7^ Art- CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE PR2807.aTi'832"'™™""-"'"^'' "^"[''e', and As you like it.A specimen of 3 1924 012 960 211 Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924012960211 SONNET, Dear to the Muse is he, and well may claim The grateful tribute of her sweetest lay ; Who o'er the tomb of Genius strews the bay. — Nor does he less deserve the meed of Fame, Whose pious hand repairs its half lost name. And broken sculpture, which Time's slow decay Hath marr'd, or Vandal hands have torn away. — And such due rites and service as became The Muses' faithful votary hast thou paid. For all the treasured rolls of antient lore. Which deep research, and critic labour aid. The midnight lamp hath seen thine eye explore. From them of costly gems a wreath to braid. To deck his tomb, who sleeps on Avon's shore. W. B. BUSBY, Dean of Rochester. Sept. 9, 1819. HAMLET, AS YOU LIKE IT. HAMLET, AND AS YOU LIKE IT. SPECIMEN OF AN EDITION SHAKESPEARE. BY THOMAS CALDECOTT, ESQ. 4»a(Tt Se Kai Aparov irvOEtrStai avrovy [Ti fititvog] Trwg rr}v OfjLrjpov Troirjffiv aatpaXiaQ Krjyffcttro* tov Se hiteiv, Ei toiq apxcciotg avriypa^oig EVTvy)^avoij Kai firi TOtg Tjdrj duop^atfievoig. Diog. Laertii Timon. Amst. 4to. 169s, p. 600. " And surely, if men, by the help of that blessed art of correcting; old copies, pro- ceed to amend, and upon private fancie doe presumue thus to alter publike records, shortly wee shall have just cause generally to esteeme those copies most correct, which least have been corrected." — Explication of a place in Polybiusy at the end of Sir H. Savile*s Tacitus, Fo. 1622, p. 224, John Bill. Quae in veteribus libris reperta mutare imperiti solent, dum Llbrariorom insectari inscitiam volant, suam confitentor. — Quint. L. ix. c. iv. LONDON : PRINTED FOR THE EDITOR, BY WILLIAM NICOL, CLEVELAND-ROW, ST. JAMES'S. 1832. ^/3 n Aii- Yiyc it is a thyng uneth belereable how muche and how boldely as well the com- men writers that from tyme to tyme have copied out the bookes of Plutarchus, as also certain that have thought theimselves liable to controUe and emend all mennes dooynges, have taken upon theim in this autour, who ought with all reverence to have been handleed of theim, and with all feare to have been preserved from altreyng depravyng or corruptyng. For never hath there been emonge the greke writers any one more holy then Plutarchus, or better worthie of all menne to bee read. But the veraye same thyng hath provoked persons desiroiK of glorie, and of lucre, to deprave and corrupt this autour, to putte in more then he wrote, and also to leave out of that he wrote, which ought moste of all to have feared them from soo doyng. For everie wryter the better accepted and sette by that he is, and the greater name that he hath emong learned menne> so muche the rather shall he for lucre and avauntage bee corrupted. — Preface to Erasmus's Apopphfhegmesj by Nic. Udall, l2mo. 1542, p. g. Now, what tbanke suche persones are worthie to have whiche dooe in this wyse slabre and defyle the bookes of famous autores, I will not at this tyme reason, but truely me thynketh it a veraye sacriliege. lb. p. 14. or Signal, hi. ADVERTISEMENT THE READER. It has been often and justly observed, that a great part of the employment of every succeeding editor of Shakespeare's Plays, has been to expose the un- warrantable hcense taken with the text by his pre- decessors ; and to restore the readings of the old and true copies. One of these alone can, under any just title, be received as an authenticated copy. This, in 1623, seven years after the author's death, was sent out into the world in foUo by two of his " fellows," Heminge and Condell ; who were also legatees in his will. In their dedication to the Earls of Pembroke and Montgomery, they caU this publication a discharge of a pious duty. This dedi- cation is plainly, also, the work of a scholar ; and has been assigned, as well as their preface, to Ben Jonson. In the latter of these, they pronounce all prior publications of his Plays (the poems of Venus and Adonis, and Tarquin and Lucrece, being the only works that he is known to have published VI himself) to be surreptitious ; and these to be abso- lute, and taken from papers, that scarce received from their author a blot. From the number of years, however, during which he was in possession of the stage, his plays, owing to various causes, must have undergone considerable alteration. Re- trenchment, it will be seen, had been made : and some idea may be formed of the enlargements from what is said in the title-page of the quarto edition of Hamlet, in 1611 : viz. that the play had been then " enlarged to almost as much againe as it was."* It may therefore be reasonably concluded, from the circumstances under which the foHo plays of Heminge and Condell issued from the press, that generally they were faithful copies of what was at that time presented to the public ; or, at most, re- ceived no other additions than such, as, by the aid * Of this fact the lately discovered copy of this play, printed in 1603, which was puhlished by Messrs. Payne and Foss in 1825, is a full confirmation, and this Publication must also be considered a valuable literary curiosity ; as exhibiting, in that which was afterwards wrought into a splendid drama, the first conception, and comparatively feeble expression, of a great mind. And this production, of however little worth, cannot in any respect mislead ; being altogether unlike the corrections and amendments oi our modern editors, which are equally foreign to the character and genius of the author and of his age, and serve only to confound the critic and falsify the history of the language. VII of the author's papers, were supplied. That in a volume so large many important typographical errors should occur, was to be expected ; and that many omissions were there made of passages pro- bably not in stage use, as not contributing to the main action, has been established by reference to those " maimed and surreptitious quartos:" and from them many additional passages of great beauty have been recovered. From no other than one of the above sources can a faithful editor be warranted in drawing: he can follow no other text : and so closely does Mr. Home Tooke adhere to this, or even a stricter, principle ; as to insist, that this folio is " the only edition worth regarding ;" and though he admits it has " some palpable misprints," he would have it re- printed literatim, " not to risk the loss of Shake- speare's genuine text, which it assuredly contains." Divers, of Purley, II. 52, 3. This foHo, then, is made the groundwork of the proposed edition and present specimen, in which also will be admitted such additional matter as has occurred in the twenty quartos published by Mr. Steevens. From these " surreptitious quartos" we copy readily : and feel, that we have warrant. Error and fraud indeed is charged upon them ; but nothing supposititious. What is there found must VUl therefore generally,- or with the exception of verbal errors, be presumed to be Shakespeare's ; and once owned by him. Several others unquestionably exist ; but inaccessible in private hands, or scarce less so in public repositories. Wherever the reading of the foho is departed from, the foho text is given in its place on the margin; but unless any thing turns upon the old spelling, in which case it is retained in the text, the modem spelling is throughout adopted : a,nd the pxmctuation is altogether taken into the editor's hands. Wherever also such alter- ations as appear material are found in the foho 1632, they are noticed in the margin : but that work, which was not pubhshed till two years after Heminge, the survivor of the two first editors, was dead, and without the name of any editor, we hold in little estimation ; it being fuU of arbitrary altera- tions, which we conceive Mr. Malone has, in most instances, demonstrated to be foreign to the style and character of our author's writings. The pubH- cation, however, is so close to the time, and some piersons have attached so much importance to it, that though we do not think it intrinsically of much more value than as serving, in several instances, to confirm the notions, generally adopted, of typogra- phical errors in the first folio, we have yet pointed out most of its variations, either in the margin or notes. IX Not to interpose any thing of length between the author and his reader, we have thought it proper generally to throw the notes that are grammatical, philological, critical, historical, or explanatory of usages, to the end of each play ; and at the bottom of the pages of the text, to give such only as were either very short, or immediately necessary to ex- plain our author's meaning. As to the number of our notes, the mixed and various scenes of Shake- speare embrace so great a variety and vast extent of matter ; and talent and intelligence are so very variously and imequaUy distributed, that to adjust exactly the " too much or too Uttle," is utterly im- practicable. But though we write for those who are in want of aid, and think it better that some should conceive offence at being taught, than that any should be at a loss for information, we have made no comments but where we have felt doubt ourselves, or seen that others have ; and we have suffered nothing Uke difficulty to pass without offering our conjecture at least, or acknowledging our inability to remove it. The number may in- deed have swelled beyond our wish : and it is true, that not a few of them have been written, lest the reader, misled by great names, should adopt what we conceive to be manifest error. Having taken the arrangement of the scenes, &c. from the current edition of Mr. Reed, and had that edition in our eye throughout, we have adopted a large portion of its notes ; as we have also many of the observations and illustrations of subsequent writers. The tragedy of Hamlet has been chosen as a specimen; not as being the most perfect of our author's dramas, but because, in many points of view, it offered more matter for discussion, than any other of his plays. At the same time, it has always excited a great degree of interest ; and, as it ever has been, is now highly popular with the British public : and As you like it, a comedy of the highest general interest, is, as we conceive, the most elegant of our author's compositions of this class. This is all that it has been thought necessary to state with respect to the Principle of the work. Of the work itself, we have only to say, that the mate- rials have been long collected ; and that the whole has now been worked up with as much care as the parts here presented to the pubHc, without the least regard to what the play was, or distinction as to the degree of its merit or popularity. Ill health and a growing infirmity of many years, which terminated in total blindness, were amongst the causes, which prevented the Editor from prosecut- ing further a work, which seemed not to be called XI for: and thence some of the notes, which would have appeared in these pages, were thrown into their proper places in other plays. As to the divi- sion of acts and scenes, consulting the convenience and habits of our readers, we in the present speci- men follow the current edition, that of Johnson and Steevens, by Reed. Licentious and conjectural emendation has not been confined merely to our author's text. His name has, without any sufficient warrant, and against the use and evidence of his own age, and a century and a half afterwards, been barbarously corrupted. As he published it, it was uniformly Shakespeare ; and in his Sonnets, printed seven or eight years before his death, it is given with a hyphen, Shake-speare, not only in the title, but in the running hne at the head of every leaf through- out the book. It is so also pubhshed in the address of one of the copies of commendatory verses, pre- fixed to the folios. As he published it, all his contemporaries printed it : and such printing, with a pronunciation correspondent with the spelling, descended to the middle of the last century. It is only then upon his signatures to his will and a mortgage deed, fac-similes of which are given fi-om Mr. Malone in Reed's edition, that the modern alteration of his name to Shakspeare is founded. Xll But in one out of these four signatures the last syllable of his name is abbreviated, and in two others spelt by abbreviation differently from what is on all hands admitted to be the proper spelhng of his name.* Supposing it to be clear then that he has, solely in these instances, spelt the first syllable also differently, it is not easy to conceive why that should be taken as a decisive proof that his name These signatures are thus given at pp. 149-161, in Reed's Edit. ...^^illt^^ XIU was not there also abbreviated, and was other than he had himself in print given it, and the whole world besides had for many generations supposed it to be, and had so printed and pronomiced it. And here it may be observed that throughout this very deed, as also in the attestation under the sig- nature itself, the name is spelt Shakespeare. For these reasons, we have continued the reading of his day and the times subsequent, and call our author Shakespeare; a name, which they, who sent out into the world, from time to time, quartos under that name surreptitiously, would never have so printed, and by giving it, as some of them have, with an hyphen in their title-pages, have thus ex- cited suspicion of their fraud, if such had not been his use, and the just and true orthography of their day at least. nn i^^ ^fa^f^ ^ ^lA^ fy9^^<^ XIV But in the first note on Mr. Malone's posthumous Life of Shakespeare 1821, it is said, that the fact of " illiterate persons, who spelt by the ear, having written Sha^spere or ShacAspere is decisive proof of his name having been so pronounced." We would on the contrary ask, whether it is not something more like conclusive evidence on more than this point, that all literate persons, all men of condition or education and authors both wrote and printed, and down to our times, pronounced it Shakespeare ; and that therefore such must have been the only just pronunciation and spelhng ? Then as to the spelling, while, in a note, the Author of the Life asserts, that Shakespeare pro- perly, if not always, wrote his name in one way, Shakspeare, almost the whole of the note is occu- pied in exemphfying the constant usage of spelling proper names in various ways; and he even in- stances Heminge and Condel varying the spelling of their own names in that folio of theirs, in which they uniformly print the name of Shakespeare, as he himself and the authors his contemporaries, printed it, in one way, Shakespeare or Shake-speare. Large allowance ought to be made for adherence to a favourite system, or imagined discovery by a laborious and useful writer ; but, though we might overlook his having, throughout his edition of 1821, XV falsified every contemporary autlior, and even public documents, wherein the name of Shakespeare came in his way, and this too in quotation (a hcense neither just or any way to be tolerated) we hardly expected to find even the subscription of our Au- thor's name to two different dedications, formally addressed to his great patron, the Earl of South- ampton, falsified in the reprint of them in the above edition, and Shakspeare therein substituted for Shakespeare, By such course to what extent may not a reader be misled ? There is no object for which it can be warranted ; and of one of the only two works pub- hshed by the Author himself (Venus and Adonis, 4to. 1594) there do not exist five copies to afford detection. We shall add that in a Collection of Poems by Robert Chester, 1601, our Author's Sonnet " Let the bird of loudest lay" is given by him, subscribed in large capitals and with an hyphen, WILLIAM SHAKE-SPEARE. In his note Mr. Malone suppresses this fact ; but tells us the principal authors associated with ShaA;«peare are B. Jonson, &c. Supplem. to Johns, and Steev. Shaksp. 8vo. 1780. II. 733. It is also so given XVI in the epistle prefixed to Poems by a Printer, 1604. Douce's Illust. II. 265, as it is in I. Heywood's Hierarchie of Angels, fo. 1635, p. 265. " MelU- fluous Shake-speare." This then is a most uncalled for and certainly not very " mellifluous" innovation : but it is not its harshness and dissonance that is most offensive ; it is the injury done to all confidence in the trans- mission of the terms of any document. The course is as unwarrantable, as in the case of quotation it is altogether unprecedented. If such landmarks may be thus silently removed or falsified, what assurance can posterity have in any thing dehvered down ? The letters O. C. i. e. old copies, in the margin always signify the quartos, and the foho of 1623 ; and generally, but not necessarily, that of 1632. The additions fi-om the quartos are put within brackets. October, 1832. HAMLET. PRELIMINARY REMARKS. The original story on which this play is built, may be found in Saxo Grammaticus, the Danish historian. From thence Belleforest adopted it in his collection of novels, in seven vo- lumes, which he began in 1564, and continued to publish through succeeding years. From this work. The Hystorie of Hamblett, quarto, bl. 1. was translated. I have hitherto met with no earlier edition of the play than one in the year 1604, though it must have been performed before that time. In the books of the Stationers' Company, this play was entered by James Roberts, July 26, 1602, under the title of " A booke called The Revenge of Hamlett, Prince of Denmarke, as it was lately acted by the Lord Chamberlain his servantes." The frequent allusions of contemporary authors to this play suflSciently show its popularity. Thus, in Decker's Bel-man's Night-walkes, 4to. 1612, we have — " But if any mad Hamlet, hearing this, smell viUainie, and rush in by violence to see what the tawny diueils [gypsies] are dooing, then they excuse the fact," &c. Again, in an old collection of Satirical Poems, called the Night-Raven, is this couplet : " I will not cry Hamlet, Revenge my greeves, " But I will call Hangman, Revenge on thieves." As to the date of this drama, see Dr. Farmer's Essay, p. 85, 86, second edition : " Greene, in the Epistle prefixed to his Arcadia, hath a lash at some ' vaine glorious tragedians,' and very plainly at Shaks- peare in particular. — ' I leave all these to the mercy of their mother-tongue, that feed on nought but the crums that fall from the translators trencher. — That could scarcely latinize their neck verse if they shoiild have neede, yet English Seneca, read by candlelight yeelds many good sentences — ^hee will afford you whole Hamlets, I should say, handfuls of tragical! speeches.' — I cannot determine exactly when this Epistle was first published ; but, I fancy, it will cany the original Hamlet somewhat fiirther back than we have hitherto done : and it may be observed, that the oldest copy now extant, [the quarto 1604] is said to be ' enlarged to almost as much againe as it was.' Steevens. A play on this subject, I believe by Thomas Kyd, had been exhibited before the year 1589; on which, and on the bl. 1. Historic of Hamblet, this tragedy was, I conjecture, constructed. The prose-narrative I have seen, was printed in 1608, but it undoubtedly was a republication. This play, notwithstanding some circumstances which seem to assign an earlier date to it, was written, if my conjecture be well founded, in 1600. See an Attempt to ascertain the Order of his Plays. Malonb. There has lately been produced an edition of this play of the year 1603. As to its date, or the time, at which it was written, it appears from Mr. Malone's Attempt at Chronological Order, SfC. in Johnson and Steevens' editions of 1778 and 1803, and 1813, that he conjectured it to have been written in 1596 ; while Chalmers assigned it to 1597 " but in his Life of our Author, 1821, he conjectures it to have been written in 1600 : and he again prints the whole of the plays according to the new con- ceptions he had formed, though many of them varied no less than eight or nine years from his previous computation. Now if upon such grounds and so unsettled a state of things, editors not even agreeing with themselves, the order, in which these dramas are presented to the pubUc, is to undergo a change on every republication, the confusion will be endless. With the reader and the public it must be an object to have ready and certain means of reference to the leading passages of a great author : and it thence seems highly desirable, that there should be some settled or understood course, by which at all times in one form the dramas of Shakespeare should be pre- sented. As the time when they were respectively brought upon the stage or first committed to the press, must now be mere matter of conjecture, and is indeed by all late editors stated so to be, no course seems to be in any respect so well adapted to this end, as that of his contemporary editors, trusteets and bro- thers of the craft. The principle too of their distribution into the three classes of Comedy, History and Tragedy, of each of which there is nearly an equal portion, at the same time that it is most natural and comctnodious, is more likely to be, as to these classes respectively, chronologically correct than any thing that modern research, as judicious as indefatigable, can effect. At present there are no means for an amateur or student to refer to any volume or page quoted without stating the edition ; and the editions are numberless : few readers have many, and none have all. PERSONS REPRESENTED. Claudius, King of Denmark. Hamlet,* son to the former, and nephew to the pre- sent King. Polonius, Lord Chamberlain. Horatio, friend to Hamlet. Laertes, son to Polonius. Voltimand, "^ Cornelius, ( ^ ,. Rosencrantz, t Guildenstem,* Osrick, a courtier. Another courtier. A Priest. Marcellus, 7 ^n? Barnardo, } ^^^^^^- Francisco, a soldier. Reynoldo, servant to Polonius. A Captain. An Ambassador. Ghost of Hamlets father. Fortinbras, Prince of Norway. Gertrude, Queen of Denmark, and mother of Hamlet. Ophelia, daughter of Polonius. Lords, Ladies, Officers, Soldiers, Players, Grave- diggers, Sailors, Messengers, and other Attendants. SCENE, Elsinore. * i. e. AmletA : the h being transferred from the end to the beginning of the name. Stbevens. HAMLET, PRINCE OF DENMARK. ACT I. SCENE I. Elsinore. A Platform before the Castle. Francisco on his Post. Enter to Mm Barnakdo. Bar. Who's there? Fran. ^ay, answer me :* stand, and unfold'' Yourself. Bar. Long live the king!" Fran. Barnardo ? Bar. He. Fran. You come most carefully upon your hour. Bar. 'Tis now struck twelve ;(') get thee to bed, Francisco. Fran. For this rehef, much thanks : 'tis bitter cold. And I am sick at heart. Bar. Have you had quiet guard 1 Fran. Not a mouse stirring. " rae] i. e. me who am already on the watch, and have a right to demand the watch-word. Stbevens. '' unfoM\ i. e. announce, make known. <: Long live, &c.] The watch-word. 6 HAMLET, act i. Bar. Well, good night. If you do meet Horatio and Marcellus, The rivals of my watch,® bid them make haste. Enter Horatio and Marcellus. » stand ho! Fran. I think, I hear them. — Stand!* Who is 4*°^- there ? HoR. Friends to this gromid. Mar. And liegemen® to the Dane. Fran. Give you good night.W Mar. O, farewell, honest soldier : Who hath reliev'd you ? Fran. Bamardo hath my place. Give you good night. [Exit Francisco. Mar. Holla! Bamardo! Bar. Say. What, is Horatio th^re 1 Hor. a piece of him. Bar. Welcome, Horatio ; welcome, good Mar- cellus. t HOR. Mar.^ What, has this thing appear'd again to- 4tos. but ' •„\^\ o rr "to M^R. 4to. night ? 1603. Bar. I have seen nothing. Mar. Horatio says, 'tis but our fantasy ; And will not let belief take hold of him. Touching this dreaded sight, twice seen of us : Therefore I have entreated him along With us, to watch the minutes of this night ;(5) That, if again this apparition come. He may approve our eyes," and speak to it. :Tut.4to. Hor. Tush! tush! J 'twill not appear. Bar. Sit down awhile ; And let us once again assail your ears, " Approve our eyes] " To approove or confirme. Ratum habere aliquid." Baret's Alvearie, Fo. 1580. " Approves the common liar." Ant. Ss CI. I. 1. Dem. See Two G. of F V. 4. Prot. jsc. I.. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 7 That are so fortified against our story. What we two nights have seen.* HoR. Well, sit we down. And let us hear Bamardo speak of this. Bar. Last night of all. When yon same star, that's westward from the pole. Had made his covuse to illume that paj-t of heaven Where now it burns, Marcellus, and myself. The bell then beating one, — Mar. Peace, break thee off; look, where it comes again ! Enter Ghost. Bar. In the same figure, like the king that's dead. Mar. Thou art a scholar, speak to it, Horatio.(s) Bar. Looks it not hke the king ? mark it, Horatio. HoR. Most like : — it harrows* me with fear, and * horrows. wonder.W J^;,,, Bar. It would be spoke to. *^°- ^^"3. Mar. Questionf it, Horatio. + speak to. HoR. What art thou, that usurp'st this time of '°^' night,'' Together with that fair and warhke form In which the majesty of buried Denmark Did sometimes march ? by heaven I charge thee, speak. Mar. It is offended. " against our story. What we two nights have seeri] In grammar the two words story and what are put in apposition j and mean that story, the account or relation which we gave or made of the spectacle seen, etc. etc. Otherwise, with must be understood before what, and the second line be thrown into a parenthesis : but, as above interpreted, it is the natural and familiar, old English, dialogue language. *• Usurp'st this time of night} i. e. abuses, uses against right, and the order of things. " He but usurp' d his life;" i. e. ha^ occupied it beyond, and out of its season. End of Lear. Kent. o.c, 8 HAMLET, ^ct i. Bar. See! it stalks away. Hob. Stay ; speak : speak I charge thee, speak. [Exit Ghost. Mjs. 'Tis gone, and will not answer. Bjb. How now, Horatio ? you tremble, and look pale: Is not this something more than fantasy ? What think you of it ? HoR. Before my God, I might not this believe. Without the sensible and true avouch ^ Of mine own eyes. Mar. Is it not Uke the king ? HoR. As thou art to thyself: Such was the very armour he had on. When [he] the ambitious Norway combated ; So frown'd he once, when, in an angry parle, PoUax. He smote the sledded Polacks * on the ice.C^) 'Tis strange. tjump. Mjr. Thus, twice before, and justf at this dead ^'°'- hour,C9) With martial stalk hath he gone by our watch. HoR. In what particular thought to work,' I know not ; J mine. But in the gross and scope " of my J opinion. This bodes some strange eruption to our state. Mjr. Good now/ sit down, and tell me, he that knows. Why this same strict and most observant watch So nightly toils the subject of the land ? " I might not this believe, &c.] i. e. I could not : it had not been permitted me, &c. without the full and perfect evidence, &c. '' In what particular thought to work] i. e. in what particular course to set my thoughts at work : in what particular train to direct the mind and exercise it in conjecture. ' gross and scope] i. e. upon the whole, and in a general view. ^ Good now] 1. e. in good time : a la bonne heiire. An inter- jection, a gentle exclamation of intreaty. — Johns. Diet. As an adverb he interprets it, well. 4t09. sc, I. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 9 And why such daily cast of brazen cannon, And foreign mart " for implements of war ; Why such impress of shipwrights/io) whose sore task Does not divide the Sunday from the week : What might be toward,'' that this sweaty haste Doth make the night joint-labourer with the day ; Who is't, that can inform me ? HoR. ^ That can I ; At least, the whisper goes so. Our last king, Whose image even but now appear'd to us. Was, as you know, by Fortinbras of Norway, Thereto prick'd on by a most emulate pride, Dar'd to the combat ; in which our valiant Hamlet (For so this side of our known world esteem'd him,) Did slay this Fortinbras ; who, by a seal'd compact. Well ratified by law, and heraldry ,(") Did forfeit, with his life, all those his lands. Which he stood seiz'd on,* to the conqueror : -of. 4to». Against the which, a moiety competent Was gaged by our king ; which had return'd To the inheritance of Fortinbras, Had he been vanquisher ; as, by the same f cov'nant 4to?i604. And carriage of the article Jdesign'd,(i2) j deseigne. His fell to Hamlet : Now, sir, young Fortinbras, ^tos. de-^ Of unimproved § mettle (i3) hot and full, ^'f*^*' Hath in the skirts of Norway, here and there, ed? X™^" Shark'd up a list of landless resolutes "°^- For food and diet, to some enterprise That hath a stomach in't :(i*) which is no other (And it doth well appear unto our state) But to recover of us by strong hand And terms compulsative, those 'foresaid lands. So by his father lost : And this, I take it. Is the main motive of our preparation ; The source of this our watch ; and the chief head Of this posthaste and romage^i^) in the land. [Bar. I think it be no other, but even so : * mart] i. e. marketing, exchange. i" toward] i. e. in preparatioHj going forward. See towards. Rom. Sf Jul. I. 5. Cap. 10 HAMLET, ACT i. Well may it sort,° that this portentous figure Comes armed thro' our watch ; so hke the king. That was and is the question of these wars/^^) HoR. A moth y^) it is to trouble the mind's eye. In the most high and palmy state(i8) of Rome, A httle ere the mightiest Juhus fell, The graves stood tenantless, and the sheeted dead Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets : As, stars with trains of fire and dews of fclood. Disasters in the sun ;(J9) and the moist star,(20) . Upon whose influence Neptune's empire stands. Was sick almost to dooms-day'' with ecHpse. And even the like precurse of fierce events/^i) As harbingers preceding still the fates. And prologue to the omen coming on/22) Have heaven and earth together demonstrated Unto oxir climatures and countr3Tnen. — ](23) Re-enter Ghost. But, soft ; behold ! lo, where it comes again ! I'll cross it, though it blast me. — Stay, illusion ! If thou hast any sound, or use of voice/ Speak to me : If there be any good thing to be done. That may to thee do ease, and grace to me, Speak to me : If thou art privy to thy country's fate. Which, happily, foreknowing* may avoid, O, speak ! Or, if thou hast uphoarded in thy life Extorted treasure in the womb of earth/^^) » sorf\ i. e. fall in with the idea of: suit, accord. •> stands— Mcfc to dooms-day] i. e. to death, to extinction, as at the day of doom. Stands is depends, rests. ' sound, or use of voice] i. e. articulation. ■^ Which, huppily, foreknowing &c.] i. e. by good and happy fortune ; or haply, i. e. by hap or chance, as the words in our author often seem to be indifferently used. sc. I. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 11 For which, they say, you spirits oft walk in death, [^Cock crows. Speak of it : — stay, and speak. — Stop it, Marcellus. Mar. Shall I strike at it with my partizan ?" HoR. Do, if it will not stand. Bar. ^ 'Tis here ! HoR. ' 'Tis here ! Mar.^ 'Tis gone ! [Exit Ghost. We do it wrong, being so majestical. To offer it the show of violence ; For it is, as the air, invulnerable ;C25) And our vain blows malicious mockery. Bar. It was about to speak, when the cock crew. HoR. And then it started like a guilty thing Upon a fearful summons. I have heard. The cock, that is the trumpet to the day,* (26) • ,„orn. Doth with his lofty'' and shriU-sounding throat ^'''^■ Awake the god of day ; and, at his warning, Whether in sea^^'') or fire, in earth or air. The extravagant and erring spirit hies^^s) To his confine : and of the truth herein This present object made probation. Mar. It faded on the crowing of the cock.(29) Some say,f that ever 'gainst that season comes, f saycs. Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated, 1623,32. The bird of dawning singeth all night long : And then, they say, no spirit can walk" abroad ; The nights are wholesome ; then no planets strike. No fairy(30) takes, J nor witch hath power to charm, t so 4tos. So hallow'd and so gracious is the time.f^i) U23%2. * my partizan] " A weapon between a pike and an halbert, from Lat. pertica, or Genu, hart, an axe." Douce's Illustr. II. 90. Pertuisane, Fr. halberd. "> lofty'] i. e. high-raised. <= no spirit can walk] The c|uartos read, dare sturre: he had just said, " spirits walk in death." The term too is almost technical, a stalking, pedetentim, pace, or sliding motion ; such being alone thought consistent with the majesty and state of ghost or apparition. 12 HAMLET, act i. Hon. So have I heard, and do in part beUeve it. But, look, the morn,(32) in russet mantle clad. Walks o'er the dew of yon high eastern hill : Break, we our watch up ; and, by my advice. Let us impart what we have seen to-night Unto young Hamlet : for, upon my life. This spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him : Do you consent we shall acquaint him with it. As needfiil in our loves, fitting our duty ? Mar. Let's do't, I pray ; and I this morning know Where we shall find him most conveniently. \Exeunt. SCENE H. The same. A Room of State in the same. Enter the King, Queen, Hamlet, Polonius, Laertes, VoLTiMAND, Cornelius, Lords, and Attendants. King. Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother's death The memory be green ;* and that it us befitted To bear our hearts in grief, and our whole kingdom To be contracted in one brow of woe ; Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature. That we with wisest sorrow '' think on him. Together with remembrance of ourselves. Therefore our sometime sister, now om' queen. The imperial jointress of this warlike state. Have we, as 'twere with a defeated joy. With one auspicious, and one dropping eye,(33> With mirth in fiineral, and with dirge in marriage. In equal scale weighing dehght and dole. Taken to wife : nor have we herein barr'd" Your better wisdoms, which have freely gone With this affair along : — For all, our thanks. '^ greeii] i. c. fresh. See Rom. 8f Jul. IV. 3. Jul. ' wisest sorrotv] i. e. sober grief, passion discreetly reined. ' barr'd'] i. e. shut out, excluded : acted without the concur- rence of. * So some 4tos. sc. n. PRINCE OF DENMARK. IS Now follows, that you know, young 'Fortinbras, Holding a weak supposal of our worth ; Or thinking, by our late dear brother's deaths Our state to be disjoint and out of frame, CoUeagued with the dream " of his advantage, He hath not fail'd to pester us with message. Importing the surrender of those lands Lost by his father, with all bonds of law,^*) To our most valiant brother. — So much for him. Now for ourself, and for this time of meeting. Thus much the business is : We have here writ To Norway, uncle of young Fortinbras, — Who, impotent and bed-rid,(35) scarcely hears Of this his nephew's purpose, to suppress His further gaitPs) herein ; in that the levies. The hsts, and full proportions, are all made Out of his subject : — ^C37) and we here despatch You, good Cornelius, and you, Voltimand, others our For bearers* of this greeting to old Norway ; ForTear- Giving to you no fiirther personal power '"s, i«23. To business'' with the king, more than the scope Of these dilated f articles aUow.Ps) ^ related. Farewell ; and let your haste commend your duty. *''°^- Cor. Vol. In that, and all things, wiU we show our duty. King. We doubt it nothing ; heartily farewell. [Exeunt Voltimand and Cornelius. And now, Laertes, what's the news with you ? You told us of some suit ; What is't, Laertes ? You cannot speak of reason to the Dane, And lose J your voice :° What wouldst thou beg;:so4to3. Laertes, i'623%2. That shall not be my oifer, not thy asking ? The head is not more native to the heart, " CoUeagued with the dream] i. e. united with this wild conceit. * power to business] i. e. for the purpose of, commission to transact, business. •^ You cannot speak of reason to the Dane, And lose your voice] i. e. of any matter fit to be brought under discussion, and throw away your labour. 14 HAMLET, act i. The hand more instrumental to the mouth. Than is the throne of Denmark to thy father." What wouldst thou have, Laertes ? Laer. Dread my lord. Your leave and favour" to retiun to France ; From whence though willingly I came to Denmark, To show my duty in yoiu: coronation ; Yet now, I must confess, that duty done. My thoughts and wishes bend again toward France, And bow them to your gracious leave and pardon. King. Have you your father's leave ? What says Polonius ? Pol. He hath, my lord, [wrung from me my slow leave. By laboursome petition ; and, at last. Upon his wiU I seal'd my hard consent :]" I do beseech you, give him leave to go. King. Take thy fair hour, Laertes! time be thine! And thy best graces spend it at thy will !■* But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son, — ' ■ The head is not more native, &c.] i. e. " the principal parts of the body are not more natural^ instrumental, or necessary to each other, than is the throne natural to, and a machine acted upon and imder the guidance of, your father." ^ Your leave and favour to return- Bow to your gracious leave and pardon.] i. e. " the favour of your leave, the kind permission." Two substantives with a copulative being here, as is the frequent practise of our author, used for an adjective and substantive : an adjective sense is given to a substantive. See " Law and Heraldry," sc. 1. Horatio. And in a more compressed, in a short-hand, though very intel- ligible, style the same idea is conveyed in Ant. Si CI. III. 6. Oct. " Whereon, I begg'd " His pardon for return." And see " give me grace." lb. III. 2. Th. " Upon his will I seal'd my hard consent"] i. e. " at or upon his earnest and importunate suit, I gave my full and final, thoxigh hardly obtained and reluctant, consent." * Take thy fair hour I time be thine ! And thy best graces spend it at thy will .'] i. e. " catch the auspicious moment ! and may the exercise of thy fairest virtues fill up those its hours, that are wholly at your command !" ' But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son} See " my cousin Capulet." Rom. St Jul. I. 5. Cap. sc. n. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 16 Ham. a little more than kin, and less than kind.(39) ^Aside. King. How is it that the clouds still hang on you ? Ham. Not so, my lord, I am too much i'the sun.(40) Queen. Good Hamlet, cast thy nightly* colour"* niguted. off, 4tos. And let thine eye look hke a friend on Denmark. Do not, for ever, with thy vailed hds," Seek for thy noble father in the dust : Thou know'st, 'tis common; all that livesf musttso4tos. (Jie and 1623. Passing through nature to eternity. Ham. Ay, madam, it is common." Queen. If it be. Why seems it so particular with thee ? Ham. Seems, madam! nay, it is; I know not seems. 'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother. Nor customary suits of solemn black. Nor windy suspiration of forc'd breath,(4i) No, nor the fiiiitftil river in the eye. Nor the dejected haviom: of the visage. Together with all forms, modes, shows J of grief, t shapes. That can denote me truly : These, indeed, seem. For they are actions that a man might play : But I have that within, which passeth show ;('*2) These, but the trappings'* and the suits of woe. King. 'Tis sweet and commendable in your na- ture, Hamlet, * nightly colour] The quartos read flighted : and in Lear, IV. 5, Regan speaks of the "nighted life," of" the dark and blinded Gloster." ^ vailed lids] i. e. cast down. See M. of V. I. 1. Salar. & i. L. L. V. 2. Boyet. "= Ay, madam, it is common] Similar examples of frailty, con- nected with such an event, are the things or occurrences, that, he would have it inferred, were common. . ^ trappings] Trappings are ' furnishings,' as in tear, III. 1 . Kent. IB HAMLET, act i. To give these mourning duties to your father : But, you must know, your father lost a father ; That father lost, lost his ;" and the survivor bound In filial obligation, for some term To do obsequious sorrow :* But to persever In obstinate condolement," is a course Of impious stubbornness ; 'tis unmanly grief: It shows a will most incorrect to heaven ; ^ A heart unfortified, or mind impatient ; An understanding simple and unschool'd. For what, we know, must be, and is as common As any the most vulgar thing to sense," Why should we, in our peevish opposition. Take it to heart ? Fye ! 'tis a fault to heaven, A fault against the dead, a fault to nature. To reason most absurd ; whose common theme Is death of fathers, and who still hath cried. From the first corse, till he that died to-day. This must be so. We pray you, throw to earth This imprevaiKng' woe ; and think of us As of a father : for let the world take note, " That father lost, lost Aw] i. e. " that lost father (of your father, i. e. your grandfather) or father so lost, lost his." •> do obsequioits sorrow] i. e. " foUow with becoming and ceremonious observance the memory of the deceased.'" See III,. H. VI. II. 5. Father. & M. W. of W. IV. 2. Falst. We have " Shed obsequious tears upon his trunk." Tit. Andr. V. 3. Luc. " obstinate condolement'] i. e. ceaseless and unremitted ex- pression of grief. ^ incorrect to heaven'] i. e. " contumacious towards." ' as common As any the most vulgar thing to sense] To sense is as " ad- dressed to sense ; in every hour's occurrence offering itself to our observation and feelings." " Most sure and vulgar." Lear, IV. 6. Gent, f unprevailing] i. e. fruitless, unprofitable, or more directly rendered, vmavailing. Such is Dryden's use of the word : " He may often prevail himself of the same advantages in English." Essay on dramatic Poetry. " Prevail yourself of what occasion ^ves." Ahs. Sr Achit. This use of the word seems to have been borrowed immediately from the French ' se prhaloir.' sen. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 17 You are the most immediate" to our throne ; And, with no less nobiUty of love. Than that which dearest father bears his son. Do I impart towards* you.(*3) Por yo\ur intent « toward. In going back to school in Wittenberg, ^"'^' It is most retrograde to our desire : And, we beseech you, bend you** to remain Here, in the cheer and comfort of our eye. Our chiefest courtier, cousin, and our son. Queen. Let not thy mother lose her prayers, Hamlet ; I pray thee, stay with us, go not to Wittenberg. Ham. I shall in aU my best obey you, madam. King. Why, 'tis a loving and a fair reply ; Be as ourself in Denmark. — Madam, come ; This gentle and unforc'd accord of Hamlet Sits smihng to my heart :° in grace whereof,* No jocund health, that Denmark drinks to-day,(44) But the great cannon to the clouds shall tell ; And the king's rouse the heaven shall bruit again,(^^) Re-speaking earthly thunder. Come away. [Exeunt King, Queen, Lords, ^c. Polonius, and Laertes. Ham. O, that this too too soUd flesh would melt. Thaw, and resolve itself C'*^) into a dew! Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd His canon (*7) 'gainst self-slaughter ! O God ! O God! How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Itos^^"" Seemsf to me all the uses of this world ! Fye on't ! O fye ! J 'tis an unweeded garden, t so 4tos. That grows to seed ; things rank, and gross in nature, 1^523^32. Possess it merely.* That it should come to this ! But two months dead ! — ^nay, not so much, not two : » immediate] In Lear, IV. 3. Reg. he uses immediately for union the most direct and scarce divisible. * bend you] i. e. dispose, incline. <■ Sits smiling to my heart] i. e. gladdens : to is at. d in grace whereof] i. e. respectful regard or honour. To grace which, would here be the prose reading. e merely] i. e. wholly. See Temp. I. 1. Anton. C 18 HAMLET, ^ct i. So excellent a king ; that was, to this, Hyperion to a satyr :(^8) so loving to my mother, * So and That he might not beteem*^^^) the winds of heaven Ifos!""' Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth ! beteene. Must I remember ? why, she would hang on him, 1623,32. ^g .£ increase of appetite had grown By what it fed on.C^o) And yet, within a month, — Let me not think on't ; — Frailty, thy name is woman A little month ; or ere those shoes were old. With which she foUow'd my poor father's body. Like Niobe, all tears ; — why she, even she, — O heaven ! a beast, that wants discourse of reason,* Would have moum'd longer, — married with my uncle. My father's brother ; but no more hke my father. Than I to Hercules : Within a month ; Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears t in. 4tos. Had left the flushing off her galled eyes. She married : — O most wicked speed, to post With such dexterity to incestuous sheets ! It is not, nor it cannot come to, good ; But break, my heart : for I must hold my tongue ! Enter Horatiq, Barnardo, and Marcellus. HoR. Hail to your lordship ! Ham. I am glad to see you well : Horatio, — or I do forget myself, HoR. The same, my lord, and your poor servant ever. * Discourse of reason] Faculty of discussing and reasoning, deduction or arrangement : as in Tr. 8; Cr. II. 2. Hect. and Haml. IV. 4. H. and discourse of thought. Othel. IV. 2. Desd. Boswell instances the preface to Davys' s Reports .- " And this idea have I conceived of him, not out of mine own imagination, or weak discourse of reason :" and Saville's Tacitus' Agricola, 1591. p. 292. " Agricola, though brought up in the field, upon a naturall wit and discourse of reason" (naturali prudentia) &c. cap. ix. sc. //. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 19 Ham. Sir, my good friend ; I'll change that name with you.* And what make you from Wittenberg, Horatio ? — Marcellus ? Mar. My good lord, Ham. I am very glad to see you ; good even,(5i) sir. But what, in faith," make you" from Wittenberg? Hob. a truant disposition, good my lord. Ham. I would not hear your enemy say so ; Nor shall you do mine ear that violence. To make it truster of your own report Against yourself: I know, you are no truant. But what is your affair in Elsinore ? We'll teach you to drink deep, ere you depart. HoR. My lord, I came to see your father's funeral. Ham. I pray thee, do not mock me, fellow-student; I think, it was to see my mother's wedding. Hob. Indeed, my lord, it followed hard upon. Ham. Thrift, thrift, Horatio! the funeral bak'd meats (52) Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables. Would I had met my dearest foeC^^) j^ heaven Ere* I had ever seen that day, Horatio ! — * Or. 4to. My father, — Methinks, I see my father. Hob. Where, My lord ? Ham. In my mind's eye,(54) Horatio. Hob. I saw him once, he was a goodly king.* Ham. He was a man, take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again. Hob. My lord, I think I saw him yesternight. » ril change that name with you] i. e. reciprocally use : I'll put myself upon an exact level with. '' infaithl i. e. faithfully and honestlyj in pure and simple verity ; forsooth is not dissimilar. ' But what make you] i. e. is your object ? Are you doing ? See M. W. of W. IV. 2. Mrs. Page. 1 goodly king] See " goodliest," H. VIII. IV. 2. 3 Gent. 20 HAMLET, mt i. Ham. Saw! who? HoR. My lord, the king your father. Ham. The king my father ! * God's. HoR. Season your admiration for a while* i603,which With an attent ear ; till I may deliver, the' Statute ^pou the wituess of these gentlemen, HI Jac. c. This marvel to you. ding "the ' Ham. For heaven's* love, let me hear. orthTsa"-^^ HoR. Two nights together had these gentlemen, cred name. MarceUus and Barnardo, on their watch, t vast. In the dead f waste (^5) and middle of the night, 1603. Been thus encounter'd. A figure Mke your father, Arm'd at aU points (5^) exactly, cap-a-pe. Appears before them, and, with solemn march. Goes slow and stately by them : thrice he waJk'd By their oppress'd and fear-surprized eyes, : distiued. Within his truncheon's length ; whilst they, bestill'd J 4tos. and Almost to jelly with the act of fear,(5^^ Stand dumb, and speak not to him. This to me In dreadful secrecy impart they did ; And I with them, the third night kept the watch : Where, as they had deliver'd, both in time. Form of the thing, each word made true and good. The apparition comes : I knew your father ; These hands are not more like. Ham. But where was this ? Mar. My lord, upon the platform where we watch'd. Ham. Did you not speak to it U^^) HoR. My lord, I did ; But answer made it none : yet once, me thought," * Season your admiration for a while With an attent ear"} i. e. by close attention qualiiy or restrain the expression of your astonishment. '' me thought'] " II me semble que." Colloquia S( Dictionar. octo linguarum. Middelb. 1631. signat. E. 3. " me forthynkyth" penitet me. Biblioth. Eliotce. 1559. So in Todd's Diet. •' me think, Sax. mihi videtur." sc. II. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 21 It lifted up its head, and did address* Itself to motion, like as it would speak : But, even then, the morning cock crew loud-/^^) And at the sound it shrunk in haste away. And vanish'd from our sight. Hjm. 'Tis very strange. Hon. As I do Uve, my honour'd lord, 'tis true ; And we did think it writ down" in our duty. To let you know of it. Hjm. Indeed, indeed, sirs, but this troubles me. Hold you the watch to-night ? Bom* We do, my lord. Ham. Arm'd, say you ? Both.* Arm'd, my lord. * ah. 4tos. Ham. From top to toe ? Both.* My lord, from head to foot. Ham. Then saw you not His face ? HoR. O, yes, my lord ; he wore his beaver up.^^") Ham. What, look'd he frowningly ? HoR. A countenance more In sorrow than in anger. Ham. Pale, or red ? HoR. Nay, very pale. Ham. And fix'd his eyes upon you ? HoR. Most constantly. Ham. I would, I had been there. HoR. It would have much amaz'd you. Ham. Very hke. Very hke : Stay'd it long ? HoR. While one with moderate haste might tell a hundred. All. Longer, longer. » address] i. e. make ready. See M. N. Dr. V. 1. Phil. ^ writ down] i. e. prescribed by. 22 HAMLET, act i. Hon. Not when I saw it. » grissi'd. Ham. His beard was grizly?* no. ^'°' HoR. It was, as I have seen it in his life, A sable silver'd.^^'^ Ham. I wiU watch to-night ; Perchance, 'twill walk again. HoR. I warrant, it will. Ham. If it assume my noble father's person, rU speak to it, though hell itself should gape. And bid me hold my peace. I pray you all. If you have hitherto conceal'd this sight, t tenable. Let it be treble* in your silence stiU;^^^) 1603.^°^ And whatsoever else shall hap to-night. Give it an understanding, but no tongue ; I will requite your loves : So, fare you well : Upon the platform, 'twixt eleven and twelve, I'll visit you. All. Our duty to your honour. Ham. Your loves, as mine to you : Farewell. \Exeunt Horatio, Marcellus, awe? Barnardo. My father's spirit in arms ! all is not weE ; I doubt some foul play : 'would, the night were come ! Till then sit still, my soul : Foul deeds will rise. Though all the earth o'erwhelm them, to men's eyes. \Exit. SCENE IH. A Room in Polonius' House. Enter Laertes and Ophelia. Laer. My necessaries are embark'd ; farewell : And, sister, as the winds give benefit,* And convoy is assistant, do not sleep. But let me hear from you. Oph. Do you doubt that ? * henefif] Favourable means. " With the next benefit o' the wind." Cymh. IV. 3. Capt. sc. III. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 23 Laer. For Hamlet, and the trifling" of his favours. Hold it a fashion, and a toy in blood ; A violet in the youth of primy" nature, * Forward," not permanent, sweet, not lasting, » so 4tos. The [perfiime and] supphance of a minute ;" f«SrJo No more. "^^'^^• Oph. No more but so ? Laer. Think it no more : For nature, crescent,f does not grow alone t cressant. In thews,' and bulk ; but, as this % temple waxes, °- ^• The inward service of the mind and soul j So4tos. Grows wide withal.(63) Perhaps, he loves you now ; 32'; ^^^^' And now no soil, nor cauteV doth besmirch The virtue of his will :§(6*) but, you must'fear,^ § So4tos. His greatness weigh'd, his will is not his own ; 32"" ^^^^' For he himself is subject to his birth : He may not, as unvalued persons do. Carve for himself! for on his choice depends " trifling of his favours] i. e. gay and thoughtless intimation. * primy] i. e. springtide^ youthy. See " happiness and prime." AlVs well &c. II. 1. King. ■^ Forward, not permanent] Early, ripe before due season, and thence having in it the principles of premature decay. ^ suppliance] i. e. the means of filling up the vacancy. Mr. Steevens finds the word in Chapman's Iliad, IX. " By my suppliance given." ^ thews'] i. e. sinews, muscular strength. See 17. H. IV. III. 2. Falst. ^ cautel] " Crafty way to deceave." Mnstow. " Breakinge his faithfuU promise j through which cautell the Gothes were deceyved." Arth. Goldyng's Aretine's Warres betw. the Impe- rialists and Gothes. 8vo. 1563. p. 93,'b. " We say, that a theft, or pickerie is done with a good grace when the cautels and subtilities of thieves and thieving is well observed." North's Philbert's Philosopher of the Court. 18mo. 1575. p. 95. See " caught with cautelous baits and practise." Coriol. IV. 1. C. 8 TTie virtue of his wiU — must fear] By giving a reading, which could not otherwise have been ascertained, the value of the quartos is felt. The reading of the folios is plainly a mis- print by the eye catching, and giving the same word twice. And see " better heed and judgment." II. 3. Pol. instead of speed, the reading of the folios : and the omission of a line, necessary to the sense, " Whether aught, to us unknown, &c." II. 2. King. 24 HAMLET, act u * Safety The saiictity and health of the* whole state ; of rich, not gaudy] " Eimi fiaXo ra Tepi eo-STjra fiXoKaXog, aXKa fir) KaX\a);rtTi)£." Zsocrate* advising Demonicus. " yourself shall keep the key of if] Thence it shall not be dis- missed, till you think it needless to retain it. ^ Given private time to you] i. e. spent his time in private visits to you. ^ as so 'tis put on me] i. e. suggested to, impressed on. sc. in. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 27 And that in way of caution,) I must tell you. You do not understand yourself so clearly. As it behoves my daughter, and your honour : What is between" you ? give me up the truth. Oph. He hath, my lord, of late, made many tenders Of his affection to me. Pol. AiFection ? puh ! you speak like a green girl. Unsifted' in such perilous circumstance. Do you believe his tenders, as you call them ? Oph. I do not know, my lord, what I should think. Pol. Marry, I'll teach you : think yourself a baby ; That you have ta'en these* tenders for true pay, * so 4toa. Which are not sterhng. Tender yourself more ^^^- ^^2^' dearly ;C74) Or (not to crack the wind of the poor phrase. Roaming it thus,) (^5) you'll tender me a fool. Oph. My lord, he hath importun'd me with love. In honourable fashion. Pol. Ay,f fashion you may call it ; go to, go to. ^ j q q Oph. And hath given countenance to his speech, qu™"^*" my lord. With Jail the [holy] vows of heaven. j almost Pol. Ay, springes to catch woodcocks." I do^ " know. When the blood burns, how prodigal the soul Lends § the tongue vows : these blazes, daughter, § so 4to. Giving more light than heat,— extinct in both, giVes.1623, Even in their promise, as it is a making, — You must not take for fire. From \\ this time, n so 4to3. Be somewhat scanter* of your maiden presence ; ^or. 1623, " is between] i. e. has passed, intercourse bad. ^ green girl. Unsifted] " raw, unwinnowed or exercised." See " greenly," IV. 5. King. <= woodcocks] i. e. witless things. See M. ado, &c. V. 1. Claud. d scanter] i. e. " more sparing ; " cui aliquid deest." Skinn. See " scantling." Tr. & Cr. I. 3. Nest. 4tos 28 HAMLET, act i. Set your entreatments* at a higher rate, parie. Than a command to parley.* For lord Hamlet, Believe so much in him. That he is yomig ; t Teder. p^^^ vvith a largcrf tether" may he walk. Than may be given you : In few, Opheha, Do not beheve his vows : for they are brokers^^^) J that die. Not of the eye J which their investments" show. But mere implorators of unholy suits. Breathing like sanctified and pious bonds,^^') The better to beguile. This is for all, — I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth, § So 4tos. Have you so slander any moment's § leisure,** 1623, 32. As to give words or talk with the lord Hamlet. Look to't, I charge you ; come your ways.^ Oph. I shall obey, my lord. \TExeunt. SCENE IV. The Platform. Enter Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus. Ham. The air bites shrewdly ; it is very cold. Hon. It is a nipping and an eager air.(78) Ham. What hour now ? Hon. I think, it lacks of twelve. MAn. No, it is struck. Hon. Indeed ? I heard it not ; it then draws near the season, " entreatmenU'\ i. e. opportunities of entreating or parley. Johnson derives it from entretien, Fr. " larger tether] i. e. rope or license. "= of the eye, which tfteir investments show} i. e. " of the cast or character, that character of purity, which their garb, or assumed expression of passion, bespeaks." ■> slander any moment's leisure"] i. e. abuse, let in reproach upon. " come your ways'] All's well &c. II. I. Laf. sc. IV. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 29 Wherein the spirit held his wont to walk.Cs) [A Flourish of Trumpets, and Ordnance shot off, within. What does this mean, my lord ? Ham. The king doth wakeC^o) to-night, and takes his rouse,(8i) Keeps wassels* and the swaggering up-spring reels ; * Wassei. And, as he drains his draughts of Rhenish down, *"'■ The kettle-drum and trumpet thus bray out The triumph of his pledge. HoR. Is it a custom ? Ham. Ay, marry, is't : Butf to my mind, — though I am native here, t so 4tos. And to the manner born, — ^it is a custom ^^^- "^ » More honour'd in the breach, than the observance. [This heavy-headed revel, east and west," Makes us traduc'd, and tax'd of other nations ; They clepe us drunkards, and with swinish phrase Soil our addition ;" and, indeed it takes From omr achievements, though perform'd at height," The pith and marrow of our attribute.'^ So, oft it chances in particular men. That, for some vicious mole of nature ° in them. As, in their birth,^^^) (-wrherein they are not guilty. Since nature cannot choose his origin,) By the o'ergrowth of some complexion. " east and west] i. e. every where : from the rising to the setting sun. '' clepe us drunkards, and with swinish phrase Soil our addition'] i. e. disparage us by using as character- istic of uSj terms that imply or impute swinish properties, that fix a swinish " addition" or title to our names. " Addition earned," &c. Tr. Sf Cr. IV. 5. Ajax. Clepe, clypian. Sax. to call. "= at height] i. e. to the utmost, topping every thing. ^ pith of our attribute] i. e. the best and utmost of all we can challenge or make pretension to. See " much attribute he hath." Tr. 8; Cr. I. 3. Agam. « mole of nature] i. e. natural blemish. " For marks descried in man's nativity " Are nature's fault, not their own infamy." Rape of Lucrece. Malone. 30 HAMLET, act i. Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason ; Or by some habit, that too much o'er-leavens The form of plausive manners ;" that these men," Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect ; Being nature's Hvery, or fortune's star," Their virtues else (be they as pure as grace. As infinite as man may undergo,)'^ Shall in the general censure take corruption" * ease. 4to. From that particular fault : The dram of ill* eaie. 4to. -p^^j^ ^^^ ^j^^ ^^y^ substauce ofteu dout,t To his own scandal.] (^3) t of a doubt. 4tos. Enter Ghost. HoR. Look, my lord, it comes ! Ham. Angels and ministers of grace defend us ! — Be thou a spirit of health, or goblin damn'd,(^*) Bring with thee airs from heaven, (^s) or blasts from hell. » plausive manners] This word seems to be used here in the sense of" what generallyrecommends, is admired or applauded ;" andj as, under the loose usage of that day, was the case with plausible: " such carriage in his appareU, gesture and conver- sation, as in his owne country is most plausible and best ap- proved." Dallington's Method of Travell from a view of France, as it stood 1598. 4to. sign. c. 2. In All's well &c. plausive has been twice used for admirable. I. 2. King. III. 1. ParoUes. ■> It chances — that for some vicious mole of nature, — Or by some habit — that these men] To connect the sentence, we must before " that these men" supply " it happens," or something to that effect. The sense of the latter part of the speech is, A little vice wiU often obliterate all a man's good qualities ; and the effect is, that the vice becomes scandalous, i. e. offensive j being taken for his predominating " complexion," as above, or character. ■^ nature's livery, or fortune's star] i. e. the vesture or garb in which nature clothes us ; the humour innate or complexion born with us : or some casualty or fataUty, the influence of the star of fortune or chance. So " the vesture of creation." Othel. II. I. Cass. ■1 undergo] i. e. support, take upon you. So M.for M.l. 1. Esc. " To undergo such ample grace and honour." « censure take corruption] i. e. " estimate become tainted." sc. IK PRINCE OF DENMARK. 31 Be thy intents* wicked, or charitable, * so4tos. Thou com'st in such a questionable shape,^^^) events. That I will speak to thee ; I'll call thee, Hamlet, ' King, father, royal Dane : O, O, answer me ; Let me not burst in ignorance ! (8?) but tell. Why thy canoniz'd bones, hearsed in death,^ Have burst their cerements!" why the sepulchre. Wherein we saw thee qviietly in-iuu'd. Hath op'd his ponderous and marble jaws. To cast thee up again ! What may this mean. That thou, dead corse, again, in complete steel,(88) f Revisits thus the ghmpses of the moon, tRevisitst. Making night hideous ; and we fools of nature,(89) i^sz. So horridly to shake our disposition," With thoughts beyond the* reaches J of our souls ? : So4tos. Say, why is this ? wherefore ? what should we do ? ^^^°^- HoR. It beckons you to go away with it, i623'"2 As if it some impartment did desire To you alone. Mar. Look, with what courteous action It wafts§ you to a more removed ground : § "^aves. But do not go with it. teoi * HoR. No, by no means. * canoniz'd hones, hearsed in deathi i. e. " that have received all the formal rites and ceremonies of sepulture, that the offices of the church prescribe." Mr. Blakeway observes that through- out our author caribnizd has the accent thrown on the second syllable ; and instances K. John twice in III. 1. and TV. if Cr. II. 2. and Massinger's Virgin Martyr, III. 1 : " That have canbniz'd them you'll find them worse.'' And the Fatal Dowry : " What the canbniz'd Spartan ladies were." •> cerements] i. e. waxen envelope. ■^ dispositiori\ i.e. frame of mind j oraffectionof bodyandmind. ^ beyond the reaches of] This is sufficiently obvious ; and is not brought forward (as was " the virtue of his will," sc. 3. Laert.) to point out the value of the quartos, but the incom- petency rather than the inattention of the editor of the folio of 1632 : in which the grossest errors of this description in the first folio are generally copied ; although alterations, the most arbitrary and every way unwarranted, are therein very frequently made. 32 HAMLET, act i. Ham. It will not speak ; then I will follow it. HoR. Do not, my lord. Ham. Why, what should be the fear ? I do not set my h'fe at a pin's fee ;(90) And, for my soul, what can it do to that. Being a thing immortal as itself? It waves me forth again ; — I'll follow it. HoR. What, if it tempt you toward the flood, * Somnet. i j 4tos. my lord. Sonnet. Or to the dreadful summit* of the diff, ' ■ That beetles o'er his base into the sea ?(^*) t So4tos. And there assume f some other horrible form, i6^2T32 Which might deprive your sovereignty of reason,^^^) ' ' And draw you into madness ? think of it : [The very place puts toys of desperation. Without more motive, into every brain, That looks so many fathoms to the sea. And hears it roar beneath. (83)j : waves. Ham. It wafts J me'' still : — ^'°'- Go on, I'll follow thee. Mar. You shall not go, my lord. Ham. Hold off your hands. HoR. Be rul'd, you shall not go. Ham. My fate cries out. And makes each petty artery in this body As hardy as the Nemean hon's nerve. — (s*) [Ghost beckons. Still am I call'd ? — ^unhand me, gentlemen ; — [Breaking from them. By heaven, I'll make a ghost of him that lets'" me : — I say, away : — Go on, I'll follow thee. [Exeunt Ghost and Hamlet. HoR. He waxes desperate with imagination. Mar. Let's follow ; 'tis not fit thus to obey him. » wafts me] i. e. beckons ; as in terms Horatio has just said, and in the sense in which it had been just used by Marcellus. The quartos give wave in every instance here : and in conveying this idea the motion of the hand has the undulation of a wave. *> lets] i. e. obstructs. sc. V. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 33 HoR. Have after:* — To what issue will this come? Mar. Something is rotten in the state of Den- mark. HoR. Heaven will direct it.* Mar. Nay, let's follow him. \Exeunt. SCENE V. A more remote Fart of the Platform. Re-enter Ghost and Hamlet. Ham. Where * wilt thou lead me ? Speak, I'll go * whether. no further. f°^^^ Ghost. Mark me. Ham. I will. Ghost. My hour is almost come. When I to sulphurous and tormenting flames Must render up myself. Ham. Alas, poor ghost ! Ghost. Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing To what I shall unfold. Ham. Speak, I am bound to hear. Ghost. So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear. Ham. What? Ghost. I am thy father's spirit ; Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night ; And, for the day, confin'd to fast in fire,^^^) Till the foul crimes, done in my days of nature. Are burnt and purg'd away.C^s) gut that I am forbid To tell the secrets of my prison-house, I could a tale unfold, whose hghtest word " Have after] i. e. take, or betake yourself, after ! follow ! ^ Heaven will direct it] i. e. " the state of Denmark," to health and soundness. 34 HAMLET, act i. Would harrow up thy soul ; * freeze thy young blood ; Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres ; (^^) » knotted. Thy knotty* and combined locks to part, ^*''*' And each particular hair to stand on end,* t porpea- Like quills upon the fretfril porcupine :f tine. o. c. g^^ i-jjjg eternal blazon must not be jiist.ust, To ears of flesh and blood i^^^) — List, Hamlet, J O list. 4tos. Q Jjgt j If thou didst ever thy dear father love, § God. 4tos. Ham. O heaven ! § &1603. Ghost. Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder. Ham. Murder? Ghost. Murder most foul, as in the best it is ; But this most foul, strange, and unnatviral. II so4tos. Ham. Haste me to know it ; that I, with || wings ?"''*' as swift that with. As meditation, or the thoughts oflove,^^^) with.' 1*632. May sweep to my revenge. Ghost. I find thee apt ; And duller should'st thou be than the fat weed 1[ rootes. That rots^ itself in ease on Lethe wharf,(i'"') 1603 ^ Would'st thou not stir in this. Now, Hamlet, hear : 'Tis** given out, that sleeping in mine orchard," *# So 4tos. 1603. & 1603. ' A serpent stung me ; so the whole ear of Denmark it^s. 1623, jg by a forged process* of my death Rankly abus'd : but know, thou noble youth, ttteart. The Serpent that did sting thy father's hfe,f •!■ Now wears his crown. Ham. O, my prophetick soul ! my uncle ! " harrow up thy souT\ i. e. agitate and convulse. See I. 1. Horat. '' hair to stand on end] A common image of that day. " Standing as frighted with erected haire." Drayton's Moses his Birth, B. II. 4to. 1633. "= orchard] i. e. garden. See Jul. Cces. II. Orchard the scene. * forged process] i. e. report of proceedings. SC. V. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 35 * So 4tos. hath. 1623, 32. t So 4tos. this. 1623, 32. Ghost. Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast,(ioi) With witchcraft of his wits, with* traitorous gifts, (O wicked wit, and gifts, that have the power So to seduce !) won to hisf shameful lust The will of my most seeming virtuous queen : O, Hamlet, what a falling off was there ! From me, whose love was of that dignity. That it went hand in hand even with the vow I made to her in marriage ; and to decline Upon a wretch," whose natural gifts were poor To those of mine ! But virtue, as it never will be mov'd. Though levv^dness court it in a shape of heaven ; So lust, though to a radiant angel link'd. Will sate J itself in a celestial bed. And prey on garbage.(i''2) But, soft ! methinks, I scent the morning § air ; Brief let me be : — Sleeping within mine orchard. My custom always in || the afternoon, Upon my secure^ hour thy uncle stole. With juice of cursed hebenon^i*'^) in a vial. And in the porches of mine ears did pour The leperous distilment ; whose effect Holds such an enmity with the blood of man. That, swift as quicksilver, it courses through The natural gates and alleys of the body ; And, with a sudden vigour, it doth posset And curd, like eager ^ droppings into milk," The thin and wholesome blood : so did it mine ; And a most instant tetter bark'd** about. Most lazar-like, with vile and loathsome crust. All my smooth body. Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand. Of life, of crown, of queen, at once despatch'd:*ttttdeprij i So 1623, 32. would sate — 'from, 4to. 1603. sort. 4tos. § So 4tos. morning's. 1623, 32. II of. 4tos. H SD4tos. & 1603. Aygre. 1623, 32. * * So 4tos. bak'd.l623, 32. And all my smooth body, barked,and tetter'd over. 1603. " Decline upon a wretchl i. e. with degradation stoop to. See Tr. 8f Cr. IV. 5. Nestor. ^ secure] i. e. unguarded. <: eager droppings into milk'] i. e. sharp, acid. Aigre, Fr. d despatch'd] i. e. " quickly bereaved, despoiled." 4tos< 36 HAMLET, act t. Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin, Unhousel'd, disappointed, unanel'd ;(!'''*) No reckoning nlade, but sent to my account With all my imperfections on my head : O, horrible ! O, horrible ! most horrible ! If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not ; Let not the royal bed of Denmark be A couch for luxury" and damned incest. But, howsoever thou pursu'st this act. Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive Against thy mother aught ; leave her to heaven. And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge. To prick and sting her. Fare thee well at once ! The glow-worm shows the matin to be near. And 'gins to pale his unefiPectual fire r^^^s) adieii. Adieu, adieu, Hamlet !* remember me. [Exit. Ham. O all you host of heaven ! O earth ! What else? And shall I couple hell ?— O fye ! * — Hold, my heart ! And you, my sinews, grow not instant old. But bear me stiffly up !— Remember thee ? Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat In this distracted globe. Remember thee ? Yea, from the table of my memoryC^"^) I'll vnpe away all trivial fond records. All saws of books," all forms, all pressures past/ That youth and observation copied there ; And thy commandment all alone shall hve Within the book and volume of my brain, Unmix'd with baser matter : yes, yes, by heaven. O most pernicious woman ! O villain, villain, smihng, damned villain ! My tables, my tables — meet it is, I set it down, That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain ; " luxury] i. e. lasciviousness. See Tr. if Cr. V. 2. Thersit. ^ And shalll couple hell ? — Ofye! — ] 1. e. mend thy thought ! stain not thy mind with an association so unfit and unworthy. <= saws of hooks'] i. e. maxims, sayings. See song at the end of L. L. L. " prisiures past] i. e. impressions heretofore made. sc. r. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 37 At least, I am sure, it may be so in Denmark : [ Writing. So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word ;^i<*7) It is. Adieu, adieu ! * remember me. * Adew. I have sworn't. tws'^t'' HoR. [ Witliin\ My lord, my lord, Mar. [ WitUri\ Lord Hamlet,- HoR. [ Within] Heaven secure him ! MAB.f Sobeit!t^^A/i. HoR. [ Within'] lUo, ho, ho, my lord ! ^'°'- Hjm. Hillo, ho,ho, boy ! (i<'8)come, bird.t come-Cics) : and, 4tos, Enter Horatio and Marcellus, Mar. How is't, my noble lord ? HoR. What news, my lord ? Ham. O, wonderful! HoR. Good my lord, tell it. Ham. No ; You'U reveal it. HoR. Not I, my lord, by heaven. Mar. Nor I, my lord. Ham. How say you then ; would heart of man once think it ? But you'll be secret, — — HoR. Mar. Ay, by heaven, my lord. Ham. There's ne'er a villain, dwelling in all Denmark, But he's an arrant knave. HoR. There needs no ghost, my lord, come from the grave. To tell us this. Ham. Why, right ; you are in the right ; And so, without more circumstance at all, I hold it fit, that we shake hands, and part : You, as your business, and desire, shall point you ; For every man has § business, and desire, ^j^^*' 38 HAMLET, act i. Such as it is, — and, for my own poor part. Look you, I'll go pray. •whuriiag. HoR. Thesc are but wild and hurling* words,* 4tos. & ™y \oxA. 1603. J ^"^"• Ham. I am sorry they offend you, heartily ; yes, 'Faith, heartily. HoR. There's no offence, my lord. Ham. Yes, by Saint Patrick,(iio) but there is, my t Horatio. lord 'h And much offence too. Touching this vision here. It is an honest ghost, that let me tell you : For your desire to know what is between us, O'er-master 't^ as you may. And now, good friends. As you are friends, scholars, and soldiers. Give me one poor request. HoR. What is't, my lord ? ■ We will. Ham. Never make known what you have seen to-night. HoR. Mar. My lord, we v^dll not. Ham. Nay, but swear't. HoR. In faith. My lord, not 1. Mar. Nor I, my lord, in faith. Ham. Upon my sword. Mar. We have sworn, my lord, already. Ham. Indeed, upon my sword, indeed. Ghost. [BeneatK] Swear. Ham. Ha, ha, boy ! say'st thou so 1 art thou there, true-penny ?(i") Come on, — you hear this fellow in the cellerage. Consent to swear. HoR. Propose the oath, my lord. ^ wild and hurling] i. e. random, thrown out with no specific aim. *> O'er-master 't] i. e. get the better of it. sc. V. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 39 Ham. Never to speak of this that you have seen. Swear by my sword.^^i^) Ghost. [Beneath'] Swear. Ham. Hie 8^ ubiquel then we'll shift our**So4tos. ground : — ^°''- ^"^3. Come hither, gentlemen. And lay your hands again upon my sword : Never to speak of this that you have heard. Swear by my swol-d. Ghost. [Beneath] Swear [by his sword]. Ham. Well said, old mole! can'st work i'the grOUndf so fast ? t earth. A worthy pioneer! — Once more- remove, good*'"*' friends. HoR. O day and night," but this is wondrous strange ! Ham. And therefore as a stranger give itwelcome.'' There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in our J philosophy. t your. But come ; ^°^^^ Here, as before,(ii3) never, so help you mercy ! How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself, § times. As I, perchance, hereafter shall think meet leos.* To put an antick disposition on, — ^^^^^^ That you, at such time § seeing me, never shall, head- With arms encumber'd thus,'' or thus|| head-shake, J^'^o'g*"'' Or by pronouncing of some doubtful •[[ phrase. As, Well, we know; — or. We could, an if ^cenouncing would; — or. If we list to speak ; — or. There be, ^'^ ^""uX'j' if there ** might ; — i603. Or such ambiguous giving out, to note *» they. 4tos. Si 1603. " O day and night] A petty adjuration, or proverbial excla- mation, by reference to the inscrutable ways of Providence, ex- pressive of the pitiable ignorance of man, as well in the scheme of the universe as in the nature and constitution of his own Being. See M. W. of W. III. 1. Mrs. Page ; and H. VIII. V. 2. K. Hen. ^ give it welcome] i. e. receive it courteously and compliantly. ■= arms encumber'd thus] i. e. close pressed upon each other, folded. 40 HAMLET, act i. sc. r. Tiiis do That you know aught of me : — This do you swear,* reare. g^ grace and mercy at your most need help you ! swear ! sweare 4tos. swear ! Ghost. [BeneatJi] Swear. Ham. Rest, rest, perturbed spirit !("*) So, gentle- men. With all my love I do commend me to you : And what so poor a man as Hamlet is May do, to express his love and friending to you, God willing, shall not lack.'' Let us go in together ; And still your fingers on your lips, I pray. The time is out of joint ; — O cursed spite ! That ever I was bom to set it right ! Nay, come, let's go together. [Exeunt. * friending to you — shall not lack] i. e. disposition to serve you shall not be wanting. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 41 ACT II. SCENE I. A Room in Polonius's House, Enter Polonius and Reynoldo. Pol. Give him this* money, and these notes, * go 4tos, Reynoldo. his. 1623, Rey. I will, my lord. Pol. You shall do marvellous f wisely, goodtso4tos. Reynoldo, marvels. Before you visit him, you make inquiry t Of his behaviour. V^^^f Rey. My lord, I did intend it. ""''• Pol. Marry, well said : very well said.d) Look you, sir. Inquire me first what Danskers® are in Paris ; And how, and who, what means, and where they keep. What company, at what expence ; and finding. By this encompassment and drift* of question. That they do know my son, come you more nearer § ^ ng^re. Than yoiu: particular demands will touch it i* i632. Take you, as 'twere, some distant knowledge of him; As thus, 1 1 — / know his father, and his friends, 11 so 4tos, And, in part, him; — Do you mark this, Reynoldo ? ^2^' '®^^' Rey. Ay, very well, my lord. Pol. And, in part, him ; — but, you may say, not well: " encompassment and drift"] i. e. winding and circuitous course. *> Than your particular demands will touch it] i. e. than such inquiry into particulars is likely to reach. Then, taken in its now sole accepted sense, would give a clear meaning : but than at that time was almost ever, as in the Old Copies it is here, spelt then ; and by that spelling was meant to be so used here. 42 HAMLET, ytcT ii. But, ift be he I mean, he's very wild; Addicted so and so ; — and there put on him^ What forgeries you please ; marry, none so rarik As may dishonour him ; take heed of that ; But, sir, such wanton, wild, and usual slips. As are companions noted and most known To youth and liberty. Rey. As gaming, my lord. Pol. Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing, quar- reUing,* Drabbing : — You may go so far. Rey. My lord, that would dishonour him. Pol. 'Faith, no; as you may season it in the charge." You must not put another'^ scandal on him. That he is open to incontinency ; That's not my meaning : but breathe his faults so quaintly. That they may seem the taints of hberty : The flash and out-break of a fiery mind ; A savageness in unreclaimed blood. Of general assault.