SifoAild he loon that ferns to f peak things ft range. 
 
 I undcrftand the meaning to be, That appears to be 
 
 upon
 
 [ 377 1 
 upon the point of fpeaking things ftrange.. Mr. 
 Johnfon thinks it beyond doubt that Lenox is made 
 to fay, 
 
 that teems to /peak things ftrange. 
 
 If the text had been, teems with ftrange tidings, it 
 would have been Englifh, but to teem to /peak is fo 
 far from being a metaphor fo natural that it is every 
 day ufed in common difcourfe, that it is a mere fo- 
 lecifm, of which it would be difficult to find ano- 
 ther example. 
 
 P* oi 5' Where the Ncrvj cyan banners flout the Jky. 
 
 That is, fill and flaunt in the air, as it were in de- 
 fpight of the fky of this kingdom. 
 
 P. 337. And the very points they blow. 
 
 Mr. Johnfon thinks the word, very, is of no other 
 ufe here than to fill up the verfe, and therefore 
 would alter it to, various, which in truth hath no 
 other ufe than that he mentions, as the fenfe of it 
 would be naturally and equally implitd if the word 
 were omitted. But I think the word, very, adds 
 an emphafis to the expreffion, and intimates, that 
 the vvitch had an accurate and diftinct knowledge of 
 all thefe feveral winds, fo as to be able to cull out 
 and employ that which would bed ferve her purpofe. 
 
 Ibid. He pall live a man forbid. 
 
 That is, interdicted and accurfed. See Upton's 
 Critic. Obferv. p. 302. 
 
 P. 339. Are ye faniaftical. 
 
 That is, Mere illufions of the fancy, appearances 
 only and not realities. What that extravagance is, 
 which Mr. Warburton charges fuch aqueftion with, 
 I do not comprehend , I only know, that it is cuf- 
 
 tomary
 
 [ 378 ] 
 tomary for thofe who believe in apparitions to fpeak 
 to them in the fame dubious manner. 
 
 F. 341. His wonders and bis praifes do contend. 
 Which fhould be thine, or his. 
 
 I fufpect the meaning of this moft intricate and per- 
 plexed paflage to be this. The wonders he himfelf 
 hach heretofore performed, and the praifes he hath 
 won, are fo equalled by thy prefent atchievements, 
 that he is doubtful to which the preference is due. 
 1 am not fo confident of having hit upon the fenfe 
 intended by the poet, as not to wifh to fee a better 
 interpretation. 
 
 P. 342. This fupernatural folliciting. 
 
 That is, intimation and encouragement from powers 
 fupernatural, which is ftill continuing to prompt my 
 defires to fomething further. 
 
 Ibid. Why do I yield to that fuggejiion. 
 That is, Admit it to dwell upon my mind. 
 
 P 343- ' ' pr e fen t feats 
 
 Are hfs than horrible imaginings. 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath altered this pafTage, as he hath 
 done a multitude of others, either becaufe he did 
 r.ct, or becaufe in the rage of emendation, he would 
 not, underftand phin Englifh. In the common read- 
 ing, ' prefent/tY;?v,' fear, by an ulual metonymy, is 
 put for the object of fear, that is, danger. Thus the 
 fenfe is, The objecls 0/ fear, when prefent, appear 
 much lefs confiderable than when they are viewed 
 at a diftance by a frighted imagination. 
 
 Ibid . Is fnc tier ' d in furmife. 
 That is, in apprehenfion, and doubtful thought. 
 
 P. 343-
 
 t 379 ] 
 
 P. 343. Time and the hour runs through the rougheft 
 day. 
 
 I apprehend the fenfe is, The advantage of time 
 and of feizing the favourable hour, whenever it (hall 
 prefent itfelf, will enable me to make my way through 
 all obftruclion and oppofition. Every one knows 
 the Spanifh proverb; Time and I againft any two. 
 I can therefore by no means concur in Mr. Johnfon's 
 emendation, 
 
 Time ! on ! the hour runs through the rougheft day. 
 
 which appears too fludied and artificial to come 
 from the pen of Shakefpear ; befides that the word, 
 hour, ufed, as it is here, as fynonymous to time, is 
 mere tautology. 
 
 P. 344. To throw away the dear eft thing he own'd. 
 
 Mr. Johnfon's fcruple about the word, owed, was 
 unnecefTary. It is ufed by Shakefpear indifferently 
 for, owned. So alfo Spencer, Fairy Queen, lib. i. 
 cant. iv. ftanz. 39. 
 
 But th' elfin Knight, which ought that warlike wage, 
 Difdain'd to lofe that meed he won in fray. 
 
 And lib. vi. cant. iii. ftanz. 2. 
 
 There of the Knight, the which that caftle ought. 
 
 See alfo the Canons of Criticifm, p. 76. 
 
 Ibid. To find the mind's conftruclicn in the face. 
 
 That is, To conftrue or collect the difpofition of the 
 mind from the countenance. The metaphor is 
 taken from grammatical conftrudion, not from 
 aftrological, as Mr. Warburton, nor from phyfical, 
 as Mr. Johnfon, interprets it, 
 
 P- 345.
 
 C 380 ] 
 
 P. 345; Which do but what they Jbould, by dcirig 
 every thing. 
 Fiefd toward your life and honour. 
 
 It is r fometimes difficult to difcover the true reading, 
 when the common text is corrupt, but it is feldom 
 fo to detect, a falfe one. The falfe Englifh of Mr. 
 Was burton's emendation fufficiently explodes it. 
 This critick leems to think, that when he hath put 
 a number of wor ; s together, which may give the 
 reader a hint of the meaning he aims at, he hath 
 fu :ly difcharged his duty ; without troubling his 
 head to cbilider, whether the words are E'nglifh, 
 or our language- will bear that con ft ruction in which 
 he hath linked them togetner. Thus in the paffage 
 before us, in the fi r ft place, we have no fuch ad- 
 jefti^e as, fiefd, to fignify a perfon engaged by te- 
 nure. The hnglim word is a Feudary. Much lefs 
 ftill is, fiefd towards, Englifii , for we (ay, a feudary 
 tc, or, under, but not a feudary to .vards. But leatt 
 of all will our language admit, Fiefd towards the 
 life and honour of a perjon. Though it is acknow- 
 ledged that the feudary is bound by his tenure to de- 
 fend the life, and maintain the honour of his lord, 
 yet the tenure ftill is held of the perfon, not of his 
 life or honour. The common reading was, 
 
 Safe toward your love and honour; 
 
 which being certainly nonfenfe, it is pofiible the poet 
 might have written, 
 
 Serves toward your love and honour ^ 
 
 without that Hop which Mr. Warburton hath added 
 at the end of the preceding line. The fenfe is, 
 "Which have done but ti.eir duty, when they have 
 done every thing that may teftify and exprefs the 
 love and honour they bear towards you. I am not 
 fo highly pltafcd with this conjecture, but 1 mould 
 
 think
 
 [ 3i ] 
 
 think myfelf obliged to that: reader who could help 
 me to a better. I have not however the good fortune 
 of acknowledging that obligation to Mr. Johnfon, 
 who hath given us the following correction j 
 
 Which do but what they Jhould, in doing nothing 
 Save towards your love and honour. 
 
 But as thefe words do not exprefs the fenfe which he 
 hath affigned thero, fo I have too high an efteem of 
 him to believe that he can be fatisfied with their real 
 fenfe, which confines the whole duty of thefe noble- 
 men to their doing nothing inconfiftent with the 
 love and honour which they owe their fovtreign, in- 
 ftead of doing every thing in their power to give 
 the mod effectual proofs of them. 
 
 P. 345. Not accompanied, inveft him only. 
 
 This is a miftake of the printer. Read, unaccom- 
 panied, as in the other editions. 
 
 P. 346. Let not Night fee my black and deep defires. 
 
 According to Mr. Warburton; Macbeth conjures 
 the ftars to hide their fires, for fear night mould 
 fee the black purpofes he was brooding over. For 
 it feems, as this critick informs us, the ftars were 
 lighted up merely for night to fee by. Thus hath 
 he degraded a fine fentiment nobly expreffed into 
 downright burlcfque. How much better was the 
 common reading r 
 
 Let not light 7?^ my Kack and deep defires. 
 
 That i c , Let not Light approach me to difcover 
 an 1 manifefl: my treafon.ubie views, though buried 
 in the deepeft darknefs within me. But Mr. War- 
 burton tells us, ' light cannot well be made a perfon, 
 4 though night may.' He had finely forgot that 
 noble invocation or Light which begins the third 
 book oi Paradiie Loll. 
 
 i . ,540. 
 
 3
 
 t 382 J 
 
 P. 346. I have karri' d by the perfetled report. 
 
 That is, as Mr. Warburton condefcends to inform 
 us, * by the prediction fulfilled.' And 'tis well he did 
 inform us, elfe not a fingle perfon of his readers 
 would have guefied at the meaning. But Shake- 
 fpear wrote Englifh, not riddles. The common 
 reading was, c I have learned by the perfeclefi re- 
 port,' that is, by the beft accounts I have been able 
 to get upon enquiry. Mr. Warburton hath no other 
 objection to it, but that ' we are not told whom he 
 ' enquired of, and who informed him t * a circum- 
 flance, which I believe few other readers would have 
 thought material, or have troubled their heads about. 
 
 P. 347. Which fate ', and metaphyseal aid, doth fe em 
 To have crown' d thee withaL 
 
 Mr. Warburton, by thus altering the fecond line, 
 hath abfolutely deftroyed the metre, which is entire 
 in the common reading, 
 
 To have thee crovvn'd withal. 
 
 Nor is the fenfe defective, as he imagines , for the 
 verb, fcem, is fomctimes ufed actively, and fignifies, 
 to intimate a defire or intent, as is fuificiently proved 
 in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 148. As to Mr. 
 Johnfon's conjecture, feek 9 if it means no more 
 than defire, it is unnecefifary ; if it fignifies, as he 
 interprets it, deftine and endeavour, it fays too 
 much , for furely whatever Fate had deftined would 
 inevitably come to pafs, notwithftanding any neglect 
 or impediment on the part of Macbeth. 
 
 P. 348. The raven himfelf s not hearfe, 
 
 ,That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan 
 Under my battlements. 
 
 I can fee no good reafon for altering the common 
 reading, 
 
 The
 
 3^3 3 
 
 -The raven bimfelf is hoarfe. 
 
 The meffenger had juft faid, That his fellow fervant 
 who brought the tidings of the approach of Duncan 
 had fcarce breath to deliver his menage. The Lady 
 replies, * The raven himfelf, who croaks the fame 
 fatal omen, is hoarfe ; no wonder then that this fel- 
 low who comes upon fuch an errand fhould refemble 
 him in his hoarfenefs : tidings of fuch dire prognof- 
 tick fhould be delivered in no other voice.' This I 
 take to be the fentiment intended by the poet. 
 
 P. 349. Shake my fell purpofe, nor keep peace between 
 Tb y effetf, and it. 
 
 The fenfe is, That no compunctious vi firings of na- 
 ture may prevail upon me to give place in my mind 
 to peaceful thoughts, or to reft one moment in quiet, 
 from this hour of my purpofe to its full completion 
 in the effect. If the reader is inclined to laugh, I 
 can promife him he will not be difappointed of that 
 entertainment if he turns to the Canons of Criticiim, 
 p. 165. Mr. Johnfon conjectures that Shakefpear 
 wrote, 
 
 nor keep pace between 
 
 Th J effetl and it. 
 
 and imagines that, to c keep pace between,' may fig- 
 nify, to pafs between, to intervene ; but furely, 
 with all deference to fo great an authority in matter 
 of language, the exprcffion was never ufed in that 
 fenfe by any Englifh writer, nor is there any analogy 
 by wh;ch it may be reconciled to it. 
 
 Ibid. Tou wait on nature's mifchief. 
 
 Th?fe words allude to thofe mifchievous fpirits, com- 
 mor.iy called imps, which were believed to be at the 
 command of witches, and employed by them in 
 executing their malicious purpoles in every part of 
 i the
 
 [ sU ] 
 
 the creation. For their power of doing mifchief 
 was fuppofed not to be confined to the human fpe- 
 cies. Agreeably to the traditionary doctrine of 
 witchcraft, Lady Macbeth offers them her breafts to 
 fuck at. 
 
 P. 349. This ign'rant prefent lime* 
 
 That is, which, before I received thy letters, had 
 no fore- know ledge, nor gave any prefage, of our 
 future grandeur. 
 
 P. 350. Your face, my Thane, is as a book, where men 
 May readftrange matters. 
 
 That is, Such as will awaken their curiofity, excite 
 their attention, and make room for fufpicion. 
 
 P- 35 1* Unto cur general fen 'fe. 
 
 If this were admitted to be the true reading, I mould 
 underftand it to mean, Unto our fenfe in general. 
 For I know no writer, befides Mr. War burton, 
 who ever diftinguiflied the fenfe of feeling by the 
 appellation or" the ' general fenfe.* But the common 
 reading, 
 
 Unto cur gentle fenfes, 
 
 is unexceptionable. The meaning is, Unto the 
 more delicate perceptions of our fenfes. Even the 
 fight and hearing, againfl which Mr. Warburton's 
 objection is levelled, are not infenfible of the differ- 
 ence, between a clear air in a fhekered fituation, 
 and a foggy rir in a windy expofure. But fee this 
 point more fully examined in the Canons of Criti- 
 cifm, p. 103, 104. 191. Mr. Johnlbn chufes to 
 read fenfe as more agreeable to the meafure, to which 
 I fhould make no oppofition, if it dd not give oc- 
 cafion to a worfe inconvenience, an ambiguity in 
 the fenfe, as it feems to infinuate, that fome one 
 
 par-
 
 t 385 ] 
 
 particular fenfe was intended by the name of the 
 gentle fenfe. As to the metre, I have already re- 
 marked, that, where a verfe is divided between two 
 fpeakers, Shakefpear is in general very negligent 
 about it. 
 
 P. 35 j. But here, upon this bank and Jhehe of time* 
 
 The common reading, 
 
 But here, upon this bank and fchool of time, 
 
 gives us a much finer fentiment, and more perti- 
 nent to the purpofe of the fpeaker. This prefenc 
 life is called a fchool, both becaufe it is our ftate of 
 in ft ruction and probation, and alfo, becaufe our own 
 behaviour in it inftructs others how to behave to- 
 wards us ; as the poet more fully exprefies the fame 
 thought two lines lower, 
 
 We Jlill have judgment here, that we but teach 
 Bloody injirutlions \ which, being taught , return 
 *To plague tb' inventor. 
 
 Bank, I apprehend, means the fame in this place as 
 bench. 
 
 Ibid. Hath borne his faculties fo meeh 
 Faculties, for authority delegated to him. 
 
 P. 256. This diamond he greets your wife withal, 
 
 By tb' name of moji kind hoflefs, and /hut up 
 In mefurelefs content. 
 
 The conftruction requires that we mould read, 
 and is fljut up; 
 
 P. 357. If ycu fhall cleave to my cotifent, when 'tisl 
 
 Thai: is, If you fhali cleave to that party which co;i- 
 fents to my advanremenc, whenever the opportunity 
 may offer. 
 
 C c P. 353.
 
 t 386 3 
 
 P. 358. And on the blade of tb' dudgeon. 
 
 There was no reafon for altering the common read- 
 ing, 
 
 And on thy blade and dudgeon ; 
 
 For a dudgeon fignifies a haft as well as a dagger. 
 See Lye's Etymologicon. Beddes, Mr. Warbur- 
 ton's correction correfponds but ill with the con- 
 text, which is addrerTed to the imaginary dagger, 
 whereas that is mentioned here in the third perfon. 
 
 Ibid. and wither* 'd murder, 
 
 thus with his Jlealthy pace, 
 
 With Tarquin'sravifoing firides, tGw'rdshisdeJign 
 Moves like a ghofi. 
 
 Mr. Johnfon informs us that the reading of all the 
 editions before Mr. Pope's was, fides, and not, 
 firides ; and further objects, that a ravifhing ftride 
 is an action of violence, impetuofity, and tumult, 
 very unlike the ftealthy pace of a ravifher, or an 
 afTafiin ; and from thefe premifes concludes the true 
 reading to be, 
 
 With Tarquin ravifhing, Hides toward his defign : 
 
 adding, that Tarquin is in this place the general 
 name of a ravifher. To all which I have this to fay, 
 That I understand the poet very well when he men- 
 tions Tarquin's ravifhing firides, that they are no 
 other than thofe firides which conducted him to the 
 intended rape. But to tack Tarquin or the ravither, 
 and that too in the very .act of ravifhment, as a com- 
 panion to the murderer ftalking towards the perpe- 
 tration of his crime, is fo abfurd a circumftance, 
 that all the refpect I jultly have for Mr. Johnfon's 
 great abilities, ought not to reftrain me from calling 
 it by its true name, nonfenfe. But in truth, the 
 
 ob-
 
 [ 387 ] 
 objection to the common reading is founded wholly 
 in a miftake. Whoever hath Experienced walking 
 in the dark muft have obferved, that a man under 
 this difadvantage always feels out his way by ftrides, 
 by advancing one foot, as far as he finds it fafe, 
 before the other, and that if he were to Hide or glide 
 along, as ghofts are reprefented to do, the infallible 
 confequence would be his tumbling on his nofe. 
 
 P. 359. And take the prefent horror from the time* 
 Which now fuits with it, 
 
 Mr. Warburton admirably well explains the horror 
 here meant to be filence , and of courfe Mr. John- 
 fon's mod aftonifhing correction and interpretation 
 falls to the ground. 
 
 P. 361. Sleep that knits up the ravelFdJleeve of care. 
 
 Mr. Seward in his notes on Fletcher's Two Noble 
 Kinfmen, vol. x. p. 60. very ingenioufly conjec- 
 tures, that the genuine word was fleave, which it 
 feems fignifies the ravelled knotty gouty parts of 
 the filk, which give great trouble and embarraff- 
 ment to the knitter or weaver. So that fleep is faid, 
 by a very expreifive metaphor, to knit up and re- 
 duce to order all that confulion and vexation in which 
 our cares and folicitudes had involved our waking 
 thoughts. 
 
 P. 365. And prophefying with accents terrible 
 
 Of dire combuflion, and confu^d events, 
 
 New hatched to th* woeful time : 
 
 The obfeure bird clamour d the Lve-long night. 
 
 The fenfe is plainly no more than this ; And pro- 
 phecies of dire combuftion, and confuted events, 
 newly vamped up and adapted to the woeful con- 
 dition of the time, were uttered with terrible accents. 
 We may therefore return Mr. Warburton's aunts on 
 C c 2 his
 
 C 338 ] 
 
 his hahds again, which, whatever fhare they may 
 be fuppofed to Have in the utterance of thefe pro- 
 phecies,, were certainly not indifpenfably necefiary 
 to be here mentioned. In truth the appellation of 
 aunts, is, I believe, never u fed to denote generally 
 ' matrons or old women,' at lead it is not fo in the 
 paflage quoted from the Midfummer Night's Dream, 
 where it fhould be literally interpreted, as the fatire 
 is particularly pointed at the narrative loquacity of 
 an old maiden aunt; Mr. Johnfon chufes to put a 
 full flop at the end of the fecond line, and to apply 
 the epithet new hatctid in the third line to the owl, 
 or obfcure bird, mentioned in the fourth. But he 
 certainly had not fufficiently confidered this matter, 
 and upon review would fcarce approve of the owlet 
 hooting from the moment it was hatched, and filling 
 that whole night with its clamours. 
 
 P. 368. ' - their daggers 
 
 Unmanly reech'd with gore. 
 
 This paffage feems to have been the Crux Critico- 
 rum. Befides Mr. Warburton, the author of the 
 Canons of Criticifm, p. S5-> 56. Mr. Seward in his 
 notes on Beaumont and Fletcher, vol. i. p. 380. 
 and vol. ii. p. 276. and Mr. Johnfon, have feve- 
 rally exercifed their critical fagacity in reftoring or 
 explaining it j but none of them, 1 think, with en- 
 tire fuccefs. The ancient reading was, 
 
 Unmannerly breech'd with gore: 
 
 Mr. Warburron's conjecture, reech'd, is fully and 
 unanfwerably exploded by the author of the Canons 
 of Criticifm, who attempts to vindicate, or rather to 
 excufe the common reading, breech'd, which he in- 
 terprets, ' covered with gore, as a man is by his 
 breeches.' But the reader, I believe, will agree 
 with me, that the ridicule of iuch a reading is too 
 {hiking, to be palliated by any excufe whatever. 
 
 Mr.
 
 [ 3% 1 
 
 Mr. Seward mentions another interpretation, * ftain- 
 ed with gore up to the breeches, that is, to their 
 hilts.' But, as he very juftly obferves, though the 
 lower end of a cannon is called its breech, yet the 
 breech of a dagger, is an expreffion which neith r is 
 commonly ufed, nor could be ufed with propriety. 
 He conjectures the true reading to have been, bafi h'd, 
 that is, gilc ; and adduces fome inftances from 
 Fletcher, which fecm fully to prove the ufe of 
 the word in that ilgnification. 1 mould however 
 prefer the conjecture of Mr. Johnfon, drench' 'd with 
 gore, as approaching nearer the old reading. But 
 even thus the paflage is not yet compleatly reflored. 
 For what fhall we make of the epithet, unmannerly* 
 in the common reading ? Mr. Seward indeed inter- 
 prets it to ftand for, immorally, and thinks the idea 
 very proper in this place. I muft beg leave to differ 
 from him in both thefe refpects. He afligns the 
 word a fignification in which, I apprehend, it is ne- 
 ver ufed , and if it were, yet fuch ufe of it in this 
 place would be very improper, iince there can be no 
 immorality in a dagger's being flained with blood, 
 which is the very purpofe for which it was made. 
 Mr. Warburton therefore hath altered the word to, 
 unmanly, which he interprets to mean, cowardly, 
 and in this he is followed, or rather indeed preceded, 
 by Mr. Johnfon. But there is as little propriety in 
 this idea, as in that we have juft cenfured. It is 
 indeed unmanly, and cowardly, to (tab a man in 
 his deep , but the cowardice is in the mind of the 
 murderer availing himfelf of that advantage, not in 
 the circumftance of the dagger employed by him be- 
 ing flained with blood, which indicates neither cou- 
 rage nor cowardice. The fame objection lies equally 
 againfb Mr. Seward's interpretation of this word, 
 which he would have to fignify inhumanly ; for 
 there is no more inhumanity than cowardice in a 
 dagger being thus circumftanced. Both thefe qua- 
 C c 3 lilications
 
 t 390 ] 
 
 Iifications of the action muft arife from circumftan- 
 ces, in which the bloody (tains of the dagger have 
 no concern. Befides, Mr. Seward attributes to the 
 word a fignification which is not warranted by the 
 ufage of our language. Unmanly denotes a quality 
 which refers to a man as diftinguifhed by his fex, 
 not as belonging to the human fpecies in general. 
 Having thus enumerated the feveral attempts of 
 our criticks to re-eftablifh this faulty paflage, I may 
 now be permitted to lay before the reader my own 
 conjecture, in which however I would not be thought 
 to place too much confidence, though I think it lefs 
 exceptionable than any other which hath yet been 
 offered to the publick. It is this, 
 
 their daggers 
 
 In a manner lay drench'd 'With gore : 
 
 that is, They appeared as if they had been drenched 
 in gore. The qualifying form of expreflion, In 
 a manner, teems to have a peculiar propriety in this 
 place. It is well known, that a dagger, the fub- 
 itance of which is fleel, cannot imbibe blood, nor 
 be fatnrated with it like a fpunge, which is the idea 
 given by the word, drenched, but it may appear as 
 if it were fo. This difference between the reality and 
 the appearance is properly intimated by the phrafe, 
 In a manner, which is of exactly the fame import as 
 thofe other forms, if I may fo exprefs myfelf, or, as 
 the appearance would lead one to imagine. 
 
 P. 369. Avainfl the undivulgfd pretence I fight 
 Of treasonous malice. 
 
 Mr. Warburton would have, pretence, to fignify, 
 ' deed or act,' which I apprehend it never doth. I 
 think the paffage may be literally interpreted , I 
 fight againtt whatever yet undivulged pretence may 
 be alledged by treafonous malice in juftification of 
 this horrid crime. 
 
 P. 370.
 
 [ 39* ] 
 
 P. 370. Threaten this bloody ft jge. 
 
 That is, Threaten this kingdom, the ftagc on which 
 blood hath been fo recently fpilled. S.e the Canons 
 of Criticiim, p. 129. where Mr. Warburton's moft 
 extraordinary emendation, and his critical reafon- 
 ings upon it no Ids extraordinary, are fufficiently 
 expofed. 
 
 P. 371. A faulcon, towring in her pride of place. 
 That is, at the very top of her foaring. 
 
 Ibid. Beauteous and fwift, the minions of their race, 
 
 Mr. Theobald, with great probability in my opi- 
 nion, conjectures the poet wrote, 
 
 -the minions of the race ; 
 
 that is, Excellent racers. 
 
 P. 372. Carried to Colmes-hill. 
 Read, Colmes-hll. Seep. 336. 
 
 Ibid. As upon thee, Macbeth , their fpeeches fhine. 
 
 That is, manifeft the luftre of their truth by their 
 accomplifhment. 
 
 P. 374. and, under him, 
 
 My genius is rebuk'd , as, it is faid, 
 Anthony's was by Gefar. He chid thejiflers. 
 
 Mr. Johnfon propofes the rejection of a part of this 
 paffoge, to wit, 
 
 as, it is fa id, 
 
 Anthony's was by Cefar. 
 
 for two reafons , the firft, That it weakens the au- 
 thor's fenfe, by the intrufion of a remote and ufelefs 
 image into a fpecch burfting from a n.an wholly 
 
 Cc 4 puficlicd
 
 [ 39 z ] 
 
 pofTefltd with his own prefent condition, and there- 
 fore Lot at leifure to explain his own allufions to him- 
 felf. What I have to offer in anfwer to this reafon is, 
 That it is certain that this circumftance of the predo- 
 minancy of the genius of Csefar over that of Anthony 
 had made a ftrong impreiTion on the mind of Shake- 
 fpcar, as is evident from its being made the fubject 
 of an entire Scene in his Anthony and Cleopatra, vol. 
 vii. p. 132, 133. Thofe unknown and unaccount- 
 able powers in nature, whcfe operations, though they 
 tranfcend the beaten track of common experience, 
 are however underftood to be fometimes undeniably 
 manifested in their effects, and are therefore referred 
 up to that awful and myfterious obfcurity in which 
 things fupernatural and divine are of neceffity in- 
 volve 1, have a wonderful effect in poetry, and ftrike 
 the imagination with uncommon force. It is no 
 wonder therefore, that when Macbeth is introduced 
 calmly deliberating on his prefent fituation, and the 
 whole (late of his affairs, as he undoubtedly is in this 
 monologue, the poet mould judge it very natural 
 upon his obfervation of the fuperiority of Banquo's 
 genius to his own, that the parallel inftance in the 
 cafe of Octavius and Anthony fhould, upon this oc- 
 cafion, fuggeft itfelf to his recollection, as it would 
 be a ftrong confirmation of his prefent apprehenfions, 
 and pufh him on to thofe fteps which he is upon the 
 point of taking to relieve himfelf from them. As 
 to Mr. Johnfon's ftcond reafon, that the numbers 
 are injured, as this injury is only the fubftitution of 
 an anapceft for an iambick, it requires no anfwer. 
 If we were to pay any attention to it, we mult by the 
 fame rule alter many thoufand lines in Shakefpear, 
 and a much greater number (till in Beaumont and 
 Fletcher, and I doubt whether there is one of our 
 dramatick poets who would efcape this difcipline. 
 
 ? 375'
 
 [ 393 1 
 
 V. 275' To make them Kings: the feed of Banquo Kings: 
 
 Mr. Upton in his Critic. Obferv. p., 49. hath given 
 great fpirit to the lenience by pointing it thus, 
 
 To make them Kings : the feed of Banqucr Kings! 
 
 Ibid. Rather than fo, come Fate if] to the lijl y 
 And champion me to th > utterance ! 
 
 The fenfe is, Rather than this (hall happen, let Fate 
 herfelf enter the lifts, and take on her the part of a 
 champion in mortal combat againft me. This in- 
 terpretation is agreeable to Mr. Johnfon's apprehen- 
 fion of this paflage ; not fo to that of Mr. Warbur- 
 ton, who poorly fuppofes ' Fate was to aft the part 
 of the marfhal only, and to prefide over and di- 
 rect the punctilios of the ceremonial.* 
 
 P. 376. So weary with difaflrcus tuggs with fortune. 
 
 Here again Mr. Warburton did not, or would not, 
 underftand Englilh. The common reading was, 
 
 So weary with difafters, tugg'd with fortune. 
 
 To which he objects, that ' it expreffts but half the 
 ' idea , viz. that of a man tugged and haled by for- 
 ' tune, without making refinance.* But the very 
 words, tugging, and haling, imply refiftance, with- 
 out which, a man might be faid to be led, but there 
 could be no tugging or haling. Befides this, he 
 fays, ' tugg'd with fortune, is fcarce Englifh.' Ju(l 
 as good EngliPn as, weary with difafters, in both 
 which exprefTions the prepofition, with, is u\td for, 
 ly, as it frequently is, to exprefs the agent or in- 
 ftrument. The conftruflion is, So weary with dif- 
 afters, fo tugged with fortune. 
 
 P- 377- Acquaint you with the per feci fpy 0" ih 1 time, 
 The 'moment en'' t. 
 
 The word, fpy, is here uied for efpyal or difcovery,
 
 [ 394 3 
 and, the perfecl fpy of the time, means the exa6b in- 
 timation of the precife time, or as the poet himfelf 
 immediately interprets his own words, * The mo- 
 ment on't.' There can therefore be no difficulty about 
 their explanation. Whether the poet hath properly 
 exprefTed himfelf or not is befide the prefent ques- 
 tion, but we are at leaft fure we know his meaning. 
 Mr. Johnfon thinks the third murderer, who joins 
 the two others afterwards at the place of action, is 
 the perfon denoted by the appellation of * the perfect 
 fpy.' But this cannot be ; for Macbeth promifes 
 the two that he will bring them acquainted with this 
 perfefc fpy, which yet he is fo far from doing, 
 that the third murderer when he joins the others is 
 absolutely unknown to them, and they hefitate for 
 fome time whether they fhall admit him into their 
 company. 
 
 P. 378. We have fcGtcUd the fnake, not kiWd it. 
 
 Mr. Upton, in his Critic. Obferv. p. 169. vindi- 
 cates the common reading, * fcorch'd the fnake,' in 
 avhich he fuppofes there is an allufion to the iicads 
 of the hydra, fcorched as they were cutoff, to pre- 
 vent their fprouting again. But this interpretation, 
 though ingenious, doth not, as I apprehend, fo 
 well correlpond to what immediately follows, 
 
 She'll clofe, and be herflf. 
 
 P. 379. The Jhard-born beetle. 
 Shards are properly rubbifh. See Cotgrave. 
 
 P. 380. Light thickens, and the crow 
 
 Makes wing to ttf rooky wood: 
 
 It happens at prefent with Mr. Warburton that fe- 
 cond thoughts are beft. There is no reader but 
 readily underftands this phrafe to mean, light grows 
 dim. Mr. Roderick in the Canons of Criticifm, 
 
 p. 136.
 
 t 395 ] 
 
 p. 136. objects to the epithet, rooky, given to the 
 wood to which the crow reforts at night, as being 
 tautological, and would therefore fubftitute, murky* 
 or dujky. But I can fee no reafon why the crow 
 muft be taken here in a Ioofe acceptation for a rook, 
 and if it be not fo taken, there can certainly be no 
 tautology in faying the crow flics towards the wood 
 which is the common refort of rooks. 
 
 P. 380. He needs not our miftrujl, fince he delivers 
 Our offices, and what we have to do, 
 To the direction juji. 
 
 This is the reading of Mr. Theobald's edition, whe- 
 ther from all or from any of the more ancient 
 copies, or from conjecture merely, doth not appear 
 from his fecond edition, which is the only one I 
 have. Mr. Pope's edition gives us, 
 
 He needs not to mijiruji, 
 
 which reading Mr. Johnfon prefers, becaufe it is fa- 
 vourable to the imagination he had entertained, 
 tha: the third murderer was the perfect fpy men- 
 tioned before, as he fuppofes, by Macbeth. But 
 furely it is not difficult to decide between the two 
 readings. In that of Mr. Theobald, we have a con- 
 fident context, every part of which correfponds with 
 the general fcope of the fcene. One of the two mur- 
 derers who had already made their appearance dis- 
 covers a miftruft of the third, as being a ftranger to 
 them, and questions him by whofe order he took 
 upon him to join them. To this his companion very 
 naturally replies, Your miftruft of him is quite 
 needlefs, fince the account he gives of the bufinefs 
 we are employed in, and the courfe in which we are 
 to proceed, is exactly agreeable to the directions we 
 ourfelves have received. In Mr. Pope's reading 
 every thing i, diilorted and unnatural. The firft 
 queition implies a diftrufl in one of the two hired 
 
 nuir-
 
 [ 39* 1 
 
 murderers of their new companion. The reply of 
 the other fuppofes this latter to have difcovered a 
 miftruft, which however no where appears, of them, 
 and aims at removing it by alledging a reafon, which 
 is indeed very extraordinary, in their j unification ; 
 He needs not miftruft us, for he hath told us our 
 bufinefs, and what we have to do. Then follows the 
 exhortation, which is full as extraordinary ; 
 
 To the direction juft. 
 
 Take care to conform with exaclnefs to yourinftruc- 
 tions. This emendation of the pointing is perfectly 
 in the fame tafte with that of Mr. Warburton in his 
 notes on Henry the Eighth, p. 446. 
 
 Thefe are but /witches. To 'em. 
 
 And another of Mr. Johnfon's own, which we have 
 already examined, 
 
 Time I on ! the hour runs through the rougheft day. 
 
 This naked expofition of the merits of the feveral 
 readings, is fufficient to direct the reader's judgment 
 concerning them. 
 
 P. 382. Tou know your own degrees, fit down: 
 Atjirfi and lajl, the hearty welcome. 
 
 Mr. Johnfon hath with great probability, in my 
 judgment, altered the text thus, 
 
 Tou know your own degrees, fit down : Tofrft 
 And lajl, the hearty welcome. 
 
 Ibid. 'Tis better thee without, than he within. 
 
 I cannot but approve too Mr. Johnfon's emendation 
 of this pafTage, 
 
 'Tis belter thee without, than him within. 
 
 That is, as that gentleman interprets it, I am more 
 
 pleafcd
 
 [ 397 ] 
 pleafed that the blood of Banquo fliould be on thy 
 face, than in his body. 
 
 P. $23. the feaft is fold, 
 
 That is not often vouched, while 'tis making 
 'Tis given with welcome. 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath chofen the worft reading, 
 the feaft is fold / How fold ? or for what ? Mr. 
 Pope hath given us a much better in my opinion, 
 
 the feaft is cold. 
 
 P. 384. Oh, thefe flaws and ft arts 
 
 (Impcftors to true fear) 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath tolerably well explained this 
 pafiage, fufticiently at leaft to fhew that it wants 
 no correction. Mr. Johnfon however would alter 
 it to 
 
 Impoftures true to fear. 
 
 But the interpretation he hath given of this conjec- 
 ture is fuch, that I can neither underftand it, nor 
 conceive how it can befexprefied by thefe words. 
 It is this, ' Thefe fymptoms of terror and amaze- 
 * ment might better become impoftures true only to 
 ' fear, might become a coward at the recital of fuch 
 ' falfehoods as no man could credit whofe under- 
 ' {landing was not weakened by his terrors.' If the 
 reader can make any thing pertinent, or even plau- 
 fible, cut of this, he is welcome to it. 
 
 P. 385. Ere human ft atuie purged the general weal. 
 
 The reading of all the preceding editions is, 'the 
 gentle weal, 5 that is, in my apprehenfion, the com- 
 munity civilized, and reduced to the condition of 
 focia! life. As this reading feems liable to no jdl 
 exceprion, either with regard to the fenie, or to the 
 exprefllon, it certainly ought not to have been alter- 
 8 cd.
 
 C 39 I 
 cd. That the word, weal, fignifies, the common 
 weal, or body politick, appears from another paf- 
 fage in this very play, p. 416. 
 
 Meet we the medicine of thefickly weal. 
 
 Seethe Canons of Criticifm, p. 191. 
 
 P. 385. to all, and him, we thirft, 
 
 And all to all. 
 
 Mr. Warburton's interpretation of this paflfage fuf- 
 fkiently juftifies the common reading, and renders 
 Mr. Johnfon's alteration, 
 
 And hail to all. 
 
 quite unneceffary. 
 
 P. 386. If trembling J inhibit. 
 
 If this reading be right, I fuppofe the meaning mud 
 be, If out of fear I interpofe my Sovereign power to 
 retrain thee. 
 
 Ibid. Can't fuch things be, 
 
 And overcome us like a fummer's cloud, 
 Without our fpecial wonder? 
 
 Mr. Warburton, contrary to the authority of all the 
 editions, hath taken thefe lines from the beginning 
 of Macbeth's fpeech, and added them at the dole 
 of his Lady's which immediately precedes it. But 
 he did not confider, that by this alteration he makes 
 Lady Macbeth contradict her own declared fenti- 
 menrs. She had but juft before been expostulating 
 with her hufband upon thefe imaginary fights, and 
 treating them as the very painting of fear, as un- 
 manly folly, becoming none but old women at a 
 winter's fire ; but now (he acknowledges the reality 
 of thefe things, and would only perfuade him not 
 to exprefs lb much wonder at their appearance. Ic 
 would be abfurd therefore to attribute thefe lines 
 3 to
 
 [ 399 ] 
 lo her ; and in confequence we muft reftore the old 
 reading, 
 
 11 Can fuch things he. 
 
 Thus the fenfe will be ; How can you blame me ? Is 
 it poflible that fuch ttrange fights mould really be, 
 and mould take pofieflion of our fenfes for a certain 
 portion of time, like fummer clouds which fly over 
 our heads, and for a time are vifible too, though 
 both at length equally vanim ; is it poflible, I fay, 
 for thefe things to be, and to affect our fenfes fo 
 flrongly, without exciting in us a wonder more than 
 common ? The verb, overcome, fignifies in this 
 place, to pafs over, 
 
 P. 386. Tou make me ft range 
 
 Ev*n to the dijpojition that I ozve. 
 
 The verb, owe, is ufed here for, own. See our 
 note on p. 344.. of this play. Thus the fenfe is, 
 You make even my own difpofition, which I am fo 
 well acquainted with, a matter of wonder and afto- 
 nifhment to me, when I fee, that thofe horrid fights, 
 which fo much affright me, make not the leaft im- 
 preflion on you. Mr. Johnfon, not being acquainted 
 with this fenfe of the verb, owe, changes it to, know, 
 and by that means ftrangely disfigures this paflage, 
 by giving it a fenfe which the poet never dreamt of. 
 
 P. 38 7. Augurs, that underjlood relations. 
 
 By relations, it is not improbable Shakefpear might 
 underftand, thole hidden tycs, by which every part 
 of nature is linked and connected with every other 
 part of it, continually operates upon it, and is ope- 
 rated upon by it, in virtue of which connections the 
 whole o[ created nat ire pad, prefenf, and to come, 
 is truly and propeily one. If this be his meaning, 
 as I believe it is, his own natural ^ood uixierftand- 
 
 iim
 
 [ 4oo ] 
 
 ing had opened to him a vein of philofophy, which" 
 hath fince done fo much honour to the name of 
 Mr. Leibnitz. 
 
 P. 388* Come, we'll too flecp. 
 
 The other editions give us, we'll to fleep, which I 
 fuopofe is the right reading. That in the text may 
 be only a miftake of the printer. 
 
 P. 390. and receive free honours. 
 
 That is, Receive honours which are not the rewards 
 of flavery to a tyrant. -See the Canons of Criticifm, 
 p. 197. 
 
 Ibid. And this report 
 
 Hath fo exafp' rated their King, that he 
 Prepares for fome attempt of war. 
 
 It is evident that we mould read, the King, that is 
 Macbeth, not the King of England, from the quef- 
 tion which immediately follows, 
 
 Len. Sent he to Macduff? 
 
 P. 391. 'Twice, and once the hedge-pig whin' d. 
 
 Mr. Upton in his Critic. Obferv. p. 170, 171. hath 
 {hewn, that there was no neceflity for altering the 
 ancient reading, 
 
 Thrice and once the hedge-pig whin'd. 
 
 P. 392. In the poifotfd entrails throw. 
 
 See this reading fully vindicated, and Mr. Warbur- 
 ton's unaccountable emendation, entremes, juftly ex- 
 ploded in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 71. 
 
 P. 397. Time, thou anticipafjl my dread exploits. 
 
 To anticipate, ffmifies in this place to difappoint by 
 ufing the means of prevention, not fimply to de- 
 feat;
 
 [ 40i ] 
 feat; for this laft verb doth riot mean the doing a 
 thing befide expe&ation, as Mr. Warburton incon- 
 fiderately interprets it. 
 
 P. 398. The flighty purpofe never is overtook, 
 Unlefs the deed go with it. 
 
 The fenfe is, Unlefs the action or execution keeps 
 even pace with the purpofe, if any delay is differed 
 to intervene between them, the former will never 
 overtake the latter, the purpofe will never be com- 
 pleated in the actual performance. 
 
 Ibid. And all unfortunate fouls. 
 
 I believe the poet wrote, ' and all th* unfortunate 
 fouls.' 
 