^ Rey. But, my good lord, Pol. Wherefore should you do this ? Rey. Ay, my lord, I would know that. * put on him — ranlc] i. e. impute to him — ^gross. '' fencing, quarrelling] " Their cunning is now applied to quarrelling they thinke themselves no men, if, for stirring of a straw, they prove not their valure upon some bodies fleshe." Gosson's Schoole of Abuse, 1579. Malone. ■^ 'Faith, no ; as you may season it in the charge^ i. e. manage it, by throwing in some qualifying ingredient. ^ another scandal. That he is open to, &c.] i. e. a different and a further charge ; that he is a professed libertine. * Breathe his faults so quamtly — Of general assauW] i.e. glance with an easy gaiety at his faults, as the mischiefs of too large a range, and the wildness of untamed blood, by which all youth is assailed. " Quaint Ariel," Tempest, I. 2. Prosp. is " delicate." sc. I. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 43 ^^^- Marry, sir, here's my drift ; And, I believe, it is a fetch of warrant :" You laying these slight sullies on my son. As 'twere a thing a little soil'd i'the working," Mark you. Your party in converse," him you would sound. Having ever seen in the prenominate crimes. The youth you breathe of, guilty, be assur'd. He closes with you in this consequence ; ^ Good sir, or so ; or friend, or gentleman, — According to the phrase, and* the addition, * or. 4to9. Of man, and country.(3) ■K^r. Very good, my lord. Pol. And then, sir, does he this, — He does — What was I about to say ?— [By the mass,] I was about to say something : f— Where did I leave ? t nothing. Rey. At, closes in the consequence. ^^^^' At friend, or so, and gentleman. Pol. At, closes in the consequence, — Ai/, marry ; He closes with you thus : — / know the gentleman / / saw him yesterday, or f other day. Or then, or then ; with such, or^ such ; and, as you say, j So 4tos. There was he gaming ; there o'ertook in's rouse ; ^' ^^^^' There falling out at tennis : or, perchance, I saw him enter such a house of sale,% lightness!' (Videlicet, a brothel,) or so forth. — \f>J^- f\^^- bee you now ; Your bait of falsehood takes this carp 1 1 of truth : " l^l 1 623, 32. * fetch of warrant] i. e. device approved. ^ As 'twere a thing a little soil'd i'the working] i. e. as having in his commerce with the world unavoidably contracted some smaJl blemishes. '^ Your party in converse] Puttenham uses much the same phrase : " The common conversant." Arte of Poesie, 4to. 1589, p. 251. * closes in this consequence] i. e. something to this effect, falls in with you into this conclusion. = carp of truth] This alone is sufficient to establish the value of the 4tos. ; as no conjecture could have reached it ; or, if it had, could have made it satisfactory. 44 HAMLET, act ii. And thus do we of wisdom and of reach. With Avindlaces, and with assays of bias,W By indirections find directions out ; So, by my former lecture and advice. Shall you my son : You have me,* have you not ? Rey. My lord, I have. • buy. Pol. God be wi'*you ; fare you well. Srough- Rey. Good my lord,- out. Pol. Observe his inchnation in yourself.^^) Rey. I shall, my lord. Pol. And let him ply his musick. Rey. Well, my lord. [Exit. Enter Ophelia. Pol. Farewell! — How now, Opheha ? What's the matter ? t o, my Oph. Alas, my lord,f my lord, I have been so SZ. afirighted! Pol. With what, in the name of heaven ? J closet. Oph. My lord, as I was sewing in my chamber, J 4tos. Lord Hamlet, — vnth. his doublet all unbrac'd ; No hat upon his head ; his stockings foul'd, Ungarter'd, and down-gyved to his ancle ;(^) Pale as his shirt ; his knees knocking each other ; And with a look so piteous in purport. As if he had been loosed out of hell. To speak of horrors, — ^he comes before me. Pol. Mad for thy love ? Oph. My lord, I do not know ; But, truly, I do fear it. Pol. What said he ? Oph. He took me by the wrist, and held me hard ; Then goes he to the length of all his arm ; And, with his other hand thus o'er his brow, * You have me] i, e, take, conceive, me ; have my meaning. crosse. 1603. sc. t. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 45 He falls to such perusal of my face. As he would draw it. Long staid he so ; At last, — a little shaking of mine arm. And thrice his head thus waving up and down,— He rais'd a sigh so piteous and profound. That* it did seem to shatter all his bulk,* * as. jtos And end his being : That done, he lets me go : And, with his head over his shoulder tum'd. He seem'd to find his way without his eyes ; For out o'doors he went vdthout their help. And, to the last, bended their light on me. Pol. Gof with me ; I will go seek the king. t come, This is the very ecstasy of love ; «°- ^'°^- Whose violent property foredoes '' itself. And leads the will to desperate undertakings, As oft as any passion under heaven. That does afflict our natures. I am sorry, — What, have you given him any hard % words of late ? * Oph. No, my good lord; but, as you did com- mand, I did repel his letters, and denied His access to me. Pol. That hath made him mad. I am sorry, that with better heed§ and judgment, § so4tos, I had not quoted him.W I fear'd, he did but trifle, 1^23^-32 And meant to wrreck thee ; but, beshrew" my jea- lousy ! It seems, it is as proper to our age To cast beyond ourselves in our opinions. As it is common for the younger sort To lack discretion.® Come, go we to the king : This must be known; which, being kept close, might move More grief to hide, than hate to utter love.W Come. [Exeunt. * his bulk'] i. e. whole frame. See R. III. I. 4. Clar. •> foredoes] i. e. brings to a premature end, destroys. See Haml. V. 1. Haml. "^ beslirew my jealousy] i. e. a mischief on ! See M. N. Dr. 11. 3. Hermia. 46 HAMLET, act ii. SCENE II. A Room in the Castle. Enter King, Queen, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Attendants. King. Welcome, dear Rosencrantz, and Guilden- stern! Moreover that we much did long to see you. The need, we have to use you, did provoke Our hasty sending. Something have you heard Of Hamlet's transformation ; so I call it, • sith nor. Since not* the exterior nor the inward man *"'^" Resembles that it was : What it should be. More than his father's death, that thus hath put him So much from the understanding of himself, t dream. I caunot deeme f of : " I entreat you both, '""'■ That, being of so young days brought up vnth him ; And, since, so neighbour'd to" his youth and hu- : haviour. mour, — X 4tos. That you vouchsafe your rest" here in our court Some Httle time : so by your companies To draw him on to pleasures ; and to gather, § occasion. So much as from occasions! you may glean, 4tos. [Whether aught, to us unknown, afflicts him thus,] That, open'd, lies within our remedy. Queen. Good gentlemen, he hath much talk'd of you ; And, sure I am, two men there are not li^dng. To whom he more adheres. If it will please you To show us so much gentry,** and good will. * the understanding of himself, I cannot deeme q/"] i. e. the just estimate of himself I cannot judge of, or comprehend. *> neighbour'd to] i. e. close familiarity with. ' vouchsafe your resti i. e. please to reside. * gentry] i. e. gentle courtesy. sc. u. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 47 As to expend your time with us a while. For the supply and profit^ of our hope. Your visitationCio) shall receive such thanks As fits a king's remembrance. ^os. Both your majesties Might, by the sovereign power you have of us,* Put your dread pleasures more into command Than to entreaty. GviL. We* both obey; * But we. And here give up ourselves, in the full bent," 4tos. To lay our services f freely at your feet, ^ service. To be commanded. 4tos. King. Thanks, Rosencrantz, and gentle Guil- denstern. Queen. Thanks, Guildenstern, and gentle Ro- sencrantz : And I beseech you instantly to visit My too much changed son. Go, some of you. And bring these gentlemen where Hamlet is. GuiL. Heavens make our presence, and our practices. Pleasant and helpful to him ! QvEEN. Amen ! [Exeunt Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and some Attendants. Enter Polonius. Pol. The embassadors from Norway, my good lord. Are joyftdly return'd. King. Thou still hast been the father of good news.* " For the supply and profit] i. e. in aid and furtherance. ^ of us] i. e. over us. <^ in the full bent] i. e. to the full stretch and range. It is a term derived from archery. See M. ado Sfc. II. 3. Bened. '' the father of good news] i. e. he, from whom it sprung or ■was derived. 4tos. 48 HAMLET, act n. Pol. Have I, my lord? Assure you, my good liege, I hold my duty, as I hold my soul, * and. 4tos. Both to my God, one* to my gracious king: & 1603. ^^ J Jq think, (or else this brain of mine t so4tos. Hunts not the trail of policy^") so sure 1623^32. ^^ ^*t ^^^^ "s'd to do,) that I have found The very cause J of Hamlet's lunacy. leosf '' King. O, speak of that ; that do I long to hear. Pol. Give first admittance to the embassadors ; fruit. My news shall be the news!'' to that great feast. King. Thyself do grace* to them, and bring them in. [Exit Polonius. II deere He tells me, my sweet Queen, that|| he hath found he hath.^' ^^^ head and source of all your son's distemper. 4tos. Queen. I doubt it is no other but the main ;(^2) His father's death, and our o'erhasty marriage. Re-enter Polonius, with Voltimand and Cornelius. King. Well, we shall sift him. Welcome, [my] good Mends ! Say, Voltimand, what from our brother Norway ? Volt. Most fair return of greetings, and desires. Upon our first," he sent out to suppress His nephew's levies ; which to him appear'd To be a preparation 'gainst the Polack ; But, better look'd into, he truly found It was against your highness : Whereat griev'd. That so his sickness, age, and impotence, Was falsely borne in hand,(i3) — sends out arrests* On Fortinbras ; which he, in brief, obeys ; " My news shall be the news] Fruit is the reading of the quartos. By news must be meant the talk or leading topic at, '' grace] i. e. the honours. ' Upon our first] i. e. audience, or opening of our business, d sends out arrests'] i. e. he issues. See " drew," Lear II. 4. Kent ; where I is understood. ' sen. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 49 Receives rebuke from Norway ; and, in fine. Makes vow before his uncle, never more To give th' assay of arms against your majesty. Whereon old Norway, overcome with joy. Gives him three thousand crowns in annual fee," And his commission, to employ those soldiers. So levied as before, against the Polack : With an entreaty, herein fiirther shown, \_Gives a Paper. That it might please you to give quiet pass Through your dominions for his* enterprize ; • this. On such regards of safety, and allowance, t^at! 1603. As therein are set down. King. It likes us well ;(i4) And, at our more consider'd time,*" we'll read. Answer, and think upon this business. Mean time, we thank you for your well-took labour : Go to your rest ; at night we'll feast together : Most welcome home ! \_Exeunt Voltimand and Cornelius. Pol. This business is very wellf ended, t is weii. My liege, and madam, to expostulate "= ■*'"'■ What majesty should be, what duty is. Why day is day, night, night, and time is time. Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time. Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit. And tediousness the hmbs and outward flourishes, — I wiU be brief: Your noble son is mad : » three thousand crowns in annual fee] i. e. a ffeud or fee (in land) of that yearly value. Ritson. See "pin's/ee," Haml. 1.4. Haml. *> At our considered time'] i. e. the past being used for that which is in prospect ; " when we have more time for consi- dering." <= expostulate'] i. e. to show by discussion, to put the pros and cons, to answer demands upon the question. Expose is an old term of similar import. About to be separated. TV. 8; Cr. IV. 4 : " Nay, we must use expostulation kindly." " Pausanias had now opportunity to visit her and to expostulate the favourable deceit, whereby she had caused his jealousie." Stanley's Aurore, 8vo. 1650. p. 44. 50 HAMLET, act ii. Mad call I it : for to define true madness. What is't, but to be nothing else but mad : But let that go. Queen. More matter, with less art. Pol. Madam, I swear, I use no art at all. That he is mad, 'tis true : 'tis true, 'tis pity ; And pity 'tis, 'tis true : a foolish figure ; But farewell it, for I will use no art. Mad let us grant him then : and now remains. That we find out the cause of this effect ; Or, rather say, the cause of this defect^, For this effect, defective, comes by cause : Thus it remains, and the remainder thus.^i^^ Perpend. I have a daughter ; have, while she is mine ; ^ Who, in her duty and obedience, mark. Hath given me this : Now gather, and surmise. [Reads] To the celestial, and my soul's idol, the most ^ beautified^^^^ Ophelia, That's an ill phrase, a vile phrase ; beautified is a vile * Thus: in. phrase ; but you shall hear. These,* In her excellent white bosom, these.^^'^^ Queen. Came this from Hamlet to her ? Pol. Good madam, stay awhile ; I wiU be faith- fiil.— Doubt thou, the stars are fire ; [Reads. Doubt, that the sun doth move : Doubt truth to be a liar ; But never doubt, I love. O dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers;" I have " while she is mine'] The original 1603 in this place adds, " for that -we thinke is surest, we often loose." I* beautijied'] The corresponding passage in 1603 eives " beautifull." "^ I am ill at these numbers'] No talent for, knack at, or " I am ill at reckoning." L. L. L. I. 2. Arm. " The world is like an ill foole in a play." Rogers's Christian Curtesie. A Sermon, 4to. 1621, p. 46. 4tos. sc. II. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 51 not art to reckon my groans : but that I love thee best, O most bestj^^^ believe it. Adieu. Thine evermore, most dear lady, whilst this machine is to him,"- Hamlet. * shown. This, in obedience, hath my daughter showed* me : '**°^- And more above,f hath his sohcitings,J(i9) t about. As they fell out by time, by means, and place, ^"''" All given to mine ear. + ^°'?™' " ing. 1523, King. But how hath she 32. Receiv'd his love ? Pol. What do you think of me ? King, As of a man faithful and honourable. Pol. I would fain prove so. But what might you think. When I had seen this hot love on the vnng, (As I perceiv'd it, I must tell you that. Before my daughter told me,) what might you. Or my dear majesty your queen here, think. If I had play'd the desk, or table-book ; Or given my heart a winking, mute and dumb ; Or look'd upon this love with idle sight ; (20) What might you think? no, I went round to work,^^^^ feo"" And my young mistress thus did I bespeak ; sphere. Lord Hamlet is a prince out of thy ^star^ ig32* This must not be: and then I precepts || gave her. That she should lock herself from his resort, II pre- Admit no messengers, receive no tokens. Ttoa!'^ Which done, she took the fruits of my advice;'' " Whilst this machine is to him] i. e. belongs to, obeys his impulse ; so long as he is " a sensible warm motion." M.jfor M. III. 1. Claud. ^ out of thy star] i. e. of a constellation of a higher class or order. The quarto 1611 also gives star, and in II. 7- King, we have " the star moves not but in his sphere." In AlVs Well Sfc. I. 1. Helena says : " 'Twere as I should love a bright particular star, " And think to wed it, he is so above me. " In his bright radiance and collateral light " Must I be comforted ; not in his sphere." ' Which done, she took the fruits of my advice ,] i. e. she took the fruits of advice when she obeyed advice ; the advice was then made fruitful. Johnson. 52 HAMLET, act n. * repei'd. And he, repulsed,* (a short tale to make,) 4tos. pg|2 juto a sadness ; then into a fast ;(22) Thence to a watch ; " thence into a weakness ; ^ . Thence to a Ughtness ; and, by this declension, 4tos. '"' Into the madness whereon f now he raves, : mourn. And all we wailej for, 4to3. King. Do you think, 'tis this ? Mike.4to. Queen. It may be, very likely. § Pol. Hath there been such a time, (I'd fain know that,) That I have positively said, 'Tis so. When it prov'd otherwise ? King. Not that I know. Pol. Take this from this, if this be otherwise : [Pointing to his Head and Shoulder, If circmnstances lead me, I will find Were truth is hid, though it were hid indeed Within the centre. King. How may we try it further ? Pol. You know, sometimes he walks four hours together. Here in the lobby. does. Queen. So he has,|| indeed. Pol. At such a time I'll loose my daughter to him: Be you and I behind an arras* then ; Mark the encounter : if he love her not. And be not from his reason fallen thereon. Let me be no assistant for a state, 1[ But. And^ keep a farm, and carters. King. We wiU try it. * watch'] i. e. sleepless state. •> behind an arras] i. e. hangings of the room. See I. H IV II. 4. Pr. Hen. 4tos. 4tos, sc. 11. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 53 Enter Hamlet, reading. Queen. But, look, where sadly the poor wretch comes reading. Pol. Away, I do beseech you, both away ; I'll boord* him presently :" — O, give me leave. — * bord. Exeunt King, Queen, and Attendants. '**°'" How does my good lord Hamlet ? Hjm. Well, god-'a-mercy. Pol. Do you know me, my lord ? Ham. Excellent, excellent well ; you are a fish- monger.'' Pol. Not I, my lord. Hjm. Then I would you were so honest a man. Pol. Honest, my lord ? Ham. Ay, sir : to be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of two f thousand. t ten. Pol. That's very true my lord. Ham. For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a good kissing carrion, Have you a daughter ? Pol. I have, my lord. Ham. Let her not walk i'the sun : conception is a blessing; but not J as your daughter may con- 1 but as. ceive, — ^fnend, look to't.(23) Pol. How say you by that ? [Aside.l StiU harp- ing on my daughter :^yet he knew me not at first ; he said, I was a fishmonger : He is far gone, far gone : and, truly in my youth I suffered much ex- tremity for love ; very near this. I'll speak to him again. — What do you read, my lord ? Ham. Words, words, words. •^ ril boord him presently'] i. e. accost, address, Fr. aborder. See Tw. N. I. 3. Sir Tob. •> a fishmonger'] i. e. a wencher. " Senex fornicator," an " o\A fishmonger." Barnabe Rich's Irish Hubbub. 54 HAMLET, act ii. Pol. What is the matter, my lord ? Hjm. Between who ?* * read. PoL. I mean, the matter that you mean, * my 4tos. ioi.(j_ t rogue. Ham. SlanderSj sir : for the satirical slave f says ""■ here that old men have grey beards ; that their faces are wrinkled; their eyes purging thick amber, and plum-tree gum ; and that they have a plentiful lack t with of wit, together with most weak J hams : All of r623,'32. which, sir, though I most powerfully and potently believe, yet I hold it not honesty to have it thus set § for your- dowu : for you yourself, sir, should § be old as I grow oki. ^^) if like a crab, you could go backward. *'°^' Pol. Though this be madness, yet there's method in it. \_Aside.'] Will you walk out of the air, my lord ? Ham. Into my grave ? Pol. Indeed, that is out o'the air. — How preg- nant sometimes his replies* are! a happiness that often madness hits on, which reason and sanity could not so prosperously be delivered of. I will leave him, and suddenly contrive the means of meeting between him and my daughter. — My honourable lord, I will most hiunbly take my leave of you. Ham. You cannot, sir, take from me any thing that I will more willingly part vdthal ; except my life, except my Hfe, my life. Pol. Fare you well, my lord. Ham. These tedious old fools ! Enter Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Pol. You go to seek the lord Hamlet ; there he is. i?05. God save you, sir ! [To Polonius. [Exit POLONIUS. " between who] Used indifferently for whom. " Who to advance." Temp. V. 2. Prosp. ^ how pregnant his replies] i. e. big with meaning. We have " dull and unpregnant" at the end of this scene. Haml. " Quick and preg-nawt capacities." Puttenham' s ^rte o/Poesie. p. 154. sc. II. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 55 GviL. My honour'd lord ! — Ros. My most dear lord ! — Ham. My excellent good friends ! How dost thou, Guildenstern ? Ah, Rosencrantz! Good lads, how do ye both ? Ros. As the indifferent children of the earth.* GviL. Happy, in that we are not overhappy ; On fortune's cap we are not the very button. Ham. Nor the soles of her shoe ? Ros. Neither, my lord. Ham. Then you live about her * waist, or in the * wast. middle of her favours ? o- ^■ GuiL. 'Faith, her privates we.* Ham. In the secret parts of fortune ? O, most true ; she is a strumpet. What's the news ? Ros. None, my lord ; but that the world's grown honest. Ham. Then is dooms-day near : But your news is not true. Let me question more in particular : What have you, my good friends, deserved at the hands of fortune, that she sends you to prison hither ? GuiL. Prison, my lord ! Ham. Denmark's a prison. Ros. Then is the world one. Ham. a goodly one ; in which there are many confines, wards and dungeons ; Denmark being one of the worst. Ros. We think not so, my lord. Ham. Why, then 'tis none to you ; for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so : to me it is a prison. Ros. Why, then yoiu- ambition makes it one ; 'tis too narrow for your mind. « the indifferent children of the earth'] i. e. who, not lifted too high, are, as is said, indifferently well oif. ^ 'Faith, her privates we] One sense at least here is the mili- tary one, of not being in authority or command. 66 HAMLET, act n. Ham. O God ! I could be bounded in a nut-shell, and count myself a king of infinite space ; were it not that I have bad dreams. GuiL. Which dreams, indeed, are ambition; for the very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream.(24) Ham. a dream itself is but a shadow. Ros. Truly, and I hold ambition of so airy and light a quahty, that it is but a shadow's shadow. Ham. Then are our beggars, bodies; and our monarchs, and outstretch'd heroes, the beggars' sha- dows:^ Shall we to the court? for, by my fay, I cannot reason. Ros. GuiL. We'll wait upon you. Ham. No such matter : I will not sort you with the rest of my servants ; for, to speak to you hke an honest man, I am most dreadfully attended. But, in the beaten way of fiiendship," what make you at Elsinore ? Ros. To visit you, my lord; no other occasion. Ham. Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks; but I thank you : and sure, dear friends, my thanks are too dear, a hal^enny." Were you not sent for ? Is it your own inchning ? Is it a free visitation ? Come, deal justly with me : come, come ; nay, speak. Why any' GuiL. What should WB Say, my lord ? toThepur- Ham. Any thing — ^but to the purpose.* You pose: 1623, ^gj.g ggjj^ f^j.. ^nd there is a kind of confession in " Then are our beggars bodies — and our outstretch'd heroes the beggars' shadows'] i. e. at this rate, and, if it be true, that lofty aims are no more than air, our beggars only have the nature of substance ; and our monarchs and those who are blazoned so far abroad, as to be thought materially to fiU so much spare, are in fact shadows, and in imagination only gigantic. •> beaten way of friendship] i. e. plain track, open and unce- remonious course. ■^ too dear a halfpenny] i. e. at a halfpenny ; at so small, or, indeed at any price. If valued as the return for any thing, such cost is beyond their, or its, worth. sc. n. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 57 your looks, which your modesties have not craft enough to colour: I know, the good king and queen have sent for you. Ros. To what end, my lord ? Ham. That you must teach me. But let me conjure you, by the rights of our fellowship, by the consonancy of our youth,* by the obligation of our ever-preserved love, and by what more dear a better proposer"" could charge you withal, be even" and direct with me, whether you were sent for, or no ? Ros. What say you? [To Guildenstern. Ham. Nay, then, I have an eye of you ; * [Aside.] — ^if you love me, hold not off. GuiL. My lord, we were sent for. Ham. I will tell you why ; so shall my anticipa- tion prevent your discovery,* and your secrecy to* So4tos. the king and queen moult no feather.'' I have of late, of^yourle- (but, wherefore, I know not,) lost all my mirth, for- crecy — gone all custom of exercises: and, indeed, it goesi623°32. so heavily f with my disposition, that this goodly^ so4tos. frame, the earth, seems to me a steril promontory ; heareniy. this most excellent canopy, the air, look you, this^^^^'^^' brave o'erhanging, J this majestical roof fretted with I o'erhang- golden fire,(25) why, it appears no other thing § to me, mfnt."4tos. than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours, .^j^ What apiece of work is a man ! How noble in reason ! nothing. how infinite in faculties ! in form, and moving, how*'°^" ' rights of our fellowship and consonancy of our youth"] i. e. habits of familiar intercourse and correspondent years. •> a better proposer] i. e. an advocate of more address in shaping his aims, who could make a stronger appeal. <= even] i. e. without inclination any way. ^ Nay then, I have an eye of you] i. e. upon or after you, a sharp look out. « so shall my anticipation prevent your discovery, and your se- crecy to the king moult no feather.] i. e. be beforehand with your discovery, and the plume and gloss of your secret pledge be in no feather shed or tarnished. The reading is from the 4tos. 58 HAMLET, act ii. express^ and admirable! in action, how like an angel ! in apprehension, how like a god ! the beauty of the world ! the paragon'' of animals ! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? man dehghts not me, nor woman neither ; though, by your smil- ing, you seem to say so. Ros. My lord, there is no such stuff in my thoughts. Hjm. Why did you laugh [then] when I said, Man delights not mef Ros. To think, my lord, if you delight not in man, what lenten entertainmentC^e) the players shall receive from you: we coated them on the way; (2?) and hither are they coming, to offer you service. Hjm. He that plays the king, shall be welcome ; his majesty shall have tribute of me : the adven- turous knight shall use his foil, and target; the lover shall not sigh gratis ; the humorous man shall end his part in peace :" the clown shall make those • that are laugh,* whose luugs are tickled o'the sere ; (^8) and the tickled in jg^jjy gjja^^ ga^y ]^gj. mind freely,(29) or the blank verse 1603. " shall halt for't. — What players are they ? Ros. Even those you were wont to take [such] delight in, the tragedians of the city. Ham. How chances it, they travel?* their re- sidence, both in reputation and profit, was better both ways. Ros. I think, their inhibition comes by the means of the late innovation.^^o) * express] i. e. according to pattern, justly and perfectly mo- deUed. •" paragon] i. e. model of perfection. See Two G. of V. II. 4. Prot. *= The humorous man shall end his part in peace] i. e. the fret- ful or capricious man shall vent the whole of his spleen undis- turbed. ^ travet] Become strollers. Malone cites the Poetaster: " thou shalt not need to travell, with thy pumps fuU of gravel any more, after a blind jade and a hamper, and stalk upon boords and barrel-heads to an old crackt trumpet." sc. II. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 59 Ham. Do they hold the same estimation they did when I was in the city ? Are they so followed ? Ros. No, indeed, they are not. \_Ham. How comes it ? Do they grow rusty 1 Ros. Nay, their endeavour keeps in their wonted pace : But there is, sir, an ayrie of children,(3i) Uttle yases,(32) that cry out on the top of question,(33) and are most tyrannically clapped for't:(34) these are now the fashion ; and so berattle* the common * so 1632. stages, (so they call them) that many, wearing ra- ^*^^*i*<^- piers, are afraid of goose quills,* and dare scarce come thither. Ham. What, are they children ? who maintains them ? how are they escoted 1^ Will they pursue the quality" no longer than they can sing?* will they not say afterwards, if they should grow them- selves to* common players, (as it is like most,*^ if their means are not better,) their writers do them Avrong, to make them exclaim against their own succession?^ Ros. 'Faith, there has been much to do on both " goose quills] i. e. lampoons. b escoied] i.e. paid. Escoi, Fr. a sort of reckoning. Johnson. = pursue the quality] i. e. the calling. Malone cites Gosson's Schoole of Abuse, 1579 : " Over-lashing in apparell is so common a fault, that the verye hyerlings of some of our plaiers, which stand at the reversion of vis. by the weeke, jet mider gentle- men's noses in sutes of silke, exercising themselves in pratyng on the stage 1 speak not this, as though every one, that professeth the qualitie, so abused himselfe." And M. Mason, Massinger's Roman Actor : " In these, as being chief of thy profession, " I do accuse the quality of treason." Aretin. "1 no longer than they can sing] i. e. keep their voices. « grow themselves to] i. e. advance themselves, shoot up to. f like most] Most like, or likely, is the modern turn of the phrase. e exclaim against their own succession] i. e. by another sort of outcry traduce that profession, to which they must look, as an inheritance or future provision. 4tos, 60 HAMLET, ^ct ii. sides; and the nation holds it no sin, to tarre them^ to controversy: there was, for a while, no money bid for argument, luiless the poet and the player went to cuffs in the question. Ham. Is it possible ? GuiL. O, there has been much throwing about of brains.* Ham. Do the boys carry it away 1 Ros. Ay, that they do, my lord ; Hercules and his load too."] not very. Ham, It is uot *strange : for my uncle(35) is king of Denmark ; and those, that would make mowes* at him while my father lived, give twenty, forty, fifty, an hundred ducats a-piece for his picture in t so,4tos. little.^ ['Sblood,f] there is something in this more than natural, if philosophy could find it out. [Flourish of Trumpets within. GuiL. There are the players. Ham. Gentlemen, you are welcome to Elsinore. Your hands. Come [then:] the appurtenance of welcome is fashion and ceremony : let me comply J this. 'vn\h. you in the J garb ;^ lest my extent to^ the 4tos. players, which, I teU you, must show fairly outward, should more appear like entertainment than yours. You are welcome : but my uncle-father, and aunt- mother, are deceived. * to tarre theni] i. e. set them on. See K. John, IV. 1. Arth. '• throwing about of brains] i. e. sharp and nice discussion. = Hercules and his load too] i. e. " every thing before them." Steevens observes, " the allusion may be to the Globe playhouse on the Bankside, the sign of which was Hercules carrying the Globe; as for a time he did in ease of the labours of Atlas." ■* make mowes at hini] i. e. use antic gestures, mockery. See Temp. II. 2. Calib. The quartos read mouths. = in little] i. e. in miniature. See III. 4. Haml. f comply with you in the garb] i. e. compliantly assume this dress and fashion of behaviour. See Haml. of Osric, V. 2. e my extent to] i. e. the degree of courtesy dealt out. ^ entertainment] i. e. acceptance of service, kind reception. sc. a. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 61 GuiL. In what, my dear lord? Ham. I am but mad north-north west : when the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a hand- saw.(36) Enter Polonius. Pol. Well be with you, gentlemen ! Ham. Hark you, Guildenstem; — and you too; — at each ear a hearer : that great baby, you see there, is not yet out of his swathing-clouts. Ros. Haply, he's the second time come to them ; for, they say, an old man is tAvice a child. Ham. I will prophecy, he comes to tell me of the players ; mark it, you say right, sir : for o' Monday morning 'twas so indeed. Pol. My lord, I have news to tell you. Ham. My lord, I have news to tell you. When Roscius *an actor in Rome, * was. Pol. The actors are come hither, my lord. Ham. Buz, buz! (37) Pol. Upon my honour, Ham. Then came f each actor on his ass.* tso4tos. Pol. The best actors in the world either for 3""' ' tragedy, comedy, history, pastoral; pastorical-co- mical, historical-pastoral; tragical-historical, tra- gical-comical-historical-^astoral ; scene indivisible or ♦^^s'^y^j'' poem unlimited. Seneca cannot be too heavy, nor^ritandthe Plautus too Ught.(38) For the law of writ and the"^*^^^ liberty, these are the only J men.^^s) the earlier Ham. O JepUhah, judge of Israel, — what a trea- 1623, 32. sure hadst thou! ;„*^°^f'= Pol. What a treasure had he, my lord? J^uh^e Ham. Why — One fair daughter, and no more are the J y o . 7, only men. The which he loved passing well. 4to. 1603. • Then came each actor on his ass] This seems to be a line of a ballad. Johnson. 62 HAMLET, act ii. Pol. Still on my daughter. [Aside. Ham. Am I not i'the right, old Jephthah ? Pol. If you call me Jephthah, my lord, I have a daughter, that I love passing well. Ham. Nay, that follows not. Pol. What follows then, my lord 1 Ham. Why, As by lot, God wot,^^^'^ and then, you know. It came to pass, As most like it was, — The first row of the Pons Chanson^ will show you more ; for look, where my abridgments come.(*i) Enter Four or Five Players. You are welcome, masters; welcome, aU: — I am glad to see thee well : — welcome, good friends. — • vaiian- O, my* old friend! [Why,] thy face is valiant ('*2) s^ieos!^ since I saw thee last : Com'st thou to beard me in Denmark ?^What ! my young lady and mistress! By-'r-lady, your ladyship is nearer to heaven, than when I saw you last, by the altitude of a chop- pine.('*3) Pray God, your voice, like a piece of un- current gold, be not cracked within the ring.C^"*) — Masters, you are all welcome. We'll e'en to't Hke t friendly. French f falconers,(45) fly ^t any thing we see : We'U 4tos. jj^^g ^ speech straight: Come give us a taste of your quality;'' come, a passionate speech. 1 Play. What speech, my lord ? Ham. I heard thee speak me a speech once, — but it was never acted; or, if it was, not above miiiimr ^'^^^^ ^'^^ ^^^ P^^y^ ^ remember, pleased not the leoa?"' milHon;J 'twas caviarie to the General iC*^) but it " row of the Pons Chanson] Row is column or division : Pons Chanson, says Pope, the old ballads, sung on bridges. Hamlet is here repeating ends of old songs. Pans is the reading of the folio of 1632, and one 4to. Pious of the other. The 4to. 1603 for " row of the Pons Chanson" reads " verse of the godly Ballet." •• quality'] i. e. " qualifications, faculty." Hamlet to Rosencr. supra. sc. II. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 63 was (as I received it, and others, whose judgment, in such matters, cried in the top of mine=^) an excellent play: well digested in the scenes, set down with as much modesty as cunning." I re- member, one said, there were* no sallets in the* So4tos. linesj-^ to make the matter savoury ; nor no matter ^|'- ^^^^' in the phrase, that might indite the author of affec- tation ;(47) but called it, an honest method* [as wholesome as sweet, and by very much more hand- some than fine."] One chief speech in it I chiefly loved: (48) 'twas ^Eneas' talef to Dido ; and there- 1 talk. about of it especially, where he speaks of Priam's ^"'^• slaughter : If it Mve in your memory, begin at this hne ; let me see, let me see ; — The rugged Pyrrhus, like the Hyrcanian beast, — 'tis not so ; it begins with Pyrrhus. The rugged Pyrrhus, — he whose sable arms, Black as his purpose, did the night resemble When he lay couched in the ominous horse, Hath now this dread and black complexion smeafd With heraldry more dismal; head to foot Now is he total gules ;X horridly trick' d^^^^ x so, 4tos. With blood of fathers, mothers, daughters, sons ; g°*|ies. Bak'd and impasted^^^^ with the parching streets, 1623,32. That lend a tyrannous and damned light § lord's To their vile murders : § Roasted in wrath and fire, ^^^^'^' And thus o'er-sized' with coagulate gore, viide. 1623, 32. " cried in the top of mine'] i. e. proclaimed not merely in ad- dition to my voice and censure, but with a tone of authority, that mine could not sound. See Rosencr. supra. " Cried out on the top of question." ^ as much modesty as cunning] i. e, " as much propriety and decorum, as skill." ' no saUets in the lines] i. e. licentious jocularity, ribaldry. " For junkets, joci, and for curious sallets, sales." A Banquet of Jests, 1669. Steevens. ■1 an honest method] i. e. plain, subdued and sober. * and by very much more handsome than fine] i. e. with more of elegant and just form and proportion, than of superfluous ornament : and composed in the spirit and taste of the advice just given by Polonius to Laertes as to dress ; " rich, not gaudy." ' o'er-sized] i. e. covered as with glutinous matter. 64 HAMLET, ACT II. * tenable to resist. 1603. f matcli'd. 4tos. + this. 4tos. With eyes like carbuncles ;'^ the hellish Pyrrhus Old grandsire Priam seeks ; [So proceed you.] Pol. Tore God, my lord, well spoken; with good accent, and good discretion. 1 Play, Anon hejinds him Striking too short at Greeks; his antique sword. Rebellious to his arm, lies where it falls. Repugnant* to command: Unequal match,^ Pyrrhus at Priam drives ; in rage, strikes wide ; But with the whiff and wind of his fell sword?' The unnerved father falls. Then senseless Ilium, Seeming to feel his^ blow, with flaming top Stoops to his base ; and with a hideous crash Takes prisoner Pyrrhus' ear : for, lo ! his sword Which was declining^^^^ on the milky head Of reverend Priam, seem'd i' the air to stick: So, as a painted tyrant," Pyrrhus stood; And, like a neutral to his will and matter. Did nothing. But, as we often see, against some storm, A silence in the heavens, the rack^ stand still. The bold winds speechless, and the orb below As hush as death : anon the dreadful thunder * earhuncles\ i. e, jewels, resembling coals. " Noah, shutte uppe in the ark used, as some curious braines have conjectured, a carhuncle or some other radiant precious stone to give light." M. Ant. de Dominis's Sermon, 4to. 1617. p. 69. See Par. Lost, IX. 500. ^ Falls with the whiff and wind of his fell sword] Our author employs the same image in almost the same phrase : " The Grecians /aii " Even in the fan and wind of your fair sword." Tr. 8f Cress. V. 3. Tr. And in the next lines he again appears to have been borrowing from himself : " takes the mountain pine by the top, " And makes him stoop to the vale." Cymb. IV. 2. " His sword seem'd i' the air to stick, ifc] As represented in tapestry hangings, the furniture of the age, in which, as Malone observes, their swords " stick in the air and do nothing." * the rack"] i. e. " the clouds or congregated vapour." See Temp. IV. 1. Prosp. sc. II. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 66 Doth rend the region : So, after Pyrrhus' pause, A roused vengeance sets him new a work; And never did the Cyclops' hammers fall On Mars' s armour, forg'dfor proof eterne,^^^^ With less remorse than Pyrrhus' bleeding sword Now falls on Priam. — Out, out, thou strumpet. Fortune ! All you gods, In general synod, take away her power; Break all the spokes and fellies* from her wheel J^^^)* '"""s- And bowl the round nave down the hill of heaven, *^^^' ^^' As low as to the fiends ! Pol. This is too long. Ham. It shall to the barber's with your beard. — Pr'ythee, say on : — He's for a jig, or a tale of baw-f ahwoei dry/54) or he sleeps : — say on : Come to Hecuba, ^tos^ & 1 Play. But who, O who f had seen the mobled J Queen^^^^ t so4to9. ^ & 1632. Ham. The mobledS queen ? inobied. •^ ^ 1623. Pol. That's good ; mobled [| queen is good. ^ -^^ 1 Play. Run barefoot up and down, threat'ning \\ id. . theflame\ , ^,„,,. With bisson rheum ;^^^'> a clout about** that head,^^"- Where late the diadem stood ; and for a robe, ** upon. About her lank and all o'er-teemed loins, ^'°*' A blanket, in the alarm ff of fear caught up ; tt th' aia- Who this had seen, with tongue in venom steep' d 32"^ ^\^^i. 'Gainst fortune's state would treason have pro- nounc'd: But if the gods themselves did see her then. When she saw Pyrrhus make malicious sport In mincing with his sword her husband's limbs ; The instant burst of clamour that she made, ( Unless things mortal move them not at all,) Would have made milch the burning eyes of heaven, And passion in the gods.^^^^ Pol. Look, whether tt he has not turned his co-:: where. lour, and has tears in's eyes. — Pr'ythee, no more.i^s) • • Ham. 'Tis well ; ■ I'll have thee speak out the rest §§ 5§ of this. soon. — Good my lord, will you see the players well'*""' 66 HAMLET, act ii. bestowed ? Do you hear, let them be well used ; for they are the abstract, and brief chronicles, of the time : After your death you were better have a bad * lire. 4tos. epitaph, than their ill report while you lived.* Pol. My lord, I will use them according to their desert, t much Ham. God's bodikin, man, better :f Use every \fos!' ^^'^ ^ft^J" liis desert, and who shall 'scape whipping ? Use them after your own honour and dignity : The less they deserve, the more merit is in your bounty. Take them in. Pol. Come, sirs. {Exit PoLONius with some of the Players. Ham. Follow him, friends : we'll hear a play to- morrow. — Dost thou hear me, old friend ; can you play the murder of Gonzago ? 1 Play. Aj, my lord. Ham. We'U have it to-morrow night. You could, for a need, study a speech (^^^ of some dozen or six- teen lines, which I would set down, and insert in't ? could you not ? 1 Play. Ay, my lord. Ham. Very well. — Follow that lord; and look you mock him not. {Exit Player.] My good friends, [To Ros. and Guil.J I'll leave you tiU night : you are welcome to Elsinore. 1623I32! Ros. Good my lord ! ^Jjy '°- [Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. § dunghill Ham. Ay, so, God be wi' you : J — Now I am alone. ideote O, what a rogue and peasant slave § am I ! slave. 1603. ig j^ ^^^ monstrous,W that this player here, who°e^'°'" ^^^ ^^ ^ fiction, in a dream of passion, 1623/32. Could force his soul so to his own|| conceit, ^ the That, from her working, all his^ visage warm'd ;(^i) wand. 4tos. Tears in his eyes, distraction in's aspect,** ** in his A broken voice, and his whole function smting,^^^) aspect, ^itj^ fQj.j^g ^Q j^jg conceit ?(63) And all for nothing ! J.X . r. For Hecuba ! "i 'r TO nPI* 4to*. ' What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,ff sc. II. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 67 That he should weep for her ? What would he do. Had he the motive and the cue(64) for passion. That I have ? He would drown the stage with tears. And cleave the general ear with horrid speech ; Make mad the guilty, and appal the free,* Confoxmd the ignorant ; and amaze, indeed. The very faculty of eyes and ears. Yet I, A dvdl and muddy-mettled rascal, peak. Like John a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause,(fi5) And can say nothing ; no, not for a king. Upon whose property, and most dear life, A damn'd defeat was made.* Am I a coward ? Who calls me villain ? breaks my pate across ? Plucks off my beard, and blows it in my face ? Tweaks me by the nose ? gives me the he i'the throat. As deep as to the lungs ? Who does me this ? Ha! Why,* I should take it : for it cannot be, * swounds. But I am pigeon-hver'd, and lack gall '*'°^" To make oppression bitter ; or, ere this, I should have fatted all the region kites With this slave's offal : Bloody,f bawdy villain ! t so 4tos. Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, landless" vil-^^y. ^ lain! 1623,32. O vengeance ! Who ? What an ass am I ? ay sure, this is most brave ; That I, the son of the Dear murdered, J j dear fa- Prompted to my revenge by heaven and heU, dered°4'tos. Must, hke a whore, unpack my heart with words,*^ And fall a cursing, like a very drab, A scullion ! ^ free] i. e. free from offence, guiltless. ^ defeat was made} i. e. overthrow. See M. ado 8fc. IV. 1. Leon. •^ kindless] i. e. unnatural. See " kin and kind," I. 2. Haml. ^ unpack my heart with words] Such was the language of the day. " There are some, that are never well, hut when they are unpacking their bosonies with wordes." I. S'*. Anthropophagus. A Sermon, 4to. 1624. p. 38. 68 HAMLET, act lu sen. Fye upon't ! foh ! About, my brains ! * I have heard. That guilty creatures, sitting at a play,^^^) Have by the very cunning of the scene Been struck so to the soul, that presently They have proclaim'd their malefactions ; For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak With most miraculous organ. I'll have these players Play something like the murder of my father. Before mine uncle : I'll observe his looks ; I'll tent him to the quick ; if he but blench,* I know my course. The spirit, that I have seen. May be the devil : and the devil hath power To assume a pleasing shape ; yea, and, perhaps. Out of my weakness, and my melancholy, (As he is very potent with such spirits,) Abuses me to damn me : I'll have grounds More relative than this :° The play's the thing. Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king. [Exit. =■ about, my brains] i. e. wits, to work. Steevens points out the phrase in Heywood's Iron Age, 1632. '' blench] i. e. shrink, start aside. See M.for M. V. 5. Duke, and Wint. T. I. 2. Camil. ■^ more relative than this] i. e. directly applicable. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 69 ACT III. SCENE I. A Room in the Castle. Enter King, Queen, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosen- CRANTZ, and Guildenstern. King. And can you, by no drift of * circumstance* * confer- Get from him, why he puts on this confusion ; ence.4tos. Grating so harshly all his days of quiet With turbulent and dangerous lunacy ? Ros. He does confess, he feels himself distracted ; But from what cause he will by no means speak. GuiL. Nor do we find him forward ''to be sounded; But, with a crafty madness, keeps aloof. When we would bring him on to some confession Of his true state. Queen. Did he receive you well ? Ros. Most Uke a gentleman. GuiL. But with much forcing of his disposition. Ros. Niggard of question ;" but, of our demands. Most free in his reply. Queen. Did you assay him* To any pastinie ? Ros. Madam, it so fell out, that certain players . " drift of circumstance] i. e. " introduction and shaping of topics and facts." b forward] i. e. disposed, inclinable. <= niggard of question,] i. e. " rarely started any topic, but to our questions most frank and open in answering." ^ assay him to] i. e. " try his disposition towards." See II. 1. Poloh. and 2 Volt. 4tos, 70 HAMLET, act m. We o'er-raught on the way :* of these we told him ; And there did seem in him a kind of joy To hear of it : They are about the court ; And, as I think, they have ahready order This night to play before him. Pol, 'Tis most true : And he beseech'd me to entreat your majesties. To hear and see the matter. King. With all my heart; and it doth much content me To hear him so inclin'd. Good gentlemen, give him a fiirther edge. And ^ve his purpose on to these delights. Ros. We shall, my lord. [Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. two. King. Sweet Gertrude, leave us too :* For we have closely W sent for Hamlet hither ; t so4tos. That he, as 'twere by accident, may heref 1627,' 32. Affront Ophelia:® Her father, and myself (lawful espials,) '' Will so bestow ourselves, that, seeing, unseen. We may of their encounter frankly judge ; And gather by him, as he is behaved. If t be the affliction of his love, or no. That thus he suffers for. Queen. I shall obey you : And, for your part, Ophelia, I do wish. That your good beauties be the happy cause Of Hamlet's wildness : so shall I hope, your virtues Will bring him to his wonted way again. To both your honours. Opb. Madam, I wish it may. [Exit Queen. ' o'er-raught on the way} i. e. reached or overtook. " Was not the samyn misfortoun me over-raucht ?" Gaw. Dougl. Mn. Steevens. '' lawful espials] i. e. " spies justifiably inquisitive." See /. H. VI. I. 4. Master Gunner. sc. /. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 71 Pol. Ophelia, walk you here : Gracious, so please . you. We will bestow ourselves : Read on this book ; [To Ophelia, That show of such an exercise may colour * Your loneliness. "We are oft to blame in this, — 'Tis too much prov'd," that, with devotion's visage. And pious action, we do sugar* o'er * So4tos. The devil himself. ?«^l''oo King. O, 'tis too true ! how smart A lash that speech doth give my conscience ! The harlot's cheek, beautied with plast'ring art. Is not more ugly to the thing that helps it. Than is my deed to my most painted word :" O heavy burden ! [Aside. Pol. I hear him coming ; let's withdraw, my lord. [Exeunt King and Polonius. Enter Hamlet. Ham. To be, or not to be, that is the question : Whether 'tis nobler in the mind, to suifert^) The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,^ And, by opposing, end them ? — To die, — to sleep. No more ;® — and by a sleep, to say we end The heart-ach, and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to : 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wished. To die ; — to sleep ; — To sleep ! perchance to dream ; — ay, there's the rub ; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come. When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,* " colour] i. e. seem to account for. •• too much provd] i. e. found by too frequent experience. Johnson. •= More ugly to the thing that helps it. Than, is my deed to my most painted word.'] To is, in com- parison, with. See All's well SfC. III. 5. Hel. Painted is falsely coloured. ^ when we have shuffied off this mortal coil] Coil is here used 72 HAMLET, - act iii. proude. fardels, 4tus. Must give us pause.^ There's the respect. That makes calamity of so long hfe :* For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,' 4108."""" The oppressor's wrong, the poor * man's contumely," The pangs of dispriz'df love, the law's delay, t despised. ^^^ insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes. When he himself might his quietus make would With a bare bodkin ?(«) who would these fardels J bear. To grunt C) and sweat under a weary life ; But that the dread of something after death. The undiscovered country, from whose bourn No traveller returns,® pvizzles the will ; in each of its senses, that of turmoil or bustle, and that which entwines or wraps round. " This muddy vesture of decay," M. of V.Y. \. Lor. Those folds of mortality ihsx encircle and entangle us. Snakes generally lie in folds like the coils of ropes : and, it is conceived, that an allusion is here had to the struggle which that animal is obliged to make in casting his slough, or extricating himself from the skin, that forms the exterior of this coil. And this he throws off annually. '^ must give us pause] i. e. stop our career, occasion reflection. b There's the respect. That makes calamity of so long life] i. e. the reflection or consideration that makes the evils of life so long submitted to, lived under. ■^ The whips and scorns of time] i. e. those sufferings of body and mind, those stripes and mortifications to which, in its course, the life of man is subjected. Of the " whips of heaven," he speaks in TimoniV. 1. Poet. Bos well points out an enumeration of the evils inseparable from human life as well as a similar phraseology in Bedingfield's Cardanus Comfort, 1 576 : " Hunger, thurste, sleape not so plentiful or quiet as deade me have, heate in som- mer, colde in winter, disorder of tyme, terrour of warres, con- trolement of parentes, cares of wedlocke, studye for children, slouthe of servauntes, contention of sutes, and that (whiche is the moste of all) the condidon of tyme wherein honestye is disdaynd, as folye and crafte is honoured as wisdome." ^ The poor man's contumely] i. e. the slight, the spurnings, to which that condition subjects him. " Ridieulos hominesfacit," says Juvenal, III. 153. The reading of the 4tos. is proud; and certainly that which the one, the proud man, offers, is more in the course of the idea, and a more natural form of speaking, than that which the other, the poor man, suffers. sc. I. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 73 And makes us rather bear those ills we have. Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;" And thus the native hue of resolution Is sickHed o'er with the pale cast of thought ; And enterprizes of great pith and moment/^) With this regard, their currents turn away,* * awry. And lose the name of action.'' — Soft you, now ! " ^'°'' The fair OpheUa : — Nymph, in thy orisons Be all my sins remember'd.C^") Oph. Good my lord. How does your honour for this many a day ?(ii) Ham. I humbly thank you ; well, well, well. Oph. My lord, I have remembrances of yours. That I have longed long to re-dehver ; I pray you, now receive them. Ham. No, no. I never gave you aught. Oph. My honour'd lord. If know right well, you t you. 4tos. did; And, with them, words of so sweet breath compos'd As made the things more rich : their J perfume lost, J j so 4tos. Take these again ; for to the noble mind, then. left. Rich gifts wax poor, when givers prove unkind. There, my lord. Ham. Ha, ha ! are you honest ? Oph. My lord ? Ham. Are you fair ? Oph. What means your lordship ? Ham. That if you be honest, and fair, your honesty should admit no discovirse to your beauty .(^2) " Thus conscience does make cowards of us all] i. e. a state of doubt and uncertainty, a conscious feeling or apprehension, a misgiving " How our audit stands." III. 3. Haml. i* fVith this regard their currents turn away. And lose the name of action'] i. e. from this sole considera- tion have their drifts diverted, and lose the character and name of enterprise. " Soft you, now"] i. e. a gentler pace ! have done with this lofty march ! 1603, 74 HAMLET, act in. \J7\lax ^^"- Could beauty, my lord, have better com- merce * than with f honesty ? ^our° 1623 -^^^- ^y' *"^y ' ^'^^ *^® power of beauty will 32"'' ' sooner transform honesty from what it is to a bawd, than the force of honesty can translate beauty into his Ukeness;" this was some time a paradox, but scope, now the time gives it proof. J I did love you once. Oph. Indeed, my lord, you made me believe so. Ham. You should not have believed me: for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock, but we shall relish of it : " I loved you not. Oph. I was the more deceived. Ham. Get thee to a nunnery; Why would'st thou be a breeder of sinners ? I am myself indif- ferent honest ; but yet I could accuse me of such things, that it were better my mother had not borne me : I am very proud, revengeful, ambitious ; with more offences at my beck, than I have thoughts to § So 4tos. put them in,'' imagination § to give them shape, or them'in time to act them in : What should such fellows as I tio^to ^'^ crawling between earth and heaven ! We are give! 1623, arrant knaves all ; beMeve none of us : Go thy ways ^^' to a nunnery. Where's your father ? Oph. At home, my lord. Ham. Let the doors be shut upon him ; that he may play the fool no way§ but in's own house. Farewell. Oph. O, help him, you sweet heavens ! " his likeness] See " The noble substance dout to his own scandal." I. 4. Haml. ^ inoculate our old stock, but we shall relish of it] i. e. so change the original constitution and properties, as that no smack of them shall remain. " Inoculate our stock" are terms in gardening." ' with more offences at my beck, than I have thoughts to put them in, &c.] i. e. with more vitious dispositions, like evil genii at my elbow, and ready at a nod to start into act, than can dis- tinctly be conceived : for, " to put a thing into thought," Johnson says, is " to think on it." Much in the same manner Malcolm disqualifies himself. Macb. IV. 3. sc. r. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 75 Ham. If thou dost marry, I'll give thee this plague for thy dowry ; Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, go ; farewell : Or, if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool ; for wise men know well enough, what monsters you make of them. To a nunnery, go ; and quickly too. Farewell. * paintings. Oph. O heavenly powers, restore him ! leos. Hjm. 1 have heard of your prattHngs* too, well+fa^e. enough; God hath given you one pace,f and youieos. make yourselves another : you jig, J you amble, and j gi^gg you Hsp,(i3) and nick-name God's creatures, and 1623,32. make your wantonness your ignorance :" Go to ;§^'^' I'll no more oft ; it hath made me mad. I say, we t-ifscurw will have no more marriages : those that are mar- 1603. ried already, all but, one,'' shall live ; the rest shall keep as they are. To a nunnery, go.(i*^ \_Exit Hamlet. Oph. O, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown ! The courtier's, soldier's, scholar's, eye, tongue, sword: (15) The expectancy || and rose of the fair state," h expecta- The glass of fashion,'* and the mould of form,' *'""• *^°^- The observ'd of all observers ! quite, quite down ! And^ I of ladies most deject and wretched, if And. That suck'd the honey of his musick vows,^ feisfsT' " make your wantonness your ignorance'] i. e. you mistake by wanton affectation, and pretend to mistake by ignorance. Johnson. ^ all but one shall live"] One is the king : the folio of 1632 omits live. "= the expectancy and rose of the fair state] i. e. the first hope and fairest flower. " The gracious mark o' the land." Wint. T. IV. 3. Perd. * glass of fashion] i. e. speculum consuetudinis. Cic. Steevens. ^ the mould of form] i. e. the cast, in which is shaped the only perfect form. ^ musick] i. e. musical, mellifluous. " Thomalin, my liefe, thy music strains to hear." Phin. Fletcher's Purple Isl. 4to. 1633, p. 67- 76 HAMLET, act in. Now see that noble and most sovereign reason, * time. fJ^Q sweet bells jangled, out of tune* and harsh ; That unmatch'd form and feature of blown youth. Blasted with ecstacy S^^) O, woe is me ! To have seen what I have seen, see what I see ! Re-enter King, and Polonius. King. Love ! his affections do not that way tend ; Nor what he spake, though it lack'd form a little. Was not hke madness. There's something in his soul. O'er which his melancholy sits on brood ; And, I do doubt, the hatch, and the disclose,* t for to. Will be some danger : Which tof prevent, '^^^' ■ I have, in quick determination. Thus set it down ; He shall with speed to England, For the demand of our neglected tribute : Haply, the seas, and countries different. With variable objects, shall expel This something-settled matter in his heart ; Whereon his brains still beating, puts him thus From fashion of himself. What think you on't ? Pol. It shall do well : But yet I do believe, t his. 4tos. The origin and commencement of this;}: grief Sprung from neglected love.— How now, Ophelia ? You need not tell us what lord Hamlet said ; We heard it aU. — My lord, do as you please ; But, if you hold it fit, after the play. Let his queen mother all alone entreat him To show his grief; let her be round with him ;*• And I'll be placed, so please you, in the ear Of all their conference : If she find him not," To England send him ; or confine him, where Your wisdom best shall think. * disclose] A term technical in the breeding of fowls, for their peeping through the shell. See V. 1. Queen. '' be round with him] See II. 2. Polon. ■^ if she find him not] i. e. make him not out. sc. I, PRINCE OF DENMARK. 77 King. It shall be so : Madness in great ones must not unwatch'd go. [Exeunt. SCENE II. A Hall in the same. Enter Hamlet, and certain Players. Ham. Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pro- nounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue : but if* you mouth it, as many of your players do, I •Maryand. had as Hef f the town-crier spoke my hnes. Nor i^''^. do not saw the air too much, your hand thus ; ^ but use all gently : for in the very torrent, tempest, and o. c.* (as I may say) :}: whirlwind of [your] passion, you^^ ti,g. must acquire and beget a temperance, that mayi623,32. give it smoothness. O, it offends me to the soul, to see§ a robustious periwig-pated fellow^^^Hear a^hear.4tos. passion to tatters, to very rags, to split the ears of* ^^''^• the groundlings ;^i^) who, for the most part, are capable of nothing but inexphcable dumb shows, and noise :(^^) I would have such a fellow whipped for o'er-doing Termagant; (20) itout-herods Herod :(2i) Pray you, avoid it. 1 Play. I warrant your honour. Ham. Be not too tame neither, but let your own discretion be your tutor; suit the action to the word, the word to the action ; with this special ob- servance, that you o'er-step not the modesty of nature : for any thing so overdone is from the pur- pose of playing, whose end, both at the first, and now, was, and is, to hold, as 'twere, the mirror up to nature; to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the '■ thus] i. e. thrown out thus. ^8 HAMLET, act in. time, his form and pressure.* Now this, overdone, or come tardy off," though it make the unskilftil laugh, cannot but make the judicious grieve ; the « of which, censure of the which* One," must, in your allow- ^"'^- ance, o'er-weigh a whole theatre of others.(22) O, there be players, that I have seen play, and heard others praise, and that highly, not to speak it pro- fanely,(23) that, neither having the accent of chris- t So 4tos. tians, nor the gait of christian, pagan, nor man,f manf"'' havc SO Strutted, and bellowed, that I have thought 1623, 32. some of natiire's journeymen had made men, and leos!^"'^''^' not made them well, they imitated humanity so abominably. 1 Play. I hope, we have reformed that indif- ferently* with us. Ham. O, reform it altogether. And let those, that play your clowns, speak no more than is set , down for them :(24) for there be of them, that will themselves laugh, to set on some quantity of barren spectators (25) to laugh too : though, in the mean I point, time, some necessary question^ J of the play be then ^^"^" to be considered: that's villainous; and shows a § 4to. 1603. most pitiful ambition in the fool that uses it. [§And then you have some againe, that keepes one sute of jests, as a man is knowne by one sute of apparell, and Gentlemen quotes his jeastes downe in their tables before they come to the play, as thus : Cannot you stay till I eate my porrige ? and, you owe me a " shew the very age and body of the time, his form and pressure] i. e. hold up and reflect the shape or form, the lively pourtraiture of the age, and exhibit the mould, or (as we say, its form, of the hare) the very impress or indented mark, the pressure of the body of the time. " It is the very air of the time." Tim. IV. 3. Paint. ^ come tardy off] i. e. without spirit or animation ; heavily, sleepingly done. ■^ the censure of the which One] i. e. " the judgment of which one class or description of persons (" one of whom" had been more familiar language) must, by your admission, &c. •^ indifferently] i. e. in a reasonable degree. ^ question^ i. e. point, topic. Seel. I. Barn. sc. II. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 79 quarters wages : and, my coate wants a cuUison :" and, your beere is sowre : and, blabbering with his hps, and thus keeping in his cinkapase of j easts,* when, God knows, the warme Clowne cannot make a jest unless by chance, as the blinde man catcheth a hare : Maisters, tell him of it.] Go, make you ready. [Ilxeunt Players. Enter Polonius, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern. How now, my lord ? wiU the king hear this piece of work ? Pol. And the queen too, and that presently. Ham. Bid the players make haste. l_Exit Polonius, Will you two help to hasten them ? Both. We will,* my lord. » ^y. 4^5. [^Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Hjm. What, ho ; Horatio ! Enter Horatio. HoR. Here, sweet lord, at your service. Ham. Horatio, thou art e'en as just a man As e'er my conversation coap'd withal.^ HoR. O, my dear lord. Ham. Nay, do not think I flatter : For what advancement may I hope from thee, That no revenue hast, but thy good spirits,(26) To feed, and clothe thee ? Why should the poor be flatter'd ? No, let the candied tongue Hck absurd pomp ; ^ my coate wants a cullison — thus keeping in his cinkapase of jeastsl i. e. " wants a collar — and an ambling succession of jests." " Cull or Coll about the neck, or Fr. G. accoller &c. to clip or coll." Skin. Collet is modern French for collar. Cinque-pace is a dance the measures of which are regulated by the number five : and such is the number of instances of jests here given. See Tw. N. I. 3. Sir Toby. ^ coap'd withal] i. e. encountered with. 80 HAMLET, act in. And crook the pregnant hinges of the knee, * fauning. Where thrift may follow faining ; *(27) Dost thou ^"''- hear ? t So 4tos. Since my dear souK^s) was mistress of herf choice, "2^' ' And could of men distinguish, her election Hath seal'd thee for herself: for thou hast been As one, in suffering all, that suffers nothing ; A man, that fortune's buffets and rewards Has ta'en with equal thanks : and bless'd are those, jcoraedied. Whose blood and judgment are so well J co-min- That they are not a pipe for fortune's finger To sound what stop she please : Give me that man That is not passion's slave, and I vnU wear him In my heart's core,^^'') ay, in my heart of heart. As I do thee. — Something too much of this. — There is a play to-night before the king ; One scene of it comes near the circumstance. Which I have told thee of my father's death. I pr'ythee, when thou seest that act a-foot, * ^°1623^ Even with the very comment of thy § souP 32.' ' Observe my uncle : if his occulted guilt*" Do not itself unkennel in one speech. It is a damned ghost (^1) that we have seen ; And ray imaginations are as foul As Vulcan's stithe.(32) Give him heedful note : For I mine eyes will rivet to his face ; And, after, we will both our judgments join In censure of his seeming." HoR, Well, my lord : If he steal aught,* the whilst this play is playing. And scape detecting, I will pay the theft. ^ the very comment of thy souV] i. e. the most intense direction of every faculty. ^ occulted guilt do not itself unkennel] i. e. stifled, secret guilt, do not develop itself. '^ In censure of his seeming] i. e. in making our estimate of the appearance he shall put on. •' steal aught] i. c. contrive so to carry it off, as that the slightest Conscious feeling, he shews, should escape unobserved. sc. IT. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 81 Ham. They are coming to the play ; I must be idle: Get you a place. Danish March. A Flourish. Enter King, Queen, PoLONius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Others. King. How fares our cousin Hamlet ? Hjm. Excellent, i'faith ; of the cameleon's dish : I eat the air, promise-crammed : You cannot feed capons so.^ King. I have nothing with this answer, Hamlet ; these words are not mine.'' Ham. No, nor mine. Now," my lord, — you played once in the university, you say 1^^^^ \_To POLONIUS. Pol. That did I, my lord ; and was accoimted a good actor. Ham. And what did you enact ? Pol. I did enact Julius Caesar : I was killed i'the Capitol ;(34) Brutus killed me. Ham. It was a brute part of him to kill so ca- pital a calf there.(35)_Be the players ready ? Ros. Ay, my lord; they stay upon yovir pa- tience.(36) » promise-cramm'd : you cannot feed capons so"] As afterwards in this scene he replies to Rosencrantz, who tells him he has the voice of the king himself for the succession, " but, sir, while the grass grows, &c. the proverb is something musty." ^ I have nothing with this answer ; these words are not mine'] i. e. they grow not out of mine : have no relation to any thing said by me. •= No, nor mine, now] i. e. " They are now any body's." Johnson observes, " a man's words, says the proverb, are his own no longer than while he keeps them unspoken." 82 HAMLET, act in. * dear. Queen. Come hither, my good* Hamlet, sit by 4tos. me. Ham. No, good mother, here's metal more at- tractive. Pol. O ho ! do you mark that ? [To the King. Ham. Lady, shall I lie in your lap ? [Lying down at Ophelia's Feet.^^''^ Oph, No, my lord. Ham. I mean, my head upon your lap 1 Oph. Ay, my lord, t contrary. Ham. Do you think, I meant country f matters ? Oph. I think nothing, my lord. Ham. That's a fair thought to He between maids' legs. Oph. What is, my lord ? Ham. Nothing. Oph. You are merry, my lord. Ham. Who, I ? Oph. Ay, my lord. Ham. O God! your only jig-maker.* What should a man do, but be merry ? for, look you, how cheerfully my mother looks, and my father died within these two hours. Oph. Nay, 'tis twice two months, my lord. Ham. So long? Nay, then let the devil wear t Jesus, black, for I'll have a suit of sables.^^s) O heavens ! J die two months ago, and not forgotten yet ? Then there's hope, a great man's memory may outlive his life half a year : But, by'r-lady, he must build churches then :'' or else shall he suffer not thinking * jig-maker] i. e. writer of ludicrous interludes. See II. 2. Haml. ^ But, by'r-lady, he must build churches then] i. e. " the re- membrance of such conspicuous and signal acts of piety, and public benefit, does not presently pass away." 4to. 1603. sc. II. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 83 on, with the hobby-horse ; whose epitaph is. For, O,for, 0, the hobby-horse is forgotS^^I Trumpets sound. The dumb show follows. ^^'^^ Enter a King and a Queen very lovingly ; the Queen embracing him, and he her. She kneels, and makes show of protestation unto him. He takes her up, and declines his head upon her neck : lays him down upon a bank of flowers ; she, seeing him asleep, leaves him. Anon comes in a fellow, takes off his crown, kisses it, and pours poison in the King's ears, and exit. The Queen returns ; finds the King dead, and makes passionate action. The poisoner, with some tico or three Mutes, comes in again, seeming to lament with her. The dead body is carried away. The poisoner wooes the Queen with gifts ; she seems loath and unwilling axohile ; but, in the end, accepts his love. [Exeunt. Oph. What means this, my lord ? Ham. Marry, this is miching *mallecho;('*y it»maiicho. means mischief. ^ZHt^ Oph. Behke,(42) this show imports the argmnent''™*^«'=°- of the play. Enter Prologue. o"- Ham. We shall know by this fellow :f the players t So 4tos. cannot keep counsel ; they'll tell all. ^l^^^- Oph. Will he teU us what this show meant ? ^62732. Ham. Ay, or any show that you'll show him : Be not you ashamed to show, he'U not shame to tell you what it means. Oph. You are naught, you are naught ; I'U mark the play. * imports the argument] i. e. " contains, includes, and dis- closes the subject matter." See Tim. 11. 2. Flav. 84 HAMLET, act m. Pro. For us, and for our tragedy, Here stooping to your clemency. We beg your hearing patiently. * So 4to8. Ham. Is this a prologue, or the posy* of a ring ?(*'> 1623V32. Oph. 'Tis brief, my lord. &4to.l603. ' -' Ham. As woman's love. Enter a King, and a Queen. P. King. Full thirty times hath Phcsbus' cart(**) gone round Neptune's salt wash, and Tellus' orbed ground -Z^^) And thirty dozen moons, with borrow'd sheen, (*^^ About the world have times twelve thirties been ; Since love our hearts, and Hymen did our hands. Unite commutual in most sacred bands. t Bap. P. QvEEN.'\ So many journeys may the sun and ^^^^' moon Make us again count o'er, ere love be done ! But, woe is me, you are so sick of late. So far from cheer, and from your former state, That I distrust you. Yet, though I distrust. Discomfort you, my lord, it nothing must :('*'') For women's fear and love holds quantity ; In neither aught, or in extremity." Now, what my love is, proof hath made you know ; And as my love is siz'd, my fear is so.^'*^^ [Where love is great, the littlest doubts are fear ; Where little fears grow great, great love grows there.] P. King. 'Faith, I must leave thee, love, and shortly too ; ■ holds quantity In neither aught, or in extremity] i. e. have a just corres- pondence ; in measure and proportion answer to each other. " Things base and vile, holding no quantity." M. N. Dr. I. 1. Hel. And either is not, or is in a violent extreme. wormw. 4tos. § Id. sc. II. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 85 My operant powers their* functions leave to do •M^'^ * So 4tos. And thou shalt live in this fair world behind, "^l ^^^^' Honour'd, belov'd ; and, haply, one as kind For husband shalt thou P. QueenA^ O, confound the rest! t Bap. Such love must needs be treason in my breast : ^^^^' In second husband let me be accurst ! None wed the second, but who kill'd the first. , that's Ham. Wormwood, wormwood. J P. Queen. ^ The instances^^'") that second mar- riage move. Are base respects of thrift, but none of love ; A second time I kill my husband dead. When second husband kisses me in bed. P. King. I do beheve, you think what now you speak ; But, what we do determine, oft we break.* Purpose is but the slave to memory ; Of violent birth, but poor validity :(5i) Which now, like fruit unripe, sticks on the tree ; But fall, unshaken, when they mellow be.*" Most necessary 'tis, that we forget To pay ourselves what to ourselves is debt ; ° What to ourselves in passion we propose, g^ ^^^^ The passion ending, doth the purpose lose. other. The violence of either || grief or joy • ^^'^^> ^^• Their own enactures^ with themselves destroy :(52) if so4tos. Where joy most revels, grief doth most lament ; 1623 °32. » what we do determine, oft we break] i. e. unsettle our most fixed resolves. i" Purpose — Which now, like fruit unripe, sticks on the tree-. But fall, unshaken, when they mellow be"] The verb/aii is. as sticks, properly referable to the singular noun purpose ; but, in our author's mind, was connected with unripe fruit, (a noun of multitude, and admitting a plural) and they its relative ; to which it nearly adjoined. Fall is also the reading of the quartos. See " scope of these articles allow." I. 1. King. = what to ourselves is debt] i. e. is such, only to ourselves. Johnson says, the performance of a resolution, in which only the resolver is interested, is a debt only to himself, which he may therefore remit at pleasure. 86 HAMLET, act m. Grief joys, joy grieves, on slender accident. This world is not for aye ; nor 'tis not strange, That even our loves should with our fortunes change ; For 'tis a question left us yet to prove. Whether love "" lead fortune, or else fortune love. The great man down, you mark his favoiuite flies ; The poor advanc'd makes friends of enemies. And hitherto doth love on fortune tend : For who not needs shall never lack a friend ; And who in want a hollow friend doth try. Directly seasons him his enemy.'' But, orderly to end where I begun, — Our wills, and fates, do so contrary run, That our devices still are overthrown ; Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own : So think thou vdlt no second husband wed ; But die thy thoughts, when thy first lord is dead. P. QvEEN." Nor earth to give me food,* nor heaven light ! Sport and repose lock from me, day, and night ! [To desperation turn my trust and hope ! An anchor's cheer in prison be my scope !] t^^) * whether love] Instead of the anapaest, and that the proper ■word, it was the use of our author and the age, frequently to write in the ordinary spondaic measure, where. See Temp. V. 1. Alonz. So Jonson to Dr. Donne : " Who shall douht, Donne, where I a poet be j " When I dare send my Epigrams to thee, " That so alone can'st judge, so alone dost make." Epigr. 96. '' directly seasons him. his enemy] i. e. " throws in an ingre- dient, which constitutes," &c. This term is used with great latitude in several parts of this play ; and Steevens points out an use of it not dissimilar in Chapman's Odyss. XV. ■ taught with so much woe. " As thou hast suffer'd, to be season'd so." = The folio of 1632 has, as the quartos. Queen for Player- Queen throughout, instead of Bap. ^ Nor earth to give me food, nor] i. e. " be there neither earth, &c. nor, &c." The quarto, 1604, reads " to me give." sc. II. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 87 Each opposite, that blanks the face of joy. Meet what I would have well, and it destroy ! Both here, and hence, pursue me lasting strife. If, once a widow, ever I be wife ! Ham. If she should break it now, [To Ophelia. P. King. 'Tis deeply sworn. Sweet, leave me here a while ; My spirits grow dull, and fain I would beguile The tedious day with sleep. [Sleeps. P. Queen. Sleep rock thy brain ; And never come mischance between us twain ! [Exit. Ham. Madam, how hke you this play ? Queen. The lady doth protest too much, me- thinks. Ham. O, but she'U keep her word. King. Have you heard the argument ?" Is there no offence in't ? Ham. No, no, they do but jest, poison in jest ; no offence i'the world. King. What do you call the play ? Ham. The mouse-trap. Marry, how? Tropi- cally.^5^) This play is the image of a murder(55) done in Vienna : Gonzago is the duke's name ; his wife, Baptista :^56) you shall see anon ; 'tis a knavish piece of work : But what of that ? your majesty, and we that have free souls, it touches us not: Let the galled jade wince, our withers are unwrung. Enter Lucianus. This is one Lucianus, nephew to the king. Oph. You are a good chorus, my lord." » the argumenf] i. e. the subject matter. See Ophelia, supra. •> You are a good chorus, my lord] i. e. " perform the office of a chorus, which is here to interpret the immediate action and 88 HAMLET, act ni. Ham. I could interpret (^7) between you and your » So 4tos. love * if I could see the puppets dallying.* & 1623 32. X A A ./ ^ the love ' Opn. You are keen, my lord, you are keen. 4to. 1603!' Ham. It would cost you a groaning, to take off t must my edge." h^^IX Oph. StiU better, and worse." 4to.i603. ff^^ g^ y^^ mistake! [yourj] husbands.Css) Itir''' ^^S"^> murderer; Pox, leave thy damnable faces, and begin. Come ; — — The croaking raven Doth bellow for revenge. Luc. Thoughts black, hands apt, drugs fit, and time agreeing ; Confederate season, else no creature seeing ; Thou mixture rank, of midnight weeds* collected. With Hecat's ban thrice blasted, thrice infected. Thy natural magick and dire property. On wholesome life usurp" immediately. \_Pours the Poisoti into the Sleeper's Ears. Ham. He poisons him i'the garden for his estate. His name's Gonzago : the story is extant, and written in choice Itahan : You shall see anon, how the mur- derer gets the love of Gonzago's wife. Oph. The king rises. Ham. What ! frighted with false fire ! scope or moral tendency of the drama." The quartos read " as good as a." Henley observes, the use to which Shakespeare converted a chorus, may be seen in H. V. * the puppets dallying] The agitations of your bosom. Seymour. * take off my edge"] " When thou shalt be disedged by her " That now thou tir'st on." Cymb. III. 4. Imogen. ■^ Still better, and worse'] i. e. more keen and less decorous. * midnight weeds] " Root of hemlock, digg'd i'the dark.'' Macb. Steevens. ' tuurp] i. e. encroach upon. See 1. I. Horat. sc. II. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 89 Queen. How fares my lord ? Pol. Give o'er the play. King. Give me some light : away ! All. Lights, lights, lights ! \_Exeunt all but Hamlet and Horatio. Ham. Why, let the strucken deer go weep," The hart ungalled play : For some must watch, while some must sleep ; So runs the world away. — Would not this, sir, and a forest of feathers, (if the rest of my fortunes turn Turkf^'*) with me) with two * So 4tos. Provincial roses^^") on my razed* shoes,(^i) get mejgjs^gg a fellowship in a cryf of players,(^2) gij- ? HoR. Halfashare.(63) tcity.4to,. Ham. a whole one, I. For thou dost know, O Damon dear,(^*) This realm dismantled was Of Jove himself; and now reigns here A very, very — Paiocke.^^^) Hon. You might have rhymed. Ham. O good Horatio, I'll take the ghost's word for a thousand pound. Didst perceive ? HoR. Very well, my lord. Ham. Upon the talk of the poisoning, — HoR. I did very well note him. Ham. Ah, ha! Come, some musick; come, the recorders. For if the king like not the comedy. Why then, belike, he likes it not, perdie." " let the strucken deer go weepl See As You Sfc. 1. 1. 1 Lord. »> Why then, belike, he likes it not, perdle] Perdie, or perdy, is par Dieu : and thus he balks the conclusion, or consequence ; as just before he had balked the rhyme. 90 HAMLET, act hi. Enter Rosencrantz and Guildensterm. Come, some musick. GuiL. Good my lord, vouchsafe me a word with you. Ham. Sir, a whole history. GviL. The king, sir, Ham. Ay, sir, what of him ? GuiL. Is, in his retirement, marvellous distem- pered,(^^) Ham. With drink, sir ? GuiL. No, my lord, rather with choler. Ham. Your wisdom should show itself more • rich, richer,* to signify this to the doctor ; for, for me to 1633. p^^ jjjjjj ^Q gjg purgation, would, perhaps, plunge ^ j^jjj him into farf more choler. more. 4tos. Qjjjj^^ Good my lord, put your discourse into some frame, and start not so wildly from my affair. Ham. I am tame, sir : — pronounce. GuiL. The queen, your mother, in most great affliction of spirit, hath sent me to you. Ham. You are welcome. GuiL. Nay, good my lord, this courtesy is not of the right breed. If it shall please you to make me a wholesome answer, I Avill do your mother's com- mandment: if not, yoiu" pardon, and my return, shall be the end of my business. Ham. Sir, I cannot. GuiL. What, my lord? Ham. Make you a wholesome answer ; my wit's diseased : But, sir, such answer as I can make, you shall command ; or, rather, as you say, my mother : therefore no more, but to the matter : My mother, you say, sc. II. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 91 Ros. Then thus she says ; Your behaviour hath struck her into amazement and admiration. Ham. O wonderful son, that can so astonish a mother! But is there no sequel at the heels of this mother's admiration ? impart. Ros. She desires to speak with you in her closet, ere you go to bed. Ham. We shall obey, were she ten times our mother. Have you any further trade with us ?" Ros. My lord, you once did love me. Ham. So I do* still, by these pickers and » And do. stealers.i^fi^) 4tos. Ros. Good my lord, what is your cause of dis- temper? you do freely bar the door of your own liberty, if you deny your griefs to your friend." Ham. Sir, I lack advancement. Ros. How can that be, when you have the voice of the king himself for your succession"^ in Den- mark? Ham. Ay, but While the grass grows, — the pro- verb is something musty.* Enter the Players, with a Recorder.^ t recorders — one.4tos. O, the recorder:! — let me see!f — To withdraw with you : — (^^) Why do you go about to recover a trade with us] i. e, occasion of intercourse. b you do freely bar the door of your own liberty, if you deny your griefs to your friend] i. e. by your own act you close the ■way against your own ease, and the free discharge of your griefs, if you open not the source of them to your friends. The quartos read, " you do surely bar the door upon." = you have the voice of the king himself for your succession] " The most immediate to our throne." 1. 2. King. d " While the grass grows," — the proverb is something musty] i. e. partakes of the staleness it is descriptive of. He was, as he had just told the king, " promise-cramm'd : you can't feed capons so." ' Recorder] i. e. flagelet. See M. N. Dr. V. 1. Hippol. 92 HAMLET, act hi. the wind of me/^^) as if you would drive me into a toil? Gun. O, my lord, if my duty be too bold, my love is too unmannerly.* Ham. I do not well understand that. Will you play upon this pipe ? GujL. My lord, I cannot. Ham. I pray you. GuiL. Believe me, I cannot. Ham. I do beseech you. GuiL. I know no touch of it, my lord. Ham. 'Tis as easy as lying: govern these ven- tages with your fingers and thumb, give it breath with your mouth, and it will discourse most excel- lent music.'' Look you, these are the stops. GuiL. But these cannot I command to any ut- terance of harmony ; I have not the skill. Ham. Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me ? You would play upon me ; you would seem to know my stops ; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery ; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass : and there is much musick, excellent voice, in this Httle organ ; yet cannot you make it • So 4tos. [speak.] 'Sblood,* do you think, I am easier to be J^y*32 played on than a pipe? Call me what instnunent you will, though you can fret me, you cannot play upon me.f^"^ * if my duty be too boldy my love is too unmannerly'^ i. e. if my sense of duty have led me too far, it is affection and regard for you that makes the carriage of that duty border on disrespect. See " Forgive me this my virtue." III. 4. Haml. '' govern these ventages — and it will discourse most excellent music] i. e. justly order these vents, or air-holes, and it will breathe or utter, &c. For excellent, the quartos read eloquent. And one would almost suppose the word, govern, to be here technical from the use made of it on this subject again in M. N. Dr. V. 1 . Hip : " like a child on a recorder ; a sound, but not in government." sc. 11. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 93 Enter Polonius. God bless you, sir ! Pol. My lord, the queen would speak with you, and presently. Ham. Do you see yonder cloud, that's almost in shape like* a camel ? • of. 4to». Pol. By the mass, and 'tis Uke a camel, indeed. Ham. Methinks, it is like a weasel. Pol. It is backedf hke a weasel. t Uack. Ham. Or, like a whale ? Pol. Very like a whale. Ham. Then will I come to my mother by and by .(71) They fool me to the top of my bent." I will come by and by. Pol. I wiU say so. [Exit Polonius. Ham. By and by is easily said. — Leave me, friends. [Exeunt Ros. Guil. Hor. ^c. 'Tis now the very viitching time of night ; When churchyards yawn,^^^) and hell itself breathes out Contagion to this world : Now could I drink hot blood. And do such bitter (7^) business as the day Would quake to look on. Soft ; now to my mother. O, heart, lose J not thy nature ; let not ever j loose. The soul of Nero enter this firm bosom : ^" ^■ Let me be cruel, not unnatural : I wiU speak daggers to her,^^^) but use none ; My tongue and soul in this be hypocrites : How in ray words soever she be shent,^^^) To give them seals'" never, my soul, consent ! [Exit. » They fool me to the top of my bent] i. e. " to the height ; as far as they see me incline to go :" an allusion to the utmost flexure of a bow. i" give my words seals] i. e. make my " sayings a deed;" as is nearly his language in I. 3. Laert. and Tim. V. 1. Painter. 94 HAMLET, act m. SCENE III. A Room in the same. Enter King, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. KmG. I like him not ; nor stands it safe with us/ To let his madness range. Therefore prepare you ; I your commission will forthwith despatch. And he to England shall along with you : The terms of our estate may not endure * near us. Hazard so dangerous,* as doth hourly grow ^"''- Outofhislunacies.(76) GujL. We will ourselves provide : Most holy and religious fear it is. To keep those many many bodies safe. That hve, and feed, upon your majesty. Ros. The single and peculiar life is bovmd. With all the strength and armour of the mind. To keep itself from 'noyance ; but much more t weal. That spirit, upon whose spirit f depends and rests 4fos. rpj^g X\yQ% of many. The cease of majesty*" + oj it Dies not alone ; but, hke a gulf, doth draw 4tos. What's near it, with it : it J is a massy wheel, Fix'd on the summit § of the highest mount, Los""""' To whose huge spokes ten thousand lesser things Are mortis'd and adjoined ; which, when it falls. Each small annexment, petty consequence. Attends the boist'rous ruin. Never alone Did the king sigh, but with a general groan. Kii^G. Arm you, I pray you, to this speedy voyage ; ' stands it safe with us] i. e. is it consistent with our security. •> the cease of majesty] i. e. demise, fall. Throughout our author a strong sense is attached to the verb cease. See " fall and cease," Lear, last sc. Alb. The quartos give cesse. sc. m. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 95 For we will fetters put upon* this fear,^ * «bout. Which now goes too free-footed. ^'°'- Ros. GuiL. We will haste us. [Exeunt Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Enter Polonius. Pol. My lord, he's going to his mother's closet : Behind the arras I'U convey myself. To hear the process ; I'll warrant, she'll tax him home : And, as you said, and wisely was it said, 'Tis meet, that some more audience than a mother. Since nature makes them partial, should o'erhear The speech of vantage." Fare you well, my Uege : I'll call upon you ere you go to bed. And tell you what I know. King. Thanks, dear my lord. [Exit Polonius. O, my offence is rank, it smeUs to heaven ;" It hath the primal eldest curse upon 't, A brother's murder ! — Pray can I not. Though incUnation be as sharp as will ;* My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent ; * this fear] i. e. bugbear. See Ant. Sf CI. II. 3. Sooths. *> o'erhear the speech of vantage] If conveying any thing distinctly ; " that gives the means of availing itself of occur- rences." ' 0, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven^ Even there, where the odour of sacrifice only should rise, to the seat of the gods, its offensive steam reaches. ^ Though inclination be as sharp as will] i. e. resolve, not used in the sense of willingness, but much in that of another of its derivatives, wilful; and as when the mind, no longer in a state of balance or suspense, is determined. The use of the word intent in the next line, without the aid of its adjunct, strong, does not reach the sense of resolve or full determination above assigned to mil, and thereby creates at first sight embarrassment and confusion in the construction of the sentence. 96 HAMLET, act hi. And, like a man to double business bound,* I stand in pause where I shall first begin. And both neglect. What if this cursed hand Were thicker than itself with brother's blood ? Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens. To wash it white as snow ? Whereto serves mercy. But to confront the visage of offence ?'' And what's in prayer, but this two-fold force. To be forestalled," ere we come to fall. Or pardon'd, being down ? Then I'll look up ; My fault is past. But, O, what form of prayer Can serve my turn ? Forgive me my foul murder ? That cannot be ; since I am still possess'd Of those effects for which I did the murder. My crown, nnine own ambition, and my queen. May one be pardon'd, and retain the offence ? (^') In the corrupted currents of this world. Offence's gilded hand may shove by justice ; And oft 'tis seen, the wicked prize itself Buys out the law : But 'tis not so above : There is no shuffling, there the action lies In his true nature, and we ourselves compell'd,* Even to the teeth and forehead of our faults. To give in evidence. What then ? what rests? Try what repentance can : What can it not ? Yet what can it, when one can not repent ?' O wretched state ! O bosom, black as death ! * Like a man to double business bound] As Angelo, when he finds himself going, " where prayers cross." M.for M. II. 2. '' Whereto serves mercy. But to confront the visage of offence ?] i. e. with a benign and softened aspect to meet or encounter the harsh features of crime. * To be toKstaHed ere we come to fait] Prevented from falhng. ^ there the action lies In his true nature, and we ourselves compell'd] The trans- action shews, or presents itself ; the suit, stripped of all chicane, is entertained and prosecuted simply as it is ; and there it is that we are compelled, &c. For the use of the personal pro- noun here, see " his own scandal." I. 4. Haml. ' Yet what can it, when one can not repent] What can that course, though it can do all, do, if I cannot pursue it ? sc. III. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 97 r| crimes O limed soul ; that struggling to be free. Art more engaged ! Help, angels, make assay 1 Bow, stubborn knees ! and, heart, with strings of steel. Be soft as sinews of the new-bom babe ; All may be well ! [Retires, and kneels. Enter Hamlet. Ham. Now might I do it, pat,* now he is praying ; * \,^^ ^ow. And now I'll do't ; and so he goes to heaven : 4tos. And so am I revenged ? That would be scann'd :^ A villain kills my father ; and, for that, I, his solef son,*" do this same villain send foui°fouie. To heaven. 1623,32. O, J this is hire and salary ,'' not revenge. : why. He took my father grossly,(78) frill of bread ; *'°*' With all his crimes § broad blown, as flush || as May ; f, ^^^^ And, how his audit stands, who knows, save heaven ? broad But, in our circumstance * and course of thought, o''c"4to 'Tis heavy with him : And am I then reveng'd, 1603 reads To take him in the purging of his soul, fuu"? '^'""" When he is fit and season'd for his passage ? g^ ^^.^^ No. fresh,1623, Up, sword ; and know thou a more horrid bent : ^ ^^• " That would be scann'd] i. e. requires to be fully weighed and considered. ^ I, his sole son] Such is the reading of the quartos : but foule may be offending, degenerate; though most probably a misprint. ' hire and salecry] i. e. a thing, for which from him I might claim a recompense. The quartos read " base, and silly." 4to. 1603, " a benefit." ^ our circumstance'] i. e. measure or estimate of what may have reached us. e }(fioj„ — a more horrid bent] i. e. have a more fierce, rash or headlong grasp or purpose. " Hyntyn or henten, rapio, arripio." Prompt. Parvul. Hent, Henten, Hende, arripere : hen- dan, A. S. FTehendeie. from Hand, Manus. Junii Etymolog. Fo. 1743. In the sense of " seise or occupy," the verb occurs mM.forM. " Have /ient the gates." IV. 6. Friar Pet. Drunk asleep, is in a drunken sleep. H 98 HAMLET, act hi. When he is drunk asleep ; or in his rage ; Or in the incestuous pleasures of his bed ; * at game, At gaming,* swearing ; or about some act a swearing, rpj^^ j^^g ^^ ^^^ ^f salvation iu't :^ at game- swearing. Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven ; And that his soul may be as damn'd, and black. As hell, whereto it goes.^''^^ My mother stays : t weary. This physick but prolongs thy sickly f days. \Exit. 4tos. 1603 The King rises, and advances. King. My words fly up, my thoughts remain below : Words, without thoughts, never to heaven go. [^Exit. SCENE IV. Another Room in the same. Enter Queen and Polonius. Pol. He will come straight. Look, you lay home to him :* Tell him, his pranks have been too broad "= to bear with; And that your grace hath screen'd and stood be- tween Much heat and him. I'll silence me e'en here.'' Pray you, be round with him. Ham. [ Within'] Mother, mother, mother ! " relish of salvation in't] i. e. smack or savour. '' lay home to hirn] i. e. pointedly and closely charge. "^ pranks too broad] i. e. open and bold. ^ silence me e'en here"] i. e. without a word more said, here snugly stow myself. For " rowid Sfc." See II. '2. Pol. sc. jr. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 99 Queen. I'll warrant you ; Fear me not : — withdraw, I hear him coming. [PoLONius hides himself. Enter Hamlet. Ham. Now, mother ; what's the matter ? Queen. Hamlet, thou hast thy father much of- fendedf Ham. Mother, you have my father much of- fended. Queen. Come, come, you answer with an idle tongue. Ham. Go, go, you question with an idle* tongue. » a wicked. 4tos. Queen. Why, how now, Hamlet? Ham. What's the matter now ? Queen. Have you forgot me ? Ham. No, by the rood," not so : You are the queen, your husband's brother's wife ; But would youf were not so. You are my mother, t and Queen. Nay, then I'll set those to you that canTtos. speak. Ham. Come, come, and sit you down ; you shall not budge ; You go not, till I set you up a glass Where you may see the inmost part of you. Queen. What wilt thou do ? thou wilt not mur- der me ? Help, help, ho ! Pol. [Behind'] What, ho ! help ! help, help. Ham. How now ! a rat ? [Draws. Dead, for a ducat, dead. [Hamlet makes a pass through the Arras. * by the rood'] From the A. S. rode. crux, a cross. Skinn. As Holyrood House. See II. H. IF. Shal. III. 2. 100 HAMLET, act in. Pol. [Behind'] O, I am slain. [Falls, and dies. Queen. O me, what hast thou done ? Ham. Nay, I know not : Is it the king ? [Lifts up the Arras, and draws forth Polonius. Queen. O, what a rash and bloody deed is this ! Ham. a bloody deed ; — almost as bad, good mother. As kill a king,(8i) and marry with his brother. Queen. As kill a king! Ham. Ay, lady, 'twas my word. Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell ! [To Polonius. » better. I took thee for thy betters ;* take thy fortune : Thou find'st, to be too busy, is some danger. Leave wringing of your hands : Peace ; sit you down. And let me wring your heart : for so I shall. If it be made of penetrable stuff ;(82) If damned custom have not braz'd it so, t be. 4tos. That it isf proof and bulwark against sense.'' Queen. What have I done, that thou dar'st wag thy tongue In noise so rude against me ? Ham. Such an act. That blurs the grace and blush of modesty ; Calls virtue, hypocrite ; takes off the rose From the fair forehead of an innocent love, I sets.4tos. And makes J a blister there ;^^^' makes marriage vows As false as dicer's oaths : O, such a deed As from the body of contraction plucks The very soul ;^ and sweet reHgion makes A rhapsody of words : Heaven's face doth glow ; " Proof and bulwark against sense] i. e. agciinst all feeling. '' As from the body of contra,ction plucks The very soul] i. e. annihilates the very principle of con- tracts. sc. IK PRINCE OF DENMARK. 101 Yea, this solidity and compound mass. With tristful visage, as against the doom. Is thought-sick at the act." Queen. Ah me, what act. That roars so loud, and thunders in the index ?(8'4) Ham. Look here, upon this picture, and on this; (85) The coimterfeit presentment(86) of two brothers. See, what a grace was seated on his brow : Hyperion's curls ; the front of Jove himself; An eye like Mars, to threaten and command ; A station like the herald Mercury,(87) New-lighted on a heaven-kissing hiU ; A combination, and a form, indeed. Where every god did seem to set his seal. To give the world assurance of a man : This was yotir husband. — Look you now, what follows : Here is your husband ; like a mildew'd ear. Blasting his wholesome ^ brother.* Have you eyes ? • so 4to3. Could you on this fair mountain leave 4:o feed, 15^*32 And batten on this moor ?(88) Ha ! have you eyes ? You cannot call it, love : for, at your age. The hey-day in the blood^^s) is tame, it's humble. And waits upon the judgment ; And what judgment Would step from this to this ? [Sense, sure, you have, " Heaven's face — Yea this solidity — fVith tristful visage, — 7s thought-sick at the act.'] i. e. the face of heaven looks heated, as if abashed ; and this massive compound, the earth, with heavy looks, as on the approach of the day of doom, is dis- quieted and disordered at the thought of what is done. The quartos read, " O'er this solidity, &c. " With heated visage." b like a mildew'd ear, Blasting his wholesome brother.] These were images and the language of the day. " The Lord doth smite them with fevers and agues and blastings and mildews." Dr. Wall's Sermons, 4to. 1627. p. 139. 102 HAMLET, act lu. Else, could you not have motion •.^^'^ But, sure, that sense Is apoplexed : for madness would not err ; Nor sense to ecstasy was ne'er so thrall'd. But it reserv'd some quantity of choice,(3i) To serve in such a difference.] What devil was't That thus hath cozen'd you at hoodman-bhnd V-^ [Eyes without feeling, feeUng without sight. Ears without hands or eyes, smelling sans all, Or but a sickly part of one true sense Could not so mope.^] O shame ! where is thy blush ? Rebellious hell. If thou canst mutine^^^) j^ a matron's bones. To flaming youth let virtue be as wax. And melt in her own fire : proclaim no shame. When the compulsive ardour gives the charge ; "^ Since frost itseff as actively doth burn, * So, 4tos, And* reason panders will.(9*) As. 1623, ^ 32. Queen. O Hamlet, speak no more : Thou turn'st mine eyes into my very soul ; And there I see such black and grained spots. As will not leave their tinct." Ham. Nay, but to hve In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed -/^^^ Stew'd in corruption ; honeying, and making love Over the nasty stye ; Queen. O, speak to me no more ; These words, like daggers enter in mine ears ; No more, sweet Hamlet. Ham. a murderer, and a villain : A slave, that is not twentieth part the tythe " so mope] i. e. be so blind and stupid. See Temp, last sc, Boatsw. •> gives the chargel i. e. gives the signal for attack. Seymour, '^ As will not leave their tinct'] i. e. so died in grain, that they will not relinquish or lose their tinct — are not to be discharged. In a sense not very dissimilar he presently says, " Then what I have to do \Vi\\ want true colour." sc. IV. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 103 Of your precedent lord : — a vice of kings ;(9«) A cutpurse of the empire and the rule ; That from a shelf the precious diadem stole, And put it in his pocket ! Queen. No more. Enter Ghost. Ham. a king Of shreds and patches :(97) Save me, and hover o'er me with your wings. You heavenly guards ! What would you,* gracious « would figure ? your- ^tos. Queen. Alas, he's mad. Ham. Do you not come your tardy son to chide. That, laps'd in time and passion,(98) lets go by The important acting of your dread command ? O, say ! Ghost. Do not forget : This visitation Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose. But, look ! amazement on thy mother sits : O, step between her and her fighting soul ; Conceit in weakest bodies strongest works •,^^^'> Speak to her, Hamlet. Ham. How is it with you, lady ? ^ , , , •' •' f do bend. Queen. Alas, how is't with you; ^tos. That you bendf your eye on vacancy, bendf°632. And with the incorporal J air do hold discourse ? Forth at your eyes your spirits wildly peep ; *^^.° ^^^• And, as the sleeping soldiers in the alarm, porai.1623. Your bedded hair, like life in excrements,(i«'') *f ^°^p°- Start up, and stand on end. O gentle son. Upon the heat and flame of thy distemper Sprinkle cool patience. Whereon do you look ? Ham. On him! on him! — Look you, how pale he glares ! His form and cause conjoin'd, preaching to stones. Would make them capable. — (i"') Do not look upon me : 104 HAMLET, act tii. Lestj with this piteous action, you convert My stern effects r^i'*^) then what I have to do Will want true colour ; tears, perchance, for blood. Queen. To whom do you speak this ? Ham. Do you see nothing there ? Queen. Nothing at all ; yet aU that is, I see. Ham. Nor did you nothing hear ? Queen. No, nothing, but ourselves. Ham. Why, look you there ! look, how it steals away! My father, in his habit as he lived !* Look, where he goes, even now, out at the portal ! \_Exit Ghost. Queen. This is the very coinage of your brain : This bodiless creation ecstasy Is very cunning in.Ci''^) Ham. Ecstasy! My pulse, as yours, doth temperately keep time. And makes as healthful musick : It is not madness. That I have uttered : bring me to the test. And I the matter will re-word ; which madness Would gambol from." Mother, for love of grace, * ffi2**°^' ^^^ ^°* that* flattering unction to your soul, ' ■ That not your trespass, but my madness speaks : It will but skin and film the ulcerous place ;(!"*) Whiles rank corruption, mining all within. Infects unseen. Confess yourself to heaven ; Repent what's past ; avoid what is to come ; t on. 4tos. And do not spread the compost o'erf the weeds, : ranker. To make them rank. J Forgive me this my virtue :"= * My father in his habit as he lived] i. e. in the habit he WEis accustomed to wear when living. In Jonson's Masque of the Fortunate Isles, 1626, we find " Enter Skogan and Skelton, in like habits as they lived." ^ gambol from] i. e. start away from. ' Forgive me this my virtue] i. e. forgive this interference of mine, this proffer of advice, which, whatever its sterling or in- trinsic worth, might otherwise seem to have the appearance or character of being forward or obtrusive. In this enigmatical sc. ir. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 105 For in the fatness of these pursy times. Virtue itself of vice must pardon beg ; Yea, curb (105) and woo, for leave to do him good. Queen. O Hamlet! thou hast cleft my heart in twain. Ham. O, throw away the worser part of it. And live the purer with the other half. Good night : but go not to my uncle's bed ; Assimie a virtue, if you have it not. [That monster, custom, who all sense doth eat. Of habits devil, is angel yet in this -jCio^) That to the use of actions fair and good He likewise gives a frock, or hvery. That aptly is put on :] Refrain to-night ; And that shall lend a kind of easiness To the next abstinence : [the next more easy :^ For use almost can change the stamp of nature, And maisterfior) the devil, or throw him out With wondrous potency.] Once more, good night ! And when you are desirous to be bless'd, I'll blessing beg of you.* For this same lord, [Pointing to Polonius. I do repent : But heaven hath pleas'd it so,"^ To punish me with this, and this with me. That I must be their scourge and minister.^i"^) I will bestow him, and will answer well The death I gave him. So, again, good night ! I must be cruel, only to be kind : condensation of thought, of which our author was so fond, and in which he was so dexterous an artist, we find a sentiment not dissimilar to that of Guildenstern to Hamlet, " O my Lord, if my duty be too bold, my love is not unmannerly." III. 2. " the next more easy^ i. e. will become more, &c. *> And when you are desirous to be bless'd, I'll blessing beg of you] i. e. when you are desirous to re- ceive a blessing from heaven (which you cannot, seriously, till you reform) I will beg to receive a blessing from you. This passage can receive no better comment than from TV. & Cr. " Serv. I hope, I shall know your honour better. Pand. I do desire it. Serv. You are in the state of grace." II. 3. " heaven hath pleas'd it so] i. e. ordained, hath been pleased that it should be so. 106 HAMLET, ^ct iii. Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind. [One word more, good lady.] Queen. What shall I do ? Ham. Not this, by no means, that I bid you do : * so4tos. Let the bloat* king(i''9) tempt you again to bed ; ilS.f',o Pinch wanton on your cheek; call you, his 1623,32. , ( •' mouse;'-""-' And let him, for a pair of reechy kisses, ^^"^ Or padling in your neck with his damn'd fingers. Make you to ravel all this matter out. That I essentially am not in madness. But mad in craft.("2) 'Twere good, you let him know: For who, that's but a queen,'' fair, sober, wise. Would from a paddock,*" from a bat, a gib" Such dear concernings hide ? who would do so ? No, in despite of sense, and secrecy. Unpeg the basket on the house's top. Let the birds fly ;("3) and, like the famous ape. To try conclusions,(ii4) in the basket creep. And break your own neck down. Queen. Be thou assvir'd, if words be made of breath. And breath of life, I have no life to breathe ^ What thou hast said to me. Ham. I must to England ; you know that ? Queen. Alack, I had forgot ; 'tis so concluded on. Ham. [There's letters seal'd : and my two school- fellows. Whom I will trust, as I will adders fang'd,^^^^) " For who, that's but a queen] Strictly speaking, " no more than :" but, in the familiar language of banter, importing, " who being as much as, having some pretence at least, or title, to the rank and state of," &c. '' a paddock] i. e. toad. See Macb. I. 1. Witches. "= a gib] i. e. gilbert, a he cat. I. H. IV. I. 2. Falst. ^ to breathe] i. e. most distantly glance at. " Him you breathe of." II. 1. Polon. sc. IV. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 107 They bear the mandate; they must sweep my way, (116) And marshal me to knavery : Let it work ; For 'tis the sport, to have the engineer Hoist with his own petar :* and it shall go hard. But I will delve one yard below their mines. And blow them at the moon : O, 'tis most sweet. When in one line two crafts directly meet.(ii^)] This man shall set me packing. I'll lug the guts into the neighbour room :("8) Mother, good night. Indeed this coimseUor Is now most still, most secret, and most grave. Who was in life a foohsh, prating knave. Come, sir, to draw toward an end with you : — Good night, mother. [Exeunt severally ; Hamlet dragging in POLONIUS. * to have the engineer Hoist with his own petar] i. e. mount. Hoist is used as a verb neuter. Petard, Fr. is an engine to blow up gates, &c. " Vehiculum Spiritds Sancti, that was the Petard, that broke open thy iron gate." Dr. Donne's Sermon before the Company of the Virginian Plantation. 4to. 1622. p. 24. 108 HAMLET, ACT IV.(i) SCENE I. The same. Enter King, Queen, Rosenckantz, and Guil- DENSTERN. King. There's matter in these sighs ; " these pro- found heaves ; You must translate : " 'tis fit we understand them : Where is your son ? [_QuEEN. Bestow this place on us a little while. — J To RosENCRANTZ and Guildenstern, who go out. Ah, my good* lord, what have I seen to night! King. What, Gertrude 1 How does Hamlet ? Queen. Mad as the sea, and wind, when both contend(2) Which is the mightier : In his lawless fit, outhis*^" Behind the arras hearing something stir, rapier, jjg whips his rapier out,f and cries, A rat! a rat! cries, 4tos. i • i • j. \ • • ^ i • i-n And, m thisj bramish apprehension," kills t iiis. 1623, The unseen good old man. 32. King. O heavy deed ! It had been so Avith us, had we been there : His liberty is fiill of threats to all ; To you yourself, to us, to every one. Alas ! how shall this bloody deed be answer'd 1 It will be laid to us, whose providence " there's matter in these sighs'] i. e. they import something of moment. See OtheL III. 4. lago. ^ translatel i. e. interpret. " With private soul did thus translate," i. e. characterise him. Tr. S( Cr. IV. 5. Ulyss. "^ in this brainish apprehension'] i. e. distempered, brain-sick mood, or conceit. ' mine own. 4tos. t AVhips sc. I. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 109 Should have kept short, restrain'd, and out of haunt/ This mad young man : but, so much was ovir love. We would not understand what was most fit ; But, like the owner of a foul disease. To keep it from divulging, let* it feed • lets. Even on the pith of life. Where is he gone ? ^^^^' ^^• Queen. To draw apart the body he hath kill'd : O'er whom his very madness, like some ore, Among a mineral of metals base. Shows itself pure ; (3) he weeps for what is done. King. O, Gertrude, come away ! The sun no sooner shall the mountains touch. But we will ship him hence : and this vile deed We must, with all our majesty and skill. Both countenance and excuse. — Ho ! Guildenstem ! Enter Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Friends both, go join you with some further aid : Hamlet in madness hath Polonius slain. And from his mother's closet hath he dragg'd him : Go, seek him out ; speak fair, and bring the body Into the chapel. I pray you, haste in this. [Exeunt Ros. and Guil. Come, Gertrude, we'll call up our wisest friends ; Tof let them know, both what we mean to do, tAnd.4to». And what's untimely done : so haply slander,^ [Whose whisper(^^ o'er the world's diameter. As level as the cannon to his blank,^^) Transports his poison'd shot, may miss our name. And hit the woundless air. — ] O come away ! My soul is full of discord, and dismay ! [Exeunt. " kept short — and out of haunt'] i. e. narrowed the range, and prohibited from places of public resort. ^ These words were supplied by Theobald. 110 HAMLET, ACT IK SCENE II. Another Room in the same. Enter Hamlet. Ham. Safely stowed. Gentlemen within. Hamlet! lord Hamlet! Hamlet ! Ham. [But softly,] what noise ? who calls on Hamlet ? O, here they come. Enter Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Ros. What have you done, my lord, with the dead body ? Ham. Compounded it with dust,(^) whereto 'tis kin. Ros. Tell us where 'tis ; that we may take it thence. And bear it to the chapel. Ham. Do not believe it. Ros. Beheve what ? Ham. That I can keep your counsel, and not mine own. Besides, to be demanded of a sponge ! * what replication should be made by the son of a king? Ros. Take you me for a sponge, my lord ? Ham. Ay, sir ; that soaks up the king's counte- nance, his rewards, his authorities. But such officers do the king best service in the end : He keeps them, like an ape, in the corner of his jaw ;('') first mouthed, to be last swallowed : When he needs ^ to he demanded of a sponge] Of, for hy, was the common phraseology of the day ; and more particularly in the use of this verb. sc. 11. PRINCE OF DENMARK. Ill what you have gleaned, it is but squeezing you, and, sponge, you shall be dry again.^s) Ros. I understand you not, my lord. Ham. I am glad of it : a knavish speech sleeps in a foolish ear. Ros. My lord, you must tell us where the body is, and go with us to the king. Ham. The body is with the king, but the king is not with the body." The king is a thing GuiL. A thing, my lord ? Ham. Of nothing :(») bring me to him. Hide fox, and all after-^i") [Exeunt. ' The body is with the king, but the king is not with the body"} This may mean, " the king is not yet cut off from hfe and so- vereignty : his carkass remains to the king ; hut the king is not with the body or carkass, that you seek : the king is not with Polonius." But Hamlet, whose meaning is, not merely to baffle these persons (not intitled to approach and question him with so little respect), but also to make allusions to matters, of which he could not, with prudence or safety to himself, speak openly, re- turns answers necessarily enigmatical. A more natural meaning is suggested ; " The image raised, the impression made upon the King's fears by the fate of Polo- nius makes his body or carcase present to the fancy of the king ; who knew and has said that " it had been so with him, had he been there :" but the King is not with the body, i. e. is not lying with Polonius, as Hamlet wished him to be, and would have said, had his situation made such an avowal safe." Others interpret, plainly enough, if admissibly, " The body is with the king," i. e. intombed or in the other world with the late, the real king : but the King, i. e. he who now wears the Crown, the usurper, " is not with the body." 112 HAMLET, act iv. SCENE III. Another Room in the same. Enter King, attended. King. I have sent to seek him, and to find the body. How dangerous is it, that this man goes loose ? Yet must not we put the strong law on him : He's lov'd of the distracted multitude. Who hke not in their judgment, but their eyes ; And, where 'tis so, the offender's scourge is weigh'd, * So 4tos. But never* the offence.* To bear all smooth and neerer. 1623 32. cvcii. This sudden sending him away must seem Dehberate pause : Diseases, desperate grown. By desperate apphance are reliev'd. Enter Rosencrantz. Or not at all. — How now ? what hath befallen ? Ros. Where the dead body is bestowed, my lord. We cannot get from him. King. But where is he ? Ros. Without, my lord ; guarded, to know your pleasure. King. Bring him before us. Ros. Ho, Guildenstern ! bring in my lord. ^ Where — the offender's scourge is weigh'd. But never the offence] i. e. when an ofiFender is popular, the people never consider what his crime was, but they scrutinize his punishment. sc. in. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 113 Enter Hamlet and Guildenstern. King. Now, Hamlet, where's Polonius ? Ham. At supper. King. At supper ? Where ? Ham. Not where he eats, but where he is eaten : a certain convocation of [politick*] worms are e'en * so 4tos, at him. Your worm is your only emperor for diet : ^ i^''^- we fat all creatures else, to fat us ; and we fat our- selves for maggots : Your fat king, and your lean beggar, is but variable service ; two dishes, but to one table ; that's the end. [King. Alas, alas ! Ham. a man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king : eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm.] King. What dost thou mean by this ? Ham. Nothing, but to show you how a king may go a progress through the guts of a beggar.^^^) King. Where's Polonius ? Ham. In heaven ; send thither to see : if yovir messenger find him not there, seek him i' the other place yourself. But, indeed, if you find him not [within] this month, you shall nose him as you go up the stairs into the lobby. King. Go seek him there. [To some Attendants. Ham. He will stay till you come. [Exeunt Attendants. King. Hamlet, this deed of thine, for thine espe- cial safety. Which we do tender, as we dearly grieve* For that which thou hast done, must send thee hence With fiery quickness :" Therefore, prepare thyself; " dearly grieve] i. e. deeply. See " dearest foe," I. 2. Haml. •> fiery quickness] i. e. rapid as the progress of flames. See " fiery expedition," R. III. IV. 3. K. Rich. 114 HAMLET, act iv. The bark is ready, and the wind at help,(i2) The associates tend, and every thing is bent For England, Ham. For England ? King. Kj, Hamlet. Ham. Good. King. So is't, if thou knew'st our piuposes. 4tos. Ham. I see a cherub," that sees him.* But, come ; for England ! — Farewell, dear mother. King. Thy loving father, Hamlet. Ham. My mother: Father and mother is man and wife ; man and wife is one flesh ; and so, my mother. Come, for England. [Exit. King. Follow him at foot ; '' tempt him with speed aboard ; Delay it not, I'll have him hence to-night : Away ; for every thing is seal'd and done That else leans on the affair : Pray you, make haste. [Exeunt Ros. and Guil. And, England, if my love thou hold'st at aught, (As my great power thereof may give thee sense ;"= Since yet thy cicatrice looks raw and red After the Danish sword, and thy free awe^^^) Pays homage to us,) thou may'st not coldly set Our sovereign process ;^ which imports at full. By letters conjuring to that effect,(i*) The present death of Hamlet. Do it, England ; * I see a cherub, that sees him] The quartos read them. This beauteous and sudden intimation of heavenly insight and inter- ference, against the insidious purpose of the King's shew of re- gard for Hamlet's welfare, flashes upon us with a surprise and interest rarely to be found or equalled, and worthy of this great master of the drama. *> Follow him at foot'] i. e. close at heels ; Kara TroSa. ■= thereof may give thee sensed i. e. may make thee a very in- telligible suggestion to that effect. ^ coldly set our sovereign process] i. e. with indifference re- gard, or set by, set at defiance. sc. III. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 115 For like the hectick in my blood he rages, (i^) And thou must cure me : 'Till I know 'tis done, Howe'er my haps,'' my joys were* ne'er begun. • wiUneer SCENE IV. A Plain in Denmark. Enter Fortinbras, and Forces, marching. For. Go, captain, from me greet the Danish king; Tell him, that, by his licence, Fortinbras Claims f the conveyance of a promis'd march" * craves. Over his kingdom. You know the rendezvous. ^^os. If that his majesty would aught with us, tveJlla- We shall express our duty in his eveS^^^ ^*s*, """^ 4 1 1 , 1 • 1 '' conduct. And let him know so. 1603. Cap. I will do't, my lord. For. Go + safely" on. j ^^^i^ [Exeunt Fortinbras, and Forces. 4tos. Enter Hamlet, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, ^c. [Ham. Good sir, whose powers are these ? Cap. They are of Norway, sir. Ham. How proposed,* sir, I pray you ? Cap. Against some part of Poland. Ham. Who Commands them, sir ? * Howe'er my haps] i. e. turns of fortune or chances. '• Claims the conveyance of a promis'd marcK] i. e. the way or means of, leave of passage for an army on march, as promised. ' safely'] i. e. with assurance of safe conduct. ^ proposed] Propositum is purpose : and purposed is accord- ingly without any warrant whatsoever here substituted by Stee- vens and Reed. 116 HAMLET, act iv^ Cap. The nephew to old Norway, Fortinbras. Ham. Goes it against the main of Poland/ sir. Or for some frontier ? Cap. Truly to speak, and with no addition,'' We go to gain a little patch of ground. That hath in it no profit but the name. To pay five ducats, five, I would not farm it ; Nor will it yield to Norway, or the Pole, A ranker rate," should it be sold in fee. Ham. Why, then the Polack never will defend it. Cap. Yes, 'tis already garrison'd. Ham. Two thousand souls, and twenty thousand ducats. Will not debate* the question of this straw : This is the imposthume " of much wealth and peace ; That inward breaks, and shows no cause without Why the man dies. — I hmnbly thank you, sir. *buy.o.c. Cap. God be wi'* you, sir. [Exit Cw^t&xa. Ros. Will't please you go, my lord ? Ham. I wiU be with you straight. Go a httle before. [Exeunt Ros. and Guil. How all occasions'^ do inform against me. And spur my dull revenge ! What is a man. If his chief good, and market^ of his time. Be but to sleep, and feed ? a beast, no more.'' * the main of Poland] See Lear, III. 1 . Gent. •■ addition] i. e. exaggeration. ' A ranker rate] i. e. more exuberantj larger. See K. John, V. 3. Salisb. ^ debate] i. e. suffice to debate. * imposthume] " The cankers of a calm world and a long peace." /. H. IV. IV. 2. Fdst. '' occasions] i. e. occurrences. B market] i. e. return had for his time. Market is merges, Lat. *■ a beast, no more] i. e. he is no better than a beast, if this is all. See Hamlet's Solil. sc. IV. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 117 Sure, he, that made us with such large discourse,^!^) Looking beforehand after, gave us not That capabihty and godKke reason To fust in us unus'd. Now, whether it be Bestial obhvion, or some craven scruple" Of thinking too precisely on the event,* (A thought, which, quarter'd, hath but one part wisdom. And, ever, three parts coward) I do not know Why yet I live, to say. This thing's to do ; Sith I have cause, and will, and strength, and means. To do't. Examples, gross as earth, exhort me : Witness, this army of such mass, and charge. Led by a delicate and tender prince ; Whose spirit, with divine ambition puff 'd. Makes mouths at the invisible event ; " Exposing what is mortal, and unsiure. To all that fortune, death, and danger, dare. Even for an egg-shell. Rightly to be great. Is, not to stir Avithout great argument ; * But greatly to find quarrel in a straw. When honour's at the stake. How stand I then. That have a father kill'd, a mother stain'd. Excitements of my reason and my blood,^ • craven scrap fe] i. e. cowardly; as asking quarter by pro- nouncing this word of fear and fealty. Tam. of Sh. II. I. Kath. '' the event] i. e. consequences. "= Makes mouths at the invisible event'] i. e. scoffs at unknown fate, at the unseen issue. <* without great argument, but greatly, 3fc.] i. e. without suffi- cient reason, but magnanimously, &iq. Johnson says, the sen- timent is partly just, and partly romantick. Rightly to be great, Is, not to stir without great argument; is exactly philosophical. But greatly to find quarrel in a straw. When honour's at the stake, is the idea of a modern hero. But then, says he, honour is an argument, or subject of debate, sufficiently great, and when honour is at stake, we must/«d cause of quarrel in a straw. ' reason and hloodi] i. e. judgment and passions. See III. 2. Haml. 118 HAMLET, act jy. And let all sleep ? while, to my shame, I see The imminent death of twenty thousand men. That, for a fantasy^ and trick of fame," Go to their graves like beds ; fight for a plot,(i8) Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause. Which is not tomb enough, and continent,(i9) To hide the slain ? — O, from this time forth. My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth !] [Exit. SCENE V. Elsinore. A Room in the Castle. Enter Queen and Horatio. Queen. 1 will not speak with her. HoR. She is importunate ; indeed, distract ; Her mood will needs be pitied/^o) Queen. What would she have ? HoR. She speaks much of her father ; says, she hears. There's tricks i'the world ; and hems, and beats her heart ; Spurns enviously'' at straws; speaks things in doubt," That carry but half sense : her speech is nothing. Yet the unshaped use of it doth move The hearers to collection ;(2i) they aim at it. And botch the words up fit to their own thoughts ; Which, as her winks, and nods, and gestvires jdeld them, ^ trick of fame] i. e. point of honour. •• enviotishjl i. e. " with spleen and passion, as mad dogs snap at whatever they meet." See II. H. FJ. II. 4. Glost. ■^ speaks things in doubt'] i. e. without distinct or certain aim : wandering or incoherently. sc. V. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 119 Indeed would make one think, there would* be* might. thought, ""''• Though nothing siu-e, yet much unhappily .(^2) Queen. 'Twere good, she were spoken with ; for she may strew Dangerous conjectures in ill-breeding minds : Let her come in. [Exit Horatio. To my sick soul, as sin's true nature is. Each toy seems prologue to some great amiss :' So full of artless jealousy is guilt. It spiUs itself in fearing to be spilt.* Re-enter Horatio, with Ophelia. Oph. Where is the beauteous majesty of Den- mark? Queen. How now, Ophelia ? Oph. How should I your true love know From another one ? By his cockle hat and staff",^^^^ And his sandal shoon." [Singing. Queen. Alas, sweet lady, what imports this song ? Oph. Say you ? nay, pray you, mark. He is dead and gone, lady, [Sings. He is dead and gone ; At his head a grass-green turf. At his heels a stone. Oho! * Each toy seenis prologue to some great amiss] Toy is trifle ; and amiss, in common use at that time for offence or abuse, here imports " evil impending or catastrophe." •> So full of artless jealousy is guilt. It spills itself in fearing to be spilt] i. e. so unskilful is the extreme finesse and jealousy of guQt, that it exposes and ruins itself by its over anxiety to stifle suspicion. See Lear, III. 2. L. " sandal shoon] " Socculus, a manner of shone." Ortus Vocabulor. 1515. i. e. shoes or shoen the Sax. termination in the plural : as oxen, housen. 120 HAMLET, act iv. Queen. Nay, but Ophelia, Oph. Pray you, mark. White his shroud as the mountain-snow, [Sings. Enter King. Queen. Mas, look here, my lord. Oph. Larded [all'\ with sweet flowers ; * ground. Which bewept to the grave* did not go **°^- With true-love shower s.^^^'^ King. How do you, pretty lady 1 Oph. Well, God'ield you.* They say, the owl was a baker's daughter.^^s) Lord, we know what we are, but know not what we may be. God be , at your table ! King. Conceit upon her father. *• Oph. Pray you, let us have no words of this ; but when they ask you, what it means, say you this : To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,^^^ All in the morning hetime. And I a maid at your window. To be your Valentine: Then up he rose, and dorid his clothes, And dupp'd" the chamber door ; Let in the maid, that out a maid Never departed more. King. Pretty Ophelia! " God'ield you] i. e. requite ; yield you recompence. As you «(c. III. 3. Touchst. •» Conceit upon her father] i. e. " fancies respecting." See III. 4. Ghost. " Conceit in weakest minds." '^ don'd and dupp'd] i. e. do on and do up. For don'd see Ant. Sf CI. II. I. Pom. sc.K PRINCE OF DENMARK. 121 Oph. Indeed, la ? without an oath, I'll make an end on't : By Gis,W and by Saint Charity ^^^^ Alack, and f ye for shame f Young men will do't, if they come to't ; By cock,^^^^ they are to blame. Quoth she, before you tumbled me. You promis'd me to wed : [He answers.] So would I ha' done, by yonder sun. An thou hadst not come to my bed. King. How long hath she been this ?* , xhus. Oph. I hope, all will be well. We must be4tos. patient : but I cannot choose but weep, to think, they shouldf lay him i'the cold ground : My bro- 1 would, ther shall know of it, and so I thank you for your**"^- good counsel. Come, my coach!* Good night, ladies ; good night, sweet ladies : good night, good night. [Exit. King. FoUow her close ; give her good watch, I pray you. [Exit Horatio. O ! this is the poison of deep grief; it springs All from her father's death : [And now behold,] O, Gertrude, Gertrude, When sorrows come, they come not single spies. But in battalions ! J First, her father slain ; jbattaiiaes. Next, your son gone ; and he most violent author ^ ^^3, 32. Of his own just remove : The people muddied. Thick and unwholesome in their thoughts and whispers. For good Polonius' death ; and we have done but greenly,^^'') In hugger-mugger to inter him :(3i) Poor Ophelia " Come, my coach] " Make ready my coach, my chair^ my jewels. I comej I come." Zabina in her phrenzy — Tamberlaine. Malone. 122 HAMLET, act ir. Divided from herself, and her fair judgment ; "Without the which we are pictures, or mere beasts. Last, and as much containing as all these. Her brother is in secret come from France : * So 4tos. Feeds * on his wonder,(32) keeps himself in clouds,* 1623^32. And wants not buzzers to infect his ear With pestilent speeches of his father's death ; whert'in Wherein f necessity, of matter beggar'd," 1623732°' Will nothing stick our persons % to arraign In ear and ear. O my dear Gertrude, this, 4tos"°°' ^^^ ^^ * murdering piece,(33) in many places Gives me superfluous death ! [A Noise within. Queen. Alack ! what noise is this ? Enter a Gentleman. King. Attend. Where are my Switzers ?(3*) Let them guard the door: What is the matter ? Gent. Save yourself, my lord ; The ocean, overpeering of his hst," Eats not the flats with more impitious haste,P5) Than young Laertes, in a riotous head,** O'erbears your officers ! The rabble call him, lord ; And, as the world were now but to begin. Antiquity forgot, custom not known. * keeps himself in clouds] i. e. at lofty distance and seclusion. '' necessity, of matter beggar d, will nothing stick'] The neces- sities of one who has put himself in such a predicament, (i. e., as Johnson says, the obligation of an accuser to support his charge) will, in want of grave or rational proof, have no reserve or scruple every where to accuse even our sovereign self. " The ocean, overpeering of his list] i. e. swelling over his utmost line or boundary. See " list of my voyage." Tw. N. III. 1. Viola. '^ in a riotous head] The tide, strongly flowing, is said to pour in with a great head. sc. V. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 123 The ratifiers and props of every word/ They cry. Choose we; Laertes shall be king! Caps, hands, and tongues, applaud it to the clouds, Laertes shall be king, Laertes king! Queen. How cheerfully on the false trail they cry! O, this is counter, you false Danish dogsJ^e) King. The doors are broke. [Noise within. Enter Laertes, armed; Danes following. Laer. Where is thisjsing ? — Sirs, stand you all without. Dan. No, let's come in. Laer. I pray you, give me leave. Dan. We will, we will. [They retire without the door. Laer. I thank you: — ^keep the door. — O thou vile king. Give me my father. Queen. Calmly, good Laertes. Laer. That drop of blood, that calms,* pro-* that's claims me bastard : calm. 4tos. Cries, cuckold, to my father ; brands the harlot Even here, between the chaste unsmirched brow Of my true mother.*" * Antiquity forgot, custom not known. The ratifiers and props of every word] Word is term, and means appellation or title ; as lord used before, and king after- wards : and in its more extended sense, must import " every human establishment." The sense of the passage is, — " As far as antiquity ratifies, and custom makes every term, denomination, or title known, they run counter to them, by talking, when they mention kings, of their right of chusing and of saying who shall be king or sovereign." ^ the chaste unsmirched brow of my true mother'] Unsmirched is unstained. See I. 3. Laert. 124 HAMLET, activ. King. What is the cause, Laertes, That thy rebellion looks so giant-Kke ? — Let him go, Gertrude ; do not fear our person ; * wall. There's such divinity doth hedge* a king, 4to. 1603. r^y^^i treason can but peep to what it would. Acts little of his will.(37)— Tell me, Laertes, Why thou art thus incensed ; — Let him go, Ger- trude ; — Speak, man. Laer. Where is my father ? King. Dead. Queen. But not by him. King. Let him demand his fill. Laer. How came he dead ? I'll not be juggled with : To hell, allegiance ! vows, to the blackest devil I Conscience, and grace,* to the profoundest pit ! I dare damnation : To this point I stand, — That both the worlds I give to neghgence," Let come what comes ; only I'll be reveng'd Most throughly for my father. King. Who shall stay you ? t world's. Laer. My will, not all the world :f 4tos. And, for my means, I'll husband them so well. They shall go far with httle. King. Good Laertes, If you desire to know the certainty : So 4tos. Of your dear father's death, is't J writ in your re- if. 1623,32. venge, §soop- That, §sweepstake,° you will draw both friend and stake. 0.0. fge steke-iike. Winner and loser ? 4to. 1603. * grace] i. e. a religious feeling, a disposition to yield obedi- ence to the divine laws. ^ Both the worlds I give to negligence'] i. e. I am careless of my present and future prospects, my views in this life, as well as that which is to come. " sweepstake] i. e. by wholesale, undistinguishingly. sc. V. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 125 Laer. None but his enemies. — ^^*6- Will you know them then ? Laer. To his good friends thus wide I'll ope my arms; And, like the kind life-rend'ring peHcan,* (38) , go 4to8. Repast them with my blood. & 1632. ^ Politician. King. Why, now you speak 1^23. Like a good child, and a true gentleman. That I am guiltless of your father's death. And am most sensible^ in grief for it. It shall as level to your judgment pierce,"! t peare. As day does to your eye, ^^°^- Danes [within.'] Let her come in. Laer. How now ! what noise is that ? Enter Ophelia, fantastically dressed with Straws and Flowers. O heat, dry up my brains ! tears seven times salt, X so 4to8. Burn out the sense and virtue of mine eye ! — 3^; ^^^^' By heaven, thy madness shall be paid with % weight. Till our scale turn § the beam. O rose of May ! § So 4tos. Dear maid, kind sister, sweet Ophelia ! — i62T,'32. O heavens ! is't possible, a young maid's wits Should be as mortal as an old man's life ? Nature is fine in love : and, where 'tis fine. It sends some precious instance of itself. After the thing it loves, (^s) Oph. They bore him barefaced on the bier ; Hey non nonny, nonny hey nonny .'(^"^ n in. 4to3. And on \\ his grave rains^ many a tear ; — If rain'd. Fare you well, my dove ! *'°^- " sensible in grief] i. e. " poignantly affected with." Adjec- tives, having this termination, are, in our author, frequently used adverbially. The quarto, 1604, reads sennbly. ^ pierce] i. e. make its way. 126 HAMLET, act if. Laer. Hadst thou thy wits, and didst persuade revenge. It could not move thus. Oph. You must sing, Down a-down,^'^^') an you call him a-dowrira. O, how the wheel becomes it! (^2) It is the false steward, that stole his master's daughter. Laer. This nothing's more than matter.* Oph. There's rosemary, that's for remem- brance ;(*3) pray [you,] love, remember: and there * So 4tos. is pansies,* that's for thoughts.^^^) paconcies. 1623. Laer. A document in madness ; thoughts and remembrance fitted. t the King. Oph. There's fennel for you,f and colum- bines :(4^) — there's rue for you; and here's some X herb of for me : — ^we may call it, herb-grace J o'Sundays :(4^) grace. 4to3. — ^^^ must§ wcar youT rue with a diiference,('*7) — 4tos" ™*^" There's a daisy ;('*8) — I would give you some violets ; but they withered all, when my father died : — They say, he made a good end, For honny sweet Robin is all my joy, — (^^^ [Sings. Laer. Thought" and affUction, passion, hell it- self, She turns to favour, and to prettiness. Oph. And will he not come again 9 And will he not come again ? No, no, he is dead. Go to thy death-bed. He never will come again. " This nothing's more than matter] See " O matter,'' &c. Lear, IV. 6. Edg. •■ Thought] " Thought or hevynesse of herte. Molestia. McBstitia." Promptuar. parvulor. 4to. 1514. Ant. &; CI. III. 2. (Enobarb. " Think and die." See Tw. N. II. 4. Viola. sc. V. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 127 His beard as * white as snow^^^^ * was as. All flaxen was his poll, *'°^" He is gone, he is gone, And we cast away moan ; Gramercy f on his soul! t God a. 4tos. And of all christian souls ! ^ I pray God. God be wi' you ! lExit Ophelia, j go 4tos. Laer. Do you see this, O God ? J i623?32!' King. Laertes, I must common § with your OTlpf (51) 5<^ommune. o ' 4tos. & Fo. Or you deny me right. Go but apart, lesi Make choice of whom your wisest friends* you will. And they shall hear and judge 'twixt you and me : If by direct or by collateral hand They find us touch'd, we will our kingdom give. Our crown, our hfe, and aU that we call ours. To you in satisfaction ; but, if not. Be you content to lend your patience to us, And we shall jointly labour with your soul To give it due content. Laer. Let this be so ; His means of death, his obscure burial, || — n funeral. No trophy, sword, nor hatchment, o'er his bones,(52)4tos. No noble rite, nor formal ostentation, — Cry to be heard,^^^) as 'twere from heaven to earth. That I must call't % in question. if so 4tos. Tjr a V. ^^ caU. 1623, King. So you shall ; 32. And, where the offence is, let the great axeC^^) fall. I pray you go with me. [Exeunt. " And of all christian souls\ This was the old and common benison of the Romish Church. ^ of whom your wisest friends'] i. e. of whom, or which of. Any amongst.. 128 HAMLET, act if. SCENE VI. Another Room in the same. Enter Hokatio, and a Servant. HoR. What are they, that would speak with me ? • seafaring Serv. Sailors,* sir ; men. 4tos. They Say, they have letters for you. HoR. Let them come in. [Exit Servant. I do not know from what part of the world I should be greeted, if not from lord Hamlet. Enter Sailors. 1 Sail. God bless you, sir. Hoi. Let him bless thee too. 1 Sail. He shall, sir, an't please him. There's a letter for you, sir ; it comes from the ambassadors that was bound for England ; if your name be Ho- ratio, as I am let to know it is. HoR. [Reads.] Horatio, when thou shalt have overlooked this, give these fellows some means'^ to the king ; they have letters for him. Ere we were two days old at sea^ a pirate of very warlike appointment" gave us chace : Finding ourselves too slow of sail, we put on a compelled valour ; [and] in the grapple I boarded them : on the instant, they got clem- of our ship ; so I alone became their prisoner. They have " means to the king] i. e. means of access, introduction. ^ Ere we were two days old at sea\ i. e. at the end of a second day's voyage. See M.forM. IV. 2. Prov. " appointment'] i. e. equipment. sc. VI. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 129 dealt with me, like thieves of mercy ; but they knew what they did; I am to do a good turn for them. Let the king have the letters I have sent ; and repair thou to me with as much haste as thou would'stfly death. I have words to speak in your* ear, will make * thine. thee dumb ; yet are they much too light for the bore^^^' of the matter.'' These good fellows will bring thee where I am. Rosencrantz and Guildenstem hold their course for England : of them I have much to tell thee. Farewell. He that thou knowest thine, Hamlet. Come, I will give you way for these your letters ;'* And do't the speedier, that you may direct me To him from whom you brought them. [Exeunt. SCENE VII. Another Room in the same. Enter King and Laertes. Kii^G. Now must your conscience my acqxiittance seal. And you must put me" in your hsart for friend; Sith you have heard, and with a knowing ear,* That he, which hath yom- noble father slain, Pursu'd my life. Laer. It well appears : — But tell me. Why you proceeded not against these feats, * for the bore of the matter] The hore is the caliber of a gun, or the capacity of the barrel. The matter (says Hamlet) would carry heavier words. Johnson. •> / will give you -way for these your letters] Way is passage, means of conveyance. <= put me] i. e. set me down, register me. ^ knowing ear] i. e. well satisfied, K 130 HAMLET, act ir. So crimeful and so capital in nature. As by your safety, [greatness,] wisdom, all things else. You mainly were stirr'd up. King. O, for two special reasons ; Which may to you, perhaps, seem much unsineVd, 4to^"'' And* yet to me they are strong. The queen his mother. Lives almost by his looks ; and for my self, (My virtue, or my plague, be it either which,^) She is so conjunctive to my life and soul. That, as the star moves not but in his sphere, I could not but by her. The other motive. Why to a pubHck counf I might not go. Is, the great love the general gender" bear him : Who, dipping all his faults in their affection, t Worke. Wouldjf like the spring that tumeth wood to stone. Convert his gyves to graces :(^s) so that my arrows. Too slightly timber'd for so loud a wind,^^^) Would have reverted to my bow again, 1632. '°^' And not where I had aim'd J them. 1623. ' Laer. And so have I a noble father lost ; A sister driven into desperate terms ;* $ So. 4tos. Whose worth,§ if praises may go back again, 1623732! Stood challenger on mount of all the age For her perfections :" — But my revenge will come. °- be it either whicK] i. e. whichever of the two it be ; be it either [of them, that] which [I speak of.] "' count'] i. e. investigation, account. ■= the general gender] i. e. the common people or race. See " the general/' II. 2. Haml. ^ driven into desperate terms] i. e. into a state or condition of despair. ' Whose worth, if praises may go back again, Stood challenger on mount of all the age For her perfections] i. e. whose merits, if the report of them may, where she can never return, be here re-echoed, stood (on the highest ground, and in the fullest presence of the age) like a champion for their mistress, to give a general challenge in support of her excellence. sc. m. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 131 King. Break not your sleeps for that : you must not think. That we are made of stuff so flat and dull. That we can let our beard be shook with danger,(57) And think it pastime. You shortly shall hear more : I loved your father, and we love ourself ; And that, I hope, will teach you to imagine, — How now ? what news ? Enter a Messenger. Mess. Letters, my lord, from Hamlet : This to yom- majesty ; this to the queen. King. From Hamlet ! who brought them ? Mess. Sailors, my lord, they say: I saw them not: They were given me by Claudio, he receiv'd them. King. Laertes, you shall hear them : — Leave us. [Exit Messenger, [Reads.] High and mighty, you shall know, I am set naked on your kingdom. To-morrow shall I beg leave to see your kingly eyes : when I shall, first asking your pardon thereunto, recount the occasion of my sudden and more strange return. Hamlet. What should this mean! Are all the rest come back? Or is it some abuse, and no such thing ? Laer. Know you the hand ? King. 'Tis Hamlet's character.* Naked, — And, in a postscript here, he says, alone : Can you advise me ? Laer. I am lost in it, my lord. But let him come ; It warms the very sickness in my heart, * Tis Hamlet's character] i. e. peculiar mode of shaping letters. « Charactery," M. W. of W. V. 5. Mrs. Quickly. Xapaicr»)p nota impressa, from xapatraw, sculpo. * o. c. Thus he dies. 1603< ;32 „ HAMLET, act.ik That I shall live and tell him to, his teeth. Thus diddest thou.* King. If it be so, Laertes, As how should it be so ? how otherwise ? Will you be rul'd by me ? Laer. If you'll not o'er-rule me to a peace. King. To thine own peace. If he be now re- turn'd. As checking at his voyage,(58) and that he means No more to undertake it, I will work him To an exploit, now ripe in my device. Under the which he shall not choose but fall : And for his death no wind of blame shall breathe ; But even his mother shall uncharge the practice,' And call it, accident. Laeb. [My lord, I will be rul'd ; The rather, if you could devise it so. That I might be the organ. King. It falls right. You have been taUc'd of since your travel much. And that in Hamlet's hearing, for a quality Wherein, they say, you shine : your sum of parts* Did not together pluck such envy from him. As did that one ; and that, in my regard. Of the unworthiest siege." Laer. What part is that, my lord ? King. A very ribband in the cap of youth. Yet needftil too ; for youth no less becomes The light and careless livery that it wears. Than settled age his sables, and his weeds. Importing health and graveness. — *] Some two monlhs months hence,f since. 4tos, * uncharge the practice'] i. e. acquit the expedient pursued, of blame. '' sum of parts] i. e. total. See M. of V. III. 2. Portia. ■= siege] i. e. place or rank. See Othel. I. 2. Othel. ^ Importing health and graveness] i. e. carrying with them those ideas ; denoting as well that, from which this stage of life * Two sc. ni. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 133 Here was a gentleman of Normandy, I have seen myself, and serv'd against the French, And they ran well* on horseback; but this gallant \, Had witchcraft in't;*" he grew into* his seat; 4tos. And to such wond'rous doings brought his horse, ^ ^^d he As he had been f incorps'd and demi-natur'd teen. o. c. With the brave beast : so far he pass'd J my thought ; t toppU That I, in forgery of shapes and tricks, ^'°'- Come short" of what he did. Laer. a Norman, was't ? King. A Norman. Laer. Upon my life, Lamound. King. The very same. Laer. I know him well : he is the brooch,* in- deed. And gem of all the § nation, § So 4tos.. King. He made confession oP you ; 32. * And gave you such a masterly report, derives health (viz. warm clothing), as that which also ought to accompany it, gravity, or an exterior of sohriety and decorum. * Here was a gentleman of Normandy, I have seen myself, and serv'd against the French, And they ran well, Sfc."] With this punctuation, that of the quartos also, the construction may be, " Here was a gentleman [whom] I've seen myself, and [I have also] served against the French, and they, &c." or, if the reading of the folio of 1632 is adopted, viz. " Here was a gentleman of Normandy," we must read and punctuate the next line with the modern editors : " I have seen myself, and serv'd against, the French." They, also, with the quartos, read can instead of ran. •> Had witchcraft in't] i. e. in this exercise, in the art and feats of horsemanship. c pass'd my thought ; That I, in forgery of shapes and tricks, Come short] i. e. outwent all that my imagination could frame. •* broochj i. e. bosom jewel. ' made confession of] i. e. acknowledged. 4tos. 134 HAMLET, mt ir. For art and exercise in your defence," » especial. And for your rapier most especially,* *'°^' That he cried out, 'twould be a sight indeed. If one could match you: [the scrimers'' of their nation. He swore, had neither motion, guard, nor eye. If you oppos'd them :] Sir, this report (^9) of his Did Hamlet so envenom with his envy. That he could nothing do, but wish and beg t you. 4tos. Your sudden coming o'er, to play with fhim. Now, out of this, J what. Laer. Why J out of this, my lord ? King. Laertes, was your father dear to you ? Or are you like the painting of a sorrow, A face without a heart ? Laer. Why ask you this ? King. Not that I think, you did not love your father ; But that I know, love is begun by time ; And that I see, in passages of proof. Time qualifies the spark and fire of it/^") [There lives within the very flame of love A kind of wick, or snuff, that will abate it ; And nothing is at a like goodness still ; For goodness, growing to a plurisy,^^^) Dies in his own too-much : That we would do. We should do when we would;" for this would changes,* And hath abatements and delays as many. " in your defence] Used for " in your art and science of defence." ^ scrimers] From escrimeur, Fr. a fencer. " Hence scrimish, says Mr. Pegge, by transposition of letters made skirmish, be- came the encounter." Anecd. of Engl. Language, 8vo. 1803, p. 68. ' We should do when we would] i. e. at the heat, at the time of the resolution taken. ^ for this would changes] i. e. inclination is fluctuating and uncertain. Seymour. sc. VII. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 135 As there are tongues, are hands, are accidents ; And then this should is hke a spendthrift sigh. That hurts by easing.(62) But, to the quick o'the ulcer :] Hamlet comes back ; What would you undertake. To show yourself your father's son in deed More than in words ? Laer. To cut his throat i'the church.* King. No place, indeed, should murder sanc- tuarize ; Revenge should have no bounds.(«3) Rut, good Laertes, Will you do this ? keep close within your chamber ! Hamlet, return'd, shall know you are come home : We'll put on those shall praise your excellence. And set a double varnish on the fame The Frenchman gave you ; bring you, in fine, to- gether. And wager o'er your heads : he, being remiss,'' Most generous, and free from all contriving. Will not peruse the foils ;" so that, with ease. Or with a little shufiling, you may choose A sword unbated,(^4) and, in a pass of practice,* Requite him for your father. Laer. I will do't : " To cut his throat i'the church.'] Said, not as conceiving this, in contradiction to Hamlet, " know a more horrid hent." III. 3, the highest possible means of gratifying revenge, but as not hesitating, so far as respects offence committed by himself, to violate the sanctity of the house of God for such purpose. '» he being remiss] i. e. inattentive, as unsuspicious. ' peruse the foils] i. e. closely inspect. ^ and in a pass of practice] i. e. a favourite pass ; in which experience assured him of success : but fraud or artifice, a sense in which it occurs throughout our author, can hardly be sup- posed here to be excluded : for such was the use of an unfair weapon. Upon the origin of the use of this word in this sense we are indebted to Mr. Todd for new information. " Preec, Sax. is cunning, sliness : and thence Prat in Gaw. Douglas, is a trick of fraud. Latter times, forgetting the original of words, applied to practise the sense of prat." Diet. 136 ■ HAMLET, act iv. * So 4tos. And, for the* purpose, I'll anoint my. sword. that. 1623, J bought an unction of a mountebank. So mortal, that but dipf a knife in it, + So 4tos. Where it draws blood no cataplasm so rare, 162" 32.^' Collected from all simples that have virtue Under the moon, can save the thing from death. That is but scratch'd withal : I'll touch my point With this contagion ; that, if I gall him slightly, It may be death. King. Let's further think on this ; Weigh, what convenience, both of time and means> May fit us to our shape : * if this should fail. And that our drift look through our bad performance, 'Twere better not assa3r'd ; therefore this project Should have a back, or second, that might hold. If this should blast in proof." Soft ; let me see : J cnnnings. We'll make a solemn wager on your commings.J" ^i"- I ha't : . gQ4tog When in your motion* you are hot and dry, the. 1623^ (As make your bouts more violent to that § end,) ^^" And that he calls for drink, I'U have prepared || him II preferr'd. -^ chaUcc for the nonce ;(^^) whereon but sipping, 4tos. If he by chance escape your venom'd stuck,' Om- purpose may hold there. [But stay, what noise?] • » fit us to our shape] An image taken from the tailor's board : may suit us. ^ If this should blast in proof] i. e. burst in the explosion or proof. Blast is a term in mining. " commingsl i. e. meeting in assault, bout or pass at fence. " Comming. Gall. Venue." Minshieu. " Venne. Fr. a coming, also a venny in fencing." HoweU's Cotgrave's Diet. Fr. S; Engl. Fo. 1673. as also a comming. Venue. ^ in your motion'] i. e. exercise, rapid evolutions, as just before : " Had neither motion, guard, nor eye." ' venom'd stuck] i. e. stroke from " tuck (estoc, Fr. G. item Stocco. Ensis longior." Skin.) or sticking piece. See Tw. N. III. 4. Sir Tob. and M. W.ofW. II. 1. Shall. scvii.:. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 137 Enter Queen. How now, sweet queen ? Queen. One woe doth tread upon another's heel, ^ So fast they* follow : Your sister's drown'd, Laertes, they'-u.'"'" Laer. Drown'd! O, where? ^''^^'^^• Queen. There is a willow grows ascauntf the t aslant a. brook, 1623,32. That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream ; There, with fantastick garlands, did she come Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples,^^^) That liberal shepherds (^^) give a grosser name. But our cold J maids do dead men's fingers call them : : cuu-cow. There on the pendent boughs her coronet^ weeds '*"'^' Clambering to hang, an envious sliver broke ; When down these § weedy trophies, and herself, § her. 4tos. Fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide ; And, mermaid-like, a while they bore her up : Which time, she chanted snatches" of old tunes ; As one incapable of her own distress,^^^^ Or like a creature native and indu'd Unto that element :(69) but long it could not be. Till that her garments, heavy with their drink, Pull'd the poor wretch from her melodious lay || ii So 4tos. To muddy death." l^[lll^- Laer. Alas, then, she is drown'd ? Queen. Drown'd, drown'd. Laer. Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia, And therefore I forbid my tears : But yet It is our trick," nature her custom holds, » snatches] i. e. scraps. See " snatches, i. e. catches, of his voice." Cymb. IV. 2. Belar. and M. for M. IV. 2. Clown. >> muddy death] Mudded is a term, which, when speaking of this species of death, he repeats in the Tempest, III. 3. Alon. and V. 1 . Alon. "= our trick] i. e. our course, or hahit ; a property that clings to, or makes a part of, us. 138 HAMLET, act iv. sc. rii. Let shame say what it will : when these are gone. The woman wiU be out.* Adieu, my lord ! I have a speech of fire, that fain would blaze, * drowns. But that this folly doubts* it-C^o) \Exit. 1632. King. Let's follow, Gertrude : How much I had to do to calm his rage ! Now fear I, this will give it start again ; Therefore, let's follow. [Exeunt. * when these are gone. The woman will be out] i. e. when these tears are shedj this womanish passion will be over. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 139 ACT V. SCENE I. A Church Yard. Enter Two Clowns, with Spades, 8fc. 1 Clo. Is she to be buried in christian burial, that wilMly seeks her own salvation ? 2 Clo. I tell thee, she is ; and therefore, make her grave straight:* the crowner hath set on her, and finds it christian burial. 1 Clo. How can that be, unless she drowned herself in her own defence ? 2 Clo. Why, 'tis found so. 1 Clo. It must be se offendendo ;^ it cannot be else. For here lies the point : If I drown myself wittingly, it argues an act : and an act hath three branches; it is, to act,* to do, and to perform :W* so4tos. Argal, she drowned herself wittingly. &c"i623 2 Clo. Nay, but hear you, goodman delver. 32. 1 Clo. Give me leave. Here hes the water; good : here stands the man ; good : If the man go to this water, and drown himself, it is, will he, nill he, he goes ; " mark you that : but if the water come " Tnake her grave straight] i. e. straightways, forthwith j the fact next stated being a warrant for proceeding, without any- further question made. " I will arraign them straight." Lear, III. 6. L. Sf " She must overboard straight." Pericl. III. 1. '' It must be se offendendo] A confusion of things as well as of terms : used for se defendendo, a finding of the jury in justifiable homicide. "= If the man go to this water, — it is, will he, nill he, he goes'] Still floundering and confounding himself. He means to repre- sent it as a wilful act, and of course without any mixture of nill or nolens in it. Had he gone, as stated, whether he would or not, it would not have been of his own accord, or his act. 140 HAMLET, act r. to him, and drown him, he drowns not himself: Argal, he, that is not guilty of his own death, shortens not his own life. 2 Clo. But is this law ? 1 Clo. Ay, marry is't ; crowner's-quest^ law. 2 Clo. Will you ha' the truth on't ? If this had not been a gentlewoman, she should have been buried out of christian burial. 1 Clo. Why, there thou say'st r'' And the more pity; that great folks shall have countenance in this world to drown or hang themselves, more than their even christian.® Come, my spade. There is no ancient gentlemen but gardeners, ditchers, and grave-makers ; they hold up Adam's profession. 2 Clo. Was he a gentleman ?(3) 1 Clo. He was the first that ever bore arms. 2 Clo. Why, he had none. 1 Clo. What, art a heathen? How dost thou understand the scripture ? The scripture says, Adam digged; Could he dig without arms? I'll put an- other question to thee : if thou answerest me not to the purpose, confess thyself " 2 Clo. Go to. 1 Clo. What is he, that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter ? 2 Clo. The gallaws-maker ; for that firame out- lives a thousand tenants. 1 Clo. I hke thy wit well, in good faith ; the gallows does well : But how does it well ? it does well to those that do ill : now thou dost ill, to say, ' crowners quest] i. e. coroner's inquest. •> Why, there thou say'st} i.e. say'st something, speak' st to the purpose. <= confess thyself ] i. e. admit, or by acknowledgment pass sentence upon, thyself, as a simpleton ; pursuing the form and phrase of the common saying, " confess] and be hanged." SCI. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 141 the gallows is built siarongef than the church ;.argal, the gallows may do well to thee. To't again ; come. 2 Czo. Who builds stronger than a mason, a shipwright, or a carpenter ? 1 Clo. Ay, tell me that, and unyoke.'' 2 Clo. Marry, now I can tell. 1 Clo. To't. > 2 Clo. Mass, I cannot tell. Enter Hamlet and Houatio, at a distance. 1 Clo. Cudgel thy brains no more about it; for your dull ass will not mend his pace with beat- ing : and, when you are asked this question next, say, a grave-maker; the houses that he makes, lasts till doomsday. Go, get thee to Yaughan, and fetch me a stoup* of Hquor.W . [Exit ,2 Clown. , so^pe. 4tos. 1 Clown digs, and sings. "' '"'' In youth, when I did love, did love, Methought, it was very sweet. To contract, O, the time, for, ah, my behove O, methought, there was nothing meet.^^) Ham. Has this fellow no feehng of his business ? that he sings at grave-making. HoR. Custom hath made it in him a property of easiness. Ham. 'Tise'enso: the hand of little employment hath the daintier sense." a tell me that, and unyoke] i. e. unravel this, and your day's work is done, your team you may then unharness. ^ the hand of little employment hath the daintier sense'\ i. e. its " palm less dulled or staled." I, 3. Polon. 4tos 142 HAMLET, act v. * clawed. 1 Clo. But age, with his stealing steps, 4to3. Hath caught* me in his clutch, t into. And hath shipped me intillf the land. As if I had never been suchS-^^ [Throws up a scull. Ham. That scull had a tongue in it, and could sing once : How the knave jowls it to the ground, as if it were Cain's jaw-bone, that did the first murder ! It might be the pate of a poUtician, which this ass o'er-offices ;(') one that could circumvent God, might it not ? HoR. It might, my lord. Ham. Or of a courtier ; which could say. Good- morrow, sweet lord! How dost thou, good lord? This might be my lord such-a-one, that praised my lord such-a-one's horse, when he meant to beg it;M might it not ? HoR. Ay, my lord. Ham. Why, e'en so : and now my lady Worm's ; chapless, and knocked about the mazzard with a sexton's spade : Here's fine revolution, an we had the trick* to see't. Did these bones cost no more the breeding, but to play at loggats with them ?W mine ache to think on't. 1 Clo. a pick-axe and a spade, a spade, [Sings. For — and a shrouding sheet .'(i*) O, a pit of clay for to be made For such a guest is meet. [Throws up a scull. Ham. There's another : Why might not that be the scuU of a lawyer? Where be his quiddits(ii) now, his quillets,(i2) his cases, his tenures, and his tricks ? why does he suffer this rude knave now to knock him about the sconce^^^) with a dirty shovel, and will not tell him of his action of battery? Humph ! This fellow might be in's time a great buyer " ihe tnc\c\ i. e. knack, faculty. sc. I. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 143 of land, with his statutes,(i4) his recognizances, his nnes, his double vouchers, his recoveries :(i5) Is this the fine of his fines,' and the recovery of his recoveries, to have his fine pate full of fine dirt ? will his vouchers vouch him no more* of his pur- chases, and double ones too, than the length and breadth of a pair of indentures ? The very convey- ances of his lands will hardly lie in this box ; and must *the inheritor himself have no more ? ha ? • must the HoR. Not a jot more, my lord. the™"? * _-. 1603. H^M. Is not parchment made of sheep-skins ? IIoR. Ay, my lord, and of calves-skins too. Ham. They are sheep, and calves, which seek out assurance (i6) in that. I wiU speak to this fellow : (i'')— Whose grave's this, sir ?f t sirra, 1 Clo. Mine, sir. — O, a pit of clay for to be made [Sings. For such a guest is meet. Ham. I think, it be thine," indeed ; for thou Kest in't. 1 Clo. You He out on't, sir, and therefore it is not yours : for my part, I do not He in't, yet it is mine. Ham. Thou dost He in't, to be in't, and say it is thine : 'tis for the dead, not for the quick ; therefore thou liest. * M this the fine of his fines] i. e. the end of, or utmost attained by, the operation of all this legal machinery. '' vouch him no more] i. e. answer for, or assure him. "^ I think it be thine] Lowth here pronounces the use of the auxiliary verb in this time and mode " wholly obsolete." Gram, p. 55. 1763. It is however at this hour the vulgar tongue, and Hamlet was familiarly conversing with those of that class in their own dialect : neither is it ungrammatical : as it is con- ceived, that that understood makes it the subjunctive mode. r 144 HAMLET, mt r. 1 Cio. 'Tis a quick Ke, sir; 'twill away ' again, from me to you. Ham. What man dost thou dig it for ? 1 Clo. For no man, sir. Ham. What woman then ? 1 Clo. For none neither. Ham. Who is to be buried in't ? 1 Clo. One, that was a woman, sir ; but, rest her soul, she's dead. Ham. How absolute the knave is!* we must speak by the card,(i8) or equivocation will undo us. By the lord, Horatio, these three years I have taken note of it; the age is grown so picked,^^^) that the toe of the peasant comes so near the heel » s.o4tos. of the* courtier, he galls his kibe. — How long hast our. 1623, thou been a grave-maker ? ^^" 1 Clo. Of all the days i'the year, I came to't that day that our last king Hamlet overcame Fortinbras. Ham. How long's that since ? 1 Clo. Cannot you tell that ? every fool can teU that : It was that very day that young Hamlet was t So4tos. born •.(^o) he that isf mad, and sent into England. that's mad. v-r 4 1 1 j • i t-i 1603. was. Ham. Ay, marry, why was he sent mto Jbng- 1623,32. land? 1 Clo. Why, because he was mad : he shall re- cover his wits there ; or, if he do not, 'tis no great matter there. Ham. Why? 1 Clo. 'Twin not be seen in him there; there the men are as mad as he. Ham. How came he mad ? 1 Clo. Very strangely, they say. Ham. How strangely ? 1 Clo. 'Faith, e'en with losing his wits. ■ "Hem absolute the knave as\ i. e. peremptory, strictly and tyrannously precise. sc. I. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 145 Ham. Upon what ground ? 1 Clo. Why, here in Denmark. I have been sexton* here, man and boy, thirty years. « so 4tos. sixeteene. Ham. How long will a man lie i'the earth ere he 1623. i. If sexestone. J^O^ • 1632. 1 Clo. 'Faith, if he be not rotten before he die, (as we have many pocky corses now-a-days, that will scarce hold the laying in),^^!) he will last you some eight year, or nine year: a tanner will last you nine year. Ham. Why he more than other 1 1 Clo. Why, sir, his hide is so tanned with his trade, that he will keep out water a great while ; and your water is a sore decayerf of your whoreson f a parlous dead body. Here's a scull now : this scull has laindg'^""'"'"^ in the earth three-and-twenty years. (22) Boakerf^"^ Ham. Whose was it ? 1 Clo. a whoreson mad fellow's it was ; Whose do you think it was ? Ham. Nay, I know not. ""1 Clo. a pestilence on him for a mad rogue 1^23) he poured a flagon of Rhenish on my head once. This same scull, sir, was Yorick's scull, the king's jester. Ham. This ? [Takes the Scull. 1 Clo. E'en that. and to see, now they Ham. Let me see. — Alas, poor Yonck ! I knew (his lipa) him, Horatio ; a fellow of infinite jest, of most ^e'lTt'o. excellent fancy : he hath borne me on his back a i<>03. and thousand times; and [now] how abhorred in myhorre^dmy imagination it is ! J my gorge rises at it.(24) Here ™*sina- hung those hps, that I have kissed I know not how i623',^32. oft. Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment, that were |j^°j^^°'- wont to set the table on a roar ? Not§ one now, to 32.' mock your own jeering? II quite chap-fallen ? Now get you to my lady's chamber, and tell her, let her ^t^"'''"^- L 146 HAMLET, act v. paint an inch thick, to this favour" she must, come ; make her laugh at that. Pr'ythee, Horatio, tell me one thing, HoR. What's that, my lord ? Ham. Dost thou think, Alexander looked o'this fashion i'the earth ? HoR. E'en so. Ham. And smelt so ? pah ! {^Throws down the Scull. HoR. E'en so, my lord. Ham. To what base uses we may return, Horatio ! Why may not imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander, till he find it stopping a bunghole ? HoR. 'Twere to consider too curiously,'' to con- sider so. Ham. No, faith, not a jot ; but to follow him thither with modesty enough, and HkeHhood to lead it : As thus ; Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander retiurneth to dust; the dust is earth ; of earth we make loam : And why of that loam, whereto he was converted, might they not stop a beer-barrel ? * imperi- Imperial* Caesar, dead, and tiurn'd to clay, s'leoa'^" Might stop a hole to keep the wind away : O, that the earth, which kept the world in awe. Should patch a wall to expel the winter's flaw!^^^) t awhue. But soft! but soft ! aside ;f Here comes the king, 4tos. ^ favour] i. e. features or character of countenance, and that graceful or pleasing ; being rendered " beauty" by Baret. Alv. We cannot trace it from any other origin than the Latin, favor, i. e. grace or countenance ; and are confirmed in this by Min- shieu, who says, " a favour or countenance, a Lat. favore, qui ex vultu facile cognoscitur." We may observe also, that in few of our own early dictionaries is it to be found in this sense, and in Skinner not at all. " I doubt not to call him father, the cfaAA favours him so much." Pemble's Brief Introduct. to Geo- graphy. To the reader. 4to. 1630. See M. N. Dr. I. 1. Helena. '' ' Twere to consider too curiously] i. e. be pressing the argu- ment with too much critical nicety, to dwell upon mere possi- bilities. See Tarn, of Shr. IV. 4. Pedant. sc. I. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 147 Enter Priests, ^c. in Procession; the Corpse of Ophelia, Laertes and Mourners following; King, Queen, their Trains, &c. The queen, the courtiers : Who is that* they follow? * this. 4tos. And with such maimed rites ! * This doth betoken, i'632.''*'" The corse, they follow, did with desperate hand Fordo its own Ufe.* Twasf some estate :° t waaof. Couch we awhile, and mark. ^^°^' [Retiring with Horatio. Laer. What ceremony else ? Ham. That is Laertes, A very noble youth : Mark. Laer. What ceremony else ? 1 Priest. Her obsequies have been as far en- larg'd As we have warranties : Her death was doubtful ; And, but that great command o'ersways the order,* She should in ground unsanctified have lodged. Till the last trmnpet ; for charitable prayers. Shards, (26) flints, and pebbles, should be thrown on her. Yet here she is allowed her virgin rites,(27) Her maiden strewments, and the bringing home Of bell and burial.^ a maimed rites] i. e. curtailed, imperfect. •• Fordo its own life] i. e. destroy : more strictly, it is over- come, overwhelm. As M. N. Dr. V. 2. Puck : but see III. H. VI. II. 3. Warw. For is intensive. Tyrwh. Gloss, to Chaucer, and according to Skinner ultra or •prmter. Steevens cites Acolastus, 1549. " Wold to God it might he leful for me iofordoo myself, or to make an end of me." ' 'Twos some estate] i. e. high personage, of rank or sta- tion. As, " your greatness and this nohle state." Tr. and Cr. I. 3. Patrocl. <* command o'ersways the order] i. e. the course, which eccle- siastical rules prescribe. ^ maiden strewments — bringing home of bell and burial] i. e. conveying to her last home with these accustomed forms of the 148 HAMLET, act v. Laer. Must there no more be done ? 1 Priest. No more be done : We should profane the service of the dead. To sing sage requiem, and such rest to her As to peace-parted souls, (^^s) Laer. Lay her i'the earth ; — And from her fair and unpolluted flesh. May violets spring ! (29) — I tell thee, churlish priest,^^'') A minist'ring angel shall my sister be. When thou hest howhng. Ham. What, the fair Opheha ! Queen. Sweets to the sweet : Farewell ! [Scattering Flowers. I hop'd, thou should'st have been my Hamlet's wife ; I thought, thy bride-bed to have deck'd, sweet maid, * So 4tos. And not have strew'd thy grave, t^rtd Laer. _ O, treble woe* wooer. Pall ten times treble ^f on that cursed head, ' ■ Whose wicked deed thy most mgenious sense'' Lt"''''" Depriv'd thee of!— Hold off the earth a while. Till I have caught her once more in mine arms : l^Leaps into the grave. Now pile your dust upon the quick and dead ; Till of this flat a mountain you have made. To o'ertop old Pelion, or the skyish head Of blue Olympus. : grief. Ham. [Advancing.] What is he, whose griefs J ^'°^' Bears such an emphasis 1 whose phrase of sorrow $ conjure. Conjures § the wand'ring stars, and makes them 1623 stand church, and this sepulture in consecrated ground. And see " maiden flowers." H. VIII. IV. 2. Kath. * Fall ten times treble] See " treble in silence." I. 2. Haml. 1" ingenious sense'] i. e. life and sense, or more literally, ac- cording to our Author's use of the words lively sensations or feeling. " How stifiF is my vile sense That I stand up and have ingenious feeling Of my huge sorrows." Lear, IV. 6. Glost. sc. I. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 149 Like wonder-wounded hearers ? this is I, Hamlet the Dane. [Leaps into the Grave. Laer. The devil take thy soul ! [Grappling with him. Ham. Thou pray'st not well. » p^^. ^^^^^ I pr'ythee, take thy fingers from my throat ; Sir,* though I am not splenetive and rash, something Yet have I in me something^ dangerous, i62s^'32 Which let thy wisenesst fear : AwayS thy hand. „ _. , '' " '' X wisdom. King, rluck them asunder. 4tos. Queen. Hamlet, Hamlet ! § '^°^<^ off- ' _ 4tos. Gentlemen. Good my lord, be quiet. [The Attendants part them, and they come out of the Grave.] Ham. Why, I will fight wdth him upon this theme. Until my eye-Hds will no longer wag. Queen. O my son ! what theme ? Ham. I lov'd Ophelia ; forty thousand brothers Could notj ynth. all their quantity of love. Make up my sum Wliat wilt thou do for her ? King. O, he is mad, Laertes. Queen. For love of God, forbear him. ii So4tos. eome.1623. Ham. 'Zounds, 1 1 show me what thou'lt do : 32. Wou'lt weep ? wou'lt fight ? [wou'lt fast ?] woult . tear thyself?! Mor Wou'lt drink up Esil ?(3i)** eat a crocodile ? „ ^^^^^1^ I'll do't. — Dost thou come here to whine ? ib. To outface me with leaping in her grave 1^ Be buried quick" with her, and so will I : And, if thou prate of mountains, let them throw MilHons of acres on us ; till our ground," * outface me with leaping in her grave] i. e. brave me. See As you 8sc. III. Rosal. '' Be buried quick] i. e. alive. " Thou'rt quick ; but yet I'll bury thee." Tim. IV. 3. Tim. ■^ our ground] i. e. the earth about us. 150 HAMLET, act v. Singeing his pate against the burning zone. Make Ossa hke a wart ! Nay, an thou'lt mouth, I'll rant as well as thou. KingS^"^) This is mere madness : And thus a while the fit will work on him ; Anon, as patient as the female dove. When that her golden couplets are disclos'd,(33) His silence will sit drooping. Ham. Hear you, sir ; What is the reason that you use me thus ? I lov'd you ever .(34) But it is no matter ; Let Hercules himself do what he may. The cat will mew," and dog will have his day. [Exit. King. I pray thee, good Horatio, wait upon him. — [Exit Horatio. Strengthen your patience in our last night's speech ;* [To Laertes. We'll put the matter to the present push. — Good Gertrude, set some watch over your son. — This grave shall have a Hving monument :(35) An hour of quiet shortly shall we see ; Till then, in patience our proceeding be. [Exeunt. ^ The cat will mew, the dog SfcJ] " Things have their appointed course ; nor have we power to divert it," may be the sense here conveyed ; though the proverb is in general applied to those who for a time fill stations to which their merits give them no claim. ^ Strengthen your patience in our last night's speech'] i. e. let the consideration of the topics, then urged, confirm your resolu- tion taken of quietly waiting events a little longer. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 151 SCENE II. A Hall in the Castle. Enter Hamlet and Horatio. Ham. So much for this, sir : now let me* s^e the • shall you. other ; 4tos. You do remember all the circumstance ? HoR. Remember it, my lord ! Ham. Sir, in my heart there was a kind of fighting. That would not let me sleep ;(3S) methought, I lay Worse than the mutines in the bilboes.(37) Rashly, t S0I623, And praisef be rashness for it,* — Let us know," 4tosr'''^ **' Our indiscretion sometimes serves us well. When our dear J plots do paU :(38) and that should :deep.4tos. teach § us. There's a divinity that shapes our ends, Itos""" Rough-hew them how we will.(39) HoR. That is most certain. Ham. Up from my cabin. My sea-gown ° scarf 'd about me, in the dark Grop'd I to find out them : had my desire ; Finger'd their packet ; and, in fine, withdrew To mine own room again : making so bold. My fears forgetting manners, to unseal Their grand commission ; where I found, Horatio, (O 1 1 royal knavery) an exact command,* 4tos.'°^ " And praise he rashness for it] i. e. praise be to rashness \ '■ Let us know] i. e. be it understood. ■= sea-gowri] " Like sea pitch upon a mariner's gown.'' The Puritan. " Lent upon a sea-gown of Captain Swanes xvs." Henslowe's MSS. Malone. ■* an exact command] L e. distinct, direct. 152 HAMLET, act v. * reasons. Larded with many several sorts of reason/* 4tos. Importing Denmark's health, and England's too. With, ho ! such bugs and goblins in my life,*" That, on the supervise," no leisure bated, (*") No, not to stay the grinding of the axe. My head should be struck off. HoR. Is't possible ? Ham. Here's the commission; read it at more leisure. t now. But wilt thou hear mef how I did proceed ? 4tos. ' HoR. Ay, 'beseech you. Ham. Being thus benetted round with villains, : or. 4tos. Ere \ I could make a prologue to my brains. They had begun the play '.^ I sat me down ; Devis'd a new commission ; wrote it fair : I once did hold it, as our statists do, A baseness to write fair,(4i) and labour'd much How to forget that learning ; but, sir, now It did me yeoman's service.* Wilt thou know The effect of what I wrote ? HoR. Ay, good my lord. Ham. An earnest conjuration ^ from the king, — As England was his faithful tributary ; * Larded with many several sorts of reasori\ i. e. garnished. IV. 5. Ophel. '' such bugs and goblins in my life] i. e. such multiplied causes of alarm, such bugbears, if I were suffered to Uve. See Tarn, of Shrew, I. 2, Petr. = the supervise"] i. e. at sight, on the mere inspection. * Ere I could make a prologue to my brains. They had begun the play] i. e. ere I could weU conceive what they were about, what could be their object in this mission 5 before I had time to give my first thoughts to their process, they were carrying their projects into act. ' It did me yeoman's service] i. e. as good service as a yeo- man performed for his feudal lord ; in the sense in which we yet use knight's service. f conjuration] i. e. requisition. See " conjuring," IV. 3. King. sc. II. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 153 As love between them like * the palm might* flou- » so 4tos. rish . » as— - As peace should still her wheaten garland wear, 1623, 32. And stand a comma 'tween their amities ; " And many such like as's of great charge/ That, on the view and knowf of these contents, t knowing. Without debatement further, more, or less, ^'°''- He should the bearers put to sudden death. Not shriving-time allowed.(42) HoR. How was this seal'd ? Ham. Why, even in that was heaven ordinate ; J : ordinant. I had my father's signet in my purse, ■*'"'• Which was the model of that Danish seal : Folded the writ up in form of the other ; Subscrib'd it ; gave't the impression ; plac'd it safely. The changeling never known :* Now, the next day " like the palm mightflourisK] This comparison is scriptural : " The righteous shall flourish like a palm-tree." Psalm xcii. 11. Steevens, '' stand a comma 'tween their amities] i. e. continue the passage or intercourse of amity between them, and prevent the inter- position of a period to it : we have the idea, but used in a con- trary sense, in an author of the next age. " As for the field, we will cast lots for the place, &c. but I feare the point of the sword wiU make a comma to your cunning." Nich. Breton's Packet of Letters, 4to. 1637, p. 23. In the Scornful Lady we have something like this mode of ex- pression : " No denial — must stand between your person and the busi- ness." A. III. ■= as's of great charge"] i. e. items of high import and weight, d The changeling never known] A changeling is a child which the fairies are supposed to leave in the room of that which they steal. Johnson. " We are ayeriall phantoms ; and are fram'd As pictures of you, and are Fairyes nam'd. And, as you mortals, we participate Of ail the like affections of the minde. Wee joy, wee grieve, wee feare, wee love, wee hate ; And many times forsaken our owne kinde : Wee are in league with mortals so combinde. As that in dreams we ly with them by night. Begetting children, which do Changelings hight." Sir Fr. Kynaston's Leoline 8f Sydanis^ 4to. 1642. p. 94. 154 HAMLET, act r. * So 4tos. "^Yag our sea-fight ; and what to this was sequent* i623°32. Thou know'st already. HoR. So Guildenstern and Rosencrantz go to't. Ham. Why, man, they did make love to this employment ; t So 4tos. They are not near my conscience ; their f defeat i623*,^32. Does by their own insinuation " grow : 'Tis dangerous, when the baser nature comes Between the pass and fell incensed points Of mighty opposites.* HoR. Why, what a king is this ! Ham. Does it not, think thee, stand me now upon ?° He that hath kill'd my king, and whor'd my mother ; iPopp'd in between the election and my hopes ; Thrown out his angle for my proper Hfe,('*3) And with such cozenage ; is't not perfect conscience. To quit* him with this arm? and is't not to be damn'd. To let this canker of our nature come In further evil ?° HoR. It must be shortly known to him fi*om England, What is the issue of the business there. Ham. It will be short : the interim is mine ; And a man's life no more than to say, one. their defeat Does by their own insinuation] i. e. " their overthrow or ruin (see " damn'd defeat/' II. 2. Haml.) was the consequence of their own voluntary intrusion." '> When the baser nature, &e.] i. e. for inferiors to intermeddle in the strife hetween great and powerful antagonists. Seymour. ' stand me upon'] i. e. become a most imperative duty upon me. ■* quit] i. e. requite. See M.for M.V. 1. Duke. ■^ come in further evit] i. e. " work further injury -. literally, grow to a greater head or mischief." It was the phraseology of the day and the author. See " tying rare qualities in a stranger" or unknown person. Othel. I. 1. Rod. sc. 11. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 155 But I am very sorry, good Horatio, That to Laertes I forgot myself; For by the image of my cause/ I see The portraiture of his: I'll count his favours :" But, sure, the bravery of his grief did put me Into a towering passion." HoR. Peace ; who comes here ? Enter Osric. OsR. Your lordship is right welcome back to Denmark. Ham. I humbly thank you, sir. — [foh, how the muske-cod smells!]* — Dost know this water-fly?* , ^ HoR. No, my good lord. 1603. Ham. Thy state is the more gracious ; for 'tis a vice to know him : He hath much land and fertile : let a beast be lord of beasts, and his crib shall stand at the king's mess : 'Tis a chough ; but, as I say, spacious in the possession of dirt.^*) OsR. Sweet lord, if your lordshipf were at lei- ^ so 4tos. sure, I should impart a thing to you from his ^"«°^''''p- majesty. " image of my cause] i. e. representation, character, colour. See " image of a murder," III. 2. Haml. ^ count Ms favours'] i. e. " note, make a due estimate or reckoning of." The modern editors substitute court; -which certainly gives a more obvious and satisfactory sense : and it may have been a misprint. <= sure, the bravery of his grief did put me Into a towering passion] i. e. the high flights in the expres- sion of his feeling or poignant sorrow communicated to me as strong an excitement, wrought me to a pitch, a degree of pas- sion correspondingly extravagant. <■ Dost know this water-fly] A water-Jiy skips up and down upon the surface of the water, without any apparent purpose or reason, and is thence the proper emblem of a busy trifler. Johnson. Of such Thersites, speaking of Patroclus, says " the world is pestered," i. e. encumbered. Tr. ^ Cr. V. 1. 156 HAMLET, act v. Ham. I will receive it, sir, with all diligence of spirit : " Your bonnet to his right use ; 'tis for the head. OsR. I thank your lordship, 'tis very hot. Ham. No, beheve me, 'tis very cold ; the wind is northerly. OsR. It is indifferent cold, my lord, indeed. Ham. [But yet,j methinks it is very sultry and hot for my complexion. OsR. Exceedingly, my lord ; it is very sultry, ("^s) as 'twere, — I cannot tell how. — But my lord, his majesty bade me signify to you, that he has laid a great wager on your head : Sir, this is the matter, — Ham. I beseech you, remember [Hamlet moves him to put on his Hat. OsR. Nay, in good faith ; for mine ease, in good faith. (*^) [Sir, here is newly come to court, Laertes : beheve me, an absolute gentleman, full of most ex- cellent differences, of very soft society, and great showing : *■ Indeed, to speak feelingly of him," he is the card or calendar of gentry,^^^) for you shall find in him the continent of what part a gentleman would see.* * all diligence of spirit] i. e. " with the whole bent of my mind." A happy phraseology; in ridicule^ at the same time that it was in conformity with the style of the airy, affected insect that was playing round him. '' an absolute — a great showing] i. e. a finished gentleman, full of various accomplishmentSj of gentle manners, and very imposing appearance. Full of — differences, is master of every nice punctilio of good breeding ; of every form and distinction, that place or occasion may require. " to speak feelingly of hhii] i. e. with insight and intelligence. •* the continent of what part a gentleman would see] In its more obvious sense, " the contents, or the whole sum of what- ever," &c., as " continent and summary." M, ofV. III. 3. Bass, j or, it may be construed, as Milton in his Defensio secunda, " me- thinks I seem to journey over tracts of continent and wide ex- tended regions," &c. i. e. continental, or indeed any thing : for there is nothing, however forced or fantastical, that shall be pronounced false in the mouth, and in the midst of the more sc. IT. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 157 Ham. Sir, his definement suffers no perdition in you ; though, I know, to divide him inventorially, would dizzy the arithmetick of memory ; and yet but raw neither, in respect of his quick sail." But, in the verity of extolment, I take him to be a soul of great article;'' and his infusion of such dearth and rareness, as, to make true diction of him, his semblable is his mirrour ; and, who else would trace him, his umbrage, nothing more.'= OsR. Your lordship speaks most infallibly* of him. Ham. The concernancy, sir? why do we wrap the gentleman in our more rawer breath ?" than Gibbono-Johnsonic inflations of this pragmatical " Court Water-fly." But a quibble is also intended, " a specimen or exhibition of such part of the continent or whole world of man, as a gentleman need see." And in the same way in L. L. L. IV. 1. Boyet calls Rosaline, "my continent of beauty," i. e. universe of beauty, the whole, that it contains. So " tomb and continent." IV. 1. H. * Sir, his definement — in respect of his quick sail] i. e. " His qualifications lose nothing in your detail of them : though to make an exact enumeration would distract the arithmetic and utmost powers of memory ; and yet these most elaborate eiForts would appear no better than sluggish inaptitude, in comparison with his quick conceptions, and the rapidity of his mind." But it has been rendered very naturally and simply by Warburton : " Sir, he suffers nothing in your account of him, though to enumerate his good qualities particularly would be endless ; yet when we had done our best, it would stiU come short of him." Raw is unready, untrained and awkward. " Instruct her what she has to do, that she may not be raw in her entertain- ment." Pericl. IV. 3. Pandar. ; and Touchst. in As you Sfc. tells the Shepherd, " You are raw." III. 2. •> a soul of great article] i. e. " of great account or value." Johnson says, of large comprehension, of many contents ; the particulars of an inventory are called articles. " and his infusion — umbrage, nothing morel i. e. the qualities, with which be is imbued, or tinctured, are of a description so scarce and choice, that, to say the truth of him, in himself, in his own glass alone, can he be reflected, and an attempt by whomsoever else to delineate him, would prove but the faintest shadow. <• infallibly'] i. e. with the most oracular insight and fidelity. ' concernancy, sir — more rawer breath] i. e. the tendency of 158 HAMLET, act v. OsR. Sir? HoR. Is't not possible to understand in another tongue ? You will do't/ sir, really. Ham. What imports the nomination of this gen- tleman?" OsR. Of Laertes ? HoR. His purse is empty already ; all his golden words are spent. Ham. Of him, sir. OsR. I know, you are not ignorant Ham. I would, you did, sir ; yet, in faith, if you did, it would not much approve me :" — Well, sir.] OsR. Sir, you are not ignorant of what excellence Laertes is at his weapon ? Ham. [I dare not confess that, lest I should compare with him in excellence : but, to know a man well, were to know himself.* all this blazon of character ? Why do we clothe this gentleman's perfections in our humble and imperfect language ? make him the subject of our rude discussion ? " 7s' i not possible — you will do'f] Seeing the facility Twith which Hamlet caught the knack and gibberish of this affected phraseology, Horatio asks, " Is it not possible to understand even in another, a different tongue from one's own ; in a lan- guage also, as well as a dialect, not one's own ? He then in- stantly adds, answering his own question : since, as Seymour says, " you have so aptly answered the jargon of this feUow I really think, you will do't, you wiQ effect it : you will be, or are, possessed of this talent or faculty. I cease to wonder or make question of the possibility. I see you really have done it." ^ What imports the nomination, 8fc.] i. e. what is the object of the introduction of this gentleman's name ? ' if you did, it would not much approve me] i. e. " yet if you knew I was not ignorant, your judgment would not much ad- vance my reputation." To approve is to recommend to approba- tion. Johnson. ^ I dare not — lest I should compare — were to know himself '\ i. e. " no one can have a perfect conception of the measure of another's excellence, unless he shall himself come up to that standard." Johnson says, I dare not pretend to know him, lest I should pretend to an equality : no man can completely know sc. 11. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 159 OsR. I mean, sir, for this weapon ; but in the imputation laid on him by them/ in his meed he's unfellowed.] Ham. What's his weapon ? OsR. Rapier and dagger. Ham. That's two of his weapons : but, well. OsR. The king, sir, hath wag'd* with him six* wagered. Barbary horses: against the which he has im-^*"'- poned,(^8)j. as I take it, six French rapiers and po- timpawn'd. niards, with their assigns, as girdle, hangers, (^9) or*'"^- so : Three of the carriages, in faith, are very dear to fancy, very responsive to the hilts, most dehcate carriages, and of very liberal conceit.* Ham. What call you the carriages ? IHoR. I knew, you must be edified by the mar- gent,(5'') ere you had done.] OsR. The carriages, sir, are the hangers. Ham. The phrase would be more german" J to * cosin the matter, if we could carry cannon by our sides ; f g™*"' I would it might be hangers till then. But on six Barbary horses against six French swords, their another, but by knowing himself, which is the utmost extent of human wisdom. See a similar turn of thought and expression in As you 8fc. V. 2. Ros. " in the imputation laid on him by them in his meed, ifc] There is here nothing to refer to, no antecedent, to " them." It must mean, " the qualities ascribed or assigned to him by the public voice." " Our imputation shaU be oddly pois'd In this wild action." Tr. «f Cr. I. 3. Nest. Meed, merces, i. e. " reward or recompence,'' seems here used fantastically for that which challenges it merendo, i. e. " merit," and is, — " in this his particular faculty, or branch of science, he is excellent and matchless." See III. H. VI. II. 1. Edw. it Tim. I. 1. 2 Lord. •" very dear to fancy — very liberal conceit"] i. e. of exquisite invention, well adapted to their hilts, and in their conception rich and high fashioned, "= more german] i. e. a-kin. Germain, Fr. brother. " Those that are german to him, though removed fifty times, shall come und(!r the hangman." Wint. T. Steevens. § it. 4tos. 160 HAMLET, act v. * So 4tos. assigns, and three liberal-conceited carriages ; that's French, the French bet* against the Danish.^^i) Why is this but. 1623, . J n -i. u 32. unponed, as you call it ? t So 4to3. ^^^- The king, sir, hath laid, that in a dozen you. 1623,' passes between yourselff and him, he shall not ex- ^^' ceed you three* hits; he hath laid on twelve J for I so4to3. nine; (52) and that§ would come to immediate trial, hath one if your lordship would vouchsafe the answer.'' twelve •' ^ i°623!32.' ^^^- How, if I answer, no ?= OsR. I mean, my lord, the opposition of your person in trial. Ham. Sir, I will walk here in the hall; If it please his majesty, it is the breathing time of day with me: (53) let the foils be brought, the gentleman wilUng, and the king hold his purpose, I will win for him, if I can ; if not, I wiU gain nothing but my shame, and the odd hits. OsR. Shall I re-deliver'^ you e'en so ? Ham. To this effect, sir ; after what flourish your nature will. Osn. I commend my duty to your lord-hip. \Exit. Ham. Yours, yours. — He does well, to commend • so4tos. it himself; there are no tongues else for's tum.§ tongue. 1623, 32. ^ Ina dozen passes between yourself and him, he shall not exceed you three hits'] So the folios and all the quartos, except that of 1603, which reads, " that young Laertes in twelve venies at rapier and dagger do not get three odds of you." And in the concert between the King and Laertes (which answers to what we read here in IV. 7-) it is stated in this quarto, though it appears no where else, that the King says " you shall give the odds that in twelve venies you gain not three of him." ^ vouchsafe the answer] i. e. condescend to answer, or meet, his wishes. ■^ How, if I answer, no] i. e. reply. * re-deliver] i. e. report, or in return make such representa- tion on your behalf. " Brings back to him." Lord, irifra. sc. II. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 161 HoR. This lapwing runs away with the shell on his head.(54) Ham. He did comply with his dug, before hemine.t623. sucked it.(55) Thus has he (and many* more of the nine.i632. same bevy,f that I know, the drossy age dotes on,) t breed. only got the tune of the time, and outward habit ^"''• of encounter ; a kind of yesty collection, which car- ries them through and through the most fond and t trennow- winnowedj opinions; and do but blow them tOnowned." their trial, the bubbles are out/ 4tos. lEnter a Lord. Lord. My lord, his majesty commended him to you by young Osric,(56) who brings back to him, that you attend him in the hall : He sends to know, if your pleasvu-e hold to play with Laertes, or that you will take longer time. Ham. I am constant to my purposes, they follow the king's pleasure : if his fitness speaks,** mine is ready ; now, or whensoever, provided I be so able as now. Lord. The king, and queen, and all are coming dovra. Ham. In happy time. Lord. The queen desires you, to use some * Thus has he — the bubbles are out] i. e. thus has he — only got the tune of the time and outward habit of encounter (i. e. the turn of character, and exterior carriage or address), a kind of yesty collection (i. e. a frothy mass, compounded of modern phrase and manner) which carries them (i. e. enables them to pass current) through and through the most fond and winnowed opinions ; (i. e. all judgments, not the simplest only, but the most sifted and wisest) and do but blow them to their trial, (i. e. prove them by how slight soever a breath of enquiry or ex- amination) the bubbles are out (i. e. burst) the imposition is de- tected. We have " winnowed purity." Tr. Sr Cr. III. 2. Tr. ^ if his fitness speaks] i. e. if it suits the king, and he calls for it : or it may be, if Laertes announces or admits his aptness or sufficiency. M 162 HAMLET, act v. gentle entertainment^ to Laertes, before you fall to play. Ham. She well instructs me. Exit Lord.] HoR. You will lose this wager, my lord. Ham. I do not think so; since he went into France, I have been in continual practice ; I shall win at the odds." But thou would'st not think, * So4tos. how ill* all's here about my heart: but it is no J"^,.''" matter. 1623,32. jjq^^ Nay, good my lord. Ham. It is but foolery ; but it is such a kind of gain-giving," as would, perhaps, trouble a woman. HoR. If your mind dislike any thing, obey it : * I will forestall their repair hither, and say, you are not fit. Ham. Not a whit, we defy augury ; there is a t So o.cspecialf providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it ^16^1*603 ^^ now, 'tis not to come ; if it be not to come, it ' will be now ; if it be not now, yet it will come : the readiness is all: Since no man has aught of what he leaves, what is't to leave betimes ? [Let be. (57)] Enter King, Queen, Laertes, Lords, Osric, and Attendants with Foils, S^c. King. Come, Hamlet, come, and take this hand from me. [The King puts the Hand of Laertes into that of Hamlet. • use some gentle entertainment] i. e. conciliating address or behaviour. *> 1 shall win at the odds] i. e. at the vantage stated. ■^ gain-gwing] i. e. misgiving : internal sense of revolt ; a giving against, says Johnson in his dictionary : and adds, that the word is formed upon the same principle as " gainsay ; " ■which is to say against. _ ^ If your mind, &c.] i. e. if you have any presentiment of evil, yield to its suggestion. sc. n. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 163 Ham. Give me your pardon, sir : I have done you wrong ; But pardon it, as you are a gentleman. This presence knows, and you must needs have heard. How I am punished with a sore distraction. What I have done. That might your nature, honour, and exception," Roughly awake, I here proclaim was madness. Was't Hamlet wrong'd Laertes ? Never, Hamlet : If Hamlet from himself be ta'en away. And, when he's not himself, does wrong Laertes, Then Hamlet does it not, Hamlet denies it. Who does it then ? His madness : Ift be so, Hamlet is of the faction that is wrong'd ; His madness is poor Hamlet's enemy. Sir, in this audience. Let my disclaiming from a purpos'd evil Free me so far in your most generous thoughts. That I have shot my arrow o'er the house, • ?« *'°'- And hurt my brother.* mother. Laer. I am satisfied in natvue, ' ''^' Whose motive, in this case, should stir me most To my revenge : but in my terms of honour, (^s) I stand aloof; and vdll no reconcilement. Till by some elder masters, of known honour, I have a voice and precedent of peace," To keep my name ungor'd :f But till that time, +^^^J^°^- I do receive your offer'd love like love, i623, 32. And will not wrong it. Ham. I embrace it freely : And will this brother's wager frankly play. Give us the foils ; come on. Laes. Come, one for me. Ham. I'll be your foil, Laertes; in mine igno- rance » exception] i. e. resentment. •> a voice and precedent of peace] i. e. a sentence pronounced, and adjudged case in favor ot. 164 HAMLET, act r. Your skill shall, like a star i'the darkest night. Stick fiery off indeed." Laer. You mock me, sir. Ham. No, by this hand. King. Give them the foils, young Osric. Cousin Hamlet, You know the wager ? Ham. Very well, my lord ; Your grace hath laid the odds o'the weaker side." King. I do not fear it : I have seen you both : But since he's better'd, we have therefore odds. Laer. This is too heavy, let me see another. Ham. This likes me well :" These foils have all . a length ? [ They prepare to play. OsR. Ay, my good lord. King. Set me the stoups of wine* upon that table : If Hamlet give the first or second hit, * like a star i'the darkest night, stick fiery ojf ] i. e. be made by the strongest relief to stand brightly prominent. " Stands off as gross as black from white." H. V. II. 2. K. Hen. This seems to have been a favourite phraseology with our Author : " Stick i'the wars like a great sea-mark." Coriol. V. 3. C. and we have the identical phraseology in Ant. 3f CI. I. 4. Lap. For darkest the fo. of 1632 strangely reads brightest. ^ Your grace hath laid the odds o'the weaker side. King. But since, Sfc.'} The wager as it seemsj having been twelve hits of Laertes's to nine of Hamlet's, we are here prepared rather to read " taken, than laid, the odds ; " and at first to sup- pose with Johnson, as it struck Hanmer, who omits " the odds," that it was a slip of our author's. But, as the king replies, " since he's better'd, we have therefore odds," we may well con- ceive the phrase to be used by the different speakers with a different aim : and that Hamlet refers to the higher value of the articles pledged, and the king to the advantage had in the other terms of the wager ; those that respected the issue of this trial of skill, viz. the number of hits on each side. Bettered is stands higher in estimation. The quartos read better. ' This likes me well] See II. 2. King. * Stoups of wine] See V. 1. 1 Clown. sc. II. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 165 Or quit* in answer of the third exchange. Let all the battlements their ordinance fire ; The king shall drink to Hamlet's better breath ; And in the cup an *union(59) shall he throw, • onixe. Richer than that which four successive kings ^'™' In Denmark's crown have worn ; Give me the cups ; And let the kettle to the trumpet speak. The trumpet to the cannoneer without. The cannons to the heavens, the heaven to earth. Now the king drinks to Hamlet. — Come, begin ; And you, the judges, bear a wary eye. Ham. Come on, sir. Laer. Come on, sir.f [They play, f my v>\i. Ham. One. Laer. No. Ham. Judgment. OsR. A hit, a very palpable hit. Laer. Well, — again. King. Stay, give me drink: Hamlet, this pearl is thine ; Here's to thy health. Give him the cup. \Trumpets sound; and Cannon shot off within. Ham. I'll play this bout first, set it by a while. Come. Another hit; What say you? [They play. Laer. A touch, a touch, I do confess. King. Our son shall win. Queen. He's fat, and scant of breath. Here's a J napkin, rub thy brows : Lrfet' The queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet.(6") t^l^ ^y. Ham. Good madam, King. Gertrude, do not drink. Queen. I vnll, my lord ; I pray you, pardon me. » quit in answer] Make the wager quit, or so far drawn.. " to quit their grief " Tell thou the lamentable fall of me. R. II. V. I. 166 HAMLET, act r. King. It is the poison'd cup ; it is too late. [Aside. Ham. I dare not drink yet, madam ; by and by. Queen. Come, let me wipe thy face. Laer. My lord, I'll hit him now. King. I do not think it. Laer. And yet it is almost against my conscience. [Aside. Ham. Come, for the third, Laertes; you but daily, I pray you, pass with your best violence ; I am afeard, you make a wanton of me.(^i) Laer. Say you so? come on. [They play. OsR. Nothing neither way. Laer. Have at you now. [Laertes wounds Hamlet ; then, in scuffling, they change Rapiers,^ and Hamlet wounds Laertes. King. Part them, they are incensed. Ham. Nay, come again. [The Queen falls. OsR. Look to the queen there, ho ! Hor. They bleed on both sides : — How is it, my lord? OsR. How is't, Laertes ? 'my. 1632. Laer. Why, as a woodcock to mine * [own] springe," Osric ; I am justly kiU'd with mine own treachery. Ham. How does the queen ? King. She sounds to see them bleed. " With respect to the probahiUty of this part of the plot, Steevens has justly observed ; that he does not easily conceive that rapiers can be changed in a scuffle without knowing it at the time. ^ as a woodcock to mine springe] i. e. I have run into a springe like a woodcock, and into such a noose or trap as a fool only would have fallen into ; one of my own setting. sc. ir. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 167 Queen. No, no, the drink, the drink, — my dear Hamlet ! The drink, the drink ; I am poison'd ! [Dies. Ham. O villainy ! How ! * let the door be lock'd : • Hoe. Treachery! seek it out. [Laertes /«//«. ■**"'• Laer. It is here, Hamlet : Hamlet, thou art slain ; No medicine in the world can do thee good. In thee there is not half an hourf of life ; t tour's The treacherous instrument is in thy hand, ''f*- **<"■ Unbated,* and envenom'd: the foul practice '' Hath turn'd itself on me ; lo, here I lie. Never to rise again : Thy mother's poison'd ; I can no more ; the king, the king's to blame. Ham. The point Envenom'd too ! Then, venom to thy work. \_Stabs the King. OsR. ^ Lords. Treason ! treason ! King. O, yet defend me, friends, I am but hurt. Ham. Here, thou incestuous, murd'rous, damned Dane, Drink off this potion : Is thy union J here ? ttheonixe. Follow my mother." [King dies. ■*»<"'• Laer. He is justly serv'd ; It is a poison temper'd* by himself. — Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet : Mine and my father's death come not upon thee ; Nor thine on me !^62) [Dies. Ham. Heaven make thee free of it ! I follow thee. I am dead, Horatio : Wretched queen, adieu ! You that look pale and tremble at this chance, » unbated] See IV. 7- King. •> the foul practice] See " pass of practice," IV. 7. King. ■= Is thy union here ? follow my mother'] A play here may be intended upon the word " Union;" if so, it is a bitter sarcasm. " Take this as thy lot or portion ! the richly prepared cup ! D ye find here an union ? Go with, follow the queen ! " d temper d] i. e. prepared, having the ingredients mixed. 168 HAMLET, act v. That are but mutes of audience to this act,^ Had I but time^ (as this fell sergeant, death. Is strict in his arrest,) (^3) O, I could tell you, — But let it be : Horatio, I am dead ; • so4tos. Thou Hv'st ; report me and my cause * aright righr To the unsatisfied. 1623,32. jj^^^ ^gyg^ believe it ; I am more an antique Roman than a Dane, Here's yet some liquor left. Ham. As thou'rt a man, — Give me the cup ; let go ; by heaven I'll have it. t So 4tos. O God ! f Horatio, what a wounded name, 1623' 32 Things standing thus unknown, shall Hve behind see Stat. me ?'' Jac. 1. j£ ^^gy^ didst ever hold me in thy heart. Absent thee from fehcity awhile. And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain. To tell my story. — ° [March afar off, and Shot within. What warlike noise is this 1 OsR. Young Fortinbras, with conquest come from Poland, To the ambassadors of England gives This warlike volley. Ham. O, I die, Horatio ; The potent poison quite o'ercrows my spirit ;(s*) I cannot live to hear the news from England : ^ * That are but mutes or audience to this aci] i. e. that are either auditors of this catastrophe, or at most only mute per- formers, that fill the stage without any part in the action. Johnson. *> live behind me] i. e. survive me. ' If thou didst ever — to tell my story'] There is hardly a bosom that can be unmoved by the interest and feeling excited in this passage : but it is its ease, that constitutes its felicity ; it is its unlaboured, simple beauties that give the character of sublimity to this solemn and dignified farewell. Kent, though not indeed with so high an interest and such exquisite feeling, utters a similar sentiment, when Lear expires. " Would not upon the rack of this tough world " Stretch him out longer." End of the play. "• the news from England] i. c. the fate of Roscncrantz and Guildenstern. sc. II. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 169 But I do prophecy the election lights On Fortinbras ; he has my dying voice ; So tell him, with the occurrents/^*) more or less. Which have solicited,'' — The rest is silence. 0, 0,0, 0. \_Dies. HoR. Now cracks a noble heart •S^^'> — Good night, sweet prince ; And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest ! Why does the drum come hither ? [March within. Enter Fortinbras, the English Ambassadors, and Others. Fort. Where is this sight ? HoR. What is it, you would see ? If aught of woe, or wonder, cease your search. Fort. This* quarry cries on havock !" — O proud * so 4tos. death! fj2'ii,32. What feast is toward in thine eternal cell,(^^) That thou so many princes, at a shot. So bloodily hast struck ? 1 Amb. The sight is dismal ; And our affairs from England" come too late : The ears are senseless, that should give us hearing. To tell him, his commandment is falfill'd. That Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead : Where should we have our thanks ? HoR. Not fi-om his mouth, Had it the ability of life to thank you ; * the occurrents, more or less, which have solicited] i. e. which have importunately and irresistibly urged on — he would have said, " this sad catastrophe." •> This quarry cries on havock] i. e. this heap of prey (see quarry, Mach. I. 2. Sold. & IV. 3. Rosse, and Coriol. I. 1. Marc.) exclaims, and as with an unceasing voice proclaims that, which is the signal of desolation in war, havoc. The phrase, cries on, is much in the same way applied to murder in Oihel. ; " Whose noise is this, that cries on murder ?" V. 1. lago. "^ our affairs /roTO England^ i. e. matters of our embassage. 170 HAMLET, act v. He never gave commandment for their death." But since, so jump upon this bloody question," You from the Polack wars, and you from England, Are here arriv'd ; give order, that these bodies High on a stage be placed to the view ;(^8) And let me speak, to the yet unknowing world. How these things came about : So shall you hear Of carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts ; (^^^ Of accidental judgments, casual slaughters ; * for no. Of deaths put on by cunning,* and forc'd* cause ; And, in this upshot, purposes mistook Fall'n on the inventors' heads : all this can I Truly deliver. Fort. Let us haste to hear it. And call the noblest to the audience. t So 4tcs. For me, with sorrow I embrace my fortune ; mes. 1623, J jjg^yg some rightsf of memory* in this kingdom. Which now J to claim my vantage doth invite me. are "lesa^' HoR. Of that I shall have always cause to speak, 32." ' And from his mouth whose voice will draw on more : ° '' Not from his mouth, Had it the ability of life — He never gave commandment for their death^ i. e. " had it the means, that life affords, not from the mouth of the king ; from whom they, as the creatures and spies of his villanies, would have received protection, and whose more atrocious aims, when disclosed to them, would appear to have been directed against the life of his nephew, Hamlet." This obscure intimation, this mystery thrown over the transaction, would heighten curiosity and the interest of the communications, presently expected from Horatio. * jump upon this bloody questionl i. e. " close upon, and as if by a spring or bound reaching it." " Just or jump at this dead hour," are the different readings of the folios and quartos in 1. 1. Marc. " put on by cunning] i. e. produced, prompted. See Macb. IV. 3. Mai. "* rights of memory, &c.] i. e. borne in memory, not for- gotten ; and thence to have effect given them. •^ I shall have always cause — whose voice shall draw on more] i. e. " from Hamlet's, whose dying voice or suffrage will produce or draw in its train many more." For always, the quartos read also. The fo. of 1632 gives the line — " Of that I shall alwayes cause to speak." sc. 11. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 171 But let this same be presently perform;,d. Even while men's minds are wild/ lest more mis- chance. On plots, and errors, happen.* Fort. Let four captains Bear Hamlet, like a soldier, to the stage ; For he was likely, had he been put on,° To have prov'd most royally : and, for his passage,* The soldier's musick, and the rites of war. Speak loudly for him. Take up the body : * Such a sight as this , ^^^,. ^ Becomes the field, but here shows much amiss. 4tos. Go, bid the soldiers shoot. [A dead March. [Exeunt, bearing off the dead Bodies ; after which a Peal of Ordnance is shot off. ^ are wild] i. e. unsettled. ^ On plots and errors happeri] i. e. in consequence, the effect of. ' put ore] i. e. put to the 'proof, tried. ^ for his passage] i. e. as to order taken for the ceremony of conveying him. 172 HAMLET, EXAMINATION OF THE OPINIONS OF MESSRS. JOHNSON, MALONE AND STEEVENS RESPECTING THE CONDUCT OF SOME PARTS OF THIS DRAMA, OK RATHER SUCH AS RESPECT THE CHAIIACTER AND CONDUCT OF HAMLET. " If the dramas of Shakespeare were to be characterised, each by the particular excellence which distinguishes it from the rest, we must allow to the tragedy of Hamlet the praise of variety. The incidents are so numerous, that the argument of the play would make a long tale. The scenes are interchangeably diver- sified with merriment and solemnity : with merriment that in- cludes judicious and instructive observations ; and solemnity not strained by poetical viplence above the natural sentiments of man. New characters appear from time to time in continual succession, exhibiting various forms of life and particular modes of conversation. The pretended madness of Hamlet causes much mirth, the mournful distraction of Ophelia fills the heart with tenderness, and every personage produces the effect in- tended, from the apparition that in the first Act chills the blood with horror, to the fop in the last, that exposes affectation to just contempt. " The conduct is perhaps not wholly secure against objections. The action is indeed for the most part in continual progression, but there are some scenes which neither forward nor retard it. Of the feigned madness of Hamlet there appears no adequate cause, for he does nothing which he might not have done with the reputation of sanity." He plays the madman most, when he treats Ophelia with so much rudeness, which seems to be use- less and wanton cruelty. * It would be no very easy matter to reconcile with reason his drawing his sword in the midst of a grave discussion with his mother for the sole purpose of destroying a rat ; an act, the consequences of which he excuses, as proceeding from madness ; and he must have further meant, that the murder of his uncle, an act of premeditated revenge, should have been covered by this plea ; and that, instjad of being considered as such, or an act of treason, it was the hasty dictate of wild and guileless insanity. PRINCE OF DENMARK. 173 " Hamlet is, through the whole piece, rather an instrument than an agent. After he has, by the stratagem of the play, con- victed the King, he makes no attempt to punish him; and his death is at last effected by an incident which Hamlet had no part in producing. " The catastrophe is not very happily produced ; the exchange of weapons is rather an expedient of necessity, than a stroke of art. A scheme might easily be formed to kiU Hamlet with the dagger, and Laertes with the bowl. " The poet is accused of having shown little regard to poet- ical justice, and may be charged with equal neglect of poetical probability. The apparition left the regions of the dead to little purpose ; the revenge which he demands is not obtained, but by the death of him that was required to take it ; and the gra- tification, which would arise from the destruction of an usurper and a murderer, is abated by the untimely death of Ophelia, the young, the beautiful, the harmless, and the pious." Johnson. " To conform to the ground-work of his plot, Shakespeare makes the young prince feign himself mad. I cannot but think this to be injudicious ; for so far from securing himself from any violence which he feared from the usurper, it seems to have been the most likely way of getting himself confined, and consequently debarred from an opportunity of revenging his father's death, which now seemed to be his only aim ; and accordingly it was the occasion of his being sent away to England ; which design, had it taken effect upon his life, he never could have revenged his father's murder. To speak truth, our poet by keeping too close to the ground- work of his plot, has fallen into an absurdity; for there appears no reason at all in nature, why the young prince did not put the usurper to death as soon as possible, espe- cially as Hamlet is represented as a youth so brave, and so care- less of his own life. " The case indeed is this. Had Hamlet gone naturally to work, as we could suppose such a prince to do in parallel circum- stances, there would have been an end of our play. The poet, therefore, was obliged to delay his hero's revenge : but then he should have contrived some good reason for it." Malone. Of this play, a modern writer, with just conception of the in- terest it raises, has said ; " Such an infinite and subtle discrimi- nation of character, such feeling, is displayed in it ; it is rendered so exquisitely interesting, yet without the help of a regular plot, almost without a plan ; so like is it in its simplicity to the pro- gress of nature itself, that it appears to be an entire effusion of pure genius alone." Northcote's Life of Sir Josh. Reyn. 1813. p. 343. There are in the last editions some representations of the cha- acter of Hamlet, which, though in our judgment unfounded, yet being to such an extent injurious to it as in some measure to throw reproach upon our author, we have thought fit, with- out going more at large into his character, to give our view of the subject, as applicable to these points. 174 HAMLET, Steevens charges, 1. " Hamlet, at the command of his father's ghost, undertakes with seeming alacrity to revenge the murder ; and declares he wiU hanish all other thoughts from his mind. He makes, however, hut one effort to keep his word, and that is, when he mistakes Polonius for the King ; on another occa- sion he defers his purpose, till he can find an opportunity of taking his uncle when he is least prepared for death, that he may ensure damnation to his soul." We answer, that a compliance with the injunction from his father to revenge his death, is deferred at first to enable him to satisfy himself of the truth of the ghost's representation, and whether (as he intimates an apprehension at the close of A. II.) he might not, in the broken state of his spirits, have been abused by a fiend. It must here also be taken into consideration, that if Hamlet's vengeance had been presently executed, the curtain must at once have dropped ; no art or address could, after such event, have much longer sustained the drama, and carried it on to a fifth act. Having made choice of such a subject, our au- thor was, therefore, obliged to give his character the features of irresolution, and afterwards to cover this blemish with such a veil and train of circumstances as he had address enough to in- troduce and throw over them. A hesitating and indecisive mind would, by these considerations, be naturally led to pause ; and even if this view of the subject should not be thought fuUy sa- tisfactory in a strict investigation of character by a biographer, yet as he was to fall, to reconcile the audience to his fate, and do poetical justice, some part of his character should be left im- perfect, or, at least, questionable. To the remaining charge, it is answered, that the principle under which he afterwards waves a fair opportunity of effecting his purpose, was in conformity ■vvith prevaihng notions, insisted upon, however revolting, by all popular authors, and the best dramatic writers of that and the succeeding age (see note at the close of III. 3.), and thence to a degree imperative upon the playwright ; and this sentiment is again found and insisted upon in Othello. Then, as is above admitted, the first opportunity that early offered was eagerly seized : and though the blow fell upon a wrong person, the act done was in some sense an answer to this charge. 2. " He dehberately procures the execution of his school-fel- lows, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who appear not, from any circumstances in this play, to have been acquainted with the treacherous purposes of the mandate they were employed to carry. To embitter their fate, and hazard their punishment be- yond the grave, he denies them even the few moments necessary for a brief confession of their sins. Their end (as he declares in a subsequent conversation with Horatio) gives him no con- cern; for they obtruded themselves into the service, and he thought he had a right to destroy them." Though it does not distinctly appear in any part of this drama that Hamlet knew that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were PRINCE OF DENMARK. 175 privy to this murderous project, yet throughout he perfectly •well understood their insidious aims, under the mask of an old school friendship, and that they were creatures of the King, placed and brought from a distance for the sole purpose of being spies upon him : but it was not till after he discovered that his own murder was to be effected by means in which they were at least chosen agents and instruments, that " benetted round," as he says he was, " with villains," in the moment of discovery and resentment, he retorts upon them as principals, and takes the course of retaliation which that moment naturally suggested, the death to which he was himself destined. Malone presumes, that Shakespeare, who " has followed the novel of the Hystorie of Hamblet pretty closely, probably meant to describe Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, the representatives of the ministers of the King in the novel, and who were apprised of the contents of their packet, as equally criminal with those ministers, and combining with the King to deprive Hamlet of life." The passage runs thus : " Now to beare him company were assigned two of Fengon's faithful ministers, bearing letters ingraved in wood, that contained Hamlet's death. But the subtil Danish prince, being at sea, whilst his companions slept, having read the letters, and knowing his uncle's great treason with the wicked and villainous mindes of the two courtiers, that led him to the slaughter, raced out the letters that concerned his death, and instead thereof graved others, with commission to the king of England to hang his two companions ; and not content to turn the death they had devised against him upon their own neckes, wrote further that king Fengon willed him to give his daughter to Hamblet in marriage." Signat. G 2. 3. " From his brutal conduct towards Ophelia, he is not less accountable for her destruction and death." Now it does not appear that any part of his couduct to her was the occasion of either. On his most offensive carriage to- wards her (III. 1.), she is so perfectly satisfied that it proceeded from distraction, that immediately upon it, she twice implores heaven to help and restore him ; and, upon his leaving her, ex- claims, " O, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown." So far, then, as respects Ophelia and her personal feehngs, these declarations prove that she was no otherwise a sufferer from this supposed offensive carriage, than as by sympathy par- taking in his sufferings : and so far as respected himself and his main purpose, this carriage towards a beloved object, and such a personage, was the surest method to impress a belief of his mad- ness upon all, and particularly upon the father of that beloved object, the confidential minister of the King ; whose apprehen- sion might by such device be laid asleep, till Hamlet should find his scheme ripe for exec'ution. And this charge is still further unjust, as the distraction of OpheUa, under which she met her death, is throughout this 176 HAMLET, drama represented to have been the consequence of her father's sudden and melancholy end. 4. " He interrupts the funeral designed in honour of this lady, at which both the King and Queen were present ; and, by such an outrage to decency, renders it still more necessary for the usurper to lay a second stratagem for his life, though the first had proved abortive." As the interruption to this ceremony, and in this presence, was first given by Laertes, who first leapt into the grave, and who immediately, upon Hamlet's so doing, became the aggres- sor in an assault there, it seems little less than wilfully injurious both to overlook this assault, and otherwise charge the interrup- tion upon Hamlet ; and the more so, as his conduct in this as- sault was also temperate and meritorious. It is still more strange to say that Hamlet's offence, at the worst not even charged as amounting to more than a violation of decency, could become an argument for the " necessity " of the King's "laying a second stratagem for his life," i. e. for assassi- nating him. Further, even if this strange consequence were admitted, the thing is without foundation in point of fact ; for that second stratagem was concerted before the time of the fu- neral. 5. " He insults the brother of the dead, and boasts of an af- fection for his sister, which before he had denied to her face j and yet at this very time must be considered as desirous of sup- porting the character of a madman, so that the openness of his confession is not to be imputed to him as a virtue." We have already noticed, that to this denial of his love, the party interested at the time the denial was made, herself attached no credit to it. This open avowal of it, and the whole of his conduct at the grave, were natural ebullitions of that passion in an ardent mind ; and had nothing of resemblance to a designed insult upon the brother of the dead. They were, on the con- trary, in the highest degree conciliatory ; and as far as he dared, true : and such qualities, wherever found and disclosed, are of the character of virtue. 6. " He apologizes to Horatio afterwards for the absurdity of this behaviour, to which, he says, he was provoked by that ' nobleness of fraternal grief,' which, indeed, he ought rather to have applauded than condemned." For his intemperance and want of self command, in which Laertes repeatedly set him the example, he does, indeed, re- proach himself; but, though curses were imprecated also upon his head by Laertes, he does no more than insist upon the title, which the character of a lover gave him, to indulge in wilder transports than any that the affection of a brother could raise ; and, instead of condemning that expression of passion, he in terms applauds the " nobleness" of the source from which it sprang. 7. " Dr. Johnson has observed, that to bring about a re- conciliation with Laertes, he has availed himself of a dishonest PRINCE OF DENMARK. 177 fallacy; and to conclude, it is obvious to the most careless spectator or reader, that he kills the £ing at last to revenge himself, and not his father." The " dishonest fallacy" imputed was, that " he was visited with a sore distraction." The principle of self-preservation had long dictated to Hamlet that he must not allow that his conduct was under the guidance of sober reason ; and as he knew, from the expected return of the ambassadors from England, that his time was short, now, and in the presence of the king, it became more than ever necessary that he should continue to wear this mask : and as this character had been long before assumed by Hamlet, the charge of dishonesty would with much more pro- priety have been preferred against the adoption of it at all, than at so late an hour against this apology : for nothing, no new device, dishonest or fallacious towards Laertes, exists in any part of Hamlet's conduct. Then as to the remaining part of the charge, as no reason is offered, the reader must be equally at a loss with ourselves to conceive why Hamlet, how much soever alive to his own per- sonal wrongs, should not also have been actuated by a sense of those of his father. But that a sense of those of his father was uppermost in his thoughts at the moment of taking his revenge, his words " Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned Dane" speak unanswerably. These point solely to his father's cause and injuries ; and are in direct correspondence with what he had just said to Horatio ; when, enumerating the various considera- tions that constitute a justification of this act, he classes these first : " He, that hath kill'd my king, and whor'd my mother." And that they were " excitements of his blood " and " occasions to inform against him and spur his dull revenge," he had before told us in his soliloquy IV. 4. almost in the same words : " That have a father killed a mother stain d." Much the same view is taken of this subject by Mr. Richard- son, in his Essays upon Shakespeare's dramatic Characters, 8vo. 1797, p. 101. He says, " engaged in a dangerous enterprize, agitated by impetuous emotions, desirous of concealing them, and, for that reason, feigning his understanding disordered ; to confirm and publish this report, seemingly so hurtful to his reputation, he would act in direct opposition to his former conduct, and incon- sistently with the genuine sentiments and affections of his soul. He would seem frivolous, when the occasion required him to be sedate : and, celebrated for the wisdom and propriety of his conduct, he would assume appearances of impropriety. Full of honour and affection, he would seem inconsistent : of elegant and agreeable manners, and possessing a complacent temper, N 178 HAMLET. he would put on the semblance of rudeness. To Ophelia he would show dislike and indifference j because a change of this nature would be, of all others, the most remarkable, and because his affection for her was passionate and sincere." * He adds, " let Hamlet be represented as delivering himself in a light, airy, unconcerned and thoughtless manner, and the rudeness, so much complained of, wiU disappear." NOTES TO HAMLET. ACT I. (1) 'Tis now struck twelve — 'tis bitter cold] Although, as confounding time past and present, this use of 'tis for 'thas is anomalous, yet, as familiar lang;uage, it is common and allowed. We also say, " It is gone twelve." The instance in the text recurs in the opening of Sc. 4. " It is struck twelve." And in M. ado kc. we have — " Don Pedro is approached." I. 1. Messenger. " My sister's man is certainly miscarried." Lear V. 1 . Reg. See " bitter business," soUloq. Haml. III. (2) The rivals of my watch'] i. e. associates, partners. " Dru. Thus to heave " An idol up with praise ! make him his mate ! " His rivaU in the empire !" Sejanus, Act. I. 4to. 1605. Steevens instances Heywood's Rape of Lucrece, 1636 : " Tullia. Aruns, associate him ! " Aruns. A rival with my brother." Our author uses rivality in the same sense, in Anth. and Cleop. III. 5. Eros ; corrival in 1 H. IF. I. 3. Hotsp. and IV. 3. Archb. : and competitor throughout his works. Mr. Todd, whose useful labours increase the stock, as well as facilitate and open the avenues to our literature, shews the primary sense of this word from rivus, in Morin's Diet. Etym. Fr. and Gr. " Rivalis designe proprement ceux qui ont droit d'usage dans une mSme ruisseau j et comme cet usage est sou- vent pour eux un sujet de contestations, on a transports cette sig- nification de rivalis ^ ceux qui ont les mfemes pretentions k une chose." (3) liegemen to the Dane] Lige, Ft. i. e. bound, ligatus, owing allegiance. Minshieu says, " Liege or liefe man, is he that oweth legeancie (from liga, Ital. a band or obligation) to ACT I. 2 SC. I. his liege lord j and that liege lord signifies he who acknow- ledges no superior." In the sense of " sovereign," it occurs in L. L. L. -. " Liege of all loiterers and malecontents.'' III. 1. Bir. And, equivocally rather, in Puttenham's Arte of Engl. Poesie, 4to. 1589, p. 182. " He lost, besides his children and his wife, " His reaJme, renowne, liege, libertie and life." See lieger, M.for M. III. 1. Isab. and sovereign liege. R. II. I. 1. Norf. (4) Give you good nighi] i. e. may it be given ! May he, who has the power of giving, so dispense : or, I give you good night, in a sense similar to the Latin, dare salutem. " Qua, nisi tu dederis, caritura est ipsa, salutem " Mittit Amazonio Cressa puella viro." Ov. Phadra Hippolyto, 1. In the M. W. of W. Mrs. Quickly says to Falstaff, " Give your worship good morrow." In the Avare of Moliere, Harpa- gon is ridiculously described, as having so much dislike to the word give, as never to say, ' I give you good day,' but ' I lend you,' &c. ' Je vous prSte,' &c. (5) along With us, to watch the minutes'] i. e. tedious, slowly counted passage. Steevens cites " I promise ere the minutes of the night." Ford's Fancies chaste and noble. Act V. With the quartos the modern editors place the comma after along instead of us. (6) Thou art a scholar, speak to it, Horatio'] It has always been a vulgar notion that spirits and supernatural beings can only be spoken to with propriety or effect by persons of learning. " — — It grows still longer, " 'Tis steeple-high now ; and it sails away, nurse. " Let's call the butler up, for he speaks Latin, " And that will daunt the devil." B. and Fl.'s. Night walker, Toby. So the Butler, in Addison's Drummer, recommends the Steward to speak Latin to the Ghost. Reed. It was so conceived, because exorcisms were usually per- formed in Latin. Douce's lUustr. 8vo. 1807. II. 220. After this speech, in the quarto of 1611 (enlarged to almost as much again as the original copy) followed that of Horatio : " Most like : it horrowes me with feare and wonder." And this appears to us to be the true and better reading. It is natural, that the surprise and terror of the speaker should bear ACT I. 3 SC. I. some proportion to the degree of his former confidence and in- credulity : and the art and address of our poet is shewn by making Horatio's answer (a reply not to the last speech and request made, but an observation upon an observation of a preceding speaker) expressive of that alarm in which he was absorbed : and in the same way in Jul. Cas. I. 3. does Cinna, the conspirator, by passing over the only question asked and eagerly adverting to matter of more immediate interest, disclose the agitation and fever of his mind. But, for the purpose, it is presumed, of making this answer more obviously intelligible, our Player Editors, or the taste of the age twelve years afterwards, interposed this speech of Barnardo's : " Looks it not like the king ? mark it, Horatio." (7) It harrows me with fear and wonder] i. e. distracts, or tears to pieces like an harrow, a drag with iron teeth to break the clods of earth after ploughing, from ^ro, Lat. to plough ; which is as elucidated by Dr. Johnson, " to practise aration." Interpreting harrow in this place " disturb, put into commo- tion," he derives the noun from charroue, Fr. and harcke. Germ, a rake ; and would read harry from harer, Fr. But harrie, says MinshieUj to " turmoile or vex" is from har. Sax. in- torsio, tormentum. It should seem that they are considered as one and the same word by Tyrwhitt, who interprets it else- where, as Steevens does here, " to conquer or subdue." He says, " by him that harwed heUe," is harried. Sax. harrassed, subdued. Ch. Mill. T. v. 3512 ; and adds, " Our ancestors were very fond of a story of Christ's exploits in his Descensus ad in- feros, which they called the harrowing of helle. They took it, with several others of the same stamp, from the gospel of Nicodemus." Fabr. Cod. Apoc. N. T. "There is a poem upon this subject in MS. Bodl. 1687. " How Jesu Crist herowed heUe ; " Of harde gestes ich wiUe telle." Tyrwhitt's Chaucer, Vol. II. 430. 4to. ed. and for this sense see " I repent me much that I so harried him." Ant. and CI. III. 3. CI. It is somewhat singular, that we find the word harow in the same tale " Let be, Nicholas, " Or I wol crie out harow and alas v. 3286, referred, by Tyrwhitt, to a different origin : he " rather believes haro to be derived from two Islandic words, once probably common to all the Scandinavian nations, har, altus, and op, clamor ; and adds, that haroep, or harop, was used by some of the inhabitants of the Low Countries in the sense of harou by the Normans." Ibid. Vol. II. Warton says, " this was an ex- clamation of alarm and terror, and an outcry upon the name of Rou or Rollo, for help." Todd's Spencer, III. 414. But as ACT I. 4 SC. I. the three words harrow, harrie, and harow, are, under various spellings, confounded by glossographers, they may aU not un- reasonably be referred to the same source. The words appear, thus variously represented, in our different old writers : " Harro, harrow, lo, eheu ; a Fr. haro, an outcry for help, much the same as the English hue and cry : vide Menage." Gloss, to Gaw. Douglas's Virg. Fo. I710. " Hery, hary, hubbilschow.- These are words expressive of hurry and confusion. Hiry, hary, seem to be a corruption of the Fr. haro, or the cry & I'aide, like huetium in our old laws, and hue in English. Hubbilschow* is used with us for uproar." Ancient Scottish Poems from MS. of G. Bannatyne, 1770. p. 173, " With bludy ene rolling ful thrawynlie " Oft and richt schrewitly wold sche clepe and crye, " Out, Harro, matrouns, quharesoever ze be." G. Dougl. Virg. p. 220. " torvumque repente " Clamat, lo, matres, audite, ubi quaeque." jEn. VII. 399. " They rent thare hare with harro and aUake." lb. p. 432. " manu crines laniata — turba /writ." ^n. XII. 605. " Wherfore I crye out harowe on them [the evyl shrewes] whiche so falsly have belyed me." Reynard, the Foxe, 12mo. 1.550. Signat. L. 1, b. " Advocates and attorneys in open audience at the barre looke as tho they would eat one another, crying Harrol for justice on their client's side." R. C.'s Hen. Steph. Apology for Herodotus, fo. 1608, p. 342. An instance in which the word occurs in Ascham's Toxophilus has given occasion to a strange perversion of the text : one of the infinite number of instances in which the ignorance and presumption of Editors has gone a great way towards blotting from the page of history, together with all traces of the cha- racter of their author's style, the evidence of our ancient usages. " One of the players shall have a payre of false dyse and cast them out upon the boarde, the honest man shall take them and cast them as he did the other, the thirde shall espye them to be false dyse and shall cry out haroe with all the othes under God, that he hath falsely wonne their money, and then there is nothing but hould thy throte from my dagger." 4to. 1571, fo. 14, b. Such is the original : but in a book published under the name of " James Bennet, Master of the Boarding School at Hoddes- don, Herts," by Davies and Dodsley, 4to. without date, intitled * Hubbub, or, as they pronounce it, hoobboob, is at this day an exclama- tion of a similar import in South Wales : and in Warwickshire they have a proverbial distich, " Hoo roo the devil's to do." ACT I. 5 SC. I. the English Works and Life of Roger Ascham (in which the dedication and life at least are the work of Dr. Johnson), instead of " crye out, haroe," the editor has given " crye out horde," altering as well the punctuation as the word itself : and in this very ridiculous depravation he has been followed by Mr. Wal- ters, a Glamorganshire clergyman, in an 8vo. edition, 1788, and in an edition of all his English Works, 8vo. 1815, White, Fleet-street. From this Norman usage, Ritson says the word " is erro- neously supposed by some to be a corruption of Ha Ron,* 1. e. Rollo, Duke of Normandy : Pharroh, however, was the old war cry of the Irish. Camd. Britann. 1695, p. 1047, and Spenser's View of Ireland. The word too, or crie de guerre, of Joan of Arc, was Hara ha. Howell's Letters, 8vo. 1726, p. 113. Anc. Metrical Romances, III. 349, 8vo. 1802. But, whatever its real origin, the tradition of the country, and the form of the invocation of their revered chieftain (k I'aide, mon prince), demonstrates what must have been the opinion of the inhabitants of Normandy and its adjacent isles upon this subject : and in those islands this form of invocation is continued to the present day. The 53d chapter of the Grand Coustumier de Normandie treats De Haro, rendered in the Latin text or translation, " De clamore, qui dicitur Harou." It states, " that in his court of Haro the Duke of Normandy makes inquest, whether this cry is raised with just cause or otherwise, heavy penalties attending a false clamour : and directs, that it shall not be raised, unless in criminal cases or offences against the state." Rouen, Fo. 1539, fo. 10 and 74. But the practise is, and as far as appears, ever has been, directly opposite : and we are well informed, that in Jersey and Guernsey it is the constant usage, interjetter le clameur de haro, in civil cases, to prevent trespass or entry under the colour of right j and if any such in- road is repeated after this cry has been raised, heavy penalties ensue. That it ever could have been confined to criminal cases wiU hardly be allowed, if any credit is due to the story recorded of the stoppage of the Conqueror's fiineral. He had violently dispossessed the owner of the ground, in which it was proposed to deposit his remains. The owner, conceiving this to be a new invasion of his property, and possibly that the death of the invader operated as a renewal of those rights, a suspension of the exercise of which he had hitherto been compelled to ac- quiesce under, threw in the clameur de haro. Falle, from Paulus jEmilius, states his challenge to have been made in these words : " Qui regna oppressit armis, me quoque metu mortis hactenus oppressit. Ego, injuriae superstes, pacem mortuo non dabo. In quern infertis huuc hominem locum, meus est. In alienum • Raoul is the real and proper name, Ron or Ro tie ahbreviation, Rollo the latinised name, and now universally adopted ; in the same way as we say Thuanus for De Thou. From whatever other sources derived, tliis word may have been engrafted into our language, it seems clear, that it has been transmitted to iis by our Norman ancestors. ACT 1. b SC. 1. solum inferendi mortui jus nemini esse defendo. Si, extincto tandem indignitatis authore, vivit adhuc vis, Rollonem, condi- torem parentemque gentis, appello ; qui legibus a se datis quam cujusquam injuria plus unus potest polletque." Hist, of Jersey, 1734. P. 16, 17. It appears too, that this exclamation is, down to the present times, used still more extensively ; and that it is resorted to by those who meditate or make attack, as well as those who are assailed. In his private memoir of Louis XVI. Mr. Bertrand de Moleville says, speaking of himself, " There was a general shout of Haro sur I'lntendant, accompanied with the most furious imprecations :" and it is added in a note, that " this cry is used by the populace of Brittany and Normandy, when they intend to insult* or attack any body." 8vo. 1797, Vol. I. p. 84. It occurred at Rennes. And in Pryce's Antient Vocabulary of Cornwal (which lies opposite the coast of Normandy) 4to. 1790, we find this word ; and in a corresponding sense making other modifications of it, as harow, harow ! sad, sad. Har, slaughter. Hara, an arrow [i. e. the cause of slaughter] whence heir, a battle, and heirva, a place of battle. In the text, and in familiar and vernacular language, the lan- guage of Shakespeare, the word is used in the metaphorical sense, which it takes, as before stated, from the operation of the harrow, in tearing asunder the clods of ploughed earth ; and signifies " rend or tear to pieces." (8) when, in an angry parle. He smote the sledded Polacks on the ice'] i. e. when in an angry conference on the ice, he dealt out his blows upon the Poles, who are accustomed to travel in sleds, i. e. sledges, carriages without wheels, on the ice. The Poles were formerly called Polacks, in aU the old editions written Pollax : the spelling, doubtless, in conformity with the pronunciation. " The Polonian, whom the Russe calleth Laches, noting the first author or founder of the nation, who was called Laches or Leches, whereunto is added Po, which signifieth people, and so is made Polaches ; that is, the people or posteritie of Laches : which the Latines, after their manner of writing, call Polanos." Giles Fletcher's Russe Commonwealth, 12mo. 1591, fo. 65. Steevens cites Vittoria Corombona, 1612. " I scorn him like a shav'd Polack." (9) just at this dead] For dead, one of the quartos and the folio of 1632, read same. Upon the reading of the quartos, which, instead of just, is jump, Malone observes, that in the folio we sometimes find a familiar word substituted for one more ancient : nor is this idly said, though the words are * But it has been questioned, whether the Intendant was not here con- sidered as a wrongful intruder and malfeasor, against whose tortious entry the cry was raised. ACT I. 7 sc. I. synonymous. B. Jonson speaks of verses made on jump names, 1. e. names that suit exactly. Nash says — " and jumpe imitating a verse in As in praesenti." So, in Chapman's May Day, 1611 : " Your appointment was jumpe at three, with me." And in Kyffin's Terence's Andria, 1588 : " Comes he this day so jump in the very time of this marriage ?" See V. 2. Horat. (10) impress of shipwrights'] It is not any where shewn by the commentators, who have laboured the point, that the prest- money for the retainer of soldiers, has any thing to do with shipwrights. The word seems to be here used in its ordinary signification, as in Tr. and Cre. II. 1. " No man is beaten voluntary. Ajax was here the voluntary, and you as under an impress." Achil. But it is said to import a retainer from Pre't, Fr. ; as by the acceptance of what was called presf-money being bound to hold themselves in readiness to be employed. (11) ratified by law, and heraldry] By St. 13. R. II. c. 2. the court of Chivalry has " cognizance of contracts, touching deeds of arms or of war, out of the realm." Upton says, that Shakespeare sometimes expresses one thing by two substan- tives, and that law and heraldry means, by the herald law. Ant. Sf CI. IV. 2. " "Where rather I expect victorious life, " Than death and honour. i. e. honourable death. Stebvens. See Sc. II. " leave and favour." Laertes. Puttenham, in his Art of Poesie, p. 148, speaks of The Figure of Twynnes : " horses and barbs, for barbed horses, venim and dartes, for venimous dartes,'' &c. Fakmer. (12) cov'nant And carriage of the article design'd] i. e. " tenor, force, or import of the article drawn up." Design, says Malone, is to mark out or appoint for any purpose. Cowdrey Alph. Tab. 1604. To shew by a token. Minshieu, 1617. Designed is yet used in this sense in Scotland, as is designated with us. Instead of covenant, the quarto, 1604, gives co-mart, i. e. com- pact, joint treaty j and formed, as another word of our author's, that does not often occur, co -mates. As you, &c. II. 1. Duke S. Comart was doubtless the original reading, first changed pro- bably on the stage for its more familiar substitute, covenant ; and this word was continued by the player editors in 1623 and the other folios. (13) unimproved mettle] i. e. unimpeached, unquestioned : and the 4to, 1603, reads inapproved. The modern editors adopt the modern sense of this word " un- trained or undisciplined." The verb, improve, does not occur ACT I. 8 SC. I. in many of our early dictionary writers, as Baret and Minshieu ; and on its introduction it was used in the sense of " reprove, impute, or disprove." Tooke says, " it was taken from the French, who used it, and still continue to use it, in the same meaning : and that it was perpetually so used by the authors about Shakespeare's time, and especially in theological contro- versy." " For ye fondely improve a conclusion which myghte stande and be true." — Declar. agt. Joye by Gardiner, Bish. of Winchester. " Ther did they worshyp it in their scarlet gownes with cappes in hand, and here they improved it with scornes and with mockes, grenn3nnge upon her lyke termagauntes in a playe." 3ale's Actes of Eng. Votaries. Divers, of Purley, Ato. 1798, I. 165. And he says the word here means " unim- peached," from the verb to blame, censure, &c. But the use of the word was certainly not appropriated to any one science. " Whiche thynge as I do not improve, so I denye it to be necessarye." — Paynel's Hutten " Of the wood, guiacum, that heleth the French Pockes." 12mo. 1533, c. 7 : iluiesse, corya- cides, &c. none of the phisitions, that have any judgement, improvethe, but they affirme these to be good." — lb. c. 11. " Some forbidde washinges and all maner bathes, I thynke by- cause they moUifie the sinowes and lose them, and yet they do not improve sweatynges." — 76. c. 26, p. 78, b. In all these instances the original, rendered improve, is improbo. Ulrick. Huttenus de Guiaci Medicina, Mogunt. 4to. 1520. Sir Tho. More, in his letter to H. VIII. Mar. 1534, says, " Not presuming to looke, that his Highnes should any thyng take that point for the more proved or improved for my poore minde in so great a mater." Johnson, in his dictionary, instancing from Whitgift, points out this as the French use of the word. We now use the word reprove, from the Lat. reprobo, (whence we also take the verb and noun, reprobate) instead of improve. Of the compound in the text, unimprove, no instance has occurred in the above sense : and Dr. Johnson (as the word has been in use for the last century at least, and with a satisfactory sense) has inter- preted it, and it may be rightly, " not regulated or guided by knowledge or experience." In Jonson's Every Man in &c. III. 2. where Bobadil says, " Sir, believe me on my relation ; for what I tell you the world shall not reprove," — it is said, in a late edition of his works, that the quarto edition of 1603 in this place reads improve. Hence, as well as from this use of it by Sir Tho. More, it may reasonably be inferred, that it was known in this sense to our author. (14) Shark'd up a list of landless resolutes For food and diet, to some enterprise That hath a stomach m'<] i. e. " snapped up with the eager voracity of a shark, caught up from any or all quarters for a bellyful, a gang of sturdy beggars, sharpset, and of courage equal to any enterprise." ACT I. 9 SC. I. " That's but the scum and sediment of wit " Which sharking braines do into publike thrust." Berkenhead's Comm. Verses to Cartwright, 1651. The redundancy of " food and diet" may have been employed for the purpose of fixing in the mind the continuation of the metaphor in the use of the word stomach, here put in an equi- vocal sense, importing both courage and appetite. We have a similar play upon the word in Two G. of V. where, on Julia's asking her waiting woman, with whom she had been peevish, whether it was near dinner time, she replies : " I would it were, " That you might kill your stomach on your meat, " And not upon your maid." I. 2. (15) romage'] " Romelynge, prevy mustrynge. Ruminatio. Militatio. Musitatio." Promptuar. parvulor. clericor. 4to. 1614. This rendering of the word applies closely to the military use or bearing of it in the text : but to rummage trunks or papers is in every day's use, for making a thorough ransack or search. Philips says, " It is originally a sea term, and properly signifies to remove goods out of a ship's hold, when there must be searching and tvimbUng about." Todd's Diet. (16) question of these wars'} i. e. whose acts were and are the ground, or point that draws on debate, " word of war ;" as in Ant. S; CI. II. 2. Caes. and 76. III. 2. Enob. " your being in Mgjpt might be my question." " At such a point, " When half to half the world oppos'd, he being " The merest question." (17) moth'] Moth is throughout our author, M. N. Dr. V. 1. Dem. K. John IV. 1. Arth. & H. V. IV. 1. K. Hen. the reading for mote or atom. Malone instances the preface to Lodge's Incarnate Devils .■ " They are in the aire like atoms in Sole, mothes in the sonne." 4to. 1656, and Florio's Ital. Diet. 1598, " Festuceo, a moth, a little beam." " Mowghe, tinea" in Prompt, parvulor. is in Ortus Vocabulor. spelt mought. (18) palmy state] i. e. outspread, flourishing. Of victory palm branches were the emblem. " Like Augustus' palmy reign be deem'd." Drummond's Forth Feasting. Nares' Gloss. " This tree is of a most aspiring nature : it will bear no coales : it resisteth all burden, bearing it upward with his armes and boughes. Therefore it is a hieroglyphical or emblem of victory or conquest." Butler's Dyer's dry dinner. 1599. Malone. (19) As stars with trains of fire and dews of blood. Disasters in the sun] Shakespeare having told us, that. ACT I. 10 SC. I. as precursors of a great event, certain prodigies were seen, pro- ceeds, -without any thing to connect his sentence, to instance other prodigies. In usual course we should say, " Ghosts ap- peared — and there were also other fearful and preternatural appearances :" and yet, as it stands, there is no difficulty in conceiving the meaning. This being so, may we not, with Shakespeare's license and title to exemption from grammatical shackles, read or undertand it thus : " The graves opened, the dead were seen abroad [spectacles such] as, &c." This we must do, or with more unwarrantable license and much less probability, though with sense and consistency, read with Mr. Rowe : " Stars shone with trains of fire, dews of blood /eZZ, " Disasters vdl'd the sun." Upon the passage in Par. Lost, I. 597, where 'tis said, " the moon " In dim eclipse disastrous twilight sheds," Warburton observes, that disaster is here used in its original signification of evil conjunction of stars ; and Sylvester, speak- ing of the planet Saturn in his Du Bartas, says, " His froward beams disastrous frowns.'' p. 80. (20) and the moist star] i. e. " the moon or watery star." " The watry moon." R. III. II. 2. Q. Eliz. " Quo ululatibus meis via patefieret ad coelum usque, et inde possem deducere pallidam illam humidorum reginam ad miscendas mecum lachry- mas." Jac. Howel, Angliajlens. 18mo. 1646, p. 2. Malone cites Marlowe's Hero and Leander, 1590 : " Not that night-wand'ring, pale and wat'ry star." (21) like precurse of Reree events'] As in general poetical use it was extreme or excessive, it will with little more license be here rendered terrible and bloody. " O the fierce wretchedness, that glory brings." Tim. IV. 2. Flav. We have " fierce extremes," K. John, last sc. and " fierce vanities," H. VIII. I. 1. Buck. In Jonson's Sejanus, Arnintius says, " O most tame slavery, aadferce flattery !" A. V. (32) omen coming on] i. e. " portentous event at hand." That this noun was used in the sense of fate. Dr. Farmer has shewn in Heywood's Life of Merlin. " Merlin, well vers'd in many a hidden spell, " His countries omen did long since foretell." And Steevens has in the Vowbreaker shewn the use of the adjective {or fatal. ACT I. 11 SCI. " And much I fear the weakness of her braine " Should draw her to some ominous exigent." See " ominous," R. III. III. 3. Riv. (23) The passages included in brackets are throughout this work taken from Steevens's edition of the quarto. In that edition the title page of this play in 1611 (there had been three preceding, in 1603, 1604, and 1605) states, that it had been enlarged to almost double its original size. It also appears, that in their folio of 1623, the player editors made many re- trenchments. Splendid passages, not contributing to the action of the drama, and not admitted latterly in representation, they may have not adequately appreciated ; and the coherence of the dialog;ue and fable may in consequence be sometimes found to have suffered. Johnson says, their omissions sometimes leave it better and sometimes worse, and seem only made for the pur- pose of abbreviation. (24) Or if thou hast uphoarded, &c.] " If any of them had bouud the spirit of gold by any charmes in caves, or in iron fetters under the ground, they shoidd for their own souks quiet (which questionlesse else would whine up and down) if not for the good of their children, release it." — Decker's Knight's Con- juring, &c. Steevens. It is also observed by Johnson, that the whole of this address is very elegant and noble, and congruous to the common tradi- tions of the causes of apparitions. (25) it is, as the air, invulnerable] " As easy may'st thou the intrenchant air " With thy keen sword impress." Macb. last sc. '' Against the invulnerable clouds of heaven." K. John, II. 2. IMalone. (26) The cock, that is the trumpet to the morn'] " And now the cocke, the morning's trumpeter, " Play'd huntsup for the day star to appear." Drayton, 4to. 1604. Steevens. " The cocke, the country horologe that rings " The cheerefuU warning to the sunne's awake, " Missing the dawning scantles in his wings." Moses his Bush. Part II. _4to. 1630, p. 157- (27) Whether in sea, &c.] According to the pneuinatology of that time, every element was inhabited by its peculiar order of spirits, who had dispositions different, according to their various places of abode. A Chorus in Andreini's drama, called Adamo, written in 1613, consists of spirits of fire, air, water, and hell, or subterraneous, being the exiled angels. " Choro di Spiriti ignei, aerei, acqua- ACT I. 12 sc. I. tici, ed infernali/' &c. These are the demons to which Shake- speare alludes. These spirits were supposed to controul the elements in which they respectively resided ; and when formally invoked or commanded by a magician, to produce tempests, con- flagrations, floods, and earthquakes. For thus says The Spanish Mandeville of Miracles, &c. 1600 : " Those which are in the middle region of the ayre, and those that are under them nearer the earth, are those, which sometimes out of the ordinary ope- ration of nature doe moove the windes with greater fury than they are accustomed ; and do, out of season, congeele the cloudes, causing it to thunder, lighten, hayle, and to destroy the grasse, corne, &c. &c. Witches and necromancers worke many such like things by the help of those spirits," &c. Of this school therefore was Shakespeare's Prospero in the Tempest. T. Warton. Bourne of Newcastle, in his Antiquities of the common People, informs us, " It is a received tradition among the vulgar, that at the time of cock-crowing, the midnight spirits forsake these lower regions, and go to their proper places. — Hence it is, (says he) that in country places, where the way of life requires more early labour, they always go chearfuUy to work at that time ; whereas if they are cdled abroad sooner, they imagine every thing they see a wandering ghost." And he quotes on this oc- casion, as all his predecessors had done, the well-known lines from the first hymn of Prudentius. I know not whose transla- tion he gives us, but there is an old one by Heywood. The pious chansons, the hymns and carrots, whch Shakespeare men- tions presently, were usually copied from the elder Christian poets. Farmer. (28) The extravagant and erring spirit hies To his confine] From St. Ambrose's hymn in the Salis- bury service. " Prceco diei jam sonat : " Hdc excitatus Lucifer — " Hdc omnis Errorum chorus " Viam nocendi deserit, " Gallo canente." Douce not only supposes that Shakespeare had seen these lines, but is disposed to intfer from some parts of them, that he was a Latin scholar : and it must be allowed, that extrava- gant, erring, and confine, are terms not vernacular : derivatives from a learned language, they have here, though used in close succession, a dignified propriety and nothing- tumid or pedantic, but are, on the contrary, delivered with aU the ease and perspi- cuity, with which an accomplished scholar might be supposed to adapt and transfuse the spirit of one language, that he had a mastery in, to the occasion and into the character in which he chose to use it in another. See " perturbed spirit." I. 5. Ham. But it is also to be considered, that these short Latin hymns (such as Flaminius's, ACT I. 13 SC. I. " Jam noctis umbras Lucifer " Almae diei nuntius," &c. printed in Preces privatee regia authoritate, 8vo. 1568. Sign. n. 6, b.) were so popular, that their language even might have been familiar, as well as the images open, to our author through translation. There are so many channels through which the wording of religious formularies, and the records of popular superstitions, in whatever language they are found, become ac- cessible, that the adoption of either their words, or images, or both, will afford a very slender argument in favour of Douce's conclusion. Steevens points out two instances in Chapman's Odyssey, in which this word is used in the sense of wandering or erratic. Telemachus calls Ulysses " My erring father. Odys. IV. p. 55. " Erring Grecians we from Troy were turning homewards." Tpoij/^tv an-OTrXayx-^tjTEc. Odys. IX. V. 259. We find the verb also in the sense of rove or range, in his Batrachom. p. 4. " The cat and night-hawke, who much scathe confer " On all the outraies (foramen, rpwyXt;) where for food I erre." So " erring barbarian." Othel. I. 3. lago : and the title page of John Boys's translation of a part of Virgil runs " ^neas his errours, or his voyage from Troy into Italy." 8vo. Steevens has also produced an instance of the word extrava- gant in the sense in which vagrant is used in our criminal law : " They took me up for a 'stravagant." Nobody and Somebody. 1598. And in Othello we have the same ideas coupled in nearly the same expressions : " In an extravagant and wheeling stranger." I. 1. Roder. (■29) It faded on the crowing of the coc/c] i. e. " its shadowy appearance lost all of its distinctness : it melted into thin air : passed away, vanished, flitted." Jupiter, addressing the ghosts in Cymb. V. 4, says " Rise a.nd fade." Vado is to flow or go, " as a river dotll." Littleton's Diet. " Hinc. Angl. to vade or fader " Thy form's divine, r^o fading, vading flower." — ^Brathwaite's Strappado for the Divell, 12mo. 1515. p. 53. " O darknesse/ade thy way from hence." — Barnabe Googe's Palengenius's Zodiake of Life, 12mo. Steevens refers to Vit. Apoll. IV. 16. Philostratus giving an account of the apparition of Achilles' shade to Apollonius Tyaneus, says that it vanished with a little glimmer as soon as the cock crowed. See " the first cock." Lear III. 4. Edg. (30) No fairy takes] Takes, the reading of the quartos, is catches, possesses, blasts. " Bless you from star-blasts and takings." Lear III. 4. Edg. See M. W. of W. IV. 4. Mrs. Page. (31) gracious'] i. e. " partaking of the nature of that with ACT I. 14 sc. I. which it is associated, with " blessedness :" participating of a heavenly quality, of grace in its scriptural sense — quasi quodam divine afflatus spiritu : as " a father and a gracious aged man." Lear IV. 2. Alb. And not in the sense in which it is more fre- quently used, of graceful, elegant, winning, pleasing simply, but touched with something holy, instinct with goodness." O sce- lestum hominem ! " O what an ungratious fellowe !" Nic. Udall's Flouresfrom Terence, 12mo. 1550. fo. 83. & 98, b. See Two G. of V. III. 1. Launce. and TV. and Cr. II. 2. Tr. (32) But, look, the morn, &c.] Doubtless the almost momen- tary appearance of the Ghost, and the short conversations pre- ceding and subsequent to it, could not have fiUed up the long interval of a winter's night in Denmark, from twelve till morn- ing. But, indifferent as was Shakespeare to all dramatic rules and laws, there was no other license so large as that which he took with time. In whatever direction and wherever he sped, " StiU panting Time toil'd after him in vain.'' With the interesting topic he has contrived to introduce at the close, and dazzled also as an audience would be by the splendor of his poetry, this irregularity would not in representa- tion be generally detected at any time ; and at this time it would neither be thought of or regarded : and when the sige and the audience so little attended to it, as Steevens represents to be the case, the playwright was not likely to be very anxious about it. He tells us, in his notes upon Hamlet's advice to the players, that " dumb shews sometimes supplied deficiences, and at others filled up the space of time which was necessary to pass, while business was supposed to be transacted in foreign parts. With this method of preserving one of the unities, our ancestors appear to have been satisfied." But in his Treatise of Church Government, Milton, when speaking of epic poetry, even in his manner of putting the question, decides it : " Whe- ther the rules of Aristotle are herein strictly to be kept, or nature to be followed : which in them, that know art and use judgment, is no transgression, but an enriching of art." Whether this be so or not in epic poetry, surely it may be asked, although the scene shifting drama, both as to time and place, and fdelihus oculis, presents a succession of impossibilities, yet if trans- ported by that living scene, the imagination persuades itself, that which passes before it is real ; if in the representation there is nothing revolting, how much less is it than nature ? And, if she is no further overstepped, why is it, that we exclaim, and talk of forms or rules violated ? Or, if we so do, why do we step within the walls of a theatre ? No reasoning will allow that we can actually be one minute at Thebes and the next at Athens ; or wherever the scene is laid, that we are at no other than at home. The only question to be entertained is, whether the mind, by its habit of cherishing these associations and delusions so fondly that they have be- ACT I. 15 sc. II. note 33 come a second nature, is in any particular instance by want of skill or talent in the dramatical artificer outraged or disgusted ? Unless by some deviation or relaxation of the severity of his rules our critic shall condescend to suffer himself so to sympa- thise and be transported, he can have no feeling for what passes, not even for the first scene any more than for the last ; nor can he by any flight be carried further than the bench on which he seated himself as a spectator. (33) with a defeated joy, With one auspicious and one dropping eye] i. e. with joy baflled, and with one well-omen'd and smiling, and one clouded and weeping eye. A similar idea is pointed out by Steevens in Wint. T. : " She had one eye declined for the loss of her husband ; another elevated that the oracle was fulfilled." (34) bonds of lavi] i. e. under every species of bond or solemn obligation. " A sealed compact, well ratified by law and heraldry." Sc. 1. Hor. " Limit this presumed liberty within the hands of discretion and government." — He}rwood's Apol.for Actors, 1612. Bond and hand were synonimous. (35) hedrid] Not derived, as it should seem, from the same source as other similar words in our language, priest-ridden, hag-ridden. Benson, A. S. Vocah. gives Bedreda, clinicus, and reda paralyticus. Jamieson, Sc. Diet. Bedrel, adj. Bedrid, corr. periiaps from A. S. Bedrida, id ; Teut. Bedder, cUnicus. Germ. Bed-reise. Minshieu, Bedrid, one so sick that he cannot rise, Belg. Bedder. Teut. Bettrisz, Bettrisen. (36) gaif] i. e. progress. From the A. S'. verb gae. A gate for a path, passage, or street, is still, says Dr. Percy, cur- rent in the North. See M. N. Dr. V. 1. Thes. (37) Out of his suhject} i. e. out of those subject to him. " So nightly toils the suhject of the land. Sc. 1. Marcell. " The general subject to a well-wish'd king " Quit their own part." M.for M. II. 4. Ang. & III. 2. Lucio. (38) the scope Of these dilated articles allow'] i. e. " the tenor of these articles, set out at large, authorizes." The use of the plural verb with a nominative singular, so far from being offensive even to modern ears, seems under the present circumstances, viz. those of a plural genitive intervening, to improve the har- mony of the versification, and to constitute an exception to the general rule. At any rate our author would be fully justified by the loose practise of his age, which, even in prose, and where no member of a sentence was interposed between the nominative case and ACT I. 16 sc. II. the verb, allowed plural verbs and nouns singular, and vice versa, to be united. A similar example occurs* in III. 2. Player King, where, indeed, it may be said, that this license was used for the con- venience of the rhyme : but nothing is more fully understood, than that it was the practise of the learned of these times, of our translators both in prose and verse, and of our highest per- sonages, as well as our greatest scholars and most polished writers, to join noun and verb without any regard to the singular or plural of either. In her translation of a classic it was done by the sovereign of that day : " The cleare daies foUowes the darck clowdes : the roughest seas insues the greatest calmes :" Queen Elizabeth's Seneca, given to Sir J. Harrington, 1597. Nugee Antiq. 12mo. 1779, II. 308 : as she did in a letter to her learned successor. Mar. 6, 1592 : " a guilty conscience skills more to shift than ten wiser heads knowes how to win." ArchtBO- log. XIX. 11. 4to. 1821 : as he also himself, and when laying down rules for composition, " And birds with all their heavenlie voces cleare " Dois mak a sweit and heavinly harmony, " And fragrant _/?OMrs dois spring up lustely !" King James's reylis and cautelis of Scottis Poesie, 1584. And, whether it was understood or not, that, from the rude state of our language, the ear was then untuned and inattentive to niceties and the modulation of its periods, certainly this was not an age, in which it is possible to refer such a practise to the want of a knowledge of the common rules of grammar. Further towards the close of Charles's reign, in Hermippus Anglo-latinus, 12mo. 1639, an elaborate and learned gram- matical work, which commences with inculcating, that in translating or construing in these languages, it is necessary to the purity of style, that the utmost care should be taken to " reserve to each idiom its own propriety," the author proceeds, and without noticing it as any way anomalous, in exact con- formity with the phraseology of the text, " where the analogy of both tongues goe by one rule, the danger is the lesse." Sign. A. 3, b : but afterwards amongst his Syntaxeos Anomalia, where he states the general use of the singular with the plural, he instances also in the Latin combinations, that give the sin- gular noim a plural, or the effect of a plural, character. Sign. F. 10. as " Rhemus cumfratre quirino Jura dabant." Virg. But it is " Cana Fides et Vesta, Remo," &c. Mn. I. 296, and therefore irrelevant : the instance is of course more satisfactory, " Ipse cumfratre adesse j'assi sumus.'' Cic. Such then, from whatever cause arising, being the actual in- difference to the application of this rule, even where the verb * " The violence of either grief or joy " Their own enactures will themselves destroy." ACT I. 17 SC. II. immediately follows the nominative case, and Shakespeare, as his ear guided, giving occasionally into a practise into which he had been led, and has been followed, by scholars and princes, this departure from rule, or, more properly, such exceptions to it as the present, whatever may be pretended by modern refine- ment, were then at least warranted ; and in familiar dialogue may yet be admitted as judicious. In this case, where, after a genitive plural preceded by a nominative singular, a plural verb, immediately following the genitive plural, forms the sentence, the ear does not only not feel this use of the verb as any way offensive, but, on the con- trary, seems to call for it : the sound of the plural s misleads and occasions the ear to refer itself to the plural genitive, as if it were the legitimate nominative case : at the same time it is urged to this expedient for the purpose of avoiding an offensive accumulation and clashing of ss ,• as the plural genitive and verb singular, thus brought so near together, invariably produce this consequence. To the ear, therefore, it belongs altogether to decide ; there can be no question of grammar • or, if such were raised, it ought to be in the plain and common case ; as in the quotation from Queen Elizabeth, and the second of the two instances from King James, where the verbs immediately foUow the nomi- native cases ; or where, as is frequent in Shakespeare, and is found in the Bible and our best writers of that day, only other members of sentences, not plural nouns, are interposed. But Malone tells us here (and elsewhere, L. L. L. " The voice of all the Gods " Make Heav'n drowsy with the harmony." IV. 3, Biron). that it should be otherwise ; and that it is Shakespeare that is in error ■ although he has there pointed out an instance (" The number of the names together were about an hundred and twenty." Acts I. 15.), where there is no clashing of consonants. And in L. L. L. IV. 3. Bir. edit. 1821, he also supplies an' in- stance directly to our point from Marlow's Hero and Leander, " The outside of her garments were of lawn." And this is also the use of Shakespeare, where another branch of a sentence is interposed between the plural genitive and verbs. " The venom of such looks, we fairly hope, " Have lost their quality." H. V. V. 2. Isab. And where other branches of sentences are also interposed, closing with plural nouns in contact with the verb, (as in " How oft the sight of means, to do ill deeds, •' Make ill deeds done." K. John, IV. 2. K. John), there seems additional reason to insist upon this exception. Under these combinations then, this course must have been thought consistent with good taste and good writing ; and, as is conceived, is called for more particularly in poetry, where the ACT I. 18 SC, II. music of numbers ought to make a part of the consideration : at that day the want of agreement between noun and verb, even where nothing was interposed, was not thought by scholars an indispensable rule of grammar, or barbarous or offensive even to the ear of courtiers ; and this violation of it would frequently escape even their ear, though their eye might detect it. " It was upon Shakespeare (says H. Tooke, Diversions of Purley II. 52.) that the charge of ignorance of the rudiments of grammar was to be fixed." But his ear caught the idiomatic phraseology, and he had a mind capable of comprehending the genius, of his na- tive tongue. And we find the principle, acted upon in the text, (that of yielding to the gmdance of the ear and sense in defiance of tech- nicalities) carried by elegant and most learned authors much ftir- ther, when discussing the gravest subjects : where a genitive case with a plural termination is attached to a noun in the singular, immediately following a plural pronoun or adjective : " Some will labour to excuse these manner of proceedings, and to colour, &c." Daungerous Positions S^c. under pretence of Reformation. By Archb. Bancroft, 4to. 1593. p. 13. " With these manner of proceedings the King there and the State, finding great cause of just discontent and danger." lb. p. 22. So direct a violation of a clear rule could not at any time have escaped attention. The courtly Puttenham and the poet Daniel, each of them giving lessons on the subject of their art, afford such examples : " Three caases moues us to this figure." Arte of English Poede, 1589, p. 149 ; and " The distribution of giftes are universall, and all seasons hath them in some sort." Daniel's Apologie for Ryme, 1603, in answer to Campion's Observations in the Arte of English Poesie, 1602 ; and " Superfluous humours destroy eth naturall hete." Vulgaria Hormanni, 4to. 1530. Sign. I. 1. Closing these instances with a reading of our author, which after the severest scrutiny has been approved as the true one by every critic, except Steevens, from Warburton to Ritson, " Masters of passion sways it to the mood," &c. M.ofV.YV. l.Shylock, we shall add, that this usage of a plural for the purpose of giving effect, is carried much further in Macbeth, where it is taken up from the general impression of the dialogue. The Doctor, speaking of Lady Macbeth, says, " You see her eyes are open ? Gent. Ay, but their sense are shut." V. 1. Their sense, i. e. the sense of her eyes, here carried along with that word (which is no more than a pronoun possessive, and wanting that termination of plural nouns that usually affects the ear) a plural image ; and the loose grammar of the age allowed the annexation of a plural verb. And so fully were we justified in our conceptions upon this point, we fall so naturally into this course, that we find even a stronger instance supplied by Mr. BosweU from the writings of a very elegant scholar and critic of our own day, the author of the ITistory of English Poetry. In ACT I. 19 SC. II. a note upon H. H. IV. III. 2. Shal. (Malone's Shaksp. 8vo. 1821. XVII. 133) Mr. Warton says, " B. and Fl.'s. play con- tains many satirical strokes against Heywood's Comedy, the force of which are entirely lost to those, who have not seen that comedy." With the view of establishing, whether this license offended the ear, we have repeatedly read, and given to scholars this pas- sage to read j and upon asking, whether it contained any thing, that called for annotation (and they well knew the attention paid to grammatical accuracy throughout these notes) they uniformly answered, that it did not ; unless perhaps some ex- planation of the word, dilated, were given, and in correspon- dence with this impression and feeling all Editions from what- ever hands are so printed and pass it over unnoticed. Malone, in the close of the first scene of the Tempest, where Ariel enters invisible. Reed's edition, IV. 78, says, " The plural noun, joined to a verb in the singtdar number, is to be met with in almost every page of the first folio." Such has been shewn to be the case in the pages of his contemporaries. A play- wright, bound to copy the manners, has full warrant, without laying any particular ground for it, to use the familiar language of his time : and the poet, who must not neglect the flow and harmony of his numbers, is, for that reason, wherever it shall answer his purpose, called upon to employ it. See " to keep them living." Johnson and Steevens's Edit. 1803. Temp. II. 1. Ariel. (39) A little more than kin, and less than kind] i. e. " more than a common relation, having a confusedly accumulated title of relationship, you have less than benevolent, or less than even natural feeling :" by a play upon this last word, kind, in its double use and double sense ; its use as an adjective and im- porting benevolent, and its sense as a substantive and signifying nature : the sense in which he presently afterwards uses it adjectively ; " Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless, villain !" II. 2, Haml. where kindless means unnatural. And in this last sense of nature it is used, associated with kin, in the tragedy of Gorboduc, 1561. " Traitor to kin and kind, to sire and me.'' IV. 1. A similar idea more than once occurs again. Donalbain says, " The near in blood, the nearer bloody.'' Macb. II. 3. and " Nearer in bloody thoughts and not in blood." Rich. III. II. 1. Glost. Steevens has supplied several apt instances of the joint use of these ideas and words : " The nearer we are in blood, the further we must be from love ; the greater the kindred is, the less the kindness must be." — Mother Bombie, 1594, and in Gorboduc, " In kinde a father, but not kindelynesse.'' " Traitor to kinne and kinde." — Battle of Alcasar, 1594. ACT I. 20 SC. II. See also Venus and Adonis, " O had thy mother borne as bad a minde, ■■• Shee had not brought forth thee, but died unkind." And M. ado, &c. IV. 1. Claud. (40) I am too much i the sunl By a quibble, as Dr. Farmer ingeniously has suggested, between sun and son, it must mean, it is conceived, " I have too much about me of the character of expectancy, at the same time that I am prematurely torn from my sorrows, and thrown into the broad glare of the sun and day : have too much of the son and successor and public staging, without possession of my rights, and without a due interval to assuage my grief." But a closer observer here says : " One part of Dr. Farmer's conjecture is right : Hamlet means, that he had not possession of his rights ; but there was no quibble be- tween Sun (in the quartos spelt Sonne) and Son : the allusion is to the saying, " Out of God's blessing into the warm Sun ;" which means, " to be out of house and home ;" or, at least, to be in a worse temporal condition than a man was, or should be. We have in Lear. II 2. Kent. " Thou out of heaven's benediction com'st To the warm sun." And so "In very dede they were brought /rom the good to the bad, a.nd from Goddes hlessyng (as the proverbe is) in to a warme Sonne." Preface to Edmund Grindal's Profdahle Doctrine. 4to. 1555. 2. Phil, and Mary. And again, " For the supplanting of Taurinus he used more finesse. By such art he thought to have removed him, as we say, out of God's blessing into the loarm sun." Ralegh's Hist, of the World. Fo. 1677. p. 776. His being deprived of his right, i. e. his succession to the kingdom, Ham- let therefore might call " being too much i' the sun." (41) Nor windy suspiration offered breath,^ " Thy eyes are dim'd with tears, thy cheeks are wan, " Thy forehead troubled, and thy muttering lips " Murmur sad words, abruptly broken off, " By force of windy sighs thy spirit breathes, " And all this sorrow riseth for thy son," Spanish Tragedy, A. IV. This play is not always ridiculed : neither does it so deserve. (42) But I have that within, which passeth show ; These, but the trappings and the suits of woe.^ " my grief lies all within ; " And these external manners of lament " Are merely shadows to the unseen grief, " That swells with silence in the tortur'd soul." R. II. Malone. ACT I. 21 SC. II. (43) with no less nobility of love. Than that which dearest father bears his son, Do I impart towards you.'] i. e. " with a degree no less high." Not to be better explained than by reference, as Steevens ob- serveSj to the character of the Ghost's passion for the queen. " To me, whose love was of that dignity.'' But see Coriol. I. 1. Mar. " I sin in envying his nobility." Impart is dispense, hold out. So Marmyon's Fine Companion. " Impart, I say j give him twenty pieces." (44) No jocund health, that Denmark drinks to-day] " A lively French traveller being asked what he had seen in Denmark, replied, ' Rien de siugulier, sinon qu'on y chante tous les jours, le roi boit ;' aEuding to the French mode of celebrating Twelfth- day." See De Brieux, Origines de quelques coutAmes, p. 56. Heywood, in his Philocothonista, or The Drunkard opened, dis- sected, and anatomized, 1635, 4to. speaking of what he calls the vinosity of nations, says of the Danes, that " they have made a profession thereof from antiquity, and are the first upon record that brought their wassell-bowles and elbowe-deep healthes into this land." — Douce's Illustrat. 8vo. 1807- II. 219. " The priest, in like manner, is to be excused, who, having taken his preparatives over evening, when all men cry (as the manner is) The king drinketh, chanting his masse the next morning, fell asleepe in his memento ; and when he awoke, added, with a loude voice. The king drinketh." — E,. C.'s H. Stephens's Apology for Herodotus, fo. 1608. p. 189. (45) And the king's rouse the heaven shall bruit again] Bruit is spread abroad. See bruited, Macb. V. 6. Macb. Bailey in his dictionary derives the Fr. carouser, from carausz, Teut. i. e. " fill it all out :" and Minshieu, carouse, from gar, altogether, and ausz, out. Germ. : ut sit quasi exinanitio sive evaporatio poculi : the sense also in which it seems to be used by Greene. " Now time proifers the fuU cup ; and the devill take me, if I carouse it not." Orpharion, 4to. 1599, p. 25. Mr. Douce says, " Though the original word is lost, it remains in the German rausch. The Greeks, too, had their Kapuxne nimia ebrietas." Illustr. IJ. 205. From the following passage in Dekker's GuVs Hornbook, 1609, Steevens conceives the word rouse may be of Danish extraction : " Teach me, thou sove- reigne skinker, how to take the German's upsy freeze, the Danish rousa, the Switzer's stoop of rhenish." /4g) too solid flesh would melt. Thaw, and resolve itself] " To thaw or resolve that, which is frozen, regelo." Baret's Alv. It has nearly the sense of dissolve ; that which resolver and resolution, or analyis in ACT I. 22 SC. II. science, yet retain. Our author has the same sentiment in II. H. IV. . " And the Continent, " Weary of solid, firmness, melt itself " Into the sea." III. 1. K. Hen. This use of the word was very common. Mr. Todd instances Bale's Bt. Chron. of Lord Cobham. " He commended his soul into the hands of God ; and so departed hence most cristenlye ; his body resolved into ashes :" and " Resolv'd to their cold principle the dust." Shirley's Poems, 8vo. 1646. p. 57- (47) his camion ' gainst self-slaughter'] i. e. "solemn decree.'' It is remarkable, that, whUe canon, Sax. the modern word in this sense, kuvwv, Gr. regula, norma, a line, rule, imperative law or thundering edict, canoii, and cannon (the reading in all the old copies) a piece of ordnance or artillery, differ only in one letter, ordinance, which has the same sense as canon, differs also from ordnance, or artillery in one letter only ; and this difference in pronunciation is no way felt. No more distinct or better origin than " Canna, a warlike engine to batter walls, because cast long and after the manner of great reeds" (Skinn. and Minshieu) is assigned to the latter : and in modern French in each sense the word in the text is written canon. Dr. Hurd observes, that in Euripides a ray of the sun is called tjeXib icavwv ; to which Mr. Warton adds, that in P. Lost, IV. 543, the sun is said to have " levell'dhis evening rays :" as in Comus, V. S40, we have " long levell'd rule of streaming hght." (48) Hyperion to a satyr"] i. e. " beauty for deformity." Hyperion must here be taken for Apollo, though this word has frequently been confounded with the sun ; as from^ its etymon and the consideration, that both have ever been represented as models of beauty, might well have been : but Hyperion is, though " sometyme putte for the Sunne, the brother of Saturne, which governeth the course of the pianettes ; and therefore is named the father of the Soonne, the Moone, and the morowe." Biblioth. Eliota:. fo. 1559. Phoebus is also indifferently used for Apollo and the Sun ; and Phoebeos ortus are the rising of the " morrowe " or morn. See Adam's Geography. Svo. 1797. p. 373. Pr. Farmer says that Spenser uses this word with the same error in quantity. The fact is, not only did our old poets totally disregard it, but the moderns also have in this instance made it altogether subservient to their convenience. Shakespeare ac- cents the same word, Posthumus, differently in the same play, Cymbeline : and Mitford says " that Spenser has lole, Pylades, Caphareus, Roetean : Gascoygne, in his Ultimum. Vale : " Kind Erato and wanton Thalia." ACT I. 23 sc. ir. Turberville, in the Ventrous Lover, St. 1. " If so Leander durst from Ab^jfdon to Sest." Lord Sterline in his Third Hour, St. 13, p. 50. " Then Pleiades, Areturus, Orion, all." and, p. 87, " Which carrying Orion safely on the shore." And in Sir P. Sidney's Astrophel and Stella instances " In cadence to the tunes, which Amphyon's lyre did yield." Gray's Works, 4to. 1816. I. 36. Gray has accented Hyperion, as our author, and most of our poets modern and antient, in his Hymn to Ignorance {lb. 1. 163.) and in his Progress of Poetry. " Hyperion's march and glittering shafts of War." And as applicable also to the first part of our note Heywood's Britaine's Troy. Fo. 1638. p. 65. " Hyperion in an armor all of Sunnes." Though Drummond of Hawthornden, Wand. Muses, (Mitford, ib.) and an old playwright in Fuimus Troes. 1633. (Dodsley's Plays, VII. 500) ; and, in modern times. West in his Pindar, 01. VIII. 22, p. 63. and Dr. Akenside in his Hymn to the Naiads, have done otherwise. See Euphrates. Ant. and CI. I. 1. Mess, and Posthumus. Cymb. III. 4. Imo. (49) not beteemi i. e. " deign to allow." This is the reading of the quartos. According to the mode of speUing in which the largest portion of the words of that day have been delivered down to us (and of which the pages of our author afford abun- dant evidence) beteene and beteeme may be taken as one and the same word. As it is found in a contemporary translation, Arthur Golding's Ovid's Metam. the correspondent term in the original clearly leads us to the sense. " Yet could he not beteeme " The shape of anie other bird then egle for to seeme." 4to. 1587, sign. R. 1, b. In edit. 1567, it is sign. R. IIII. 2, b. In 1593, R. III. " Nulls, tamen alite verti " Dignatur, nisi quce possit sua fulmina ferre." X. 157. So Heywood's Britaine's Troy. Fo. 1636. p. 6 : " They call'd him God on earth, and much esteem'd him ; Much honour he receiv'd, which they beteem'd him." And Milton, in his Animadversions upon the Remonstrant's defence against Smectymnuus, seems to use it in the same sense. " The gardener — though he could have well beteemed to have thanked him." Prose Works, I. 160. fo. Amsterdam. 1698. The word occurs in the Fairy Q. II. VIII. 19, and in M. N. Dr. I. 1. Hermia. ACT I. 24 SC. II. Some of the editors have at once relieved themselves from all trouble and difficulties ; and, without scruple new modelling the line and displacing this word from the text, have substituted peTunitted, " That he permitted not the winds of heaven." While one of the surreptitious quartos, probably from distrust of the rectitude of a reading, which its editor did not fuUy com- prehend, but with very slight variation and a mere adaptation of the letters, reads — let e'en. But, when an author's genuine text is ascertained ex fide omnium codicum, and no higher objection can be raised than that a word presents itself in an unaccustomed or unknown sense, it is the indispensable duty of an editor to retain it ; that, thus continuing to invite further research, it may lead to the discovery of other instances of its use, and by their aid give facilities to critical science in deducing its etymology : which is as well a matter of general philological interest, as an act of justice to his author. An editor incurs no reproach by not being acquainted with every phrase or term that is become obsolete, and " time has thrown away ;" but he should be care- ful how he removes landmarks ; and just enough not to falsify his trust. (50) ^——— appetite had grown By what it fed ore] So Enobarb. of Cleopatra. Ant. 8f CI. II. 2. ; and Pericles, speaking of the charms of his daughter's conversation. V. 1. (51) good even] To a substitution oi morning ior even, made by Hanmer and Warburton, Dr. Johnson answered, that " be- tween the first and eighth scene of this act it is apparent, that a natural day must pass, and how much of it is already over, there is nothing that can determine. The king has held a council." And Tyrwhitt adds, that " good even or den was the usual salutation from noon, the moment that good morrow be- came improper. Rom. St Jul. II. 4. Nurse & Mercut. ; and that from the course of the incidents, precedent and subsequent, the day may here be well supposed to be turned of noon." (52) the funeral bak'd meats] It was anciently the general custom to give an entertainment to mourners at a funeral. In distant counties this practice is continued among the yeomanry. See The Tragique Historie of the Faire Valeria of London, 1598 : " His corpes was with funerall pompe conveyed to the church, and there soUemnly enterred, nothing omitted which necessitie [i. e. the dictate of decorum or propriety] or custom could claime ; a sermon, a banquet, and like observations." Again, in the old romance of Syr Degore, hi. 1. no date : " A great /easte would he holde " Upon his quenes mornynge day, " That was buryed in an abbay." Collins. ACT I. 25 SC. II. So Hayward's Life of H. IV. 4to. 1599, p. 135 : " Then hee [King Richard II.] was conveyed to Langley Abby in Bucking- hamshire, — and there obscurely interred, — without the charge of a dinner for celebrating the funeral." Malonb. " This usage, certainly derived from the Roman ccenaferalis, alluded to in Juv. V. 85. and in the XII. Tables, is not yet quite disused in our northern counties ; and is called an arval or arvil supper ; and the loaves, sometimes distributed amongst the poor, arval bread." Douce's Illustr. II. 202, 3. See " Death's feast." V. 2. Fort. " When the seconde husband was dede, " The thyrde husbande dyde she wedde " In fuU goodly araye — " But as the devyll wolde, " Or the pyes were colde," &c. The boke ofmayd Emlyn that had v husbandes & all kockoldes : she wold make theyr berdes* whether they wold or no, and gyue them to were a praty hoode fuU of belles. 4to. Sign. B. II. with- out date. Imprynted by John Skot in saynt Pulkers parysshe. (53) my dearest foe] i. e. bitterest : as " dearest enemy," /. H. IV. III. 2. K. Hen. Throughout Shakespeare and all the poets of his and a much later day, we find this epithet applied to that person or thing, which, for or against us, excites the liveliest and strongest interest. It is used variously, indefinitely and metaphorically to express the warmest feelings of the soul ; its nearest, most intimate, home and heartfelt emotions : and here no doubt, though, as every where else, more directly inter- preted, signifying " veriest, extremest," must by consequence and figuratively import " bitterest, deadliest, most mortal." As extremes are said in a certain sense to approximate, find are in many respects alike or the same, so this word is made in a cer- tain sense to carry with it an union of the fiercest opposites : it is made to signify the extremes of love and hatred. It may be said to be equivalent generally to very ; and to import " the excess, the utmost, the superlative" f of that, whatevei' it may be, to which it is applied. But to suppose, with Tooke, (Divers, of Purl. II. 409.) that in all cases dear must at that time have meant " injurious," as being derived from the Saxon verb dere, to hurt, is perfectly absurd. Dr. Johnson's derivation of the word, as used in this place, from the Latin dims, is doubtless ridiculous enough : but * " Maui for desire of promocion viaie their lordes herd. M ulti arabitionis studio jttrmcipi suofucumfaciunt." Hormanni Fulgaria, 4to. 1530, Signal. 8. 1, b. & Tyrwhitt's Chauc. note on v. 4094. t We find, that Mr. Boucher in his Supplement to Johnson's Diet, con- siders old (in his worlc ^uld) in the same light : i. e. as a kind of superlative, or in a very high degree impressing the qualities of the subject treated. See " old abusing the King's English." M. W. of W. I. 4. Quickly. ACT I. 26 SC. II. Tooke has not produced a single instance of the use of it, i. e. of the adjective, in the sense upon which he insists ; except, as he pretends, from our author. In the instance cited in this place hy Steevens, in support of the extraordinary interpretation (" most consequential, important,") he has here and elsewhere put upon the word, " A ring, that I must use in deere employ- ment." (Rom. 8f Jul. sc. last), although the word is spelt after the fashion of the Saxon verb, it is impossible to interpret it "■ injurious ; " its meaning being most clearly, " anxious, deeply interesting." " Deere to me as are the ruddy drops that visit my sad heart." Jul. Cas. II. 2. Bru. cannot admit of interpre- tation in any other sense than that in which Gray's Bard under- stood it. " Dear as the ruddy drops, that warm my heart." In TV. Sf Cr. V. 3, Andromache says, " Consort with me in loud and deere petition." And in Hector's answer the word occurs thrice so spelt : " Life every man holds deere ; but the deere man '' Holds honour far more precious, deere, than life." And it is no less than impossible, in either of these instances, to put the sense of " injurious " upon this word. With his mind possessed by the Saxon verb, to hurt, Tooke seems altogether to have forgotten the existence of the epithet, which answers to the Latin word charus. In the same sense it is used by Putten- ham : " The lacke of life is the dearest detriment of any other." Arte of Engl. Poesie, 4to. 15S9, p. 182. See " dearly," IV. 3. King J " hated dearly," As you 8;c. I. 3. Celia ; and L. L. L. II. 1. Boyet; and " dear guiltiness," lb. V. 2. Princess; " dearest spight." Sonn. XXXVII ; " dear (i. e. deep) offences," H. V. II. 2. K. Henr. ; " dear exile," R. II. I. 2. K. Rich. ; " dear per- fection," All's well &;c. V. 3. Laf. We will add from Drayton's Moses his birth, 4to. 1630, B. I. that Sarah, about to expose her child, says, she has " ; — her minde of misery compacted, " That must consent unto so deere a murther." i. e. distressing or heart-rending. And from Lycidas ; " By the dear might of him that waUc'd the waves.'' i. e. the deep interest therein taken by that mighty miracle- worker. Dear might, more closely rendered, is " loving exercise of the mighty power." (54) In my mind's eye] " himself behind " Was left unseen, save to the eye of mind." Rape of Lucr. " But it were with thilke eyen of his minde, " With which men mowen see whan they ben blinde." Chauc. ACT I. 27 SC. II. And in Davies's Microcosmos, 4to. 1605 : " And through their closed eies their mind's eye peeps." Telemachus lamenting the absence of Ulysses, is represented in like manner : " 'OiraofiEvoc irarep' LaffKov kvi fpefriv." Odyss. I. 115. Steevens. " Since I left you, mine eye is in my mind." Sonn. 113. Malone. And, " with my mind's eye," we have in the preface to Mel- ton's Figure Caster, " The purblind ignorant, that only see with their corporal, and not intellectual eye." 4to. 1620. (55) dead waste] A quibble between waist, the middle of the body, and waste, vast or desolate ; as one of the quartos reads. We have the very same thing in II. 2. " Then you live about her waist, or in the middle of her favours." Hamlet. Malone aptly instances Marston's Malecontent, 1604. " 'Tis now about the immodest waist of night." And the Puritan, i 607 : " — ere the day be spent to the girdle." (56) Arm'd at all points'] " Behold then — ^Feare, " Arm'd at allpeeces, standeth there." Garvis Markham's Sat. 8t Eleg. of Ariosto, El. 2. 4to. 1611, p. 20. (57) hestilVd Almost to jelly with the act of fear,] i. e. " dissolved by the action or effect of fear." Distilled, the reading of the quartos, has been adopted by the modern editors : but the prefixing of the augmentative he to the radical word still, is a legitimate formation of an English verb : and bestilled is the reading of the folios. (58) Did you not speak to it] The drift of Hamlet's question must be taken from his soliloquy ; in which it appears, that he was full of distrust and evil prognostic. (59) the morning cock crew loud] " The moment of the evanescence of spirits was supposed to be limited to the crow- ing of the cock. This belief is mentioned as early as Prudentius's Cathem. Hymn. I. v. 40. But some of his commentators prove it to be of much higher antiquity. It is a most inimitable circumstance in Shakspeare, so to have managed this popular idea, as to make the Ghost, which has been so long obstinately silent, and of course must be dis- missed by the morning, begin or rather prepare to speak, and to be interrupted, at the very critical time of the crowing of a cock. Another poet, according to custom, would have suffered his Ghost tamely to vanish, without contriving this start, which is ACT I. 28 sc. III. note 63. like a start of guilt ; to say nothing of the aggravation of the future suspence, occasioned by this preparation to speak, and to impart some mysterious secret. Less would have been expected, had nothing been promised." T. Warton. (60) wore his beaver up] " In armour it signifies that part of the helmet which may be lifted up, to take breath the more freely." BuUokar's Engl. Expositor, 8vo. 1616. See " beaver on" I. H. IV. IV. 1. Vern. Malone. (61) A sable silver £] " And sable curls, aU silver'd o'er with white." Sonn. 12. See Comus, v. 222. Malone. (62) Let it be treble in your silence still] i. e. " impose a threefold obligation of silence." In making a high estimate of any thing, this seems to have been a favourite scale or measure with Shakespeare. " This to do," says Antonio, Tempest, II. 1, " trebles you o'er : " i. e. makes thrice the man of you. This passage is illustrated by Steevens from Fletcher's Two Noble Kinsmen " Thirds his own worth." Dr. Farmer, in Reed's edit. XVIII. p. 425, says, he has no doubt but that Shakespeare's hand is to be seen in this play. In the M. of V. III. 2, Bassanio tells Portia, " So thrice fair lady stand I in a doubt,'' and she in reply, " I would be trebled twenty times myself." " Treble sinewed." Ant. 8; CI. III. 2. Ant. and in this play, V. 1. Laert. " O treble woe Fall ten times treble on that cursed head ! " And this tenfold triple computation we find in verses ascribed to Shakespeare by AUot in his England's Parnassus. l2mo. 1608, p. 369. " That time of yeere when the inamour'd sunne, " Clad in the richest roabes of living fires, " Courted the Virgin sigiie, great Nature's Nunne, " Which barraines earth of all that earth desires : " Even in the month that from Augustus woone " His sacred name, which unto heav'n aspires ; " And on the last of his ten-trebled dayes." And in Venus and Adonis, " For lovers say, the heart hath treble wrong " When it is bard the aydance of the tongue." (63) as this temple waxes, The inward service of the mind and soul Grows wide withal.] i. e. " as the body increases in bulk, the duties calling forth the ofiices and energies of the mind increase equally." The term temple, which signified a place ACT I. 29 SC. III. appropriated to acts of religion, is never but on grave occasions applied to the body : nor generally, but where it is described as the sacred receptacle or depository of the soul ; as in the Rape of Lucrece : " His soul's fair temple is defaced." And, " The outward shape, " The unpolluted temple of the mind." Com. 460. (64) And now no soil, nor cautel, doth besmirch The virtue of his will .■] i. e. " and now no spot, nor mental reservation, tarnishes the sincerity and clear purity of his intentions." " Cautell, a crafty way to deceive." Minshieu. " Not letting to reprove him openly of breaking his faithfull promise, through whiche cautel the Gothes were deceyved." Arth. Goldyng's Leon. Aretine's Warres betwene the Imperialles S; Gothes. 8vo. 1563. p. 93, b. See Coriol. IV. 1. Cor. and Jul. Cces. II. 1. Bru. Besmirch is besmear or sully. See IV. 5. Laert. ; ScH.V. IV. 3. K. Hen. For ujiiZ the folios give fear e ; but will, the reading of the quartos, appears plainly from its recurrence in the next line, to be the true one : and fear must have been the error of the compositor, whose eye caught it from the end of the same line. (65) The chariest maid'] i. e. " she who acts with due wari- ness, with the truest discretion, is dearest to herself, is &c." " Be charie of thy chastitie, which sutors seeke so shamefully." Peter Colse's Penelope's Complaint, 4to. 1590. Sign. G, " Sens by your meanes my life is become more deere unto me, I am muche more charie that it maye not be lost." Nic. UdaU's Erasm. Apopthegm. 12mo. 1592, fo. 221, b. " When a man hath a glasse of a brittle substance, and for the worth of great price and value, he is very chary and heedfull thereof." Nich. Breton's Poste, &c. 4to. 1637. P- 2. Steevens cites Greene's Never too late, 1616. " Love requires not chastity, but that her soldiers be chary." And, " She liveth chastly enough, that liveth charily." We have unchary, Tw. N. III. 4. Olivia ; and " Diana too chary in her thoughts. Venus more charie of her face then her maidenhead. Greene's Orpharion, 4to. 1599, p. 38. (66) infants of the spring] Herrick, on the Primrose, writes, " Aske me why I send you here " This sweet Infanta of the yeere ?" 8vo. 1648, p. 243. The last line of this elegant little song, claimed also by Carew in his Poems, tivo. 1670, is given, p. 158 : " This firstling of the infant year." ACT I. 30 SC. III. In Pericles we have, " And leave her, " The infant of your care." III. 3. Pericl. and in L. L. L. I. 1. Bir. " an envious sneaping frost, " That bites the first-born infants of the spring." (67) -^nd these few precepts in thy memory Look thou character.] i. e. imprint. " thy tables are within my brain " FuU character'd with lasting memory." Sonn. 122. " Thou art the table wherein all miy thoughts " Are visibly character'd and engrav'd." See Two G. of V. II. 7- Julia. (68) hoops of steeT\ Hooks having been unwarrantably here substituted, and it having been said also by Malone, that hoops were never made of steel, Mr. Pye observes, " I believe hoops are at least as often made of steel as hearts are ; or as foreheads are of brass." Comm. on Commentators, 8vo. 1807, p. 311. (69) dull thy pahri] i. e. by too general intercourse make it lose the nice and quick sense of feeling, which frequent handling extinguishes or deadens. " The hand of little employment hath the daintier sense." V. 1. Haml. So " stote thy palm." Tr.SfCr. II. 3. Ulyss. (70) Are most select and generous, chief in that^ i. e. " choice and liberal." Generous is high-minded. " The generous and gravest citizens." M.for M. IV. 6. Friar Pet. ; and " The gene- rous islanders." Othel. III. 2. Dead. The quartos give this line : " Ar „ „ of a most select and generous, cheefe in that." The folios : " Are of a most select and generous cheff in that." In this confused and difficult, if not corrupt, passage we have ventured to follow the modern editors, as alone giving a plain and clear sense ; adopting the correction of Mr. Ritson. But, as there is no other difference between the quartos and folios, than that the former place a comma after " generous," and read chiefe, the folios, without the comma, reading cheff, and as this word, throughout our author, when used in its ordinary sense, is spelt, as we now do, chiefe, — questioning our warrant to disturb the text, we respect that principle, and conceive the cause of good letters to be much indebted to Malone, who insists, that cheff or chief means " of principal or high eminence or estima- tion :" that the chief is the highest and most honourable part of a shield, as it is defined by Minshieu ; and that the word itself was perhaps originally heraldic. He adds, and with seemingly ACT I. 31 SC. III. very good reason, that had it not been understood by the edi- tors of the folios in this, or some such, sense, they must have expunged the words of a, as rendering it unintelligible, and em- barrassing the measure as well as sense. The reading of the original 4to. of 1603, seems here to be worthy of observation. " And they of France of the chiefe rancke & station " Are of a most select & generall chiefe in that." General we have no doubt is a mistake for generous ; but the introduction also in the second line here of the differently spelt word cheff, chiefe, or cheefe, as a substantive, though in the ab- sence of aU direct proof of such use of it, nor less from the adjective use of it in the preceding line, appears to us to give much countenance to Malone's conjecture. (71) To thine ownself be true, And it must folloiv, as the night the day,] 'Tis part of Burnet's character of Villiers, second Duke of Buckingham, " that he was true to nothing, for he was not true to himself.'" Hist, of his own times, to. 1. 100. Shakespeare says, " That followed it, as gentle day " Doth follow night." Sonn. 145. (72) Farewell ,• my blessing season this in thee] i. e. give a reUsh to, quicken, it : or it may be, " keep it alive in your memory ; as things preserved, and by spicery kept from a state of dissolution, are said to he seasoned." These golden precepts, suited indeed to the occasion, and the rank of the person that delivers them, very ill accord with the character he supports, and the measure of intellect allotted to him in almost every other part of this play ; in which he appears to be, as Hamlet II. 2. III. 2. and III. 4. describes him a " tedious old fool," " a wretched rash fool," " a foolish prating knave." At the same time, that in this view we insist upon his tiresome expostulation with the king and queen in II. 2. we must also observe that our author puts into his mouth, in his conversa- tion with Reynaldo, II. 1. the very words of Shallow to Bardolph, " Well said, and it is well said, &c." II. H. IV. III. 2. See also the note at the end of the fragment of the play in II. 2. Haml. (73) The time invites you] i. e. " holds out inducement." " I go, and it is done : the bell invites me." Macb. II. 1. Macb. " The time inviting thee." Cymb. III. 4. Imog. (74) Tender yourself more dearly] Tender was anciently used as much in the sense of regard or respect, as it was in that of offer. " And because eche like thing tendreth his like.'' Pref. to Drant's Horace, 4to. 1566. " So tendring my ruin." J. H. VI. IV. 7. Talb. ACT I. 32 sc. rii. Malone instances Lyly's Maydes Metamorphosis, 1601. '' if you account us for the same " That tender thee, and love Apollo's name." See "■ the tender of a wholesome weal." Lear, I. 4. Gon. This word is presently used in another sense, that of make or tender- "You'll tender me a fool:" i. e. " hold or esteem." Johnson. (75) Roaming it thus] i. e. " ranging so far, becoming so wildly excursive, and running into so many senses of the word, tender." Of roam our dictionary makers can give no account. Dr. Johnson pilgrimages to Rome for the etymology of it. It may, however, be of the same root with room ; which Mr. Tooke says, in his Divers, of Purl. II. 260, is derived from, and is the past participle of, a Saxon verb, signifying dilatare, amplijicare, ex- tender e ; and imports space or extent, as dilatum, extended. To roam, then, may be to extend, spread about, exapatiate. Put- tenham, in his Arte of Engl. Poesie, 4to. 1589, p. 171, in the third person writes it " romes," and, p. 229, romer. See Chaucer. The quartos read, " wrong it thus." In the sense of room, i. e. to place, or extend and spread itself out, it is spelt, as in the text, in Randall's Prefatory Verses to Dover's Cotswold Games, where he reproaches the British swains with indolence : " Now getes a bush to roame himselfe and sleepe." See " roam to Rome." I. H. VI. III. 1. Warw. The above is fuUy confirmed by Ihre Gloss. Suio-Goth., who, sub voce Rum, foras, says, " Hue forte retuleris Alemannorum rumo, procul, rumor, longius, rumor faran, longius irej necnon Saxonicum to ruume foras — et hue forte Angl. roam, vagari. Rum, spatiosus, atnplus. ruma, spatium circa se. rowme, Angl. Ryma, dilatare. And in Benson's Vocab. A. S. 8vo. I70I. we have rume, spatium, et rumian, locum dare. Each of these are amongst Skinner's old words. See I. H. VI. III. 1. Warw. (76) Do not believe his vows, for they are brokers] i. e. Bawds or pimps. Gloss, to Gawin Douglass's Virgil. " This bawd, this broker," &c. K. John. " Know, vows are ever brokers to defiling." Lover's Com. Malone. i. e. procurers. See All's Well &;c. III. 5. Widow. & Two G. of V. I. 3. Jul. (77) Breathing like sanctified and pious bonds'] i. e. like the protestations of solemn contracts entered into with all the for- malities and ceremonies of religion. Adam teUs Orlando, in As you Ssc " Thy virtues, gentle master, " Are sanctified and holy traitors to you." II. 3. Adam. ACT I. 33 sc. IV. note 78. (78) an eager air] i. e. sharp, aigre, Fr. " And curd, like eager droppings, into milk." Sc. 5. Malone. (79) lield his wont to walk] " Obsoletus, unwonte." Ortus vocabulor. 4to. 1514. The noun as well as the participle has heen transmitted to us ; and it appears that in early times the verb was in more popular use also. " No wonder though she be astoned, " She never was to non swiche gestes woned." Chauc. 8vo. Tyrwh. II. 15. (80) wake to-night] This term probably here imports more than simply vigilice, and must have reference to such festivities as were used on the opening, consecration, or wake-da,y of our churches ; " encoenia templorum, in quibus noctem saepe choreis pervigilem ducunt bacchantes." Skinn., or those under the same name indulged in at funerals ; and particularly in our sister island. Waka, Suio-goth. is vigilare and Wakstuga vigiliae super mortuo : quseque dum meditationi fragilitatis humanae impendi deberent, ludis et eompotationibus fere transigebantur. Angli veteres wake-plays appeUarunt. Etymol. Junian. Ihre's Gloss. (81) The king doth wake to-night, aud takes his rouse. Keeps wassels, and the swaggering up-spring reels ; And, as he drains his draughts of Rhenish down. The kettle-drum and trumpet thus bray out The triumph of his pledge] Upspring, associated with " swaggering," may have the familiar sense of " upstart," as- signed to it by Johnson : but Steevens having shewn, from Chapman's Alphonsus, that upspring was a German dance ^at least a figure in their dances) " We Germans have no changes in our dances ; " An almain and an upspring, that is all," the term seems, like upsy freeze, to be connected with the mu- sical accompaniments and riotous gesticulations of a northern or German debauch. The language of Lodge's Wifs Miserie, 4to. 1596, p. 20, seems to countenance this idea : " Dance, leap, sing, drink, up- sefrize." " For Upsefreese he drunke from four to nine, " So as each sense was steeped well in wine : " Yet still he kept his rouse, till he in fine " Grew extreame sicke with hugging Bacchus' shrine." A new Sprmg shadowed in sundrie pithie Poems by Musophilus, 4to. 1619, sign. I. b. where Upsefreese is the name given to the Friar. D ACT I. 34 SC. IV. Of rouse, noticed before, I. 2. King, and Rhenish wine, each of which are also mentioned here, we may further instance ; " Sparring out his legges, yea and distending all his entrails, like a bladder, for the grand carowse." Tho. Thomson's Diet for a Drunkard. Sermon, 4to. 1612, p. 63. " They found that Helicon still had " That virtue it did anciently retaine, " When Orpheus, Linus, and th' Ascrean swaine, " Tooke lusty rowses, which hath made their rimes " To last," &c. Drayton's Muses Elysium. Nymphall III. 4to. 1630, p. 25. What was the royal practise in Denmark near the time at which this play was written, may be seen in Howell's Letters : " I made a Latin speech to the King of Denmark" (Christian IV. who acceded in 1588, and died 1649, uncle of Anne, Queen of King James), " on the embassy of my Lord of Leicester, who attended him at Rheynsburg, in Holsteiiiland. The King feasted my Lord once, and it lasted from eleven of the clock till- towards the evening ; during which time the King began thirty-five healths; the first to the Emperor, the second to his Nephew of England ; and so went over all the kings and queens of Christendom, but he never remembered the Prince Palsgrave's health, or his Niece's, all the while. The King was taken away at last in his chair, but my Lord of Leicester bore up stoutly all the while ; so that when there came two of the king's guard to take him by the arms, as he was going down the stairs, my lord shook them off, and went alone. The next morning I went to court for some dispatches ; but the king was gone a hunting at break of day ; but going to some other of his officers, their servants told me, without any appearance of shame, that their masters were drunk over-night ; and so it would be late before they would rise." Hamburgh, October, 1632, 8vo. 1726. Sect. VI. 2, p. 236. Again, in Dr. MufFett's Health's Improvement, republished, as he says, when almost forgotten, by Dr. Bennet, 4to. 1655. " Switrigalus, Duke of Lituania, never sat fewer than six hours at dinner, and as many at supper ; from whom I think the custome of long sitting was derived to Denmark : for there, I remember, I sat with Frederick King of Denmark, and that most honourable Peregrine, Lord Willoughby of Eresby (when he carried the order of the garter) seven or eight hours together at one meal." p. 294. " Thou dost out drink the youth of Norway at " Their marriage feasts — out quarrell " One that rides post and is stopp'd by a cart." Cotgrave's Treasury, 12mo. 1655, p. 181. In a collection of characters, entitled " Looke to it, for He stab ye," without date, we have ACT I. 35 SC. IV. " You that will drink X^eynaldo unto deth, " The Dane that would carouse out of his hoote." Whether from a quotation in Roger Ascham's Letters, with which Reed furnishes us, we may conjecture what the liquor was that was used so profusely on these occasions, we know not ; but he tells us, that " The Emperor of Germany, who had his head in the glass five times as long as any of us, never drank less than a good quart at once of Rhenish wine." Ritson also instances, " He tooke his rouse with stoopes of Rhennish wine.'' Marlowe's Tragical Historic of Doctor Faustus. And to the visit in this country of the same monarch, of whom Howell spoke in his letters. Reed also refers the introduction of drunkenness (he might say that at least) into the court of James I. " From the day the Danish king came, untill this hour, I have been well nigh overwhelmed with carousal and sports of all kinds. The sports began each day in such manner and such sorte, as well nigh persuaded me of Mahomet's para- dise. We had women, and indeed wine too, of such plenty as woud have astonish'd each sober beholder. I think the Dane hath strangely wrought on our good English nobles ; for those, whom I never coud get to taste good liquor, now follow the fashion and wallow in beastly delights.