 Ibid. That trace him in his line. 
 
 t apprehend the meaning is, Thofe that may be 
 traced up to one common flock from which his line 
 is defcended, or, all his collateral relations. The 
 metre, it muft be confeffed, is a foot too long; bun 
 as I think this a fubordinate confideration, to which 
 that of the fenfe ought always to have the preference 
 given it, I cannot for that reafon approve of Mr. 
 Johnfon's correction, 
 
 That trace his line. 
 
 An expreftloii which I mud own I do not underftand . 
 
 P. 399. Thefts 0' th' feafon. 
 That is, What befits the feafon. 
 
 Ibid. when we arc traitors, 
 
 And do not know ourf elves : 
 
 that is, to be lo. See this conftru&ion illuftrated 
 in Mr. Upton's Critic. Obferv. p. 321, 311. 
 
 D d P. 395 ,
 
 t 402 1 
 
 P. 399. when we hold rumout 
 
 From what we fear. 
 
 To hold rumour, feems to mean here, to interpret 
 rumour. If the words will bear this fenfe, as 1 con- 
 ceive they will, there will be no occafion for either 
 of Mr. Johnfon's conjectures ; but 1 think it certain 
 that there is not the Ieaft ground for fufpecYmg any 
 intermediate lines to have been loft, as the fenfe is 
 every where compleat. 
 
 Ibid. But float upon a wild and violent fea 
 Each way, and move. 
 
 Mr. Johnfon apprehends the expreffion to be left 
 imperfect, and that Roffe, who was about to pro- 
 ceed, being overpowered by tendernefs breaks off 
 abruptly. I fhould rather think this is one of thofe 
 anomalous conftrucYions by which the ftile of Shake- 
 fpear is confeffedly characterized, and that the order 
 of the words intended by the poet is, But float and 
 move each way upon a wild and violent fea. 
 
 P. 401. To fright you thus, methinh^ I am too favage^ 
 To do wcr/hip to you were fell cruelty. 
 
 This idle emendation of Mr. Warburton's is very 
 properly exploded in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 
 36, 37. We ought certainly to reftore the ancient 
 reading, 
 
 To do work to you were fell cruelly. 
 
 I apprehend that Shakefpear intended by this paf- 
 fage to give the reader to underftand, that this mef- 
 fenger was one of the murderers employed by Mac- 
 beth to exterminate Macduff's family, but who, 
 from eivotions of remorfe and pity, had outftripped 
 his companions, to give timely warning of their 
 approach. In this view thefc lines may be thus in- 
 terpreted \ Mcthinks, even the bare frightening you 
 5 thus
 
 t 403 ] 
 
 thus is a talk of fo much cruelty, that I cannot go 
 through it without the utmoft reluctance ; but to do 
 worfe to you, (under which general expreflion the 
 meflenger veils the horrid errand he was fent to exe- 
 cute) were fell cruelty indeed. The remorfe of the 
 deputed murderer is very naturally reprefented as 
 greatly heightened by the fight of the unfufpedYmg 
 Lady and her innocent child. 
 
 P. 402. Bejlride our downfaln birth- doom. 
 
 I cannot agree with Mr. John Ton, that we ought 
 to read, birthdom, though we both concur in the 
 meaning here intended, which is birth-right or in- 
 heritance, thofe honours and privileges which have 
 been derived down to us from our anceftors, and 
 confirmed by the laws and confiitution of our coun- 
 try. This is the very idea expreffed by the word, 
 birth-doom; whatever is deemed and adjudged by 
 the laws to be the right and inheritance of our birth. 
 
 Ibid. As if it felt with Scotland^ and yell* d out 
 Like fyllables of dolour. 
 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 40. 
 
 P. 403. and "juifdom 
 
 To offer up a weak, -poor, innocent lamb. 
 
 That is, And 'tis wifdom. See this elliptical con- 
 fi ruction illuftrated in Mr. Upton's Critic. Obferv. 
 
 P- 34, 3 l 5- 
 
 Ibid. Thofe trecious motives. 
 
 Motives fignify in this place, whatever may be fup- 
 pofed to have the ftrongeft influence on a man's 
 actions. 
 
 Ibid. His title is affeay'd. 
 
 Mr. Pope was mifinformed. AjJ\arc\ or rr.ther, 
 D d 2 offceyed.
 
 [ 404 ] 
 
 Aj/eered, is a law term which fignifies efti mated, 
 proportioned, adjuftedi not, confirmed. The word 
 is ufed here in its common acceptation, for af- 
 frightened. So that the fenfe is, His (that is, Mal- 
 colm's) title to the crown is affrightened from af~ 
 ferting itfelf j or, in plainer Englilh, He is arfrighten- 
 ed from afferting his title to the crown, 
 
 P. 404. Sudden. 
 That is, precipitate in his violence. 
 
 P, 405. This avarice 
 Strikes deeper. 
 
 There was no reafon for altering the common read- 
 ing, 
 
 Sticks deeper ; 
 
 which is as good Englifh as what Mr. Warburton 
 hath fubftitu red for it, and fignifies, is more deeply 
 rooted. When we confider the roots as having al- 
 ready penetrated the ground, we as properly fay, 
 iheyjlick deep in it, as we fay, they Jirike deep into 
 it, when we confider them as growing and in the 
 acl: of penetrating. 
 
 Ibid. grows with mere pernicious root 
 
 Than Summer -teeming lujt. 
 
 Teeming^ is a term appropriated to the female, and 
 feems a very odd epithet for the lull of the male. 
 The common reading, 
 
 Than Jammer 'Teeming //?, 
 
 gives a very apt and proper fenfe-, that is, Which 
 hath no other inconvenience than that of an extra- 
 ordinary heat for the time, fuch as we commonly 
 experience in fummer, and which is of no long 
 duration. However, as the integrity of the meta- 
 phor, which is taken from the growth of a planr, 
 
 and
 
 [ 405 ] 
 and particularly the root of it, is not well preferved, 
 I am rather inclined to believe the poet wrote, 
 
 Than fummer- feeding lufi; 
 
 that is, Than luft which, like afummer plant, runs 
 up to feed during that feafon, and quickly after- 
 wards dies away. 
 
 P. 407. All ready at appoint. 
 
 I fee no reafon why the old reading, 
 
 All ready at a point, 
 
 may not fignify, All ready at the fame time and 
 place, as well as this conjecture of Mr. Warburton's. 
 I am however inclined to believe this latter may be 
 right, but then I would interpret it differently, All 
 ready provided with arms and every other habili- 
 ment of war, 
 
 Ibid. > m and the chance of goodnefs> 
 
 Be like our warranted quarrel I 
 
 I cannot fay I am at all fatis'fied with the interpreta- 
 tions either of Mr. Warburton or Mr. Johnfon. I 
 conceive the fenfe of the paflage is rather this ; And 
 may the fuccels of that goodnefs which is about to 
 exert itfelf in my behalf, be fuch as may be equal to 
 the juftice of my quarrel. 
 
 Ibid. Such welcome and unwelcome things at once ; 
 'Tis hard to reconcile. 
 
 The femicolon, inftead of a comma, at the end of 
 the firfl line, fpoils the conft ruction. The fenfe is, 
 The pleafing, and the difagreeable accounts you 
 have given of yourfelf, alrr.oft in the fame breath, 
 make it a difficult matter to afcertain upon the in- 
 ftant the real truth refulting from them, and to 
 throw off all hefitation. 
 
 Dd 3 P. 412.
 
 [ 4<tf ] 
 
 P. 41 %. That, Sir, which I will not report after her.. 
 
 Mr. Warburton thinks it mould rather be, repeat. 
 His reafbn, if he had vouchsafed to give it, muft 
 have been curious. 
 
 P. 413. I will Jet doivn what comes from her, to 
 fortify my remembrance the more ftrongly. 
 
 So Mr. Warburton tells us * both the fenfe and ex- 
 preffion require we mould read.' That the memory 
 may be afiifted by putting words in writing, every 
 body readily apprehends, but how it mould be for- 
 tified by ir, is not perhaps fo eafy to conceive. The 
 former reading, 
 
 to fatisfy my remembrance, 
 
 is a much better expreflion, and gives a much better 
 fenfe. The meaning is, I will take it down in writing 
 for the better fatisfaction of my memory, when I 
 have occafion to recollect it ; that my memory may 
 be the more effectually fatisfied of the exactnefs of 
 its report. The remembrance doth not (land here 
 for the faculty, but, by a very eafy metonymy, for 
 the mind in the exercife of it, or remembering. 
 
 P. 414. God, God, forgive us all! 
 I think Mr. Pope's reading is more natural, 
 Good God, forgive us all! 
 
 Ibid. My mind foe 'as mated-, 
 that is, terrified, difmayed, 
 
 P. 416. Meet we the med'cine of the Jickly weal. 
 
 Mr. Warburton tells us * we mould read, medecin,* 
 for that * both the fenfe, and pronoun, him, in the 
 4 next line, require it.' I take it Shakefpear wrote 
 pnglim, and therefore we fhould read Englifh, 
 
 and
 
 [ API 1 
 and not a word unknown to that language, and very 
 juftly fo, becaufe it is very difficult to diftinguifh it 
 in common pronunciation from medecine, and to 
 avoid the ambiguity which would attend it. But in 
 truth neither fenfe nor grammar require any altera- 
 tion. Malcolm is denoted in this line by the appel- 
 lation of the medecine of the fickly weal, and to him, 
 and not to the medecine, the pronoun, bim, in the 
 next line refers. 
 
 JP. 419. We learn no other, but the confined tyrant 
 Keeps jl ill in Dunfmane. 
 
 If Mr. Warburton had underftcod the nature and 
 rules of our dramatick metre, he would not have 
 pronounced that the meafure was fpoiled by the ad- 
 miffion of an anapseft inftead of an iambick in the 
 fifth place of an hypercatalectic verfe. We may 
 therefore fafely recall the old reading, 
 
 We learn no other, but the confident tyrant. 
 
 For as to what he adds, that ' an epithet is given to 
 
 * the tyrant which did not belong to him, namely, 
 
 * confidence, or repofing himfelf fecurely on any thing 
 ' or perfon,' he is ftrangely overften ; fince in the 
 very next preceding fcene, Macbeth himfelf pro- 
 fefles the moft entire confidence in the prediction 
 of the wayward fillers. Befides Mr. Wat burton's 
 epithet adds nothing to the fenfe, but what is as fully 
 exprefied in the very next words. See the Car.ons 
 of Criticifm, p. 37, 38. where the reader may cb- 
 ferve a fmall miftake in accounting the particle, but, 
 to be a fhort fyllable, whereas it is undoubtedly long 
 in this place in virtue of the accent, and mult be fa 
 pronounced, or the verfe is loft. 
 
 Ibid. For where there is advantage to be given. 
 
 I entirely agree with Mr. Johnfos in his reftitution 
 of this pafTage, He reads, 
 
 P d 4 For
 
 [ 403 ] 
 
 For where there is advantage to be gone : 
 
 and rightly interprets, advantage, to mean, in this 
 place, opportunity. 
 
 P. 4 2 1 . There would have been a time for fitch a word. 
 
 Word, here ftands for the notice delivered by it. 
 Tne fenfe is, There would have been a time when 
 this ill news would have met me much lefs impro- 
 perly than at prefent, when I am already in a man^ 
 ner overwhelmed by fuch a multitude of other cares 
 and apprehenfions. 1 fhould then have been better 
 prepared to fupport this affliction. I fee no reafon 
 therefore for admitting Mr. Johnfon's alteration, 
 
 There would have been a time for fych & world ! 
 
 which in other refpects too is both awkward and 
 
 improbable. 
 
 Ibid. To the laji fyllable of recorded time. 
 
 Mr. Johnfon understands the epithet,! recorded, to 
 mean, defined ; and, I think, rightly. 
 
 Ibid. And all our yejler days have lighted fools 
 The way to dujky death. 
 
 The common reading, 
 
 The way to dufty death* 
 
 that is, as Mr. Johnfon rightly interprets it, The 
 way to their graves, being unexceptionable, and 
 fupported by the authority of the firft folio, mould 
 not have been altered. Mr. Upton, in his Critic. 
 Obferv. p. $$. hath very well explained and illus- 
 trated it by a fimilar expreflion in the Pfalms. As 
 to Mr. Warburton's conjecture, there was little ne- 
 ceflity for turning the epithet of death into an anti- 
 thefis, and ftill lefs, if poffible, for informing the 
 reader by it, that light was neceffary in order to 
 
 rln<4
 
 [ 409 ] 
 find the way to death. As co the reading of the 
 fccond folio, 
 
 The way to ftudy death, 
 
 which Mr. Upton thinks an alteration made by 
 Shakefpear himfelf, I mud beg leave to differ from 
 him. The ftudy of death was never the employ- 
 ment of fools , nor doth the paflage he alledges co 
 prove it, imply the leaft hint of that kind. 
 
 P. 422. I pull in refolution. 
 Mr. Johnfon's ingenious conjecture, 
 /pall in refolution, 
 is, I verily believe, the genuine reading. 
 
 Ibid. There is nor flying hence, nor tarrying here. 
 Mr. Pope's edition gives us a better reading, 
 There is no flying hence, nor tarrying here.. 
 
 C. Marcius Coriolanus. 
 
 P. 434. To fcale't a little more. 
 See Upton's Critic. Obferv. p. 306, 
 
 P. 435. Or ft eed the leg. 
 
 'Tis a miftake of the printer. Read, Ourfleed the 
 leg. 
 
 P. 437. What would you have, ye curs, 
 
 That likes not peace, nor war ? 
 
 The excefiive affectation of fubtilty milled Mr; 
 Warburton into this violent conftruftion. The com- 
 mon reading, 
 
 That like nor -peace nor war} 
 
 to
 
 [ 4io ] 
 
 to.a coirmon underftanding is plain enough, and 
 would meet with no difficulty. The meaning is, 
 Neither peace nor war can fatisfy you, or content 
 you : In war you are always afraid of the confe- 
 quences ; and in peace your pride won't let you be 
 quiet, or think any treatment of you, however kind 
 and favourable, equal to your defervings. But Mr. 
 "Warburton by a long train of profound reafonings 
 hath difcovered, that * the mob muft necefiarily love 
 ' peace, becaufe it brings with it an increafe of 
 * wealth and power.' Whereas the very contrary 
 of this was the conftant experience of the Roman 
 republick. In peace the Plebeians were always mod 
 opprefled, becaufe the Patricians had then lefs need 
 of their afiiftance ; whereas in time of war they 
 were obliged to pay court to them for their ow.i 
 prefervation. 
 
 P. 438. To make him wcr 'thy \ whofe offence fubdues him- 
 
 That is, whofe offence hath brought him to condign 
 punifhment. 
 
 P. 439. Shouting their emulation. 
 
 One would think that the fenfe was fo plain that it 
 could not eafily be miftaken, Shouting as if they 
 flrove who mould fhout loudefl. Yet Mr. Warbur- 
 ton, not underftanding the elegance of the expref- 
 fion, rather thinks Shakefpear wrote, 
 
 Suiting their emulation. 
 
 That is, according to him, * they threw their caps 
 4 fo high as a fuitable demonftration of their afpir- 
 ing thoughts -,' though Coriolanus himfelf had 
 faid but a few lines before, that their thoughts af- 
 pired no higher than barely to get bread, in order 
 to preferve themfelves and their families from ftarv- 
 ing, 
 
 P. 4*0.
 
 [ 4U ] 
 
 P. 44. Right worthy you priority. 
 
 Read, agreeably to Mr. Pope's edition, c your 
 priority.' It is probably only a miftake of the printer, 
 though Mr. Theobald's edition concurs in it. 
 
 P. 442. Of bis demerits rob Cominius. 
 
 I am inclined to believe with Mr. Roderick, that, 
 demerits, (lands in this place for, merits, (imply. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 237, 238. 
 
 P. 443. If they ft down before V, 'fore they remove 
 Bring up your army. 
 
 Mr. Warburton, in explaining this conjecture, hath 
 made a very pleafant blunder, which the vulgar 
 would be apt to call a bull. His interpretation is, 
 
 * Before that power already on foot' (which, by the 
 bye, muft mean the Roman army, for that is the only 
 power here talked f) * be in motion, bring up your 
 
 * army.' It will perhaps puzzle Mr. Warburton's 
 philofophy to explain, how the Roman power could 
 fet down, and lay fiege to Corioli, before they were 
 jn motion. But the common reading, 
 
 If they fet down before *s t for the remove 
 Bring up your army, 
 
 was perfectly right, if he had but endeavouned to 
 underftand it. The fenfe is, In order to oblige 
 them to raife the fiege, bring up your army ; in the 
 mean time we are fully fufficient to guard the city. 
 
 P. 450. Who, fenfibld out- does his fenfekfs fwcrd. 
 
 I think the common reading, out-dares, that is, 
 feels lefs fear, has lefs apprehenfion of danger, 
 though it be an hyperbolical exprefllon, hath greater 
 propriety than Dr. Thirlby's emendation. It is the 
 fenfe, and not the deed, which is the point of the 
 
 pre-
 
 [ 4*2 J 
 prefent comparifon. For where would be the won- 
 der, that a fenfible agent mould do more than a 
 fenfelefs inftrument, which is incapable of doing 
 any thing, further than it is employed by that, or 
 fome other, agent ? 
 
 P. 45 1 . Thou worthiejl Marcius. 
 
 There mould be a full flop at the end of this line, 
 for the next is addrefifed to the trumpeter. 
 
 P. 452. Ye Roman Gods, 
 
 Lead their fucceffes, as we wifh our own. 
 
 So Mr. Warburton tells us we mould read, becaufe 
 this is ' an addrefs or invocation.' It is fo ; but no 
 reafon requires that it mould be a direct one, rather 
 than an oblique one in the third perfon, as in the 
 common reading, 
 
 1 The Roman Gods. 
 
 P. 455. Oh! me alone, make you a /word of me. 
 
 This is undoubtedly nonfenfe. I conceive we fhould 
 read, 
 
 Let me alone ; make you a [word of me ? 
 
 Ibid. And four fhall quickly draw out my command* 
 
 What fenfe the word, four, can have here is difficult 
 to guefs. Perhaps the poet wrote, 
 
 And fo I fhall quickly draw out my command. 
 
 That is, As the troops march by, I fhall readily 
 draw out.fuch as are fitteft to make up the party 
 which is to aft under my command, according as I 
 mail find them meft eager to be employed in this 
 fcrvice, 
 
 P. 459.
 
 [ 413 ] 
 
 P. 459. To us> that give you truly. 
 
 The fenfe and conftruclion both feem to require that 
 we mould read, 
 
 To us? that give't you truly. 
 
 Ibid, To undercfefi your good addition. 
 To tb* fairnefs of my power. 
 
 I underftand the meaning to be, To illuftrate this 
 honourable di'ftinction you have conferred on me by 
 frefh defervings to the extent of my power. To 
 undercrejl, I Ihould guefs, fignifies properly, to 
 wear beneath the creft as a part of a coat of arms. 
 The name or title now given feems to be considered 
 as the creft, the promifed future atchievements, as 
 the future additions to that coat. 
 
 P. 461. * P II patch at himfome way> 
 
 Or wrath ^ or craft may get him. 
 
 I know no fuch EngHfti word as, potch ; I fuppofe 
 we mould read, 
 
 Til poach at him fame way. 
 
 The fenfe is, Since I cannot mafter him while I ob- 
 ferve the laws of fair hunting, I will try if I cannot 
 do it by entrapping him by fome means or other, fo 
 that either open valour or craft may at length get 
 the better of him. 
 
 Ibid. Embarrments all of fury. 
 
 As this is a word quite new from Mr. Warburton's 
 own coinage, from whence he hath fo plentifully 
 befprinkled our poet's works with terms of bafe al- 
 loy, I am not much inclined to accept it for current. 
 The reading of the former editions was, embark- 
 ments. Why may not this word have the fame 
 meaning as embargo, derived from the Spanifh, 
 
 em-
 
 [ 4*4 ] 
 mbargar, to arreft, flop, or flay ; whence alio Irf 
 the fame language, embargacion, an arrefling, or 
 flopping ? Or if the reader fhould think it necelfarjr 
 that a new word fhould be coined for the occafion, 
 why not as well embargments? Mr. Warburten's 
 cavil about the uniformity of the metaphor is mere 
 trifling. For an embarrment, made with a wooderi 
 bar, as he chufes to have it, unlefs the faid bar be 
 fupppfed to life up itfelf, can no more lift up a pri- 
 vi'ege or cuflomj than an embarkmeni can. 
 
 P. 46*5. Take my cup, Jupiter, andl thank thee. 
 
 Mr. Warburton's religious zeal is alarmed at the 
 Common reading, 
 
 Take mp cap, Jupiter ; 
 
 which he therefore alters to, 'my cup\ that is, as he 
 informs us, '.a libation out of Menenius's cup;* 
 but it unfortunately happens, that, being in the 
 flreet, he hath no cup at hand to make the libation 
 out of; and though Mr. Warburton underflands 
 this to be an engagement, that he will go home and 
 offer the libation aforefaid, yet he feems in no great 
 hafle to acquit himfelf, but tarries on the ftage till 
 the procefiion is ended, in truth this gentleman's 
 religion needed not have been fo immoderately fcru- 
 pulous. Here was no prophanenefs intended. Me- 
 nenius, on hearing the good news of Marcius his 
 mum with victory, throws up his cap into the air,- 
 as a token of his exultation ; and at the fame time 
 that he thanks Jupiter, offers him his cap, being 
 the firfb thing that came to hand, as an acknow- 
 ledgment for his protection of the republick. This 
 is followed by a huz/.a in the ufual form, ' Hoo, 
 Marcius coming home!' Now what reafun can be 
 given, why our poet might not have imagined, a 
 cap thrown up into '.he air with thanks as acceptable 
 
 an
 
 t 415 1 
 
 in offering to Jupiter as a libation, at Ieaft till an 
 opportunity of offering the latter mould prefent it- 
 felf ? But be this as it will, the libation is certainly 
 out of the cafe, for the reafons already given. 
 
 P. 469. But, with tbem, change of honours* 
 See Upton's Critic. Obferv. p. 304. 
 
 P. 470. Commit the ware of white and damafk* 
 
 The author of the Canons of Criticifm, p. 126* 
 hath very juftly, and with great pleafantry exploded 
 this moft homely conjecture of Mr. Warburton's, 
 and at the fame time fully vindicated the ancient 
 reading, 
 
 Commit the war of white and damajk. 
 
 Ibid. ' which 
 
 That he will give , make I as little quejlion 
 As he is proud to do't. 
 
 Mr. Warburton rather thinks the poet wrote, prone* 
 not proud, ' becauf; the common reading is fcarce 
 * fenfeor Englifh.' I own the conftruction is a little 
 embarraffed, which is occafiojied by the omiffion of 
 the particle, that, in the lad line, whereas in com- 
 pleat conftruction the text mould have been, 
 
 As that he is proud to do't. 
 
 But this is a peculiarity not uncommon in Shake- 
 fpcar's phrafeology. See Upton's Critic. Obferv. p. 
 3 14 3 1 6. This irregularity however is not in the 
 leaft helped by Mr, Warburton's alteration, which 
 befides teaches the re.ider nothing, whereas the 
 common reading informs him of the ground of the 
 fpeaker's aflurance, ro wit, the known pride of Co- 
 riolanus. For the fenfe is, Which caufe I make as 
 little qu:ftion that hs will give, as I do, that he 
 hath pride enough to do fo. 
 
 P. 471.
 
 [ 4i6 J 
 
 P> 471. For an end. 
 
 The fenfe feems to require that we fhould react* 
 
 * .For that end,* that is^ for the end which had beeri 
 juft mentioned by Sicinius. 
 
 Pr 479 1 We have a power in otirj elves to do it, hi 
 it is a power that we have no power to do, 
 
 I am as well perfuaded, as Mr. Warburton can be 
 of the contrary, that c this was not intended as a ri- 
 
 * dicule on the Auguftine' (it mould be, the Au- 
 guflinian) * manner of defining free-will at that 
 
 * time in the fchools.* The prefent exprefiion in- 
 deed is no other than the natural dictate of an honeft 
 heart, which Shakefpear felt in its full force. The 
 fenfe is, We have indeed a power by law to do it if 
 we think proper, but this power amounts to the 
 fame as no power at all, becaufe we mould offer the 
 greateft violence to our very natures if we mould 
 exert it. Thus much I thought it right to fay in 
 jutlification of this fentiment, which confidered, as 
 Shakefpear intended it, as a moral fentiment, is a 
 very fine one, and a very fbrious one , not a ludi- 
 crous one, as Mr. Warburton, wrapped up in his 
 verbal metaphyficks, would reprefent it. But to 
 confider it in the metaphyfical light in which he hath 
 chofen to place it. I would b?g leave to afk him one 
 queftion. Doth he know what was the Auguftinian 
 definition of free-will, which in Shakefpear's time, 
 or at any time before, or fince, obtained in the 
 fchools ? I am perfuaded he doth not, or he could 
 never have thought the ridicule, he hath gone out 
 of his way to fallen upon it, would fuit it. But 1 
 believe the truth of the cafe is this. Mr. Warburton 
 had formerly read the Provincial Letters ; in the firft 
 of which, the pouvoir prochain of the Dominican 
 Thomifls (a term abfolutely inlignificant, and re- 
 cently invented by them, merely in order to fhelter 
 
 them-'
 
 [ 417 ] 
 
 themfelves under it from the then odious imputation 
 of Janfenifm, from which their fentiments at the 
 bottom very little differed) is very finely and very 
 ftrongly ridiculed, and that in a manner which bears 
 a diftant refemblance to the text of our poet. This 
 probably might give the hint to his confufed ima- 
 gination, to transfer a mifunderftood ridicule upon 
 a doctrine to which it is no way applicable. For let 
 me afk him another queftion. Had he himfelf the 
 power, while he was writing this note, to throw up 
 the fafh of his ftudy window and leap out of it ? I 
 fuppofe he will fcarce deny that he had the phyfical 
 power to do fo , but that power being under the 
 controul of another power, which belonged to him 
 as a moral agent, I fuppofe too he will as little deny, 
 that, upon the refult of the combination of thofe 
 two powers, he had not, as then circumftanced, the 
 power to exert the phyfical power. If he mould 
 deny ir, the common fenfe of mankind will bear 
 witnefs againfl: him. This is the very cafe in our 
 poet's text. The man had in himfelf a power to do 
 it, but it was a power that he had no power to exert. 
 But thus it will always be with people who affect to 
 know every thing. They are at every turn betray- 
 ing their ignorance of the very rudiments of what 
 they will be talking about. 
 
 P. 485. Why, either ', were you ignorant to fee* I? 
 
 Ignorant, doth not fignify, impotent. The fenfe 
 
 is, Why either had you not the apprehenfion to 
 
 perceive it, or, perceiving it, why did you vote for 
 him ? 
 
 P. 487. Tou ralher mujl do, than what you fhould do. 
 This lame verfe may be thus reftored : 
 Tou rather mvfl do, than with what you foould do. 
 E e P. 492,
 
 [ 4i 8 J 
 
 P. 492. good, but tnoft unwife Patricians*, wbyi 
 
 The honour of this emendation ought to have been 1 
 attributed to Mr. Theobald. See his Shakefpear re* 
 ftored, p. 1 80. I am inclined however to believe 
 the ancient reading, 
 
 O God ! but mojl unwife Patricians, why, 
 
 is genuine ,- only I would rather read, O Gods! The 
 particle, but, is not employed here merely as a dif- 
 junctivey, but as introductive of the objection or re* 
 proof which was to follow ; and that double anti- 
 thefis in this and the next line, which Mr. Theo- 
 bald thinks was intended, and admires as a beauty, 
 appears, on the contrary, to me to be too ftudied 
 to be the language of pafllon, which is expreffed" 
 with much greater fpirit by the exclamation and 
 break in the ancient reading. That of Mr. Theo- 
 bald is tame and flat in comparifon of it, like the- 
 formal exordium of an oration.- 
 
 Ibid . If hi have power, 
 
 'Then vail your ignorance. 
 
 Neither doth ignorance fignify impotence in this 
 place. The fenfe is, Then let your ignorance cf 
 your true imereftswhich permitted it, ftoop to him; 
 
 P. 493. Than, ever frown 1 d in Greece !' 
 
 That is, Than ever carried a countenance of awe 
 and authority in Greece. 
 
 Ibid. TW accufation, 
 
 Which they have often made againfi the fenate, 
 All caufe unborn, could never be the native 
 Of our fo frank donation. 
 
 It is evident from the fcopc and drift of the whole 
 
 context, that the word,, native, cannot fignify here 
 
 9 the
 
 [ 4*9 1 
 
 the ' natural birth.' GorioUnus had enumerated fe- 
 veral reafons, why the donative of corn could non 
 be interpreted as a recompence, give" -o 'he people 
 in consideration of any meritorious lei . one by 
 
 them , l They ne'er did fcrvice for it, and when pref- 
 fed to the war refufed to ftir out of the sates; 
 when in the war tneir mutinies and revol's could be 
 no argument in their favour ; their frequent and 
 Caufelefs accufations of the fenate could not be the 
 inducement which prevailed with that body.' This 
 being the fcnfe of the context, it nectflanly follows, 
 either that we mud underftand the wo r d native, to 
 denote the native caufe, or inducement that gave 
 birth to the donation, which is a fenfe I am afraid 
 the word will fcarcely bear; or we rhuft read, mo- 
 tive, inftead of it. 
 
 P. 494. No, take more ; 
 
 What may be fworn by. Both Divine and 
 
 Human 
 Seal what I end withal ! 
 
 That is^ according to Mr. Warburton, whofe emen- 
 dation this is, * No, I will ftill proceed, and the 
 
 * truth of what I lhall fay may be fworn to.' But I 
 would gladly be informed, how, fivorn by, came to 
 fignify, fworn to. Mr. Warburton complains that 
 the common reading, as pointed in the former 
 editions, 
 
 No, take more. 
 
 What may be fworn by, both divine and human. 
 
 Seal what 1 end withal! 
 
 * is unintelligible.' If it is fo, it can be only fo to 
 thofe who are ignorant, that the Romans commonly 
 fwore by what was Human, as well as by what was 
 Divine ; by their own head j by the head of others, of 
 their parents, of their ch'ldren; by their eyes-, by the 
 dead bones and alhcs of their parents-, by the con- 
 
 E e 2 fciuus
 
 [ 420 ] 
 
 fcious knowledge of their own minds ; &c. See 
 Briflbn. de Formulis, p. 808 817. The fenfe is, 
 No, Jet me add this further , and may every thing 
 Divine and Human which can give force to an oarh, 
 bear witnefs to the truth of what I fhall conclude 
 with. 
 
 P. 494. purpofe fo barr'd, it follows , 
 
 Nothing is done to purpofe. 
 
 Purpofe fobarrd, is only the fame thing, recapitu- 
 lated in three words, which had been before exprefied 
 more at large in the following lines, 
 
 where gentry, title, wifdom, 
 
 Cannot conclude but by the yea and no 
 Of genral ignorance. 
 
 Wherever this is the cafe, Coriolanus concludes, no- 
 thing is done to purpofe. If Mr. Warburton had 
 given himfelf the leiiure to underftand this, I fup- 
 pofe he would fcarce have difgraced this pafTage, 
 notwithstanding a play on the words not unufual to 
 Shakefpear, by comparing it to Polonius his elo- 
 quence, or rejected it as fpurious. 
 
 Ibid. You that love the fundamental part of fate 
 
 More than you doubt the change oft. 
 
 That is, You whofe love for the fundamental part 
 of the ftate (or, which in the language and fenti- 
 ments of Coriolanus amounts to the fame thing, 
 the fupreme authority of the Senate) is not over- 
 powered by your apprehenfions, that the fteps ne- 
 ceffary to fupport it may poffibly hazard the change 
 of it. That this is the fenfe of the paffage, is evi- 
 dent, from what immediately precedes and follows it; 
 
 You that will be lefs fearful than difcreet, 
 and, 
 
 You that prefer 
 
 A noble life before a long, and wijh
 
 [ 421 ] 
 
 f To vamp a body with a dangerous phyjck, 
 That's Jure of death without. 
 
 All which lines exprefs the very fame fentiment un- 
 der various illuftrations. Inftead of this, Mr. War- 
 burton hath given us a fenfe, which the words do by 
 no means exprefs, and which counter-acts the very 
 fcope and intention of the fpeaker , a fenfe which 
 infinuates, that it is more prudent to yield in points 
 of form, than hazard the fafety of the conftitution. 
 Whereas the advice of Coriolanus is, That it is 
 better to put the whole to the hazard at once, than 
 to temporize, while the authority of the Senate is 
 thus gradually fubverted. 
 
 P. 495. your dijhonour 
 
 Mangles true judgment . 
 
 That is, This diminution of your authority deprives 
 true judgment, or wifdom, of that fway, which it 
 ought to bear in the commonwealth. 
 
 P. 498. One time will owe another. 
 
 The fenfe is, If we give way now, our prefent mo- 
 deration will entitle us to expect a more favourable 
 opportunity, when we may be able to let every thing 
 right again. 
 
 P. 500. to ejecl him hence, 
 
 Were but our danger ; and to keep him here, 
 Our certain death. 
 
 I can fee no reafon for altering the common reading, 
 
 Were but one danger ; 
 
 that is, r,s I apprehend, the danger from the ene- 
 my, if they fbould deprive themfelves of fo able a 
 champion. Mr. Theobald objects, that hereby the 
 climax, which feems evidently defigncd, is de- 
 stroyed. I can fee no climax even in his emenda- 
 E e 3 tion,
 
 C 42a ] 
 
 tion, but an antithefis Only, which is equally pre-; 
 ferved in both readings. 
 
 P. 509. he bath he en us'd 
 
 Ever to conquer, and to have his word, 
 Off contradiction. 
 
 When we fay, a man is ufed to have his word, we 
 mean, that he will ftill have fomething proper or 
 improper to fay on every occafion that offers. What 
 flrange Englifli too is. Off contradiction ? Yet, in 
 Ipite of the genius of our language, Mr. Warburg 
 ton will have it that thefe words fignify, \ He has 
 * been ufed to have his opinion carry it without 
 ' contradiction ; nay to conquer without oppofi- 
 ' tion.' Surely the tribunes knew better, as well 
 from what had juft before pafifed, as from the other 
 tranfactions mentioned in the play, the eftablifhment 
 of ihe tribunicial magiftracy, and the diftribution of 
 the corn, both which Coriolanus had violently op- 
 pofed, and had been over-ruled in his oppofition. 
 The latter part of Mr. Warbur ton's interpretation, 
 though he undtrflands it as a compliment to Corio- 
 Janus out of the mouth of his enemies, is fuch a one 
 as Coriolanus himfelf would undoubtedly have in- 
 terpreted to be an affront. The common reading, 
 
 he hath been us'd 
 
 Ever to conquer, and to have his word 
 Of contradiction, 
 
 gives us a very juft and a very natural Ccnk, l He 
 
 * hath been ever ufed, in war to conquer, and in 
 ' peace, to lay hold of every opportunity to contra- 
 ' diCt the defires of the people. The fir ft circum- 
 ' ftance hath blown up his pride, and the fecond 
 
 * is fo habitual to him, that he cannot get the better 
 
 * of it , there is therefore no doubr, bur, if we can 
 4 once put him in a paflion, and off his guard, both 
 
 * thofe principles of action will difplay themfelves 
 
 4 with
 
 t 42s 1 
 
 * with their ufual extravagance' The fource of 
 Mp. Warburton's miftake is evident ; he muft needs 
 bs fearching for a climax where none was intended. 
 
 Ibid. and That is there, which looks 
 
 With us to break his neck, 
 
 Mr. Warburton, who reproaches Sir Thomas Han- 
 mer with 'underftanding the fenfe better than the ex- 
 preflion,'' appears himfeif to have underftood neither. 
 To look, doth not fignify, to work, either in the 
 familiar phrafe of Shakefpear's time, or any other. 
 The fenfe is, There is that in his heart which tends 
 the fame way with us, that is to break his own 
 neck ; which points as directly as we could wifh k 
 to a tumble from the Tarpeian rock. When we 
 fay a thing looks any certain way, we mean, it hath 
 a tendency that way. 
 
 P. 511. The fire's ?& lowejl hell. 
 Read, * The fires-,* it is a miftake of the printer. 
 
 J>, I2 . and that not in theprefence 
 
 Of dreaded juftice. 
 
 Not, is here ufed for, Not only. See Upton's 
 Critic. Obferv. p. 318, 319. 
 
 P. 513* till at length, 
 
 Tour ignorance (which finds not, till it feels $ 
 Making but refervation of your f elves 
 Still your oixn enemies) deliver you. 
 
 I apprehend the fenfe of this obfeure p3fTage is ; TiH 
 at laft your ignorance (which can fee no confluen- 
 ces till it actually feels them) referving yourfclves 
 only from banifhment, who will ftill contin ie to do, 
 as you now do, your enemies work for him, by 
 helping him to deftroy you, deliver you, &c. 
 
 Ee 4 P. 514.
 
 [ 424 ] 
 
 P. 5 1 4. Fortune's blows , 
 
 When mojt Jlruck home, being gently warded, 
 
 craves 
 A noble cunning. 
 
 Being gently warded, is, being warded with a gentle 
 patience, without paflion or extravagance. The 
 conftruction alfo is anomalous, the participle pafilve 
 being put for the infinitive-, for the ienfe is, It 
 craves a noble cunning to ward off gently the blows 
 of fortune, when they are moft ftruck home. 
 
 P. 515. Myjirjlfon. 
 
 By what conftruction or analogy this exprefiion can 
 fignify the * noblefl, or moil eminent of men,' as 
 Mr. Warburton interprets it, I muft own myfelf at 
 a lofs to comprehend. Volumnia had before (p. 
 444) faid that Coriolanus was the only fon of her 
 wornb when fhe firft fent him to a cruel war, and 
 the progrefs of the ftory gives no ground for ima- 
 gining he had a brother. I believe therefore the 
 poet wrote, 
 
 My fierce y^tf. 
 
 P. 518. But your favour is well appeal* d by your tongue. 
 
 AppeaVd, is Mr. Warburtcn's conjecture, and fig- 
 nifies, according to him, c brought into remem- 
 ' brance.' He might with equal propriety have 
 faid it fignined any thing elfe, which firft came into 
 his htad , for the Englifh language knows it not in 
 this fignincation. The ancient reading was, ap- 
 peared. PofTibly the poet might have written, fup~ 
 plf d. Then the fenfe will be, Though I do not 
 recoiled! your countenance, yet it is fo well helped 
 out by your voice, that I very well remember you. 
 
 P. 519. Ten take my part for me, Sir. 
 Read, * from me j' it is an error of the prefs.
 
 C 425 ] 
 
 P. 531. He and Aufidius can no more atone, 
 Than violentejl contrariety. 
 
 To atone, is, to unite, to be reconciled. See the Ca* 
 nons of Criticifm, p. 161. So in As you Like it, 
 vol. ii. p. 382. 
 
 Then there is mirth in heav*n, 
 When earthly things made even 
 Atone together. 
 
 That is, are united with each other. 
 
 P. 532. Tour temples burned in their cement. 
 
 That is, Burned with whatever ferves to cement and 
 hold them together. Cement cannot poflibly fignify 
 4 cincture or inclofure,* as Mr. Warburton would per- 
 fuade himfelf. There is no analogy on which fuch 
 an interpretation can be fupported. 
 
 Ibid. Do feemingly revolt. 
 
 We mould read, agreeably to the other editions, 
 ' fmilingly revolt:' I believe the miftake is the 
 printer's. 
 
 P- 536- But one ofthefe, 
 
 (As he hath/pices 0/ them all) not all. 
 
 For I dare fo far free him, made him feared. 
 
 This pafiage as it is now read is mere nonfenfe. For 
 if Aufidius knew that Coriolanus had a fpice of 
 every one of the three defects here enumerated, and 
 that fome one or other of them, he knew not which, 
 was the principal caufe of his exile, how could he 
 be fure, and anfwer for it, that every one of them 
 did not contribute in fome meafure towards it ? I 
 am therefore inclined to believe that our poet might 
 have written, 
 
 (A) he hath fpices of them all) not gall, 
 lor fo far 1 dare free him, made him fcar'd. 
 
 By
 
 r 4** i 
 
 By gall, I fuppofe is meant envy, and referrtmeot 
 arifing from it. 
 
 P. 536. And power* unto it f elf mo ft commendable* 
 Hath not a tomb fo evident* as a chair 
 y extol what it hath done. 
 
 Mr. Warburton thinks the thought contained in 
 this paffage is * common, and miferably ill exprelTed.' 
 Poffibly it might coft him fome trouble to underftand 
 -it. Ocherwife, in my poor judgment, the thought 
 is vry far from being trivial, and the expreflion is 
 very much in the manner of Shakefpear, though, 
 as ufual, not decked out in all that accuracy and 
 jperfpicuky of fome more modern writers. 
 
 P. 537, Right's By right fouled. 
 
 Mr. Warburton ought at leaf! to have given us the 
 Englilh word, foiled* (at fouled is certainly not Eng- 
 lifh. 
 
 P. 53 8. A pair of tribunes* that have recked for Rome, 
 $0 make coals cheap. 
 
 yrhy is not the ancient reading, 
 
 thai have rack'd/^ Rome* 
 
 full as good ? That is, A pair of tribunes, that have 
 tortured their brains for Rome's welfare, only to 
 fail the price of coals; infinuating that the citizens 
 would foon have an opportunity to warm themfelve* 
 fcy the fire of their own houfes. 
 
 F' 539- 1 Jhall en long have knowledge 
 
 Of my fuccefs. 
 