\ The ladies abandon their sobriety, and are seen to roll about in intoxication. I do often say (but not aloud) that the Danes have again conquered the Britains ; for I see no man, or woman either, that can now command himself or herself." Sir John Harington to Mr. Secretary Barlow, 1606. Nugm Antiq. 12mo. 1779. II. 26. Wassail is a jovial feast. See L. L. L. V. 2. Bir. & Mach. 1. 7- Lady M. Drains, is draws off in gullies. The use of kettle- drums at their wassails is noticed in Cleveland's Fuscara. " Tuning his draughts with drowsy hums, " As Danes carouse by kettle-drums." 8vo. 1682, p. 3. Bray, is " harshly sound out." See " braying trumpets." K. John, III. 1. Blanch. " The triumph of his pledge," may be the victory consequent upon the acceptance of the challenge to this "heavy-headed revel j" or may be only its pageant and scenic display. (82) For some vicious mole of nature in them As in their birth {wherein they are not guilty) Being nature's livery or fortune's star.] Warburton has in Lear, I. 2. Edm. " the foppery of the world — the guilt of the stars," observed, that it was a fundamental law injudicial astro- logy, that whatever seeds of good dispositions the infant unborn might be endowed with, either from nature, or traductively from its parents, yet if at the time of its birth, the delivery was by any casualty so accelerated or retarded, as to fid! in with the predominancy of a malignant constellation, that momentary in- fluence would entirely change nature, and bias it to all the contrary ill qualities. ACT I. 36 sc. IV. (83) The dram of ill Doth all the noble substance often dout. To his own scandal.'] In this, the conclusion of the passage in brackets, taken from the quartos, there is doubtless much corruption : in those, the two readings are ease and eale : the modern editors, interpreting eale, ill or evil, substitute the word base. Of a, they consider as a misprint for often .- and doubt is nothing more than another way of spelling dout, or extinguish, as we find in H. V. IV. 2. Dauph. ; and IV. 7- Laert. And, as appears, they have shewn great skiU in the conduct of the business : though ill is both more flowing and nearer in sound, and as close to the sense. " To his own scandal," is to its own ; i. e. working its own reproach ; and such personifica- tions, or chang'ing either of these pronouns ad libitum, were fre- quent in Shakespeare and his contemporaries. We have the use of the personal pronoun for the neutral, in III. 1. Haml. " Honesty translate beauty into his likeness :" where Steevens produces a marked instance of it from the Fairy Queen : " Then forth it break ; and with his furious blast " Confounds both land and seas, and skies doth overcast." B. III. c. 9. And see " Constrains the garb quite from his nature.'' Lear, II. 2. Cornw. And Tr. 8f Cr. I. 3. Ulyss.— " Herself," Othel. I. 3. Brab. & Ant. 8, Cl.V. 1. CI. The sentiment above is also employed, as Malone observes, to point out the leading defect in Hotspur's character • oftentimes it doth present harsh rage. " Defect of manners, want of government, " Pride, haughtiness, opinion, and disdain : " The least of which, haunting a nobleman, " Loseth men's hearts, and leaves behind a stain " Upon the beauty of all parts besides, " Beguiling them of commendation." I.H.IV. III. i. Wor. Nor can we help observing, that rapt, as it were, and in clouds, our author seems here to have almost spun out his thread. Highflown effort and the lavish use of metaphor wiU often entangle and disorder us, as much as hurry or surprise. The effect is indeed as natural in one case as the other : and in this high philosophical mood and towering flight the Ghost seems to have made its appearance, not unseasonably, to om- declaimer's relief. (84) Be thou a spirit of health, or goblin damn'd, &c.] " Art thou a god, a man, or else a ghost ? " Com'st thou from heaven, where bliss and solace dwell ? " Or from the airie cold -engendering coast ? " Or from the darksome dungeon-hold of hell ?" Acolastus, 1600. ACT I. 37 SC. IV. The first known edition of this play is in 1604. And see William and the Werwolf, MS. King's College Libr. Cambridge : " Whether thou be a gode gost in goddis name that speakestj " Or any foul fiend fourmed in this wise, " And if we schul of the hent harme or gode." p. 36. and " What soever thou art y' thus dost com, " Ghoost, hagge, or fende of hell, " I the comaunde by him that lyves " Thy name and case to tell." B.'Googe, Egl. IV. Steevens. (85) airs from heaven,} i. e. gentle gales with health or heal- ing on their wings. " Then her ambrosian mantle she assum'd, " With rich and odoriferous ay res perfum'd." Chapman's Homer's Hymn to Venus, fo. p. 93. " He breatheth in her face — she feedeth on the steame, " And calls it heavenly moisture, aire of grace." Ven. Sf Adonis, 4to. 1594. (86) such a questionable shapel " So doubtful, that I will at least make inquiry to obtain a solution," is a plain and obvious sense : but our author, even in his gravest passages, and in the very crisis of his heroes' fate, is accustomed to make them play upon words; and as he has {As you S^c. HI. 1. Ros.) used the adjective " unquestionable" in the sense of " averse to parley," the commentators are agreed, that it must here, where it is connected with " speak," mean " provoking parley :" following Theobald's application of the verb. " Live you, or are you ought " That man may question." Macb. III. 1. Macb. And he had said before, Sc. 2. " If it assume my noble father's person, " I'll speak to it." (87) Let me not burst in ignorance} i. e. in that swelling agony of suspense, that struggle and convulsion of mind, which impelled him fearfiilly to break silence j as the equally perturbed spirit broke its confine or cerements. (88) In cdmplete steel] From Olaus Wormius, c. 4, Steevens shews, it was the custom to bury the Danish kings, as it was their heroes in ancient times, with their armour and other war- like accoutrements. This accentuation of the word cdmplete occurs frequently in our author and his contemporaries. See M.for M. I. 4. Duke : & III. H. VI. IV. 4. Duch. ACT I. 38 SC. IV. (89) Making — Vfe fools of natuTe] Similar licenses in using the nominative for the accusative, and vice versa, as him for he, and she for her, and ye for you, occur throughout our author. Offending the rule of grammar, the present instance, it must be admitted, without adverting to the niceness and curiosity of modern times, offends also the ear. It must at the same time be allowed, that considering the unsettled state of the ortho- graphy of that day, a loose practise, of which there are to be found examples in the most elegant and learned writers, cannot justly be charged upon Shakespeare as vulgar and ignorant. In the comic and burlesque style. Dr. Lowth says, this license may* perhaps be allowed. Gramm. 1783. p. 32, 3 : yet in some of the instances to which he excepts, so far from being offensive, it recommends itself to the ear, and even appears necessary to effect : and those instances would be considered as much less exceptionable than the use of himself as a nominative case, were not the ear by custom familiarized to it. But, after all, we are writing upon the pages of Shakespeare : and in speeches of any length, Shakespeare, careless of rule and rapid in conception, pours along in his flow of thought with perfect indifference to the grammatical connexion of his sen- tences, so that his ideas cohere j often changes the person ; and' possessed altogether with his subject, and with the image he has conceived kept as full before the reader's mind as his own, while placed by his feelings in the middle of one sentence, he is found by his reader in the beginning of another. (90) I do not set my life at a pin's fee] i. e. " the value, ut- most worth, or absolute dominion (for such is fee) over that, which is worth next to nothing." " Life I'd throw down as frankly as a pin." M.for M. III. 1. Isab. 'Twas a famiUar instance. " I wis, it were not two pins hurt, if you turnde a begging." Nash's Almond for a Parrot. 4to. Sign. B. 4. b. Gold and fee were the old terms for money and land. So Newton's Lemnie's Touchstone of Complexions. 12mo. 1581. p. 2. b. " Nor house, nor land, nor gold not fee," So Percy's Reliq. passim and see "fee of grief." Macb. IV. 3. Macd. (91) beetles o'er his base"] i. e. " projects darkly." Steevens cites Sidney's Arcadia, B. I. " Hills lifted up their beetle brows, as if they would overlooke the pleasantnesse of their under prospect." (92) deprave your sovereignty of reason"] i. e. " dispossess, displace, dethrone the sovereignty of your reason ; the princely power of reason, seated in your mind." So that he throws his * It must : for of burlesque or low comedy it is a constituent. ACT I. 39 sc. V. note 95. image forcibly before his reader, Shakespeare leaves it to him to arrange more than his pronouns and articles, and grammati- cally thread his meaning. " Nobility of love," I. 2. King, is a similar phraseology. (93) The very place puts toys of desperation, Without more motive, into every brain. That looks so many fathoms to the sea, And hears it roar beneatK\ i. e. " of itself unaided, and without other or further suggestion, raises horrible and despe- rate conceits in the mind." The whole of this passage from the quartos, as well as the preceding lines, " Tempt to the dreadful summit of the cliff, " That beetles o'er his base into the sea," shew the strong impression which this scenery had made upon our author's mind. It is Dover Cliff again ; or the same image, recalling that picture to our own. (94) As hardy as the NSmean lion's nerve] Pindar's Nemean Odes are still called Ne/ita, not Ne/xtia. Fye's Comm. on Com- ment. 1807, p. 313. (95) confin'd to fast in fire'] Smith cites Urry's Chauc. Parson's Tale, p. 193. " And moreover the misese of hell, shall be in defaute of mete and drinke." And Steevens Nash's Pierce Penniless his Supplication to the Devil, 1595, " Whether it be a place of horror, stench and darkness, where men see meat, but can get none, and are ever thirsty." And the Will of the Devyll, bl. 1. no date : " Thou shalt lye in frost and^^re " With sicknesse and hunger ;" &c. (96) Are burnt and purg'd away] " Gawin Douglas really changes the Platonic heU into the " punytion of saulis in pur- gatory •." and it is observable, that when the Ghost informs Hamlet of his doom there, the expression is very similar to the Bishop's. I will give you his version as concisely as I can : " It is a nedeful thyng to suffer panis and torment ; — Sum in the wyndis, sum under the watter, and in the fire uthir sum : thus the mony vices — " Contrakkit in the corpis be done away " And purgit." Sixte Booke of Eneados, fol. p. 191. Farmer. These last, " contracted, purged and done away," are the very words of our Liturgy, in the commendatory prayer for a sick person at the point of departure, in the office for the visitation of the sick. Whalley. (97) Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres] " How have mine eyes out of their spheres been fitted, " In the distraction of this madding fever !" Sonn. 108. Malone. ACT I. 40 SC. V. (gQ\ this eternal blazon must not be To ears ojjesh and blood] i. e. " such promulgation of the mysteries of eternity must not be made to beings of a day." The term eternal is used with much license by our au- thor. See " eternal cell." V. 2. Fortinbr. and Jul. Cces. I. 2. Cass. " eternal devil." Othel. IV. 2. Emil. eternal villain ; and " eferwa? moment." M. W. of W. II. 1. Mrs. Ford. (99) As meditation, or the thoughts of love] i. e. " as the course and process of thought generally, or the ardent emotions and rapid flights of love." We have " I'll make him fly swifter than meditation," in the prologue to Wily Beguiled. It was not improbably, therefore, a common saying. (100) That rots itself in ease on Lethe wharf] i. e. " in indo- lence and sluggishness, by its torpid habits contributes to that morbid state of its juices, which may figuratively be- denomi- nated rottenness." We have the phrase again in Ant. and CI. " lacking the varying tide, " To rot itseZf with motion." I. 4. Csesar. (101) that adulterate beast] So in Rich. III. IV. 2. Marg. " Th' adulterate Hastings." And such was the language of the day. " The tell-tale sunne straight to the smith discovers " Th' adulterate practise of this amorous payre." Heywood's Britaine's Troy. fo. 1609. p. 109. " A generous and heroicke spirit feares not the adulterate censure of a senseless multitude." E. G. Anthropophagus. A Sermon. 4to. 1624. p. 26. (102) sate itself in a celestial bed, and prey on garbage] i. e. will, after appetite fuUy satisfied in the best way, and with every requisite of true enjoyment, prey &c. Mr. Todd aptly instances a fragment of Euripides, Antiope, V. 86. edit. Barnes : " Kopoe Si iravTutv, /cat yap Ik KaWioviav " AeKTpoiQ kv ala-^poiQ elSov cK7r£7r\»)yft£ve£, " Aairo£ Se irXr^pw^eis rt£, aafiEVOQ iraXiv " avXr) diairrj irporr/iaXiiiv ij See extravagant and erring spirit." I. 1. Marc. Steevens observes, the skill displayed in Shake- speare's management of his Ghost, is too considerable to he overlooked. He has rivetted our attention to it by a succession of forcible circumstances : — ^by the previous report of the ter- rified centinels, — ^by the solemnity of the hour at which the phantom walks, — ^by its martial stride and discriminating ar- mour, visible only per incertam lunam, by the glimpses of the moon, — by its long taciturnity, — by its preparation to speak, when interrupted by the morning cock, — by its mysterious re- serve throughout its first scene with Hamlet, — ^by his resolute departure with it, and the subsequent anxiety of his attendants, — by its conducting him to a solitary angle of the platform, — ^by its voice from beneath the earth, — and by its unexpected burst on us in the closet. Hamlet's late interview with the spectre, must in particular be regarded as a stroke of dramatic artifice. The phantom might have told his story in the presence of the Officers and Horatio, and yet have rendered itself as inaudible to them, as afterwards to the Queen. But suspense was our poet's object ; and never was it more eifectuaUy created, than in the present instance. Six times has the royal semblance appeared, but till how has been withheld from speaking. ACT II. (1) Marry, well said : very well said"] By this frivolity of manner and very phrase. Shallow characterises himself in II. H. IV. III. 2. " It is well said. Sir, and it is well said indeed too.'" (2) Danskers"] In Warner's Albion's England Danske is the ancient name of England. Steevens. " Let us but look into the Giant's age, " Danske Corioneus, English Albion." Life and death of Sir J. Oldcastle, 4to. 1601. Sign. C. 2. (3) Your party in converse — man and country'] This " filed phrase," or curiosity of language, as well as his method and tiresome deduction, is as much a part of the folly of this anti- quated and prosing courtier, as the higher colouring of the same absurdity is of the court waterfly, Osric. Breathe of, is slightly touch, glance at. (4) With windlaces, and with assays of bios'] i. e. " by en- ACT II. 47 SC. I. gmes and artifices, by trials and tricks of circumvention." Assaying, from essayer.^T. A proving before. Prffitentans." Jiaret s Alvearie. The term is technical for a proof of metal. (5) in yourself] i. e. the temptations you feel, suspect in him. " For by the image of my cause, I see " The portraiture of Ms" V. 2. " I weigh my friend's affection with mine own.' Timon. I. 2. So,"Noting his affections bymineown." Ro.iiJul.l.l. Benv. 4tos. But it seems to be no more than " of or by yourself" and as ^ the word in had been altogether omitted. He was at first to discover Laertes' inclinations by enquiry from others ^ and now to find them out by personal observation. (6) Ungarter'd, and down-gyved to his ancle] Boyfn-gyved means, hanging down like the loose cincture which confines the fetters round the ancles. Stebvbns. See " gyves on." I. H. IV. IV. 2. Falst. (7) quoted him] i. e. noted, " quotes the leaves." Tit. Andr. III. 1. Mar. " Yea, the illiterate — " Will quote my loathed trespass in my looks." Rape of Lucr. " To quote, mark, or note, k quotus. Numeris enim scriben- tes sententiaS suas notant et distinguunt." Minshieu. " Quoter. To quote or marke in the margent ; to note by the way." Cot- grave, 1611. Malone. It is the modern use of the word in the weekly reports or re- turn of the price of grain. (8) it is as proper to our age To cast beyond ourselves in our opinions, As it is common for the younger sort To lack discretion] " It is as much a property, as much belongs to, &c." Malone points out a similar expression in Decker's Wonderful Yeare, 4to. 1603 : " Now the thirstie citizen casts beyond the moone." " Of far casting." Epigr. 191. " He casteth beyond the moone : great diversitie " Betweene far casting and wise casting may be." John Hey wood's Epigr. upon Proverbs, 4to. 1598. Dr. Johnson observes, this is always the failing of a little mind, made artful by long commerce with the world : and he adds, " this remark is not that of a weak man." See " cast the event." //. H. IV. I. 1. Morton. Forecast is familiar in present use. ACT II. 48 sc. I. (9) This must be known ; which, being kept close, might move More grief to hide, than hate to utter lovel The sentiment here is simply this : " the keeping of this love affair a secret might he the cause of more mischief and unhappiness, than all the evil passions, that would be set afloat by making it public." But the fashionable enigmatical quaintness and antithesis (and in this case more especially the latter, by the opposition of Love, the subject matter, to Hate) have introduced a jumble and con- fusion in the idea, if it has not entangled the grammatical construction of the passage. Our literal rendering would be ; " suppressed it might create more general sources of unhappi- ness and heart-burning to conceal this Love, than it would that particular source of unhappiness or passion. Hate, Love's im- mediate opposite, to proclaim and avow it." Nor in any place by introducing matter not very serviceable to his great end, could our author have complied more aptly with that rule, im- perative upon every Play-wright, " Populo ut placeret Fabula." And it may be here observed, that, at the close of an Act or when the Scene is shifted, and there is a pause in the action or business of the Drama, it was the usage of our Dramatists, down to the middle of the last century, not simply to divert attention from the main object, as here, by the introduction of a couplet or rhymes, but to make the subject of such couplet foreign altogether to the interests of the Drama, an unconnected flourish, and that, not unfrequently, a laboured and florid simile. In such cases, in mere recitation, in unimpassioned scenes, in passages not marked with any particular character or interest, David Garrick, the child of nature, and within the last half cen- tury at least, certainly our only great general actor, was so much out of his element and to such a degree offended against all propriety and the common principles of recitation, as would in the upper forms of our great seminaries have disgraced a school- boy, (he had not had a regular education,) and has repeatedly given us pain, and made us feel both for him and ourselves ; and equally admiring him, to think it no way unnecessary for his warm eulogist Churchill to say " Whilst, working from the Heart, the Fire I trace " And mark it strongly flaming to the Face ; " Whilst in each Sound I hear the very Man— " I can't catch Words — and pity those, who can." Rosdad. Johnson says, " The ill and obscure expression in the passage, we are considering, seems to have been caused by the poet's affectation of concluding the scene with a couplet." For the charge, so pointed, there is not the slightest foundation. By this artificial, antithetical, and riddling style, our author, in other parts of his dramas, frequently embarrassed his sense : but to conclude acts and scenes with a couplet, was the very opposite of affectation. The custom of the age fully warranted ACT II. 49 sc. II, note 10. it;, and not to have done it occasionally would have been an affectation of singularity. Ben Jonson did so in his tragedies ; and it was almost the invariable course for a century afterwards. (10) Visilation] i. e. attendance, visit, as " free visitation," II. 2. H. infra : so H. VIII. " Your Queen desires your visitation." V. 1. Lady. Visitations (that is visitings) are, Horce Subseciva, 8vo. 1620. 2d edit. Edw. Blount, p. 114, made the subject of a distinct Essay, where the author says " Feminine thoughts bee for the most part enemies to meditation ; yet in this subject a helpe." (11) Hunts not the traU of polio/'] i. e. the track or course of any thing that has passed, or been drawn along : and is gene- rally applied, as here, to such things as by their scent enable those that follow to know the line of pursuit. " Cry out upon no trail." M. W. of W. IV. 2. Ford. (12) no other hut the mairi\ i. e. the chief point. " Ova main of power," Tr. Sf Cr. II. 3. Ulyss. " Mayne or strength. Vigor. Robur." Promptuar, parvulor. " These flaws, " Are to the main as inconsiderable " And harmless, if not wholesome, as a sneeze " To man's less universe." Par. Reg. IV. 454. See Othel. II. 1. 2 Gent. (13) falsely horn in hand] i. e. " holden in hand, having at- tention engaged." It is generally used in an iU sense, as with a view to delude, deceive, or impose upon. See M. ado SfC. IV. 1. Beatr. (14) It Ukes us welt] i. e. pleases. " Lika, placere. me licath, mihi placet, congruit, Gr. yXixofiai. cupio." Ihre's Glossogr. Suiogoth. 1769, " To see my conquerour me lykes, yt lykes me hym to know." (Meum victorem videre libet.) Jasp. Heywood's Seneca's Herc.furens. 4to. 1581, fo. 18. "A rose, that liked or pleased with the sight of it. Eblandita aspectu rosa. Plin." Baret's Alvearie, 1617. See Lear, II. 2. Kent. (15) Thus it remains, and the remainder thus] " In Polonius the poet makes a noble delineation of a mixed character of manners and of nature, and not a character only of manners, discriminated by properties superficial, accidental, and acquired. Polonius is a man bred in courts, exercised in business, stored with observation, confident in his knowledge, proud of his elo- quence, and declining into dotage. His mode of oratory is designed to ridicule the practice of those times, of prefaces that made no introduction, and of method that embarrassed rather than explained. This part of his character is accidental, the rest is natural. Such a man is positive and confident, because ACT II. 50 sc. II. he knows that his mind was once strong, and knows not that it is become weak. Such a man excels in general principles, but fails in the particular application. He is knowing in retrospect, and ignorant in foresight. While he depends upon his memory, and can draw from his repositories of knowledge, he utters weighty sentences, and gives useful counsel ; but as the mind in its enfeebled state cannot be kept long busy and intent, the old man is subject to sudden dereliction of his faculties, he loses the order of his ideas, and entangles himself in his own thoughts, tiU he recovers the leading principle, and falls again into his former train. This idea of dotage encroaching upon wisdom, wiU solve all the phaenomena of the character of Polonius." Johnson. Because Pope, speaking of Shakespeare, had said what is generally true, that " to the Jife and variety of his characters we must add the wonderfnl preservation of them," Warburton must make it out, (Reed's edit. XVIII. 110.) that it is so in this instance ; and, if you will take his word for it, you may believe it to be so here. But the idle suggestions that he makes, though rejected by Dr. Johnson, seem to have led the Doctor to take up the point ; and he has certainly played the advocate with talent, and some plausibility : and, if not more convincing than his predecessor, at least entitles himself to some attention and respect. Nothing can be more easily conceiveable or in- telligible than the idea of dotage encroaching upon wisdom : but the question is, the application of this maxim to the person and character of Polonius. To be extinguished, talent or faculty must first have existence : to be impaired, it must have had something like integrity. Now we have nothing in this drama that directly goes to establish the fact of his having had at any time a clear and commanding intellect. Almost every thing has, on the contrary, an opposite bearing ; for the very circum- stance or quality relied upon in this view, appears to us to be one of those that most strongly indicates imbecility of mind : viz. having the memory stored with sage rules and maxims, fit for every turn and occasion, without the faculty of making ap- plication or effective use of them upon any. Warburton, though it is ill adapted to his purpose in this place, pronounces him " weak, a pedant, and a fop ;" and, presently afterwards, " a ridiculous character, and acting as a small politician : " and Hamlet, repeatedly branding him with foUy, is in III. 4. made to characterize him as more than such. " Who was in life (i. e. while living) a foolish prating knave.'' The poet has not here made false (i. e. tedious and encumbered) modes of reasoning, and false wit, (" formaUty of method and the gingle and play of words," the idols of a pedantic age) ridi- culous, without uniformly subjecting the character itself, which he makes the vehicle of his purpose, to the same imputation and censure : nor can any facts be pointed out, sufficient to remove the strong impressions left of the natural imbecility of his mind : and without these, the argument of Dr. Johnson pro- ACT II. 51 SC. II. eeeds upon an assumption altogether unfounded, and contra- dicted as well by his predecessor and associate as by his author. Had he considered Polonius as really intelligent, he would not, in the close of the foregoing scene, have pointed out a " remark of his as not being that of a weak man." Throughout this detail, as in his general conduct, unmixt folly or dotage is visible at every turn ; but the lesson of life given to Laertes is a perfect whole, delivered with all the closeness and gravity of a phi- losophic discourse ; Plenius et melius Chrysippo et Crantore : and had it been dictated by a mind any way enfeebled, at some point or other we should, as here, have seen " wisdom," accord- ing to Dr. Johnson, " encroached upon by dotage." But what he offers is a mere advocating, is what may be said, rather than what either ought to be said, or in fact exists ; it is prize-fighting, and nothing like a search after truth. For, when elaborate dis- cussion has been employed to give a sense not obvious but different from the generally received meaning, if that inter- pretation does not leave its impression long upon any plain mind, the presumption is that it cannot be sound. See note 71. This species of criticism, of which the forgotten commentaries of Warburton afford more apt and tiresome examples, reminds us of the ingenuous confession, recorded by the late Mr. Cum- berland, his grandson, of the great hero of this school, Bentley, respecting the use he made of the great writers of antiquity. His favourite daughter Joanna, the Phoebe of Byrom's charming pastoral, and wife of Cumberland, bishop of Kilmore, lamenting to him that he had employed so much of his time on criticism, he acknowledged the justice of the remark, and remained for a time thoughtful and seemingly embarrassed by it : at last, re- collecting himself, he said, " Child, I am sensible I have not always turned my talents to the use for which they were given to me ; but the wit and genius of those old heathens beguiled me : and, as I despaired of raising myself up to their standard upon fair ground, 1 thought the only chance I had of looking over their heads, was to get upon their shoulders." Memoirs, 4to. 1 806. p. 14. (16) To the most beautified'] i. e. accomplished. " By art bewtified and adorned, are brought far from the primitive rude- nesse." Puttenham's Arte of English Poesie, 4to. 1589, p. 18. " Seeing you are beautified with goodly shape." Two G. of V. IV. 1. 1 Outlaw. Dr. Farmer instances Heywood's Edw. VI. " Catharine Parre, queen dowager, was a woman beautified with many excellent virtues." We shall add, " To the worthily honoured and ver- tuous beautified Lady, the Ladie Anne Glemnham, wife to the most noble, magnanimous and worthy Knight, Sir Henry, &c." Dedication by Henry Olney to Diella, certaine Sonnets adjoyned to the amorous Poeme of Diego and Gineura by R. L. Gent. Printed for Henry Olney, 18mo. 1596. " To the most honour- ed and vertuously beautified Lady, the Lady Ehzabeth Carey." ACT II. 52 sc. II. Dedication to Christ's Teares over Jerusalem, by The, Nash^ 4to. 1631. Steevens cites edit. 1594. (17) In her excellent white bosom, these] The ladies at that time, and more than a century afterwards, Steevens says, wore pockets in the front of their stays : and Proteus, in the Two G. of V. says, " DeUver'd " Even in the milk-white bosom of thy love." III. 1. (18) thee best, most best] Hyperbole and super-excellence are the language of devotion and love. Steevens quotes Acolastus, 1540. " That same most best redresser or reformer, is God." (19) And more above, hath his solicitings'] i. e. " besides ; or as the King in the opening of this scene, moreover." SoUciting-s is the reading of the quartos and modem editors : sohcitiwg- of the folios. There must either way be left a diificulty in the grammar or construction. (20) If I had play' d the desk, or table-book ; Or given my heart a winking, mute and dumb ; Or look'd upon this love with idle sight.] i. e. " had I merely minuted this in my mind, locking it up in the treasury of my memory, as in a desk, for future use ; or had I dealt with the active energies of body and mind, as with the eyes when yielding to repose, and suffered its bearings in silence to pass unnoticed j or had contemplated it with a careless eye as a thing frivolous and unworthy of regard." The enforcing of an idea by the use of synonimes or redupli- cation of similar terms, is common to our author with those of his age. The identical instance is given by Malone from his Rape of Lucrece: " And in my hearing be you mute and dumb." See " loop'd and window'd ruggedness.'' Lear, III. 4. L. In the folios winking was substituted for working, the reading of the quartos. Between the two words there is not much to chuse : and whether from the critical charaeter of that age it is to be considered, that the change was made in consequence of such a nicety as the recurrence of the word work, only two lines below (went round to work) is left for the reader to say. (21) went roijnd to work] i. e. " directly to the point, plumply or plainly and without reserve ;" nor, in this use of it, can it be more correctly interpreted than by the reverse of its literal meaning ; i. e. without circuity. In this sense and senses nearly allied to it, this word is used with great latitude. " Is hee more favourable in concealement than round in his private reprehensions." Bishop Hall's Characterismes of Vertues. (The true friend) 12mo. 1608, p. 47. In H. VIII. V. 3. Chamberl. ACT II. 53 SC. II. •we have " round fines/' i. e. full, effectual ; and in its primary sense of circular as well as in this sense in Com. of Err. I. 1. Dro. Eph. (22) (a short tale to make,) Fell into a sadness; then into a fast ; &c.] The ridicule of this character is here admirably sustained. He would not oidy be thought to have discovered this intrigue by his own sagacity, but to have remarked all the stages of Hamlet's dis- order, from his sadness to his raving, as regularly as his physi- cian could have done ; when all the while the madness was only feigned. The humour of this is exquisite from a man who tells us, with a confidence peculiar to small poUticians, that he could find— " Where truth was hid, though it were hid indeed " Within the centre." Warburton. (23) For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a good kissing carrion — Let not your daughter walk in the sun ! concep- tion is a blessing, but not as she may conceive, — friend, look io't.] As it would be too forced a sense to say that our author calls the sun " a good kissing carrion," we have nothing better to offer than that " the carcass of a dead dog, being a good kissing carrion," may mean, good for the sun, the breeder of maggots, to kiss for the purpose of causing putrefaction, and so conceiv- ing or generating any thing carrion like, any thing apt quickly to contract taint in the sunshine ; good at catching or drawing the rays or kisses of " common kissing Titan :" and in the phraseology of the day, as shewn by Malone in the historical play of Edw. III. 1596, the above ideas appear to have been connected : " The freshest summer's day doth soonest taint " The loathed carrion that it seems to kiss." Hamlet having thus (if this too is not also thought too forced a construction) in no very delicate combination of them, started the ideas of " breeding and kissing," in a wild or mad way (and yet, as Polonius says, having method in it) talks of Polonius's daughter, whom he cautions against this same Titan ; whose property of corrupting, whose generating touch and teeming kiss, may ripen into conception : and then, proceeding most ob- viously, to infer, that within the sun's reach his influence must be in this way powerfully impressive, at the same time that he admits that one of its consequences, conception, is a blessing, he yet adds j but not as the maid, who instead of being recluse, stages herself to the broad day, i. e. mixes with the world, and in his phrase, " walks in the sun" (when she is prodigal enough, who but unmasks her beauty to the moon, I. 3.) exposing her- self to be tainted, " not a blessing, in the way in which she may conceive." Or its meaning and argument may be simply this j it is dangerous for your daughter to be in the sun, because the ACT II. 54 sc. II. sun will breed maggots in a dead dog, he being so good (lusty) a kisser even of carrion. Here is unquestionably much doubt and difficulty ; and whether we have chanced to have made a fortunate conjecture must be left to others ; be this as it may, we cannot resist the temptation of subjoining a specimen of the note-making, alluded to at the close of the observations upon the character of Polonius ; and one that was certainly not made for the sake of the author or his reader. " The editors seeing Hamlet counterfeit madness, thought they might safely put any nonsense into his mouth. But this strange passage, when set right, will be seen to contain as great and sublime a reflection as any the poet puts into his hero's mouth throughout the whole play. We will first give the true reading, which is this : For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a god, kissing carrion, . As to the sense we may ob- serve, that the illative particle [for] shows the speaker to be reasoning from something he had said before : what that was we learn in these words, to be honest, as this world goes, is to be one picked out of ten thousand. Having said this, the chain of ideas led him to reflect upon the argument which libertines bring against Providence from the circumstance of abounding evil. In the next speech, therefore, he endeavours to answer that objec- tion, and vindicate Providence, even on a supposition of the fact, that almost all men were wicked. His argument in the two lines in question is to this purpose, — But why need we wonder at this abounding of evil P For if the sun breed maggots in a dead- dog, which though a god, yet shedding its heat and influence upon carrion Here he stops short, lest talking too consequentially the hearer should suspect his madness to be feigned; and so turns him off from the subject, by enquiring of his daughter. But the inference which he intended to make was a very noble one, and to this purpose;. If this (says he) be the case, that the effect follows the thing operated upon [carrion'] and not the thing operating [a god,] why need we wonder, that the supreme cause of all things diffusing its blessings on mankind, who is, as it were, a dead carrion, dead in original sin, man, instead of a proper return of duty, should breed only corruption and vices ? This is the argument at length ; and is as noble a one in behalf of Providence as could come from the schools of divinity. But this wonderful man had an art not only of acquainting the audi- ence with what his actors say, but with what they think. The sentiment too is altogether in character, for Hamlet is perpetu- ally moralizing, and bis circumstances make this reflection very natural. The same thought, something diversified, as on a dif- ferent occasion, he uses again in Measure for Measure, which will serve to confirm these observations : " The tempter or the tempted, who sins most ? " Not she ; nor doth she tempt ; but it is I " That lying by the violet in the sun, " Do as the carrion does, not as the flower, " Corrupt by virtuous season." ACT II. 55 SC. II. And the same kind of expresmn is in Cymbeline : " Common-kissing Titan." Warburton. This is a noble emendation, which almost sets the critick on a level with the author. Johnson. The wish of Dr. Johnson, expressed upon other comments of this writer, would not have been out of place here : a wish, that it had been true. Not as throwing any additional light upon this passage, but as curious matter in some degree bearing upon the subject, and coming from a quarter, not likely to be very conversant in the works of one so profane, as to write for the stage, we hesitate not to present our reader from Barclay's Apology, 1675, (Propo- sition V. & VI.) his simile of the sun's melting and hardening power : " the nature of the sun is to cherish the creation, and therefore the living are refreshed by it : and the flowers send forth a good savour, as it shines upon them, and the fruits of the trees are ripened : yet cast forth a dead carrion, a thing without life, and the same reflection of the sun will cause it to stink, and putrify it : yet is not the sun said thereby to be frus- trated of its proper effect." (24) shadow of a dream] i. e. o-Ktac ovap. Pindar. " Man's life is but a dreame, nay, less than so, " A shadow of a dreams." Davies. Farmer. " Whose best was but the shadow of a dream." Lord Sterling's Darius, 1603. Steetens. (25) this most excellent canopy, the air, — this majestical roof fretted with golden fire] i. e. " besprinkled, studded with such raised work." Malone cites : " As those gold candles, fix'd in heaven's air." Sonn. XXI. " Look, how the floor of heaven " Is thick inlaid with patins of bright gold .'" M. of Fen. V. 1. Lor. See Cymb. III. 4. lach. And in imitation of the majestical roof of the firmament the magnificent rooms in our palaces and lofty chapels had their roofs stellated at that time ; and so continued till after the middle of the last century. (26) lenten entertainment — ] i. e. sparing, like the en- tertainment given in Lent. " to maintain you with bisket, " Poor John, and half a livery, to read moral virtue " And lenten lectures." Shirley's Dukes Mistress, 1638. Stebvens. ACT II. 56 sc. II. (^ij\ we coated them on the way'] i. e. overtook. " marry we presently coted and outstript them." Return from Parnassus, 1606. In the laws of coursing, says Mr. Tollett, " a cote is when a greyhound goes endways hy the side of his fellow, and gives the hare a turn." This quotation seems to point out the etymology of the verb to be from the French cotS, the side. Stebvens. We shall add, " he costed and posted with such lightfoote speede, that coting and hording all, &c." Brian Melbancke's PUlistinus, 4to. 1583. Brit. Bibliogr. 8vo. 1812. II. 443. " With that Hippomenes coted (praiterit, v. 668.) her." A. Golding's Ov. Met. B. X. 1503. Sign. S. 3. " Coted farre." Chapm. II. xxiii..7rapE\a(rSC. I. of his father, and the mysterious and scarcely less sudden marriage and coronation of his uncle and mother. Agitated, and with his faculties, from the effect of disappointed hope, suspicion, and fear, almost suspended, he sinks into despond- ence, and grows tired of life. Presently, by the preternatural disclosure made, his vengeance also is roused. Pledged too to the execution of it, and beset with spies, and danger and difficulty increasing round him, he becomes more and more indifferent to life, and even desirous of death. In this distracted and desperate state, and sworn to " bend every corporal agent," to strike that blow which would probably recoil upon himself, an object, the only one in this world that had any power to hold him to it, is thrown in his way. For a moment he forgets his situation ; but recollection presently restores it, and, as a neces- sary precaution, dictates the course he pursues. Yet still, in spite of himself, we find him touching, again and again, the subject nearest his heart. It would have been base so to have trifled with her, as to have kept alive a flame which he was assured must soon be fatally extinguished. We fully approve, therefore, of the feeling of a distinguished modern actor, and fall in with the sentiment of a writer who witnessed it. He says, " after having gone to the extremity of the stage, from a pang of parting tenderness, Mr. Kean came back to press his lips to Ophelia's hand. It had an electrical effect on the house. It explained the character at once (and such as Shakespeare meant it) as one of disappointed hope, of bitter regret, of affection suspended, but not obliterated, by the cruelty of his fate, and the distraction of the scene around him." (15) The courtiers, soldier's, scholar's, eye, tongue, sword.l Dr. Farmer has shewn, that the collocation of words in exact correspondence with each other, was not insisted upon by our author ; and that even Quintilian, a classical and critical author, thought such scrupulous arrangement unnecessary, though writing in prose. " Princes are the glass, the school, the book, " Where subjects eyes do learn, do read, do look." Tarq. and Lucrece. And in Quintilian . " Multum agit sexus, aetas, conditio ; ut in ftcminis, senibus, pupillis, liberos, parentes, conjuges, alli- gantibus." (16) That unmatch' d form and feature of blown youth, Blasted with ecstacy ;] i. e. " that matchless form of blooming youth mildewed and distracted." " The feature or fashion, or the proportion and figure of the whole body. Con- formatio qusedam et figura totius oris et corporis, a-vjjfieTpia." Baret's Alcearie, fo. 1580. In the sense of the entire ligurc it is used in Cymb. Y. 5. lach. ACT iir. 79 sc. II. note 17. " For Jmture laming " The shrine of Venus, or straight pight Minerva." Steevens adds " Thus when they had the witch disrohed quite, " And all her mthy feature open thrown." F. Q. B. I. c. 8. " She also doft her heavy haherjeon, " Which the {air feature of her limbs did hide." lb. III. 9. See /. //. II. V. 5. Suff. Blown is ripe, out of the bud. For feature the quartos read stature. Ecstasy is being carried out of oneself, distraction, alienation of mind. " Nor sense to ecstasy was e'er so thrall'd." III. 4. Haml. Steevens quotes Gaw. Dougl. " In ecstasy she stood, and mad almaist.'' (17) robustious, periwig-pated fellov}] i. e. " boisterous and pompous : in deportment and dress making a false and extra- vagant show of passion." Steevens cites Every Woman in her Humour, 1609 : " — as none wear hoods but monks and ladies, and feathers but fore-horses, &c. — none perriwigs but players and pictures." (18) groundlings'] A contemptuous denomination of those spectators, that filled that part of the theatre, called ground- stands, in which they stood, having no seats, and for admission paid a penny : in estimation answering to our upper gallery : they also in terms corresponded with the parterre or pit of the French theatre. " Besides all our galleries and groundstands are furnished, and the groundlings within the yard grow in- finitely unruly." Lady Alimony. I. 1. Nares's Gloss. In the Induction to Barthol. Fair we have " understanding gentlemen of the ground — and writ just to his meridian, ' and " the scale of his grounded judgment :" and in the Case is Altered, 1609 : " — a rude and barbarous crew that have no brains, and yet grounded judgements ; they wiU hiss any thing that mounts above their grounded capacities." Steevens adds, " Be your stage-curtains artificially drawn, and so covertly shrowded that the squint-eyed groundling may not peep in ?" Lady Alimony, 1659. The groundling, in its primitive signification, means a fish which always keeps at the bottom of the water. The groundling and gallery commoner are classed together in Decker's Giils Hornbook, 1609, p. 27- (19) capable of nothing but inexplicable dumb shows, and noisel i. e. have a capacity for nothing but dumb shows ; where even these were too confusedly conducted to explain themselves. Steevens cites Hcywood's Four Prentices of London, 1615, ACT !II. 80 SC. If. and says ; " These well deserve the character Hamlet has already given of this species of entertainment, as may be seen from the following passage : ' Enter Tancred, with Bella Franca richly attired, she somewhat affecting him, though she makes no show of it.' Surely this may be called an " inexplicable dumb show ." and for the order of these shews refers to Gas- coigne and Kilwolmersh's Jocasta, 1566. (30) Termagant'] Termagaunt (says Dr. Percy, at the end of K. Estmere, vol. I.) is the name given in the old romances to the god of the Sarazetis ,• in which he is constantly linked with Mahound, or Mohammed. Thus, in the legend of Syb Guy, the Soudan swears : " So helpe rae Mahowne of might, " And Termagaunt, my God so bright." And " Nor fright the reader with the Pagan vaunt " Of mightie Mahound, and greate Termagaunt." Hall, Sat. I. And " let whirlwinds and confusion teare " The center of our state ; let giants reare " Hill upon hill ; let westerne Termagant " Shake heaven's vault." Marston, Sat. VII. Termagant occurs in Chaucer's Tale of Sir Topas : and in Beaumont and Fletcher's King or no King, as " This would make a saint swear like a soldier, and a soldier like Termagant." And in Massinger's Picture : " a hundred thousand Turks " Assail'd him, every one a Termagaunt." Steevens. And in Bale's Acts of English Votaries : " Grennyng upon her, lyke Termagauntes in a play." RiTSON. " This Saracen deity is constantly called Tervagan in an old romance in the Bodleian library (and Ritson derives it from ter and vagans, the action of turning three times round in ancient magical incantations) says Tyrwhitt : and Ritson quotes Ariosto : " Bestemmiando, Macone,* et Trivigante." And Mr. Todd adds : " Invocando ApoUino, et Trivigante, " Brusantino, Angelica, Inamorata." 1553. c. xxvii. p. 167. " And Mahound and Termagant come against us, we'll fight with them." Hist, of the Tryall of Chevalry, 4to. Lond. printed by Simon Stafford. " And oftentimes by Termagant and Mahound swore."' F. Q. VI. VII. 47. Spens. VII. 28. See Ritson's Metrical Romances, I. 260. * Miihound. ACT III. 81 SC. II. (■21) out-herods Herod] The character of Herod in the ancient mysteries, was always a violent one. See the Coventriee Ludus among the Cotton MSS. Vespasian d. viii : " Now I regne lyk a kyng arrayd ful rych, " Rollyd in rynggs and robys of array, " Dukys with dentys I drive into the dych ; " My dedys be full dowty demyd be day." And the Chester Whitsun Plays, MS. Harl. 1013 : " I kynge of kynges, non soe keene, " I sovraigne sir, as well is scene, " I tyrant that maye bouthe take and teene " Castell, tower, and towne ; " I welde this worlde withouten wene, " I beate all those unbuxome beene ; " I drive the devills alby dene " Deep in hell adowne. " For I am kinge of all mankinde, " I byd, I beate, I lose, I bjmde, " I master the moone ; take this in mynde " That I am most of mighte. " I ame the greatest above degree, " That is, that was, or ever shall be ; " The Sonne it dare not shine on me, " And I byd him goe downe. " No raine to fall shall now be free, " Nor no lorde have that liberty " That dare abyde and I byd fleey, " But I shall crake his crowne." See The VintneTS Play, p. 67- Chaucer, describing a parish clerk, in his Miller's Tale, says : " He plaieth Herode on a skaffold high." The parish clerks and other subordinate ecclesiasticks appear to have been our first actors, and to have represented their cha- racters on distinct pulpits or scaffolds. Thus, in one of the stage-directions to the 27th pageant in the Coventry collection already mentioned : " What tyme that processyon is entered into y' place, and the Herowdys taken his schaffalde, and Annas and Cayphas their schaffaldys, &c. Steevens. " Of bewte and of boldnes I ber evermore the belle, " Of mayn and of myght I master every man ; " I dynge with my dowtiness the devyl down to belle, " For bothe of hevyn and of earth I ami kynge certa3m." Coventry Plays, Cotton MSS. p. 92. Malonb. And in G. Kyttes's Unluckie Firmentie, 4to. bl. 1. : " But he was in such a rage " As one that shulde on a stage " The part of Herode playe." Ritson. ACT IIL 82 sc. II. Another direction in the Coventrie Play is — " Here Herode rages in the payonde (i. e. pageant) and in the strete also." SeeDouce's Illustr. II. 241. & Ant. 8f CI. I. 2. Char. (22) in your allowance, o'erweigh a whole theatre of others] i. e. " in your estimate, or admission preponderate." The text is in the spelling of the quartos. The foho of 1632 reads ore- sway. Malone refers to The Poetaster, 1601 : " Where if I prove the pleasure but of one, " If he judicious be, he shall be alone " A theatre unto me." See " allow obedience." Lear, II. 4. L. (23) not to speak it profanely, that, neither having accent nor gait, &c. &c.] i. e. " entering his protest that he did not mean to speak profanely by saying, that there could be any such thing as a journeyman Creator," he says — " the voice and carriage of these execrable mimics is so unnatural, so vile a copy of their original ; that, not to speak it profanely, I have thought in what they exhibited, from the sample they gave (so far as these were specimens of their workmanship,) that Nature's journeymen had been making men ; inasmuch as such as these could not have been the handywork of God." But profane was certainly at that time very generally used for any thing gross, licentious, or indelicate. See Braban. to lago. Othel. I. 1. Malone ob- serves, that in Lear Kent speaks of Nature's trade of making man, II. 2. Kent & Cornw. : and for the then notion that she kept a workshop to form mankind, cites Lyly's Woman in the Moone, 1597 : " They draw the curtains from before that work- shop, where stands an image clad, and some unclad." (24) speak no more than is set down for theni] " you, sir, are incorrigible, and " Take licence to yourself to add unto " Your parts, your own free fancy." Brome's Antipodes, 1638. " That is a way, my lord, has been allow'd " On elder stages, to move mirth and laughter." lb. " Yes, in the days of Tarlton, and of Kempe, " Before the stage was purg'd from barbarism." lb. Stowe informs us, that among the twelve players who were sworn the queen's servants in 1583, " were two rare men, viz. Thomas Wilson, for a quick delicate refined extemporall witte ; and Richard Tarleton, for a wondrous plentiful!, pleasant extem- porall witt." 1615. p. 697. " — I absented myself from all plaies, as wanting that merrye Roscius of plaiers, that famosed all comedies so with his pleasant and extemporall invention," Tarleton's Newes from Purgatory. Steevens. ACT III, 83 SC. II, The clown very often addressed the audience in the middle of the play, and entered into a contest of raillery and sarcasm with such of the audience as chose to engage with him. It is to this absurd practice that Shakespeare alludes. See Historical Account of our old English Theatres. Malone. (25) some quantify of barren spectators'] i. e. dull, unappre- hensive, unpregnant. " Why laugh you at such a barren rascal." Tw. N. I. 5. Malv. " The shallowest thickskin of that barren sort." Mids. N. Dr. III. Sons of Sir Rowland de Bois. Orlando,J Adam Dennis Touchstone, a Clown Sir Oliver Mar-text, a Vicar. a ^ •' \ Shepherds. William, a Country Fellow, in love with Audrey. A Person representing Hymen. Rosalind, Daughter to the banished Duke. Ceha, Daughter to Frederick. Phebe, a Shepherdess. Audrey, a Country Wench. Lords belonging to the two Dukes ; Pages, Foresters, and other Attendants. The SCENE lies, first, near Oliver's House ; after- wards, partly in the Usurper's Court, and partly in the Forest of Arden. The list of the persons was added by Mr Rowe. Johnson. AS YOU LIKE IT. ACT I. SCENE I. An Orchard, near Oliver's House. Enter Orlando and Adam. Orl. As I remember, Adam, it was upon this fashion bequeathed me by will, but poor a* thou-» a poor, sand crowns ; and, as thou say'st, charged my bro- ^^^2- ther, on his blessing, to breed me well : " and there "■ As I remember, Adam, it was — to breed me well] Thrown out with the ease and freedom of the most familiar dialogue, the language of Shakespeare receives here, as we conceive, the fol- lowing easy and natural interpretation : " It was upon this fashion bequeathed me by [my father in his] will, but poor a (i. e. the poor pittance of a) thousand crowns ; and, as thou say'st, [it was, or he there] charged my brother upon his blessing to breed me well." The question then is, whether instead of this, our author's text as delivered down to us, and his natural, but uncon- nected, dialogue, we are to substitute (and that in the open- ing of a comedy, and conversation between a master and a ser- vant) the new punctuation and argumentative formality adopted by the modern editors from Dr. Johnson, who gives it thus : " As I remember, Adam, it was upon this fashion bequeathed me. By will, but a poor," &c. This substitution appears to us hard and unnatural : and the real text, on the contrary, in the true character and spirit of all dialogue on such an occasion between such parties. This phraseology, poor a, is not yet altogether disused. It has been observed to us, that " Poor a is certainly right. A is 6 AS YOU LIKE IT. act i. begins my sadjiess. My brother Jaques he keeps at school, and report speaks goldenly of his profit : for my part, he keeps me rustically at home, or, to speak more properly, stays me here at home un- kept/ For call you that keeping for a gentleman of my birth, that differs not from the stalHng of an ox? His horses are bred better; for, besides, that they are fair with their feeding, they are taught their manage, and to that end riders dearly hired : but I, his brother, gain nothing under him but growth ; for the which his animals on his dung- hills are as much bound to him as I. Besides this nothing that he so plentifully gives me, the some- thing that nature gave me, his countenance'' seems to take from me : he lets me feed with his hinds, bars me the place of a brother, and, as much as in him lies, mines ° my gentility with my education. This is it, Adam, that grieves me ; and the spirit of my father, which I think is within me, begins to mutiny against this servitude : I will no longer endure it, though yet I know no wise remedy how to avoid it. one, a number. Suppose then the bequest had been 2 or 5 or ten, you see how insufferable would be this expression, ' two poor thousand crowns.' But farther — a ' thousand crowns' are words of the WiU, which the speaker quotes; and thereby makes them, as 'twere, a substantive to his adjective poor." We have not any instance directly in point ; but this colloca- tion frequently occurs. In the pronoun, as " poor my Lord." Ro. Sf Jul. III. 2. Jul. and in the article, as : " what poor an instrument May do a noble act." Ant. S( CI. V. <2. CI. » stays me here at home unkepf] i. e. detains. See 2 wo G. of F. I. 1. Valent. " Home-keeping youths have ever homely wits." 'i his countenance'] i. e. the mode of his carriage towards me. *= mines with my educationl i. e. " by want of culture saps and defeats." And this was the language of a later period : " where he gaines no conquest by perswasion, he mines by flattery." Sydenham's Arraignment of the Arrian. A Sermon, 4to. 1636 p. 3, sc. I. AS YOU LIKE IT. Enter Oliver. Adam. Yonder comes my master, your brother. Orl. Go apart, Adam, and thou shalt hear how he will shake me up. Oli. Now, sir! what make you here?* Orl. Nothing: I am not taught to make any thing. Oli. What mar you, then, sir ? Orl. Marry, sir, I am helping you to mar that which God made, a poor unworthy brother of yours, with idleness. Oli. Marry, sir, be better employ'd, and be naught awhile.(i^ Orl. Shall I keep your hogs, and eat husks with them ? What prodigal portion have I spent, that I should come to such penury ? Oli. Know you where you are, sir ? Orl. O, sir, very well : here in your orchard. Oli. Know you before whom, sir ? Orl. Ay, better than him I am before® knows me. I know, you are my eldest brother ; and, in the gentle condition of blood, you should so know me : The courtesy of nations allows you my better, in that you are the first-bom ; but the same tradi- tion takes not away my blood, were there twenty brothers betwixt us : I have as much of my father in me, as you ; albeit, I confess, your coming before me is nearer to his reverence.^^) Oli. What, boy ! » what make you here] i. e. do you. See M. W. of W. IV. 2. Mrs. Page. We find the phrase in the same sense, with the same play upon the word between the king and Costard, in L. L. L. IV. 3. and R. III. 1. I. 3. Marg. In Ro. 8s Jul. V. 3. Prince, we have the use of the verb in the perfect tense : " Sirrah, what make your master in this place ?" 8 AS YOU LIKE IT. act i. Orl. Come, come, elder brother, you are too young in this. Oli. Wilt thou lay hands on me, villain ? Orl. I am no villain :W I am the youngest son of sir Rowland de Bois ; he was my father ; and he is thrice a villain, that says, such a father begot villains : Wert thou not my brother, I would not take this hand from thy throat, till this other had pulled out thy tongue for saying so; thou hast railed on thyself. Adam. Sweet masters, be patient; for your fa- ther's remembrance, be at accord, Oli. Let me go, I say. Orl. I will not, till I please : you shall hear me. My father charged you in his will to give me good education : you have trained me like a peasant, ob- scuring and hiding from me all gentleman-Hke quahties : the spirit of my father grows strong in me, and I wiU no longer endure it : therefore allow me such exercises as may become a gentleman, or give me the poor allottery my father left me by testament ; with that I will go buy my fortunes. Oli. And what wilt thou do ? beg, when that is spent ? Well, sir, get you in : I will not long be troubled with you : you shall have some part of your will : I pray you, leave me. Orl. I will no further offend you than becomes me for my good. Oli. Get you with him, you old dog. Adam. Is old dog my reward ? Most true, I have lost my teeth in your service. — God be with my old master ! he would not have spoke such a word. [Exeunt Orlando and Adam, Oli. Is it even so ? begin you to grow upon me ? I will physick your rankness,* and yet give no thou- sand crowns neither. Holla, Dennis ! " rankness] i. e. fulness and insolence. sc. T. AS YOU LIKE IT. Enter Dennis. Den. Calls your worship 1 Oli. Was not Charles, the Duke's wrestler, here to speak with me ? Den. So please you, he is here at the door, and importunes access to you. Oli. Call him in. [Exit Dennis.J — 'Twill be a good way ; and to-morrow the wrestling is. Enter Charles. Cha. Good morrow to your worship. On. Good monsieur Charles! — what's the new news at the new court ? Cha. There's no news at the court, sir, but the old news : that is, the old duke is banished by his yomiger brother the new duke ; and three or four loving lords have put themselves into voluntary exile with him, whose lands and revenues enrich the new duke ; therefore he gives them good leave (^) to wander. Oli. Can you tell, if Rosalind, the duke's daugh- ter, be banished with her father. Cha. O, no ; for the duke's daughter, her cousin, so loves her, being ever from their cradles bred to- gether, that she* would have followed her exile, or * i,e. o. c. have died to stay behind her. She is at the court, and no less beloved of her uncle than his own daughter ; and never two ladies loved as they do. Oli. Where will the old duke live ? Cha. They say, he is already in the forest of Arden,® and a many merry men with him; and there they hve Uke the old Robin Hood of Eng- land: they say, many young gentlemen flock to him every day, and fleet(7) the time carelessly, as they did in the golden world. 10 AS YOU LIKE IT. act i. Oli. What, you wrestle to-morrow before the new duke ? Cha. Marry, do I, sir ; and I came to acquaint you with a matter. I am given, sir, secretly to un- derstand, that your younger brother, Orlando, hath a disposition to come in disguis'd against me to try a fall : To-morrow, sir, I wrestle for my credit ; and he that escapes me without some broken limb, shall acqmt him well. Your brother is but yoimg, and tender ; and, for your love, I would be loath to foil him, as I must, for my own honour, if he come in : therefore, out of my love to you, I came hither to acquaint you withal; that either you might stay him from his intendment, or brook such disgrace well as he shall run into ; in that it is a thing of his own search, and altogether against my will. Oli. Charles, I thank thee for thy love to me, which thou shalt find I will most loudly requite. I had myself notice of my brother's purpose herein, and have by underhand means laboured to dissuade him from it; but he is resolute. I'll tell thee, Charles, it is the stubbornest young fellow of France; frdl of ambition, an envious emulator of every man's good parts, a secret and villainous con- triver against me his natural brother ; therefore use thy discretion ; I had as lief thou didst break his neck as his finger : And thou wert best look to't ; for if thou dost him any slight disgrace, or if he do not mightily grace himself on thee, he wiU practise against thee by poison, entrap thee by some trea- cherous device, and never leave thee till he hath ta'en thy life by some indirect means or other : for, I assure thee, and almost with tears I speak it, there is not one so young and so villainous this day living. I speak but brotherly of him ; but should I anato- mize him to thee as he is, I must blush and weep, and thou must look pale and wonder. Cha. I am heartily glad I came hither to you : If he come to-morrow, I'll give him his payment : sc. I. AS YOU LIKE IT. 11 If ever he go alone again, I'll never wrestle for prize more : And so, God keep your worship ! [Exit. Oli. Farewell good Charles. — Now will I stir this gamester :" I hope, I shall see an end of him ; for my soul, yet I know not why, hates nothing more than he. Yet he's gentle; never school'd, and yet learned ; full of noble device ; of all sorts enchantingly" beloved; and, indeed, so much in the heart of the world, and especially of my own people, who best know him, that I am altogether misprised : but it shall not be so long ; this wrestler shall clear all: nothing remains but that I kindle" the boy thither, which now I'll go about. [Exit. SCENE II. A Lawn before the Duke's Palace. Enter Rosalind and Celia. Cel. I pray thee, Rosalind, sweet my coz, be merry. Ros. Dear Ceha, I show more mirth than I am mistress of; and would you yet [I] were merrier?* Unless you could teach me to forget a banished father, you must not learn me how to remember any extraordinary pleasure. * stir this gamester] i. e. stimulate, urge to the encounter this adventurer ; person disposed to try his fortune at this game. * enchantingly] i. e. to a degree that could only be supposed to be the effect of spell or incantation. " Cotgrave interprets the word charmingly." Todd's Diet. "= kindlel i. e. instigate to the undertaking. See " enkindle you unto the crown." Macb. I. 3. Banq. <* I were merrier'] I was added by Pope. 12 AS YOU LIKE IT. act r. Cel. Herein, I see, thou lovest me not with the full weight that I love thee : if my uncle, thy ba- nished father, had banished thy uncle, the duke my father, so thou hadst been still with me, I could have taught my love to take thy father for mine ; so would'st thou, if the truth of thy love to me were so righteously temper'd as mine is to thee. Ros. Well, I will forget the condition of my estate, to rejoice in yours. Cel. You know, my father hath no child but I, nor none is like to have ; and, truly, when he dies, thou shalt be his heir : for what he hath taken away from thy father perforce, I will render thee again in affection ; by mine honour, I will ; and when I break that oath, let me turn monster : therefore, my sweet Rose, my dear Rose, be merry. Ros. From henceforth I will, coz, and devise sports : let me see ; What think you of falhng in love? Cel. Marry, I pr'ythee, do, to make sport withal : but love no man in good earnest; nor no further in sport neither, than vnth safety of a pure blush thou may'st in honour come off again. Ros. What shall be our sport then ? Cel. Let us sit and mock the good housewife. Fortune, from her wheel, that her gifts may hence- forth be bestowed equally .W Ros. I would, we could do so ; for her benefits are mightily misplaced: and the bountiful blind woman doth most mistake in her gifts to women. Cel. 'Tis true : for those, that she makes fair, she scarce makes honest; and those, that she makes honest, she makes very iU-favour'dly. Ros. Nay, now thou goest from fortune's office to nature's : fortune reigns in gifts of the world, not in the lineaments of nature. sc. II. AS YOU LIKE IT. 13 Enter Touchstone. Cel. No ? When nature hath made a fair crea- ture, may she not by fortune fall into the fire? Though nature hath given us wit to flout at for- tune, hath not fortune sent in this fool to cut off the argument ? Ros. Indeed, there is fortune too hard for na- ture; when fortune makes nature's natural the cutter off of nature's wit. Cel. Peradventure, this is not fortune's work neither, but nature's ? who perceiveth" our natural wits too dull to reason of such goddesses, hath sent this natural for our whetstone : for always the dul- ness of the fool is the whetstone of the wits." — How now, wit ? whither wander you ? TovcH. Mistress, you must come away to your father. Cel. Were you made the messenger ? Touch. No, by mine honour ; but I was bid to come for you. Ros. Where learned you that oath, fool 1 Touch. Of a certain knight, that swore by his honour they were good pancakes, and swore by his honour the mustard was naught : now, I'll stand to it, the pancakes were naught, and the mustard was good ; and yet was not the knight forsworn, (s) ' who perceiveth — hath sent'] i. e. " who, [inasmuch as she] perceiveth." The fo. of 1632 reads perceiving : Malone reads, " and sent." >> always the dulness of the fool is the whetstone of the wits'] i. e. as, in another view, FalstaJBf says, he " is the cause of wit in others," so here, as is common or proverbial, the fool is said to be the cause or exciter of the wit of the wits, i. e. of wit in the wits. For the wits the modern editors, without any notice or explanation, read " his wits." 14 AS YOU LIKE IT. act i. Cel. How prove you that, in the great heap of your knowledge ? Ros. A.J, marry ; now unmuzzle your wisdom. Touch. Stand you both forth now : stroke your chins, and swear by your beards that I am a knave. Cel. By our beards, if we had them, thou art. Touch. By my knavery, if I had it, then I were : but if you swear by that that is not, you are not forsworn : no more was this knight, swearing by his honour, for he never had any ; or if he had, he had sworn it away, before ever he saw those pancakes or that mustard. Cel. Pr'ythee, who is't that thou mean'st ? Touch. One that old Frederick, your father, loves. Ros.^^^^ My father's love is enough to honour him enough : speak no more of him ; you'll be whip'd for taxation,^ one of these days. Touch. The more pity, that fools may not speak wisely, what wise men do foolishly. Cel. By my troth, thou say'st true : for since the little wit, that fools have, was silenced,'' the Uttle foolery, that wise men have, makes a great show. Here comes Monsieur Le Beau. Enter Le Beau. Ros. With his mouth full of news. Cel. Which he will put on us, as pigeons feed their young. Ros. Then shall we be news-cramm'd. * whip'd for taxation] Whipped, the usual punishment of fools for scandal. See " taxing/' II. 7- Jaques. ^ was silenced] Their former unbridled liberty of censure and mockery began now probably to be put at least under some re- straint, as Dr. Johnson intimates. sc. II. AS YOU LIKE IT. 15 Cel. All the better ; we shall be the more mar- ketable. Bon jour, Monsieur Le Beau : What's the news? Le Beau. Fair princess, you have lost much good sport. Cel. Sport? Of what colour ? Le Beau. What colour, madam? How shall I answer you ? Ros. As wit and fortune will. Touch. Or as the destinies decree. Cel. Well said ; that was laid on with a trowel." Touch. Nay, if I keep not my rank. Ros. Thou losest thy old smell.'' Le Beau. You amaze me, ladies : I would have told you of good wresthng, which you have lost the sight of. Ros. Yet tell us the manner of the wrestling. Le Beau. I will tell you the beginning, and, if it please your ladyships, you may see the end; for the best is yet to do ; and here, where you are, they are coming to perform it. Cel. Well, — the beginning, that is dead and buried. Le Beau. There comes an old man, and his three sons, Cel. I could match this beginning with an old tale. Le Beau. Three proper" young men, of excel- lent growth and presence ; ^ laid on with a trowel] i. e. coarsely, without selection or care in the distribution. We have a familiar phrase somewhat similar, " lugged in head and shoulders." ^ keep not my rank — losest thy old smeW] Rank is quality or place. The unsavoury perversion of Rosalind's is obvious. So Cymb. II. 1. Clot. & 2 Lord. " proper] i. e. of good figure and proportion. See Two G. of V. IV. 1. 3 Outl. 16 AS YOU LIKE IT. act i. Ros. With bills on their necks, — Be it known unto all men by these presents, C^*^ Le Beau. The eldest of the three wrestled with Charles, the duke's wrestler; which Charles in a moment threw him, and broke three of his ribs, that there is little hope of hfe in him : so he served the second, and so the third : Yonder they lie ; the poor old man, their father, making such pitiful dole over them, that all the beholders take his part with weeping. Ros. Alas! Touch. But what is the sport, monsieur, that the ladies have lost ? Le Beau. Why, this that I speak of. Touch. Thus men may grow wiser every day ! it is the first time that ever I heard, breaking of ribs was sport for ladies. Cel. Or I, I promise thee. Ros. But is there any else longs to see this broken musick in his sides?* is there yet another dotes upon rib-breaking? — Shall we see this wrestling. cousm ? Le Beau. You must, if you stay here : for here is the place appointed for the wresthng, and they are ready to perform it. Cel. Yonder, sure, they are coming : Let us now stay and see it. Flourish. Enter Duke Frederick, Lords, Orlando, Charles, and Attendants. Duke F. Come on ; since the youth will not be entreated, his own peril on his forwardness. Ros. Is yonder the man ? " see this broken musick in his sides} i. e. witness the crash made by his broken bones ; get so rough a handling. sc. II. AS YOU LIKE IT. 17 Le Beau. Even he, madam. Cel. AlaSj he is too young: yet he looks suc- cessfully. Duke F. How now, daughter and cousin ? are you crept hither to see the wresthng ? Ros. Ay, my Uege ? so please you give us leave. Duke F. You will take httle delight in it, I can tell you, there is such odds in the man.^ In pity of the challenger's youth, I would fain dissuade him, but he wiU not be entreated : Speak to him, ladies ; see if you can move him. Cel. Call him hither, good Monsieur Le Beau. Duke F. Do so ; I'll not be by. [Duke goes apart. Le Beau. Monsieur the challenger, the princess calls for you. Orl. I attend them,"" with all respect and duty. Ros. Young man, have you challenged Charles the wrestler? (12) Orl. No, fair princess ; he is the general chal- lenger: I come but in, as others do, to try with him the strength of my youth. Cel. Young gentleman, your spirits are too bold for your years : You have seen cruel proof of this man's strength : if you saw yourself with your eyes, or knew yourself with your judgment/ the fear of your adventure would counsel you to a more equal enterprise. We pray you, for your own sake, to " odds in the man] This should seem to be, the challenger is so little of a match. The modern editors read vien. ^ I attend them] i. e. those of the princess's party, or the princesses. ° If you saw yourself with your eyes, &c.] i. e. if you did not abandon the use of your senses, if not blinded and presumptuous, you would, as Dr. Johnson says, use your own eyes to see, or your own judgment to know yourself; the fear of your adventure would counsel you. C 18 AS YOU LIKE IT. act i. embrace your own safety, and give over this at- tempt. Ros. Do, young sir ; your reputation shall not therefore be misprised : vre vdll make it our suit to the duke, that the wrestling might not go forward. Orl. I beseech you, punish me not with your hard thoughts ; wherein I confess me much guilty," to deny so fair and excellent ladies any thing. But let your fair eyes, and gentle wishes, go with me to my trial : wherein if I be foiled, there is but one shamed that was never gracious ;^ if killed, but one dead that is wilHng to be so : I shall do my friends no wrong, for I have none to lament me ; the world no injury, for in it I have nothing; only in the world I fill up a place, which may be better suppMed when I have made it empty. Ros. The httle strength that I have, I would it were wdth you. Cel. And mine, to eke out hers. Ros. Fare you well. Pray heaven, I be deceived in you ! Cel. Your heart's desires be with you. Cha. Come, where is this young gallant, that is so desirous to lie with his mother earth ? Orl. Ready, sir ; but his will hath in it a more modest working. DvKE F. You shall try but one fall. Cha. No, I warrant your grace ; you shall not entreat him to a second, that have so mightily per- suaded him from a first. Orl. You mean to mock me after ; you should not have mocked me before : but come your ways. " your hard thoughts, wherein I confess, &c.J Admitting, as I do, that I incur much guilt by the very act of denying, &c. *■ was never gracious'] i. e. acceptable. " Goring was no more gracious to Prince Rupert than Wilmot had been." Cla- rendon. B. VIII. sen. AS YOU LIKE IT. 19 Ros. Now, Hercules be thy speed, young man ! Cel. I would " I were invisible, to catch the strong fellow by the leg. [Charles and Orlando wrestle. Ros. O excellent young man ! Cel. If I had a thunderbolt in mine eye, I can tell who should down. [Charles is thrown. Shout. Duke F. No more, no more. Orl. Yes, I beseech yovir grace ; I am not yet well breathed. Duke F. How dost thou, Charles ? Le Beau. He cannot speak, my lord. Duke F. Bear him away. [Charles is borne out. What is thy name, young man ? Orl. Orlando, my liege ; the youngest son of sir Rowland de Bois. Duke F. I would, thou hadst been son to some man else. The world esteem'd thy father honourable. But I did find him still mine enemy : Thou shouldst have better pleas'd me with this deed, Hadst thou descended from another house. But fare thee well ; thou art a gallant youth ; I would, thou hadst told me of another father. [Exeunt Duke Fred. Train, and Le Beau. Cel. Were I my father, coz, would I do this ? Orl. I am more proud to be sir Rowland's son. His youngest son ; — and would not change that calling,* To be adopted heir to Frederick. Ros. My father lov'd sir Rowland as his soul. And all the world was of my father's mind : Had I before known this young man his son, ' calling] i. c. appellation, or name. 20 AS YOU LIKE IT. act t. I should have given him tears unto entreaties. Ere he should thus have ventur'd. Cel. Gentle cousin. Let us go thank him, and encourage him : My father's rough and envious disposition Sticks me at heart. — Sir, you have well deserv'd : If you do keep your promises in love. But justly, as you have exceeded* all promise. Your mistress shall be happy. Ros. Gentleman, \_Gwing him a chain from her neck. Wear this for me ; one out of suits with fortune, t^^) That could give more — ^but that her hand lacks means." Shall we go, coz ? Cel. Ay : — Fare you well, fair gentleman, Orl. Can I not say, I thank you? My better parts' Are all thrown down ; and that which here stands up. Is but a quintain, a mere Ufeless block, (i*) Ros. He calls us back : My pride fell with my fortunes : I'll ask him what he would : — Did you call, sir ? — Sir, you have wrestled well, and overthrown More than your enemies. Cel. Will you go, coz ? Ros. Have with you : — Fare you well. [Exeunt Rosalind and Celia. * But justly, as you have exceeded, &c.] i. e. adverbially for just ; only, or in that degree, in -which you have, &c. The fo. of 1 632 reads " aU in promise." * TTiat could give more — but that her hand lacks means'] i. e. who could find in her heart to give more, were her ability greater. " better parts'] Macbeth says, " For it has cow'd my better part of man." V. 6. i. e. his spirit. We may therefore conclude, that by these terms spir'it and sense were meant here. sc. II. AS YOU LIKE IT. 21 Orl. What passion hangs these weights upon my tongue ? I cannot speak to her, yet she urg'd conference. Re-enter Le Beau. poor Orlando ! thou art overthrown ; Or Charles, or something weaker, masters thee. LeBeav. Good sir, I do in friendship counsel you To leave this place : Albeit you have deserv'd High commendation, true applause, and love ; Yet such is now the duke's condition,'' That he misconstrues all that you have done. The duke is humorous ;* what he is, indeed. More suits you to conceive, than I to speak of. Orl. I thank you, sir : and, pray you, tell me this ; Which of the two was daughter of the duke That here was at the wrestling ? Le Beau. Neither his daughter, if we judge by manners ; But yet, indeed, the shorter *(i5) is his daughter : « taiicr. The other is daughter to the banish'd duke, o- ^■ And here detain'd by her usurping uncle. To keep his daughter company ; whose loves Are dearer than the natural bond of sisters. But I can tell you, that of late this duke Hath ta'en displeasure 'gainst his gentle niece ; Grounded upon no other argument. But that the people praise her for her virtues. And pity her for her good father's sake ; And, on my life, his malice 'gainst the lady Will suddenly break forth.— Sir, fare you well ; Hereafter, in a better world than this, 1 shall desire more love and knowledge of you. 1 condition] i. e. state and temper. See Two G. of V. III. 1. Launce. ^ humorous] i. e. capricious. " Wraps me in a most humor- ous sadness." IV. 1. Jaques. 22 AS YOU LIKE IT. act i. Orl. I rest much bounden to you : fare you well ! \_Exit Le Beau, Thus must r from the smoke into the smother; From tjTant duke, unto a tjnrant brother : — But heavenly Rosalind ! [Exit. SCENE III. A Room in the Palace. Enter Celia and Rosalind. Cel. Why, cousin ; why, Rosalind ; — Cupid have mercy ! — Not a word ? Res. Not one to throw at a dog. Cel. No, thy words are too precious to be cast away upon curs, throw some of them at me ; come, lame me with reasons. Ros. Then there were two cousins laid up ; when the one should be lamed with reasons, and the other mad without any. Cel. But is all this for your father ? Ros. No, some of it is for my child's father : ^ O, how full of briars is this working-day world ! Cel. They are but burs, cousin, thrown upon thee in hohday foolery; if we walk not in the trodden paths, our very petticoats will catch them. Ros. I could shake them oiF my coat ; these burs are in my heart. Cel. Hem them away. Ros. I would try ; if I could cry hem, and have him. ^ my chiMs father] i. e.' the father of my children, if ever I have any : for him, who has my affections. sc. III. AS YOU LIKE IT. 23 Cel. Come, come, wrestle with thy affections, Ros. O, they take the part of a better wrestler than myself. Cel. O, a good wish upon you ! you wiU try in time, in despite of a fall.— But, turning these jests out of service, let us talk in good earnest : Is it possible, on such a sudden, you should fall into so strong a liking with old sir Rowland's youngest son ? Ros. The duke my father loved his father dearly. Cel. Doth it therefore ensue, that you should love his son dearly ? By this kind of chase,'' I should hate him, for my father hated his father dearly;" yet I hate not Orlando. Ros. No 'faith, hate him not, for my sake. Cel. Why should I not? doth he not deserve well?"= Ros. Let me love him for that ; and do you love hira, because I do : — Look, here comes the duke. Cel. With his eyes full of anger. Enter Duke Frederick, with Lords. Duke F. Mistress, despatch you with your safest haste. And get you from oiu* court. Ros. Me, uncle? * By this hind of chase] i. e. pursuit, hunting of consequences. •J hated dearly] i. e. extremely. See " dearest foe," Haml. I. 2. Haml. '^ hate him not, for my sake. Cel. Why should I not ? doth he not deserve well] Meaning to be understood by reference to that which had preceded, i. e. upon a principle stated by yourself; " because my father hated his father, does he not well deserve by me to be hated ?" while Rosalind, taking the words simply, and without any reference, replies, " Let me love him for that;" i. e. for that he well de- serves. 24 AS YOU LIKE IT. act i. Duke F. You, cousin : Within these ten days if that thou be'st found So near our publick court as twenty miles. Thou diest for it. Ros. I do beseech your grace. Let me the knowledge of my fault bear with me : If with myself I hold intelligence. Or have acquaintance with mine own desires ; If that I do not dream, or be not frantick, (As I do trust I am not,) then, dear uncle. Never, so much as in a thought unborn. Did I offend your highness. Duke F. Thus do all traitors ; If their pxu"gation did consist in words. They are as innocent as grace itself: — Let it suffice thee, that I trust thee not. Ros. Yet your mistrust cannot make me a traitor: TeU me, whereon the likelihood depends. Duke F. Thou art thy father's davighter, there's enough. Ros. So was I, when your highness took his dukedom ; So was I, when your highness banish'd him : Treason is not inherited, my lord ; Or, if we did derive it from our friends. What's that to me ? my father was no traitor : Then, good my liege, mistake me not so much. To think my poverty is treacherous. Cel. Dear sovereign, hear me speak. Duke F. Ay, Celia ; we sta/d her for your sake. Else had she with her father rang'd along. Cel. I did not then entreat to have her stay. It was your pleasure, and your own remorse •/ I was too young that time to value her, * remorse] i. e. compassion. " That which woTild have dis- solved an heart of flint, and wrought remorse, made this villaine more retchlesse and obdurate." Singleton's Dowhefall of Shebna. A Sermon, 4to. 1615. p. 32. See Temp. V. 1. Prosp. sc. III. AS YOU LIKE IT. 25 But now I know her : if she be a traitor. Why so am I ; we still have slept together. Rose at an instant, leam'd, play'd, eat together ; And wheresoe'er we went, Hke Juno's swans. Still we went coupled, and inseparable. DvKE F. She is too subtle for thee ; and her smoothness. Her very silence, and her patience. Speak to the people, and they pity her. Thou art a fool : she robs thee of thy name ; And thou wilt show more bright, and seem more virtuous. When she is gone : then open not thy lips ; Firm and irrevocable is my doom Which I have pass'd upon her ; she is banish'd. Cel. Pronounce that sentence then on me, my liege ; I cannot Hve out of her company. DvKE F. You are a fool: — You, niece, provide yourself; If you out-stay the time, upon mine honour, And in the greatness of my word, you die. \Exeunt Duke Frederick and Lords. Cel. O my poor RosaUnd! whither* wilt thou*soi632. ~« 1} whether. o * . 1623. Wilt thou change fathers ? I will give thee mine. I charge thee, be not thou more griev'd than I am. Ros. I have more cause. Cel. Thou hast not, cousin ; Pr'ythee, be cheerfial : know'st thou not, the duke Hath banish'd me, his daughter ? Ros. That he hath not. Cel. No? hath not? Rosalind lacks then the love Which teacheth thee that thou and I am one ;" " the love, which teacheth thee, &c.] i. e. that warmth of feeling, which cannot do less than instruct thee, that, &c. John- abore. 26 AS YOU LIKE IT. act i. Shall we be sunder'd ? shall we part, sweet girl ? No ; let my father seek another heir. ' So 1632. Therefore devise with me how we may fly, 1623! ^'^' Whither * to go, and what to bear with us : And do not seek to take your change f upon you,^ 1632"^^" "^^ ^^^^ y'^^'" g^'iefs yourself, and leave me out ; For, by this heaven, now at our sorrows pale," Say what thou canst, I'll go along with thee. So as Ros. Why, whither % shall we go ? Cel. To seek my uncle in the forest of Arden. Ros. Alas, what danger will it be to us. Maids as we are, to travel forth so far ? Beauty provoketh thieves sooner than gold. Cel. I'll put myself in poor and mean attire. And with a kind of. umber smirch my face,'' The like do you ; so shall we pass along. And never stir assailants. Ros. Were it not better. Because that I am more than common tall. That I did suit me aU points like a man ? A gallant curtle-axe upon* my thigh. son offers, as a similar phraseology : "you know not the law, which teaches you to do right." " take your change upon you] i. e. encounter this reverse. '' For, by this heaven, now at our sorrows pale] This passage may be interpreted either " by this heaven, or the light of hea- ven, with its lustre faded in sympathy with our feelings!" or, " for, by this heaven, now we have reached, now we are at the utmost verge or point, in this extremity or crisis of our fate," &c. (for such it was) as this word is used in the fVint. T. IV. 2. Autol. " For the red blood reigns in the winter's pale.'' '^ And with a kind of umber smirch my face] Umber is a dusky yellow- coloured earth, brought from Umbria in Italy. It was used in stage exhibitions. In a MS. of mine, the Tell tale, there is this direction, " He umbers her face." Malone. In H. V. IV. Chor. we have, " the battle's umber d face." Smirch is soil, smear. " The smirchen worm-eaten tapestry." Much ado Sfc. III. 3. Borach. * curtle-axe'] i. e. cutlace, broadsword. Johnson. sc. III. AS YOU LIKE IT. 27 A boar- spear in my hand ; and (in my heart Lie there what hidden woman's fear there will,) We'll have a swashing^i^) and a martial outside ; As many other mannish cowards have. That do outface itCi^) with their semblances. Cel. What shall I call thee, when thou art a man? Ros. I'll have no worse a name than Jove's ovm page. And therefore look you call me Ganjnuede. But what will you be* call'd ? , g„ ,g32_ Cel. Something that hath a reference to my''^-^^^^- state ; No longer Ceha, but Aliena. Ros. But, cousin, what if we assay'd to steal The clownish fool out of your father's court ? Would he not be a comfort to our travel ? Cel. He'll go along o'er the wide world with me ; Leave me alone to woo him : Let's away. And get our jewels and our wealth together ; Devise the fittest time, and safest way To hide us from pursuit that wiU be made After my flight : Now go in wef content, t we in. To hberty, and not to banishment. ^^^^' [Exeunt. 28 AS YOU LIKE IT. ACT II. SCENE I. The Forest of Arden. Enter Duke senior, Amiens, and other Lords in the dress of Foresters. Duke S. Now, my co-mates/ and brothers in exile. Hath not old custom made this life more sweet Than that of painted pomp ? Are not these woods More free from peril than the envious court ? Here feel we not the penalty of Adam, The seasons' difference ; as, the icy fang. And churlish chiding of the winter^s wind ; Which when it bites and blows upon my body. Even till I shrink with cold, I smile, and say, — This is no flattery : these are counsellors That feelingly persuade me what I am." "■ co-mates] i. e. associates. Copemates was also in the same sense the language of the day. '' Hath not old custom — Are not these woods — Here feel we not the penalty — That feelingly persuade me what I am] Wherever the course of thought admits it, Shakespeare is accustomed to continue the form of speaking which he first falls upon ; and the sense of this passage, in which he repeats the word not, appears to be — " The penalty here, properly speaking, is not, or scarce is, physically felt, because the suffering it occasions, sharp as it otherwise might be called, turns so much to account in a moral sense." The construction of " which, when it blows," is " at which, or which blowing." And or for, instead of which, would have given a plain and clear sense; but the same forms and cold terms of reasoning, would have clogged the spirited and warm flow of the sentiment : and the recurrence of and at the beginning of this line would have offended the ear. The modern editors, following Theobald, for not, read but . as we conceive, unnecessarily. Still the word " feelingly," used at the end of sc. I. AS YOU LIKE IT. 29 Sweet are the uses of adversity ; Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous. Wears yet a precious jewel in his head ;(i) And this our life, exempt from publick haunt. Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, (2) Sermons in stones, and good in every thing. Ami. I would not change it : Happy is your grace. That can translate the stubbornness of fortune Into so quiet and so sweet a style. DvKE S. Come, shaU we go and kill us venison ? And yet it irks me,® the poor dappled fools, — Being native burghers of this desert city,W Should, in their own confines, with forked heads. Have their round haunches gor'd. 1 LoHD. Indeed, my lord. The melancholy Jaques grieves at that ; And, in that kind, swears you do more usurp Than doth your brother that hath banish'd you. To-day, my lord of Amiens, and myself, Did steal behind him, as he lay along Under an oak, whose antique root peeps out Upon the brook that brawls along this wood :(^) To the which place a poor sequester'd stag. That from the hunters' aim had ta'en a hurt. Did come to languish ; and, indeed, my lord, The wretched animal heav'd forth such groans. That their discharge did stretch his leathern coat Almost to bursting ; and the big round tears(^) Cours'd one another down his innocent nose In piteous chase : and thus the hairy fool. Much marked of the melancholy Jaques, Stood on the extreraest verge of the swift brook. Augmenting it with tears. Duke S. But what said Jaques ? Did he not moralize this spectacle ? this passage in an affirmative sense, after " feel" had been brought forward, coupled with a negative, certainly makes a confusion, if it be not said to favour Theobald's substitution. 30 AS YOU LIKE IT. act n. 1 Lord. O yes, into a thousand similes. First, for his weeping into the needless stream;" Poor deer, quoth he, thou mak'st a testament As worldlings do, giving thy sum of more * So 1632. To that which kad too much}' Then being alone,* the« alone, j^^gf^ and abandon'd of his velvet friend;" 'Tis right, quoth he ; thus misery doth part The flux of company : Anon, a careless herd. Full of the pasture, jumps along by him. And never stays to greet him ; Ay, quoth Jaques,^ Sweep on, you fat and greasy citizens ;^ 'Tisjust the fashion : Wherefore do you look Upon that poor and broken bankrupt there ? Thus most invectively he pierceth through t^Aecoun- The body of the f country, city, court, try. 1632. yga, and of this our life : swearing, that we Are mere usurpers, tyrants, and what's worse. To fright the animals, and to kill them up,W In their assign'd and native dwelhng place. DvKE S. And did 'you leave him in this contem- plation ? 'needless stream] i. e. stream, that needed not, that wanted no supply. Much in the sense in which Lear says, " age is unnecessary," II. 4. i. e. superfluous lumber, what might be spared, needless. •" thy sum of more to that which had too much] in a river - " Upon whose weeping margin she was set, " Like usury, applying wet to wet." Lover's Complaint. " With tearful eyes add water to the sea, " And give more strength to that which hath too much." III. H. VI. (V. 4.) Steevens. " friend^ The modern editors have substituted friends : but Whiter observes, " the singular is often used for the plural with a sense more abstracted ; and therefore in many instances more poetical." Specimen of a Commentary, 8vo. 1794, p. 15. '' greasy ■ citizens] " By other men's losses to enrich and greaze themselves." Newton's Lemnie's Touchstone of Com- plexions, 12mo. 1581. p. 58, b. sc. I. AS YOU LIKE IT. 31 2 Lord. We did, my lord, weeping and com- menting Upon the sobbing deer. DvKE S. Show me the place ; I love to cope him" in these sullen fits. For then he's full of matter. 2 Lord. I'll bring you to him straight. [Exeunt. SCENE II. A Room in the Palace. Enter Duke Frederick, Lords, and Attendants. DvKE F. Can it be possible, that no man saw them? It cannot be : some villains of my court Are of consent and sufferance in this. 1 Lord. I cannot hear of any that did see her. The ladies, her attendants of her chamber. Saw her a-bed ; and, in the morning early. They found the bed untreasur'd of their mistress. 2 Lord. My lord, the roynish clovm,® at whom so oft Your grace was wont to laugh, is also missing. Hesperia, the princess' gentlewoman. Confesses, that she secretly o'er-heard Your daughter and her cousin much commend The parts and graces of the wrestler That did but lately foil the sinewy Charles ; And she believes, wherever they are gone. That youth is surely in their company. » cope him] i. e. encounter. " Cope malicious censurers." H. VIII. I. 2. Wols. " Cope your wife," Othel. IV. 1. lago. 32 AS YOU LIKE IT. act ii. DvKE F. Send to his brother ; fetch that gallant hither ; If he be absent, bring his brother to me, I'll make him find him : do this suddenly ; And let not search and inquisition quail^^^ To bring again these foolish runaways. [Exeunt. SCENE III. Before Oliver's House. Enter Orlando and Adam, meeting. Orl. Who's there ? Adam. What ! my young master ? — O, my gentle master, O, my sweet master, O you memory (i**) Of old sir Rowland ! why, what make you here 1 Why are you virtuous 1 Why do people love you ? And wherefore are you gentle, strong, and vaUant 1 Why would you be so fond to overcome^ The bonny priser of the humorous duke ?'' Your praise is come too swiftly home before you. Know you not, master, to some kind of men Their graces serve them but as enemies 1 No more do yours ; your virtues, gentle master. Are sanctified and holy traitors to you.*" O, what a world is this, when what is comely Envenoms him that bears it ? Orl. Why, what's the matter ? " fond to overcome] i. e. simple, of so little thought, as to, &c. '' bonny prizer of the humorous duke'] i. e. gallant prize-fighter of the capricious duke. See I. 2. Le Beau. ' sanctified and holy traitors to you'] " Breathing like sanctified and pious bonds, " The better to deceive." Hand. I. 3. Polon. " My becomings kill me." Ant. &■ CI. I. 3. CI. sc. in. AS YOU LIKE IT. 33 Adam. O unhappy youth. Come not within these doors ; within this roof The enemy of all your graces lives : Your brother — (no, no brother ; yet the son — Yet not the son ; I will not call him son — Of him I was about to call his father,) — Hath heard your praises ; and this night he means To biirn the lodging where you use to lie. And you within it : if he fail of that. He will have other means to cut you off: I overheard him, and his practices. This is no place," this house is but a butchery ; Abhor it, fear it, do not enter it. Orl. Why, whither,* Adam, wouldst thou have * as above. me go? Adam. No matter whither,f so you come not here. + as above. Orl. What, wouldst thou have me go and beg my food ? Or, with a base and boisterous sword, enforce A thievish Uving on the common road ? This I must do, or know not what to do : Yet this I will not do, do how I can ; I rather will subject me to the malice Of a diverted blood,'' and bloody brother. Adam. But do not so : I have five hundred crowns. The thrifty hire I sav'd under your father. Which I did store, to be my foster-nurse. When service should in my old limbs lie lame. And unregarded age in corners thrown ;'' " place\ i. e. " abiding-place, place of security for you. ' Plas, says Malone, is in Welch mansion. ^ a diverted blooi] i. e. affections alienated and turned out of their natural course ; as a stream of water is said to be diverted. ' And unregarded age in corners tkrowri] Horace Walpole in his pleasant manner (and very excellent his disengaged episto- lary vein frequently is) tells a sour Antiquary, whom he culti- vated because he found him useful. May 1774, " When people grow old, as you and I do, they should get together. Others do not care for us : but we seem wiser to one another by find- ing fault with them. Not that I am apt to dislike young folks j D 34 AS YOU LIKE IT. act ii. Take that : and He that doth the ravens feed. Yea, providently caters for the sparrow/ Be comfort to my age ! Here is the gold ; All this I give you: Let me be your servant ; Though I look old, yet I am strong and lusty : For in my youth I never did apply Hot and rebellious liquors in my blood : Nor did not with xmbashful forehead woo The means of weakness and debility ;(") Therefore my age is as a lusty winter. Frosty, but kindly : let me go with you ; I'll do the service of a younger man In all your business and necessities. Orl. O good old man ; how well in thee appears The constant service of the antique world," When service sweat for duty, not for meed ! Thou art not for the fashion of these times. Where none wiU sweat, but for promotion ; And having that, do choke their service up Even with the having :° it is not so with thee. But poor old man, thou prun'st a rotten tree. That cannot so much as a blossom yield. In lieu of all thy pains and husbandry : But come thy ways, we'll go along together : And ere we have thy youthful wages spent. We'll hght upon some settled low content. Adam. Master, go on ; and I will follow thee, To the last gasp, with truth and loyalty. — whom I think every thing becomes : but it is a kind of self- defence to live in a body. I dare to say, that Monks never find out that they grow old Fools. Their age gives them authority, and nobody contradicts them. In the world one cannot help perceiving one is out of fashion." Letters to the Revd. W. Cole, 4to. 1818, p. 99. " and he that doth the ravens feed, &c.] St. Luke, xii. 6. and 24. Douce. '' The constant sereice of the antique worl£\ i. e. invariably faithful. "^ Even with the having] i. e. even with the -promotion gained by service is service extinguished. Johnson. sc. III. AS YOU LIKE IT. 35 From seventeen years* till now almost fourscore Here lived I, but now live here no more. At seventeen years many their fortunes seek ; But at fourscore, it is too late a week i* Yet fortime cannot recompense me better. Than to die well, and not my master's debtor. \Exeunt.'' SCENE IV. The Forest of Arden. Enter Rosalind in boy's clothes, Celia drest like a Shepherdess, and Touchstone. Ros. O Jupiter ! how merry are my spirits ! * Touch. I care not for my spirits, if my legs were not weary. Ros. I could find in my heart to disgrace my man's apparel, and to cry like a woman : but I must * The fo. of 1632 concurs with that of 1623^ and reads " seventy : " but the second line following demonstrates, that it must have been a misprint. ^ it is too late a week] i. e. " a period of time, indefinitely." The calculation of time by this interval was not then confined, as it is at present, to small contracts or domestic engagements and a fixed period, but embraced a large and indefinite compass and extended to all things. " To whose heavenly praise My soule hath bin devoted many a weeke.'' Heywood's Britaine's Troy, fo. 1609. p. 251. "^ It is not every one, that eould in aid of the sentiment call in such imagery, as is presented throughout this farewell scene ; but who is there, could have put it in such language, and with such a flow and cadence have thrown into it so much feeling and given it so high an interest ? ^ O Jupiter ! how merry are my spirits ! Touch. I care not — if my legs were not weary. Ros. I could find in my heart to disgrace my man's apparel — hut I must comfort the weaker vesset\ The modern editors for merry read weary .- but Whiter insists, that, from RosaUnd's 36 AS YOU LIKE IT. act n. comfort the weaker vessel, as doublet and hose" ought to show itself courageous to petticoat : there- fore, courage, good Aliena. Cel. I pray you, bear with me ; I cannot go no further.'' Touch. For my part, I had rather bear with you, than bear you-: yet I should bear no cross, (^2) if I did bear you ; for, I think, you have no money in your purse. Ros. Well, this is the forest of Arden. Touch. Ay, now am I in Arden : the more fool I ; when I was at home, I was in a better place ; but travellers must be content. Ros. Ay, be so, good Touchstone : — Look you, who comes here ; a young man, and an old, in solemn talk. reply, it is manifest that her language was no less than her dress in an assumed character ; and is — " To speak the truth, though I pretend, in my mannish character, to he in good spirits, and not to he weary, yet," &c. And this construction, he adds, is con- firmed not only by the context, but the reasoning as well as the instances given by Malone, although brought forward diverso intuitu. " She invokes Jupiter, because he was supposed to he always in good spirits. A jovial man was a common phrase in our author's time. One of Randolph's plays is called Aristippus, or The Jovial Philosopher ; and a comedy of Broome's, The Jovial Crew, or The Merry Beggars." Specimen of a Comm. &c. p. 15. ^ doublet and hosel i. e. waistcoat and breeches : doublet, as making the dress double. Johnson. " O, rhymes are guards on wanton Cupid's hose." L. L. L. IV. 3. Bir. '' I cannot go no further'] Instead of cannot, the fo. of 1632 reads can. We conceive this to be amongst the many proofs of what Malone insists upon, viz. that the alterations made in that edition were arbitrary, and generally without a knowledge of the author's manner. See note at the opening of A. II. Tw. N. Anton. sc. If. AS YOU LIKE IT. 37 Enter Corin and Silvius. Cor. That is the way to make her scorn you still. SiL. O Corin, that thou knew'st how I do love her! Cor. I partly guess ; for I have lov'd ere now. SiL. No, Corin, being old, thou canst not guess ; Though in thy youth thou wast as true a lover As ever sigh'd upon a midnight pillow : But if thy love were ever hke to mine, (As sure I think did never man love so,) How many actions most ridiculous Hast thou been drawn to by thy fantasy ? Cor. Into a thousand that I have forgotten. SiL. O, thou didst then ne'er love so heartily : If thou remember'st not the sHghtest folly* That ever love did make thee run into. Thou hast not lov'd : Or if thou hast not sat as I do now. Wearing thy hearer in thy mistress' praise, (13) Thou hast not lov'd : Or if thou hast not broke from company. Abruptly, as my passion now makes me. Thou hast not lov'd : O Phebe, Phebe, Phebe! [Exit Silvius. Ros. Alas, poor shepherd! searching of their** soi632. wound,* f623''°"'''" I have by hard adventure found my own. Touch. And I mine: I remember, when I was » If thou — or if — thou hast not lov'd] Hence, no doubt, the first conception of that exquisite ballad, the leading idea of ■which is with such truth, beauty, and nature, so much farther " pursued by Mrs. Barbauld. " Come here, fond youth, whoe'er you be," &c. •> For " their wound, " the reading of the fo. 1632, the modern editors read thy. 38 AS YOtr LIKE IT. act ii. in love, I broke my sword upon a stone, and bid him take that for coming anight to Jane Smile : and I remember the kissing of her batler,* and the cow's dugs that her pretty chop'd hands had milk'd : and I remember the wooing of a peascod instead of her; from whom I took two cods,(i*) and, giving her them again, said wdth weeping tears, (i^) Wear these for my sake. We, that are true lovers, run into strange capers ; but as all is mortal in nature, so is all nature in love mortal in folly.'' Ros. Thou speak'st wiser, than thou art 'ware of. Touch. Nay, I shall ne'er be 'ware of mine own wit, till I break my shins against it. Ros. Jove ! Jove ! this shepherd's passion Is much upon my fashion. TovcH. And mine ; but it grows something stale with me. Cel. I pray you, one of you question yond man. If he for gold will give us any food ; I faint almost to death. Touch. Holla ; you, clown ! Ros. Peace, fool ; he's not thy kinsman. CoR. Who calls ? Touch. Your betters, sir. Cor. Else are they very wretched. Ros. Peace, I say : — * 1632. Good even to you,* friend. your. 1623. ^ , t i • , CoR. And to you, gentle sir, and to you all. Ros. I pr'ythee, shepherd, if that love, or gold. Can in this desert place buy entertainment, " batler] i. e. the instrument with which washers beat their coarse clothes. Johnson. The fo. of 1632 reads hatlet. ^ mortal in folly] i. e. extremely foolish. Mortal is a provin- cial vulgarism, from mort, a great quantity. sc. iv. AS YOU LIKE IT. 39 Bring us where we may rest ourselves, and feed : Here's a young maid with travel much oppress'd. And faints for succour. Cor. Fair sir, I pity her. And wish for her sake, more than for mine own. My fortunes were more able to relieve her : But I am shepherd to another man. And do not sheer the fleeces that I graze ; My master is of churhsh disposition. And little wreaks (^^^ to find the way to heaven By doing deeds of hospitahty : Besides, his cote, his flocks, and bounds of feed,^ Are now on sale, and at our sheepcote now. By reason of his absence, there is nothing That you will feed on ; but what is, come see. And in my voice* most welcome shaU you be. Ros. What is he that shall buy his flock and pasture ? Cor. That young swain that you saw here but erewhile. That little cares for buying any thing. Ros. I pray thee, if it stand with honesty. Buy thou the cottage, pasture, and the flock. And thou shalt have to pay for it of us. Cel. And we will mend thy wages : I like this place, And willingly could waste my time in it. Cor. Assuredly, the thing is to be sold : Go with me ; if you like, upon report. The soil, the profit and this kind of life, I will your very faithful feeder be. And buy it with your gold right suddenly. {Exeunt. » bounds of feed — at our sheepcote] i. e. range of pasture. Cote, cot, or cottage, is more familiar to us in its compound, as here, or dovecote, &c. >> in my voice'] i. e. by my vote or wish. Hamlet says, Fort- inbras has his " dying voice ; " and Horatio adds, " whose voice will draw on more." 40 AS YOU LIKE IT. act ii. SCENE V. The same. Enter Amiens, Jaques, and others. SONG. Ami. Under the greenwood tree. Who laces to lie with me, And turn'' his merry note Unto the sweet bird's throat. Come hither, come hither, come hither ; Here shall he see No enemy, But winter and rough weather. Jaq. More, more, I pr'ythee, more. Ami. It will make you melancholy, monsieur Jaques. Jaq. I thank it. More, I pr'ythee, more. I can suck melancholy out of a song, as a weazel sucks eggs i' More, I pr'ythee, more. Ami. My voice is ragged -,^1^) I know, I cannot please you. Jaq. I do not desire you to please me, I do desire you to sing : Come, more ; another stanza ; Call * stanzo. you them stanzas ?* o?c! Ami. What you will, monsieur Jaques. " turn his note] i. e. modulate, tune. The modern editors, following Mr. Pope (" no timid corrector of texts," as described by Boucher, Diet, sub voce anneal) read tune. ^ suck melancholy out of a song, as a weazel, &c.J i. e. as fast and readily : it is as natural to or for me to do so, as it is for a weazel, &c. So " they flattered me like a dog." Lear, IV. 6. L. See " breeds fleas like a loach." I. H. IV. II. 1. 2 Carr. sc. V. AS YOU LIKE IT. 41 Jaq. Nay, I care not for their names ; they owe^^^) me nothing : Will you sing ? Ami. More at your request, than to please my- self. Jaq. Well then, if ever I thank any man, I'll thank you : but that they call compliment, is like the encounter of two dog-apes -/i^) and when a man thanks me heartily, methinks, I have given him a penny, and he renders me the beggarly thanks. Come, sing; and you that will not, hold your tongues. Ami. Well, I'll end the song. — Sirs, cover the while ; the duke will drink under this tree : — he hath been all this day to look you. Jaq. And I have been all this day to avoid him. He is too disputable" for my company: I think of as many matters as he ; but I give heaven thanks and make no boast of them. Come, warble, come. SONG. Who doth ambition shun, [All together here. And loves to live i' the sun,(^^^ Seeking the food he eats. And pleas'd with what he gets. Come hither, come hither, come hither ; Here shall he see No enemy. But winter and rough weather. Jaq. I'll give you a verse to this note, that I made yesterday in despite of my invention. Ami. And I'U sing it. Jaq. Thus it goes : » dispitahle] i. e. disputatious. 42 AS YOU LIKE IT. act u. If it do come to pass. That any man turn ass Leaving Ms wealth and ease, A stubborn will to please, Ducdame, ducdame, ducdame ;^2^) Here shall he see. Gross fools as he. And if he will come to me. Ami. What's that ducdame? Jaq. 'Tis a Greek invocation, to call fools into a circle. I'll go sleep if I can ; if I cannot, I'll rail against all the first-born of Egypt.'' Ami. And I'U go seek the duke ; his banquet is prepar'd. {Exeunt severally. SCENE VI. The same. Enter Orlando and Adam. Adam. Dear master, I can go no farther : O, I die for food ! Here he I down, and measure out my grave. (22) Farewell, kind master. Orl. Why, how now, Adam ! no greater heart in thee ? Live a little ; comfort a little ; cheer thy- self a little : If this uncouth forest yield any thing savage, I will either be food for it, or bring it for food to thee. Thy conceit is nearer death than thy powers. For my sake, be comfortable,'' hold death "■ the first-bom of Egypt] A proverbial expression for high- born persons. Johnson. See Exodus, xii. 29. •■ he comfortable] i. e. " be comforted, become susceptible of comfort." We find before, " disputable" for " disputatious." " His comfortable temper has forsook him." Tim. III. 4. Servil. sc. ri. AS YOU LIKE IT. 43 awhile at the arm's end : I will here be with thee presently ; and if I bring thee not something to eat, I'll give thee leave to die : but if thou diest before I come, thou art a mocker of my labour. Well said! thou look'st cheerily: and I'll be with thee quickly.— Yet thou Hest in the bleak air : Come, I will bear thee to some shelter ; and thou shalt not die for lack of a dinner, if there hve any thing in this desert. Cheerly, good Adam ! [Exeunt. SCENE VII. The same. A table set out. Enter Duke senior, Amiens, Lords, and others. DvKE S. I think he be transform'd into a beast ; For I can no where find him hke a man. 1 Lord. My lord, he is but even now gone hence ; Here was he merry, hearing of a song. Duke S. If he, compact of jars,* grow musical. We shall have shortly discord in the spheres : — Go, seek him ; tell him, I would speak with him. Enter Jaques. 1 Lord. He saves my labour by his own approach. Duke S. Why, how now, monsieur ! what a Ufe is this. That your poor fi:iends must woo your company ? What ! you look merrily. It is used also in the sense of being ready to dispense comfort, or comforting : as in Lear I. 4. L. " Who I am sure is kind and comfortable." See " comfort your bed." Jul. Cas. II. 1. Port. " compact of jars] i. e. compounded, made up, of. M. N. Dr. V. 1. Thes. 44 AS YOU LIKE IT. actii. Jaq. a fool, a fool! 1 met a fool i'the forest, A motley fool ; a miserable world :" As I do live by food, I met a fool ; Who laid him down and bask'd him in the sun. And rail'd on lady Fortune in good terms. In good set terms, — and yet a motley fool. Good-morrow, fool, quoth I: No, sir, quoth he, Call me not fool, till heaven hath sent me fortune :^^^ And then he drew a dial from his poke ; And looking on it with lack-lustre eye. Says, very wisely. It is ten o'clock : Thus may we see, quoth he, how the world wags : 'Tis but an hour ago, since it was nine ; And after one hour more, 'twill be eleven ; And so, from hour to hour, we ripe and ripe, And then, from hour to hour, we rot and rot. And thereby hangs a tale. When I did hear The motley fool thus moral on the time. My lungs began to crow like chanticleer. That fools should be so deep-contemplative ; And I did laugh, sans intermission. An hour by his dial. — O noble fool ! A worthy fool ! Motley's the only wear.^^*) DvkeS. What fool is this ? JjQ^ O worthy fool! — One that hath been a courtier ; And says, if ladies be but yoimg, and fair. They have the gift to know it : and in his brain, — Which is as dry as the remainder bisket After a voyage,*" — he hath strange places cramm'd With observation, the which he vents In mangled forms : — O, that I were a fool ! I am ambitious for a motley coat. * A motley fool; a miserable world] i. e. in afiFording, in pre- senting, such objects, it exhibits its wretchedness and misery. *■ dry as the remainder bisket After a voyage"] So Every man out &c. : " And now and then breaks a dry biscuit jest : Which, that it may more easily be chew'd. He steeps in his own laughter." Boswell. sc.vn. AS YOU LIKE IT. 45 DvKE S. Thou shalt have one. J^Q. It is my oiily suit :° Provided, that you weed your better judgments Of all opinion that grows rank in them. That I am wise, I must have hberty Withal, as large a charter as the wind,* To blow on whom I please ; for so fools have : And they that are most galled with my folly. They most must laugh : And why, sir, must they so ? The why is plain as way to parish church : He, that a fool doth very wisely hit. Doth very foolishly, although he smart, [Not tojl^^) seem senseless of the bob :" if not. The wise man's foUy is anatomized Even by the squandring glances* of the fool. Invest me in my motley ; give me leave To speak my mind, and I will through and through Cleanse the foul body of the infected world,' If they will patiently receive my medicine. Duke S. Fye on thee ! I can tell what thou wouldst do. JjQ. What, for a counter,(26) would I do, but good? Duke S. Most mischievous foul sin, in chiding sin : For thou thyself hast been a libertine. As sensual as the brutish sting ^ itself; ^ It is my only suit] i. e. request, and wear or dress ; with the same play upon the word, as in IV. 1. " Not out of your apparel, but out of your suit." Rosal. •> as large a charter as the wind] So, in H. V. " The windr, that charter d libertine, is still." Malone. <= bob} i. e. rap. See TV. & Cr. II. 1. Thes. d squandring glances'] i. e. random shot, e Cleanse the foul body of the infected world] " Cleanse the stufF'd bosom of that perilous stuff." Macb. Douce. f As sensual as the brutish sting] " our carnal stings, our unbitted lusts." Othel. Steevbns. 46 AS YOU LIKE IT. act ii. And all the embossed sores, and headed evils. That thou with hcence of free foot hast caught, Wouldst thou disgorge into the general world. Jaq. Why, who cries out on pride. That can therein tax any private party ? Doth it not flow as hugely as the sea. Till that the wearie* very means do ebb ? What woman in the city do I name. When that I say. The city-woman bears The cost of princes on unworthy shoulders ? Who can come in, and say, that I mean her, When such a one as she, such is her neighbour 1 Or what is he of basest function. That says, his bravery (2?) is not on my cost, (Thinking that I mean him,) but therein suits His foUy to the mettle of my speech 1 There then ; How then ? what then ? Let me see wherein My tongue hath wrong'd him : if it do him right. Then he hath wrong'd himself; if he be free. Why then, my taxing (^s) like a vdld goose flies, Unclaim'd of any man. — But who come here ? Enter Orlando, with his sword drawn. Orl. Forbear, and eat no more. Jaq. Why, I have eat none yet. Orl. Nor shalt not, tiU necessity be serv'd. Jaq. Of what kind should this cock come of? DvKE S. Art thou thus bolden'd, man, by thy distress ; Or else a rude despiser of good manners. That in civihty thou seem'st so empty?'' Orl. You touch'd my vein at first; the thorny point * wearie] i. e. exhausted. Whiter renders it " till that the very means, being weary, do ebb." lb. p. 2-1. ^ empty] i. e. void of. sc. rii. AS YOU LIKE IT. 47 Of bare distress hath ta'en from me the show Of smooth civility : yet am I inland bred, (29) And know some nurture." But forbear, I say ; He dies, that touches any of this fruit. Till I and my affairs are answered. Jaq. And you will not be answered with reason, I must die. DvKE S. What would you have ? Your gentle- ness shall force. More than your force move us to gentleness. Orl. I almost die for food, and let me have it. DvKE S. Sit down and feed, and welcome to our table. OsL. Speak you so gently? Pardon me, I pray you: I thought, that all things had been savage here ; And therefore put I on the countenance Of stern commandment : But whate'er you are. That in this desert inaccessible," Under the shade of melancholy boughs. Lose and neglect the creeping hours of time ; If ever you have look'd on better days ; If ever been where bells have knoll'd to church. If ever sat at any good man's feast ; If ever from your eye-Mds wip'd a tear. And know what 'tis to pity and be pitied ; Let gentleness my strong enforcement be : In the which hope, I blush, and hide my sword. DvKE S. True is it that we have seen better days; And have with holy bell been knoll'd to church ; And sat at good men's feasts ; and wip'd our eyes » And know some nurture] i. e. education, breeding. See Temp. IV. ] . Pros. ■> inaccessible'] i. e. difficult of access. Henderson cites Bar- naby Riche's Adventures of Simonides, 1580 : " — and onely acquainted himselfe with the solitafinesse of this unaccessible desert." 48 AS YOU LIKE IT. act ii. Of drops that sacred pity hath engender'd : And therefore sit you down in gentleness^ And take upon command^ what help we have. That to your wanting may be ministred. Orl. Then, but forbear your food a little while. Whiles, like a doe, I go to find my fawn. And give it food. (30) There is an old poor man. Who after me hath many a weary step Limp'd in pure love ; till he be first suffic'd, Oppress'd with two weak evils,*" age and hunger, I vnll not touch a bit. Duke S. Go find him out. And we will nothing waste till you return. Orl. I thank ye : and be bless'd for your good comfort ! [Exit. DvKE S. Thou seest, we are not all alone un- happy : This wide and universal theatre Presents more woeful pageants than the scene Wherein we play in.C^i) Jaq. All the world's a stage,(32) And aU the men and women merely players : They have their exits, and their entrances ; And one man in his time plays many parts. His acts being seven ages.(33) At first, the infant. Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms ; Then the whining school-boy, with his satchel. And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school : and then, the lover ; Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad Made to his mistress' eye-brow t^^*) Then, a soldier ; Full of strange oaths, and bearded Uke the pard,(35) Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel. Seeking the bubble reputation Even in the cannon's mouth : And then, the justice ; » npon command] i. e. at your pleasure, or at will. •> weak evils'] i. e. unhappy weaknesses, or causes of weakness. sc. rii. AS YOU LIKE IT. 49 In fair round belly, with good capon lin'd. With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut. Full of wise saws and modem instances,* And so he plays his part : The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon ; With spectacles on nose,(^^) and pouch on side; His youthful hose well sav'd, a world too wide For his shrunk shank ; and his big manly voice. Turning again toward childish treble, pipes And whistles in his sound : Last scene of all. That ends this strange eventful history. Is second childishness, and mere obHvion ; Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans every thing. Re-enter Orlando,, ot/A Adam. DvKE S. Welcome : Set down your venerable burden. And let him feed. Orl. I thank you most for him. Adam. So had you need ; I scarce can speak to thank you for myself. DvKE S. Welcome, fall to : I wiU not trouble you As yet, to question you about your fortunes : — Give us some musick ; and, good cousin, sing. * saws, and modern instances] i. e. maxims, and the latest precedents. See " instance and argument," M. W. of W. II. 2. Ford. 50 AS YOU LIKE IT. act it. Amikns sings. SONG. I. Blow, blow, thou winter wind. Thou art not so unkind'^ As man's ingratitude ; Thy tooth is not so keen. Because thou art not see«,(37) Although thy breath be rude. Heigh, ho ! sing, heigh, ho ! unto the green holly : Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly: *\m%2 Then,* heigh ho! the holly! ' ' This life is most jolly. II. Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky^ That dost not bite so nigh. As benefits forgot : Though thou the waters warp,^^^^ Thy sting is not so sharp As friend remember' d not.' Heigh, ho ! sing, heigh, ho ! &c. Duke S. If that you were the good Sir Rowland's son. ' unkind] i. e, unnatural ; actest not against nature or kind. See IV. 3. Rosal. ^ freeze, thou bitter sky'] See " bitter business," Haml. III. 9. Haml. "= As friend remember'd not] i. e. forgotten; as the case of one friend not remembered by another : as before " benefits forgot," are obligations overlooked or disregarded by him, who ought to have acknowledged them. sc. VII. AS YOU LIKE IT. 51 As you have whisper'd faithfiilly, you were ; And as mine eye doth his effigies witness Most truly limn'd, and living in your face. Be truly welcome hither : I am the duke. That lov'd your father : The residue of your fortune. Go to my cave and tell me. — Good old man. Thou art right welcome as thy master* is : * so 1632. Support him by the arm. — Give me your hand, "623"'' And let me all your fortunes xmderstand. {Exeunt. 52 AS YOU LIKE IT. ACT III. SCENE I. A Room in the Palace. Enter Duke Frederick, Oliver, Lords, and Attendants. DvKE F. Not see him since ? Sir, sir, that cannot be: But were I not the better part made mercy, I should not seek an absent argument (^^ Of my revenge, thou present : But look to it ; Find out thy brother, whereso'er he is ; Seek him with candle ;(2) bring him dead or Hving Within this twelvemonth, or turn thou no more To seek a Hving in our territory. Thy lands, and all things that thou dost call thine. Worth seizure, do we seize into our hands ; Till thou canst quit thee by thy brother's mouth. Of what we think against thee. Oli. O, that your highness knew my heart in this! I never lov'd my brother in my life. DvKE F. More villain thou. — Well, push him out of doors ; And let my officers of such a nature Make an extent upon his house and lands :W Do this expediently,^ and turn him going. [Exeunt. sc. 11. AS YOU LIKE IT. 53 SCENE II. The Forest. Enter Orlando, with a paper. Orl. Hang thercj my verse, in witness of my love : And, thou, thrice-crowned queen of night,^^) survey With thy chaste eye, from thy pale sphere above. Thy huntress' name, that my fiill life doth sway.^ O RosaHnd ! these trees shall be my books. And in their barks my thoughts I'll character ;'' That every eye, which in this forest looks. Shall see thy virtue vdtness'd every where. Run, run, Orlando ; carve, on every tree. The fair, the chaste, and unexpressiveW she. [Exit. Enter Corin and Touchstone. Cor. And how like you this shepherd's Ufa, master Touchstone ? TovcH. Truly, shepherd, in respect of itself, it is a good life ; but in respect that it is a shepherd's life, it is naught. In respect that it is solitary, I like it very well ; but in respect that it is private, it is a very vile life. Now, in respect it is in the ^ my full life doth sway] " M. O. A. I. doth sway my life.'' Iw. N. II. 5. Malv. Full is intire. ^ thoughts I'll characteTJ i. e. inscribe. We have " thoughts in tables character d and engrav'd, " Two G. of V. II. 7- Jul. . but see character, Haml. IV. 7. King. " the hoofed Centaures thunder — And character deepe halfe moones, where they tread." Heywood's Britaine's Troy, 1609. p. 113. 54 AS YOU LIKE IT. act in. fields, it pleaseth me well ; but in respect it is not in the court, it is tedious. As it is a spare life, look you, it fits my humour well ; but as there is no more plenty in it, it goes much against my stomach. Hast any philosophy in thee, shepherd ? Cor. No more, but that I know, the more one sickens, the worse at ease he is ; and that he that wants money, means, and content, is without three good Mends : That the property of rain is to wet, and fire to bum: That good pasture makes fat sheep ; and that a great cause of the night, is lack of the sun : That he, that hath learned no wit by nature nor art, may complain of good breeding,^ or comes of a very dull kindred. TovcH. Such a one is a natural philosopher.® Wast ever in court, shepherd ? Con. No, truly. TovcH. Then thou art damn'd. Cor. Nay, I hope, Touch. Truly, thou art damn'd; like an ill- roasted egg, all on one side. Cor. For not being at court ? Your reason. Touch. Why, if thou never wast at court, thou never saw'st good manners ; if thou never saw'st good manners,^ then thy manners must be wicked ; and wickedness is sin, and sin is damnation : Thou art in a parlous' state, shepherd. Cor. Not a whit. Touchstone : those, that are good manners at the court, are as ridiculous in the country, as the behaviour of the country is most mockable at the court. You told me, you salute not at the court, but you kiss your hands; that covirtesy would be uncleanly, if courtiers were shepherds. Touch. Instance, briefly ; come, instance. * parlous] i. e. perilous. sc. II. AS YOU LIKE IT. 55 Cor. Why, we are still handling our ewes ; and their fells, you know, are greasy. Touch. Why, do not your courtier's hands sweat? and is not the grease of a mutton as wholesome as the sweat of a man ? Shallow, shallow : A better instance, I say ; come. Cor. Besides, our hands are hard. Touch. Your lips will feel them the sooner. Shallow, again : A more sounder instance, come. Cor. And they are often tarr'd over with the surgery of our sheep ; And would you have us kiss tar ? The courtier's hands are perfum'd with civet. Touch. Most shallow man ! Thou worms-meat, in respect of a good piece of flesh : Indeed ! Learn of the wise, and perpend : Civet is of a baser birth than tar ; the very uncleanly flux of a cat." Mend the instance, shepherd. Cor. You have too courtly a wit for me; I'll rest. Touch. Wilt thou rest damn'd ? God help thee, shallow man! God make incision in thee! thou art raw.^i") Cor. Sir, I am a true labourer ; I earn that I eat, get that I wear ; owe no man hate," envy no man's happiness ; glad of other men's good, content with my harm : and the greatest of my pride is, to see my ewes graze, and my lambs suck. Touch. That is another simple sin in you; to bring the ewes and the rams together, and to offer to get your living by the copulation of cattle : to be bawd to a bell-wether;" and to betray a she- * the very uncleanly flux of a ca<] " A muscat, that beareth muske. Muschus." Wythal's little Diet. &c. 4to. 1568, p. 15. and Biblioth. Eliotie, fo. 1559. ^ owe &c.] " owe no man anything, but to love one another." Romans xiii. 8. ■= bell-wether] Wether and ram had anciently the same mean- ins-. Johnson. 56 AS YOU LIKE IT. act hi. lamb of a twelvemonth, to a crooked-pated, old, cuckoldly ram, out of all reasonable match. If thou be'st not damn'd for this, the devil himself will have no shepherds ; I cannot see else how thou shouldst 'scape. Cor. Here comes young master Ganymede, my new mistress' brother. Enter Rosalind, reading a paper. ;Ros. From the east to western Ind,, No jewel is like Rosalind. Her worth, being mounted on the wind, Through all the world bears Rosalind. All the pictures, fairest lin'd,'' Are but black to Rosalind. Let no face be kept in mind. But the fair of RosalindS^^^ Touch. I'll rhjnne you so, eight years together ; dinners, and suppers, and sleeping hours excepted : it is the right butter-woman's rank to market.^^^) Ros. Out, fool ! Touch. For a taste : If a hart do lack a hind. Let him seek out Rosalind. If the cat will after kind, So, be sure, will Rosalind. Wintred-garments must be lin'd. So must slender Rosalind. They that reap, must sheaf and bind ; Then to cart with Rosalind. Sweetest nut hath sowrest rind. Such a nut is Rosalind. He that sweetest rose will find. Must find love's prick and Rosalind.'^ * All the pictures, fairest lin'd] i. e. delineated with the most elegant touches of art. '' must find loves prick &c.] See Warton's Hist, of Poetry, I. iir. sc. 11. AS YOU LIKE IT. 57 This is the very false gallop of verses :(i3) ^^y (Jq you infect yourself with them ? Ros. Peace, you dull fool; I found them on a tree. Touch. Truly, the tree yields bad fruit. Ros. I'll graff it with you, and then I shall grafF it with a medlar : then it wiU be the earliest fruit in the country: for you'll be rotten ere you be half ripe,(") and that's the right virtue of the medlar. Touch. You have said; but whether wisely or no, let the forest judge. Enter Celia, reading a paper. Ros. Peace! Here comes my sister, reading ; stand aside. Cel. Whi/ should this [a] desert be .^* For it is unpeopled f No ; Tongues I'll harhg on every tree, That shall citiil sayings^^^^ show. Some, how brief the life of man Runs his erring^ pilgrimage ;^^^^ That the stretching of a span Buckles in his sum of age. Some of violated vows 'Twixt the souls of friend and friend: But upon the fairest boughs. Or at every sentence' end. Will I Rosalinda write ; Teaching all that read, to know The quintessence of every sprite Heaven would in little show." " Why should this [a] desert be ? For &c.] i. e. " shall this forest he pronounced a desert, because" &c. Pope inserted the article. b erring pilgrimage] i. e. wandering. <^ in little^ i. e. small compass, miniature. See Haml. II. 3. Haml., and Tw.N. III. 4. Sir Tob. 58 AS YOU LIKE IT. act m. Therefore heaven nature chared That one body should hejilVd With all graces wide enlarg'd.-O^^^ Nature presently distill' d Helen's cheek, but not her heart ; Cleopatra's majesty ; Atalanta's better part ; Sad Lucretia's modesty S^^^ Thus Rosalind of many parts By heavenly synod was devis'd; Of many faces, eyes, and hearts. To have the touches" dearest pri^d. Heaven would that she these gifts should have. And I to live and die her slave. Ros. O most gentle Jupiter! what tedious ho- mily of love have you wearied your parishioners withal, and never cry'd. Have patience, good people. Cel. How now! back Mends; — Shepherd, go off a little : Go with him, sirrah. Touch. Come, shepherd, let us make an honour- able retreat; though not with bag and baggage, yet with scrip and scrippage. [Exeunt Corin and Touchstone. Cel. Didst thou hear these verses ? Ros. O, yes, I heard them aU, and more too; for some of them had in them more feet than the verses would bear." Cel. That's no matter ; the feet might bear the verses. Ros. A.J, but the feet were lame, and could not bear themselves without the verse, and therefore stood lamely in the verse. Cel. But didst thou hear, without wondering * touches] i. e. points, traits. ^ the verses would bear] i. e. their metre would allow. sc. II. AS YOU LIKE IT. 59 how thy name should be hang'd and carved upon these trees ? Ros. I was seven of the nine days out of the wonder, before you came; for look here what I found on a palm-tree : I was never so be-rhymed since Pythagoras' time, that I was an Irish rat/i^) which I can hardly remember. Cel. Trow you, who hath done this ? Ros. Is it a man ? Cel. And a chain, that you once wore, about his neck : Change you colour ? Ros. I pr'ythee, who ? Cel. O lord, lord ! it is a hard matter for friends to meet; (20) but mountains may be removed with earthquakes, and so encounter, (^i) Ros. Nay, but who is it ? Cel. Is it possible ? Ros. Nay, I pray thee now, with most petitionary vehemence, tell me who it is. Cel. O wonderful, wonderful, and most wonder- ful wonderful, and yet again wonderful, and after that out of all whooping !(22) Ros. Good my complexion ?(23) dost thou think, though I am caparison'd like a man, I have a dou- blet and hose in my disposition ? One inch of delay more is a South-sea of discovery. (^4) I pr'ythee, tell me, who is it ? quickly, and speak apace : I would thou couldst stammer, that thou might'st pour this concealed man out of thy mouth, as wine comes out of a narrow-mouth'd bottle ; either too much at once, or none at all. I pr'ythee take the cork out of thy mouth, that I may drink thy tidings. Cel. So you may put a man in your beUy. Ros. Is he of God's making ? What manner of m AS YOU LIKE IT. act m. man ? Is his head worth a hat, or his chin worth a beard ? Cei. Nay, he hath but a little beard. Bo/?. Why, God will send more, if the man will be thankfiil : let me stay the growth of his beard, if thou delay me not the knowledge of his chin.* Cel. It is young Orlando ; that tripp'd up the wrestler's heels, and your heart, both in an in- stant. Ros. Nay, but the devil take mocking; speak sad brow, and true maid.* Cel. I'faith, coz, 'tis he. Ros. Orlando? Cel. Orlando. Ros. Alas the day! what shall I do with my doublet and hose ? — What did he, when thou saw'st him ? What said he ? How look'd he ? Wherein went he ?" What makes he here ? Did he ask for me ? Where remains he ? How parted he with thee ? and when shalt thou see him again ? Answer me in one word. Cel. You must borrow me Gargantua's mouth * first : 'tis a word too great for any mouth of this age's size : To say, ay, and no, to these particulars, is more than to answer in a catechism. Ros. But doth he know that I am in this forest and in man's apparel ? Looks he as freshly as he did the day he wrestled ? " if thou delay me not the knowledge of his chin] i. e. if you let me but know who he is, whose face it is, if herein you tor- ment me with no more delays, I am content to wait the growth of his beard. '' sad brow, and true maid] i. e. seriously and honestly. ■= Wherein went he] i. e. in what dress did he go ? "* Gargantua's mouth] This giant of Rabelais swallowed five pilgrims, their staves, and all, in a salad. Steevens. sc. II. AS YOU LIKE IT. 61 Cel. It is as easy to count atomies/^s) as to re- solve the propositions of a lover : but take a taste of my finding him, and relish it with a good ob- servance. I found him under a tree, like a dropp'd acorn. Ros. It may well be call'd Jove's tree, when it drops forth ^ [such]* fruit. * such. 1632. Cel. Give me audience, good madam. Ros. Proceed. Cel. There lay he, stretch'd along, like a wounded knight. Ros. Though it be pity to see such a sight, it well becomes the gi'ound.'' Cel. Cry, holla! to the tongue, (^e) I pr'ythee; it curvets very unseasonably. He was fumish'd like a hunter. Ros. O ominous ! he comes to kill my hart! (27) Cel. I would sing my song without a burden:" thou bring'st me out of tune. Ros. Do you not know I am a woman ? when I think, I must speak. Sweet, say on. Enter Orlando and Jaques. Cel. You bring me out:* — Soft! comes he not here? " drops forth] Forth is out. " Choose forth amongst many things." Maplet's Greene Forest, 12mo. 1567, P- 25, b. See IV. 3. Ros. '' such a sight, it well becomes the ground] " Such a sight as this " Becomes the field," Haml. V. 2. Fortinb. ■^ sing my song without a burden] i. e. without interruption, any thing interposed at the end of each stave or sentence. ^ You bring me out] i. e. put me out, draw or divert me from my point. 62 AS YOU LIKE IT. act m. Ros. 'Tis he ; slink by, and note him, [Celia and Rosalind retire. Jaq. I thank you for your company ; but, good faith, I had as lief have been myself alone. Orl. And so had I ; but yet, for fashion sake, I thank you too for your society. Jaq. God be with you ; let's meet as Uttle as we can. Orl. I do desire we may be better strangers. Jaq. I pray you, mar no more trees with writing love-songs in their barks. Orl. I pray you, mar no more of my verses with reading them ill-favouredly. Jaq. Rosalind is your love's name ? Orl. Yes, just. Jaq. I do not like her name. Orl. There was no thought of pleasing you, when she was christen'd. Jaq. What stature is she of? Orl. Just as high as my heart. Jaq. You are full of pretty answers : Itave you not been acquainted with goldsmiths* wives, and conn'd them out of rings 1 Orl. Not so ; but I answer you right painted cloth,(28) from whence you have studied your ques- tions. Jaq. You have a nimble wit; I think it was made of Atalanta's heels. Will you sit down with me ? and we two will rail against our mistress the world, and all our misery. Orl. I will chide no breather in the world,(29) but myself; against whom I know most faults. Jaq.. The worst fault you have, is to be in love. sc. II. AS YOU LIKE IT. 63 Orl. 'Tis a fault I will not change for your best virtue. I am weary of you. Jaq. By my troth, I was seeking for a fool, when I found you. Orl. He is drown'd in the brook ; look but in, and you shall see him. Jaq. There shall I see mine own figure. Orl. Which I take to be either a fool, or a cy- pher. Jaq. I'll tarry no longer with you : farewell, good signior love. Orl. I am glad of your departure ; adieu, good monsieur melancholy. [Eocit Jaques. — Celu and Rosalind come forward. Ros. I wiU speak to him like a saucy lacquey, and xmder that habit play the knave with him. — Do you hear, forrester ? Orl. Very well ; What would you ? Ros. I pray you, what is't a clock ? Orl. You should ask me, what time o'day; there's no clock in the forest. Ros. Then there is no true lover in the forest ; else sighing every minute, and groaning every hour, would detect the lazy foot of time, as well as a clock. Orl. And why not the swift foot of time ? had not that been as proper. Ros. By no means, sir: Time travels in divers paces with divers persons : I'll tell you who Time ambles withal, who Time trots withal, who Time gallops withal, and who he stands still withal. Orl. I pr'ythee, who doth he trot withal ? Ros. Marry, he trots hard with a young maid. 64 AS YOU LIKE IT. act iii. between the contract of her marriage,, and the day it is solemnized : if the interim be but a se'nnight, time's pace is so hard that it seems the length of seven year.(3o) Orl. Who ambles time withal ? Ros. With a priest that lacks Latin, and a rich man that hath not the gout: for the one sleeps easily, because he cannot study ; and the other hves merrily, because he feels no pain : the one lacking the burden of lean and wasteful learning; the other knowing no burden of heavy tedious penury : These time ambles withal, Orl. Who doth he gallop withal ? Ros. With a thief to the gallows: for though he go as softly as foot can fall, he thinks himself too soon there. Orl. Who stays it still withal ? Ros. With lawj'ers in the vacation : for they sleep between term and term, and then they perceive not how time moves. Orl. Where dwell you, pretty youth ? Ros. With this shepherdess, my sister ; here in the skirts of the forest, hke fringe upon a petticoat. Orl. Are you native of this place ? Ros. As the coney, that you see dwell where she is kindled. Orl. Your accent is something finer than you could purchase in so removed a dwelling." Ros. I have been told so of many : but, indeed, an old rehgious uncle of mine taught me to speak, who was in his youth an in-land man; one that knew courtship too well, for there he fell in love. I have heard him read many lectures against it ; and » removed a dwelling] i. c. remote from the haunts of men. sc. II. AS YOU LIKE IT. 65 I thank God, I am not a woman, to be touch'd with so many giddy offences as he hath generally tax'd their whole sex withal. Orl. Can you remember any of the principal evils, that he laid to the charge of women ? Ros. There were none principal ; they were all hke one another, as hal^ence are : every one fault seeming monstrous, till his fellow fault came to match it. Orl. I pr'j^hee, recount some of them. Ros. No ; I will not cast away my physick, but on those that are sick. There is a man haunts the forest, that abuses our young plants with carving Rosahnd on their barks; hangs odes upon haw- thorns, and elegies on brambles; all, forsooth, deifying the name of Rosahnd: if I could meet that fancy-monger,^ I would give him some good counsel, for he seems to have the quotidian of love upon him. Orl. I am he that is so love-shaked ; I pray you, tell me your remedy. Ros. There is none of my uncle's marks upon you: he taught me how to know a man in love; in which cage of rushes, I am sure, you are not prisoner. Orl. What were his marks ? Ros. A lean cheek ; which you have not : a blue eye, and sunken ;'' which you have not : an unques- tionable spirit; (31) which you have not: a beard neglected; which you have not: (but I pardon you for that; for, simply, your having in* beard,- no.i632. * fancy-monger] i. e. love trader. " Wishes and tears, poor fancy's followers." M. N. Dr. 1.1. Herm. " In maiden meditation /ancy free." lb. II. 2. Ober. ^ a blue eye, and sunken'] As evidencing languor and dejection. F 66 AS YOU LIKE IT. act in. is a younger brother's revenue :=^) Then your hose should be ungarter'4(32) your bonnet unhanded, your sleeve unbuttoned, your shoe untied, and every thing about you demonstrating a careless desolation. But you are no such man; you are rather point-device *" in your accoutrements; as loving yourself, than seeming the lover of any other. Orl. Fair youth, I would I could make thee believe I love. Ros. Me believe it ? you may as soon make "her that you love beheve it ; which, I warrant, she is apter to do, than to confess she does : that is one of the points in the which women still give the lie to their consciences. But, in good sooth, are you he that hangs the verses on the trees, wherein Rosahnd is so admired ? Orl. I swear to thee, youth, by the white hand of Rosalind, I am that he, that unfortunate he. Ros. But are you so much in love as your rhymes Speak ? Orl. Neither rhyme nor reason can express how much. Ros. Love is merely a madness ; and, I tell you, deserves as well a dark house and a whip, as mad- men do : and the reason why they are not so pu- nished and cured, is, that the lunacy is so ordinary, that the whippers are in love too : Yet I profess curing it by counsel. Orl. Did you ever cure any so 1 Ros. Yes, one ; and in this manner. He was to * your having in heard is a younger brother s revenue'] Having is provision, or portion. Celia had just said, " Nay, he hath hut little heard." See " the gentleman is of no having." M. W. of W. III. 2. Page. '' point-device] i. e. as minutely exact as possible. See Tw. N. II. 5. Malv. sc. 11. AS YOU LIKE IT. 67 imagine me his love, his mistress; and I set him every day to woo me : At which time would I, be- ing but a moonish youth/ grieve, be effeminate, changeable, longing, and liking; proud, fantasti- cal, apish, shallow, inconstant, ftdl of tears, full of smiles; for every passion something, and for no passion truly any thing, as boys and women are for the most part cattle of this colour : would now Uke him, now loath him : then entertain him, then forswear him ; now weep for him, then spit at him ; that I drave my suitor from his mad humour of love, to a living humour of madness ;" which was, to forswear the full stream of the world, and to live in a nook merely monastick: And thus I cured him ; and this way wiU I take upon me to wash your liver as clean* as a sound sheep's hearty* clear, that there shall not be one spot of love in't. *^^^- Orl. I would not be cured, youth. Ros. I would cure you, if you would but call me Rosalind, and come every day to my cote, and woo me. Orl. Now, by the faith of my love, I will ; tell me where it is. Ros. Go with me to it, and I'll show it you : and, by the way, you shall tell me where in the forest you live : WiU you go ? Orl. With all my heart, good youth. Ros. Nay, you must call me Rosalind: — Come, sister, will you go ? [Exeunt. " moonisK] i. e. shifting and changing. •• froni his mad humour of love, to a living humour of madness] i. e. " from those love-flights and extravagancies, which, to the imagination, present the image of madness, to others of a cha- racter so positive, as actually to constitute the character of madness itself : " thus conveying a sense in correspondence, as Whiter says, with " the phrases done or expressed to the life." lb. p. 51. So it is also understood by Malone : but loving has been proposed, viz. a humour of loving to leave the world and live in a nook j which Rosalind calls madness ; and that this should be substituted to preserve the aiititliesis. 68 AS YOU LIKE IT. act iii. SCENE III. Enter Touchstone and Audrey ;(33) Jaques at a distance, observing them. TovcH. Come apace, good Audrey ; I will fetch up your goats, Audrey: And how, Audrey? am I the man yet? Doth my simple feature content you?* AvD. Your features! Lord warrant us! what features ? Touch. I am here with thee and thy goats, as the most capricious poet, honest Ovid, was among the Goths." Jaq. O knowledge ill-inhabited !(34) worse than Jove in a thatch'd house ! (^s) {Aside. Touch. When a man's verses cannot be under- stood, nor a man's good wit seconded with the for- ward child, understanding, it strikes a man more dead than a great reckoning in a little room :" — Truly, I would the gods had made thee poetical. " Doth my simple feature content you] Steevens observes, that Audrey's answer shews, that she raust have put the sense of feats upon features ; the word she uses in answer. Simple fea- ture is equivalent to " open countenance, countrified air or cha- racter." Feature strictly is " form or figure." See I. H. VI. V. 5. SufF. '' capricious poet, honest Ovid, was among the Goths'] Caper, capri. caperitious, capricious, fantastical, capering, goatish : and by a similar sort of process are we to smooth GotJis into goats. In our early printing Goths and Gothic were spelt Gates and Gottishe, " against the gates." Wylliam Thomas' Historye of Italye, 4to. 1561. fol. 86. b. and " Attila, kyng of the Goti." lb. to. 201. b. So in Chapman's Homer, passim. The Goths, Upton says, are the Getse. Ov. Trist. V. 7. ' nor a man's good wit seconded with the forward child, under- standing, it strikes a man more dead than a great reckoning, &c.] i. e. " not to have the good things we say, conceived or appre- sc. III. AS YOU LIKE IT. 69 AvD. I do not know what poetical is : Is it honest in deed, and word ? Is it a true thing ? Touch. No, truly; for the truest poetry is the most feigning ; and lovers are given to poetry ; and what they swear in poetry, may be said, as lovers, they do feign." AvD. Do you wish then, that the gods had made me poetical ? Touch. I do, truly : for thou swear'st to me, thou art honest ; now, if thou wert a poet, I might have some hope thou didst feign. AuD. Would you not have me honest ? Touch. No truly, unless thou wert hard-favour'd : for honesty coupled to beauty, is to have honey a sauce ta sugar. Jaq. a material fool ! * [Aside. AvD. Well, I am not fair; and therefore I pray the gods make me honest ! Touch. Truly, and to cast away honesty upon a foul slut, were to put good meat into an unclean dish. A UD. I am not a slut, though I thank the gods I am foul. (36) Touch. Well, praised be the gods for thy foul- ness ! sluttishness may come hereafter. But be it as it may be, I will marry thee : and to that end, I have been with Sir OHver Mar-text, the vicar of the next village ; who hath promised to meet me in this place of the forest, and to couple us. hended, is more disheartening and mortiiying, than an exorbitant charge, and ill fare and accommodation." * what they swear in poetry, &c.] As that is not a true thing which is feigned; if the truest poetry is the most feigning, " what is sworn in it by lovers, or others, must be false and feigned." ^ A material foot] A fool, says Johnson, with matter in him, stocked with notions. 7Q AS YOU LIKE IT. act m. Jaq. I would fain see this meeting. [Aside. AuD. Well, the gods give us joy ! Touch. Amen. A man may, if he were of a fearftd heart, stagger in this attempt ; for here we have no temple but the wood, no assembly but horn-beasts. But what though? Courage! As horns are odious, they are necessary. It is said. Many a man knows no end of his goods : right ; many a man has good horns, and knows no end of them. Well, that is the dowry of his wife ; 'tis none of his own getting. Horns ? Even so : Poor men alone ? No, no ; the noblest deer hath them as huge as the rascal.f^^) Is the single man therefore blessed ? No : as a wall'd town is more worthier than a village, so is the forehead of a married man more honovirable than the bare brow of a bachelor : and by how much defence* is better than no skill, by so much is a horn more precious than to want. JEnter Sir Oliver Mar-text, Here comes sir Oliver :" — Sir Oliver Mar-text, you are well met : Will you despatch us here under this tree, or shall we go with you to your chapel ? Sir Oli. Is there none here to give the woman ? TovcH. I will not take her on gift of any man. Sir Oli. Truly, she must be given, or the mar- riage is not lawful. Jaq. [discovering himself.'] Proceed, proceed; I'll give her. Touch. Good even, good master What ye call't: How do you, sir ? You are very well met : God'ild * and by. how much defence is better, &c.] Any means of de- fence is better than the lack of science ; in proportion as some- thing is to nothing. ^ Sir Oliver] See the opening of M. W. of W. Sir Hugh. sc. iir. AS YOU LIKE IT. 71 you(38) for your last company: I am very glad to see you: — Even a toy in hand here, sir: — Nay; pray, be cover'd. Jaq. Wni you be married, motley ? Touch. As the ox hath his bow,* sir, the horse his curb, and the faulcon her bells, so man hath his desires ; and as pigeons bill, so wedlock would be nibbhng. Jaq. And will you, being a man of your breeding, be married under a bush, like a beggar ? Get you to chiu'ch, and have a good priest* that can tell you what marriage is : this fellow will but join you to- gether as they join wainscot ; then one of you will prove a shrunk pannel, and, like green timber, warp, warp. Touch. I am not in the mind but I were better to be married of him than of another:" for he is not like to marry me well; and not being well married, it will be a good excuse for me hereafter to leave my wife. [Aside. Jaq. Go thou with me, and let me counsel thee. Touch. Come, sweet Audrey : We must be married, or we must live in bawdry. Farewell good master Oliver ! Not O sweet Oliver, O brave Oliver, Leave me not behind thee : But wind away. Begone, I say, I wdll not to wedding with thee.(39) [Exeunt Jaques, Touchstone, and Audrey. » how] i. e. yoke. See M. W. of W. V. 5. " fair yokes," Mrs. Page. * he married under a bush — Get — a good priest] Biron, in L. L. L. V. 2. speaks of a hedge priest. <^ I am not in the mind hut I were better to be married of him than of another] i. e. I am of no other opinion or incUnation than, my mind is, that it were better to be married by him. 72 AS YOU LIKE IT. act m. Sir On. 'Tis no matter ; ne'er a fantastical knave of them all shall flout me out of my calling. [Exit. SCENE IV. The same. Before a Cottage. Enter Rosalind and Celia. Ros. Never talk to me, I will weep. Cel. Do, I pr'ythee ; but yet have the grace to consider, that tears do not become a man. Ros. But have I not cause to weep ? Cel. As good cause as one would desire ; there- fore weep. Ros. His very hair is of the dissembling colour. Cel. Something browner than Judas's:' marry, his kisses are Judas's own children. Ros. I'faith, his hair is of a good colour .(*") Cel. An excellent colour : your chesnut was ever the only colour. Ros. And his kissing is as full of sanctity as the touch of holy bread. • ciiast. Cel. He hath bought a pair of cast* Ups of ^*^^- Diana: a nun of winter's sisterhood kisses not more rehgiously; the very ice of chastity is in them." * Something browner than Judas's] He was represented in ancient painting and tapestry with red hair and beard. See " Cain-coloured," M. W. of W. I. 4. Simple. '' a pair of cast lips of Diana : — kisses — the very ice of chastity] Cast, i. e. cast aside or left off. Kisses, such as were " co- mates," (II. 1. Duke S.) or associates of winter, and participat- ing of its properties and qualities ; were cold and icy. sc. IF. AS YOU LIKE IT. 73 Ros. Bmt why did he swear he would come this morning, and comes not ? Cel. Nay certainly, there is no truth in him. Ros. Do you think so ? Cel. Yes ; I think he is not a pick-purse, nor a horse-stealer ; but for his verity in love, I do think him as concave as a cover'd goblet,* or a worm- eaten nut. Ros. Not true in love ? Cel. Yes, when he is in ; but, I think he is not in. Ros. You have heard him swear downright, he was. Cel. Was is not is : besides, the oath of a lover is no stronger than the word of a tapster ; they are both the confinner of false reckonings : He attends here in the forest on the duke your father. Ros. I met the duke yesterday, and had much question with him:(*i) He asked me, of what pa- rentage I was ; I told him, of as good as he ; so he laugh'd, and let me go. But what talk we of fathers, when there's such a man as Orlando ? Cel. O, that's a brave man! he writes brave verses, speaks brave words, swears brave oaths, and breaks them bravely, quite traverse, athwart^^^) the heart of his lover ; as a pmiy tilter, that spurs his horse but on one side, breaks his staff like a noble goose :(^3) but all's brave, that youth mounts, and folly guides : — Who comes here ? Enter Corin. Cor. Mistress, and master, you have oft enquired After the shepherd that complain'd of love ; Who you saw sitting by me on the turf, ^ cover'd goblef] i. e. empty and hollow. 74 AS YOU LIKE IT, act m.. Praising the proud disdainful shepherdess That was his mistress. Cel. Well, and what of him ? Cor. If you will see a pageant truly play'd. Between the pale complexion of true love(**^ And the red glow of scorn and proud disdain. Go hence a httle, and I shall conduct you. If you will mark it. Ros. O, come, let us remove ; The sight of lovers feedeth those in love : — Bring us unto this sight, and you shall say I'll prove a busy actor in their play. [Exeunt. SCENE V. Another Part of the Forest. Enter Silvius and Phebe. SiL. Sweet Phebe, do not scorn me ; do not, Phebe: Say, that you love me not ; but say not so In bitterness : The common executioner. Whose heart the accustom'd sight of death makes hard. Falls not the axe upon the humbled neck. But first begs pardon ; Will you sterner be Than he that dies and hves by bloody drops ?* * he that dies and lives hy bloody droj}s\ " Who by bloodshed makes to die or causes death ; and by such death-doing makes his living, or subsists : who by the means he uses to cut off hfe, carves out to himself the means of living." How far a play upon words was acceptable to the less cor- rectly formed taste of our ancestors, so late as the reign of Car. II. may be judged from the introduction of a very similar idea, with at least as much quaintness in the Cathedral of Ch. Ch. Oxford, upon a tablet to the memory of one of its Canons, sc. r. AS YOU LIKE IT. 75 Enter Rosalind, Celia, and Corin, at a distance, Pre. I would not be thy executioner ; I fly thee, for I would not injure thee. Thou tell'st me, there is murder in mine eye; 'Tis pretty, sure, and very probable. That eyes, that are the frail'st and softest things. Who shut their coward gates on atomies. Should be caU'd tyrants, butchers, murderers ! Now I do frown on thee with aU my heart ; And, if mine eyes can woiuid, now let them kill thee ; Now counterfeit to swoon ; why now fall down ; Or, if thou canst not, O, for shame, for shame. Lie not, to say mine eyes are mm-derers. Now show the wound mine eye hath made in thee : Scratch thee but with a pin, and there remains Some scar of it; lean* upon a rush, 'lean but. The cicatrice and capable impressure," ^*^^- Thy palm some moment keeps : but now mine eyes. Which I have darted at thee, hurt thee not ; Nor, I am sure, there is no force in eyes* That can do hurt. the author of an highly popular work which yet retains some degree of celebrity, the Anatomy of Melancholy. The memorial of Dr. John Burton consisting of only four lines ; the two last of which are ; • " Cui Vitam pariter et Mortem Dedit Melancholia." A living memory, or a deathless one, and Death. » capable impressure] Capable is " able to receive." Johns. Diet. " Capable impressure," therefore, is a stamp or hollow of such description. b Nor — there is no, Sfc.J This second negative, which is altogether a redundancy or expletive, is used for the purpose of shewing the earnestness of the speaker, and more strongly en- forcing the thing said. " O horror, horror, horror ! tongue nor heart Cannot conceive nor name thee." Macb. II. 3. Macd. See Tw. N. the opening of A. II. Anton. 