 This the tribunes knew already as well as Menenius, 
 and therefore needed not this information of it. I 
 have little doubt but that the poet wrote, 
 
 Yo'J Jbal! ere long have knozaiedge. 
 
 P. 539-
 
 [ 4*7 3 
 
 P, 539. I tell you, be does ft in gctf. 
 
 What can poflibly be meant by fitting in gold, which 
 is pertinent to the prefent circumftances of Corioia- 
 nus ? I conceive the poet probably might have writ- 
 ten, 
 
 I tell you, be does fit engoal'd ; 
 
 that is, He is furrounded by the Volfcian chiefs, 
 as if he were their prifoner, fo that there is no get- 
 ting at any private conference with him. This 
 agrees very weli with what is faid jult afterwards, 
 that he had fent in writing after Cominius the con- 
 ditions, on which alone he would condefcend to treat 
 with Rome j which feems to imply, that he had firft 
 taken the opinion of the Volfcians after Cominius 
 had left him. So p. 545. Aufidius teftifies for him, 
 that he had 
 
 Never admitted private whifper, no, 
 
 Not with fuch friends that thought them fur e of him. 
 
 Ibid. What he would do, 
 
 He fent in writing after ; what he would not, 
 Bound with an oath, not yield to new conditions. 
 
 As fpecious as this emendation of Sir Thomas Han- 
 mer's appears, it cannot poflibly be right j unlefs 
 we fuppofe Coriolanus to have violated his oath, out 
 of regard for the old Menenius. For he himfelf 
 afterwards, p. 545, exprefsly tells us, that he hud 
 yielded to new conditions, 
 
 to grace him only. 
 
 That thought he could do more, a very little 
 J have yielded to. 
 
 The ancient reading was, 
 
 Bound with an oath to yield to his conditions : 
 
 Jrrorrt
 
 r 428 j 
 
 From whence I conjecture the poet might poffibly 
 write, 
 
 pyhat he would do, 
 
 Hefent in writing after \ what he would not, 
 Bound with an oath, if you yield to his conditions : 
 
 that is, To remove the apprehenfions and terror the 
 city might be under from his refentment, he de- 
 clared what he would not do, and bound himfelf to 
 it by an oath, if it accepted the conditions he had 
 
 offered, 
 
 P. 540. So that all hope is vain, unlefs his mother 
 
 And wife, who (as I hear) mean to f elicit him, 
 Force mercy to his country. 
 
 The ancient reading was, 
 
 For mercy to his country : 
 
 which certainly ought not to have been altered, fince 
 both the fenfe and conftruction might be much ea- 
 fier and better reftored by the following flight cor- 
 rection, 
 
 So that all hope is vain, unlefs in his mother 
 And wife, who (as I hear) mean to folicit him 
 For mercy to his country. 
 
 P. 541. For I have ever narrified my friends, 
 
 (Of whom he's chief) with all thefize that 
 
 verity 
 V/ould without lapfing fuffer : 
 
 If I had not learned from the Canons of Criticifm, 
 p. 60. that the word, narrified, is to be found in 
 Daily's Dictionary, I mould fcarce have believed it 
 authorized by any one writer in the Englilh lan- 
 guage. If it be not a cant word, as molt probably 
 it is, it conveys fo ridiculous an idea, that it can find 
 no place in any other than burlefque writing. The 
 ancient reading was, verified, which the author of 
 7 the
 
 C 429 3 
 
 the Canons of Criticifm conjectures might creep into 
 the text in the place of, varnifh'd, or, vernifhed. 
 But varnifhing with Jize, and with all the fize that 
 verity would fuffer, feems little lefs exceptionable 
 than, narrifying. I think Sir Thomas Hanmer's 
 correction, magnified, bids fair for being the true 
 reading. The word, verity, at the end of the next 
 line, might ftrike the eye of the tranfenber or printer, 
 and hang upon his imagination fufficiently to occa- 
 fion the blunder. But Mr. Warburton objects, that, 
 ' to magnify, fignifies, to exceed the truth -,' and fo 
 makes an impotent effort to pafs this expreffion on 
 the reader for a bull. His very prayers might have 
 taught him better. To magnify, fignifies, to extol 
 the greatnefs of any thing in fome refpect or other, 
 whether the praife exceed the truth, or keep within 
 the ftrict bounds of it. The word, fize, doth not 
 here fignify the compofition otherwife called pafte, 
 as the author of the Canons of Criticifm feems to 
 mifapprehend ir, but dimenfion. 
 
 P. 542. The virginal palms of y cur daughters. 
 
 The author of the Canons of Criticifm, p. 61. hath 
 very juftly expofed Mr. Warburton's moft ridicu- 
 lous emendation, who would obtrude on the reader, 
 pafms, or, pdmes, that is, as he explains it, /noon- 
 ings, though the word, as a noun, is as unknown to 
 the French, as it is to the Englifh language, and 
 probably to every language that is human. Mr. 
 Warburton's apology for coining fo many new 
 words from the French, and fathering them on 
 Shakefpear, is, that ' a great number of fuch words 
 of Shakefpear's own coining are to bz found in his 
 undoubted t; xr.' I do indeed admit, that a great 
 numb^i of French words are incorporated in our 
 language, and ufed by Shakefpear in common with 
 other writers ; but that there are a great number of 
 fuch words to be met with in his writings, which 
 
 are
 
 C 430 1 
 
 flfe of his own coining, and peculiar to himfelf, \i 
 a circumftance which, I muft confefs, hath efcaped 
 my obfervation. But granting the fact to be true ; 
 is that a fuflicient justification for over-loading him 
 with fuch words by wholefale, for mere fanciful 
 conjecture only* in defiance of the authority of all 
 his editions, and that too when their text express 
 his meaning in Englifh full as well, and frequently 
 much better* and with more force and elegance ? 
 To detect the weaknefs and infufftciency of Mr. 
 Warburton's defence, we need but apply the rea-f 
 foning on which it i$ founded to a fimilar inftance. 
 Whoever hath but dipped into Shakefpear muft 
 have obferved a certain obfcurity, which may be 
 considered as one of the characteriftick peculiarities of 
 his ftyle, arifing in great meafure from the grandeur, 
 the ftrength, and the exactnefs of his conceptions, 
 which he could not equal by the force of his expref- 
 fion, though his powers even of this kind were per- 
 haps never excelled by any other writer. It is the 
 bufinefs of a critick to illuftrate thefe obfcurities, 
 but he would be juftly laughed at and exploded, if 
 he mould fet about multiplying their number, under 
 the pretext that he was ftrictly adhering to Shake- 
 fpear's manner. But our critick, not trufting wholly 
 to his reafoning, appeals to fad and experiment, 
 and for this purpofe lays before the reader another 
 emendation of his own, which we muft therefore 
 look upon as his palmary emendation of this kind, 
 carrying with it fuch clear evidence of its truth, as 
 at once to command an univerfal affent, and fully 
 juftify every other fimilar liberty which he hath 
 taken. The experiment is made on a line in our 
 poet's Tarquin and Lucrece, where enumerating 
 the various performances of Time, he mentions 
 among many others the following one, 
 
 To dry the eld oaJCs fap, and cherifi fP'tigs- 
 
 It
 
 E 43* 3 
 
 it muft be admitted, that the latter part of the line, 
 being mere nonfenfe, is certainly corrupt; to remedy 
 which, and reftore fenfe to the text, Mr. Warbur- 
 ton pofitively afiures us that the poet wrote, 
 
 To dry the old oak* s Jap y and tarifhfprhg?. 
 
 That is, To dry up fprings, from the French word* 
 
 tarir? But notwithstanding this gentleman's confi- 
 dence in the certainty of his correction, and the au- 
 thoritative air with which he obtrudes it, I will ven- 
 ture to affirm, that this favourite fpecimen of his 
 French coinage is of as bad an alloy, and will as 
 little bear the touchftone, as any the mod excep- 
 tionable of thofe, which in- the courfe of thefe notes- 
 I have already been obliged to reject. All the at- 
 chievements of Time which the poet here enumerates 
 are the regular effects of the power of that perfo- 
 nated agent, and never fail to take place within cer- 
 tain periods*. They are the natural and neceffary 
 confluences of his influence conftantly and uni- 
 formly operating. Thus there is no oak now in 
 the world whofe lap will not be dried up within a 
 certain revolution of time; and the lame t 
 uniformity of operation holds in every one of the 
 other inftances mentioned by the poet. But is this 
 the cafe with fprings? Are all the fprings which 
 exifted at the recovery of the earth from the deluge 
 now dried up ? or have we any reafon to imagine, 
 t-hat ail thofe now fubfilling will,, by the natural 
 courfe of events, be dr'rd up till the general confla- 
 gration, at however great a diftance we fuppofe it ? 
 Is the drying up of fprings one of thofe regular 
 changes in nature,, which we naturally expect will, 
 and which from the confeitution of things necefTarily 
 mud, happen within certiin periods? The anfwer 
 to thefe queffions will undeniably evince, that Mr. 
 Warburton's emendation mod be wrong, and that 
 it participates in the common defect cf hi. conjee - 
 
 t u i e s ?
 
 [ 432 ] 
 
 tures, that of not being fuited to the context ; a 
 circumftance, which the temporary glare of a new 
 and fudden thought dazzling his imagination fel- 
 dom permits him fufficiently to confider. I might 
 add, as a farther argument againft this conjecture, 
 that every inftance of the effects of time, through- 
 out a long enumeration comprized in no lefs than 
 three ftanzas, hath a whole verfe allotted to it -, and 
 therefore it is by no means probable, that two fo 
 very different ones mould, contrary to the general 
 form which obtains through the whole paffage, be 
 here crowded into one. I (hall leave it therefore to 
 the confideration of the reader, whether the poet 
 might not have written, 
 
 To dry the old oak's fap, and fere its fprings. 
 
 That is, Deftroy its vegetation. 
 
 P. 543. Back, I fay, go; left I let forth your half 
 pint of blood: that* s the utmojl of your having. Back, 
 back. 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath taken upon him to alter the 
 text, in order, as he fays, to preferve the humour. 
 But the common reading gives exactly the fame 
 fenfe, is full as intelligible, and, by interpofing the 
 word, back, in the middle of the fentence, gives 
 more fpirit and humour to the expreffion. Let the 
 reader judge. The ancient reading was, c Back, I 
 c fay, go ; left I let forth your half pint of blood 
 
 ' -back that's the utmofb of your 
 
 ' having. Back.* 
 
 P. 544. - -That we have been familiar, 
 
 ln^rate Forgetfulnefs ftjoll poijcn, rather 
 Than Pity note how much. 
 
 Mr. Theobald, by a very ingenious, and in my 
 opinion, a very probable conjecture, would fubfti- 
 
 tute,
 
 C 4-33 ] 
 tute, prifon, for, poifon, but Mr. Warburton would 
 nor. hearken to him. 
 
 P. 545. fcr who ft old love, I have 
 
 (Tbo' I fhew'd fow'rly to him) once more 
 
 offered 
 The firjl conditions \ (which they did refufe, 
 And cannot now accept) to grace him only, 
 That thought he could do more : a very little 
 Tve yielded to. 
 
 If Coriolanus had barely offered the firft conditions 
 again, and nothing more, with what propriety 
 could he add, that he had yielded to a very little ? 
 I apprehend the paflage mould be thus pointed, 
 
 for whofe old love, 1 have 
 
 (Though I Jbew'd fow'rly to him) once more offered 
 The firjl conditions, which they did refufe, 
 And cannot now accept : To grace him only, 
 (That thought be could do more) a very little 
 Vve yielded to. 
 
 P. 556. fervid his defignments 
 
 In mine own perfon ; holpe to reap the fame, 
 Which he did make all his ; and took fome pride 
 To do my f elf this wrong. 
 
 We are indebted to Mr. Theobald for this alteration 
 in the text, by which the word, bclpe, is fubftituted 
 for, hop'd; though Mr. Warburton hath not 
 thought proper, on this occafion, any more than 
 in many hundred other infhnces, to acknowledge 
 his obligation. I muft own however that I cannot 
 concur with thefe gentlemen, being perfuaded that 
 the ancient reading, 
 
 hop'd to reap the fame, 
 
 is right and genuine. Mr. Theobald's only objec- 
 tion, by means of which he had the luck to impofe 
 
 F f on
 
 I 434 1 
 
 on Mr. Warbunon, is this : How could AufrdluS' 
 hope to reap that fame, which Coriolanus made alt 
 his own, if he took a pride in doing himfelf that 
 wrong ? But it is founded in fuch a Cohfufion of 
 ideas, that it is difficult even to comprehend its aim, 
 and confequently much more fo to give the proper 
 folution of it. However, if I guefs rightly at its 
 drift, it may r-ceive this anfwer. The fenfe of the 
 pafTage is no other than this; I ferved his defigns 
 with my own perfonal affiftance, in hopes of reaping 
 the fame, which he hath fince arrogated entirely to 
 himfelf ; and I even took fome pride in contributing 
 to this injury, as it hath eventually proved, done to 
 myfelf. 
 
 VOLUME the SEVENTH. 
 Julius Caefar. 
 
 P. 8. Were 1 a common laugher. 
 
 The firft folio edition hath, laughter, which Mr. 
 Seward in his notes on Beaumont and Fletcher, vol. 
 iii. p. 115. thinks a ftronger word to exprefs a low 
 buffoon, than that in the text. But he feems to 
 have mifunderftood the drift of the poet; a low 
 buffoon, who is commonly laughed at, is not the 
 idea he intended, but one who, without regard to 
 friend (hip or any other confideration, abufes the in- 
 dulgent confidence of his friends, in order to expofe 
 them to the laughter of the firft company he comes 
 into. 
 
 P. 9. And I will look on death indifferently. 
 
 I entirely concur in this emendation of Mr. War- 
 bnrton's. For though Mr. Upton hath in his 
 Critic. Obferv. p. 293 295. with great learning 
 
 and
 
 [ 435 1 
 
 and plaufibility, made a fhift to reconcile the com- 
 mon reading; 
 
 And 1 will look on both indifferently \ 
 
 to the principles of the ftoick philofophy, of which 
 Brutus was a zealous follower, yet I think it may be 
 very reafonably queftioned, whether Shakefpear had 
 ever entered fo far into this philofophy, as to be 
 mafter of thofenicediftinctionsj and eve 1 admitting 
 he was, the fame could not be prefumed of his au- 
 dience, to whofe apprehenfions his language ought 
 to have been adapted, preferably to every confider- 
 ation of learned accuracy. But what appears deci- 
 five in the point is, the caufal particle, for, which 
 introduces the two following lines, and the exprefa 
 declaration which Brutus therein makes, of the fu- 
 perior influence which the love of honour had with 
 him beyond the fear of death. 
 
 P. 10. His coward lips did from their colour fly\ 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 128. 
 
 P. 16. // / were Brutus now, and he were CaJ/ius, 
 He Jhould not humour me, 
 
 Thefe lines, together with the fix preceding them, 
 feem to have been very generally mifapprehended, 
 The ingenious Mr. Seward is the only writer I have 
 yet met with, who appears to have rightly under- 
 ftood the poet's fcope through the whole paffage ; 
 and he hath with great penetration and judgment, 
 in his notes on Beaumont and Fletcher, vol. iv. p. 
 178,179, thus explained this part of it , If Brutus 
 and I were to change fituations, fo that I were Bru- 
 tus, and he Caftans, Crefar fhould not, by the de- 
 monftrations of his friendfhip and alTedcion, cajole 
 me out of my principles. Mr. Seward's whole note 
 Very well deferves the readei's attention* 
 
 Ff2 P. 21.
 
 [ 43^ ] 
 
 P. 2 1 . And the complexion of the elements. 
 
 There was not the leaft occafion to alter the ancient 
 reading, ' the element f which in common accepta- ' 
 tion more particulrly denotes the air. Lightning 
 and ghofts ieem to be the only extraordinary ap- 
 pearances of that fearful night of which CafTius is 
 fpeaking ; and thefe appearances may very well be 
 referred to the element of air alone. Mr. Warbur- 
 ton indeed tells us, of ' winds riving the knotty 
 oaks, and the ocean raging and foaming ,' but thefe 
 are the phantoms only of his own imagination, for 
 Cafca, whom he quotes as his authority, teftifies 
 no fuch thing. He only mentions thefe as things 
 he had formerly feen with lefs terror than the prodi- 
 gies of that night. It would have been ftrange in- 
 deed, if he had feen the raging and foaming of the 
 ocean in the ftreets of Rome. As to what Cafca 
 adds, of ' all the fway of the earth making like a 
 
 thing infirm,' it needs not be interpreted of an ac- 
 tual earthquake, which if the poet had had in his 
 view, he would have exprefTed himfelf with greater 
 propriety and certainty. It means only, that the 
 agitations in the heavens were fo violent, that they 
 feemed even to portend that the earth itfelf would fall 
 back into its original chaos. It is remarkable, that 
 the poet doth not fay the earth (hook, but * all the 
 
 * fway of earth (hook,' which may very well be 
 unclerftood of the element which every way fur- 
 rounds and embraces it, and in confequence may be 
 fuppofed to have a very great fhare in bringing on 
 any changes that may happen to it. Thus Mr. 
 Warburcon's mod accurate diftribution of the three 
 cpiiheis, in the following line, 
 
 Moji hlo r dy, fiery, and mojl terrible, 
 
 among the four elements, appears to he abfolutely 
 
 without foundation. I think it necelfary the reader 
 
 2 fhould
 
 f 437 ] 
 
 fhould know that this note w.is written before the 
 publicat on of the laft edition of the Canons of Cri- 
 ticilm, to which he would do well to have recourfc, 
 p. 177, 178. 
 
 P. 23. Th % abufe of greatnefs is> when it disjoins 
 Rnnorfe from power. 
 
 Remorfe ftgnifies the confeious uneafinefs arifing 
 from a fenfe of having done wrong-, to extinguish 
 which feeling, nothing hath fo great a tendency as 
 abfolute uncontrouled power. 
 
 Ibid. Andfince the quarrel 
 
 Will bear no colour , for the thing he is, 
 Fafhion it thus. 
 
 It is impoflible to talk more widely from the pur- 
 pofe than Mr. Warburton doth in his note on this 
 paffage. The fenfe is this j Since our quarrel to 
 Crefar will admit of no pretext, if we found it on 
 the character in which he h.ith hitherto appeared, 
 we muft reprefent it in this light, that if he mould 
 augment his power, which is the pjint he is evi- 
 dently driving at, he would certainly run into thefe 
 and thefe extremities, &c. 
 
 P. 26. The genius, and the mortal injlruments 
 Are then in council. 
 
 I agree entirely with Mr. Warburton, that ' this de- 
 fcriprion of the con ji ion of confpirators, before the 
 execut on of therir defign, hath a pomp and terror in it 
 that perfectly aftonifhes.' The fituation of mind 
 here delcribed hath in i:s own nature fomething ex- 
 tieamly dreadful and flriking, and the poet in paint- 
 ing it hath ftrongly marked thofe great out-lines 
 which reprefent it to the imagination in its urmoft 
 force. But one circumftance, which feems princi- 
 pally to have contributed^to the impreffion it made 
 F f 3 on
 
 [ 438 J 
 
 on Mr. Warburton, is a certain myfterious obfcu- 
 rity, which, on many other occafions as well as this, 
 hath a very large fhare in promoting the effect of 
 the fublime ; as things in general appear much 
 greater through a mift, which prevents us from dif- 
 cerning and afcertaining with precifion their exact 
 limits and boundaries. For I think it is certain, 
 that he hath totally mifapprehended the image which 
 the poet intended to convey by the two lines now" 
 under our confidcration. As he interpret? them, 
 The evil genius of the Roman republick is repre- 
 fented as prefiding in a council of the confpirators. 
 But, befides that Brutus never could have engaged 
 in a defjgn which appeared to him in fo odious a 
 light, this interpretation is fo manifeftly repugnant 
 to the whole fcope of the context, that it is impof- 
 fible i: can be the true one. Brutus firft remarks a 
 circumftance which relates wholly to himfelf, that 
 he had not flept from the time that Caflius firft 
 opened to him in confidence this dangerous fecret ; 
 and thence is naturally led to a reflection which is 
 general, on that uneafy diftracted ftate of mind, 
 which muft necefiarily accompany the confeioufnefs 
 of having engaged in a confederacy fo befet with ter- 
 rors on every fide, while its fate is yet in fufpenfe, 
 and its fuccefs undecided : Then follows the paflage 
 we are now confidering; and he at laft concludes 
 with a comparifon of thofe tumultuous conflicts, 
 with which the human breaft is fo violently agitated 
 under fuch circumftances, to thofe infurrections and 
 rebellions, which deftroy the peace, and endanger 
 the conflitution of a kingdom or body politick. 
 Every thing here hath a minif-ft reference to the 
 ftate of mind of the particular man. Whatever may 
 be fuppofed to pa's in an affembly of confpirators 
 is wholly foreign to it. The ftate itfelf is defcribed 
 to be a ftate of inteftine difcord and confufion, very 
 unlike that of an united band, deliberating and cou- 
 rt, faking
 
 [ 439 3 
 fulting upon the moft proper meafures of executing 
 an cnterprize already refolved upon, and in which 
 they have aH agreed to concur. This therefore be- 
 ing undoubtedly not the fenie of the paffage, it will 
 not be difficult to difcover that which the poet really 
 intended ; which I apprehend to be this : By the 
 gtnius, is meant the prefiding ruling principle in the 
 human mind, the Jyepovixov of the Stoicks, the ra- 
 tional and immortal part. By the mortal injlruments 
 I underftand the whole tribe of paflions, affections, 
 and emotions, the fubordinate powers of the human 
 conftitution, termed mortal^ becaufe they were fup- 
 pofed to be fo, as deriving their origin from the 
 mortal body, and in great meafure depending upon 
 it for their continuance and prevalency ; and termed 
 injlruments too, becaufe in ordinary mortals, who 
 have not reached the heighths of confummate undif- 
 turbed ftoical wifdorn, they are in moft cafes the 
 very principles which excite and determine to action 
 and execution, and the counfellors by which the 
 prefiding principle fuffers itfelf to be guided. Thefe 
 are reprefented as being all of them, during the 
 dreadful period here defcribed, in a ftate of total 
 anarchy, fedition and mutual diilenfion, and the 
 mind as torn and convulfcd by the various and con- 
 trary efforts of hope, fear, ambition, felf-preferva- 
 tion, private friendihip, love of the publick, refent- 
 menr, envy, and in fhort every other paffion that 
 can be fuppoted to influence the human breait on lo 
 important and intcreliing an occafion. Having thus 
 given tr.y interpretation of the paffage, I may be 
 permitted to oblerve ho v much eafier it is to admire 
 than to underftand , and how little difficult it is even 
 to communicate the fame impreffion to the reader 
 by tne help of general encomiums, luch as, ' terrible 
 
 * graces, magnificent c i re um dance, moft daring 
 
 * Itretch of fancy, pompous apparatus, force of co- 
 
 * louring,' and the like -, perhaps much more effectual- 
 
 r f 4 ly
 
 [ 44 J 
 
 ly than by a fimple undifguifed expofition of real fact 
 and the truth of nature. For this reafon I (hall be 
 little furprized if this latter mould find but a cold 
 reception with thofe readers, whofe minds have, 
 been dazzled and prepoffcffed by the pompous fo- 
 lemnity of Mr. Warburton's oratory. 
 
 P. 28. No, not an oath : if that the fate of men, 
 
 The fufferance of our fouls, the time's abufe. , 
 
 I can fee no reafon for altering the ancient reading, 
 
 if feat the face of men : 
 
 that is, If that the face of our fellow citizens, which 
 we mould never for the fucure be able to look up to 
 without the mod infupportable confufion, after hav- 
 ing, by our treachery, defeated an enterprize, on 
 the iuccefs of which the prefervation of our common 
 liberties and the very exiftence of the republkk ab- 
 folutely depends, is a weak motive, infufficient to 
 fecure our fidelity to our engagement. 
 
 P. 29. but do not Jiain 
 
 The even virtue of our enterprise, 
 Nor t'b* infuppreffive mettle of our fprits ; 
 To think, that or our caufe, or our performance, 
 Did need an oath. 
 
 Nothing can be plainer than the fenfe of this pafTage, 
 the exprefllon of which, as well as the fentiment, is 
 extremely fine. Do not call fuch an imputation, 
 either upon the juftice of the caufe we are engaged 
 in, which is indifputable, or upon the determined 
 refolution of our own courage, which nothing is 
 able to fabdue or awe, a^ to think, that either the 
 one, or the other, will be found defective, if it be 
 not ftrengthened by the additional fecurity cf an 
 oath. If the reader hath a mind to divert himfelf 
 with a mod remarkable inftance of a man enfnared 
 in the nets of his own fubnlty, and puzzled to thit 
 
 degree,
 
 [ 44i ] 
 
 degree, that he neither knows where he is, what he 
 is about, nor what he fays, I would recommend to 
 him Mr. Warburton's note on this place. Firft, he 
 thii ks, c the opinion, that the caufe or actors want- 
 
 * ed an oath to hold them together, cannot be called 
 c a ftain, becaufe it doth not neccfiarily imply a 
 ' fufpicion of the honefty of either.' Surely want- 
 ing an oath to hold them together cloth imply, and 
 that necefiarily, that without that oath they would 
 not be held together j otherwife the oath would not 
 be wanted. Confequently, an opinion that an oath 
 was wanted for that purpofe, is an opinion, that 
 without the oath that purpofe could not be effec- 
 tually anfwered. Confequently, fuch an opinion 
 necefiarily implies more than a fufpicion, either 
 that the caufe was not good enough to be fingly 
 depended on, or the men not honeft enough to 
 be trufted without it ; and if this be not a fufpi- 
 cion of the honefty of the one or the other, let 
 the reader judge. But Mr. Warburton goes on, 
 ' or if fuch an opinion did neceflarily imply fuch 
 
 * a fufpicion, yet fuch fufpicion could not ftain the 
 
 * honefty of either, as an oath is no unjuft means 
 
 * of union ; for it is only an unjuft means ufed for a 
 
 * good end, that can be faid to (lain that end.' 
 Was there ever fuch reafoning ? He is to prove that 
 the fufpic'on of want of honefty could not ftain 
 the honefty cf the caufe or the actors, and he la- 
 bours only to prove, that it could not ftain the end 
 the acftors propo'ed to themfelves. And how doth 
 he prove it ? By averting that the means towards 
 attaining that end were not unjuft ; as if no means 
 that were not ftricliy fpeaking unjuft, whatever 
 meannefs of fpirit they might betray, could imprint 
 a ftain. But what have we to do with means or 
 end ? The qutftion is fimply, whether an avowed 
 (iiftruft of a man's honefty doth not refiecx an im- 
 putation on it 3 and, Whether that imputation may 
 
 not
 
 [ 442 ] 
 not properly be called a ftain upon it ? Common 
 fenfe and common language concur in avouching 
 that it may. For though no fufpicion or imputation 
 can alter the real nature of things, they may greatly 
 alter their external appearance, and like a fpot on a 
 garment leifen their eftimation in the eye of the 
 world. Mr. Warburton proceeds i * admitting fuch. 
 
 * an opinion might be called a ftain, yet the meta- 
 
 * phor here employed will not allow the ufe of the 
 
 * term. For the expfeffion of infuppreffwe mettle 
 ' alludes to the elaftick quality of fteel, which, being 
 
 * forced beyond its tone, lofes its fpring, and there- 
 
 * by becomes incapable of keeping that machine in 
 
 * moticn which it is defigned to actuate. We 
 '? mud therefore read, 
 
 do not drain, 
 
 ' that is, beyond its natural and proper tone ; the 
 
 * confequtnce of which will be the (topping the 
 
 * motion of the whole machine.' One would think 
 it fcarce poffible to crowd fo many abfurdities and 
 inconfiftencies into fo narrow a compafs. Firft, he 
 confounds, mettle, that is, vigour, activity, with 
 metaly and miftakes the one for the other. Next he 
 interprets, ifijufprijfive, to fignify the fame as elaf- 
 tick, what is eafily bent and kept down, though ic 
 will recover itfelf as foon as the force that kept it 
 down is removed, and not before ; whereas in truth 
 it fignifies the direct contrary, what is not to be 
 bent or kept under by any force whatever. Then 
 this infuppreffive mettle is become all on a fudc J en 
 fo exceedingly fupprcGlve, that if you clog it only 
 with the addition of an oath, it is overftrained, its 
 fprng is left, its power deftroyed, and it is reduced 
 to a ftate utterly unactive and ufelefs. Laftly, for 
 it is time }o have done ; the interpretation nfulting 
 from this admirable rrafoning is perfectly of a piece; 
 with it. Whereas Shakdpear contented hinfelf 
 
 with
 
 t 44$ 1 
 
 jyith faying, That to fuppofe their union needed an 
 path, to fecure their fidelity and fteadinefs in the 
 profecution of their enterprize, would be to tarnifti 
 the Iuftre, both of the caufe they were engaged in, 
 and of that undaunted courage which prompted them 
 to undertake it ; Mr. Warburton makes him fay, 
 that their courage was fuch, that while they con- 
 tinued unfworn it could not fail of fupporting them, 
 but the moment they added to it the artificial bond . 
 of an oath, that oath would infallibly overftrain 
 that courage, and by fo doing deftroy its virtue and 
 efficacy^ and render the whole machine of their en- 
 terprize motion.'efs and ineffectual.' Is there any 
 one fentimentof Mr. Bayes in the Rehearfal, which 
 comes up to this for fublimity of nonfenfe ? 
 
 P. 32. Quite from the main opinion he held once. 
 
 By, main opinion, is here meant, that opinion which 
 principally influenced his general fentiments and 
 conduct ; the leading principle. 
 
 P. 35. Comfort your bed, 
 
 See this exprefllon illustrated in Upton's Critic. 
 Obferv. p. 172. 
 
 P. 40. Signifies, that from you great Rome Jhall fuck 
 Reviving blood: and that great men fh all pre fi 
 
 For tinftures, Jlains, relicks, and cognizance. 
 
 There is not che lead reafon for fuppofing, with Mr, 
 Warburton, that any thing hath been omitted here. 
 The thi gs mentioned in the laftf line are jull at 
 fymbolual, as the reviving blood in that preced* 
 ing it. 
 
 P. 41. I am aJJjam'd, I did yield to them* 
 Read, afhamtd. 
 
 V. 46.
 
 [ 444 1 
 
 P. 46. 'That unavailable holds on his rant, 
 Unjhak*d of motion. 
 
 Mr. Upton, in his Critic. Obferv. p. 224. hath, I 
 thmk, reftored the true reading of this paflage, 
 
 UnfJjak'd of notion ; 
 
 that is, Steady in his fentiments and purpofes. 
 
 .P. 48. Cafe. Stoop, Remans, ft oop ; 
 
 And let us bathe our hands in C^far's blood, &c. 
 
 Mr. Pope informs us, that in all the editions this 
 fpsech is a'cri'bed to Brutus, which he, thinking it 
 utterly inco^fiflent with his mild philofophical cha- 
 racter, transferred to Cafca. But Mr. Upton in 
 his Critic. Obferv. 'p. 90, 91. and Mr. Theobald in 
 his note on this palftge, have in my opinion fully 
 removed this objection. 
 
 P. 51. Sign* d in thy fpoil, and crimfori 'd in thy let he. 
 
 For, letbe, which is a word of no language, we 
 mould undoubtedly read with Mr. Theobald, death, 
 or, as it^was anciently written, delhe. For though 
 Mr. Warburton tells us, it is c a common French 
 ' word,' with as much confidence as if he had met 
 with it a hundred times in the old French writers, 
 I am much miftaken, if he ever faw it any where ex- 
 cept 1 in Cotgravt-'s French Dictionary. Nay, he did 
 not fee it even there, but miftook a very different 
 one, 'to wit, Lethe, for it -, which plainly clifcovus 
 the fcfuice and original of his error. For Cotgrave, 
 having fomewhere met with Lethe, which properly 
 fignirics the river of oblivion, and by a pedantick 
 affected metonymy (and it hath a mark purpofely 
 prefixed to it to warn the reader, that it is a pedant 
 tick, forced, or affected word) oblivion itfelf, and 
 that in a conff ruction which would equally and 
 indifferently admit its being interpreted either oblr- 
 
 vion
 
 t 445 J 
 vion or death (as, to inftance in our own language, 
 the land of oblivion) hath given it us in his Dictio- 
 nary with both thofe interpretations, death, morta- 
 lity, or oblivion. Then comes Mr. Warburton, 
 and, finding the word in a French Dictionary, con- 
 cludes it would not have been there, if it had not 
 been in common ufe , and fo he boldly tells us, it is 
 c a common French word.' He hath made the fame 
 miftake as Cotgrave in his explication of that expref- 
 fion in Anthony and Cleopatra, 
 
 evn to a let hied dulnefs : 
 
 which he interprets to be c a deadly dulnefs,' though 
 it means a dulnefs equal to that of Lethe the river 
 of oblivion. From hence the reader may judge how 
 little Mr. Warburton can be depended upon for his 
 fkill in the old French language, and what regard 
 his peremptory aflertions in matters relating to it 
 may deferve. 
 
 P. 54. No Rome of fafety for Offavius yep. 
 
 Mr. Upton, in his Critic. Obferv. p. 246. is pofitive 
 that Shakefpear intended to write, 
 
 No room of fafety for Oclavixs yet. 
 
 It is a matter of mere indifference which way it is 
 written, as the playing with the words evident'y 
 aimed at by the poet, is equally preferved either way. 
 
 P. 65. Upon condition, Publius flail not live'. 
 
 Who is your ftjlcfs fon, Mark Anthony. 
 
 Mr. Upton in his Critic. Obferv. p. 237, 298. hath 
 proved, that Lucius, and not Publius, is the perf n 
 hrre meant, who was uncle by the mother's fide to 
 Mark Anthony ; and in confequence he concludes 
 bhakefprar wrote, 
 
 You are his fficr" 'j fan, Mark /hikony. 
 
 But
 
 I 446 3 
 
 But whether the miftake proceeded from the pdet* 
 the tranferiber, or the printer, is uncertain. 
 
 P. jo.JVhat villain touched his body, that did flab, 
 And not for juflice ? 
 
 That is, Which of us all that touched his Body was 
 fo much a villain as to (tab him, from any other 
 motive than that of juftice ? This I take to be the 
 meaning of this paffage, which is rather obfeurely ex^ 
 prefied, and which Mr. Warburton feems to have 
 mifunderftood. I fee with pleafure my interpreta- 
 tion confirmed by the concurrence of the author of 
 the Canons of Criticifm, laft edition, p. 12^. 
 
 Ibid. Co to 5 you are not Caflius, 
 
 See this alteration made in the pointing by Mr. : 
 Warburton, and the whimfical interpretation in con- 
 fequence of which he made it, very fully exploded 
 in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 119 121; 
 
 P. 82. they could be content 
 
 'To vifit other places , and come down 
 Withfearfulbravery -, thinking, by this face, &c. 
 
 The wrong pointing deftroys the fenfe of this paf- 
 fage. Mr. Pope hath very properly corrected it thus, 
 
 they cculd be content 
 
 To v'fit other places ; and come down 
 Withfearfulbravery, thinking by this face, &c. 
 
 Ibid. I do not crofsyou, but I will do fo, 
 
 Mr. Upton, in his Critic. Obferv. p. 192 195, 
 hath very judicioufly pointed out the intention of 
 the pcet in this paffage, which he underftands to be, 
 to convey to the reader fome idea of that fuperiority 
 of Oftavius his genius over that of Anthony; of 
 which fuperiority the poet himfelf hath made exprefs- 
 
 men-
 
 t 447 ] 
 
 mention, both in his Macbeth, and in his Antony 
 and Cleopatra. 
 
 P. 84. And, in their fleads, do ravenous crows and kites. 
 
 As this emendation is founded merely on Mr. War- 
 burton's miftaken apprehenfion, that a raven and 
 a crow are only different names for the fame bird, 
 not two diftinftfpecies, we muft undoubtedly rein- 
 state the ancient reading, 
 
 ravens, crows, and kites. 
 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 74. and Seward's 
 notes on Beaumont and Fletcher, vol. x. p. 7. 
 
 P. $5. But I do find it cowardly, and vile, 
 
 For fear of what might fall, fo to prevent 
 The time of life ; * * * * arming myfelj with 
 patience. 
 
 It is, I think, very evident that nothing hath been 
 omitted here, and that we may difcharge Mr. War- 
 burton's afterifks from the place they have ufurped. 
 Arming myfelf, in juft conftruction means, while at 
 the fame time I arm myfelf. 
 
 P. 9 1 . There is fo much, that thou wilt killmeflraight. 
 
 The fenfe is plain enough; There is fo much mo- 
 ney for thee, on condition that thou wilt kill me 
 Straight. This however Mr. Warburton not under- 
 standing, declares to be unintelligible, and hath 
 taken a deal of fruitlefs pains in guefli ig at what 
 might be the meaning of a preceding line, which 
 he pretends is loft, in order, by means of that, to 
 communicate fome fenfe to this. 
 
 Ibid. When you do find him alive, or dead. 
 
 Read, agreeably to the other editions, 
 
 When you do find him, or alive, or dead. 
 
 I fuppofe it is a mi (take of the printer. 
 
 Antony
 
 f 448 I 
 
 Antony and Cleopatra. 
 
 P. 98. The triple pillar of the world transformed 
 Into a jlrumpefs jlool. 
 
 Why a ftool ? Becaufe, fays Mr. Warburton, ' ftrum- 
 * pets ufe to fit in the lap of their lovers.* But what 
 objection is there to the common reading, 
 
 Into afkrumpet's fool, 
 
 which certainly conveys a much ftronger and more 
 affecting image ? Why, * the metaphor is miferably 
 ' mang'ed.' But if Mr. Warburton will bepleafed to 
 recollect and apply his own doctrine, he will find 
 that the metaphor is out of the queftion. The pil- 
 lar of the world, for a fovereign on whom the em- 
 pire of the world refts, is a metaphor lb common, 
 that it hath loft its metaphorical quality, and will 
 admit any thing to be faid of it, 'which may with 
 propriety be faid of-the thing it was originally in- 
 tended to illuftrate. Mr. Warburton adds one ad- 
 vantage more, which his emendation hath above the 
 common reading, and which is a very pleaiant one. 
 It gives Shakefpear the honour of a pun, which be- 
 ing derived from the Greek language, muft forever 
 eftablifh the reputation of his learning againft all 
 gainfayers. For it feems the Englim word, Jlool y 
 is derived from the Greek 2tu'a^, a pillar. 
 
 P. 99. rilfeemthefooly I am not. Antony 
 Will be himjelf. 
 
 Ant. But Jlirr*d by Cleopatra. 
 
 As the firft line and half are evidently fpoken afide, 
 or apart, by Cleopatra, the laft half line can have 
 no fenfe in the mouth of Antony. 1 think there- 
 lore Mr. Upton's emendation, Critic. Obferv. p. 
 36 1. can admit of no difpute : 
 
 Will
 
 [ 449 ] 
 
 Will be him/elf^ but ftirr'd by Cleopatra. 
 
 That is, Anthony will aft like himfelf, and afiiime 
 that independence which becomes the emperor of 
 the world, if he be but incited by Cleopatra. 
 
 P. 1 01. / love hr.g life better than figs. 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath here fquandered away a great 
 deal of good learning concerning omens, to little pur- 
 pofe. The expreflion is merely proverbial, and 
 humourous , and he muft have a very ftrong ima- 
 gination indeed, who can difcover in it a prediction 
 of the manner of Charmian's drath by the bite of an 
 afp, from this fingle circumftance, that the afp 
 which bit her was, for the fake of concealment, con- 
 veyed in a bifket of figs. This difcovery is truly 
 worthy of Mr. Warburton, and perfectly in character. 
 
 P. 104. Hath, with his Parthian force, extended Afia. 
 
 Extended* is a law-term, which fignifies, feized 
 upon. What was Mr. Warburton thinking of, when 
 he interpreted it, * widened or extended the bounds 
 * of the lefler Afia ?' Surely the farther the Parthian 
 army advanced their conquefts, the more they nar- 
 rowed or curtailed thofe bounds, by widening or 
 extending the Parthian empire. 
 
 P. 1 05. The band could pluck her ba.k> that fkcSd 
 her on. 
 
 The verb, could, hath a pecul'ar fignification in this 
 place ; it doth not denote power, but inclination. 
 The fenfe is, The hand that drove her off would 
 now willingly pluck her back again. 
 
 P. 127. The caufs cf cur expedience. 
 
 That is, the caufs which urges nv; to expeui e my 
 departure. 
 
 G g P. 107.
 
 r 450 ] 
 
 P. 107. Do ftrongly fpeak ? us\ 
 Grammar obliges us to read, 
 
 Do's flrongly /peak t'us, 
 
 P. in. Ant. But that your royalty 
 
 Holds idlenefs your fubje ft, I Jhould take yo% 
 For idlenefs itfelf, 
 
 Cleo. 'Tis fw eating labour 
 ^0 bear fucb idlenefs fo near the hearty 
 As Cleopatra, this, 
 
 Mr. Warburton feems to have quite miftaken the 
 meaning of this pafifage. I apprehend the fenfe is 
 this , Ant. If I were not fufKciemly acquainted with 
 you to know, that you have fo perfect a command 
 of your own difpofuion, as to be able to put on or 
 difmifs idlenefs, or childifh frowardnefs, at pleafure, 
 I mould take you, from your prefent behaviour, 
 for childilhnefs itfelf. Cleo. As much idlenefs as you 
 are pleafed to call my prefent difpofition, it is fweat- 
 jng labour to bear fuch idlenefs fo near the heart, as 
 I do this which you reproach me with. 
 
 P. 112. It is not Cafars natural vice to hate. 
 One great competitor. 
 
 I have little doubt but Shakefpear wrote, 
 Our great competitor. 
 
 That is, that he doth not naturally bear a perfonal 
 hatred to Antony. The whole fcope of this fcene 
 confirms this emendation, as containing the justifying 
 motives of Octavius his prefent refentment. 
 
 P. 113. As we rate beys, who, immature in knowledge, 
 Pawn their experience to their prefent pleafure., 
 And fo rebel to judgment. 
 
 Th's emendation of Sir Thomas Hanmer's, which 
 Mr. Warburton hath condefcended to adopt, quite 
 
 fpoih
 
 t 45t J 
 
 fpoi!sthefenfeoFthispafTage,andrender$onepartofiC 
 inconfiftent with the other. The ancient reading was, 
 
 who being mature in knowledge \ 
 
 according to which, the fenfe of the whole is } As 
 we rate boys, who, when they have attained a fuf- 
 ficient maturity of knowledge to regulate their own 
 conduct, facrifke to their prefent pleafure, the ex- 
 perience they have had of the ill confequences which 
 will certainly follow from fuch indulgence, and thus 
 rebel againft their own judgment. According to 
 Sir Thomas Hanmer's reading, the fault of the 
 boy is faid to proceed from the immaturity of his 
 knowledge, that is, want of fufficient experience to 
 teach him that knowledge, at the fame time that he 
 is faid to have that experience, and to act in contra- 
 diction to it, and to'his judgment founded upon it, 
 
 P. 1 1 6. ' ' -Now I feed my f elf 
 
 With mofi delicious poifon. Think on me, 
 That am with Phoebus* amorous finches blacky 
 And wrinkled deep in time. 
 There ought to have been a note of admiration at 
 the end of this pafiage, the fenfe of which Mr. Sew- 
 ard, in his preface to Beaumont and Fletcher, p. 66, 
 feems to have quite miflaken. For the firffc period 
 is certainly not a continuation of the fpeech which 
 Cleopatra puts in the mouth of Antony, but her 
 own reflection on what fhe had juft faid. The 
 meaning is, Now I deceive myfelf, and feed myfelf 
 with imaginations which, however delicious, are 
 notwithstanding poifon, as they flatter me with a 
 deceitful hope of the continuance of his pafllon, and 
 thereby both aggravate my own uneafinefs and im- 
 parience under his abfence, and prevent me from 
 taking fuch mcafures as my true interefls require. 
 What! ran I flitter myfelf that he thinks on me? 
 me, whole complexion the fun hath darkened, and 
 whofe fkin time hath dcecly wiinkled! 
 
 G 2 2 P. II 6.
 
 [ 452 ] 
 P. 1 1 6. Broad-fronted defar. 
 
 Mr. Seward in the place above cited hath given good 
 reafons to induce us to believe, that the poet wrote, 
 
 Raid-fronted defar. 
 
 Ibid. . 1 will pace 
 
 Her opulent throne with kingdoms. 
 
 This exprefiion of Mr. Warburton's is not Englifh. 
 A pace fignifies the ftep of a foot in its progreflion, 
 but not the ftep of an afcent. The common reading, 
 
 1 will piece 
 
 Her opulent throne with kingdoms^ 
 
 hath been fufficiently juftified by Mr. Seward in the 
 place above cited. 
 
 P. 117. And foberly did mount an arm-gaunt Jleed* 
 
 That is, in my apprehenfion, a fteed whofe armour 
 fitted him, and fet clofe about him. See Mr. Sew- 
 ard's above cited preface, p. 6j. and the Canons of 
 Criticilm, p. g^ y 94. 
 
 Ibid. Who neigh' 'd fo high y that what I would have 
 fpoke n 
 Was beaflly done by him. 
 
 4 A very pretty fpeech indeed, and agreeable to the 
 4 politenefs of one of Cleopatra's courtiers!' to re- 
 turn Mr. Warburton's own words upon him. Alexas, 
 it feems, would have fpoke, but the horfe took the 
 ipeech out of his mouth, and in his beaitly manner 
 fpoke it for him. Not but that Alexas (as Mr. 
 Warburton informs us, though the poet knew no- 
 thing oi the matter) did make his fpeech too, after- 
 wards, when the horfe had done fpeaking. But 
 how did Alexas know, that the horfe made any 
 fpeech at all ? Oh, that was eafily known by the 
 
 hijfb-
 
 [ 453 ] 
 highnefs, that is, not by the loudnefs, but by the 
 fprightlinefs, of his neighing. Is it poffible a man 
 of fenfe can utter fuch dreams ferioufly ? The com- 
 mon reading was, 
 
 Was beaflly dumb by him ; 
 
 which Mr. Theobald hath very ingenioufly altered 
 to, dumb*d -, and Mr. Seward's concurrence in the 
 place laft cited confirms me in my approbation of it. 
 
 P. 119. While we are fuitors to their throne ', delay's 
 The thing we fue for. 
 
 This emendation of Mr. Warburton's is certainly 
 nonfenfe, whatever becomes of the common texc 
 which he is pleafed to c.ill fo. Who ever prayed 
 for fuccefs in any enterprize, and at the fame time 
 prayed that that fuccefs might be delayed as long as 
 he mould pray for it? Befides the reply of Mene- 
 crates plainly implies that delay was not the thing 
 fued fur ; but fomething elfe which was for the pre- 
 fent denied; which could not be delay, fip.ee Pom- 
 pey was already in poffefiion of that, but mud be 
 the attainment of the empire. The ancient reading, 
 
 While we are fuitors to their throne, decays 
 "The thing we fue for, 
 
 is undoubtedly the true one. The fenfe is, While 
 we are wearying the Gods with prayers, the very 
 thing we ate praying for, that is the empire, is fal- 
 ling into decay and ruin by the ill conduct of my 
 competitors, by the luxurious indolence of Antony, 
 the avaricious extortions of Ofar, and by the i-fin- 
 cerity and private vie.vs of all the three triumvirs. 
 
 P. 124. And have ray learning from fome true reports. 
 
 Report:, for reporters. See Upton's Critic. Obferv. 
 p. 320. 
 
 G g 3 P. 126.
 
 454- j 
 
 P. 126. 'thou art a foldier, only fpeak no more. 
 
 Mr. Theobald bath happily reftorcd the true fenfe 
 of this line by a fmall alteration in the pointing, 
 
 Thou art a foldier only ; /peak no more. 
 
 Ibid. Go to then : your confederate ft one. 
 
 'This is fuch palpable nonfenfe, that it can tally with 
 nothing which can be imagined as the intended fup- 
 plement of this imperfect fpeech. Poffibly the poet 
 might write, 
 
 Go to then : your confederates love. 
 
 Ibid. / do not much dijlike the manner^ but 
 'The matter of this fpeech. 
 
 To dijlike, fignifies, not only to be difpleafed with, 
 but is frequently ufed for, disapprove, think wrong 
 or untrue. For want of attending to this, Mr. 
 Warburton hath, by an unnatural tranfpofition of 
 the words, maJe Caefar fay juft the contrary of what 
 the pott intended. The ancient reading was, 
 
 / do not much dijlike the matter, but 
 The manner of this fpeech : 
 
 That is, As to the matter of what he hath faid, there 
 is probably too much truth in ir, though the want of 
 refpect in his manner of faying it may deferve blame. 
 That this is the fenfe is mod clearly evident from 
 the confeflion of Casfar which immediately follows j 
 
 -for U cannot be, 
 
 We f: all remain in friend/hip , our conditions 
 So differing in their a'cls. 
 
 P. 127. If Cleopatra heard you, your approof 
 Were well defrv'd of rafhnefs. 
 
 The fenfe i~, If you had faid this in the hearing oi 
 3 Cko-
 
 C 455 1 
 
 Cleopatra, the teftimony you have given would well 
 defcrve the imputation of rafhnefs ; that is, would 
 expofe you to all the violen.ee of her fury. 
 
 P. 130. So many mermaids, tended her i' tJS eyes, 
 And made their bends adorinrs. 
 
 o 
 
 Though Mr. Warburton tells us, * we may be af- 
 fured that Shakefpear wrote thus,' i very much doubt 
 whether fuch an affected flat exprefiion came from 
 him. I mould rather fufpecl it hath no better an 
 origin than his own not underftanding his author. 
 The common reading was, 
 
 And made their bends adornings. 
 
 The word, bend, is here ufed for an arch, and the 
 bends of the eyes are the eye-brows. Thus the fenfe 
 will be, That thefe feeming nereids were employed 
 in adjufting Cleopatra's eye-brows, as often as they 
 happened to be difcompofed by the fanning of the 
 boys, or any other accident. This interpretation :s 
 confirmed by the preceding words, tended her in the 
 eyes, which in Mr. Warburton's reading feem to 
 have no meaning. 
 
 P. 132. I fee it in my motion, have it not in my 
 tongue. 
 
 That, my motion, fhould flgnify, ' my divinatory 
 agitation,' is from the form itfelf of the expreflion 
 
 extreamly improbable , but that it mould have than 
 fignification in this place, is, I think, utterly im- 
 pofTible , both becaufe it doth not appear that the 
 foothfayer was under any agitation at the time he 
 fpeaks this, and becaufe foothfayers in general did 
 not pretend to predict from immediate infpiration, 
 bur. from a cool deliberate oblervation of certain in- 
 dications in nature hidden from vulgar eyes, and 
 therefore were not fubjecl to thole fupernatural agi- 
 G g 4 tations,
 
 [ 45 ] 
 
 tatidns, which diftinguifhed the prophets, and thofe 
 who were employed in delivering the oracular re- 
 fponfes. I cannot therefore but applaud Mr. Theo- 
 bald's conjecture, who, inftead of motion, fubftitutes 
 notion. See Upton's Critic. Obferv. p. 223 225. 
 
 P. 132. But, near him, thy angel 
 
 Becomes a fear, as being o'erpowerd. 
 
 I entirely concur in Mr. Upton's opinion, that the 
 poet wrote, afear d. See his Critic. Obferv. p. 192. 
 Mr. Seward, in his preface to Beaumont and Flet- 
 cher, p. 6 ^ 67. hath taken great pains to vindi- 
 cate the common reading, by quoting a variety of 
 inftances from our potts, wherein Fear is perfonized. 
 But this doth not come up to the point. He fhould 
 have produced inftances wherein a fear is ufed as 
 the denomination of a particular fpecies of beings, 
 whether real or imaginary ; and fuch I believe will 
 not be eafily found. He intermixes fome fevere re- 
 flections on Mr. Upton's want of tafte in pro- 
 pofir/g this correction, wherein I am contented to 
 take my part for approving it. I am not certain 
 whether the poet himfelf will be entirely free i for 
 he too adds a little lower, 
 
 1 fay again, thy fpirit 
 
 Is all afraid to govern thee near him. 
 
 where the reader will be pleafed to obferve the words, 
 
 I fay again. 
 
 P. 133. . r-and Lis quails ever 
 
 Beat mine, in-hoop"d at odds. 
 
 By, in-koop'd, I fuppofe is meant, inclofed in a cer- 
 tain cage, which was their field of battle. Mr. 
 Seward in his above cited preface, p. 65. thinks we 
 fhould read, 
 
 Beat tr.ir.c in whoop'd -at edds.
 
 [ 457 ] 
 
 That is, when the odds are fo great, that the betters 
 on my fide whoop and fhout for victory. An al- 
 lufion doubtlefs to the fhouts of our cock-pit. If 
 the reader likes this emendation, he is welcome to 
 it. I fhall only obferve, that the Englifh phrafe, 
 as I apprehend, is, to beat at odds, not to beat in 
 odds i and that the meaning of the common read- 
 ing is, Beat mine even when put into the cage, un- 
 equally matched, with the odds very much in my 
 favour. 
 
 P. 135. Not like a formal man. 
 A formal man, fignifies, one qualified to perform 
 all the functions of a man. See our note on Richard 
 III. vol. v. p. 265. 
 
 P. 141. / have fair meaning, Sir. 
 The following reply, 
 
 And, fair words to them, 
 makes it evident we mould read, meanings. 
 
 P. 147. Thy -pall *d fortunes. 
 
 PaWd, is properly what hath loft its fpirit and fla- 
 vour. The metaphor is from liquor, not 'from fu- 
 * neral folemnities.' 
 
 P. 148. The holding every man fhall beat as loud 
 As his fir ong fides can volly. 
 
 The holding, Mr. Theobald interprets to fignify the 
 burthen of the long-, and in confequence, as the 
 fides can have no concern in beating, inftead of, beat,. 
 he fubflitutes, very properly in niy opinion, bear, 
 that is, refound by lifting up his voice. 
 
 P. 155. and her forehead 
 
 As low as Jhe would wiJJj it. 
 Should we not rather read, 
 
 As
 
 [ 45& 1 
 
 As low as you would wifh it. 
 
 F. 156. Til raife the -preparation of a war, 
 Shall fiain your brother. 
 
 Mr. Theobald hath very judicioufly corrected this* 
 nonfenfical reading by fubitituting, 
 
 Shall ftrain your brother ; 
 
 that is, Force him into difficulties which he will nofi 
 eafily overcome. 
 
 P. 157. wars Uwixt you twain would be 
 
 As if the world Jhould cleave , and that flain men 
 Should folder up the rift. 
 
 The fenfe feems to be, As you are joint matters of 
 the world, which in your union is united, fo wars 
 between you give an image of the cleaving of that 
 world, and you both endeavouring to folder that 
 cleft with the carcafes of thofe who will be flain in 
 the conteft. Mr. Warburton admires the wonder- 
 ful fublimity of the thought, but, as it frequently 
 happens, without underftanding it. 
 
 Ibid. Then would thou kadfl a pair of chaps, no mere ; 
 And throw between them all the food thou baft, 
 They'll grind the other. 
 
 Thus I fuppofe this pafifage fhould be printed, and 
 not as prole. There feems to be an error in the lalt 
 line which may be thus corrected, 
 
 They'll grind one tU other. 
 
 I apprehend this reflection is intended as a fatire on 
 the infatiable and incompatible nature of ambition, 
 which no acquifitions can content, nor any coiifider* 
 asions can reconcile to endure a partner. 
 
 P. 158. Of lower Syria, Cyprus, Lydia. 
 
 Mr. Upton, Critic. Obicrv. p. 243, 244. hath 
 
 proved
 
 t 459 3 
 proved from Plutarch, whom our poet in this play 
 copies, that we ought to read, Lyhia. 
 
 P. 1 60. The oftentation of our love ; which, left unjhewn. 
 
 Mr. Theobald, with the view of reducing this re- 
 dundant verfe to the common meafure, for oftenta- 
 iitn, would read, ofient. But as this word hath a 
 very different fenfe in our language from that of 
 oftentation, to wit, that of an omen or a miracle, 
 which will by no means fuit the purport of the con- 
 text, I fhould always prefer irregular metre to falfe 
 Englifh. 
 
 Ibid. the Thracian King Adullas 9 
 
 King Malchus of Arabia, King of Pont, 
 Herod of Jewry, Mithridates King 
 Of Comagene, Polemon and AmifHas, 
 The King of Mede, and Lycaonia. 
 
 If we would reconcile this lift to the account given 
 by Plutarch, from whom it appears to be copied, we 
 muft correct it thus, 
 
 the Thracian King Adallas, 
 
 King Malchus of Arabia, King of Mede, 
 Hercd of Jewry, Mithridates King 
 Of Comagene, Polemon and Amintas 
 Ihe Kings 0/Pont and Lycaonia. 
 
 See Upton's Critic. Obferv. p. 238 240. But whe- 
 ther thefe errors are to be charged on the poet, 
 tranferiber, or printer, muft be left to the deter- 
 mination of the reader's can.lour. 
 
 P. 162. And there tongues rot. 
 Read, { their tongues.' 
 
 P. 1 68. That the mod Brutus ended, 
 See Upton's Critic. Obferv. p. 296, 297. 
 
 P. 171.
 
 H 460 ] 
 
 P. 171. To lay his gay comparifons apart. 
 
 By gay comparifons, I fuppofe the poet means, thofe 
 pleafing comparifons which Csefar would naturaliy 
 make between his own circumftances and thofe of 
 Antony, refulting from the advantage he had fo 
 lately obtained, and which would attract the ad- 
 miration and courtfhip of the world. The account 
 which Mr. Warburton gives of the collateral affinity 
 of the word, comparifons, to the Italian adverb, pofi- 
 tivamente, and of the quibble it makes with the 
 word, declined^ in the next line, could not pcfiibly 
 have been the offspring of any other imagination 
 but his ; and envy itfelf muft own, that they are 
 peifc&ly in his manner. 
 
 P. 172. And anfwer me decluid. 
 That is, declined, as I am, in power and reputation. 
 
 P. 173. He nerds as many, Sir, as Ca far, has: 
 
 Or n eds not us if Cafir pleafe. Our mafler 
 Will leap io be his friend ; for, as you know, 
 Whofe he is, we are, and thafs C^far's. 
 
 Thus pointed Mr. Warburton hath thought proper 
 to give us this pafiage, affuring us at the lame time, 
 that ' ail fenfe is Jolt in the falfe pointing' of the 
 
 former reading-, 
 
 He needs as many, Sir, as C<efar has, 
 
 Or needs not us. If C<cfar pleafe, our mafler 
 
 Will leap to le his friend : &c. 
 
 But I believe the only tiling that is loft is his own 
 apprehenfion ; for I am much miftaken if this point- 
 ing doth not give us a much better and more perti- 
 nent Unit, than that interpretation of his, which he 
 recommends as fo c fenfible and polite :' a commen- 
 dation, by the by, extremely well fuited io the 
 rough, blunt, foldicr-like character of Enoba-bus. 
 
 The
 
 [ 4*i ] 
 
 The poet's meaning is this ; In his preflnt fortune 
 Antony needs as many friends as Casfar hath, or elfe 
 he needs not even us, whofe fmall number and want 
 of power render us incapable, without other affif- 
 tance, of being of any fervice to him. If Cjefar fo 
 pleafes, our mafter will leap to be his friend ; for, 
 as you know very well, though we are indeed our 
 matter's friends, yet both he and we are at prefenc 
 pretty much at Caspar's dif retion. 
 
 P. 179. / have many other ways to die. 
 
 Mr. Upton, in his Critic. Obferv. p. 240, 24 r. 
 hath fhewn, that if the poet hath copied Plutarch in 
 this circumftance of Csefar's anfwer to Antony's 
 challenge, as he hath in mod of the other through- 
 out this play, we ought to read, 
 
 He hath many other ways to die. 
 
 P. 1 80. ""Tis one cf thofe odd traits, which forrow 
 fijools 
 Out of the mind. 
 
 I admit that the uniformity of the metaphor is not 
 preferved in the old reading, tricks; yet I cannot 
 think that a fufficient reafon for altering it. 'Tis 
 the duty of a critick to give us his audio's genuine 
 text with all its faults, as it came fom his hands , 
 but he exceeds the limits of his office, if he takes 
 upon him to new-model his language, and reduce 
 it to his own ftandard of propriety. We have al- 
 ready feen from feveral inftanccs, that Shakefpear 
 was not always exact, in attending to this uniformity 
 of metaphor, but he certainly did not write fuch 
 En glim, as was not in uk, or underftood, in the 
 age* he lived in. I take the word, trait, f >r an or- 
 row, to come within this defcripti->n ; for though 
 it hath very lately begun to creep into our language, 
 yet I believe it was quite unknown to the age of 
 
 S.iakc-
 
 [ 4^2 ] 
 
 Shakefpear, except perhaps to fome fanciful con 
 ceited writer, who affected to lard his difcourfe with 
 foreign expreflions. But it is pleafant to obferve the 
 artifice Mr. Warburton ufes, to pafs off* this emen- 
 dation. He amufes the reader by proving to him 
 very gravely, from a paffage in Cymbeline, that we 
 fay in Englim, to moot a bolt ;' and from a paf- 
 fage in Marflial Turenne's letters, that, tirer un 
 trait,' is an authorized expreffion in French. And 
 this forfooth is to pafs for erudition. His bufinefs 
 was to prove, that, to Jhool atrait y is Englim, and 
 that it was the Englifh of Shakefpear's age. How 
 eafy is it to fill up volumes with fuch ftufF as this ! 
 
 P. 182. ic tis the God Hercules, who loved Antony^, 
 Now leaves him. 
 
 See Upton's Critic. Obferv. p. 195, 196". 
 
 P. 189. Chain mine arm'd neck. 
 
 See this expreffion properly explained in the Canons 
 of Criticifm, p. 163. 
 
 Ibid. Ride on the pants triumphing. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 163, 164. 
 
 P. 193. the hearts, 
 
 'That pantler'd me at heels. 
 
 That is, as Mr. Warburton interprets it, that ' ran 
 ' after me like footmen, or f antlers? But a pantler 
 is a very different employment from a footman, and 
 fignifies that fervant in great families, who hath the 
 particular care of providing the bread and fending it 
 to table, as is evident from Act III. Scene 2. of 
 Fletcher's Bloody Brother. Mr. Warburton indeed 
 would perfuade us, that this appellation is ufed for 
 ' a menial fervant in general ; y but he hath not been 
 able to produce a fingle initance where it is fo ufed. 
 
 The
 
 [ 4*3 ] 
 
 The two inftances he hath produced are quite befide 
 the purpofe, and in one of them che word itfelf is 
 not even fo much as found. Mr. Upton, in his 
 Critic. Obferv. p. 203, conjectures that Shakefpeai* 
 wrote, 
 
 That paged me at the heels. 
 
 But there is no neceflity of departing (o far from thQ 
 ancient reading, which was, 
 
 That pannelPd me at heels: 
 
 from which I think it is natural to conclude that thq 
 poet wrote, 
 
 That fpaniePd me at heels : 
 
 that is, That followed me at the heels like fpaniels. 
 
 P. 195. The fhirt of Ncjfus is upon me; teach me, 
 
 Alcides, thou mine ancejior ; thy rage 
 
 Led thee lodge Lichas on the horns <?' th 1 moon. 
 
 And with thofe hands that grafpd the heavieft_ 
 
 club, 
 Subdue thy worthiefl felf. 
 
 I am not at all fatisfied with this forced and unna- 
 tural confer uetion ; * Thy rage led thee lodge Lichas, 
 and fubdue thyfelf ;' to which may be added, ' teach 
 me,' without an accufative of the thing to be taught. 
 The ancient reading was, 
 
 The JJjirt of Nejfus is upon me ; teach me, 
 Abides, thou mine ancejior, thy rage: 
 Let me lodge Lichas on the horns o* th 1 moon, 
 And with thofe hands that grafp'd the heavi'Jl club, 
 Subdue my worthirft felf. 
 
 While Antony is contemplating his prefent inevitable 
 ruin, brought upon him, as he thought, by the 
 treachery of the woman who was dearcfl to him, Ins 
 imagination prefents to him his fuppofal anceftor 
 
 Hercules
 
 t 464 J 
 
 Hercules in circumftances exactly parallel, wrapped 
 up, by the inftrumentality of Deianira's deceived 
 jealoufy, in the poifoned fhirt of NefTus, from which 
 it was impofiible he could ever extricate himfelf 
 alive. Upon this hint, his imagination taking fire 
 tranfports him almoft to a delirium. He fancies 
 himfelf to be a real Hercules, and the fhirt of NefTus 
 to be actually upon him ; and, after invoking his an- 
 ceflor to infpire him with the fame rage, with which 
 he was actuated on the like occafion, he is inftantly on 
 the wing to exert it in the very fame effects, in the 
 lodging Lichas on the horns of the moon, and in 
 fubduing his worthieft felf, with thofe very Hercu- 
 lean hands that grafped the heavieft club. All 
 which, when dripped of thofe violent figures in 
 which his heated imagination had clo.ithed it, ter- 
 minates in no more than this, the taking the fe- 
 vereft vengeance on the inftrument of his ruin, and 
 putting an end to his life by his own hands. The 
 mod exceptionable expreflion perhaps is, the be- 
 llowing the epithet, worthieft, on himfelf; but even 
 this exaggeration will appear excufable at leaft, if 
 not juflifiable, when it is confide ed, that it is not 
 ferioufly intended as a vain-glorious vaunt, but pro- 
 ceeds wholly from *a tranfport of the fancy, which 
 reprefents him to himfelf for that moment as the 
 Very Hercules in perfon. 
 
 P. 198. Dido and her Sicb<ftts foall want troops . 
 
 Mr. Warbui ton's comparifon of Antony and Si- 
 ch^usis exactly of a piece with that of Captain Flu- 
 ellin, between Alexander of Macedon, and Plarry 
 of Monmouth. See vol. iv. p. 405. 
 
 P. 202. O thou fun, 
 
 Turn from t// great fphere thou movfl in f 
 
 Thus hath Mr. Warburton reflored, as he pcrfuadcs 
 himfelf, fenfe to this pafTage ; but it is at the ex- 
 pence
 
 t 465 ] 
 
 pence of the vcrfe, which it is impofiible, as he hath 
 given it, to pronounce. He was, it feems, afraid, 
 that if the fun fhould fet on fire the whole fphere in 
 which he moved, the earth would be fo far from 
 (landing darkling, that it would be in perpetual 
 Jight , and it was to avoid this inconfiftency that he 
 altered the text as we have feen above. But in truth 
 he apprehended danger where there was none. Ac- 
 cording to the philofophy which prevailed from the 
 age of Ariftotle to that of Shakefpear, and long 
 fince, the fun was a planet, and was whirled round 
 the earth by the motion of a folid fphere, in which 
 it was fixed. If the fun therefore was to fet fire to 
 this fphere, fo as to confume ir, the confequence 
 would be, that itfeif, for want of fupport, mud 
 drop through, and wander in endlefs fpace , and in 
 that cafe the earth would he involved in endlefs night. 
 This difficulty being thus removed, the antienc 
 reading mould undoubtedly be reftored, 
 
 Burn the great fphere thou mov'fl in! 
 
 P. 2C4. Of Cafar feek your honour, -with your fafety 
 ycu 
 
 For, you, read, agreeably to th,e other ediiions, oh. 
 
 F. 210. [Lulls wearied nature to a found repoft] 
 
 (Which Jleeps, and never palates more the 
 
 dugg :) 
 The beggar's nurfe, and Crffar's. 
 
 As to the firft line, which is a mere interpolation of 
 Mr. Warburton's. we may fairly return it on his 
 hands again. The pott hath no occafion for hi- tinfel. 
 As to the other alteration , they have no other foun- 
 dation than the fame gei tleman's not happening to, 
 underiland trie original and genuine reading : 
 
 Which jlecps, and never palates mors the dung, 
 %b e beggar's nurfe and C<efar's. 
 
 H h That
 
 [ 46 J 
 
 That is, Which fleeps, and hath no farther relifh 
 for the trafh and dung of this earth, which dung is 
 equally neceffary to the fupport of Casfar, as of the 
 meanefi: beggar. In what fenfe Mr. Warburton 
 could underitand death to be equally the nurfe of 
 Csefar and the beggar, or indeed to be the nurfe of 
 either, is inconceivable. lam indebted for this ex- 
 planation of the common reading to Mr. Seward, 
 who with great acutenefs and penetration hath vin- 
 dicated and re-eftablimed it, in his notes on Beau- 
 mont and Fletcher, vol. iv. p. 139, 140. 
 
 P. 213. If idle time will once be neceffary y 
 I'll not Jleep neither. 
 
 This is what Mr. Warburton hath been pleafed to 
 give us inftead of the common reading, 
 
 If idle talk will once be neceffary \ 
 
 which he tells us, 4 is nonfenfe which he hath re- 
 1 formed.* But I cannot fee how the matter is 
 mended by this reformation. According to him, 
 idle lime, fignifies repofe. It may do fo perhaps, 
 but it certainly doth not fignify that fort of repofe 
 which is commonly called fleep, and is the only fort 
 pertinent to the matter in hand, I conceive the poet's 
 meaning is, I will not fleep neither, and, to pre- 
 vent it, I will keep myfelf awake with any idle talk 
 that happens to come uppermofr. 
 
 P. 216. I cannot procler mine own caufe fo well. 
 Mr. Warburton is miftaken in the meaning of his 
 own emendation. To procler a caufe, is not * the 
 * technical term for pleading it by an advocate/ 
 but for foliciting it by an attorney. But there was> 
 no need for altering the common reading : 
 
 I cannot project mine own caufe fo well. 
 
 To project is properly a term of perfpecYive, figni- 
 fy ing to reprefent an object truly, according to the 
 
 rules
 
 t 467 ] 
 
 rules of that art. Hence it is applied metaphorically 
 to denote a reprefcntation of any kind whatever. So 
 that the fenfc is, I am not capable of dating my own 
 caufc in fo favourable a light, as to free myfeif 
 from all blame. 
 
 P 218. Be 1 7 known, that we, the great 'eft , are mif- 
 thought 
 For things that others do. And when we fall 
 We anfwer. Others 9 merits, in our names 
 Are therefore to be pitied. 
 
 Mr. Warburton, by falfe pointing this paffage, the 
 fenfe of which was extremely clear before, hath in- 
 deed rendered it perfectly unintelligible. For who 
 would ever have imagined, that thcfe words, Others 9 
 merits, in our names are therefore to be pitied, mould 
 fignify, It is but reafonable that we mould have 
 * the merit of our minifters' good actions V or who 
 can difcoverthis meaning in them, even now, after 
 he is told it is there. The ancient reading ought 
 certainly to be thus pointed : 
 
 Be't known, that we, the greateft, are mi/thought 
 For things that others do ; and, when we fall, 
 tye anfwer others merits in our names ; 
 Are therefore to be pitied. 
 
 That is, We, who are in pofieffion of the fupreme 
 power* are ill thought of tor faults committed by 
 others, without our direction or knowledge ; and 
 when we are dripped of this power, are obliged to 
 anfwer in our own names for what thofe others ought 
 in juftice to anfwer for themfelves. Therefore we are 
 to be pitied. I conceive that this reflection of Cleo- 
 patra is intended to infinuate, that the deficiency in 
 the inventory ought to be imputed to Seleucus her 
 accufer, and noc to herfelf ; and that he therefore 
 was properly anfwerable for it. I would beg leave 
 H h 2 to
 
 [ 4^8 ] 
 
 to add, that I am inclined to believe that Shakefpear 
 gave us the third line thus, 
 
 And anfwer others merits in our names ; 
 
 which renders the coaft ruction more explicit and 
 perfpicuous. 
 
 P. 220. ThJr moft abfurd intents. 
 
 I think Mr. Theobald's emendation, 
 
 'Their moft afifur'd intents* 
 
 carries with it fome probability of being the original 
 text ; though I would by no means reject the com- 
 mon reading, authorized by all the editions, which 
 Mr. Upton in his Critic. Obferv. p. 295, 296. hath 
 rightly interpreted to fignify, harm, grating. 
 
 P. 222. But he* that will believe half that they fay* 
 fhall never be faved by all that they do. 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath fpoiled part of the intended 
 humour by reading this pafiage the contrary way, 
 and making the words, all* and, half* change places. 
 That the ancient reading, But he that will believe 
 all that they fay* floall never be faved by half that they 
 do* came from the poet, is extremely probable, from 
 feveral other like quiproquo's uttered by the fame 
 clown in this fhort fcene. 
 
 P. 223. this knot intrinftcait 
 
 Of life at once untie. 
 
 I trvifcat; fignifies, intricate, entangled, as it is 
 well explained and fully proved in the Canons of 
 Criticifm, p. 146. 
 
 Cymbelinc.
 
 [ 46 9 ] 
 Cymbeline. 
 
 P; 229. Tcu do not meet a man, but frowns : our brows 
 No more obey the heavens than our courtiers. 
 
 I am afraid Mr. Warburton hath himfclf in.curred 
 that very blame, with which he here reproaches Sir 
 Thomas Hanmer, that, by venturing too far at an 
 ' emendation, he hath ft ipped this pafTage of ali 
 * thought and fentiment.' In truth, he was fo intent 
 on diicovering the defects of the common reading, 
 that he did not allow himfelf leifure to confider, 
 whether he could make any fevfc of his own conjec- 
 ture. For what fenfe indeed is there in mens brows 
 obeying the heavens? or who is Oedipus enough to 
 guefs at the meaning of fo enigmatical an expreffion ? 
 The occafion of our critick's mi flake feems to have 
 been his not underftanding the common reading: 
 
 cur bloods 
 
 No more obey the heavens than our courtiers : 
 
 apprehending the words, our Hoods, to mean literally 
 the blood which runs in our veins, whereas thry fig- 
 nify in this place, as well as in many others of our 
 poet, our difpoiitions. Thel'e are commonly fup- 
 poled to be influenced by the weather, and therefore 
 may be properly faid to obey i:. But no one ever 
 thought or faid this of mens brows. The fenfe there- 
 fore is, Every one you meet appears to be difpleafed 
 and out of humour; the heavens have no more in- 
 fiuen e on our dilpofitions, than they have on the 
 courier?. Both feem to be equally determined by 
 the humour the King happens to be in. If he is 
 cloudy, all are inftantly cloudy too. 
 
 P. 231. You [peak him jar. 
 
 That is, You praife him to a great extent indeed. 
 H h 3 T. 231.
 
 [ 47 ] 
 
 P. 231. I don't extend him , Sir: within bimfelf 
 Cru/h him together^ rather than unfold 
 His meafure fully. 
 
 Thispaffage too Mr. Warburton hath mangled, for 
 want of underftanding the common reading, which 
 Mr. Theobald had however partly explained to him; 
 though, as he happened to leave unexplained the 
 word, within, which in this place fignifies, fhort of t 
 his explanation of the refi was ufelefs to him. Ac- 
 cordingly, with his ufual poliunefs, he tells us, 
 ' to extend a thing within itfelf, is the mod infuffer- 
 * able nqnfcnfe, and juit as proper as to fay, I go out 
 ' within doors. 3 He did not confider in the mean 
 time, that his own conjecture, crufh him together 
 within himfelf, is, befides a tautology equally infuf- 
 ferable, nearly too as nonfenfical. Notwithstanding 
 therefore this fevere cenfure, I am not afraid to de- 
 clare myfclf for the common reading, which I am 
 peifuaded is the true one: 
 
 I do extend him, Sir, within himfelf; 
 Crufh him together^ rather than unfold 
 His meafure fully. 
 
 That is, I do extend him, or give you his propor- 
 tions, Sir, far fhort of what they really are in him- 
 felf. The gentleman doth not mean, that he had ex- 
 tender; .he real Pofthumtis, as the turn of Mr. War- 
 burton's criticifm would perfuade us he was wrong 
 enough to imagine, but only that draught which 
 was contained in the relation he had juft given of 
 him -, and this draught he compares with his real 
 ft. If, and finds the firft to fall far fhort of the other. 
 So, when he add % crufl him together, we are not to 
 fuppoTe it to be th: 1 real man that is crufhed, but 
 only that abridged account or meafure of him, to 
 which he evidently refers. We meet with the word, 
 
 exlend x
 
 [ 471 ] 
 met end* ufed in the fame fenfe in Troilus and Cref- 
 fida, p. 433. 
 
 ^ ill he behold them formed in th* applaufe 
 Where the f re extended. 
 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 185, 186. 
 
 P. 235. dijlojal things 
 
 That jhoultCjl repair my youth, thou heap % Ji 
 A rare age on me. 
 
 Tare, never fignifies untimely, what comes before 
 its time, which is the fenfe the context requires. 
 Here Mr. VVarburton feems to have been deceived 
 by the ambiguity of the Latin word, praceps, which 
 Skinner gives as one of the interpretations of the 
 word, yare, and which Mr. Warburton chufes to 
 render by the equally ambiguous word, precipitate-, 
 though it is plain Skinner intended it to fignify, 
 rafh, as appears from the other explanatory words 
 which accompany it, fervidus x inipatiens. The com- 
 mon reading was, 
 
 A year's age on me ; 
 
 and, as the preceding verfe wants a foot pf its juft 
 meafure, it is extreamly probable that Sir Tfconus 
 Hanmer's conjecture, 
 
 thou heapefi many 
 
 A year's age on me, 
 
 reftores to us the genuine text. 
 
 Ibid. a touch more rare 
 
 Subdues all pangs, all fears. 
 
 More rare, figr.ifies more precious. How the c ftroke 
 ' of lightning' can be here alluded to, or, rare, 
 fignify l ftrong, or forcible,* is beyond my compre- 
 hcnfion. 
 
 H h 4 P. 237.
 
 [ 472 ] 
 
 P. 237. From this time leave me. 
 
 This is a miftake of the printer. Read, agreeably 
 to the other edition 1 , 
 
 For this time leave me. 
 
 P. 238. She's a gcod Jhine, but I have feen fmcll 
 rcfieftion of her wit. 
 
 & thing may be very properly faid to borrow its 
 fbine or lulire , but what is meant by being a Jhine 
 I do not comprehend. It doth not appear that 
 Mr. Warburton hath any objection to the common 
 reading, ' She's a good figm' that is a confteilation-, 
 only from the anfwer, ' She fhines not upon fools,* 
 he rather thinks the poet wrote, Jhine ; as if in truth 
 it were not the property of a confteilation to fhine. 
 Reflection, here means token, or difplay, not influ- 
 ence, for light is chiefly manifefted by being re- 
 flected. The fenfe is ; She is undoubtedly a con- 
 fteilation of confiderable luftre, but it is not dis- 
 played in her wit; for I have ken but little mani. 
 feftation of that. 
 
 P. 239. 'twere a paper lojl, 
 
 As offer' d mercy is. 
 
 The fe;;fe is, It were a paper loft, which would be 
 as welcome to me as a pardon to a condemned cri- 
 minal. Mr. Warburton inftruct, us to undtrftand 
 it of form-thing infinitely more feiious and folerrm, 
 though upon other occafions lie is apt enough to take 
 the alarm, when the awful digmty of the divine 
 difpenfations is debafed by a vulgar application. 
 
 P. 240. 'till the diminution 
 
 OJ'sJpace hdd pointed kirn (harp as my needle. 
 
 The diminution of a rmn's fpace, for the diminution 
 of hti Jizti is a very aukward and pedantick expref- 
 
 fion^
 
 [ 473 ] 
 fion ; but Shakefpear ought not to bear the blame 
 of ir, which in juftice mult be laid on Mr. Warbur- 
 ton's not underloading plain Englifh. The com- 
 mon reading wa ? , 
 
 h'fill the diminution 
 
 Of /pace had pointed him floarp as my needle. 
 
 But, fays Mr. Warburton, c the increafe of diftance 
 c is the augmentation, not the diminution of fpace 
 
 * between the object and the beholder, which aug- 
 
 * mentation oc.calions the diminution of the object.' 
 All this L Certainly true and perfectly right; but 
 then it oughc to have taught him to have recourfe 
 to that rule of conftruction in the hnglifh language, 
 th.t the genitive cafe is frequently ufed to exprefe 
 the caufe, as well as the object. Thus ' the diminu- 
 tion ol fpace,' will be that diminution which is caufed 
 by fpace or diftance. 
 
 P. 241. that parting kifs, which I had fet 
 
 Betwixt two 1 harming words. 
 
 The quaintnefs of Mr. Warburton's conjecture on 
 this paiiage is very juftly expofed in the Canons of 
 Criticifm, p. 154. 
 
 P. 242. And, like the tyrannous breathing of the North, 
 Shakes all our buds from blowing. 
 
 The fubtilty of Mr. Warburton's imagination in his 
 comment on this pafiage is really admirable. In the 
 fir ft place, he takes great pains to prove, that the 
 buds of flowers not of fruit-trees, are here alluded 
 to.' All this is readily granted, though perhaps a re- 
 fractory critick might find room for difputing even 
 that; for t u .e poet doth not feem to have had this 
 distinction at all in his view. Then he tells us, 
 that the common reading, 
 
 Shakes all our buds from growing, 
 
 mud neceflirily refer to buds of fruit-trees.' But 
 
 why
 
 [ 474 ] 
 why fo ? Is it not neceflary that the buds ef flowers, 
 as well as of fruit-trees, mud grow before they can 
 expand' t'hernfelves, and blow ? And is not the tyran- 
 nous breath of the north wind making them, as 
 much an obftacle to the growth of the one, as of the 
 other ? But what is moft admirable" is, he demon r 
 Urates the truth of his emendation by fomething, 
 which' the poet hath not faid, but he is fure would 
 have faid, if he had not anticipated himfelf in the 
 word Mr. Warburton hath lent him. He would 
 otherwife have made the north wind to blow, and 
 net to breathe, though everyone that knows any 
 thing of the matter, muft know, that it is the chill- 
 nefs, and not the violence, of the north wind, iri 
 which -Jaft refpeet it is frequently exceeded by other 
 winds, which ftops the progrefs of vegetation, as 
 well in the buds of flowers, as of fruit trees! 
 
 P. 244. If fhe went before others I have feen, as 
 that diamond of yours out-lufiers many I have beheld, 
 I could believe, fhe excelled many. 
 
 The common reading was, I could not believe, which 
 not being ftnfe, readily leads us however to the 
 true one, / could but believe % that is, the moft I 
 could reafonably believe would be, that me excelled 
 many. This reading is confirmed by what imme- 
 diately follows, c but I have not feen the moft pre- 
 * cious diamond that is, nor you the lady.' Not, is 
 frequently fubftituted by miftake for, but, by our 
 poet's tranfcribers or printers. See Mr. Theobald's 
 Shakeipear reftored, p. 173, 174. 
 
 P. 245. If in the holding or lofs of that, you term 
 her frail, 
 
 The fenfe requires, that this member of the piriod 
 fhould be terminated at leaft with a colon. 
 
 P. 2*0.
 
 [ 475 ] 
 
 P. 250. Think, what a chance thou chant eft on. 
 
 The reading of both/the old folios is, as Mr. Theo- 
 bald informs us, 
 
 Think what a chance thou changeft on\ 
 
 which in my opinion ought not to have been altered 
 by the fubfequent editors. The fenfe is, Think on 
 what a chance, on how promifing a profpect of ad- 
 vancing thy fortunes, thou changeft thy prefent at- 
 tachment. 
 
 P. 252. The fiery oris above, and the twinnd Jlones 
 Upon th' humbrd beach ? 
 
 The epithet, twinn'd, applied to pebbles, hath neither 
 propriety nor fenfe, though Mr. Warburton hath 
 thought proper to pafs it over in filence. I obferve 
 in Mr. Pope's edition the reading is, 
 
 and as twinn'd Jlones : 
 
 from whence I conjecture the pot* might pofiibly 
 have written, 
 
 and the fpurn'd Jlones. 
 
 But Mr. Warburton, who cou'd digeft thenonfenfe 
 already mentioned, hath been forward to make an 
 alteration where none was neceflary, and to brand 
 the common reading, 
 
 Upon th* unnumber'd beach? 
 
 with the reproach of nonfenfe ; which it by no means 
 d^ferves, being no other than a fynecdoche fre- 
 quently ufed by the belt, writers, by which the 
 whole, the beach, is put for its component parts, 
 the pebbles. To thefe laft, unnumber'd, is the 
 common epithet. So our poet in King Lear, vol. 
 vi. p. 112. 
 
 the
 
 [ 47 ] 
 
 -the murmuring /urge 
 
 That on th' unnumbered idle pebbles chafes. 
 Seethe Canons of Criiicifm, p. 105. 
 
 P. 261. than that horrid a5i 
 
 Of the divorce hell-made. 
 
 How could the divorce be faid to be hell-made, 
 when it was not as yet made at all, nor, as it feems, 
 could be without Imogen's confent, though the 
 lovers were at prefent parted by the juft mentioned 
 expulfionof Pofthumus ? I have no doubt but the 
 common reading, 
 
 Of the divorce he'ld make, 
 
 is right. That is, that horrid act of the divorce, 
 which divorce, he, Cloten, would fain make. 
 
 P. 263. that dawning 
 
 May bear the raven's eye. 
 
 That is, (if we take this with Mr. Warburton to be 
 * a term borrowed from heraldry, ') that dawning 
 may deck itfelf in grey ; though, by the by, the 
 grey of the raven's eye very little refembles the li- 
 very of the morning. But fo uncouth and affected 
 an expreffion never came from Shakefpear. J am 
 therefore inclined to think that the reading exhibited 
 by fome other editions, 
 
 May bare the raven* s eye, 
 
 that is, may opt-n it, is the genuine text. It is well 
 known that the raven is a very early bird, perhaps 
 earlier than the lark. Our poet fays of the crow (a 
 bird whofe properties relcmble very much thofe of 
 the raven) in his Troilus and Crefiida, p. 443. 
 
 O Crejfida ! but that the bufie day, 
 
 JVak'd by the lark t has rous'd the ribald crows. 
 
 But Mr. Warburton objects, that c the opening of 
 
 4 the
 
 [ 477 ] 
 
 * the raven's eye vyas no advantage to the fpeaker;' 
 no more was the dawning's decking itfelf in grey, con- 
 fidered in itfelf; but both were of equal advantage 
 to him, confidered as the conftant fore-runners of day. 
 
 P. 266. Ifjhe be up, Til f peak with her\ if not ', 
 Let her lie Jiill and dream. 
 
 Mr. Warburton gives us this as an inftance of a 
 double entendre with only a fingle meaning. Of this 
 he is certainly the beft, and indeed the only, judge. 
 For this is a figure of fpeech, of which he hath the 
 honour, not only of bring the firft difcoverer, but 
 alfo of being the only perfon who, now he hath dis- 
 covered it, underftands what it is. 
 
 P. 267. one of your great knowing 
 
 Should learn (being tort) forbearance. 
 
 For this mod extravagant and ridiculous imagina- 
 tion of Mr. Warburton's, we muft, it feems, dis- 
 card the natural eafy fenfe of the common reading, 
 
 Should learn (being taught) forbearance. 
 
 But Mr. Warburton objecls, that c whoever is taught 
 4 necefTarily learns, and that learning is not the con- 
 ' fequence of being taught, but the thing itfelf.' 
 Which is juft the fame thing as to fay, that there is 
 no manner of diftin&ion between the means and the 
 end. Do we not every clay fee glaring examples of 
 people, who are taught what tney never do, and 
 indeed are never able to learn ? Hath not, for in- 
 ftance, a well-known critick been on many occafions 
 abundantly taught modefty and good manners, and 
 that teaching fome;imes accompanied with very fe- 
 vere (!Jfci|jhne, of the pen at leaft ? But would it 
 therefore be a juft conclufion to fay he hath learned 
 them ? I appeal to the reader, who will find in the 
 Canons of Critic ifm, p. 62 64. the common text 
 well explained and fully juftified, and this idlewhim- 
 2 fey,
 
 [ 478 ] 
 fey, which we have been confidering, unanfwerablj-% 
 and with great fpirit and pleafantry, exploded. 
 
 P. 271. E'er look upon our Romans, 
 
 The ancient reading was, 
 
 Or look upon oar Romans, 
 
 The fenfe is the fame, but we mould not modernize 
 our poet's language. See Upton's Critic. Obferv. 
 
 P- 3 l 7> 
 
 P. 272. Poft. Welcome, Sir. 
 
 Phi. I hope, the brief nefs, &c. 
 
 I fuppofe it is by the miftake of the printer that thefe 
 twofpeeches have mutually exchanged their fpeakers. 
 
 P. 275. What's this /' her honour ? 
 
 Thus Mr. Theobald hath corrected the common 
 corrupt reading, 
 
 This is her honour. 
 
 Mr. Upton, in his Critic. Obferv. p. 229, 22$. 
 conjectures we (houid rather read, 
 
 Is this her honour? 
 
 that is, Is this any way relating to the honour of 
 my wife ? The reader will chuie between the two 
 conjectures. I muft own, I am inclined to prefer 
 that of Mr. Theobald. 
 
 P. 277. Let's follow him, and pervert the prefent wrath 
 He hath again fi himfelf. 
 
 Should we not rather read, 
 
 prevent the prefent wrath ; 
 
 that is, Reftrain it from burfling out into fome excefs ? 
 
 P. 281. Behoves me keep at utterance. 
 
 That is, at my extremeft peril. 
 
 4 P. 284.
 
 [ 479 3 
 
 * . 
 
 P. 284. Ifcebtfore me, man: nor here, nor hert^ 
 Nor what enfues, that have a fog in them* 
 That I cannot look through. 
 
 The common reading appearing to Mr. Warburtmi 
 to be nonfenfe, as indeed it muft be acknowledged 
 to be little better as it now (lands, lie gives us 
 this conjecture, which if we will accept, then he af- 
 fures us * all is plain.' For my own part, I muft 
 confefs, this appears to me at leaft as much nonfenfe 
 as the other j nor can I, after the mod deliberate 
 confijeration, difcover either meaning, orconftruc- 
 tion, in it. Mr. Warburton's interpretation is, * I 
 ' fee before me, for there is no fog on any fide of 
 * me which I cannot fee through.' But a man muft 
 have a very complaifant difcernment indeed, who 
 can find this fenfe, if it were fenfe, expreffed in 
 thofe words. At leaft, if he finds it there, he muft 
 bring it with him. Befides, what hath a fog on 
 every fide to do with feing what is directly before 
 the eye ? It is fufficient for that purpofe, that there 
 fhould be no fog before. But there is another point 
 that ought to have been confidered, and which Mr. 
 Warbunon very rarely doth confider; Was this 
 really the fact ? Was Imogen in truth in this moft 
 defirable fituation, that Ihe clearly forefaw every 
 confequence, that could poflibly attend whatever 
 ftep fhe mould think proper to take ? I believe the 
 reader at leaft will fcarcely be perfuaded that this 
 was the cafe. In fhort, all this puzzle hath been 
 occafioned merely by a flight miftake in the point- 
 ing of the common reading, which being thus rec- 
 tified all will be plain indeed : 
 
 J fee before me, man ? Ncr here, nor there, 
 Nor what enfues, but have a fog in them., 
 That 1 cannot look through. 
 
 That is, WoulJft thou, man, have ine confider, 
 
 and
 
 [ 48o ] 
 
 and diftrac"r. myfelf in the fearch of the confequences 
 whi<ih may poflibly attend the ftep I am about to 
 take ? that would be to very little purpofe indeed. 
 For whatever ftep I mould take, whether I ftay here, 
 or go thither, the confequences which may attend 
 either are all equally covered with fuch a thick mill of 
 obfcurity as it is impoffible for me to penetrate , and, 
 this being, fo, it would be a folly in me to deliberate 
 farther on this fubject. 
 
 $\ 288. They think, they're mine, though trained up 
 
 thus meanly. 
 P tb' cave, wherein they bow, their thoughts 
 
 do hit 
 The roof of palaces. 
 
 What wonder they mould think themfelves Bela- 
 rio's children, though trained up agreeably to his 
 prefent mean fituation ? The pointing mould un- 
 doubtedly be thus reformed, 
 
 They think, they* re mine ; though trained up thus meanly 
 P tb' cave, wherein they bow, their thoughts do hit 
 The roof of palaces. 
 
 P. 291. Wilt lay the leven to all prober men. 
 
 See this expreffion explained in Upton's Critic* 
 Obferv. p. 211, 212. 
 
 P. 292* df-edg'd by her 
 
 Whom now thcu tir'jt on. 
 
 That is, When the edge of thy appetite mail be 
 blunted by her, in whofe embraces thou art novv 
 glutting it. Mr. Theobald's conjecture, in his Shake- 
 fpear reftored, p. 189. differed, carrier, with it very 
 little probability. It is a much more natural fuppo- 
 fition, that Pofthumus would be ftung with the 
 pangs of remorfc for the murder he had commanded, 
 when he had forfeited, and was fick of the enclian- 
 
 trefs
 
 [ 48i ] 
 trefs who had prompted him to it, than when (he 
 had difcarded him. 
 
 P. 294. Now, if you could wear a mien 
 
 Dark as your fortune is. 
 
 To wear a dark mien, is but an uncouth expreffion, 
 to fignify, difguifing your perfon. I can fee no ob- 
 jection to the ancient reading, 
 
 Now, if you could wear a mind 
 
 Bark as your fortune is. 
 
 That is, Now, if you can fuffer your mind to be dif- 
 guifed in conformity to your fortune. That the 
 mind was to be difguifed, as well as the perfon, 
 Pifanio plainly tells Imogen in the next page, 
 
 Ton muji forget to be a woman, &c. 
 
 Mr. Warburton, in order to fupport the appearance 
 of an objection, is obliged to fuppofe the propofal 
 to be, that Imogen's mind was to be changed, 
 whereas it is in truth only, that it mould be dif- 
 guifed. 
 
 P. 295. Ob! forfucb means, 
 
 'Though peril to my modejly, not death cn't t 
 I would adventure. 
 
 I think it is more probable that the poet wrote, 
 Through peril to my modejly, not death on't. 
 
 P. 299. And thatfhe hath all courtly parts more ex- 
 
 quifite 
 Than lady ladies \ winning from each one 
 The left /he hath. 
 
 Thus Mr. Warburton corrects the c intolerable non- 
 fenfe,' as he is pleafed to call it, of the common 
 reading, which in the fecond of thefe lines was, 
 
 Than lady ladies woman ; from each one, 
 
 Ii If
 
 [ 4 82 7 
 
 If this laft be in truth the genuine text, I fuppofe a 
 reflection is intended on the meannefs of Cioten'9 
 amours, which, from this confedion out of his own 
 mouth, may be concluded not to have afpired be- 
 yond an intrigue with a ladies woman, in which fta- 
 tion he feems to think all courtly parts are mod ge- 
 nerally found in the molt exquifite perfection. In 
 this view we are to underftand the poet's expreflion 
 to fignify a ladies woman, honoured in this place 
 herfeif with the title of lady. However the reader 
 may think meet to determine as to this, the climax 
 which Mr. Seward, in his notes on Beaumont and 
 Fletcher, vol. ii. p. 185. hath imagined, in order 
 to explain and juftify the common reading, is cer- 
 tainly indefenfible, fince the idea exprefTed by the 
 general title lady is not heightened by its being put 
 in the plural, r.or is the general word, woman, un- 
 derllood to tranfcend the denomination of ladies, in 
 the point of all courtly accomplifhments, which is 
 the very point in queftion. 
 
 P. 304. If any thing that's civil, /peak; i/ favage, 
 Take 'or'/ end. 
 
 That is, according to Mr. Warburton, whofe emen- 
 dation this is, * take my life ere famine end it.' But 
 how came the pronoun, it, to fignify my life, of 
 wiiich not the leaft mention had been made? Or to 
 what purpofe mould Imogen call on the wild beaft 
 to take her life, btf re famine had put an end to it ? 
 One would imagine her dead body as proper fo od 
 for the beall afterward ; and that it were more eli- 
 gible, with regard to hrrfelf, to perifh by hunger, 
 than to be torn in pieces while yet alive. And why 
 mud, /avagt, neceilurily fignify a lavage beaft, and 
 not as well a fava^e man? especially when i& is op- 
 pofed to, civil, which is an epithet that can belong 
 only to a man. Neither can 1 fee any obj. chon to 
 the ancient reading, 
 
 Teh,
 
 t 483 ] 
 
 Take, or lend. 
 That Is, either take my life, or lend me your affi (lance. 
 
 P. 306. > then had my price 
 
 Been lefs, and fo more equal bal lancing 
 To thee, Pojlhumus. 
 
 I can fee no reafon for altering the common reading, 
 
 ' - 1 then had my prize 
 
 Been lefs, andfo more equal ballafting 
 To thee, Pojlhumus. 
 
 The metaphor is drawn from a prize taken at fea. 
 The fenfe is, Then had the prize thou haft mattered 
 in me been \ck, and not have funk thee, as I have 
 done, by overloading thee. 
 
 Ibid. That nothing-gift of defering multitudes. 
 
 The word, defering, is a conjecture of Mr. Theo- 
 bald's ; the ancient reading was, differing, which 
 gives us a much more pertinent fenfe. The nothing- 
 gift which the multitude are fuppofed to bellow, is 
 glory, reputation, which is a prefent of little value 
 from their hands, as they are neither unanimous in 
 giving it, nor conflant in continuing it. 
 
 P. 309. How much the quantity, the weight as much, 
 As I do love my father. 
 
 Grammar feems to require that we fhould read, 
 
 As much the quantity, the weight as much. 
 
 P. 310. Bel. And /hall be ever. 
 
 In Mr. Pope's and Mr. Theobald's editions we read* 
 And Hi alt be ever. 
 
 Bnt neither of thefe expreftions can with propriety 
 proceed from Belario. There can indeed be little 
 
 I i 2 doubt
 
 I 484 ] 
 
 doubt but Mr. Warburton's reading fhould be added 
 to what Imogen had juft faid. 
 
 P. 311. Mingle their fpurs together. 
 
 See Theobald's Shakefpear reftored, p. 139. and 
 the Canons of Criticifm, p. 208. 
 
 P. 314. For we do fear the law. 
 
 This expreffion mud be underftood as connected 
 with what preceded two lines above, 
 
 then why fhould we be tender? 
 
 and makes up one fentence with it ; confequently 
 fhould be included within the note of interrogation. 
 Why mould we be tender, &c. becaufe forfooth we 
 fear the law ? 
 
 Ibid. - Though his honour 
 
 Was nothing but mutation. 
 
 The honour of Cloten can have no concern in the 
 point here under confideration, which is the induce- 
 ment which led him to ramble fo far alone. I have 
 little doubt therefore that Mr. Theobald hath given 
 the genuine text in fubftituting, humour ^ in its place. 
 
 P. 315. V diet a marifh of fuch Clctens blood. 
 See the common reading, 
 
 Td let a parifh of fuch Clot ens bloody 
 fully vindicated in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 24. 
 
 P. 316. That an invifible inflintt fhould frame them. 
 
 By invifible injtinfl, I apprehend the poet means, an 
 inftinct the caufe of which was unknown, and which 
 therefore could not be difcovered, or even fufpecled, 
 till it manifelled itfelf on a fudden by its effects. 
 Mr. Warburton's learning and metaphyficks only 
 
 puzzle
 
 [ 485 ] 
 
 puzzle the fenfe inftead of illuftrating it. The metre 
 would be much improved by the following flight 
 tranfpofition, 
 
 That an inftincl: invifible JJjouId frame therm 
 
 P. 317. tojbew what coajl thyfluggifh c arrack 
 
 Might eafilieft harbour in ? 
 
 The common reading was, 
 
 ' thy fluggiftj care : 
 
 from whence Mr. Sympfon, in his notes on Beau- 
 mont and Fletcher, vol. vi. p. 441. hath very in- 
 genioufly retrieved the true reading, 
 
 thyfluggifh crare : 
 
 a crare is a fmall trading vefifel, mentioned by Flet- 
 cher in his Captain, vol. vi. p. 10. I myfelf have 
 met with the word in ancient records above a thou- 
 fand times. It is called in the Latin of thofe middle 
 ages, cray era, 
 
 P. 321. Are ft rewings fit tft for graves. Upon their 
 
 faces 
 
 Tcu iv ere as flowers, now withered; even fo 
 Theft her beletsjhall, which we upon you ftrow. 
 
 We muft underftand Euriphile, as well as Fidele, 
 to have been buried in a cave, not under the earth, 
 otherwife the raddock could not have brought them 
 flowers and mofs, nor could Imogen or the carcafe 
 of Cloten have been feen by pafiengers. The flowers 
 therefore were (bowed on Euriphiic as well as Imo- 
 gen, and both of them are addrefled in the two laft 
 of thefe lines. 
 
 P. 323. haft nighty the very Gods JJjew'd me a vifion. 
 
 That is, 'the Gods themfdves immediately, without 
 
 the intervention of other agents or inftruments,' as 
 
 I i 3 Mr.
 
 [ 4 86 ] 
 
 Mr. Warburton very juftly interprets the exprefiion. 
 It is always right to let well alone; neverthelefs, he 
 muft needs be meddling, and would perfuade us 
 that Shakefpear wrote, 
 
 Laft night the warey Gods : 
 
 that is, as he explains it, obferving themfelves, 
 and forewarning me. But when was the word, 
 wary, ever ufed to fignify forewarning ? 
 
 P. 323. That, etherwife than noble Nature did, 
 Hath alter* d that good piRure ? 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath treated Mr. Theobald feverely 
 enough on account of a propofed conjecture, in 
 which he happened to be miftaken. But it appears 
 from Mr. Warburton's own interpretation, that he 
 himfelf at the fame time did not underfland the 
 reading he was defending. The verb, did, fignifies 
 here the fame as performed, and accordingly the 
 fenfe is, That hath altered this good picture to fome- 
 thing fo different from what nature drew it. Be- 
 fides, in order to fupport an interpretation which falls 
 very little ftiort of nonfenfe, ' Who hath altered 
 this good picture otherwife than nature altered it?' 
 he is obliged to have recourfe to a refinement more 
 idle, and wider from the purpofe, than the unfuc- 
 cefsful attempt of Mr. Theobald. He fuppofes 
 therefore that the poet intended the fpeaker fhould 
 intimate, that Cloten's being fhortened in ftature by 
 the lofs of his head was a counteracting ' the practice 
 ' of nature, which by yearly accefilon of growth ge- 
 * nerally makes young people taller.* But in order to 
 have gained any the lead foundation for this his fup- 
 pofinon, it was certainly necefiary for him firft to 
 have altered, nature did, to, nature does. See the 
 Canons of Criticifm, p. 142 144.. 
 
 P. 327,
 
 [ 47 ] 
 
 P. 3 2 7. / beard no letter from my majler. 
 
 I fuppofe it is the printer's fault this is not corrected 
 according to Sir Thomas Hanmer's emendation, 
 which Mr. Warburton gives us at the bottom of the 
 
 I've had no letter. 
 
 P. 328. And ears fo 'ploy'd importantly as now. 
 
 Mr. Warburton's emendation feems to be right, 
 but why would hecircumcife the word (as the author 
 of the Canons of Criticifm, p. 204. very humour- 
 ouQy terms it) after a manner which common ufage 
 doth not authorize, rather than write it at full length, 
 employed^ or at leaft with a note of elifion, fo 'mplofd? 
 
 P. 332. that the fir ait pafs was damnd. 
 
 Read, damnid. 
 
 P. 333. Our Britaine's harts die fixing. 
 
 This is an emendation of Mr. Theobald's. See his 
 Shakefpear reftored, p. 190. 
 
 Ibid. 'That feme, turned coward. 
 
 Some, doth not fignify, * that part which,' as Mr. 
 Warburton inftructs us, but fimply, a part. 
 
 P. 334. The mortal hugs o* th y field. 
 
 Read, agreeably to all the editions, fags, that is, 
 bugbears. 
 
 Ibid. Nay, do not wonder at it. 
 
 Mr. Theobald, in his Shakefpear reftored, p. 174. 
 2nd in his note on this paffdge in his edition of 
 Shakefpear, hath, I think, very properly co: reeled 
 it thus, 
 
 Nay, do but wonder at it. 
 
 Ii 4 V. ; 3 6
 
 t 483 3 
 
 J>. 2^6. ~to fatisfie, 
 
 1 d'off my freedom ; His the main part ; take 
 No ftn tier render of me, than my all. 
 
 Mr. Warburton feems to have been fo wrapped up 
 in the admiration of his own correction, that he did 
 not give himfelf the leifure to obferve the glaring 
 inconfiftency of it. Pofthumus is made to fay in 
 the fame breath, that his freedom is his all, and yet 
 not his all, but only the main part of that all. The 
 common reading, 
 
 to fatisfie, 
 
 If of my freedom His the main part, take 
 Nojlritter render of me, than my all, 
 
 as much nonfenfe as Mr. Warburton is pleafed to 
 call it, gives us at lead this confident fenfe , If I 
 had continued in pofTeiTion of my freedom, the 
 main ufe and duty of it muft have been to make fa- 
 tisfaction for my crime , my conflant and continued 
 endeavours for this purpofe would have been all the 
 Satisfaction in my power to make. By furrendering 
 my freedom, I have together with it furrendered 
 this all , and have reafon to hope you will not re- 
 quire of me a ftriSer compenfation. The difficulty 
 of this paffage arifcs from hence, that a part of thefe 
 premifes is implied only, and not diftinctly expreffed. 
 
 P. 342. Or to take upon yourfelf that, which, J 
 em f ure, you do not know. 
 
 Grammar requires us to read, Or take upon yourfelf . 
 
 P. 343. Such precious deeds in one that promi? d nought 
 But Ugg'ry and poor luck. 
 
 Poor luck, inftead of poor looks, which was the com- 
 mon reading:, is a conjecture of Mr. Warburton's, 
 whcf: admirahle reafoning proves, if it proves any- 
 thing, that he hath mended this place but by halves. 
 
 For
 
 [ 49 ] 
 For thus proceeds his criticifm ; * How can one, 
 
 * whofe poor looks promife beggary, be faid to pro- 
 
 * mile poor looks too ?' It is eafy to anfwer, that 
 poor looks promising either beggary or poor looks, 
 is notShakeipear's expreffion but his own, and there- 
 fore he is welcome to treat it as he pleafes. ' It was 
 ' not the poor look which was promifed ; that was 
 
 * vifible.' And fo was the beggary too, which not- 
 withstanding is faid to be promifed, and therefore to 
 make the emendation confident, fhould have been 
 altered as well as the poor look. But the truth is, 
 it is the laconifm, and concifenefs of the expreffion, 
 which occafioned Mr. Warburton's Humbling at it. 
 The fenfe is, One that promifed nothing beyond 
 what appeared, to wit, beggary and a poor exterior. 
 
 P. 348. Not more refembles, than he th* fweet rofie lad. 
 
 In order to help out the metre, Mr. Theobald en- 
 joins us to pronounce the word, refembles, as a dif- 
 fyllable. But this is utterly impracticable by a hu- 
 man tongue. It is fufficient to fay, that the third 
 foot is an anapseft. 
 
 
 
 P. 353. 'Think , that you are upon a mock, and now 
 Throw me again. 
 
 Mr. Warburton, according to his ufual cuftom, firft 
 calls the text nonfenfe, and then difcards it to make 
 room for real nonfenfe of his own. For who ever 
 ufed the expreffion, to be upon a mock, to fignify, 
 to be?r a part in * a farce or ftage play ?' or, if it had 
 that fignificaticn, how is it pertinent here, when the 
 truth and reality of things, and particularly Imo- 
 gen's virtue and chaftity, had been fully manifcfted 
 2nd cleared up. The common reading, 
 
 Think, that you are upon a rock, and now 
 Thiow me again, 
 
 gives a fenfe fo evidently pointed out and required 
 
 by
 
 [ 49 ] 
 
 by the context, that one would wonder how Mr. 
 Warburton could mifs it. Confider, that you have 
 juft efcaped being wrecked in the full perfuafion of 
 my infidelity and death, and are ac laft got fafe on 
 a rock ; now throw me from you again, if your 
 heart will give you leave. 
 
 P. 255- Wilt thou undo the worth thou art unpaid for ", 
 By hafiing of our wrath ? 
 
 Here again Mr. Warbur ton's perverfe fubtilty will 
 not let him underftand one of the moll common 
 figures in poetry. The ancient reading was, 
 
 By tailing of our wrath ? 
 
 * But how,' quoth he, * did Belarius undo or for- 
 ' feit his merit by tailing or feeling the King's 
 ' wrath ?' Why, only by doing that which he knew 
 muft draw the King's wrath upon him, and in con- 
 fequence of which he muft tafte it. 'Tis the well 
 known metonymy of the effect for the caufe, 
 
 Troilus and Creflida, 
 
 Prologue, p. 365. Dardatt, and Thymbria, IHa t 
 Sctfa> Trojan. 
 
 Mr. Theobald hath reflored the true names of the 
 Trojan gates from Dares Phrygius, whom our poet 
 copied, thus, 
 
 Dardania, Thymbria % Ilia^ Sc*a, Trojan 
 
 See his Shakefpear reftored, p. 187, 188. 
 
 Ibid. Sperre up the fom of Troy, 
 See Mr. Theoabald, as above cited. 
 
 P. 3*9*
 
 [ 49i ] 
 
 P. 369. The cygnet's down is harfh, and (fpite of fenfe) 
 Hard as the palm of ploughman. 
 
 If the tree is known by its fruits, what judgment 
 mud we form of Mr. Warburton's critical talents 
 from this fample ? Troilus is here comparing the 
 foft feizure of Crefiid's hand to the cygnet's down, 
 and, if we admit this correction, goes on to fay, that, 
 in comparifon of the former, this latter is not only 
 harm, but in truth as hard as the palm of a plough- 
 man, in defpight of his own fenfe, which at the fame 
 time allures him of the contrary. Which is juft as 
 good fenfe as to fay, that the very fame fenfe con- 
 tradicts its own teftimony, and that what has the 
 fofteft feeling, feels at the fame time extremely hard. 
 Shakefpear gave us no fuch nonfenfc in the common 
 reading, 
 
 . and fpirit of fenfe 
 
 Hard as the palm of ploughman. 
 
 That is, The moft refined quinteffence of fenfe, the 
 mod delicate touch of it, was, in comparifon of 
 Creffid's hand, as hard as the palm of the plough- 
 man. This is one of thofe exaggerations, which is 
 extremely natural and pardonable in an ecftatick 
 lover , but it is not pardonable, becaufe it is not na- 
 tural, to put fuch nonfenfe in his mouth as apparently 
 contradicts itfelf. We meet with the fame expref- 
 fion a little farther on in this very play, p. 432. 
 where the eye or fight is termed, 
 
 That moft pure fpirit of fenfe % 
 
 which undoubtedly is with equal propriety applicable 
 to the feeling. 
 
 P. 371. Heeler., whpfe patience 
 
 Is, as the virtue, fix'd. 
 
 One would have thought nothing could have been 
 plainer than the, feufw of the common reading, 
 
 /J,
 
 C 49 2 J 
 Is, as a virtue, fix'd. 
 
 That is, whofe patience appeared incapable of being 
 moved, as, when it is really a virtue, and not a 
 fluggifhnefs of conftitution, it generally is. But 
 Mr. Warburton, in the triumph of emendation, was 
 above confidering this ; and what is the confequence ? 
 Why what himfclf with great truth and propriety 
 tells us in his very next note ; * The very flightcft 
 
 * alteration will at any time let the poet's fenfe 
 
 * through the critick's fingers.' So here the pa- 
 tience of Hector is compared with the Goddefs 
 Patience, who, whether fhe be fixed or not, more 
 than all other Gods and Goddefies on their refpec- 
 tive pedefials, the reader's imagination cannot pof- 
 fibly inform him. 
 
 P. 372. He was bar Kefs' d light. 
 
 That is, harnefs'd ready for action. For it appears 
 from this very play, that the heroes, whether they 
 fought on foot, or in their chariots, were always in 
 heavy armour, and indeed wore the fame armour 
 in both cafes indifferently, unlefs they equipped 
 themfelves merely as archers, which Hector is never 
 reprefented to have done. One would imagine Mr. 
 "Warburton had never fo much as dipped into the 
 Iliad. 
 
 P. 374. Good morrow, Alexander. 
 
 I entirely agree in opinion with Mr. Theobald, that 
 Alexander is intended as the name of Creflid's fer- 
 vant. See Shakefpear reftored, p. 137. 
 
 P. 378. 'The mich Jhall have more. 
 
 This may have been a proverbial faying for ought I 
 know, though I have not happened to meet with it. 
 But as the common reading, 
 
 The rich Jhall have more, 
 
 con*
 
 C 493 3 
 conveys, precifdy the fame fenfe, I fee no occafion 
 for altering it. See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 62. 
 
 P. 3 S3. With due obfervance of tly goodly feat. 
 
 We learn from Mr. Theobald that the reading of 
 the old editions is, godly feat, from whence he con- 
 jectures, and I think with great probability, that the 
 poet wrote, godlike feat. 
 
 Ibid. Nefior Jhall fupply 
 
 Thy latefl words. 
 
 I fee no occafion for altering the common reading, 
 
 Nefior fhall apply ; 
 
 jfince it is much more modeft and decent to call the 
 illustration of a fuperior's words an application, than 
 a fupplement of them, as this laft term implies, that 
 fome things had been omitted which were neceffary to 
 have been faid on the occafion. 
 
 P. 384. Returns to chiding fortune. 
 
 That is, echoes back her own threats. See the Ca- 
 nons of Criticifm, p. 206. 
 
 Ibid. As venerable Nefior (hatched in fdver) 
 
 That is, adorned with filver, in allufion to his white 
 locks of hair. See Mr. Seward's note on Beaumont 
 and Fletcher, vol. i. p. 380, 381. 
 
 P. 385. When that the general not likes the hive. 
 
 This is a correction of Mr. Warburton's, inftcad of 
 the common reading, 
 
 When that the general is not like the hive, 
 
 which is evidently wrong. But I apprehend the art- 
 ful and infimming Ulyffes would Icarce tell Aga- 
 memnon bluntly, and in To many words, that he 
 
 w:S 
 
 3
 
 f 494 J 
 
 was not liked by the army ; nor indeed is this the! 
 thing he complains of, but a general diflblution of 
 all difcipline, an infenfibiiity of due fubordination. 
 I fhould imagine therefore the post might write, 
 
 When that the general's not the life of th* hive : 
 
 that is, That life-giving fpirit, whofe vital influence 
 animates, guides, and moves the whole united body. 
 Ulyfles juft before had addreffed Agamemnon in the 
 following words of an import perfectly fimilar, 
 
 , nerve and bone of Greece, 
 
 Heart of our numbers, foul, and only fpirit % 
 In whom the tempers and the minds of all 
 Should be flout up* 
 
 P. 386. But when the planets 
 
 In evil mixture to diforder wander. 
 
 Seethe Canons of Criticifm, p. 12 r, 122. 
 
 Pi 388. Thy ftoplefs deputation he puts on: 
 
 Who ever heard of, ftoplefs, for unlimited? The 
 ancient reading, t-cplefs, is not difficult to underftand, 
 though Mr. Warburton was not in the humour to 
 underftand it. It evidently means, what hath no- 
 thing atop of, or above it, that is, fupreme. 
 
 P. 390. Excels. 
 
 I think this correction of Mr. Warburton's perfectly 
 right; but I differ from him in the fenfe of the 
 word, which I take it llgnifies in this place, not 
 ' publick taxes,' for fuch are never impofed on an 
 army in the field, but the particular duties required 
 from the feveral individuals in their turns, as occa- 
 fion called for them. 
 
 P. 392. That loves his miftrefs more than in confefjion, 
 (With truant vows to her own lips, he loves.) 
 
 This parcmhefis, which together with the comma 
 
 6 at
 
 C 495 1 
 
 at the end of the firft line, is very judicioufly thrown 
 out by Mr. Pope, fpoils the fenfe, and difturbs the 
 conftruction. The meaning is, Whofe Jove to his 
 miftrefs will carry him farther than a bare profeffion 
 of it in her prefence with frivolous vows and pro- 
 tections. 
 
 P. 2gy. Speak then, you windy eft leaven. 
 
 The common reading was, whitiid'ft leaven ; from 
 whence we may with great probability collect, that 
 the poet wrote, 
 
 Speak then, thou vinniedft leaven, 
 
 Vinnied, or vinewed, is an old Englifh word (till in 
 ufe in the weftern part of this iQand, which Agni- 
 zes, mouldy. See Upton's Critic. Obferv. p. 210. 
 
 P. 398. Thou thing of no bowels , thou ! 
 
 That is, Thou thing of no feeling , a reflection cer- 
 tainly not improper from a man who had been jufc 
 beaten, on the man who beat him. Mr. Warbur- 
 ton however imagines the true reading to be, 
 
 Thou thing of no vowels : 
 
 1 That is, Thou word without vowels, which, as it 
 contains no idea, is jargon without fenfe.' As if 
 a word with vowels might not be as much jargon 
 and nonfenfe, as one without them. 
 
 P. 401. Had it cur name. 
 
 That is, Were it really ours, with ascertain evidence 
 as if we had marked it with our name, whereas we 
 ourfelves know Helen is not a Trojan but a Greek. 
 
 P. 402. Without fome image of tV afficJed's merit. 
 
 There was not the lea ft occafion for this alteration. 
 The ancient reading, f tl* effected merit, is much 
 
 better.
 
 r 496 1 
 
 better. The fenfe is, Without fome appearance of 
 a merit on which to found the affection. 
 
 P. 404. Why, brother Heclor, 
 
 We may not think thejuftnefs of each acl. 
 
 Both the fenfe and conftruction evidently require 
 that we mould read, 
 
 May we not think the jujlnefs of each aft. 
 
 P. 413. In will-peculiar. 
 
 This expreflion will not admit of an hyphen, which 
 is contrary to the genius of our language where the. 
 fubject precedes the adjunct. 
 
 P. 418. Well, you fay fo in fits. 
 
 I mu ft frankly own, I can fee no meaning in thcfe 
 . words. Poflibly the poet might write, * Well, you 
 lay fo in jeft.* 
 
 Ibid. Helen. You tnuft net know where hefups. 
 
 Thefe words mould be added to the fpeech of Pan- 
 darus ; for every thing he fays of Troilus is in pri- 
 vate to Paris, and apart from Helena, who could not 
 therefore make this anfwer which relates wholly to 
 Troilus. 
 
 P. 419. With my difpoufer Crejfida. 
 
 Difpoufer, is a word never before, that I have heard 
 or known, ufed by any Englifh writer, for one who 
 would feparate a man from his wife. Befides, there 
 is not the leaft reafon to imagine, from any thing 
 fa id in the play, that Creflida defired to feparate 
 JParis from Helena. On t :e other hand, the com- 
 mon reading, dilpofer, is a compliment of great gal- 
 lantry, to fignify, that Paris was entirely at Cref- 
 fida's difpoial and command. 
 
 P. 421.
 
 C 497 1 
 r. 421. No, Sif % be prays you to conducl him thither. 
 
 This correction is wholly owing to Mr. Warburton's 
 not understanding Englifli. The common reading 
 is much better, 
 
 No, Sir, be (lays you to conducl him thither. 
 
 that is, He ftays, or waits, for you. 
 
 . P. 422. The f ale 07i as the tercel, fir all the ducks 
 i* th' river. 
 
 We mould undoubtedly read, ' The falcon at the 
 tercel ;' that is, I will fly my female hawk againft 
 the male, for all the ducks in the river. See Mr. 
 Theobald's note on this place. 
 
 P. 426. As true as Jleel, as plant age to the moon. 
 
 It is certain, that by flantage cannot be underttood 
 whatever is * planted or fown,' as Mr. Warburton 
 interprets the word, becaufe, however prevalent the 
 opinion was of the moon's influence on planting or 
 fowing, yet it was as univerfally known that this 
 influence in many cafes failed, and therefore could 
 not furnifh a proper comparifon for a truth of an in- 
 Variable conltancy. I fuppofe therefore that plant age 
 ufurps the place of fome other thing, which receives 
 a certain and regular determination from the moon : 
 and, as the regular influence of that planet On the 
 tides is of all others the molt generally acknow- 
 ledged, and indeed a matter of univerfal obfervation, 
 I think the poet might poffibly have written, 
 
 : as floodage to the moon. 
 
 Mr. Dryden feems to have entertained the fame opi* 
 nion, for he gives us, 
 
 Or true as flowing tides are to the moon. 
 
 K.k P. 426.
 
 C 498 ] 
 
 P. 426. Yet after all comparifons of truths 
 
 As truth authentick, ever to be cited, 
 
 As true as TrJIus, Jhall crown up the verfe. 
 
 I have no other objection to this reading but that it 
 is not Shakefpear's. Mr. Warburton indeed tells 
 us, that the common reading, 
 
 As truth's authentick author to be cited, 
 
 ' is abfolute nonfenfe.' Let us try if we cannot 
 make fenfe of it ; and, if we can, it will certainly 
 have one recommendation, which ufes to be a very 
 prevalent one with this gentleman, to wit, an uni- 
 formity of metaphor perfectly preferved. The words, 
 authentick author, and, cited, both refer to an au- 
 thor, whofe text is univerfally received, and fub- 
 rnitted to, as the tell of truth in the matters he treats 
 of: Such, for fomeages, was Ariftotlein philofophy ; 
 fuch the Inftitutes of Juftinian in civil hw. The 
 fenfe therefore I apprehend to be this. In matters 
 of love, after all comparifons of truth have been ex- 
 hausted, to crown and fum up the whole, the truth 
 of Troilus (hall at laft be cited, as the very authen- 
 tick text itfelf of truth in love, according to which 
 the truth of every man elfe will for the future be 
 tried and determined upon the comparifon. 
 
 P. 427. Let all inconflanl men be Troilus 9 s. 
 
 The ancient reading, c Let all conftant men be Troi- 
 lus's,' is certainly the true one. It is clearly the 
 intention of the poet, that this imprecation mould 
 be iuch a one as was verified by the event, as it is 
 in part to this very day. But neither was Troilus 
 ever a name ufed to denote an inconttant lover, nor, 
 if we credit the ftory of this play, did he ever de- 
 ferve that character, as both the others did in truth 
 deferve that fhame here imprecated upon them. 
 Befide c , Pandarus feems to adjuft his imprecation to 
 
 thofe
 
 [ 499 J 
 thofe of the other two preceding juft as they drop-- 
 ped from their lips, as falfe as CreJ/id, and confe- 
 cfuently, as true, or, as conjiant, as Troilus. 
 
 P. 429. That, through the fight I bear in things to 
 come, 
 1 have abandoned Troy. 
 
 Mr. Warburton rifes up with a very laudable zeal, 
 to vinJicate the prieftly character from the filly and 
 groundlefs reflections of Mr. Theobald. But, as 
 zeal, when it is very warm, is apt fometimcs to be 
 blind, this hath unfortunately happened in the pre- 
 fent cafej and Mr. Warburton hath acquitted him- 
 ielf fo ill of the tafk he hath undertaken, that he 
 hath left matters much worfe than he found them. 
 The words of Calchas will bear no other reafonable 
 fenfe, than that he had abandoned Troy, from the 
 forefight he had of the deftrudtion chat hung over it, 
 and would inevitably overwhelm it. The following 
 paflage, 
 
 / have expos' 'd my/elf 
 
 From certain and pojfefs'd conveniencies, 
 To doubtful fortunes ; 
 
 which Mr. Warburton adduces as inconfiftent with 
 this interpretation, is a ftrong confirmation of the 
 truth of it. The fenfe is plainly, You may be fure 
 I have the fulled perfuafion of the certainty of my 
 prediction, otherwife I fhould not have quitted cer- 
 tain and pofTeifed conveniences, to rifque my for- 
 tunes with you, which, as they depend abfolutely 
 on your will and pleafure, I muft (till confider as 
 doubtful. As to Mr. Warburton's other objection, 
 
 * That the abfolute knowledge of the fall ' f Troy 
 
 * was a fecret hid from the inferior Gods themfelves,* 
 he himfelf hath fufficiently anfwered it, by admit- 
 ting, that what CafTardra knew of the matter was 
 
 K k 2 com*
 
 t 5. ] 
 
 communicated to her by them. Now it is plain* 
 that the fecret that Troy was abfolutely to fall, if 
 it perfifted in detaining Helen, was known to her ; 
 and her not being believed did not make this know- 
 ledge a jot the lefs certain. For a proof of this> 
 fee vol. vii. p. 404. 
 
 Troy muji not be, nor goodly Won ft and: 
 Our fire-brand brother, Paris, burns us all. 
 Cry, cry, Troy burns, or elfe let Helen go. 
 
 Mr. Warburton's interpretation, that Calchas Iefc 
 Troy from a profpect of bringing his fkill in divina- 
 tion to a better market among the Greeks, is not 
 only utterly without foundation, but unneceflarily 
 expofes his prieftly character, by placing it in fo 
 odious and mercenary a light, as mull render it the 
 deteftation of the reader. The true excufe for him 
 is, that, as the Gods had revealed to him the kit' 
 tence they had pafled on his country, he thought 
 it his duty to acquiefce under it, and not, by fruit- 
 kfsly exerting himfelf in oppofition to it, to involve 
 himfelf and his family in the fame ruin, 
 
 P. 432. How dearly ever parted. 
 
 That is, With how valuable parts or accomplifhments 
 foever endued. 
 
 P. 433. How fume menjleep in Jkittijh Fortune's hall. 
 
 There was not the leaft occafion to alter the com- 
 mon reading, which is at leaft full as expreffive, if 
 Mr. Warburton would have allowed himfelf the 
 time to understand its meaning : 
 
 How fame men creep injkittijjj Fortune's hall. 
 
 Where, to creep, fignifies, to advance flowly and 
 fluggifhly, lik^ a fnail. 
 
 P. 440.
 
 [ 50i 3 
 
 P. 440. Did haunt you in the field. g 
 
 Mr. Upton, in his Critic. Obferv. p. 242. hath, I 
 think, very clearly proved, that the true reading is, 
 
 Did hunt you in the field. 
 
 Ibid. During all que/Hon of the gentle truce. 
 
 Queftion feems here intended to fignify all conven- 
 tion in general ; fo that the fenfe is, In whatever 
 converfe I fhall have with you during this gentle 
 truce, 1 (hall, like a friend, heartily wifh you heakh, 
 but when I meet you armed in the field, I fhall treat 
 you with the utmoft feverity of an enemy. 
 
 P. 441. Aflat tamed piece. 
 
 A tamed piece, is a piece that hath been broached,, 
 and a part of it drawn out. In the weft rn part of 
 England we fay, to tame a veffel, or a bottle, for, 
 to draw, or pour out part of it. Evidently from 
 the French word, entamer 9 which hath the fame 
 flgnification, 
 
 P. 442. Both merits poiSd, each weighs no lefs nor more, 
 But be as he, which heavier for a whore. 
 
 I cannot understand in what fenfe or conftruclion the 
 relative, which, can be admitted here. I believe the 
 poet wrote, 
 
 each heavier for a whore. 
 
 That is, each of you dragged down to ruin by your 
 deftructive connection with a whore. 
 
 P. 445. the fecreteji of natures 
 
 Have not more gift in taciturnity. 
 
 I cannot fee the lead objection, except the deficiency 
 of the metre, to the common reading, 
 
 " the fecrets of nature. 
 
 K k 3 That
 
 L 502 1 
 
 That is, The fecrets of nature do not more effec- 
 tually dude all human inquiries, than I (hall cer- 
 tainly difappoint thofe, whofe curiofity might lead 
 them to pry into yours. The metre may be eafily 
 reftored thus, 
 
 . the fecrets even of nature. 
 
 P. 451. Tojhame the zeal of my petition towards thee> 
 
 Mr. Warburton is always ready to beftow the apel- 
 lation of nonfen'e on every expreflion whofe appear- 
 ance he diflikes at firft fight, without allowing him- 
 felf time to examine into its real merit. Thus he 
 hath treated in this place the common reading, 
 
 To Jhame the feal of my petition towards thee. 
 
 But what is this feal of Troilus's petition ? It is, 
 that if fortune ever fubje&ed Diomedetothe mercy 
 of his fwortl, then the bare mention of Creflid's 
 name fhould be an effectual protection and fecurity 
 for his life and fafety. The flight Diomede puts on 
 this declaration, by his telling Creffid fhe owes no 
 thanks to the Prince for it, fince her beauty alone 
 might command, not only fair ufoge from him, but 
 himleif too with every thing in his power, is what 
 Troilus calls foaming or affronting the feal of his 
 petition, by treating it as a thing beneath his notice, 
 and telling Crefiida as much in very plain terms. 
 This is a fer.fe precife and determinate, very clearly 
 and finely expreffrd ; whereas Mr. Warburton's con- 
 jecture is a general vague and cold expreflion, ap- 
 pealing only to Diomcde's prJitenefs, and blaming 
 him tor not entering imo all the delicacies of a lover's 
 paffon, with as much readintfs as the lover himfelf, 
 
 P. 452. Blow, villain ', till thy fphcrcd bias cheek 
 Out-fwell the chclick of puft /Iquilon. 
 
 Bias cheek, appears to me to be nonjenjg' FolTibly 
 4 the
 
 [ 503 ] 
 the poet might have written, Boreas cheek, allud- 
 ing to the common pictures of Boreas, in whivh 
 he is always drawn with cheeks puffed out almoft 
 to burfting. This bombaft language feems to have 
 been adapted to the character of Ajax, which is re- 
 prefented as blown up by pride and flattery. 
 
 P. 455. In the extremity of great and little 
 
 Valour and pride parcel themfehes in Heclor. 
 
 Mr. Warburton allures us, as ufual, that thus 
 c Shakefpear without doubt wrote.' But it appears 
 to me a real abfurdity to fay, that any thing can par- 
 cel itfelf in the extremity of little, when that little 
 too is as blank as nothing , though I can fee no ab- 
 furdity in frying, that two qualities excel themfelves, 
 that is, exceed the degrees in which they are ufually 
 found, the one in the extremity of great, the other 
 in the extremity of little, efpecially when the praife 
 arifing from this laft quality confifts in its being as 
 little as it can be conceived. We muft therefore 
 mod undoubtedly reftore the o'd reading, 
 
 Valour and pride excel themfelves in Heclor. 
 
 P. 457. Not Neoptokmus's fire irafcille. 
 
 There can be no doubt but Achilles is the perfon 
 here intended by Heclor, and fo far Mr. Warbur- 
 ton's correction is certainly right j but the epither, 
 irafcible, feems to be a mere botch, inferted to fill 
 up the verfe. The corrupt reading was, 
 
 Not Neoptolemm fo mirable : 
 
 From which I conjecture the poet might have written, 
 
 Not Neoptolemus's fire in battle. 
 
 P. 461. I fhall fcrefial thee, lord Ulyjfes ; thou! 
 
 The word, thx;, feems to have no meaning here. 
 K k 4 I be-
 
 [ 54 3 
 
 I believe we fhould read, nozv, which particle is im- 
 mediaiely repeated at the beginning of the next line. 
 
 P. 462. But, by the forge that Jiylhied Mars his belml 
 
 Stytbie, or Jly the, undoubtedly fignifies an anvil; but 
 I apprehend it fignifies alio the trough in which the 
 fmith quenches his iron in order to give it a proper 
 hardnefs, the water of which is in confequence ge- 
 nerally foul and black. The forge fignifies here, by 
 a rot unufual fynecdoche, the whole fmith's (hop. 
 Mr. Theobald would fubftitute the word, fmithied^ 
 and tells us, that a fmHhy is the working (hop of a 
 fmith, and to fmitby is to perform the work and of- 
 fice of a fmith ; but I do not recoiled: to have ever 
 heard or met with either of thofe words. 
 
 P. 464. Thou crujiy batch of -nature. 
 
 I think Mr. Theobald hath with good reafon and 
 great probability altered this expreflion to, ' Thou 
 crufty botch of nature.' 
 
 P! 465. And the goodly transformation of Jupiter 
 there, his brother, the bull, the primitive jlatue, and 
 chelijk memorial of cuckolds. 
 
 The common reading was, and oblique memorial of 
 cuckolds -, which Mr. Warburton, fuppofing it to be 
 an appellation given to Menelaus, changed to what 
 we have juft feen, intending by it an eternal monu- 
 ment of cuckoldom. For ' an obelifk is of all hu- 
 ' man edifices the mod durable; and thus the fen- 
 ' tence rifes gradually and properly from a ftatue to 
 ' an obdifk.' To treat fuch criticifm as this feri- 
 oufjy, would be an affront to the common fenfe of 
 the reader. Such folemn nonfenfe needs no heighten- 
 ing to expofe it. Mr. Theobald had very juftly ob- 
 ferved, that it is the bull which is called the primi- 
 tive ftatue i to which Mr. Warburton, with that 
 
 fuper-
 
 [ SO$ ] 
 
 fupercilious air of contempt which is ufual to him, 
 replies, * That by this observation Mr. Theobald 
 
 * only giveth us to underftand, that he knoweth not 
 
 * the difference between the Englifh articles a and 
 f the.' But let me tell him in return, that by this 
 very reply he hath clearly (hewn, that he himfelf 
 did not, at lead at that time, underftand that dif* 
 ference. For it is not, a bull, that is, any bull 
 whatever, but the bull, whom the poet had juft be- 
 Fore called the goodly transformation of Jupiter, 
 that is faid to be ' the primitive ftatue and oblique 
 memorial of cuckolds.' The memorial is called 
 oblique, becaufe it was only indirectly fuch, upon the 
 common fuppofition that both were equally furnifhed 
 "with horns. But Mr. Warburton mould have in- 
 formed the reader, how Menelaus could properly be 
 faid to be * the primitive ftatue of cuckolds.' Were 
 there no cuckolds before him ? or could he be a pri- 
 mitive ftatue before he exifted? Mr. Warburton 
 tells us ' he flood as the great archetype of this cha- 
 racter.' But to expofe the impropriety and weak- 
 nefs of this obfervation would lead U5 too near the 
 borders of profanenefs. 
 
 P. 473. nudnefs of difcourfe ! 
 
 That caufe fets up with and aga'wft thyfelfi 
 Bi-fold authority ! 
 
 I can difcover no meaning in thefe laft words, which 
 are not, to the btft of my information, even Eng- 
 lifh. Some at leaft of the elder editions, if not all 
 of them, give us, 
 
 By foul authority! 
 
 which I fuppofe may be the genuine reading j and 
 then the paflage mould be thus pointed, 
 
 madnefs of difcourfe, 
 
 That caufe fets up with and againji thy f elf x 
 By foul authority ! 
 
 That
 
 [ 5 o6 ] 
 
 That is, O madnefs of reafoning, which would at 
 the fame time perfuade thee that thy miftrefs is true, 
 and yet that me is falfe too, and in both thofe re- 
 fpe&s relying on a teftimony which is all ftained with 
 pollution, to wit, her own. 
 
 P. 473. where reafon can rev eh 
 
 Without, perdition, and lofs ajfume all reafon 
 Without revolt. 
 
 If I may venture to guefs at the meaning of fo dark 
 a riddle, I mould imagine it might be this j Where 
 reafon founded on pall aflurances can determine in 
 contradi&ion to the cleared evidence, that I have 
 not loft Creffida's affection, and where the lofs of 
 that affeftion is fo manifeft, that all my reafon 
 ranges itfelf on this fide, in concurrence with the 
 fulieft evidence. 
 
 VOLUME the EIGHTH, 
 
 Rcmeo and Juliet. 
 
 P. 13. To call hers (exquijite) in queflion more. 
 
 That is, to call hers, which is exquifite, the more 
 into my remembrance and contemplation. It is in 
 this fenfe, and not in that of doubt or difpute, that 
 the word, quejlion, is here ufed. 
 
 P. 14. Earth-treading ftars that make dark Even light. 
 
 That is, according to Mr. Warburton, whofe emen- 
 dation this is, * When the evening is dark and with- 
 * out ftars, thefe earthly ftars fupply their place, 
 ' and light it up.* A very gallant compliment in- 
 deed, that, when no ftars are to be feen, the ladies 
 make fhift to fupply their phce. The common 
 reading, 
 
 Earth-
 
 C 507 3 
 
 Earth-treading Jlars that make dark heaven's lights 
 
 though Mr. Warbnrton is pleafed to call it nonfenfe, 
 prefents us with a much more elegant fcnfe in the 
 true ftrain of gallantry ; Stars treading upon the 
 earth, which by their fuperior fplendor eclipfe or 
 darken thofe which enlighten the heavens. But it 
 hath been already remarked in the Canons of Criti- 
 cifm, that Mr. Warburron is particularly unfortu- 
 nate whenever his fubject leads him to talk of the 
 fair fex. 
 
 P. 1 6. Tour lady's love agalnft fome other maid. 
 
 Tour lady's love, is the love you bear to your lady, 
 which in our language is commonly ufed for the 
 lady herfelf. So that there is no occafion for Mr. 
 Theobald's conjecture. 
 
 P. 21. Scaring the ladies like a crow-keeper. 
 
 That is, like a fellow placed to keep off crows, rooks, 
 and other birds, from grounds newly fown ; which 
 fervice, in the days of archery, before fire-arms 
 were grown into common ufe, was I fuppofe per- 
 formed with a bow and arrows : and as ragged boys 
 were, as they dill are, ufually employed for this pur- 
 pofe, the poet very properly concludes, that fuch 
 an appearance would rather fcare than divert the la- 
 dies. Mr. Theobald, not recollecting this, would, 
 in his Shakefpear reftored, p. 191, alter the word 
 to cow-keeper, fuppofing that the herdfmen of old 
 were ufed to watch in the field with bows and arrows, 
 to defend their cattle from dogs, or any other inju- 
 ries. But this fuppofuion is quite groundlefs. In 
 England at leaft, whence our poet undoubtedly 
 drew his fimilies, ever fince the extirpation of wolves, 
 kine, or horned cattle, had no enemies to apprehend 
 in the fields ; and, as they needed not, fo neither 
 had they, any herdfmen to attend them there. 
 
 P. 21.
 
 [ 508 ] 
 
 P. 21. And to fmk in it, fkould you burthen love. 
 
 It is plain from what follows, that there ought to 
 have been a note of interrogation at the end of this 
 line. The fenfe is, And fince you find you are fink- 
 ing under it already, mould you go on to increafe 
 your burthen ? 
 
 P. 23. Injhape no bigger than an agat-flone. 
 
 Mr. Warburton charges this exprefiion with great 
 inaccuracy, for c that fhape fignines quality, and not 
 quantity.' But in this furely he is miftaken. Its 
 fignification in the Englifh language includes, not 
 only the form or figure of a thing, but its propor- 
 tion, and even fize ; and as in all thefe fenfes it is 
 fufceptible of more and lefs, it will admit an epithet 
 expreffive of its quantity. Thus a bulky, or a {len- 
 der fhape, is an ufual and authorized phrafe. What 
 he would fubftitute in its place, in Jhade, is much 
 more exceptionable. For though we fay the Jhades 
 cf night, and of darknefs, yet, to come in Jhade, for 
 coming in the night time, is not, I believe, an 
 ufual, nor a very proper, form of exjpreffion. 
 
 P. 26. Direcl my fuitl 
 
 That is, Prefcribe the way in which I am to follow 
 him ; from the French word, fuite, a following. 
 
 P. 32. Alike bewitched by the charm of looks. 
 Read, bewitched. 
 
 P. 33. Young Abraham Cupid, he that fhot fo true 
 
 Mr. Upton, in his Critic. Obferv. p. 234 236, 
 hath given ftrong reafons to perfuade us that Shake-? 
 fpear wrote, 
 
 Young Adam Cupid. 
 
 V > r
 
 [ 5*9 3 
 
 V. 4 T Poifon hath reftdence, and medicine porter ; 
 
 By power is meant in this place, efficacy ; fo that in 
 truth this expreffion hath much more accuracy than 
 Mr. Warburton's conjecture, 
 
 Polfon hath refidence, and medic'nal power. 
 
 For, befidesthat according to this reading, the word, 
 reftdence, is a mere fuperfluous botch, which, being 
 fufficiently implied in the words that follow, may 
 without prejudice to the fenfe be as well omitted 5 
 the antithefis between poifon and medicine is quite de- 
 ftroyed, and the medicinal power is attributed to the 
 poifon, in direct contradiction to the account the 
 poet immediately gives, that the medicine lay in 
 the fmell, and the poifon in the tafte. 
 
 Ibid. Two fuch oppofed kin encamp them JIM. 
 
 I take it for granted Mr. Warburton is right when 
 he informs us, that ' the old books give us, op- 
 pofed Kings,'' inftead of, 4 oppofed foes,' which is the 
 reading of the later editions. As I have no edition an- 
 tecedent to that of Mr. Pope, it is not in my power 
 to fpeak of this matter with exactnefs , but I mould 
 fufpect that Shakefpear firft wrote, Kings, and after- 
 wards reflecting that this expreffion, however ap- 
 plicable to grace and will in man, did not fo well fuit 
 the powers of an herb, altered it to, foes. But that 
 Shakcfpear ever wrote, T'roo fitch oppofed kin, as Mr. 
 Warburton would perfuade us, I can never believe, 
 till fome nearer affinity be made out between medi- 
 cine and poifon, grace and corrupt will, than that 
 which he alledges, their refidence in one and the 
 fame fubftance. 
 
 P. 44. 0, their hoi's, their Ions! 
 
 The ancient reading was, * O, their bones, their 
 hones':'' which fjems to be an aliufion to the effects 
 
 of
 
 [ 5* ] 
 
 of the French difeafe, then not uncommon among 
 the falhionable travelled gentry. See Mr. Upton's 
 Critic. Obferv. p. 164, 165. So that we have no 
 occafion for Mr. Warburton's ban's, for which too 
 he is beholden to Mr. Theobald, though, as his 
 ufual manner* is, he hath not acknowledged the obli- 
 
 gation. 
 
 P. 45. Thifbe a grey eye or fo : But new to the purpofe. 
 
 The old reading was, ' Thifbe a grey eye or fo, 
 but not to the purpofe,' that is, not worth the mind- 
 ing, not comparable to Romeo's miftrefs. This 
 Mr. Warburton very gravely alters to, now to the 
 purpofe. And what is this purpofe ? Not ' to enquire 
 after Romeo,' as he tells us, for he had juft that 
 moment found him ; but to (alute him and give him 
 the bonjeur. A very important purpofe truly. See 
 the Canons of Criticifm, p. 4. 
 
 P. 46. A wit of cheverel. 
 See Theobald's Shakefpear reftored, p. 145, 146. 
 
 P. 47. She will indite him to fome fupper. 
 
 We mould read, agreeably to Mr. Pope's edition, 
 invite him. 
 
 Ibid. What faucy merchant was this, that was fo 
 full of his ropery ? 
 
 I fuppofe we mould read, roguery. 
 
 P. 5 1 . Though his face be no better than another man's. 
 
 This is an alteration of Mr. Warburton's pronounced 
 authoritatively from his critical chair, without vouch- 
 fafing to give the reader a reafon. But what objec- 
 tion is there to the common readine, * though his 
 face be better than am mail's f As the nurfe, to make 
 
 her
 
 - r 5ii i 
 
 her court fo her young miftrefs, commends every 
 pare of Romeo, his leg, his hand, his foot, his body, 
 his gentle difpofition, what reafon can be imagined 
 why, when fhe mentions his face, (he mould not 
 commend that too? See the Canons of Criticifm, 
 p. 4. 
 
 P. 6 r . Spread thy clofe curtain, love -performing Night, 
 That th' run- away* s eyes may wink ; and Romeo 
 Leap to thefe arms, untalkt of and unfeen. 
 
 This is an alteration of Mr. Warburton's inftead of 
 the common reading, 
 
 That run- aw ays eyes may wink. 
 
 By the run-away, he would have us underftand the 
 fun himfelf. But, befides that the fun had been al- 
 ready fufficiently invoked, and is neceflarily abfent 
 afToon as night takes place ; befides that the run- 
 away, is at any time a very ftrange and quaint ap- 
 pellation for the fun, it is particularly improper and 
 inconfiltent in this paflage. Juliet had juft before 
 complained of the fun's tedious flownefs in finifh- 
 ing his courfe ; and therefore it is very unlikely (he 
 mould in the fame breath call him a run-away. I 
 think it is not improbable that ihe poet wrote, 
 
 That Rumour's exes may wink ; 
 
 which agrees perfectly well with what follows, 
 
 and Romeo 
 
 Leap to thefe arms, untaWd of and unfeen. 
 
 P. 62. Hoed my unmannd blood baiting in my checks, 
 With thy black mantle ; 
 
 Thefe are all terms of falconry. An unmanned hawk 
 is one that is not brought to endure company. Bait- 
 ing, or, as it is more properly written, haling, is 
 fluttering with the wings as driving to fly away. 
 
 That
 
 [ 5>* ] 
 
 That hawks are hooded in order to reclaim them* 
 is, I fuppofe, univerfally known. See Chambers's 
 Dictionary under the word, Hawking. 
 
 P. 63. Vile earth to earth refign, and motion here. 
 
 Read, agreeably to the other editions, * end motion 
 here/ 1 fuppofe it is an error of the prefs. 
 
 P. 64. Ravenous dove, feathered raven! wolvijh ra- 
 vening lamb ! 
 
 Mr. Theobald hath very ingenioufly reftored fenfe 
 and metre to this verfe, by throwing out the firft 
 word, ravenous, which was apparently coined by 
 fome blundering tranfcriber out of* raven, and raven- 
 ing which follow, who not being aware of the hy* 
 phen in the word, dove-feat her 1 d, thought it but juf- 
 tice that the dove mould have its epithet, as well as 
 the raven and the lamb. The verfe thus reftored^ 
 
 Dove-feat her' d raven! wolvijh- ravening lamb, 
 
 together with the three next following, though re- 
 jected by Mr. Warburton, c as being evidently the 
 * players tram,' are, I will venture to fay with 
 Mr. Theobald, in Shakefpear's manner, and not 
 lefs worthy of him than feveral hundred other lines 
 in this very play which no one doubts to be his. 
 
 P. 66. A gentler judgment evert d from his lips. 
 
 The word, evend, is a conjecture of Mr. Warbur- 
 ton's, which he interprets to fignify,. * came equi- 
 8 tably ;* and tells us, that ( the poet frequently ufes' 
 the verb, to even, in this fenfe.* He mould have 
 produced at lead fome one inftance 5 for, though I 
 admit that Shakefpear frequently ufes the verb, I do 
 not recollect, or believe, that he hath ever ufed it in 
 this fenfe, or in this construction. As to the com- 
 mon reading, vanijh'd, it difpleafes me as much as 
 
 it
 
 t 6*3 1 
 it cloth Mr. Warburton. I mould fufpecl: that Shake* 
 fpear wrote, 
 
 A gentler judgment iffued from his lips. 
 
 This word very much refemblirig the latter part of 
 the word, vanifhed, might not improbably have 
 been lb badly written, that the tranfcnber, or prin- 
 ter, not knowing what to make of it, might fupply 
 its place with fomethihg like it from his own eon? 
 jeclure. 
 
 P. 6 j. But purgatory , Tartar, Hell it/elf. 
 
 Tartar, which Mr. Warburton hath fubftituted for 
 the common reading, torture, is a mere infipid, 
 improbable, tautology. For what elfe is Tartar, buc 
 Hell itfelf ? I conceive torture is here put, by a me- 
 tonymy not overftrained, for the place of torture. 
 
 P. 6g. : and what fays 
 
 My confeatd lady to cur cancelled love ? 
 
 Confealed, is a new coined word of Mr. Warburton'Si 
 which he hath fubftituted in the place of the com- 
 mon reading, concealed', for two reafons , Firft be- 
 caufe ' an antithefis or oppofition was here intended ; 
 
 * but what oppofition is there between concealed 
 
 * and cancelled?* To this the anfwer is eafy ; fines 
 no fuch oppofition is found, it is a plain proof that 
 none was intended. Indeed nothing more leems to 
 have been intended than a mere playing with the 
 found of the words ; with indances of which this 
 pilay abounds, where there doth not appear to be the 
 leafr. view towards an antithefis. Such are thefe but 
 two pages before^ 
 
 This may files do t when I from this mufl fly ; 
 and, 
 
 No fudden mean of death \ though ne'er fo mean. 
 
 His fecond reafon is, * Juliet was not concealed, 
 
 L 1 * though.
 
 [ 5'4 3 
 
 though Romeo was.' But this objection is wholly 
 founded on a rriiftake of the poet's meaning. The 
 epithet, concealed, is to be underftood, not of the 
 perfon, but of the condition of the lady. So that 
 the fenfe is, My Lady, whofe being fo, together 
 with our marriage which made her fo, is concealed 
 from the world. 
 
 P. jo. Unfeemly woman in a feeming man! 
 
 An ill befeeming be aft in feeming grotb ! 
 
 At the fight of fuch extravagant and unaccountable 
 emendations as this, which are ftrewed pretty plen- 
 tifully throughout Mr. Warburton's performance, I 
 am fometimes ftrangely tempted to fufpec\ that he 
 is not ferious at bottom, but diverting himfelf at 
 that witty amufement which modern ingenuity hath 
 diftinguifhed by the name of the humbug, by trying 
 how far he could impofe on the docility and credu- 
 lity of his readers. If this was really his intention, 
 he hath certainly in the prefent inftance carried the 
 jeft too far, fo far as to return upon himfelf, and 
 terminate in his own difappointment. For I do not 
 believe a fingle reader is to be found weak enough 
 to give into fo palpable a trap as this. The com- 
 mon reading was, 
 
 And ill-befceming leajl in feeming both! 
 
 which is explained with great propriety, and fully 
 juitified in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 198. 
 
 P. 71. Why rail* ft thou on thy birth, the keav'n, and 
 earth, 
 Since birth, and beav'n, and earth, all three 
 
 fo meet, 
 In thee atone ; which thou at once would'ft lofe? 
 
 This is another of thofe extraordinary emendations 
 mentioned in the Iaft note, and fubftituted by Mr. 
 
 War*
 
 [ 5*5 ] . 
 Warburton in the place of the common reading, 
 which he is pleafed to reject as ftrange nonfenfe. 
 
 Since birth t and heav'n , and earth, all three do meet 
 In thee at once, which thou at once would* ft lofe ? 
 
 The fenfe is, Why doft thou rail on thy birth, on 
 heaven, and on earth, fince the advantages of a noble 
 birth, the hope of eternal happinefs in heaven, and 
 an ample patrimony on earth, all three concur in 
 thee at once to compleat thy felicity ; all which thou 
 wouldft at once forfeit and throw away by one ra(h 
 act ? Let us now examine, in its turn, the merit of 
 Mr. Warburton's reading. What is meant by, ' all 
 ' three fo meet?' His interpretation is, ' all three 
 
 * fo aufpicious to you.' But who ever heard of fuch 
 ftrange Englifh, heaven is meet to a p.rfon, to fig- 
 nify, heaven is aufpicious to him ? Then again, What 
 is, ' all three in thee atone?' To atone, he tells us, 
 
 * is frequently ufed by Shakefpear in the fenfe of, to 
 
 * agree, to be friendly together.' It is fo, where that, 
 agreement and friendly reconciliation had been pre- 
 ceded by adiflenfion and variance, and not otherwife. 
 Butitis foevident, that this fignification is inconfiilent 
 with the fenfe of the pafTage before us, and parti- 
 cularly with the preceding words, all three fo meet, 
 that Mr. Warburton himlelf could not avoid feeing 
 it, and therefore very artfully puts the change on the 
 reader, and, when he comes to apply it to the con- 
 text, is obliged to alter it to, c are all three your 
 
 * friends;' a fenfe which the exprefiion will by no 
 means admit of. It might be further urged, in fup- 
 port of the common reading, that the repetition of 
 the words, at once, preferves that play on the words 
 with which this fpeech throughout abounds, and 
 which is deftroyed in this place by Mr. Warburton's 
 emendation. 
 
 L 1 2 P. 75.
 
 [ 5'6 ] 
 
 P. 73. Sir Paris, I will make a feparate tender 
 Of my child's love. 
 
 The common reading was, * a defperate tender,' 
 which in this place fignifies, fuch a tender as at firft 
 appearance might be thought a defperate one, or full 
 of hazard, as the daughter had not yet been con- 
 futed, but which however Capulet ventures to make, 
 as he thinks (he will be ruled by him, nay more, 
 doubts it not. So that the epithet, defperate, re- 
 gards the appearance only fuch a tender would na- 
 turally have to Paris, not the old man's own fenfe 
 of it. Mr. Warburton's conjecture, ' a feparate ten- 
 'der,'isdeftitutebothof fpiritand propriety. For the 
 plain meaning of it is no other than this, Throwing 
 afideall confideration of my daughter's inclination, 
 as a point abfolutely of no confequence, nor deferv- 
 ing the lead attention, I will make you a tender of 
 her on my own feparate authority. But Shakefpear 
 neither reprefents the lover as being of a character 
 lo indelicate, as to accept of this tender without re- 
 monftrance, nor the father fo profefledly arbitrary 
 and tyrannical. On the contrary, he is here repre- 
 fented as undertaking for his daughter, merely from 
 the confidence he hath in her duty and obedience. 
 
 P. 75. Some fay, the lark and loathed toad change eyes j 
 O, now 1 wot they bad changed voices too ! 
 
 The meaning of which is plainly this, That Juliet 
 had at laft diicovered, that it was the croak of the 
 toad, and not the fong of the lark, which fhe had 
 juft heard. The common reading was, 
 
 O, now 1 would they had changed voices too! 
 
 If the toad and lark had changed voices, the unna- 
 tural croak of the latter would have been no indica- 
 tion of the approach of day, and confequently no 
 fignal for her lovei's departure. This is apparently 
 
 the
 
 [ 5*7 1 
 
 the aim and purpofe of Juliet's wifh, of which Mr. 
 Warburton doth not appear to have had the leaft 
 fufpicion. See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 107. 
 
 P. yd. Is my poor heart fo for a kinfman vex?. 
 
 The other editions rightly clofe this line with a note 
 of interrogation. 
 
 P. 82. Your fir ft is dead; or 'twere as good he were, 
 As living hence, and you no ufe of him. 
 
 This alteration of Sir Thomas Hanmer and Mr. 
 Warburton is quite unneceffary. The common read- 
 ing, living here, is very properly explained in the 
 Canons of Criticifm, p. 11. tofignify, 'living in this 
 * world,' not, living in Verona. 
 
 P. 83. Uneven in this courfe, I like it not. 
 Read, agreeably to the other editions, 
 
 Uneven is this courfe. 
 It is probably an error of the prefs. 
 
 P. 88. Now, afore God, this reverend holy friar, 
 All our whole city is much bound to him. 
 
 See this elliptical conftruction amply juftified in the 
 Canons of Criticifm, p. 8. 
 
 P. 95. For though fome nature bids us all lament. 
 
 Mr. Theobald hath very happily reftored fenfe to 
 this paffage, by fubftitucing inftead of this flat un- 
 meaning reading, the following conjecture, 
 
 For though fond nature bids us all lament. 
 
 P. 97. If I may trufi the flattering ruth of fleep. 
 
 This conjecture is Mr. Warburton's, and indeed per- 
 fectly in his manner. The common reading was, 
 
 If I may truft the flattering truth of fleep. 
 
 L 1 3 When
 
 t 5J8 ] 
 
 AVhen we fay, If I may truft the truth of any per- 
 fon, our meaning is, if I may fafely believe that 
 what he fays is true. The truth therefore of the 
 perfon is not acknowledged and confefied, - but ac- 
 tually queftioned and considered as doubtful. This 
 explanation, which will be admitted by every one 
 who underftands the nature and propriety of lan- 
 guage, effectual lyre moves all thofe clouds whch Mr, 
 Warburton's cobweb fubtilty hath fpread over the 
 genuine text. The fenfe is evidently this , If I may 
 place any confidence in the truth of thofe flattering 
 appearances which my fleep hath prefented to me. 
 But here Mr. Warburton hath another quirk. ' What 
 ' reafonable man would hefitate whether he fhould 
 * believe a flatterer ?' In the blindnefs of his critical 
 zeal, he did not conficier, that his own emendation 
 is as much interefted in this difficulty as the common 
 reading. For, if it be abfurd to fuppofe a reafonable 
 man would truft or believe a known flatterer, the 
 abfurciity is equal, whether fleep, or the ruth, as 
 he calls it, or compaflion of fleep, be that flatterer. 
 But in truth there is no difficulty in either of thefe 
 expreflions. Flattering in common acceptation often 
 fignifies no more than pleafing. It is ufual to fay, I 
 flatter my felf fuch or fuch a thing will happen ; which 
 doth not fignify, I endeavour to deceive myfelf, but 
 merely that I have a pleafing expectation of it, 
 though I ftill confider it as not abfolutely certain. 
 Mr. Otway had not the leaft apprehenfion of this 
 fophiftry, fince he gives us frankly, 
 
 Though could I truft the flattery of fleep, 
 My dreams pre/age fome joyful news at band, 
 
 P. 99. A beggarly account of empty boxes*. 
 
 The word, account, fignifies in this place the fame 
 ^s an inventory, or catalogue, and by an eafy me-? 
 tonymy is put for the amount or total of thataccount. 
 There is therefore no need of any alteration. And 
 
 Mr,
 
 [ 5*9 1 
 
 Mr. Otway was certainly of the fame opinion, fince 
 he gives us this line entire and unaltered. It would 
 perhaps not be altogether fo eafy to account for the 
 fcnfe of Mr. Warburton's conjecture, 
 
 A beggartly account cf empty boxes. 
 
 P. 1 08. What fear is this, which ft ar ties in your ears'? 
 I believe we fhould rather read, * in our ears.' 
 
 Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. 
 
 P. 116. The rivals of my watch. 
 
 That is, thofe who are in competition with me, who 
 (hall difcharge their duty with moft exactnefs. 
 
 Ibid. A piece of him. 
 
 This is a common humourous exprefllon, and inti- 
 mates no indication of giving the hand at the fame 
 time. 
 
 Ibid. Touching this dreaded fight ', twice feen of us. 
 
 A fight, in common acceptation, means the fame as 
 an appearance. There is therefore no ground for 
 Mr. Warburton's conjecture, that { perhaps Shake- 
 * fpear wrote, fpright.* 
 
 y. 118. Without the fenfible and trfd avouch 
 Of mine own eyes. 
 
 The ancient reading was, 
 
 Without the fenfible and true avouch. 
 
 Eye-fight is univerfally admitted among mankind to 
 be the moft certain of all evidence, and the Jeaft 
 liable to deception. By, true, therefore, is meant, 
 certain, what cannot deceive. But Mr. Warburton, 
 not attending to this, pitifully quibbles on the word, 
 true 9 in order to introduce the above conjecture of 
 h 1 4 his
 
 [ 52? ] 
 
 his own, which naturally leads us to this moft pe- 
 dantick and abfurd thought ; If I had not found out 
 by long experience that my eyes do not deceive me, 
 I would not believe them now. 
 
 P. 119. who by feaPd compaR, 
 
 Well ratified by law of heraldry. 
 
 Mr. Warburton himfeif inftructs us, that two forts 
 ' of law were neceflary to regulate the decifion of the 
 ' affair here fpoken of, the civil law for the wager, 
 f and the law of arms for the duel.' Yet, in direct 
 contradiction to his own afiertion, he prefently after 
 tells us, ' the execution of the civil compact was ra- 
 ' tified by the law of arms.' What he means by the 
 execution being ratified doth not clearly appear, 
 nor is it worth our enquiry. It is fufficient that the 
 common reading, 
 
 -who by feaVd compaft, 
 
 Well ratified by law and heraldry^ 
 
 fully juftifies its own authenticity, upon the very prin- 
 ciples, eftablilhed by Mr. Warburton Jiimfelf. In- 
 deed, upon fecond thoughts, which in this inftance 
 were certainly none of the wifeft, he takes great 
 pains to prove, that this compact could not be rati- 
 fied by the civil law. His reafon, which is both 
 pleafant and curious, is this , ' a fealed compact is 
 6 an act pf the. civil law ; now, an act of law well 
 6 ratified by law is abfurd ; for the nature of ratifica- 
 c tion requires that which ratifies, and that which is 
 4 raifled, mould net be one and the fame, but dif- 
 ' ferent.' The refult of which moft extraordinary rea- 
 fpning is, that no compact, or other legal tranfac- 
 tion, in which the eftablifhcd forms and rules of lav/ 
 have been (Irictly complied with, can be ratified, 
 that is, made valid and binding, by that law. And 
 thus Mr. Warburton with one dafh of his pen hath 
 effectually invalidated all obligations, contracts and 
 
 con
 
 E 5" ] 
 
 /conveyances, made according to the forms prefcribed 
 by that law which is to give them their legal force and 
 effect. A moft wonderfully ingenious difcovery, for 
 which the lawyers will no doubt think themielves 
 highly obliged to him. 
 
 P. 120. As by the fame comart. 
 
 The common reading was, 
 
 As by that cov'nant. 
 
 But Mr. Warburton hath it feems given us that of 
 the old quarto, which he afTures us ' is right ; for 
 ' that comart fignifies a bargain.* This is a point 
 which well defer ves fome proof, or at leaft the at- 
 teftation of fome better authority. For I muft frank- 
 ly own, a long acquaintance with Mr. Warburton, 
 during thp courfe of my examination of thefe his 
 notes, hath taught me to be very cautious how far 
 I truft to his affertions in matters of this nature. I 
 know no fuch word in any language as comart, and 
 therefore, till I have better evidence, muft fuppofe 
 jt is a miftake of the printer, and that the poet wrote, 
 
 As by the fame compact ; 
 
 which makes no more tautology than comart, if this 
 laft fignifies, as Mr. Warburton affures us it doth, 
 a bargain. 
 
 Ibid. Of unimproved mettle. 
 That is, of uninftructed courage. 
 
 P. i2i. And prologue to the omen coming on. 
 
 Omen, by a metonymy of the antecedent for the con- 
 sequent, is put here for the event predicted by the 
 omen. See Upton's Critic. Obferv. p. 289. 
 
 P. 124. The blocd is not more native to the heart. 
 
 X nus Mr. Warburton hath thought proper to cor- 
 rect the common reading, 
 
 <S Ths
 
 [ 5 2 ] 
 
 The head is not more native to the heart ; 
 
 not being able, as he tells us himfclf, to conceive 
 what this exprefiion could mean, but determined 
 however at all events to carry the compliment far 
 enough. To affift his conception therefore, I take 
 the liberty of informing him, that the meaning is 
 plainly no other than this ; There is not a more na- 
 tural affinity, and Uriel: connection, between the 
 head and the heart, though the former contrives the 
 means by which the purpofes of the latter are exe- 
 cuted. In this view, the King confiders himfelf as 
 the heart, and Polonius, by whofe advice he is in 
 great meafure directed, as the head, 
 
 P. 125. But now, my coufin Hamlet. Kind my fon 
 
 The latter part of this line is an alteration of Mr. 
 Warburton from the common reading, 
 
 But now, my coufin Hamlet, and my fon. 
 
 In order to account for the latter part of Hamlet's, 
 reply, 
 
 A little more than kin, and lefs than kind, 
 
 and to the King's addrefs to Hamlet thus altered, 
 he aflures us, ' the reply is pertinent.' I could wifh, 
 he had at the fame time obliged us with the mean- 
 ing of it, that we might have judged whether it is 
 pertinent or not. For if it be underftood, not of 
 the King, but of Hamlet himfelf, as Mr. Warbur- 
 ton directs us to underftand it, I muft own its mean- 
 ing is beyond my comprehenfion. In order to make 
 fenie of it, it appears to me that we muft neceflarily 
 underftand it to be fpoken a parte, and of the King , 
 and then the intended purport of it will be, You 
 are a little more than of kin to me by your marriage 
 with my mother, and lefs than kind, by ftepping in 
 between me and my hopes of the kingdom. But 
 then, according to this interpretation, the common 
 
 read-
 
 C 523 ] 
 
 reading will be right ; nor will there be any occafion 
 to fuppofe the latter part of the reply referred to 
 fomething the King had precedently faid, or that 
 the exprefiion was influenced by any thing elfe, but 
 an inclination, too frequent with our poet, notwith- 
 standing his fuperior genius, to playing on words, 
 
 P. 126. Bui you mujt know, your father loft a father 5 
 That father, his. 
 
 The reading which the concurrent authority of all 
 the editions gives us, is, 
 
 That father loft, loft his. 
 
 That is, That father fo loft by your father, loft his 
 father too; which fenfe, being not only unexcep- 
 tionable, but as evident as expreflion could make it, 
 though Mr. Warburton chufes to mifunderftand, of 
 rather to mifreprefent ir, renders Mr. Pope's alter- 
 ation perfectly unnecefiary. 
 
 P. 127. In obflinate condokment. 
 
 By condolement here is meant, felf-condolement, nou* 
 rifhing our own grief. 
 
 Ibid. // fhews a will mojl incorrect to heav'n. 
 
 That is, a will the leaft corrected by the afflictive vie 
 fitarions of Providence. 
 
 Ibid. And with no lefs nobility of love, 
 That is, eminence and distinction of love. 
 
 P. 128. Do 1 'impart tozvrdyou. 
 
 The verb, impart, feems to be ufed in this place in 
 a neutral Signification, for, impart or communicate, 
 myfelf and whatever depends on my power. If the 
 idiom of our language will bear this interpretation, 
 as I believe it will, there will be no occafion for Mr. 
 
 Theo-
 
 [ 5*4 ] 
 
 Theobald's correction of the line next but one pre- 
 ceding, , 
 
 And w'uh't no lefs nobility of love, 
 
 which otherwife feems abfolutely necefifary to com- 
 pleat the conftruction. 
 
 P. 128. His canon* gainft f elf -flaugbter ! 
 
 That is, as Mr. Theobald rightly interprets it, his 
 exprefs law, and peremptory prohibition. 
 
 P. 129. That he permitted not the winds of beat? n 
 Vifit her face too roughly* 
 
 The words, -permitted not, are a mere conjecture of 
 the more modern editors. Mr. Theobald hath 
 given us unanfwerable reafons to incline us to believe 
 that Shakefpear wrote, 
 
 That he might not let e'en the winds of beav'n 
 Vifit her face too roughly. 
 
 P. 13 i. _- whiljl they (difiill'd 
 
 Almofi to jelly with th* effeel of fear) 
 
 Mr. Warburton's exception to the common reading, 
 
 Almofi to jelly with the act of fear, 
 
 is trifling. It is undoubtedly true, and every one 
 knows it as well as our critick, that fear is a paflion, 
 and therefore in its natural and ftricteft acceptation 
 cannot properly be called an act. But he did not 
 reflect, that even a pafilon, when it is confidered as 
 a caufe producing a certain effect, may fo far be de- 
 nominated an agent, at leaft in the looier language 
 of poetry, which hath a natural tendency to repre- 
 fent every thing as a perfon. The act of fear there- 
 fore Agnizes no more than the influence or operation 
 of fear on the perfons affrighted. On the other hand 
 Mr. Warburton's conjecture, 
 
 1 1 with th 1 effefi of fear, 
 
 give^
 
 t 525 } 
 
 gives us plain downright nonfenfe. For the effect 
 of fear is that very melting and diftillation here 
 fpoken of, which is thus, by his very judicious ma- 
 nagement, reprefented as the effect of itfelf. 
 
 P. 134. And now no foil of cautel doth befmercb 
 The virtue of his will. 
 
 The common reading was, 
 
 And now no foil \ or cautel doth befmercb. 
 
 That is, And at prefent no unlawful luft or infidious 
 deceit (tain the virtuous purity of his intentions. 
 What occafion can there poflibly be for altering this? 
 
 P. 135. So far to believe it. 
 That is, to truft, rely, or depend upon it. 
 
 Ibid. I pall th* effetts of this good leffon keep: 
 
 That is, I mail preferve the impreffion this good lef- 
 fon hath made upon me. 
 
 Ibid. Whilfti he a puft and re chiefs libertine. 
 
 This is not the expreflion of Shakefpear, but of. 
 Mr. Warburton. The common reading was, 
 
 Whiljl, like a puft and recklefs libertine^ 
 
 Mr. Warburton's objections to it may be very pro- 
 perly called, feeking a knot in a bulrufh. In order, 
 if poffible, to make it appear exceptionable, he in- 
 terprets the paffage thus, ' Do not you be like an 
 ' ungracious preacher, who is like a recklefs liber- 
 * tine.' But this is an unfair reprefentation. Theex- 
 preffion is not, Do not you be like, but, Do not you 
 do or act as the ungracious paftor do.h, which make> 
 a wide difference, and quite blunts the edge of this 
 formidable criticifm. The true meaning is, Do 
 not you imirate the ungracious teacher, who, while 
 he is preaching up to others felf-denial and mortifi- 
 cation,
 
 [ 5 ] 
 
 cation, at the fame time indulges himfelf, with all 
 the licentioufnefs of a bloated abandoned libertine, 
 in the gratification of every appetite, without pay- 
 ing the lead regard to his own doctrine. I appeal 
 to the reader, whether there is any thing in this fo 
 exceptionable, that it could not come from Shake- 
 fpear. For as to what Mr. Warburton adds, that 
 
 * we find at laft, that he, who is fo like thecarelefs 
 c libertine, is the carelefs libertine himfelf,' it hath 
 abfolutely no foundation in any expreffion of the 
 text, nor indeed any other than this which arifes 
 from the very nature of the thing, that it is impof- 
 fible to act like a libertine, without being one in ef- 
 fect to a certain degree. 
 
 P. 137. Are moft felett. 
 That is, diftinguifhed. 
 
 Ibid. And it tnuft follow, as the light the day. 
 
 This is an emendation of Mr. Warburton's, who, 
 in his note on this pafTage, hath fuffered himfelf to 
 be puzzled and confounded in the fubtilcy of his 
 own philofophy. The common reading was, 
 
 And it muft follow, as the night the day. 
 
 The truth intended to be iiluftrated by this fimili* 
 tude is, as Mr. Warburton himfelf dates it, this ; 
 
 * Truth to others, and truth to thyfelf, are infepar- 
 ' able, the former depending neceffarily on the lat- 
 
 * ter.' The fimilitude which is to illuftrate it is 
 drawn from the conftant regular fu cceflion of night 
 to day. I would afk therefore, in the firft place, 
 whether the fucceffion of night is not infeparable 
 from the precedence of day ? That it is fo, may be 
 inferred with the utmoft certainty from an univerfal 
 experience, which hach never tailed in any one in- 
 ftance. In the next place, whether this connection 
 ot iucceffion be not a connection phylically neceflary ? 
 
 And
 
 I 527 ] 
 
 And this too may be inferred with equal certainty, a$ 
 well from the fame univerfal experience, which is the 
 trueft guide, and perhaps the only one to be depended 
 on, in matters of this kind, as from what we know of 
 the nature of the thing itfeif, the diurnal revolution 
 of the earth on its axis, which is the common caufe 
 both of the night and the day, and of their regular 
 fucceffion to each other. But Mr. Warburton is noC 
 content with two appearances, both of them effects 
 of the fame caufe, both connected in an invariable 
 order of fucceffion by a phyfical necefiity. He in- 
 fifts upon it, that it is of the efTence of the fimili- 
 tude and illuftration, that one of the two appear- 
 ances fhould be the caufe, and the other the effect. 
 Why fo ? Is that the cafe with the thing to be il- 
 luftrated ? No. Truth to others doth not follow 
 from truth to ourfelves, as an effect from a caufe ; 
 but both follow as effects from the fame common 
 principle, which, exerting its efficacy in one in- 
 ftance, cannot fail doing it equally in the other. In 
 ihort the fentiment illuftrated is no other than this; 
 Be fure to be true to thyfelf ; do not fuffer thyfelf 
 to be deceived by tempting appearances into a con- 
 duct thou wilt find reafon to repent of ; if thou canft 
 once attain to this mattery over thy paffions, the 
 fame principle of fdf-command will effectually fe- 
 cure thee from being filfe to any one elfe. 
 
 P. 137. My blsffing feafon this in thee! 
 
 That is, May my blefling, which accompanies this 
 counfel, be a means of its penetrating deeper into 
 thy mind ! 
 
 P. 138. The time invefts you. 
 
 That is, You are now in the mid ft of that very junc- 
 ture which haftens your departure. Part ol that 
 juncture is already paft. 
 
 P. 139, 
 
 6
 
 t 5*8 1 
 
 \ 139. Or (not to crack the wind of the poor phrafe^ 
 Wringing it thus.) 
 
 When Mr. Warburton coined this emendation, his 
 favourite topick, the uniformity of the metaphor,/ 
 had certainly flipt his memory. For who ever heard 
 that wringing a thing was the way to crack its wind? 
 I can fee no objection to the common reading, 
 
 Wronging // thus. 
 
 For whoever cracks the wind of any thing, may 
 furely be faid with propriety to wrong or abufe it. 
 As on the other hand, to hackney out a word by 
 perpetually playing upon it, may be humouroufly 
 enough called, a cracking the wind of it; 
 
 Ibid. Set your intraitments at a higher rate, 
 Than a command to parley. 
 
 The v/ord, intraitments ', is of Mr. Warburton's own 
 coining. He affures us indeed, that it is ' a word 
 in ufe among the old Englifli writers, to fignify, 
 coynefs.' But I am perfuaded that his memory hath 
 plaid him falfe, and that it is no where to be found 
 exifting but in his own imagination. The common 
 reading was, c your intreatmentsj a word derived, 
 as I apprehend, from the verb, intreat, and figni- 
 fying fuch condefcenfions as may be honourably 
 granted to fubmiflive intreaty, fuch as admifilon of 
 vifits, liftning to the lover's vows, &c. See the 
 Canons of Criticifm, p. 201. 
 
 P. 1 40. Breathing like fanffified and pious bonds, 
 The better to beguile. 
 
 That is, Uttered in the femblance of fanctified and 
 pious engagements, fuch as have marriage for their 
 object. Mr. Theobald gives us a very plaufible 
 conjecture, which he iupports with great ingenuity - y 
 
 Breath-
 
 t 529 ] 
 
 Breathing like fanclifed and pious bawds, 
 
 But as the common reading gives a fenfe which is 
 unexceptionable, I cannot approve of altering the 
 text without necefiity. 
 
 P. 141. This heavy-headed revel eaji and weft. 
 
 That is, throughout the world from eaft to weft ; a 
 very proper expreflion in a kingdom that lay almoft 
 in the extremity of the north. See the Canons of 
 Criticifm, p. 117. 
 
 Ibid. That for fome vicious mole of nature in them. 
 
 Mole, is metaphorically ufed in this place to fignify 
 a blemifh of any kind. The poet himfelf explains 
 it a few lines lower, by an expreflion which exactly 
 correfponds to this, 
 
 Carrying* J fay, the ft amp of one defeff. 
 
 There is no occafion therefore for Mr. Theobald's 
 conjecture, who fuppofes the poet might have 
 written, 
 
 vicious mould of nature. 
 
 Ibid. The dram of bafe 
 
 Doth all the noble fubflancc of worth out 9 
 To his own fcandal. 
 
 This is an emendation of Mr. Theobald's, on which 
 he applauds himfelf not a little, and which hath had 
 the honour of being adopted by Mr. Warburton, 
 The corrupt common reading was, 
 
 The dram 0/eafe 
 
 Doth all the noble fubjlance of a doi bt 
 Tu his own fcandal. 
 
 The fird of Mr. Theobald's alterations, ' The dram 
 
 of baje* I readily acknowledge to be a very happy 
 
 one, and have no doubt but it is the genuine read- 
 
 M m in?.
 
 t 53 3 
 
 ing. But Icannot fo eaGly admit the other; not 
 only becaufe it departs too far from the traces of the 
 corrupt text-, but chiefly, becaufe the exprefilon, 
 to do out the fubftance^ is a barbarous one, fcarce 
 Englifh, or at lead fuch bald Englifh, as ought not, 
 without better authority than the mere conjecture of 
 a critick, to be fathered upon Shakefpear. I fhould 
 rather fufpect the poet might have written, 
 
 Doth all the noble fubjlance oft eat out. 
 
 That is, The intermixture but of a dram of bafenefs 
 often cankers, corrodes, and eats out the whole 
 noble fubftance of the otherwife virtuous character. 
 But, if the reader will difpenfe with a little farther 
 departure from the printed text, I fhould think it 
 ftill more probable that the true reading was, 
 
 Doth all the noble fubjlance foil with doubt : 
 
 That is, A dram of bafe alloy ftains all the noble 
 fubftance of his virtues with the fufpicion that they 
 are mere tinfel appearances only, and not of the 
 true flerling ftandard. 
 
 P. 142. Be thy advent wicked or charitable. 
 
 Advent is a conjecture of Mr. Warburton's from the 
 reading of fome of the old editions, which give us, 
 events. But as from his own reprefenta:ion it ap- 
 pears that the common reading, 
 
 Be thy intents wicked or charitable^ 
 
 is that alfo cf other old editions, I know no advan- 
 tage the text receives from this alteration, bcfides 
 the introduction of an uncouth pedantick word, 
 without the leaft pretext of necefiity to excule it. 
 
 Ibid. Why tly canonized bones , hear fed in earthy 
 Have burji their cearments ? 
 
 The former editions concur in giving us a much pre- 
 ferable reading, to wit, 
 
 Why
 
 [ 53 ] 
 
 Wby-ihy canonized bones , bear fed in death. 
 
 By the exprefiion, bearfed in death, is meant, (hut 
 up and fecured with all thofe precautions which are 
 ulually pradtifed in preparing dead bodies for fepul- 
 ture, fuch as the winding fheet, fhrowd, coffin, 
 &c. and perhaps embalming into the bargain. So 
 that death is here ufed, by. a metonymy of the ante- 
 cedent for the confequents, for the rites of death, 
 fuch as are generally efteemed due, and practifed, 
 with regard to dead bodies. Confequently, I under- 
 ftand by cearments, the waxed winding meet or 
 winding meets, in which the corfe was enveloped 
 and fown up, in order to preferve it the longer from 
 external imprefTions from the humidity of the le- 
 pulchre, as embalming was intended to preferve it 
 from internal corruption. If the reader hath an in- 
 clination to divert himfelf with a fample of plaufible 
 but empty reafoning, which appears to fay fome- 
 thing, but in effect fays nothing, he may amply 
 gratify his curiofky by perufing Mr. Warburton's 
 note on this paffage. He would perfuade us that 
 Shakefpear wrote, bearfed in earth ; and is fo far 
 from perceiving the impropriety of this reading, and 
 Its inconfiftency with that other expreffion in the 
 text, have burjl their cearments, that he even urges 
 this very exprefiion as one of his four reafons, whit h, 
 according to him, undeniably eftablifh it. Thus 
 cearmeMs muft fignify the coffin and the marble l~c~ 
 pulchre; an interpretation that could have entered 
 Into no ether head but that of Mr. Warbiuton. 
 
 P. 144. Which might deprave your fev' 'reignty ofreafen. 
 
 Thus Mr. Warburton tells us ' it is evident Shake- 
 ' fpear wrote ,' that is, according to him, * your fo- 
 ' vercign or fupreme reafon.' And, in order to 
 eftablifh this reading, he produces feveral quotations, 
 which imply only that reafon oua^c to be the i'ove- 
 Mm 2 ' r?ign
 
 t 532 ] 
 
 reign principle in man. And this I fuppofe is to pafs 
 for learning and criticifm. The common reading 
 was, 
 
 Which might deprive your fov'reignty of reafon. 
 
 But this Mr. Warburton is pleafed to difcard, in 
 the fhortefi, and moft authoritative, (hall I fay, or, 
 moft vulgar, way. He throws at it the reproach, 
 nonfenfe ! and that is the whole he vouchfafes to ob- 
 ject to it. But why, nonfenfe? The fovereignty in 
 the conftitution of the human mind, confidered 
 phyfically, and not morally, is that ruling com- 
 manding principle which in every inftance determines 
 our action and conduct. This principle, if I mif- 
 take nor, is the will, ro ccvn^oioi/, not the under- 
 ftanding or judgment, much lefs the reafon. It 
 condefcends indeed fometimes to take the advice of 
 reafon, and to follow it , but unhappily this is not 
 always, nor perhaps moft frequently, the cafe-, ef- 
 pecially where the mind is under the actual influence 
 of any violent paflion. And this happens to be the 
 very cafe here pointed at. Horatio reprefents to 
 Hamlet, that the place itfelf, to which the Ghofl 
 might draw him, was fufficiently frightful, and apt 
 enough to put 
 
 ' > toys of defperation> 
 
 Without more motive, into ev*ry brain ; 
 
 and that, if, befides this, it fhculd itfelf aflume 
 fome other horrible form, his affright might poffibly 
 be raifed to fo extravagant a pitch, as abfolutely to 
 overpower the governing, felf-commanding prin- 
 ciple within him, and deprive it utterly of all ufe and 
 afiiftance of his reafon. See our note on King Lear, 
 vol. vi. p. 35. 
 
 P. 145. And) for the day, confitfd too fafl in fires, 
 
 I agree with Mr. Theobald, that the word, fajl> in 
 the common readrog, 
 
 And,
 
 [ 533 I 
 
 'And, for the day, confined to J "aft in fires, 
 
 when applied to a fpirit, gives us no very proper 
 idea ; but I cannot admit either his emendation, 
 * roaft in fires,' which is mean and burlefque, nor 
 Mr. Warburton's, too f aft, for, very f aft, which is 
 little better. I mould rather fufpect the poet might 
 have written, 
 
 to laftingjtfm; 
 
 and this reading is, I think, confirmed by its being 
 fb appofite to the line immediately following, 
 
 ''Till the foul crimes, done in my days of nature^ 
 Are burnt and purgd away. 
 
 That is, Fires which were to laft till the purgation of 
 bis crimes was compleated. 
 
 P. 1 46. May fweep to my revenge. 
 
 Mr. Theobald conjectures that the poet wrote, 
 fwoop -, but 1 believe both words are ufed with equal 
 propriety to exprefs the rapid flight of a bird of 
 prey towards his quarry. 
 
 Ibid. That roots itfelf in eafe on Lethe's wharf, 
 
 Mr. Pope's edition gives us a reading much more 
 elegant and exprefiive in my poor opinion, 
 
 That rots itfelf in eafe on Lethe* s wharf. 
 
 But which of the two is genuine mud be determined 
 by the authority of the eider editions. 
 
 P. 148. Unhouferd, unanointed, unaneVd. 
 
 The word, unanointed, is undoubtedly wrong, fince 
 it is of exactly the fame fignification as that which 
 immediately follows, unanefd. The old copies, as 
 Mr. Theobald informs us, concur in giving us, dif~ 
 appointed, that is, prevented from making any pre- 
 paration, or, as Shakefpear elfewhere calls it, ap- 
 M m 3 point went,
 
 [ 534 ] 
 
 pointmtnt, for death, fuch as confeffion and abfolu- 
 tion by the prieft ; for this I take, in concurrence 
 with Mr. Upton in his Critic. Obferv. p. 189, to 
 be the true import of the word. Mr. Theobald in 
 his Shakefpear reftored, p. 52 55. agrees in ap- 
 proving the fame reading, though afterwards, on 
 publifhing his edition, he thought proper to alter his 
 opinion, and to fubftitute for it, unappointed, though 
 un r upported by any edition or indeed any reafon, at 
 lead which he hath vouchfafed to give. 
 
 P. 154. Good fir, cr fre, or friend, or gentleman. 
 
 The words, or fire, are interpolated by Mr. War- 
 bu;ton inftead of the common reading, 
 
 Good fir, or fo : 
 
 that is, Good Sir, or fome other expreflion to the 
 like purpofe, or friend, or gentleman. But this 
 conjecture of Mr. Warburton's can by no means be 
 admitted , Cmcefre, for father, is a title by which, in 
 the Englifh language, thofe only are diftinguifhed, 
 who are very far advanced in years, and in the 
 French, only the royal majefly itfelf ; neither of 
 them very likely to be companions, or witnelTes, of 
 a young fellow's irregularities. 
 
 P. 155, Ungarterd, and down-gyred to his ancle. 
 
 The word, down-gyred, is it feems the reading of 
 the eldeft copies 5 but it is moft probably an error of 
 the prefs ; for it is a word utterly unknown to the 
 Englifh language, and, in the fenfe here required, 
 to every other language Mr. Theobald mentions. 
 The common reading, and I believe the true one is, 
 down-gyvfd, that is, fallen down to his ancle, after 
 the faihion of gyves, or fetiers. 
 
 P. 156. With belter fpeed and judgment. 
 
 Speed, is ufed here for fuccef= in the refult of his ob- 
 fer vati on s. 
 
 p. .57.
 
 [ 53> 3 
 
 P. 157. this muft be known - t which y being kept c!ofe 9 
 might move 
 Mere grief to hide, than hate to utter love. 
 
 The fenfe, however obfcurely expreffed, is not d.f-. 
 ficult to difcover. The concealment of it may be 
 attended with confequences productive of greater ca- 
 lamity than the difpleafure can pofiibly be with 
 which the difclofing it may be received. 
 
 P. 158. For the fupply and profit of our hope. 
 
 Hope here fignifies the expectations the King and 
 Queen had conceived from the prefence and aflif- 
 tance of thofe gentlemen. 
 
 D" 
 
 P. 1 59. Gives him three thoufand crowns in annual fee. 
 
 This appears to Mr. Theobald to be too poor a pit- 
 tance from a King to his nephew and the general of 
 an army, and therefore he gives the preference to 
 the reading of the old quarto's, ' threescore thoufand 
 crowns,' not recollecting the great difference both 
 of the intrinfick and commercial va^ue of money in 
 thofe earlier ages from what they are at prefent. I 
 think it more than probable, that in the poor king- 
 dom of Norway, and in the age attributed to Ham- 
 let, the King's whole revenue might fcarce amount 
 to fo large a fum. So that three thoufand crowns 
 in annual fee, might well pafs for a royal munificence. 
 
 P. 171. And fo her at tie the common flages, (fo they 
 call them.) 
 
 Mr. Theobald, in his Shakefpear reftored, p. 66. 
 conjectures, I think with great probability, that the 
 poet wrote, ' common /lager s. y 
 
 P. 174. JVhofe judgment in fuch matters cried in the 
 top of mine. 
 
 I fuppofe the meaning may be, Whofe judgment 
 ?4 m 4 in
 
 C 536 1 
 
 in fuch matters was in much higher vogue than 
 mine. 
 
 P. 1 74. I remember ', one /aid, there was no fait 
 in the lines , to make the matter [avowry. 
 
 The judgment here recited muft, as I apprehend, 
 be underftood as intended in approbation, and not 
 in difparagement, of the play. I take the fenfe to 
 be, that it wanted the high feafoning of loofe ribal- 
 dry and lufcious double meanings. 
 
 Ibid. Nor no matter in the phrafe t that might in- 
 dite the author of affefiion. 
 
 Mr. Warburton underflands this to mean, that in 
 this play there were ' none of thofe paflionate, pathe- 
 ' tick love fcenes, fo eflential to modern tragedy.' 
 But it is evident from the very exprefiion, no matter 
 in the phrafe, that the poet is here fpeaking of the 
 phrafe or ftile, not of the fentiments or pafiions. I 
 make no queftion therefore but the fecond folio 
 hath given us the genuine reading, that might indite 
 the author of affectation. See Theobald's Shakefpear 
 reftored, p. 69, 70. J fhould fuppofe the general 
 concurrence of the fubfequent editors in preferring 
 the common reading, is to be imputed to the mif- 
 taken apprehenfion which hath hitherto prevailed, 
 that the following fpeech is introduced as a fample 
 or pattern of the turgid unnatural character in writ- 
 ing. 
 
 P. 179. A fculUon. 
 
 I am perfuaded Mr. Theobald hath reftored the ge- 
 nuine reading, a cullion, from the Italian, cogliaic, 
 a worthlefs poor-fpirited fellow. 
 
 P. 181. We o'er -rode on the way. 
 
 This corrupt reading we are indebted for to Mr. 
 Warburton. That of the old quarto, 
 
 m
 
 [ 537 I 
 We oV-raught on the way* 
 
 that is, over-reached, is undoubtedly the genuine 
 one, and of the lame import as the common text, 
 o'er-took. See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 73, 74. 
 
 P. 181. And drive his purpofe into thefe delights. 
 
 Mr. Theobald, in his Shakefpear reftored, p. 81. 
 hath very juftly corrected this pafiage agreeably to. 
 the reading of the fecond folio, 
 
 And drive his purpofe on to thefe delights. 
 
 P. 182. This mortal coil, 
 
 I mould imagine means, the incumbrance of this 
 mortal body. 
 
 P. 183. With a bare bodkin. 
 See Theobald's Shakefpear reftored, p. 85. 
 
 P. 184. With more offences at my beck, than I have 
 thoughts to put them in name, imagination to give 
 them Jhape, or time to aft them in. 
 
 The word, name, is an idle and very unnecefiary 
 interpolation of Mr. Warburton's. The fenfe of 
 the common reading is evident ; I am at all times 
 rear-'y to break out into more offences, than I have 
 thoughts to conceive, imagination to project, or time 
 to ad:. But Mr. Warburton infills on it, that * a 
 ' word hath been dropped here,' which he hath hap- 
 pily fupplied. For this he tells us is * the progrefs. 
 ' The offences are firft conceived and named, then 
 ' projected, then executed.' But I fee no bufinefs 
 the naming hath to do in this progrefs. I believe it 
 feldom happens, when a man is fuddenly prompted 
 to fome evil action, that he thinks it necefftry in the 
 firft place to flop and conficler of a name for it, be- 
 fore he turns his thoughts to the means of carrying 
 it into execution, 
 
 P. 188.
 
 [ 53 I 
 
 P. 1 88. Neither having the accent of chrifiian, nor 
 the gate of chrifiian, pagan, nor man. 
 
 Mr. Warburtbri is pleafed to call this c a foolifh in-' 
 * terpolation.' I lay he is pleafed to call it fo; 
 for he hath not condescended to give a reafon for it, 
 and I apprehend it would not be an eafy talk to find 
 one which is to the purpofe. See the Canons of 
 Criticifm, p. 42. 
 
 P. 189. Js Vulcan 's Jlithy. 
 See our note on Troilusand Creffida, vol. vii. p. 462. 
 
 P. 191. Nay, then let the Devil wear black, 'fore 
 Til have a fuit of fable. 
 
 This emendation of Mr. Warburton's appears to me 
 to be utterly deflitute of meaning. The Devil hath 
 been always reprefented by the general imagination 
 of mankind as cloathed in black, and Hamlet at the 
 very time he fpeaks thefe words is drefied in a fuit 
 of fable. So that the fenfe will amount to this, Let 
 the Devil wear black, which he always doth wear, 
 before I drefs myfelf in fable garments, which I am 
 now actually drefied in. The common reading was, 
 Nay, then let the Devil wear black, for Til have a 
 fuit of fables. Now it is univerfally known, from 
 the prefent practice, as well as from Shakefpear's 
 authority, that fables are worn by people of thefirft 
 rank in the northern climates. It is certain alfo, 
 that among the furrs or fables the blackeft are the 
 molt highly efteemed, and bear the greateft price. 
 The fenfe therefore feems to be ; If this be the cafe, 
 let the Devil wear plain black, I'll get me a fuit of 
 fables, which from their colour will have the appear- 
 ance indeed of mourning, but at the fame time will 
 indulge my appetite for finery and ornament to the 
 utmoft. In this view, the paffage will be underftood 
 
 as
 
 [ 539 ] 
 as a farcafm on his mother's mourning, which, he 
 had juft before hinted, fuited but ill with that gayety 
 and mirth which di (covered itfelf in her countenance. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 94.-96. 
 
 P. 192. Marry 1 this is micbing Malhecbor; it 
 means tnijckief. 
 
 The common reading was, miching malicho y which 
 whether it be fuppofed to ftand for malbecho, the Spa- 
 nifh word for mifchief, or malhecbor, the mifchief 
 doer, the fenfe amounts to juft the fame, being no 
 other than this ; Marry, the man who bears fo large 
 a (hare in this dumb exhibition is the fecret villain, 
 and the fhew confequently means mifchief. To mich 
 is a word ftill in common ufe in the weftern part of 
 this ifland, and fignifies, to lurk, to do mifchief 
 under a fair external appearance. 
 
 P. 193. And thirty dozen moons with borrowed Jhetn 
 About the world have time twelve thirties been. 
 
 As Shakefpear wrote Englifh, I conceive we mould 
 read, 
 
 About the world have times twelve thirtie been. 
 
 P. 196. Oph. Still better ard wor/e. 
 
 Ham. So you mijlake your bufbands. 
 
 Mr. Theobald, in his Shakefpear reflored, p. 89, 
 90. had clearly evinced that the genuine reading is, 
 
 So you muft take your hujbands. 
 
 Notwithftanding which, Mr. Warburton, without 
 takng the leaft notice of Mr. Theobald's reafons, 
 hath thought proper to admit into his edition the 
 old miftaken one. 
 
 P. 197. A very, very\ peacock. 
 
 See this reading fully vindicated and explained in 
 Upton's Criric. Obferv. p. 188, 189. 
 
 P. i 99 .
 
 t 540 ]j 
 
 P. 199. Ob my lord, if my duly be too bold, my 
 hve is too unmannerly. 
 
 The fenfe is, If you think me too bold in what I 
 have faid by the command of your mother, to offer 
 any thing on the fingle motive of my love to your 
 perfon would be unmannerly. 
 
 P. 200. Ham. Methinks, it is like an ouzle. 
 Pol. // is black like an ouzle. 
 
 The common reading was, ' like a weefel>* which I 
 am perfuaded is the true one, fince the refemblance 
 of a cloud to an animal is generally concluded from 
 its fhape, not from its colour. The fecond line 
 therefore, mould be read, agreeably to the fecond 
 folio and feveral other copies, 
 
 // is back'd like a weefel. 
 
 Polonius is defirous of humouring to the utmoft one 
 whom he looks on as a madman. He agrees there- 
 fore to every thing he fays j and when Hamlet had 
 faid the cloud was like a weefel, he not only concurs 
 with him, but unluckily pitches upon the back of 
 the weefel for the peculiar circumftance of refem- 
 blance, the very part in which it differs mod from 
 the camel, whofe refemblance to the cloud he had 
 the very moment before equally admitted. 
 
 P. 201. And do fuch bujinefs as the better day 
 Would quake to look on. 
 
 This is an emendation of Mr. Warburton ; the 
 common reading was, 
 
 And do fuch bitter bujinefs as (be day. 
 
 Mr. Warburton objects, that c the expreflion is al- 
 * moft burlefque. 5 It is fo j but it is fo only from 
 an abufc of the word, bitter, which is crept into our 
 language from amongft the vulgar, long fince the 
 
 days
 
 [ 541 ] 
 days of Shakefpear, and which therefore can have 
 no weight in the prefent cafe. The fame gentleman 
 informs us, that the old quarto reads, 
 
 Anddofuch bufinefs as the bitter day : 
 
 But this variety of reading is moft probably owing 
 to a tranfpofition, which in the hurry of his em- 
 ployment efcaped the inattentive printer. If the 
 reader however, moved by this authority, fhould 
 think fome alteration neceffary, I mould fuppofe the 
 poet wrote, 
 
 And do fuel bufinefs as the bitter'ft day, 
 
 P. 202. Out of his lunacies. 
 
 Mr. Theobald hath in my opinion fufficiently proved 
 that the more authentick reading is, 
 
 Out of bis lunes. 
 
 Ibid. It hath the primal, eldefi, curfe upon J t ; 
 A brother's murder. 'Pray I cannot. 
 
 The interpolation in the fecond of thofe lines which 
 is recommended by Mr. Theobald, 
 
 That of a brother's murder, 
 
 is perfectly unneceflary. The defect in the meafure 
 is fufficiently accounted for by the break which di- 
 vides the verfe. The words, a brother's murder, are 
 joined by appofition, not to the curfe, in the next 
 preceding line, but to the offence, in the line next 
 preceding this laft. 
 
 P. 203. Though inclination be asjharp as th' ill ; 
 My Jlronger guilt defeats my ftrong intent, 
 
 I conceive this nonfenfe is little lefs rank than that 
 which Mr. Warburton imputes to the common read- 
 ing! 
 
 T Lough inclination be asjharp as will : 
 
 4 For
 
 [ 542. } 
 For I apprehend that the 111 and the Guilt mean juft 
 the fame thing, and that there is very little more 
 difference between the Intent and the Inclination. If 
 therefore the inclination be juft as ftrong as the ill or 
 guilt in the rirft line, how Could the guilt in the fe- 
 cond line be fo much ftronger than the intent or in- 
 clination as abfolutely to defeat, it ? I think it not 
 improbabje that our poet wrote, 
 
 Though inclination be as Jharp as't will ; 
 
 that is, However (harp my inclination may be fup- 
 pofed to be* 
 
 P. 205. /, hisfaVnfon* do this fame villain [end 
 To heav'n. 
 
 Nothing but the utmofl: wantonnefs of criticifm 
 could have tempted Mr. Warburton to be meddling 
 with this paflage. Fal'nfon, as he himfelf interprets 
 it, means, ' difinherited fon,* a fignirication which 
 the words, according to the Englifh idiom, can ne- 
 ver bear, and if they could, the epithet would flill 
 be flat and wide from the prefent purpofe. But 
 what objection can pofiibly be imagined againft the 
 authentick reading, 
 
 /, his fole fon ? 
 
 Even if there needed any alteration, the reading of 
 the folio, foulefon, would rather direct us to fubfti- 
 tute, fool fon, 
 
 P. 209. Queen. Ay met what act? 
 
 Ham. That roars fo loud, it thunders to the 
 Indies. 
 
 The generality of the editions, ancient as well as 
 modern, attribute both thefe lines to the Quegn, 
 and give us the text thus, 
 
 Ay me ! what atl, 
 
 That roars fo loud t and thunders in the index?, 
 i That
 
 f 543 3 
 
 That is, At the very firft mention of it. See the 
 expreifion well explained, and this abfurd alteration 
 of Mr. Warburton's amply exploded in the Canons 
 of Crkicifm, p. n8, 119. 
 
 P. 211. In the rank fw eat of an incejluous bed. 
 
 Mr. Theobald, in his Shakefpear reftored, p. 104. 
 hath reftored, from the fecond folio, an expreflion, 
 which, according to all the rules of juft criticifm, 
 muft be admitted to be the genuine reading, 
 
 In the rankfweat of an enfeamed bed. 
 
 That is, as Mr. Theobald rightly interprets it, a 
 grofs fulfom fwinifh bed. This epithet is too un- 
 common to have been the interpolation of a tran- 
 fcriber or player, people however who may be very 
 naturally fuppofed not to have underftood it, and 
 for that reafon to have altered it to the more vulgarly 
 intelligible one, incejluous. 
 
 P. 2 1 8. He keeps them, like an apple, in the corner 
 of his jaw, Jirjl mouth* d, to be hjl fw allowed. 
 
 Who ever heard of an apple kept in the corner of a 
 jaw to be laft fwatiowed ? A various reading which 
 Mr. Pope hath given at the bottom of his page, re- 
 moves all this nonfenfe, and authorizes us to reftore 
 the genuine text, which is undoubtedly this ; * He 
 keeps them, like an ape, in the corner of his jaw.' 
 It is well known that the ape hath large bags by the 
 fide of his jaws, which are called his alforches, from 
 the Spanifh word alfcrja, a wallet, in which, when- 
 ever he meets with any food, he constantly depofits 
 a part of it, to be chewed and fwailowed at pleafure, 
 after his meal is ended. 
 
 P. 2 2 1 . By Utters congruing to that effeft. 
 
 Mr. Th.'obalj, in his Shakefpear reftored, p. 109 
 
 111.
 
 [ 544 J 
 
 iri. hath- made it fully evident, that the genuine 
 reading, authorized by many of the editions is, 
 
 By letters conjuring, to that effecl. 
 
 P. 221. till I know'tis done, 
 
 Howe'er my haps, my joys will ne'er begin, 
 
 I muft own I can make no fenfe of this pafTage* I 
 mould fufpect the poet might write, 
 
 Howe'er 't may hap, tnyjoys will ne'er begin. 
 
 P. 227. Antiquity forgot, cuflom not known, 
 The ratifiers and prop of every ward; 
 They cry, " Chufewe Laertes for our King" 
 
 Thus Mr. Warburton hath thought proper to alter 
 the text , but, as the word, ward, fignifies, either 
 a guard, or a fence, the ratifiers of a fence,, or the 
 props of a guard, are exprefiions which manifeft fo 
 glaring a confufion of metaphor, as this gentleman 
 himftlf would, on any other occafion, make no 
 fcruple.of pronouncing to be nonfenfe. The com- 
 mon reading was, 
 
 The ratifiers and props of every word. 
 
 By word is here meant a declaration or propofal 5 
 and it is determined to this fenfe by the neceflary re- 
 ference it hath to what had juft preceded, 
 
 . the rabble call him lord. 
 
 This acclamation, which is the word here fpoken 
 of, the poet obferves was made without the lead 
 regard to antiquity, or received cuftom, whofe con- 
 currence however, in matters where the right of go- 
 vernment is concerned, is necefTarily required to 
 confer fome degree of validity and [lability on every 
 propofal of this kind-, fince, Without it, no efta- 
 blifhment of any kind could be made or fupported, 
 but every thing would be perpetually involved in a 
 
 con-
 
 ['545 ] 
 continual feries of confufion. This being the idea 
 enquired after by Mr. Warburton, we have no far- 
 ther occafion for the emendation he fubftituted to 
 fupply the want of it. 
 
 P. 230. O bow the weal becomes it ! 
 
 As to this correction of Mr. Warburton's, fee thd 
 Canons of Criticifm, p. 182. The common read- 
 ing was, 
 
 bow the wheel becomes it ! 
 
 Poflibly by the wheel is here meant, the burden of 
 the ballad. 
 
 P. 232. And where th* offence is , let the great tax fall. 
 
 This alteration of the text, whereby, c the great tax* 
 is fubftituted in the place of the common reading, 
 * the great ax,* doth not appear to be neceffary ; but* 
 if it were admitted, I fhould ftill differ from Mr. 
 Warburton in his interpretation of it. He fays it 
 means ' penalty, punifhment / I apprehend ic 
 would fignify here, imputation with all its confe- 
 ouenceS. 
 
 P. 23 S. And then this mould is like a fpendibrift *s fign 
 'That hurts by eafing. 
 
 This reading is a conjecture of Mr. Warburton's, 
 The common reading, which is fupported by the au- 
 thority of all the editions Mr. Theobald had fecn 
 when he publiflied his Shakefpear reltored, (fee p, 
 118) is, 
 
 And then this mould is like a fpendthrift Ugh 
 That hurts by eafing. 
 
 It contains an allufion to a very idle opinion, which 
 ftill prevails pretty generally among the common 
 people, that every figh d<aws drops of blood from 
 
 N n the
 
 [ 54" ] 
 the heart* and tends to fhorten life. In this view # 
 we readily underttand how the figh is called a fpend- 
 thrift* and how, at the fame time that it eafes the 
 prefent opprelTion of the heart, it is hurtful at the long 
 run. 'Tis the fame cafe with the reflection which 
 frequently comes acrofs us, that we mould or ought 
 to have done luch or fuch a thing, which once was, 
 but now no longer is, in our power. At the fame 
 time that we are eafed by the excufe arifing from 
 our prefent inability, we are hurt by the regret of 
 having flipped the opportunity while it was in our 
 hamls. It is true the fimilitude between the illus- 
 tration and the thing illuftrated is a little deficient in 
 point of exaclnefs. They agree only in this point, 
 that the eafe and the hurt always accompany one the 
 other; but differ in this, that in the illuftration, 
 the fame circumftance which gives the eafe hurts, 
 which is not fo in the thing illuftrated. In this re- 
 fpect, I own Mr. Warburton's emendation hath 
 greatly the advantage. The reader will determine 
 on the whole, which ought to have the preference ac- 
 cording to the laws of juft criticifm. 
 
 P. 238. The Frenchmen gave you. 
 An error of the prefs for, Frenchman. 
 
 Ibid. Afword unbated. 
 
 This is undoubtedly the true reading; for the em* 
 baiting or invenoming the point is the propefal of 
 Laertes. 
 f 
 
 P. 247. To this favour Jhe mujl come. 
 
 We fhould read, agreeably to all the other editions, 
 ' to this favour fhe muft come.* 
 
 P. 248. Yet here fhe is allow d her virgin chants. 
 
 The common reading was, ' her virgin rites J but 
 
 it
 
 V 547 1 
 
 it Teems in oneof the old quarto editions Mr. War* 
 burton found * virgin crantsj from whence he drew 
 his own conjecture. I fhould rather fuppofe if wa3 
 an error of the prefs for, grants^ that is, the cere- 
 monies granted by cuilom to thofe who died un- 
 married, and that this was Shakefpear's firft expref- 
 Hon, which be himfclf afterwards altered to, rites* 
 See the Canons of Criricifm, p. 109. 
 
 P-. 250. E'er that her golden couplets are difdoSJ* 
 
 There was no occafion for altering the common 
 reading, 
 
 When that her golden couplets are difclos^d. 
 
 For the young neftlings of the pigeon when firft dif- 
 clofed are callow, covered only with a yellow down* 
 as Mr. Warburcon himfelf obferves; and for that 
 reaibn (land in need of being cherifhed by the kindly 
 warmth of the hen, to protect them from the chil- 
 nefs of the ambient air, for a confiderablc time after 
 they are hatched. 
 
 P. 251. ' Rafhnefs 
 
 (And praii'd be raflmefs for it) lets us knew ) 
 Or indifcretion fomdimes ferves us ivell, 
 M^hen our deep plots do fail. 
 
 Tills too is an emendation of Mr. Warburton'% ac- 
 cording to which Rafhnefs is faid to let us know, 
 thoug'; noticing appears from whence we can learn 
 what it is which Rafhnefs lets us know. Our critick 
 indeni :*rfcrms us, that it lets us know ' what we 
 1 car.no: penetrate to by plots.' But then this infor- 
 mation cou:e c merely from him, not from the text, 
 which in r ; conftruction of which it is capable ac- 
 quaint- is w th any fuch matter. The common read- 
 ing was, 
 
 N n 2 * Rajh*
 
 [ 54 ] 
 
 ' Rajhnefs 
 
 (And praised be rajhnefs for it) lets us know, 
 Our indifcretion fometimes ferves us well, 
 When our deep plots do fail. 
 
 The fenfe is obvious ; Rafbnefs fuggefts to us, that 
 a lucky indifcretion fometimes puts us in pofiefiion 
 of thofe advantages which we fhould in vain hope 
 for from deep contrivance. What defect is there in 
 this obfervation, that Mr. Warburton fo pofitively 
 afllires us, it could never be Shakefpear's fenfe?* 
 
 P. 252. (Ere I could mark the prologue to my bane 
 They had begun the play.) 
 
 That is, according to Mr. Warburton, to whom 
 we are indebted for this emendation, ' They ( Ro- 
 ' fincrantz and Guildenftern) begun to act to my 
 ' deftruction before I knew there was a play towards.' 
 He adds, that c it was Hamlet's foreboding only, 
 
 and not any apparent mark of villany, which fet 
 
 * him upon fingering their packet ; and that he had 
 c no thoughts of playing them a trick, till they had 
 c played him one.' But all this is exprefly contra- 
 dicted by the play itfel Hamlet himfelf, fpeaking 
 of his voyage to England, tells his mother, p. 215. 
 
 There's letters feaVd, and my two fchool-fellows 
 (IV hem I will truft, as I would adders fang d) 
 They bear the mandate ; they muji fweep my way,. 
 And marfhal me to knavery : let it work. - 
 For 'tis the fporl, to have the engineer 
 Hoift with his own petard: and't fhall go hard. 
 But I will delve one yard below their mines, 
 And blow them at the moon. O, 'tis mojl fweet, 
 When in one line two crafts direclly meet I 
 
 And afterwards, when the King propofes this voyage 
 to Hamlet, p. 220, upon Hamlet's anfwering, Good ^ 
 the King replies, 
 
 King.
 
 i 549 1 
 King. So is it, if thou knew 1 ft our purpofeSi 
 Ham. I fee a cherub , that fees them ; but come, for 
 England! 
 
 The common reading was, 
 
 (Ere I could make a prologue to my brains, 
 'They had begun the play.) 
 
 Brains, is here pur, by a meronymy of the caufe for 
 the effect, for the performance, the counterplot, 
 which was to be the product of Hamlet's brain* 
 The fenfe therefore is , Before I could take the very 
 firft ftep towards forming my own fcheme, they had 
 already proceeded a confiderable way in the execu- 
 tion of theirs. This firft ftep, which is here called 
 the prologue, was Hamlet's getting the commiflion 
 into his power, in order to difcover the depth of 
 the contrivance againft him, and thereby to difap- 
 point it. This is what Mr. Warburton is pleafcd Co 
 call nonfenfe. 
 
 P. 253. And ft and a commere 'tween their amities. 
 
 So Mr. Warburton afTures us * Shakefpear without 
 * doubt wrote,' underftandingby the word, commere, 
 ' a bawd or procurefs.' But he hath not been able 
 to fhew, that this word is ever ufed in this fignifi- 
 cation, as in truth it never is, in the French, much 
 ltfs in the Engljfh, language-, nor indeed hath he 
 lb much as attempted to prove, that in the latter 
 language it hath ever been once ufed in any figniri- 
 cation whatever. The common reading was, 
 
 And f and a comma 'tween their amities. 
 
 The only circumftance of reftmblance the poet feems 
 to have had in view in this fimilitude is merely that 
 of (landing between. As a comrru (lands between 
 two feveral members of a fentence, without fepa- 
 rating them, otherwife than by diftmguifliing the 
 N n 3 one
 
 t $fip 3 
 
 one from' the other, in like manner peace perfonized, 
 or the Goddefs of peace, is underftood to ftand be- 
 tween the amities of the two Kings. 
 
 "c 
 
 P. 256. And yet hut flow neither in refpetl of bis 
 quick fail, 
 
 Mr. Warburton hath quite mifunderftood the mean-* 
 ing of the poet, which undoubtedly is, that Laertes 
 was yet but young in proportion to the quick pro- 
 grefs he had made in ail gentlemanly accompliih- 
 ments. We mould therefore reftore the old reading, 
 ' and yet but raw neither in refpect of his quick 
 fail.' 
 
 Ibid. Vt not poffthle to under]} and in another tongue ? 
 
 I conceive we mould read, c // is not poflible to tih- 
 derftand in another tongue.* That is, fuch language 
 as this is the only one which communicates ideas to 
 us. It is fpoken ironically. 
 
 Ibid. You will do't, Sir, rarefy. 
 
 We mould undoubtedly read, Tcu do't. Sir, rarely, 
 That is, You have exactly hit upon the humour of 
 this language. 
 
 P. 259. But it is fuch a kind of gain-giving. 
 
 That is, mifgiving. See Theobald's Shakefpear re 
 fiorcd, p. 127. 
 
 P. 261. Well, wy hrd% 
 
 Tour grace hath laid the odds o 1 tb' weaker 
 fide. 
 
 The wrong pointing of this pafTage makes it ftark 
 nonfenfe. It mould be pointed thus, 
 
 WelU my hfd, 
 
 Tour grace hath laid; (be odds o* tb' weaker fide. 
 
 That
 
 C 55* ] 
 That is, Your wager, my lord, is prudently laid ; 
 you have given the odds to the weaker fide. That 
 this is the fenfe is evident from the King's reply, 
 
 But fince he's better* d t we have therefore odds. 
 
 That is, But fince that time he is greatly improved, 
 therefore we are allowed odds. 
 
 P. 265. Which have foliated. 
 
 That is, incited me to the aft of vengeance I have 
 juft performed. 
 
 Ibid. And flights of angels wing thee to thy reft ! 
 
 This is an alteration of Mr. Wafburton's. The 
 common reading was, 
 
 And flights of angels fing thee to thy reft ! 
 
 Which the reader may fee fully juftified in the Ca- 
 nons of Criticifm, p. 11. 
 
 Othello, the Moor of Venice. 
 
 P. 276. (a Florentine's 
 
 A fellow almoji damn'd in a fair wife ) 
 
 I fuppofe the advantage of having a fair wife was 
 not the birth-right of every Florentine. We mould 
 therefore undoubtedly read, 
 
 . the Florentine* s 
 
 that is, Iago, who is fo termed by the Moor. Cafllo 
 could not poffibly be the Florentine; for the poet 
 afterwards, p. 304, informs us that he was a Vero- 
 nefe. i apprehend the meaning of Othello's reflec- 
 tion on Iago is, that, notwithstanding he had a fair 
 wife, he had little chance for going to heaven, as by 
 the watchfulnefsof his jealoufy he made it extremely 
 N n 4 dii>
 
 [ 55* 1 
 
 difficult for her to do her part towards fending him 
 thither. 
 
 P. 276. Wherein the toged confuh can propofe. 
 
 Mr. Theobald hath with great probability conjec- 
 tured that the poet wrote, counselors. Mr. Warbur- 
 ton goes a nearer way to work, by telling us, thag 
 confuls is put for counfellors ; but he mould have 
 fhewn, by a Tingle inftance at leaft, that the word, 
 confuh is ufed in this fignification. 
 
 P. 277. Mufi be let and calnid. 
 
 This is a conjecture of Mr. Warburton ? s. The 
 quarto gives us, 
 
 Mufi be led and calmed 3 
 
 which leads us to the true reading, 
 
 Mufi be ke'd and calm d. 
 
 Lee'd is a fcaterm, which fignifies, retarded by con- 
 trary winds. The firft folio reads, belee'd, a word 
 pf the fame origin and meaning. Nor is the metre 
 fpoiled or in the leaft prejudiced even by this read- 
 ing, as Mr. Warburton too haftily apprehended. 
 
 Ibid. Net (as of old) gradation. 
 
 Nothing can be more obvious than the meaning of 
 the common reading, 
 
 And not by old gradation. 
 
 That is. Not by the gradation of feniority. One 
 would almoft fufpecl that Mr. Warburton would 
 not underftand this purpofely, that he might give 
 himfelf the pltafure of an emendation. 
 
 P. 27S. In compliment extern. 
 
 That is, in external demonftration of duty and fer- 
 vice, 
 
 P. 278,
 
 [ SSI 1 
 
 J?. zj8. As when, by night and negligence, the fin 
 Isfpred in populous cities. 
 
 See the common reading, 
 
 Is fpied in populous cities, 
 
 fufficiently juftified in the Canons of Criticifm, p.' 
 j 06. 
 
 P. 282. Andwhafs to come of my defpited time. 
 
 Brabantio very properly calls the remaining part of 
 his life a c defpifed time,' (which is the reading of all 
 the editions) fince the ill conduct of his only daugh- 
 ter, in matching herfe'f to an adventurer fo much 
 beneath her birth and rank, could not, in his ap- 
 prehenfion, but draw great contempt on himfelf. It 
 js very injudicioufly therefore that Mr. Warburton 
 \yould fubftitute, ' defpited time,* which it may very 
 Well be doubted too whether it be Englifh. At 
 lead I do not recollect a fingle inftance in any writer, 
 where, defpited, is ufed to fignify, vexatious. See 
 the Canons of Criticifm, p. 4, 5. 
 
 P. 284, May fpeak, unbonnetting, to as proud a for- 
 tune. 
 
 This is an emendation of Mr. Pope's, inftead of, 
 unbonnetted, which is the reading of all the copies, 
 and which is evidently wrong. But I am afraid 
 this conjecture is little better than a folecifrn, fince 
 this active participle implies that we are in the act 
 of doing fomething, which at the fame time it is de- 
 nied that we are doing. In like manner, we may very 
 properly be faid to walk, unbuttoned, ungartered, 
 unfhod ; but not unbuttoning, ungartering, un- 
 fnooing. I am inclined to believe Mr. Theobald 
 hath given us the genuine reading, 
 
 Myfpeak, and bonnetted, to as proud a fortune, 
 
 P. 284.
 
 [ 554- I 
 
 . 284. y J anus 9 I thinks no. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 1 84. 
 
 P. 285. And many of 'the confids rais'd and met. 
 
 We fhould undoubtedly read, with Mr. Theobald, 
 * many of the count* tors.' See our note on p. 276. 
 
 P. 286. "The wealthy culled darlings of our nation. 
 
 Thie epithet, fulled, which is a conjecture of Mr. 
 Warburton's, fignifies, according to him, ' felected, 
 chofen.' But he fhould have explained, in what 
 View, and to what purpofe, thefe wealthy darlings 
 might be ftfppofed to be felected. As to the ' culled, 
 and choice drawn cavaliers,' whom he alleges In 
 juftification of this correction, it is evident they 
 were fuch as were felected on account of their dif- 
 tinguifhed valour, and military experience. The 
 common reading, 
 
 The wealthy curled darlings of our nation, 
 
 feems intended to exprefs, by a particular inftance, a 
 general attention and curiofity in adorning the per- 
 fon. 
 
 P. 287. Bond/laves, and pagans, fhallourftatefmenbe. 
 
 It is certain from this very play, that the Moor had 
 been both a bondflave and a pagan, though at that 
 time he was neither. The fenfe therefore is, If fuch 
 actions as thefe meet with free allowance, we fhall 
 difgrace the noble blood of our gentry, to whom 
 alone the fupreme government of this republick fe 
 entrufted, by permitting people of fuch low dif- 
 reputable characters to intermarry in our families. 
 We have therefore no occafion for Mr. Theobald's 
 emendation. 
 
 P. 288.
 
 f 455 3 
 
 P. 286. As in thefe cafes, where the aim report s % 
 'Tis oft with difference. 
 
 The common reading was, 
 
 where they aim reports. 
 
 To aim reports, is to report upon the moll probable 
 conje&ure a perfon can form from all circumftancefe 
 which are come to his knowledge. Mr. Warburton 
 will underftand (in virtue I fuppofe of a language 
 peculiar to himfelf) the fenfc to be, that the Vene- 
 tians 'did all at hazard, as to what, and how, they 
 * fhould report,* and therefore alters the text as we 
 have above given it from his edition , which con- 
 jecture of his is fo far from improving the fenfe, 
 that it gives us precisely the fame as, the common 
 reading. But as he underftcod the elegancies of the 
 Englifh language better than Shakefpear, he could 
 not withftand the temptation of ' mending (as he 
 calls it) the expreffion/ and then making him a 
 compliment of it thus mended. See the Canons of 
 Criticifm, p. 108. 
 
 P. 292. That will confefs, Perfeclion fo could err 
 Againjl all rules of nature. 
 
 This is undoubtedly an erroneous reading , for with 
 what propriety is Defdemona diftinguifhed by the 
 title of perfeclion ? Mr. Theobald hath, by a very 
 ingenious conjecture, reftored the true one, 
 
 That will confef, affection fo could err. 
 
 P. 293, And with it) all my travel's hi ft cry. 
 
 This is the reading of the old quarto edition, and 
 indeed recommends itfelf by its great plainnefs and 
 fimplicityi notwithstanding which, I am perfuaded 
 that the common reading, 
 
 And
 
 t 556 ] 
 
 . Ana portance in my travel's hijlcry, 
 
 is the genuine text of Shakefpear. It appears in 
 the firft folio, faid to be publilhed from the true 
 original copies ; and it is by no means probable, 
 that the tranfcriber or printer fhould alter, upon his 
 own head, and without authority, fo clear and com- 
 mon an expreffion, and fubftitute for it one fo much 
 farther removed from vulgar apprehenfion. Port- 
 ance fignifies deportment, or demeanour. See 
 Theobald's Shakefpear rtftored, p. 142. 
 
 P. 294. It was my bent to /peak ; fuch was the proce/f. 
 
 This it feems is the reading of the old quarto, which 
 Mr. Warburton adopts, and informs us that * the 
 * word, kent, fignifies, ufe, cuftom.' But he ought 
 certainly to have produced fome authority for it, 
 as fuch an Englifh noun may probably be as utterly 
 unknown to the reft of his readers as it is to me, 
 who do not recollect to have met with it any where 
 but in a faulty paflage or two of our poet, and par- 
 ticularly in Hamlet, p. 205. where Mr. Warburton 
 agrees it to be a corruption, and admits the word, 
 bent % in its ftead. It is undoubtedly an error of the 
 prefs here too, in the old edition quoted by Mr. 
 Warburton j for all the fubfequent editions concur 
 in giving us, 
 
 // was my hint to /peak j fuch was the procefs. 
 
 That i<, I had occafion to fpeak, for fo the procefs 
 of my hiftory requited. Mr. Warburton, not un- 
 derstanding this plain Englifh, objects in very bad 
 Englifh ; 4 this implies it as done by a trap laid for 
 her -,' an implication that certainly never entered in- 
 to the imagination cf any other perfon who under- 
 load Englifh, 
 
 P. 296.
 
 i 557 ] 
 
 P. 296. Let me /peak like our f elf. 
 
 That is, according to Mr. Warburton, whofe con- 
 jecture this is, ' Let me mediate between you, as 
 
 * becomes a prince and common father of his people.' 
 Jf this had been the fentiment intended by Shake- 
 fpear, he would certainly never have cloathed it in 
 fo obicure and general an expreffion. The common . 
 reading was, 
 
 Let me fpeak like your felf. 
 
 That is, Let me add my own judgment in con- 
 firmation of what you yourfelf have juft faid. For, 
 in effeci', what Brabantio had juft faid, 
 
 J here do give thee That with all my heart \ 
 '.Which, bnt tBou haft already, with all. my heart 
 I would keep from thee ; 
 
 implying an acquiefcence in what was done, merely 
 becaufe it was done, and could not be undone, is 
 the very 'purport of the Duke's fpeech. Yet Mr. 
 Warburton tells us, that c the Prince's opinion, here 
 
 * delivered, is quite contrary to Brabantio's ferrti-' 
 
 * ment.' Where were his eyes or unJerftanding ? 
 
 P. 298. My downright violence to forms, my fortunes. 
 
 So Mr. Warburton hath thought proper to correct 
 the text. The common reading was, 
 
 My downright violence, and ftorm of fortunes. 
 
 That is My entrance upon the fortunes I have 
 chofen in that violent manner or proceeding as if [ 
 had taken them by ftorm. Mr. Warbunon afks, 
 
 * What violence was it that drove her to run away 
 ' with the Moor V The anfwer is fo obvious, 'us 
 wonderful lie did not fee it. The violence or her 
 O.vn patiiun, joined with the certainty that her fa- 
 ther
 
 [ 55*. ]J 
 
 ther would refufe his confent, and would, not fail to 
 employ the utmoft violence to hinder her from gra- 
 5 it. See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 105. 
 
 P. 298. Nor to comply wi{k heat, the young affecls 
 . . . In my defuntt and proper fatisfaBicn. 
 
 Mr. Warburton's explication of this paffage is fuf- 
 fkiently- refuted in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 145. 
 nor do I think it poflible to make fenfe of it as it 
 now (rands. I mould therefore be inclined to em- 
 brace Mr. Upton's.conjecture in his Critic, Obferv. 
 p. 183185. 
 
 Nor to comply with beat, (the young affecls 
 In me defuncl) and proper fatisfaclion -, 
 
 that is, the edge of youthful appetites being at my 
 age taken off. 
 
 P. 299. If virtue no belighted beauty lack. 
 
 See the common reading, ' delighted beauty,' fully 
 juftified, and Mr. Warburton's correction, exploded 
 in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 11. 193. 
 
 P. 301. If the balance of our lives had not one fcale 
 of reafon to poife another of fenfuality. 
 
 A balance fignifies a pair of fcales, not a fingle fcale. 
 Mr. Theobald's conjecture therefore, ' the beam of 
 our lives,' is, to fay the leafr, unneceffary. 
 
 Ibid; Diffeat thy favour with an ufurped beard \ 
 
 See the common reading, * Defeat thy favour,' fully 
 juftified in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 12. 
 
 P. 303. With fuch a fnipe. 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 208. 
 
 P- 303.
 
 [ 559 ] 
 
 F. 303. . Hell and fpite 
 
 Muft bring this tnonjlrous birth to the world? $ . 
 Ugh*. 
 
 The common reading was, 
 
 - Hell and night. 
 
 That is, Hellifli practices working in impenetrable 
 darknefs. Inftead of which Mr. Warburton wouk} 
 put us off with the above infipid conjecture. 
 
 P. 304. The /hip is here put in, 
 
 A Veroneffa ; Michael Caffw. 
 
 The editors hare not been pleafed to inform us, 
 what kind of (hip is here denoted by the: name of 
 a Veroneffa. This indeed is no wonder, for the poet 
 had not a (hip in his thoughts. We (houldeertainly 
 read, 
 
 The {hip is here put in. 
 
 A Veronefe, Michael Caffw, 
 
 Is come onfhore. 
 
 The poet intended to inform us, that Othello's Lieu- 
 tenant, Caflio, was of Verona, an inland city of the. 
 Venetian (late. The word, Veronefe, fhould be pro-, 
 nounced after the Italian manner, as aquadrifyl-' 
 lable. 
 
 P. 306. And in terreflrial vejlure of creation 
 Does bear all excellency. 
 
 I entirely agree with Mr. Warburton, that the com- 
 mon reading, 
 
 And in th' effential vejlure of creation, 
 
 is indefenfible ; but I think his conjecture departs 
 
 too far from it, both in the pronunciation and the 
 
 j form
 
 t 5&> ] 
 
 form of the letters. I fhould rather fufpect that the 
 poet wrote, 
 
 And in the fenfual vejlure of creation. 
 
 The fenfe is, And within that vefture of t'he human 
 fenfes with which fhe is cloathecLby the Creator, fhe 
 is endued with every excellency. 
 
 P< 3 to. Is be not a moft profane and liberal counfellor t 
 
 I am perfuaded Mr. Theobald's cOnjecliure, a moft 
 profane and liberal cenfurer, gives us the true read- 
 ing. 
 
 P 3 T 5 If this poor brack of Venice^ whom I cberifb, 
 
 I very readily concur with Mr. Warburton in both 
 his emendations, but he fhould have given us the 
 verfe ent-re, agreeably to the old quarto, and all the 
 fubfequent editions, 
 
 If this poor brack of Venice , whom I do cherifh. 
 
 But I fuppofe his unfkilfulnefs in the laws of out 
 metre prevented him from doing it. 
 
 P. 323. Unlefs felf- charity be fometimes a vice. 
 
 By felf-charity is meant a regard for our own pre- 
 fer vation. 
 
 Ibid. In night, and on the court and guard of fafety. 
 I am inclined to think Mr. Theobald's conjecture, 
 
 In nighty and on the court of guard and fafety , 
 bids faired for being the genuine reading. 
 
 P. 3-33. His frefent reconciliation make. 
 
 I can fee no reafon for altering the common reading* 
 
 Hit prefent reconciliation take. 
 
 That 
 
 %
 
 [ 5^1 ] 
 That is, Admit him to an immediate reconciliatiaqi 
 with you. 
 
 P. 334. 'Tis as I ftjouU intreat you wear your cloths: 
 
 This laft word is an iil judged alteration of Mr. 
 Warburton's, inftead of the common reading, which 
 in all the editions was, gloves. See the Canons of 
 Criticii'm, p. 105. 
 
 P. 335. Excellent wretch ! 
 
 At the time Othello utters this exclamation upon 
 Defdemona's leaving him, the poifon of jealoufy had 
 already begun to work in him, infufed by the artful 
 hints and half fentences of Iago, and by the frank 
 and prefling folicitations of Defdemona on behalf of 
 Caffio. His afiurance in her faith and virtue is al- 
 ready fomewhat daggered-, and he begins to con- 
 fider it as a thing pofiible, that fhe may be unworthy 
 of his love. To this ftate of mind this exclamation 
 is admirably well adapted, exprefting the utmoft 
 fondnefs, and at the fame time a diftruft growing 
 upon him. The introducing an expreffion of ad- 
 miration merely, and rapturous fondnefs, which Mr. 
 Theobald fubftitutes in the place of the old reading, 
 would be unnatural, and inconuftent with what had 
 parTed in the next precedent fccne. Mr. Upton's 
 imagination that Shakefpear alludes to the name of 
 Defdemona, which, in virtue of a Greek etymology, 
 he interprets to fignify, unfortunate, is probably 
 without the leafl foundation. If this etymology h d 
 been known to our poet, he would not have fpoiled 
 k, by corrupting the name from Dyfdemona or 
 Difdemona, as the lady is called in the Italian novel 
 whence the ftory of this play is taken, to Defde- 
 mona. 
 
 O o P. 33 6.
 
 t 562 J 
 
 P. 336. Or, thofe that be not, 'would they might fern 
 knaves ! 
 
 This is Mr. Warburton's conjecture from the non- 
 fenfeof the common reading, 
 
 'would they might feem none! 
 
 I am rather inclined to think Shakefpear might 
 write, 
 
 Or thofe that he not, 'would they might be known \ 
 
 That is, I wilh there were any certain way of dif- 
 tinguifhing and detecting them. 
 
 P. 237. Think I, -perchance, am vicious in my guefs. 
 
 Thus Mr. Warburton hath altered the common 
 reading, 
 
 Though /, perchance, am vicious in my guefs , 
 
 from not rightly apprehending what Shakefpear 
 meant by the word, vicious \ which doth not fignify 
 here, wrong, or, miflaken, as he feems to under- 
 ftand it, but, apt to put the worft conftruction upon 
 every thing, as Iago himfelf explains it in the lines 
 immediately following. The fenfe then of the whole 
 paffage will be this -, I befeech you, though I for 
 my own part am perhaps apt to fee every thing in the 
 worft light, which is a fault in my nature that car- 
 rier its own punimment with it, yet let me intreat 
 you that my imperfect conjectures, with the loofe and 
 uncertain obfervations on which they are founded, 
 may not be the means of raifing difquiet in the brcaft 
 of a perfon whofe wifdom is fo much fuperior to 
 mine. To difturb you therefore with my idle ima- 
 ginations, would be neither for your quiet or hap- 
 pinefs, nor for the credit of my own manhood, ho- 
 nefty, or wifdom. After this explanation of the 
 common reading, it may poffibly not appear fo 
 
 8 * highly
 
 [ 563 ] 
 
 * highly abfurd ? as Mr. Warbtirton pronounces it to 
 be. And as to his other o u jcetion, that ' the ftntence 
 c is abrupt and broken,* I apprehend this was pur- 
 pofely intended by the poet, as it reprefents fo much 
 the more naturally the artful perplexity of fiaud and 
 circumvention pra&lfing on the credulity of an open 
 honeft heart. 
 
 P. 338. It is a green ey\i mottjler, which doth mock 
 'The meat it feeds en. 
 
 To mock, certainly never fignifies, to loath, as Mr. 
 "Warburton interprets it in this place. Jts common 
 fignification is, todifappoint, in which fenfe I think 
 It is ufed here. The proper and immediate deftina- 
 tion of food is to fatisfy hunger-, when this end is 
 not attained by the ufe of it, the food may be me- 
 taphorically faid to be mocked or difappointed. So 
 the end propofed by that fufpicious inquifitivenefs, 
 which is the natural food of jealoufy, is certainty 
 and fatisfaction fome way or other. But this end 
 it very rarely attains, and thofe very doubts and 
 fufpicions are perpetually wicked, and difappointed 
 of that fatisfaction they are in fuch eager purfuic of. 
 
 P. 33 9. V/here virtue is, ihefe make more virtuous. 
 
 This would be ftrange doctrine indeed, and contrary 
 to the common fenfc of mankind, that beauty, high 
 feeding, love of company, freedom of fpeech, 
 finging. playing, and dancing, have 3 tendency to 
 make a virtuous woman flill more virtuous. No, 
 fays Mr. Warburton, they do not indeed do this, 
 but c they make thai virtue more iiloftrious, by 
 
 * its coming off victorious from all the temptations 
 e which fuch accornplifhments throw in the way.* 
 Even fuch moraiiry -as this is a little extraordinary. 
 That the coming oil' victorious may be fome excufe 
 for having indulged in fuch entertainments, may 
 
 O o 2 poi-
 
 E 5*4 J 
 
 poiTibly be admitted ; but that the running volunta- 
 rily into temptation adds a real luftrc to virtue, 
 when it happens to come off victorious, is a fenti- 
 ment which I believe few cafuifts will approve. Be- 
 fides, the expreffion doth by no means convey the 
 idea faid to be intended by it. To make a man more 
 virtuous, certainly means fomethrng very different 
 from giving an additional luftre to his virtue, by 
 placing him in certain circumftances in which it will 
 be more noticed by the world. Let us therefore 
 confider what objection Mr. Warburton hath to the 
 common reading, 
 
 Where virtue is, tbcfe are mod virtuous. 
 
 The objection is this ; c How can a virtuous con- 
 
 * duct make the indifferent actions of fuch a charac- 
 ' ter virtuous, or moft virtuous ?* Shakefpear, 
 rightly underftcod, is far from faying that it doth 
 either. But Mr. Warburton did not comprehend 
 the full import of the adverb, moft ; which is not 
 only ufed to denote the fuperlative degree, but very 
 frequently alfo to fignify, that there is not the leaft: 
 tincture or mixture of toe oppofite quality. The 
 fenfe therefore will be; Where real virtue hath pof- 
 feflion of the mind, thefe amufements will be regu- 
 lated by that ruling principle, and kept free from 
 the leaft tincture of vice or folly. 
 
 P. 345. Which thou ow'dft yejierday. 
 
 That is, ownedft, or hadft. See the Canons of 
 Criticifm, p. 76. 
 
 Ibid. The fpirit-flirring drum, th y ear-piercing fife. 
 
 The epithet, fhrill, is given to the trumpet in the 
 line immediately preceding, to which Mr. Warbur- 
 ton thinks the epithet, ear-piercing, is * too much 
 
 * alike for the richnefs and variety of Shakefpear's 
 
 ' idea?/
 
 [ sH ] 
 
 * ideas.' Befides, he thinks i the fife ought to have 
 been characterized by its effect on the hearers, as 
 well as the drum, which is faid to be fpirit-Jlirring* 
 For theie reafons he would perfuade us to read, 
 
 tb' fear-'fperfing^. 
 
 To the fir ft reafon I (hall make no reply, becaufe its 
 whole force is derived from a principle I can by no 
 means admit, that the critick hath a right to attri- 
 bute to his author whatever reading happens to tally 
 Deft, with his own notion of richnefs and variety of 
 ideas. To the other reafon I would only fay, that 
 I do not rightly comprehend how the epithet, ear- 
 piercings can be faid not to exprefs the effect of the 
 fife on the hearers. But upon the whole it will be 
 fufficient to fay, that Shakefpear certainly wrote his 
 tragedies with a view to their being a<5ted, and, if 
 acted, confequently to their being pronounced. Now I 
 will defy any Englifh organs of fpeech to pronounce 
 Mr. Warburron's emendation. See the Canons of 
 Criticifm, p. 208. and the Introduction to them, 
 p. 28. 
 
 P. 349. Yield up y oh Love, thy crown and parted throng 
 'fo tyrannous Hate I 
 
 That is, according to Mr. Warburton, who e con- 
 jecture this is, ' thy throne, which was parted be- 
 ' tween me and Defdemona.' This expreffion, if 
 we will believe him, ' prefents us with a fine image;' 
 Love himfelf, ftruck with fo perfect an union, * had 
 4 divided his throne between them.' This fine image, 
 however, to my cold apprehenfion prefents nothing 
 but palpable nonlcnfe. Love had, it feems, quitted 
 his throne, to make room for Uthello and Defde- 
 mona, between whom he had divided it. When 
 they were in poiF fiion of it, what were they to do 
 there? Where was Love to beftow himfelf in the 
 O o 3 muu
 
 [ 566 J 
 
 mean time ? and who was to perform the functions 
 of his character ? Buti, it feems, he had not, not- 
 withstanding this, as yet given up the pofieflion, for 
 he is now ordered to yield it up to tyrannous Hate : 
 So that Love was now to be quite difcarded for the 
 future, and to exercife no farther dominion over the 
 univetfe. Doth not all this abfurdity evidently fhew, 
 that the only throne of Love here fpoken of, is that 
 which he had erected for himfelf in Othello's heart ? 
 And this is the very throne which is fo clearly 
 pointed out in the common reading : 
 
 Yield up, oh Love, thy crown and hearted throne 
 tyrannous Hate I 
 
 That is, the throne thou hadft eftablifhed for thyfelf 
 in my heart. 
 
 P. 350. Let him command, 
 
 And to obey, Jhall be in me. Remord 
 What bloody bufinefs ever. 
 
 The common reading, 
 
 And to obey, jhall be in me remorfe, 
 
 hath exercifed the talents of every critick that hath 
 eonfidered it, and each of them hath attempted to 
 reftore fenfe to it by a different emendation. As to 
 this of Mr. Warburton, the nonfenfe is too evident 
 to give us much trouble in discarding it. So poor 
 and flat an expreffion as this, And to obey jhall be in 
 vie, for, You jhall find me ready to obey you, could 
 certainly never come from Shakefpear. Remord, is 
 not only not Englifh, but it is directly contrary to 
 the idiom of that language; for remorfe, doth not 
 figmfy the being (hocked at the propofal of a crime 3 
 but the ftings of cor.fcience conlequcnt upon the 
 commiffion of it. The quotations from Skclton ae 
 quite befide every ether purpofe, but that of prov- 
 ing
 
 ing that there was fuch a word in our ancient lan- 
 guage, which fignified to fatyrize, or animadvert 
 upon with feverity. I think Mr. Pope's emenda- 
 tion, 
 
 Not to obey* jhall be in me remorfe, 
 
 bids faired for being the true reading. The fenfe 
 is, Not to obey you, in executing (o juft a ven- 
 geance, would be a failure my conference would 
 everlaftingly reproach me with. Mr. Theobald, 
 who treats this conjecture of Mr. Pope's with fome 
 contempt, hath not in my opinion been more lucky 
 (as he calls it) in his own, 
 
 Nor, to obey, Jhall be in me remorfe : 
 
 That is, I fhall have no remorfe to obey your com- 
 mands, how bloody fcever the bufinels be. The 
 fame fiatneis and poornefs of expreffion, which dis- 
 graces Mr. Warburton's emendation, is equally 
 chargeable on this. But upon this occafion it is 
 pleafant toobferve, that this very fentiment, which, 
 as it comes from Mr. Theobald, is charged by Mr. 
 Warburton with deftroying the * unity of Iago's cha- 
 racter, by making him very unneceffarily own him- 
 felf to be a ruffian without remorfe,' is the very fame 
 fentiment which he himlelf attributes to Iago, when 
 he explains his own emendation. ' However the 
 
 * bufinefs he fets me upon may fhock my honour 
 and humanity, yet I promife to go through with 
 ' it, and obey without referve.' To this he, no 
 doubt very confidently, fubjoins, ' Here Iago fpeaks 
 
 * in character.' Mr. Upton, in his Critic. Oblerv. 
 p. 200, conjectures that we ought to read, 
 
 And to obey P^ all be in me no remorfe. 
 
 This emendation gives the fame fenfe as that of Mr. 
 Theobald, but much better expreffed, and, it mull- 
 be confefled, carries with it f me degree of proba- 
 O o 4 biliiy.
 
 C 5*8 1 
 
 bility. See alfo the Canons of Criticifm, pi 159, 
 *59- 
 
 P. 353. For here's a Jlrong and fw eating devil hers. 
 
 So Mr. Warburton authoritatively bids us read. 
 With at leaft as good reafon, and mucm better aur 
 thority, to wit, that of all the editions, 1 woulcj 
 idvife the reader to reftore the former reading, 
 
 For here*s a young and fw eating devil here. 
 
 P. 360. I muft be circumftanc'd. 
 
 That is, I muft be content with your fervices with- 
 in fuch circumftances as your conveniency prefcribes. 
 
 P. 361. She is propertied of her honour too. 
 
 This is no verfe, but it feems it is fomethfrig much 
 better, it is logical; and for this reafon Mr. Warr 
 burton ha[h fubftituted it in the place of the com- 
 mon reading, 
 
 She is protec"lrefs of her honour too. 
 
 But all our critick's cobweb fophiftry is at once fwept 
 away by this fingle obfervation, That Othello is not 
 here refuting Iago, nor chopping logick with him, 
 but proceeds in his inqu ries from the lefs to the 
 greater, from an infignifiont point to one much 
 more interefting, his wife's honour. Thus the fenfe 
 is, Granting fhe may difpofe of her handkerchief as 
 fhe pleafes, fince it is her own property, hath fhe 
 the fame right to difpofe of her honour too, which 
 is not her property, but a facred trull committed 
 to her care and protection ? 
 
 P. 362. Convinced or fuppled thetp. 
 
 5?ee Theobald's Shakefpear reftored, p. 192, 193. 
 
 P. 3 6z.
 
 [ 5*9 ] 
 
 P. 362. Nature would not inveji her f elf in fuch 
 fijadowing without fome indue! ion. 
 
 In my opinion the common reading, without feme 
 inftruclion, gives us a fenfe more appofite and better 
 expreffed. Othello feels all his faculties failing him 
 on the fudden, and a cloudy or mifty darknefs creep- 
 ing on very faft upon him : This circumftance fug- 
 geits to him the thought, that his very nature, 
 which fympathizes with him in his prefent agony, 
 mud have received fome fecret myfterious instruc- 
 tion, intimation, or inftinctive knowledge of the 
 reality of that calamity which lb deeply opprelfes 
 him, otherwife (he would never have lpontaneoufly 
 inverted herfelf in that horrid darknefs which he now 
 felt Overwhelming him. 1 will not difpute that vaft 
 ' fublimity of thought' which Mr. Warburton disco- 
 vers in his companion, of Othello falling into a 
 trance, to the fun in eclipfe by the induction of the 
 moon between it and the earth ; but of this I think 
 I may be pretty certain, that if Shakefpear had in- 
 tended any fuch comparifon, he would have taken 
 care toexprefsir, at lead fo intelligibly, as to have 
 been vifible to fome one of his readers befides Mr. 
 Warburton. The only two words which give us the 
 Lead plimpfe of it are, fhadowing y and \ndublion % 
 and unfortunately the latter of them is his own in- 
 terpolation. 
 
 P. 371. The fkot of accident^ nor dart of chance. ; 
 
 Mr. Theobald confidcrs accident* and chance, as 
 words purely fynonymou=, and therefore for the lat- 
 ter hath fubftituted, change. But I apprehen 1 there 
 is no occafion for this alteration. Accident is co n- 
 rnonly ufed to denote perfonal calamities, chance^ 
 to diftincuifh thofe in which we are involved in con- 
 sequence of more general revolutions of fortune. 
 
 Befides,
 
 57* 3 
 
 Befides, as change is generally brought about by (low 
 degrees, a dart whofe ftrokes are fudden, feems 
 very improperly appropriated to it as its peculiar 
 weapon. 
 
 P* 375' Turn thy complexion thence. 
 
 Patience, thou young, androfe-lip'dcherubin; 
 I here look grim as hell. 
 
 The firft line is altered into nonfenfe by Mr. War- 
 burton. To turn, in this place fignifies, to change, 
 not to alter the pofition of the body. Though we 
 are faid with propriety in common language to turn 
 our bodies, yet this I believe is the firft time any per- 
 fon was ever faid to turn his complexion, from one 
 place to another. The common reading is unex- 
 ceptionable, 
 
 <Turn thy complexion there, 
 
 Patience, thou young, and rofe-lip'd cherubin ; 
 I, here look grim as hell. 
 
 The fenfe is, ' Change thy complexion, Patience, in 
 fo infupportable a fituation as this; ay, here look 
 as grim as hell.' The obfervation that the word, /, 
 Hands here for the affirmative adverb, ay, as it very 
 frequently doth in the ancient editions of our poet, 
 is borrowed from Mr. Theobald, to whom I very 
 readily afcribe the honour of it. 
 
 Ibid. O, thou bale weed, why art fo lovely fair ? 
 
 See the Canons of Criticifm, p. 70, 71. where it is 
 rightly remarked, that there is no iuch adjective as, 
 bale, in our language. The old reading was, blache 
 weed, which I undtrftand as little as Mr. Warbur- 
 ton. Poflib!y the poet wrote, 
 
 O, thou bafe weed, why art fo lovely fair ? 
 
 P. 3S5.
 
 I 571 ] 
 
 P. 385. I've rubFd this young gnat almoji to the fenfe. 
 
 This is the common reading ; that of the old quarto 
 is, quat. Mr. Upton, in his Critic. Obferv. p. 190" 
 192. conjectures we mould read, quail. Mr. 
 Theobald's conjecture is, knot, a fmall bird common 
 in Lancafliire. Others read, quab. I cannot fay I 
 am fatisfied with either of thefe different readings ; 
 but as I know of none better to fubftitute in their 
 place, I mud recommend the reftitution of this paf- 
 iage to fome future critick of greater ability and 
 better informed. In the mean time I think the com- 
 mon reading deferves by far the preference. 
 
 P. 403. of one, whofe hand, 
 
 Like the bafe Jadian threw a pearl away 
 Richer than all his tribe. 
 
 The word, Judian, is the reading of the old quarto, 
 which at fir it fight appears fo evidently to be an er- 
 ror of the prefs, that the fubfequent editors were all 
 ftruck with the force of that evidence, and, before 
 Mr. Theobald's edition, all unanimoufly concurred 
 in reltoring the true reading, ' the bafe Indian.'' 
 Mr. Theobald's objections to it are three. Firlf, 
 that no Indian is fo ignorant as not to know the 
 estimation of a pearl. But this is an allegation con- 
 trad hfted by the whole current of hiftorical tetli- 
 mony. To be fatisfied of this, the reader need only 
 confult any one of thofe writers who hath given an 
 account of the American nations at the firit difco- 
 very of that continent, before the original fimplicity 
 of their manners had been corrupted by the con- 
 quers or commerce of che Europeans. Nav, even 
 at this day, no one, I believe, who hath had i/,y 
 communication with, or perufed any authentic!: re- 
 lations or, die various tribes of Indians who inha- 
 bit the (.onf.incnt oi North America, will have the 
 
 lcaft
 
 [ 572 ] 
 Jeaft doubt, but they would joyfully exchange the 
 moft valuable pearl that might accidenrally fall into 
 their hands for a bottle of rum, or a flafk of gun- 
 powder. The fecond objection is, That, if the poet 
 had intended to reflect on the ignorance of the In- 
 dian only, he would have called him rude, and not 
 bafe. But he rnuft: be a novice indeed in the Eng- 
 Jifh language who doth not know, that the word, 
 bafe> is ufed to fignify, not only, villanons, and 
 treacherous, but mean, vulgar, uninftructed in the 
 arts of polifhed life. Nay this lad is the original 
 and primary fignification of the word. The third 
 and laft objection is, that Mr. Theobald and his 
 friend Mr. War^urton had long ago obferved that 
 the phrafe here is not literal, but metaphorical, and 
 that the pearl means a fine woman. Now to the 
 authority of thefe two great criticks I would oppofe 
 that of Mr. Pope, and Mr. Rowe, who concur with 
 me in thinking that the pearl doth not mean a fine 
 woman in virtue of a metaphor, but is only likened 
 to one, to wit, to Defdemona, in virtue of a com- 
 parifon or (imilitude. On the other hand, there are 
 three unanfwerable objections to the emendation. 
 The firft, which is the principal, and indeed a fata', 
 one, is, That there is no fuch word in the Englifh 
 language, or ever ufed by any one Englifh writer, as, 
 Judian, but that the proper word is, Judaan y which 
 the verfe will by no means admit. The fecond, That 
 it contradicts the probable truth of the manners, as 
 it is in the higheft degree improbable, that Othello, 
 born and bred a Negro or Moor, who had fpent his 
 whole life in the tented field, who acknowledges him? 
 fe'.f to be rude in fpecch, 
 
 And little blefs'd with the Jet phrafe of peace ; 
 
 that fuch a mnn, I fay, mould ever have even heard 
 of the ftory of Herod and Mariamne. The third, 
 
 That
 
 [ 573 1 
 That there is not the lead refcmblance between the 
 hiftory of Herod, and that of Othello, but in this 
 fingle circumftance, that they both put their wives 
 to death, the latter with his own hand, and the for- 
 mer according to the forms of publick juftice. See 
 Mr. Upton's Critic. Obferv. p. 255 257. where 
 this gentl-man too, mifled by Mr. Theobald's rea- 
 fons to reject the common reading, propofes a con- 
 jecture of his own ; 
 
 Like tb* lafe /Egyptian, threw a pearl away ; 
 
 alluding to the ftory in Heliodorus; of the /Egyptian 
 robber Thyamis attempting to murder Chariclea. 
 But this conjecture is fo extreamly liable to excep- 
 tion, and carries with it fo very little probability, 
 tha- it is not worth the while to detain the reader 
 with a particular examination of it. 
 
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