76 AS YOU LIKE IT. act m. SiL. O dear Phebe, If ever, (as that ever may be near,) You meet in some fresh cheek the power of fancy. Then shall you know the wounds invisible That love's keen arrows make. Phe. But, till that time. Come not thou near me: and, when that time comes. Afflict me with thy mocks, pity me not ; As, till that time, I shall not pity thee. Ros. And why, I pray you 1 [Advancing.'] Who might be your mother,* That you insult, exult, and all at once. Over the wretched? What though you have no beauty,(45) (As, by my faith, I see no more in you Than without candle may go dark to bed,) Must you be therefore proud and pitiless ? Why, what means this ? Why do you look on me ? I see no more in you, than in the ordinary Of nature's sale-work •? Od's my httle hfe ! I think, she means to tangle my eyes too : — No, 'faith, proud mistress, hope not after it ; 'Tis not your inky brows, your black silk hair. Your bugle eye-balls/^^) nor your cheek of cream. That can entame my spirits to yovir worship.^*'') You foolish shepherd, wherefore do you follow her. Like foggy south, puffing with wind and rain ?(48) You are a thousand times a properer man. Than she a woman : 'Tis such fools as you. That make the world full of ill-favo\u-'d children : 'Tis not her glass, but you, that flatters her ; * Who might he your mother] It is conunon for the poets to express cruelty by saying, of those who commit it, that they were born of rocks, or suckled by tigresses. Johnson. ^ sale-work'] i. e. made up carelessly and without exactness. Work bespoke is more elaborate than that which is made up for chance-customers, or to sell in quantities to retailers, which is called sale-work. Warburton. sc r. AS YOU LIKE IT. 77 And out of you she sees herseK more proper/ Than any of her lineaments can show her. But, mistress, know yourself; down on your knees. And thank heaven, fasting, for a good man's love : For I must tell you friendly in your ear. Sell when you can ; you are not for all markets : Cry the man mercy ; love him ; take his offer ; Foul is most foul, being foul to be a scoffer.** So, take her to thee, shepherd ; fare you well. Phe. Sweet youth, I pray you chide a year to- gether ; I had rather hear you chide, than this man woo. Ros. He's fallen in love with your" foulness, and she'll fall in love with my anger : If it be so, as fast as she answers thee with frowning looks, I'll sauce her with bitter words. — Why look you so upon me ? Phe. For no ill will I bear you. Ros. I pray you, do not fall in love with me. For I am falser than vows made in wine : Besides, I like you not : If you will know my house, 'Tis at the tuft of olives, here hard by : — Will you go, sister ? Shepherd, ply her hard : Come, sister : Shepherdess, look on him better. And be not proud : though aU the world could see. None could be so abus'd in sight as he.* Come, to our flock. [Exeunt Rosalind, Celia, and Corin. Phe. Dead shepherd! now I find thy saw of might ; WJio ever lov'd, that Md not at first sight P^'^^') SiL. Sweet Phebe, — " more proper] See Two G. of V. IV. 1.3 Outl. ^ Foul is most foul, &c.J i. e. homely. See supra, sc. 3. Audr. = your'] If Rosalind here turns to the parties hefore her, this reading may stand. Without this supposition, her, the reading of the modern editors must be adopted. d None could be so abus'd in sight as he] i. e. no one could be to such a degree fascinated or blinded. 78 AS YOU LIKE IT. act in. Phe. Ha ! what say'st thou, Silvius ? SiL. Sweet Phebe, pity me. Phe. Why, I am sorry for thee, gentle Silvius. SiL. Wherever sorrow is, relief would be ; If you do sorrow at my grief in love. By giving love, your sorrow and my grief Were both extermin'd. Phe. Thou hast my love ; Is not that neigh- bourly ? SiL. I would have you. Phe. Why, that were covetousness. Silvius, the time was, that I hated thee ; And yet it is not, that I bear thee love : But since that thou canst talk of love so well. Thy company, which erst was irksome to me, I will endure ; and I'll employ thee too : But do not look for further recompense. Than thine own gladness that thou art employ'd. SiL. So holy, and so perfect is my love. And I in such a poverty of grace. That I shall think it a most plenteous crop To glean the broken ears after the man That the main harvest reaps : loose now and then A scatter'd smile, and that I'll Hve upon. Phe. Know'st thou the youth that spoke to me ere while ? SiL. Not very well, but I have met him oft ; And he hath bought the cottage, and the bounds. That the old carlot* once was master of. Phe. Think not I love him, though I ask for him ; '' * Carlot\ This word is in the old copies thus printed as a proper name j but by the modern editors in the common type and with a small initial letter. Either way presented, in sub- stance it means the same thing, and is no more than in another form the same word ; i. e. " churl" or peasant. See " Charles's Wain," I. H. IV. II. 1. 1 Car. " Carl," Cymb. V. 2. lach., and " fat chough" I. H. IF. II. 2. Falst. '' Think not I love him, though I ask for hini] Trinculo does not more naturally betray himself, when he says : " By this sc. r. AS YOU LIKE IT. 79 'Tis but a peevish boy :" — yet he talks well ; — But what care I for words ? yet words do well. When he that speaks them pleases those that hear. It is a pretty youth : — not very pretty : — But, sure, he's proud; and yet his pride becomes him: He'll make a proper man : The best thing in him Is his complexion ; and faster than his tongue Did make offence, his eye did heal it up. He is not very tall ; yet for his years he's tall : His leg is but so so ; and yet 'tis well : There was a pretty redness in his lip ; A little riper and more lusty red Than that mix'd in his cheek; 'twas just the dif- ference Betwixt the constant red, and mingled damask.^^") There be some women, Silvius, had they mark'd him In parcels as I did, would have gone near To fall in love with him : but, for my part, I love him not, nor hate him not ; and yet Have more cause to hate him than to love him : For what had he to do to chide at me ? He said, mine eyes were black, and my hair black ; And now I am remember'd,'' scom'd at me : I marvel, why I answer'd not again : But that's all one ; omittance is no quittance. I'll write to him a very taunting letter. And thou shalt bear it ; Wilt thou, Silvius ? SiL. Phebe, with all my heart. Phe. I'll write it straight : The matter's in my head, and in my heart : I will be bitter with him, and passing short : Go with me, Silvius. [Exeunt. good light a very shallow monster : / afeard of him ? a very shallow monster." Temp. II. 2. " a peevish boyl i. e. weak, simple. See Two G. ofV. V. 2. Thurio. ^ now I am remember'd] i. e. have my memory recalled, recollect myself. 80 AS YOU LIKE IT. ACT IV. SCENE I. The same. Enter Rosalind, Celia, and Jaques. •be. 1632. ^-^Q- I pr'ythee, pretty youth, let me [be*] better acquainted with thee. Ros. They say, you are a melancholy fellow. Jaq. I am so : I do love it better than laughing. Ros. Those, that are in extremity of either, are abominable fellows ; and betray themselves to every modern censure,^ worse than drunkards. Jaq. Why, 'tis good to be sad and say nothing. Ros. Why then, 'tis good to be a post. Jaq. I have neither the scholar's melancholy, which is emulation; nor the musician's, which is fantastical ; nor the courtier's, which is proud ; nor the soldier's, which is ambitious ; nor the lawyer's, which is politick; nor the lady's, which is nice;** nor the lover's, which is all these : but it is a me- lancholy of mine own, compounded of many sim- ples, extracted from many objects, and, indeed, the sundry contemplation of my travels, in which tby. 1623. ^yf often rumination wraps me in a most himior- ous sadness. W ^ modern censure] i. e. common, vulgar. " Modem and familiar things." All's Well &c. II. 3. Lafeu. See " modem ecstacy," Mach. IV. 3. Rosse. •> the lady's, which is nice] i. e. affected, over-curious in trifles. " You must appear to be straunge and nyce.'' The longer thou liv'st, the more Fool. 1570. sc. I. AS YOU LIKE IT. 81 Ros. A traveller! By my faith, you have great reason to be sad : I fear, you have sold your own lands, to see other men's; then, to have seen much, and to have nothing, is to have rich eyes and poor hands. Jaq. Yes, I have gained my experience. Enter Orlando. Ros. And your experience makes you sad : I had rather have a fool to make me merry, than expe- rience to make me sad ; and to travel for it too. Orl. Good day, and happiness, dear Rosalind ! Jaq. Nay then, God be wi' you, and you talk in blank verse. [Exit. Ros. Farewell, monsieur traveller: Look, you lisp, and wear strange suits ; disable* aU the bene- fits of your own coimtry; be out of love with yoiu" nativity, and almost chide God for making you that countenance you are;'' or I wiU scarce think you have swam in a * gondola. (2) — Why, how * gundeiio. now, Orlando ! where have you been all this whUe ? ^' ^' You a lover? — And you serve me such another trick, never come in my sight more. Orl. My fair Rosalind, I come within an hour of riiy promise. Ros. Break an hour's promise in love ? He that will divide a minute into a thousand parts, and break but a part of the thousandth part of a minute in the affairs of love, it may be said of him, that » disable all the benefits] i. e. detract from, undervalue. " His Majestie by proclamation found fault with such Freeholders, as disabled their Counties and Corporations ; using to chuse strangers." Scot's Highwaies of God and the King. A Sermon, 4to. 1623. p. 87. " Disabled my judgment." V. 4. Touchst. '' making you that countenance you are"] i. e. that person you are ; or giving you that countenance jou have. 82 AS YOU LIKE IT. act ir. Cupid hath clap'd him o'the shoulder, but I war- rant him heart-whole. Ont. Pardon me, dear Rosalind. Ros. Nay, and you be so tardy, come no more in my sight ; I had as Uef be woo'd of a snail. Orl. Of a snail ? Ros. Ay, of a snail ; for though he comes slowly, he carries his house on his head ; a better jointure, I think, than you make a woman : Besides, he brings his destiny with him. Orl. What's that? . Ros. Why, horns ; which such as you are fain to be beholden to your wives for : but he comes armed in his fortune, and prevents the slander of his wife. Orl. Virtue is no horn-maker ; and my RosaKnd is virtuous. Ros. And I am your Rosalind. Cel. It pleases him to call you so ; but he hath a Rosalind of a better leer than you. (3) Ros. Come, woo me, woo me ; for now I am in a holiday humour, and like enough to consent : — What would you say to me now, and I were your very very Rosahnd ? Orl. I would kiss before I spoke. Ros. Nay, you were better speak first ; and when you were gravelled for lack of matter, you might take occasion to kiss. (4) Very good orators, when they are out, they will spit ; and for lovers, lacking (God warn us!) matter, the cleanliest shift is to kiss. Orl. How if the kiss be denied ? Ros. Then she puts you to entreaty, and there begins new matter. sc. I. AS YOU LIKE IT. 83 Orl. Who could be out, being before his beloved mistress ? Ros. Marry, that should you, if I were your mistress; or I should think my honesty ranker" than my >\T,t. Orl. What, of my suit ? Ros. Not out of your apparel, and yet out of your suit. Am not I your Rosalind ? Orl. I take some joy to say you are, because I would be talking of her, Ros. Well, in her person, I say — I will not have you. Orl. Then, in mine own person, I die. Ros. No, faith, die by attorney. The poor world is almost six thousand years old, and in all this time there was not any man died in his own person, videlicet, in a love-cause. Troilus had his brains dashed out with a Grecian club ; yet he did what he could to die before ; and he is one of the pat- terns of love. Leander, he would have Uved many a fair year, though Hero had turned nun, if it had not been for a hot midsummer night: for, good youth, he went but forth to wash him in the Hel- lespont, and, being taken with the cramp, was drowned; and the foolish chroniclers of that age*" found it was — Hero of Sestos. But these are all lies ; men have died from time to time, and worms have eaten them, but not for love. Orl. I would not have my right Rosahnd of this mind ; for, I protest, her frown might kill me. Ros. By this hand, it will not kill a fly: But come, now I will be your Rosalind in a more * ranker] i. e. less clean and pure. •> the chroniclers of that age found it, Sfc] In the language of a coroner's jury, the chroniclers of that age, who record and transmit facts to posterity, /oand (i. e. stated) it to be — Hero. 84 AS YOU LIKE IT. act ir. coming-on disposition ; and ask me what you will, I will grant it. Orl. Then love me, Rosalind. Ros. Yes, faith will I, Fridays, and Saturdays, and all. Orl. And wilt thou have me t Ros. Ay, and twenty such. Orl. What say'st thou ? Ros. Are you not good ? Orl. I hope so. Ros. Why then, can one desire too much of a good thing ? — Come, sister, you shall be the priest, and marry us. — Give me your hand, Orlando : — What do you say, sister ? Orl. Pray thee, marry us. Cel. I cannot say the words. Ros. You must begin. Will you, Orlando, — Cel. Go to : Will you, Orlando, have to wife this Rosalind ? Orl. I will. Ros. Ay, but when ? Orl. Why now ; as fast as she can marry us. Ros. Then you must say, — I take thee, Rosalind, for wife. Orl. I take thee, Rosalind, for wife. Ros. I might ask you for your commission ;' but, — I do take thee, Orlando, for my husband : There's a girl goes before the priest: and, certainly, a woman's thought runs before her actions. Orl. So do aU thoughts ; they are winged. Ros. Now tell me, how long you would have her, after you have possessed her. * commission] i. e. authority. sc. /. AS YOU LIKE IT. 85 Obi. For ever, and a day. Ros. Say a day, without the ever : No, no, Or- lando ; men are April when they woo, December when they wed: maids are May when they are maids, but the sky changes when they are wives. I will be more jealous of thee than a Barbary cock- pigeon over his hen ; more clamorous than a parrot against rain; more new-fangled than an ape;(5) more giddy in my desires than a monkey: I will weep for nothing, Uke Diana in the fountain,® and I will do that when you are disposed to be merry; I will laugh like a hyen,W and that when thou art inchned to sleep. Orl. But will my RosaUnd do so ? Ros. By my life, she will do as I do. Obi. O, but she is wise. Ros. Or else she could not have the vnt to do this: the wiser, the wajrwarder: Make the doors* upon a woman's wit, and it will out at the case- ment ; shut that, and 'twill out at the key-hole ; stop that, 'twill fly with the smoke out at the chimney. Orl. a man that had a wife with such a wit, he might say, — Wit, whither wilt 9^^) Ros. Nay, you might keep that check for it, tiU you met your wife's wit going to your neighbour's bed. Orl. And what mt could wit have to excuse that? Ros. Marry, to say — she came to seek you there. You shall never take her without her answer,^^) un- less you take her without her tongue. O, that woman that cannot make her fault her husband's " Make the doors] In low and middle life, this is the language of all the midland counties for securing, or making fast, the doors. 86 AS YOU LIKE IT. act iv. occasion,'' let her never nurse her child herself, for she will breed it Hke a fool. Orl. For these two hours, Rosalind, I will leave thee. Ros. Alas, dear love, I cannot lack thee two hours. Orl. I must attend the duke at dinner ; by two o'clock I will be with thee again. Ros. Ay, go your ways, go your ways ; — I knew what you would prove ; my friends told me as much, and I thought no less : — ^that flattering tongue of yours won me : — 'tis but one cast away, and so, — come, death. — Two o'clock is your hour ? Orl. Ay, sweet Rosalind. Ros. By my troth, and in good earnest, and so God mend me, and by all pretty oaths that are not dangerous, if you break one jot of your promise, or come one minute behind your hour, I wiU think you the most patheticaP break-promise, and the most hollow lover, and the most unworthy of her you call Rosalind, that may be chosen out of the gross band of the unfaithful : therefore beware my censure, and keep your promise. Orl. With no less religion, than if thou wert indeed my Rosalind : So, adieu. Ros. Well, time is the old justice that examines all such offenders,^^'') and let time try : Adieu ! \Exit Orlando. Cel. You have simply misus'd our sex in yoiu- love prate : we must have your doublet and hose " that woman that cannot make her fault her husband's occasion] i. e. " an act done upon his occasions, in prosecution of his concerns ; or, as Dr. Johnson says, " occasioned by her hus- band." So Cress. " the ward I lie at is — Upon my wits to defend my wills." Tr. 8f Cr. IV. 1. >> pathetical break-promise'] i. e. piteously moaning, passionate. scr. AS YOU LIKE IT. 87, plucked over yoxa head, and show the world what the bird hath done to her own nest.C") Ros. O COT,, coz, coz, my pretty little coz, that thou didst know how many fathom deep I am in love ! But it cannot be sounded ; my affection hath an unknown bottom, like the bay of Portugal. Cel. Or rather, bottomless ; that as fast as you pour affection in, it runs out. Ros. No, that same wicked bastard of Venus, that was begot of thought,' conceived of spleen, and born of madness ; that blind rascally boy, that abuses every one's eyes, because his own are out, let him be judge, how deep I am in love : — I'll tell thee, Aliena, I cannot be out of the sight of Or- lando : I'll go find a shadow, and sigh till he come.(i2) Cel. And I'll sleep. [Exeunt. SCENE II. Another Part of the Forest. Enter Jaques and Lords, in the habit of Foresters. Jaq. Which is he that killed the deer ? 1 Lord. Sir, it was I. Jaq. Let's present him to the duke, hke a Roman conqueror ; and it would do weU to set the deer's horns upon his head, for a branch of victory: — Have you no song, forester, for this purpose ? 2 Lord. Yes, sir. Jaq. Sing it ; 'tis no matter how it be in tune, so it make noise enough. " hegot of thoughi] i. e. melancholy. " Thought and afflic- tion," Haml. IV. 5. Laert. See Tw. N. II. 4. Viola. 88 AS YOU LIKE IT. act if. SONG. 1. What shall he have that UWd the deer ? 2. His leather shin, and horns to wearS^^'^ 1. Then sing him home; the rest shall hear this burthen.'' Take thou no scorn, to wear the horn ;(") It was a crest ere thou wast horn. 1. Thy father's father wore it; 2. And thy father bore it : All. The horn, the hxyrn, the lusty horn,. Is not a thing to laugh to scorn. [Exeunt. SCENE III. The Forest. Enter Rosalind and Celu. Ros. How say you now? Is it not past two o'clock ? and here much Orlando \^ Cel. I warrant you, with pure love, and troubled brain, he hath ta'en his bow and arrows, and is gone forth — to sleep : Look, who comes here. " the rest shall bear &c.] So the old copies : but by the modern editors this branch of the line is given on the side, as a stage direction. There is no rhyme to answer the termination either way : and it is observable, says Boswell, that in Playford's Musical Companion, where this song, set to music, is found, the first branch of the line is omitted. •" past two o'clock ? and here much Orlando] Much, or much of him, ironically spoken, is " no appearance, not a shadow of him ; no Orlando : " as the vulgar say, I shall get much by that, meaning, they shall get nothing. sc. IF. AS YOU LIKE IT. 89 Enter Silvius. SiL. My errand is to you, fair youth ; — My gentle Phebe did bid me give you this : \_Giving a letter. I know not the contents ; but, as I guess. By the stem brow, and waspish action Which she did use as she was writing of it. It bears an angry tenour : pardon me, I am but as a guiltless messenger. Ros. Patience herself would startle at this letter. And play the swaggerer ;(i^) bear this, bear all : She says, I am not fair ; that I lack manners ; She calls me proud ; and, that she could not love me Where man as rare as phoenix ; Od's my will ! Her love is not the hare that I do hunt. Why writes she so to me ? — Well, shepherd, well. This is a letter of your own device. SiL. No, I protest, I know not the contents ; Phebe did write it. Ros. Come, come, you are a fool. And turn'd into the extremity of love. I saw her hand : she has a leathern hand, A freestone-coloiu-'d hand ; I verily did think That her old gloves were on, but 'twas her hands ; She has a huswife's hand : but that's no matter : I say, she never did invent this letter ; This is a man's invention, and his hand. SiL. Sure, it is hers. Ros. Why, 'tis a boisterous and a cruel style, A style for challengers ; why, she defies me. Like Turk to Christian : woman's gentle brain Could not drop forth such giant-rude invention. Such Ethiop words, blacker in their effect Than in their countenance: — Will you hear the letter ? 90 AS YOU LIKE IT. act ir. SiL. So please you, for I never heard it yet ; Yet heard too much of Phebe's cruelty. Ros. She Phebes me :^ Mark how the tjnrant writes. Art thou god to shepherd turn'd, [Reads. That a maiden's heart hath burn'd? — Can a woman rail thus ? SiL. Call you this railing ? Ros. Why, thy godhead laid apart. Wariest thou with a woman's heart ? Did you ever hear such raiUng ? — Whiles the eye of man did woo me. That could do no vengeance^ to me. — Meaning me a beast. — If the scorn of your bright eyne Have power to raise such love in mine. Alack, in me what strange effect Would they work in mild aspect ? Whiles you chid me, I did love ; How then might your prayers move f He, that brings this love to thee. Little knows this love in me : And by him seal up thy mind; Whether that thy youth and kind" Will the faithful offer take Of me, and all that I can make ;* Or else by him my love deny. And then I'll study how to die. • She Phebes me] i. e. deals with me after that very fashion and in that character. ' '' vengeance'] i. e. mischief. " thy youth and kind] i. e. natural and kindly affections. ^ me, and all that I can make] i. e. make up, all that shall be sc. III. AS YOU LIKE IT. 91 Sjl. Call you this chiding 1 Cel. Alas, poor shepherd ! Ros. Do you pity him ? no, he deserves no pity. — Wilt you love such a woman ? — What, to make thee an instrument, and play false strains upon thee ! not to be endured ! — Well, go your way to her, (for I see, love hath made thee a tame snake,(ifi)) and say this to her ; — That if she love me, I charge her to love thee : if she will not, I will never have her, unless thou entreat for her. — If you be a true lover, hence, and not a word ; for here comes more company. [Exit Silvius. Enter Oliver. Oli. Good-morrow, fair ones : Pray you, if you know Where, in the puriieus of this forest,(i'') stands A sheep-cote, fenc'd about with ohve-trees ? . Cel. West of this place, down in the neighbouir bottom. The rank of oziers,(i8) by the murmuring stream. Left on your right hand,'' brings you to the place : But at this hour the house doth keep itself. There's none within. Oli. If that an eye may profit by a tongue. Then I should know you by description ; Such garments, and such years : The boy is fair, Of feniale favour, and bestows himself Like a ripe sister : the* woman lowp^) » but the And browner than her brother. Are not you 1632. The owner of the house I did enquire for ? my utmost amount. Johnson instances M. for M. " He's in for a commodity of brown paper ; of which he made five marks ready money." Diet. • Left on your right hand] i. e. being, as you pass, left. 92 AS YOU LIKE IT. [act ir. Cel. It is no boast, being ask'd, to say, we are. Oli. Orlando doth commend him to you both ; And to that youth, he calls his Rosalind, He sends this bloody napkin ;(20) Are you he ? Ros. I am : what must we understand by this ? Oli. Some of my shame ; if you will know of me What man I am, and how, and why, and where This handkerchief was stain'd. Cel. I pray you, tell it, Oli. When last the young Orlando parted from you. He left a promise to retvirn again Within an hour ; and, pacing through the forest. Chewing the food of sweet and bitter fancy, Lo, what befel ! he threw his eye aside. And, mark, what object did present itself! Under an old oak,(2i) whose boughs were moss'd with age. And high top bald with dry antiquity, A wretched ragged man, o'ergrown with hair. Lay sleeping on his back : about his neck A green and gilded snake had wreath'd itself. Who with her head, nimble in threats, approach'd The opening of his mouth ; but suddenly Seeing Orlando, it unlink'd itself. And with indented ghdes did shp away Into a bush : under which bush's shade A lioness, with udders aU drawn dry. Lay couching, head on ground, with cathke watch. When that the sleeping man should stir ; for 'tis The royal disposition of that beast. To prey on nothing that doth seem as dead ;(22) This seen, Orlando did approach the man. And found it was his brother, his elder brother. Cel. O, I have heard him speak of that same brother ; sc. III. AS YOU LIKE IT. 93 And he did render him the most unnatural' That Uv'd 'mongst men. Oli. And well he might so do. For well I know he was xmnatural. Ros. But, to Orlando ; — Did he leave him there. Food to the suck'd and hungry lioness ? Oli. Twice did he turn his back, and purpos'd so: But kindness, nobler ever than revenge. And nature, stronger than his just occasion,'' Made him give battle to the honess. Who quickly fell before him ; in which hurtling" From miserable slumber I awak'd. Cel. Are you his brother 1 Ros. Was it you he rescu'd ? Cel. Was't you that did so oft contrive to kill him? Oli. 'Twas I ; but 'tis not I : I do not shame To tell you what I was, since my conversion So sweetly tastes, being the thing I am. Ros. But, for the bloody napkin ? — Oli. By, and by. When from the first to last, betwixt us two. Tears our recountments had most kindly bath'd,* As, how I came into that desert place ; In brief, he led me to the gentle duke, " And he did render him — '] i. e. represent, account. " May drive us to a render where we have liv'd. " Cymb. Steevens. * just occasion] i. e. such reasonable ground, as might have amply justified, or given just occasion for abandoning him. See Rosal. IV. 1. ' hurtling] i. e. clashing conflict. See " The noise of battle hurtled in the air." Jul. C. II. 2. Calph. •• Tears our recountments had most kindly bath'd, As, how — ] i. e. with a train of circumstances, " As how.' 94 AS YOU LIKE IT. act ir. Who gave me fresh array, and entertainment. Committing me unto my brother's love ; Who led me instantly unto his cave. There stripp'd himself, and here upon his arm The lioness had torn some flesh away. Which aU this while had bled ; and now he fainted. And cry'd in fainting, upon Rosalind. Brief, I recover'd him ; bound up his wound ; And, after some small space, being strong at heart. He sent me hither, stranger as I am. To tell this story, that you might excuse His broken promise, and to give this napkin Dy'd in this blood ; unto the shepherd youth That he in sport doth call his Rosalind. Cel. Why, how now, Ganymede ? sweet Gany- mede ? [RosALiND/ami5. Oli. Many will swoon when they do look on blood. Cel. There is more in it: — Cousin — Gany- mede! (23) Oli. Look, he recovers. -Roj. I would, I were at home. Cel. We'll lead you thither : — I pray you, will you take him by the arm ? Oli. Be of good cheer, youth : — You a man ? — You lack a man's heart. Ros. I do so, I confess it. Ah, sirra,* a body would think this was well counterfeited: I pray you, tell your brother how well I counterfeited. — Heigh ho ! Oli. This was not counterfeit : there is too great testimony in your complexion, that it was a passion of earnest. » Ah, sirra, a body would think this was well counterfeited] Yet, scarce more than half in possession of herself, in her flutter and tremulous articulation, she adds to one word the first letter, or article, of the succeeding one. For this, the reading of the folios, the modern editors give sir. sc. III. AS YOU LIKE IT. 95 Ros. Counterfeit, I assure you. Oli. Well then, take a good heart, and counter- feit to be a man. Ros. So I do : but, i'faith I should have been a woman by right. Cel. Come, you look paler and paler ; pray you, draw homewards : — Good sir, go with us. Oli. That will I, for I must bear answer back How you excuse my brother, Rosahnd. Ros. I shall devise something : But, I pray you, commend my counterfeiting to him : — Will you go ? [Exeunt. 96 AS YOU LIKE IT. ACT V. SCENE I. The same. Enter Touchstone and Audrey. Touch. We shall find a time, Audrey ; patience, gentle Audrey. AvD. 'Faith, the priest was good enough, for all the old gentleman's saying. Touch. A most wicked sir Oliver, Audrey, a most vile Mar-text. But, Audrey, there is a youth here in the forest lays claim to you. AuD. Ay, I know who 'tis; he hath no interest in me in the world : here comes the man you mean. Enter William. Touch. It is meat and drink to me to see a clown : By my troth, we that have good wits, have much to answer for ; we shall be flouting ; we can- not hold. Will. Good even, Audrey. AuD. God ye good even, Wilham. Will. And good even to you, sir. Touch. Good even, gentle friend: Cover thy head, cover thy head; nay, pr'ythee, be covered. How old are you, friend ? Will. Five and twenty, sir. Touch. A ripe age : Is thy name, William ? Will. William, sir. sc. I. AS YOU LIKE IT. 97 Touch, A fair name : Wast bom i'the forest here? Will. Ay, sir, I thank God. Touch. Thank God; — a good answer : Art rich ? Will. Faith, sir, so, so. Touch. So, so, is good, very good, very excellent good : and yet it is not ; it is but so so. Art thou wise? Will. Ay, sir, I have a pretty wit. Touch. Why, thou say'st well. I do now re- member a saying; The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool. The heathen philosopher, when he had a desire to eat a grape, would open his hps when he put it into his mouth ; meaning thereby, that grapes were made to eat, and hps to open.C'^) You do love this maid ? Will. I do, sir. Touch. Give me your hand : Art thou learned? Will. No, sir. Touch. Then learn this of me ; To have, is to have : For it is a figure in rhetorick, that drink, being poured out of a cup into a glass, by fiUing the one doth empty the other : For all your writers do consent," that ipse is he ; now you are not ipse, for I am he. Will. Which he, sir ? Touch. He, sir, that must marry this woman: Therefore, you clown, abandon, which is in the vulgar, leave, the society, which in the boorish is,. company, of this female, which in the common is, woman, which together is, abandon the society of this female ; or, clown thou perishest r or, to thy better understanding, diest ; or to wit, I kill thee, make thee away, translate thy hfe into death, thy hberty into bondage : I will deal in poison with » all writers consenf] i. e. concur. See Oliver's next speech. H SS AS YOU LIKE IT. act v. thee, or in bastinado, or in steel ; 1 will bandy with thee in faction ; I will o'er-run thee with policy ; I will kin thee a hundred and fifty ways ; therefore tremble, and depart. AvD. Do, good WiUiam. Will. God rest you merry, su*. [Exit. Enter Corin. Cor. Our master and mistress seek you ; come, away, away. Touch. Trip, Audrey, trip, Audrey; — I attend, I attend. [^Exeunt. SCENE II. The same. Enter Orlando and Oliver. Orl. Is't possible, that on so Uttle acquaintance you should like her ? that, but seeing, you should love her? and, loving, woo? and, wooing, she should grant ? and will you persever to enjoy her ? Oli. Neither call the giddiness of it in question, the poverty of her, the small acquaintance, my sudden wooing, nor her sudden consenting; but say with me, I love Aliena ; say with her, that she loves me ; consent with both, that we may enjoy each other : it shall be to your good ; for my fa- ther's house, and all the revenue that was old sir Rowland's, will I estate " upon you, and here hve and die a shepherd. " estate] i, e. settle. sc. 11. AS YOU LIKE IT: 99 Enter Rosalind. Orl. You have my consent. Let your wedding- be to-morrow : thither will I invite the duke, and all his contented followers : Go you, and prepare AKena ; for, look you, here comes my Rosahnd^ Ros. God save you, brother. Olt. And you, fair sister.* Ros. O, my dear Orlando, how it grieves me to see thee wear thy heart in a scarf. Orl. It is my arm. Ros. I thought, thy heart had bee^ wounded: with the claws of a Hon. Orl. Woimded it is, but with the eyes of a lady. Ros. Did yom- brother tell you how I counter- feited to sound,* when he showed me your hand- o. c. kerchief? Orl. Ay, and greater wonders than that. Ros. O, I know where you are : — Nay, 'tis true : there was never any thing so sudden, but the fight of two rams, and Caesar's thrasonical brag of — I came, saw, and overcame : For your brother and my sister no sooner met, but they looked ; no sooner looked, but they loved ; no sooner loved, but they sighed; no sooner sighed, but they asked one an- other the reason ; no sooner knew the reason, but they sought the remedy : and in these degrees have they made a pair of stairs to marriage, which they will climb incontinent,'' or else be incontinent before marriage : they are in the very vsrath of love, and they will together ; clubs cannot part them.® Orl. They shall be married to-morrow ; and I " At this time it seems proper, that Oliver shoiild be leaving the stage. •• incontinent] i. e. without restraint or delay, immediately. 100 AS YOU LIKE IT. act v. will bid the duke to the nuptial. But, O, how bitter a thing it is to look into happiness through another man's eyes ! By so much the more shall I to-morrow be at the height of heart-heaviness, by how much I shall think my brother happy, in having what he wishes for. Ros. Why then^ to-morrow I cannot serve your turn for Rosalind ? Orl. I can live no longer by thinking. Ros. I will weary you no longer then with idle talking. Know of me then, (for now I speak to some purpose,) that I know you are a gentleman of good conceit:^ I speak not this that you should bear a good opinion of my knowledge, insomuch, I say, I know you are ; neither do I labour for a greater esteem than may in some httle measure draw a belief from you, to do yourself good, and not to grace me. BeUeve then, if you please, that I can do strange things : I have, since I was three year old, conversed with a magician, most pro- found in his art, and yet not damnable. If you do love Rosalind so near the heart as your gesture cries it out, when your brother marries Ahena, shall you marry her : I know into what straits of fortune she is driven; and it is not impossible to me, if it appear not inconvenient to you, to set her before your eyes to-morrow, human as she is," and without any danger. ^ Know of me then, (for now I speak to some purpose,) that I know you are a gentleman of some conceit .- I speak not this, that you should bear a good opinion of my knowledge, insomuch I say, I know you are"] The quaintness of the language as well as the sentiment, if we have interpreted it rightly, is much the same as that of Hamlet, V. 2. " Osric. Sir, you are not ignorant of what excellence Laertes is at his weapon ? Haml. I dare not confess that, lest I should compare with him in excellence : but to know a man well, were to know him- self." " Good conceit," is quick and sound conception. " human as she is'] i. e. not a phantom, but the real sc. II. AS YOU LIKE IT. 101 Orl. Speakest thou in sober meanings? Ros. By my life I do ; which I tender dearly, though I say I am a magician: (3) Therefore, put you in your best array, bid your friends; for if you wiU be married to-morrow, you shall ; and to Rosahnd, if you will. Enter Silvius and Phebe. Look, here comes a lover of mine, and a lover of hers. Phe. Youth, you have done me much tmgentle- ness. To show the letter that I writ to you. Ros. I care not, if I have : it is my study. To seem despiteful and ungentle to you : You are there foUow'd by a faithful shepherd ; Look upon him, love him ; he worships you. Phe. Good shepherd, tell this youth what 'tis to love. SiL. It is to be all made of sighs and tears ; — " And so am I for Phebe. Phe. And I for Ganymede. Obl. And I for Rosalind. Ros. And I for no woman. SiL. It is to be all made of faith and service ; — And so am I for Phebe. Phe. And I for Ganymede. Orl. And I for Rosahnd. Ros. And I for no woman. Rosalind ; without any of the danger generally conceived to attend the rites of incantation. Johnson. » It is to be all made of sighs and tears'] See Silvius to Corin, 11.4. a02 AS YOU LIKE IT. act v. SiL. It is to be all made of fantasy, All made of passion, and all made of wishes ; All adoration, duty and observance. All hmnbleness, all patience, and impatience. AH purity, all trial, all observance ;* And so am I for Phebe. Phe. And so am I for Ganymede. Obl. And so am I for Rosalind, Ros. And so am I for no woman. Phe. If this be so, ~why blame you me to love you? [_To Rosalind. Stl. If this be so, why blame you me to love you? \_To Phebe. Orl. If this be so, why blame you me to love you? Ros. Why do you speak too, why blame you me to love you? Orl. To her, that is not here, nor doth not hear. Ros. Pray you, no more of this; 'tis like the howling of Irish wolves against the moon.W — I will help you, [To Silvius] if I can: — I would love you, [To Phebe] if I- could. — To-morrow meet me aU together. — I wiU marry you, [To Phebe] if ever I marry woman, and I'U be married to-morrow: — I will satisfy you, [To Orlando] if ever I satisfied man, and you shall be married to- morrow : — I will content you, [To Silvius] if what pleases you contents you, and you shall be married to-morrow. — As you [To Orlando] love Rosalind, meet; — as you, [To Silvius] love Phebe, meet; And as I love no woman, I'll meet. — So, fare you well ; I have left you commands. " all ohservance] i. e. attention and deference. As this word *ccurs twice in two lines, continuing the same subject, Malone and Ritson propose to substitute obedience, or obeisance. sc. 11. AS YOU LIKE IT. 103 Sii. I'll not fail, if I live. PsE. Nor I. Obl. Nor I. [Exeunt, SCENE III. The same. Enter Touchstone and Audrey. Touch. To-morrow is the joyful day, Audrey; to-morrow will we be married. AvD. I do desire it with all my heart: and I hope it is no dishonest desire, to desire to be a woman of the world.(5) Here comes two of the banished duke's pages. Enter two Pages. 1 Page. Well met, honest gentleman. Touch. By my troth, well met : Come, sit, sit, and a song. 2 Page. We are for you : sit i'the middle. 1 Page. Shall we clap into't roundly," without hawking, or spitting, or saying we are hoarse ; which are the only prologues to a bad voice ? 2 Page. I'faith, i'faith ; and both in a tune, like two gypsies on a horse. " Shall we clap into't roundly] i. e. strike in boldly at once. See " clap into your prayers," M.for M. IV. 3. Abhors. 104 AS YOU LIKE IT. act r. SONG. It was a lover, and his lass, With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,^^^ That o'er the green corn-field did pass. In the spring time, the only pretty rang time,^'^^ When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding ; Sweet lovers love the spring. II. And therefore take the present time. With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino ; For love is crowned with the prime In spring time, &c. III. Between the acres of the rye, With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino. These pretty countryfolks would lie. In spring time, &c. IV. This carol they began that hour. With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino. How that a life was but a flower In spring time, &c. Touch. Trxily, young gentlemen, though there was no great matter in the ditty, yet the note was very untimeable.'' " no great matter in the ditty, yet &c.J i. e. though there was so little meaning in the words, yet the music fully matched it, the note was as little tuneable. sc. in. AS YOU LIKE IT. 105 1 Page. You are deceived, sir ; we kept time, we lost not our time. Touch. By my troth, yes ; I count it but time lost to hear such a foolish song. God be with you ; and God mend your voices ! Come, Audrey. [Exeunt. SCENE IV. Another Part of the Forest. Enter Duke senior, Amiens, Jaques, Orlando, Oliver, and Celu. Duke S. Dost thou believe, Orlando, that the boy Can do aU this that he hath promised ? Oli. I sometimes do believe, and sometimes do not; As those that fear they hope, and know they fear.* Enter Rosalind, Silvius, and Phebe. Ros. Patience once more, whiles our compact is urg'd : You say, if I bring in your Rosalind, [To the Duke. You will bestow her on Orlando here ? " As those that fear they hope, and know they fear] Our author seems here to have more than ordinarily entangled himself by his favourite antithetical Ucence with both ideas and words. We may interpret it^ — " As those, that under a sad misgiving entertain a trembling hope, at the same time that they feel real apprehension and fears." A man might, with propriety, say, I fear I entertain so much hope, as teaches me I cannot be without fear of disappointment. Orlando says, he is like that man. 106 AS YOU LIKE IT. act v. DvKE S. That would 1, had I kingdoms to give with her. Ros. And you say, you will have her, when I bring her ? [To Orlando. Orl. That would I, were I of all kingdoms king. Ros. You say, you'll marry me, if I be willing ? [To Phebe. Phe. That will I, should I die the hour after. Ros. But, if you do refuse to marry me. You'll give yourself to this most faithful shepherd, Phe. So is the bargain. Ros. You say, that you'll have Phebe, if she wiU? [To SiLVIUS. SiL. Though to have her and death were both one thing. Ros. I have promis'd to make all this matter even. Keep you jam word, O duke, to give your daughter ; — You yours, Orlando, to receive his daughter : — Keep you your word, Phebe, that you'll marry me ; Or else, refusing me, to wed this shepherd : — Keep your word, Silvius, that you'll marry her. If she refiises me : — and from hence I go. To make these doubts all even.® [Exeunt Rosalind und Cella. Duke S. I do remember in this shepherd-boy Some lively touches* of my daughter's favour. Orl. My lord, the first time that I ever saw him, Methought he was a brother to your daughter : But, my good lord, this boy is forest-born ; And hath been tutor'd in the rudiments Of many desperate studies by his uncle, * touches of my daughter's favour] i. e. traits. See III. 2. Celia. " Touches dearest priz'd." And see favour, Haml. V. 1. Haml. sc. IV. AS YOU LIKE IT. 107 Whom he reports to be a great magician, ■Obscured in the circle of this forest. Enter Touchstone and Audrey. Jaq. There is, sm-e, another flood toward, and these couples are coming to the ark ! Here comes a pair of very strange beasts, which in all tongues are called fools. Touch. Salutation and greeting to you alll Jaq. Good my lord, bid him welcome ; This is the motley-minded gentleman, that I have so often met in the forest: he hath been a courtier, he swears. Touch. If any man doubt that, let him put me to my purgation. I have trod a measure ;* I have flattered a lady; I have been politick with my friend, smooth with mine enemy; I have undone three tailors ; I have had four quarrels, and hke to have fought one, Jaq. And how was that ta'en up ?* Touch. 'Faith, we met, and found the quarrel was upon the seventh cause. Jaq. How seventh cause ? — Good my lord, like this fellow. Duke S. I hke him very well. Touch. God'ild you, sir; I desire you of the hke.'^^) I press in here, sir, amongst the rest of the country copulatives, to swear, and to forswear; according as marriage binds, and blood breaks :(!'') " trod, a measure] He particularly fixes upon this as his mode -of proof, Malone says, because a measure was a very stately solemn dance : " — the wedding paannerly modest, as a measure full of state and ancientry." M. ado Stc. ^ How was that ta'en up] i. e. composed, made up. Touch- stone presently says, an j/" did it at once, " when seven justices could not take up a quarrel," 108 AS YOU LIKE IT. act v. A poor virgin, sir, an ill-favoured thing, sir, but mine own ; a poor humour of mine, sir, to take that that no man else will: Rich honesty dwells like a miser, sir, in a poor-house; as your pearl, in your foul oyster. DvKE S. By my faith, he is very swift and sen- tentious.'' Touch. According to the fool's bolt, sir, and such dulcet diseases.(ii^ Jaq. But, for the seventh cause; how did you find the quarrel on the seventh cause ? Touch. Upon a he seven times removed ; — Bear your body more seeming,*" Audrey: — as thus, sir. I did dishke the cut of a certain comtier's beard ;(i2) he sent me word, if I said his beard was not cut well, he was in the mind it was : This is called the Retort courteous. If I sent him word again, it was not well cut, he would send me word, he cut it to please himself: This is called the Quip modest. If again, it was not weU cut, he disabled my judgment :° This is called the Reply churlish. If again, it was not well cut, he would answer, I spake not true : This is called the Reproof valiant. If again, it was not well cut, he would say, I he : This is called the Countercheck quarrelsome: and so to the Lie cir- cumstantial, and the Lie direct. Jaq. And how oft did you say, his beard was not well cut ? Touch. I durst go no further than the Lie cir- " swift and sententious] i. e. prompt and pithy. " Having so swift and excellent a wit." M. ado Stc. III. 1. Ursula. ^ seeming] i. e. seemly. Seeming is used by Shakespeare for becoming, or fairness of appearance. " these keep " Seeming and savour all the winter long." Wint. T. Steevens. ' disabled my judgment ] i. e. impeached. See IV. 1. Rosal. sc. IV. AS YOU LIKE IT. 109 cumstantial,^^^) nor he durst not give me the Lie direct ; and so we measured swords and parted.* Jaq. Can you nominate in order now the degrees of the he ? Touch. O sir, we quarrel in print, by the book ;(i^) as you have books for good manners. I will name you the degrees. The first, the Retort courteous ; the second, the Quip modest ; the third, the Reply churhsh ; the fourth, the Reproof vahant ; the fifth, the Countercheck quarrelsome ; the sixth, the Lie with circumstance; the seventh, the Lie direct. AU these you may avoid, but the he direct; and you may avoid that too, with an If. I knew when seven justices could not take up a quarrel; but when the parties were met themselves, one of them thought but of an If, as. If you said so, then I said so; and they shook hands, and swore brothers. Your If is the only peace-maker ; much virtue in If. Jaq. Is not this a rare feUow, my lord ? he's as good at any thing, and yet a fool. DvKE S. He uses his folly hke a stalking-horse, and under the presentation of that, he shoots his wit. Enter Hymen, leading RosalindC^s) and Celia. Still Musick. Hym. Then is there mirth in heaven. When earthly things made even Atone together.^ Good duke, receive thy daughter. Hymen from heaven brought her. Yea, brought her hither ; That thou might'stjoin his hand with his, Whose heart within his bosom is. "■ measured swords and parted} i. e. drew them, without mak"- ing any pass. ^ atone together'] i. e. unite. See Coriol. IV. 6. Men. 110 AS YOU LIKE IT. act r. Ros. To you I give myself, for I am yours. \To Duke S. To you I give myself for I am yours. [To Orlando. DvKE S. If there be truth in sight, you are my daughter. Orl. If there be truth in sight, you are my Rosalind. Phe. If sight and shape be true. Why then, — my love adieu ! Ros. I'll have no father, if you be not he : — [To Duke S. I'll have no husband, if you be not he : — \_To Orlando. Nor ne'er w^ed woman, if you be not she. \_To Phebe. Hym. Peace, ho ! I bar confusion : 'Tis I must make conclusion Of these most strange events : Here's eight that must take hands. To join in Hymen's bands, If truth holds true contents.* You and you no cross shall part : [To Orlando and Rosalind. You and you are heart in heart : [To Oliver and Celia. You [To Phebe] to his love must accord. Or have a woman to your lord : — You and you are sure together, [To Touchstone and Audrey. , As the winter to foul weather. Whiles a wedlock-hymn we sing. Feed yourselves with questioning ; ^ That reason wonder may diminish. How thus we met, and these things finish. » If truth holds true contents] i. e. if truth contains truth : if the possession of truth be not imposture. » Feed yourselves with questioning] i. e. have your fill of chat or discoursing. See III. -1. Rosal. sc.iK AS YOU LIKE IT. Ill SONG. Wedding is great Juno's crown ; O blessed bond of board and bed! ^Tis Hymen peoples every town; High wedlock then be honoured : Honour, high honour and renown. To Hymen, god of every town ! DvKE S. O my dear niece, welcome thou art to me; Even daughter, welcome in no less degree. Phe. I wUl not eat my word, now thou art mine ; Thy faith my fancy to thee doth combine." [To SiLVIUS. Enter Jaques de Bois. Jaq. JOE B. Let me have audience for a word, or two; I am the second son of old sir Rowland, That bring these tidings to this fair assembly : Duke Frederick, (16) hearing how that every day Men of great worth resorted to this forest, Address'd a mighty power ;* which were on foot. In his own conduct, purposely to take His brother here, and put him to the sword : And to the skirts of this wild wood he came ; Where, meeting with an old rehgious man. After some question with him, was converted Both from his enterprize, and from the world : His crown bequeathing to his banish'd brother. And all their lands restor'd to them* again •tim.o.c. " Thy faith my fancy to thee doth combine] i. e. unite, attacb. In M. for M. the Duke calls Angelo the combinate husband of Mariana, III. 2. ; and see IV. 3. Duke. " I am combined." ^ Address'd a mighty power] i. e. prepared. See M, N. Dr. V. 1. rhilostr. 112 AS YOU LIKE IT. act v. That were with him exil'd : This to be true, I do engage my life, DvKE S. Welcome, young man ; Thou oflFer'st fairly to thy brothers wedding : To one his lands with-held ; and to the other, A land itself at large, a potent dukedom. First, in this forest, let us do those ends That here were well begun, and well begot : And after, every of this happy number. That have endur'd shrewd days and nights with us. Shall share the good of our returned fortune. According to the measure of their states. Meantime, forget this new-fall'n dignity. And fall into our rustick revelry : — Play, musick ; — and you brides and bridegrooms all. With measure heap'd in joy, to the measures faU." Jaq. Sir, by your patience; If I heard you rightly. The duke hath put on a rehgious hfe. And thrown into neglect the pompous court ? Jaq. de B. He hath. Jaq. To him will I : out of these convertites There is much matter to be heard and leam'd. — You to your former honour I bequeath ; [To Duke S. Your patience, and your virtue, well deserves it : — You [To Orlando] to a love, that your true faith doth merit :— You [To OLivfefi] to your land, and love, and great allies : — You [To SiLvius] to a long and weU deserved bed ; — And you [To Touchstone] to wranghng; for thy loving voyage Is but for two months victual'd : — So to your plea- sures ; I am for other than for dancing measures. * With measure heap'd in joy, to the measures fait] i. e. with a full measure, overflowing with joy, lead up the dance. See M. ado 8sc. II. 1. Beatr. sc. IK AS YOU LIKE IT. 113 Duke S. Stay, Jaques, stay. Jaq. To see no pastime I : — what you would have I'll stay to know at your abandon'd cave. \_Exit. Duke S. Proceed, proceed : we will begin these rites. And we do trust they'll end, in true delights.* [^A dance. "■ we do trust they'll end, in true delights] It may be observed, with concern, that Shakespeare has, on this occasion, forgot old Adam, the servant of Orlando, whose fidelity should have enti- tled him to notice at the end of the piece, as well as to that happiness which he would naturally have found, in the return of fortune to his master. Steevens. 114 AS YOU LIKE IT. EPILOGUE. Ros. It is not the fashion to see the lady the epilogue : but it is no more unhandsome, than to see the lord the prologue. If it be true, that good wine needs no bush,^^'^) 'tis true, that a good play- needs no epilogue : Yet to good wine they do use good bushes; and good plays prove the better by the help of good epilogues. What a case am I in then, that am neither a good epilogue, nor cannot insinuate(i8) with you in the behalf of a good play ? I am not furnished like a beggar,* therefore to beg will not become me : my way is, to conjure you ; and rU begin with the women. I charge you, O women, for the love you bear to men, to hke as much of this play as please you:'' and I charge you, O men, for the love you bear to women, (as I perceive by your simpermg, none of you hates them,) that between you and the women, the play may please. If I were a woman, I would kiss as many of you as had beards that pleased me, com- » furnished like a beggar] i. e. dressed : so before, he vfa,s furnished like a huntsman. Johnson. *' I charge you, women, for the love you hear to men, to like 5?e Xoerpji, avToc VTro(pi.eS,ae XafnraSt koXov iiSiop. iSptiie ^dfifipoaioio xvdziQ ■)(pooe aju/iiya XevKOig v^aai, (jiev, Trvoifje oaaov avrj\pev lap' tvdev aei poSoeuirav aval^eiutriv aiJTfirjv, Is it not a foule bird defiles her owne nest ? ' Steevens. ACT IV. 35 sc. ii.n. 13. sc. iii.n. 15. (12) ril go find a shadow, and sigh till he come] " Let Tis seek out some desolate shade, and there "■ Weep our sad bosoms empty." Macb. Steevens. (13) His leather skin and horns to wear'] " 'What news, Forrester ? Hast thou wounded some deere, and lost him in the fall ? Care not, man, for so small a losse ; thy fees was but the skinne, the shoulders, and the horns." Lodge's Rosalinde, 1592. Steevens. (14) Take thou no scorn, to wear the horn] In King John in two parts, 1591, we find " But let the foolish Frenchman take no scorn " If Philip front him with an English horn." Malonb. And in the old comedy of Grim the Collier of Croydon : " — — Unless your great infernal majesty " Do solemnly proclaim, no devil shall scorn " Hereafter still to wear the goodly horn." To take scorn occurs in I. H. VI. IV. 4. " And take foul scorn, to fawn on him by sending." Steevens. We find " Thinke discourtesie," Prol. to Sir John Harrington's Metam. of Ajax, 1596. So " thinks scorn." Cymh. IV. 4. Bel. (15) Patience herself would startle at this letter. And play the swaggerer ;] " This would make mercy swear, and play the tyrant." M.for M. Steevens. (16) a tame snake] i. e. spiritless. " If those sUie poore soules had taken up armour against his majesties power, they might justly be called rebels ; but, alas ! they were silie poore snakes, utterly unarmed." Tobacco tor- tured, 4to. 1616, p. 156. " And still the poorest, miserable snakes." " MeUusque miserrimus horum." Juv. XI. 12. Fasciculus florum. 12mo. 1636, p. 161. (17) purlieus of this forest] Purlieu, says Manwood's Treatise on the Forest Laws, c. xx. " Is a certaine territorie of ground adjoyning unto the forest, meared and bounded with unmoveable marks, meeres, and boundaries : which territories of ground was also forest, and afterwards disaforested againe by the perambulations made for the severing of the new forest from the old." Reed. Purlieus are the outskirts or borders. The derivation of the word, which our other dictionaries had not before given, ap- pears in Todd. " Pur, Fr. clear, exempt, and liea, a place." " In ACT TV. 36 sc. III. H. III.'s time the charta de Foresta was established 5 so that there was much land disafforested, which hath been called pour- lieus ever since." Howell's Letters, IV. 16. (18) The rank of osiers] i. e. row. " Short be the rank of pearles, circling her tongue." Wit's Interpreter, 8vo. 1571, P- 226. " If all committers stood in a rank, " They'd make a lane &c." Decker's Honest Whore, Part I. See " rank'd," Tim. I. 1. Poet. (19) bestows himself, like, &c.] i. e. carries, shows. Stee- vens instances II. H. IV. " How might we see Falstaff bestow himself to-night in his true colours, and not ourselves be seen." (20) this bloody napkin] " A napkin or handkerchiefe, wherewith wee wipe away the sweate. Sudarium." Baret's Alv. 1580. Steevens cites Ray, that a pocket handkerchief is so called about Sheffield, in Yorkshire : and Greene's Never too Late, .1616 : "I can wet one of my new lockram napkins with weeping." Napery, indeed, signifies linen in general in Decker's Honest Whore, 1635 : " pr'ythee put me into wholesome napery." And in Chapman's May -Day, 1611 : " Besides your munition of manchet napery plates." Naperia, Ital. Steevens. (21) Under an oak, &c.] The passage stands thus in Lodge's novel : " Saladyne, wearie with wandring up and downe, and hungry with long fasting, finding a little cave by the side of a thicket, eating such fruite as the forrest did affoord, and con- tenting himself with such drinke as nature had provided, and thirst made delicate, after his repast he fell into a dead sleepe. As thus he lay, a hungry lyon came hunting downe the edge of the grove for pray, and espying Saladyne, began to ceaze upon him ; but seeing he lay still without any motion, he left to touch him, for that lyons hate to pray on dead carkasses : and yet desirous to have some foode, the lyon lay downe and watcht to see if he would stirre. While thus Saladyne slept secure, fortune that was careful of her champion, began to smile, and brought it so to passe, that Rosader (having stricken a deere that but lightly hurt fled through the thicket) came pacing downe by the grove with a boare-speare in his hande in great haste, he spyed where a man lay asleepe, and a lyon fast by him : amazed at this sight, as he stood gazing, his nose on the sodaine bledde, which made him conjecture it was some friend of his. Whereupon drawing more nigh, he might easily dis- cerne his visage, and perceived by his piiisnomie that it was his ACT IV, 37 SC. III. brother SaJadyne, which drave Rosader into a deepe passion, as a man perplexed, &c. ^But the present time craved no such doubting ambages ; for he must eyther resolve to hazard his life for his reliefe, or else steale away and leave him to the crueltie of the lyon. In which doubt hee thus briefly debated," &c. Steevens. (22) To prey on nothing that doth seem as dead] " There is a great clemencie in lions ; they will not hurt them that lie groveling." Choise of Change, &c. 4to. 1585. " Their mercie IS known by oft examples ; for they spare them that lye on the ground." BartholomcEus. " Brother, you have a vice of mercy in you, " Which better fits a lion than a man." Tr. and Cress. V. 3. Douce's Illustr. 1. 307". (23) — I — Cousin — Ganymede] Celia, in her first fright, for- gets Rosalind's character and disguise, and calls out cousin, then recollects herself, and says, Ganymede. Johnson. ACT V. SC. II. note 2. (1) meaning thereby, that grapes were made to eat, and lips to open. You do love this maid] Part of this dialogue seems to have grown out of the novel on which the play is formed : " Phebe is no latice for your lips, and her grapes hang so hie, that gaze at them you may, but touch them you cannot." Malone. So much of nothing, set out in so much form, is, indeed, simply taken, enough in character ; but was probably meant to ridicule something now out of reach. (2) clubs cannot part theni] i. e. " the interposition of the civic guard, armed with clubs, when that outcry is made for as- sistance, on the breaking out of an afifray. Malone observes, that the preceding words " they are in the very ivrath of love," give the introduction of this word a marked propriety here j and he cites Tit. Andron. " Clubs, clubs ; these lovers will not keep the peace." II. 1. Aaron. See H. Fin. V. 3. Porter's Man. (3) which I tender dearly, though I say I am a magician] And therefore might be supposed able to elude death. Malone. ACT,V. 38 sc. III. note 5. Certainly, as M. Mason observes at the end of Mids. N. Dr., the fairies of Shakespeare, and of common tradition, were en- dowed with immortahty. Such too is his spirit Ariel, and Mil- ton's Comus. But the witch Sycorax was no more than mortal ; neither was Prospero, who had power to control her. The san- guinary laws enacted by James against those who exercised witchcraft could not, as supposed by Warburton and Steevens, affect this question, if, as Malone, Chalmers, and Douce concur, this play was not written later than 1600. (4) 'tis like the howling of Irish wolves against the moori] i. e. " the same monotonous chime wearisomely and sickeningly re- peated." Malone observes, that this expression is borrowed from Lodge's Rosalynde, 1592 : " I tell thee, Montanus, in courting Phoebe, thou barkest with the wolves of Syria, against the moone." In that place, however, it imports an aim at im- possibilities, a sense which, whatever may be Rosalind's mean- ing, cannot very well be attached to it here. (5) desire to he a woman of the world] i. e. to be married. " If I may have your ladyship's good wiU to go to the world, IsbeU the woman and I wiU do as we may." All's well Sfc. I. 3. Clown. See M. ado Sfc. II. 1. Beatr., and Ant. and CI. I. 2. CL (6) a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino] It is observable, that amongst other scraps and burdens of songs, Ophelia, under her visitation of madness, Haml. IV. 5. sings this, as well as others of a similar character : and see Lear III. 3. Edgar. Douce quotes Melismata, musical phansies, Sfc. 4to. 1611, and Playford's musical Companion, p. 55. " He that will an alehouse keepe " Must have three things in store j " A chamber and a feather bed, " A chimney, and a hey no-ny no-ny, " Hey no-ny no-ny, hey no-ny no, " Hey no-ny no, hey no-ny no." Illustrat. II. 162. See Florio's Ital. Diet. 1611, sub voce Fossa. (7) The spring time, the only pretty rang time'] Whatever the meaning of this word, the reading of Dr. Johnson, rank, though it offers a sense no way foreign to the ideas afloat in this ballad, wants the ease and flow that belongs to the playful character of such rhymes. Rang and tang, and such chiming monosyllables, as rang a rang, tang a tang, are in frequent use by nurses with children, when any shrill or jocund sound is heard, or made by them- selves. Rang time may then be the season of joyous sounds. " When birds do sing, hey ding a ding." ACT V. 39 sc. IV. note 8. The season of the " canere undique sylvas" of Lucretius, 1. 257, and VirgU's Georg. I. 422, " avium concentus in agros, " Et laetse pecudes, & ovantes gutture corvi." In addition we shall throw out for the reader's anausement an extract from R. Brathwayt's Wildman's Measures, 8vo. 1621. p. 211. " Measures store, to please thy mind ; " Roundelayes, Irish-hayes, " Cogs and rongs, and Peggie Ramsie." That Peggy Ramsie did not class amongst songs of the most correct character may be collected from the note on Peg a Ramsey. Tw. N. II. 3. Sir Toby. (8) make these doubts all even] i. e. remove doubts, which may be said to be in the nature of knobs or inequalities, ob- structing our course. Steevens refers to " yet death we fear, " That makes these odds all even." M./or M. V (9) / desire you of the like'] i. e. the like of you. Steevens cites Greene's Groatsworth of Wit, 1621 : " Craving you ofiaote acquaintance." And F. Q. IV. viii. " She dear besought the prince o/" remedy." And Heywood's Play of the Wether • " Besech3mge your grace of wynde continual." See M. N. Dr. III. 1. Bottom. (10) as marriage binds, and blood breaks] i. e. " as the marriage-rite imposes the obligation, and heat of blood prompts to its breach." So M. ado Sfc. II. 1. Claud. " Beauty is a witch, " Against whose charms faith melteth into blood." See " blood thy direction." TV. and Cr. II. 3. Friar. (11) the fool's bolt, sir, and such dulcet diseases] i.e. such pleasant fooleries or sayings, as I have been scattering about ; and which are epidemical among us as diseases. Malone has produced a very apt instance of the same species of writing and humour in Launcelot Gobbo : — " the young gentleman (according to the fates and destinies, and such odd sayings, the sisters three, and such branches of learning,) is in- deed deceased." M. of Ven. II. 2.. ACTV. 40 sc.iv. (12) as thus, sir. I did dislike the cut of a certain cour- tier's beard] This folly is touched upon, with high humour, by Fletcher, in his Queen of Corinth : Has he familiarly " Dislik'd your yellow starch, or said your doublet " Was not exactly frenchified ? ; " or drawn your sword, " Cry'd, 'twas ill mounted ? Has he given the lie " In circle, or oblique, or semicircle, " Or direct ■parallel ? you must challenge him." Wabburton. (13) I durst go no further than the lie circumstantial] This was certainly, as he sets them out, " finding the quarrel upon the sixth, and not, as he had just said, upon the seventh cause." But the correction or amendment of the humour, or blunder- ing random shot of Shakespeare's clowns, is one of the most mischievous parts of the mischievous process of conjectural criticism. And the suggestion of Johnson, that the text should be altered, because Touchstone had not been uniform in his statement of the gradation of causes that prevented his fighting this duel, has been judiciously rejected by the modern editors. The course indeed which Malone takes, would remove all diffi- culties 5 and he repeatedly insists that the seventh cause, i. e. the lie seven times removed, properly understood (which, he says, is by counting backwards from the lie direct, the last and most aggravated species of lie) was the first, or the retort courteous. But this involves a much stranger contradiction : he could not then have gone further j and this he represents that he might have done, had he dared. (14) O sir, we quarrelin print, by the hook ; you have books for good manners] The poet has, in this scene, rallied the mode of formal duelling, then so prevalent, with the highest humour and address : nor could he have treated it with a happier con- tempt, than by making his Clown so knowing in the forms and preliminaries of it. The particular book here alluded to is a very ridiculous treatise of one Vincentio Saviolo, intitled, Of Honour and honourable Quarrels, in quarto, printed by Wolf, 1594. The first part of this tract he entitles, A Discourse most necessary for all Gentlemen that have in regard their Honours, touching the giving and receiving the Lie, whereupon the Duello and the Combat in divers forms doth ensue ; and many other inconveniences, for lack only of true Knowledge of Honour, and the right Understanding of Words, which here is set down. The contents of the several chapters are as follow : — I. What the Reason is that the Party unto whom the Lie is given ought to become Challenger, and of the nature of Lies. II. Of the Manner and Diversity of Lies. III. Of Lies certain, lor direct.'] IV. Of conditional Lies, [or the Lie circumstantial.] V. Of the ACT V. 41 SC. IV. Lie in general. VI. Of the Lie in particular. VII. Of foolish Lies. VIII. A conclusion touching the wresting or returning back of the Lie, [or the countercheck quarrelsome.'] In the chapter of conditional Lies, speaking of the particle if, he says, " — Conditional Lies be such as are given conditionally, as if a man should say or write these wordes : — if thou hast said that I have ofiFered my lord abuse, thou liest ; or if thou sayest so hereafter, thou shalt lie. Of these kind of lies, given in this manner, often arise much contention in wordes, — whereof no sure conclusion can arise." By which he means, they cannot proceed to cut one another's throat, while there is an if between. Which is the reason of Shakespeare making the Clown say, " I knew when seven justices could not make up a quarrel : but when the parties were met themselves, one of them thought but of an if ; as, if you said so, then I said so, and they shook hands, and swore brothers. Your if is the only peace-maker : much virtue in if." Caranza was another of these authentic authors upon the Duello. Fletcher, in his last Act of Love's Pilgrimage, ridi- cules him with much humour. Warbubton. The words which I have included within crotchets are Dr. Warburton's. They have hitherto been printed in such a man- ner as might lead the reader to suppose that they made a part of Saviolo's work. The passage was very inaccurately printed by Dr. Warburton in other respects, but has here been corrected by the original. Malone. I have The Boke of Nurture, or Schole of good Manners, for Men, Servants, and Children, with stans puer ad mensam ; 12mo. black letter, without date. It was written by Hugh Rhodes, a gentleman, or musician, of the Chapel Royal ; and was first published in 4to. in the reign of King Edward VI. Stebvens. The Boke Ssc for Men-Servauntes, 4to. 1563 is Imprinted by Thomas East Breadstreet at the nether ende. Another is, Galateo of Maister John Casa, Archbishop of Be- nevento ; or rather, a Treatise of the Manners and Behaviours it behoveth a Man to use and eschewe in his familiar Conversa- tion. A Work very necessary and profitable for all Gentlemen or other ; translated from the Italian, by Robert Peterson, of Lincoln's Inn, 4to. 1576. Reed. We have the second cause, Ro. and Jul. II. 4. Merc. (15) Enter Hymen, leading Rosalind] Rosalind is imagined by the rest of the company to be brought by enchantment, and is therefore introduced by a supposed aerial being in the cha- racter of Hymen. Johnson. Steevens says, in all the allegorical shows exhibited at ancient weddings. Hymen was a constant personage. Ben Jon- son in his Hymencei, or the Solemnities of Masque and Barriers, at a Marriage, has left instructions how to dress this favourite character. " On the other hand entered Hymen, the god of marriage, in a saffron-coloured robe, his under vestures white. ACT V. 42 sc. IV. his sockes yellow^ a yellow veile of silke on his left arme, his head crowned with roses and marjoram, in his right hand a torch." Steevens. It is necessary to ohserve, that the modern editors have here introduced, not only without any authority, but in contradiction to what follows. Hymen leading Rosalind in women's clothes ; and in consequence have found it necessary to change the gen- der of two of the pronouns in the two last lines of the following hymn : and instead of his, in the first and third instances, they read her. Before our attention had been directed to this variance be- tween the old copies and the modern editions, we had conceived that our author had repeatedly used the masculine pronoun in reference to the previously assumed character, and " doublet and hose" dress of Rosalind ; but it seems now from this as well as other considerations, that her dress could not have been altered. The duke, her father, who did not now know or sus- pect who she was, (although he had just before said, " he re- membered some lively touches of his daughter in this shepherd boy,") must, one would think, have at once recognized her in a female dress j and she must also have delivered the epilogue in a male habit, or she could hardly have used the expression, " if I were a woman." That the text is correct there may be much doubt. The introduction of the words " in women's clothes" in the modern editions, was probably in consequence of the stage practice, and the mode of representation there. (16) Duke Frederick, &c.] In Lodge's novel the usurping Duke is not diverted from his purpose by the pious counsel of a hermit, but is subdued and killed by the twelve peers of France, who were brought by the third brother of Rosader (the Orlando of this play) to assist him in the recovery of his right. Steevens. (17 no bitsh'] It appears formerly to have been the custom to hang a tuft of ivy at the door of a vintner. I suppose ivy was rather chosen than any other plant, as it has relation to Bacchus. So, in Gascoigne's Glass of Government, 1575 : " Now a days the good wyne needeth none ivye gar- land." Again, in the Rival Friends, 1632 : " 'Tis like the ivy-bush unto a tavern." Again, in Summer's Last Will and Testament, 1600 : " Green ivy-bushes at the vintners' doors." Steevens. The practice is still observed in Warwickshire and the ad- joining counties, at statute-hirings, wakes, &c. by people who sell ale at no other time. And hence, I suppose, the Bush tavern at Bristol, and other places. Ritson. ACT V. 43 SC. IV. (18) IVhat a case am I in then, that am neither a good epilogue, nor cannot insinuate with you, &c.] i. e. " Although to good ■wine and good plays, bushes and good epilogues are needless or superfluous, yet such accidents recommend the subject, such accompaniments heighten and improve. What a sorry plight then am I in, who am not a good epilogue, and have not so much of address or insinuation, as to interest you on behalf even of a good play." For the use of the word insinuate, see Wint. T. IV. 3. Autol., and R. III. I. 4. 2 Murd. (19) and breaths that I defied not'] i. e. abhorred, detested, or scorned : as M. for M. II. 1 . Elbow. Defy is reject. K. John. III. 4. Const., and renounce, I. H. IV. I. 3. Hotsp. " I thy gifts defy." F. Q. II. VII. 52. THE END. LONDON : INTKU BV W. NICOL, CLEVELAND ROW, ST. JAMES's. ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA. Advert, p. xv. 1. 15. for 1574 read 1594. H. I. 1. p. 6. 1. 10. for hath read has. So fos. 1623, 32. The 4tos. give hath. p. 9. 1. 34. for preparation read preparations. 2. p. 14. 1. 9. for toward read towards. So fos. 1623, 32. The 4tos. give toward. p. 16. 1. 9. for or read a. So fos. 1623, 32. The 4tos. or. p. 18. 1. 14. for my read mine. So fos. 1623, 32, and the orig. 4to. 1603. p. 19. 1. 9. hear 4tos. have fos. p. 22. 1. 5. for I will read I'll. So fos. 1623, 32. The 4tos. / will. 1. 7. I warrant, it will, 4tos. I warrant you it will, fos. 1. 15. for you read ye. So fos. 1623, 32. The 4tos. you. 1. 18. duties 4to. 1603. 1. 19. love, fos. 1623, 32, but loves the 4tos. and 4to. 1603, O your loves, your loves. 3. p. 27. 1- 29. From this time, 4tos. For this time. Daughter, fos. p. 28. to note c. add. See " an eye of green." Temp. II. 1. Seb. 4. p. 28. 1. 21. it then, 4tos. then it, fos. p. 32. 1. 22. hands, 4tos. hand, fos. 5. p. 33. 1. 23. for fire read fires, so 4tos.^e«, fos. p. 35. 1. 25. dele the. The article here which clogs the flow of the verse is not found in any of the copies, to note b. add, as free from every source of disquietude. Quis enim securus amavit ? Ovid, Ep. XIX. 109. p. 39. 1. 26. dele the hyphen ; and instead of note c. read [With arms encumber'd thus, or thus, head shake] i. e. with arms close pressed upon each other, folded, in such or such a manner, shake the head, p. 40. 1. 1 . for This do you swear, read this not to do. H. II. 1. p. 44. 1. 15. Alas, my lord, I have been, fos. p. 45. 1. 8. shoulders, fos. & 4tos. except 1603 which gives shoulder. 1. Ib.feare, fos. fear'd, 4tos. 1. 35. come, is in the 4tos. only, and therefore should be jn brackets. 2. p. 47. 1. 18. Go, some of you, and bring these, 4tos. Go, some of ye, and bring the, fos. p. 50. 1. 7. And pity 'tis, 'tis true, 4tos. And pity it is true, fos. H. II. 2. p. 51. 1. 23. thus I did bespeake, fos. & 4tos. p. 54. 1. 3. I mean, the matter you mean, fos. the matter that you read, 4tos. 1. 9. all which, sir, fos. & 4tos. not, all of which, sir. 1. 29. my lord, fos. the, 4tos. , . , i- confession, fos. a kind of confession, 4tos. p. 58. 1. 7- there was, fos. & 4tos. p. 59. 1. 4. [How comes it, &c. — Hercules and his load too.] tho' put in brackets, this whole passage is in the fos. 1623, 32 ; but omitted in the 4tos. 1. 5. keeps in the wonted place, fos. p. 65. 1. 37. Prythee no more, 4tos. Pray you no more, fos. p. 66. 1. 2. abstract, 4tos. abstracts, fos. p. 68. 1. 1. brains, 4tos. braine, fos. H. III. 1. p. 75. 1. 11. make yourselfe another, fos. yourselfes, 4tos. , ^ -| p. 76. 1. 27. To shew his I ^^^yf } fos. his grief, 4tos. U™/«/ ^ 2. p. 77. 1. 6. the town crier had spoke, fos. crier spoke, 4tos. I. 16. I could have such a fellow, fos. would 4tos. p. 78. 1. 15. with us, sir, fos. sir, omitted, 4tos. p. 79. last 1. like absurd pomp, fos. Uck, 4tos. p. 80. 1. 9. Hath tane, fos. hast tane, 4tos. I. 22. mine uncle, fos. my unde, 4tos. 1. 29. To censure, fos. In censure 4tos. p. 81. 1. 12. That I did, my lord, fos. did I, 4tos. p. 83. 1. 18. that means mischief, fos. it, 4tos. p. 87.1- 13. protests too much,fos.doth protest, 4tos. p. 90. 1. 12. his doctor, fos. the doctor, 4tos. 1. 29. such answers as I can make, fos. answere, 4tos. 1. 30. rather, you say, fos. rather as you say, 4tos. p. 91.1. 5. impart should be in brackets ; the read- ing of 4tos. but not of fos. p. 93. 1. 4. yonder cloud, 4tos. that cloud, fos. 4. p. 101. 1. 11. and command, 4tos. or command, fos. p. 105. 1. 8. my uncle's, 4tos. mine uncle's, fos. H. IV. 3. p. 113. 1. 9. two dishes, 1632 & 4tos. to dishes, 1623. p. 114. 1. 2. is bent, 4tos. at bent, fos. 5. p. 119. last 1. ho ! should be in brackets, as not in 1623. p. 122. 1. 14. attend, as above, in brackets, p. 126. 1. 16. oh, you must wear, fos. oh, is omitted, 4tDS. H. IV. 7- P- 131. 1. 20. tK occasions, fos. the occasion, 4tos. p. 132. 1. 6. If so you'll not o'er-rule me, fos. I my lordj so you wiU not, 4tos. p. 133. 1. 5. doing, fos. & 4tos. p. 135. 1. 19. on your heads, fos. o'er, 4tos. p. 137. 1- 21. their drink, 1632 & 4tos. her drink, 1623. H. V. 1. p. 144. 1. 29. 'Twill not be seen in him, there the men, fos. seen in him there, there the, 4tos. p. 148. 1. 15. and not t'have strew'd, fos. and not have strew'd, 4tos. p. 150. 1. 7. couplet are, fos. couplets are, 4tos. 2. p. 155. 1. 17. say, 1632 & 4tos. saw, 1623. p. 156. 1. 2. your bonnet, 4tos. Put your bonnet, fos. p. 159. 1. 8. he imponed as I, fos. he has impawn'd, 4tos. p. 162. 1. 13. obey, fos. obey it, 4tos. p. 163. 1. 31. do embrace, fos. embrace, 4tos. p. 169. I. 3. more and less, fos. & 4tos. more or less. Johnson and Steeyens. NOTES TO HAMLET. I. 1. p. 9. after note (15) — [the King, that was and is] We have added a comma here after " the King," thinking the quaint and huddled manner in which the past and present tense of the verb is given most in the character and style of our author. In the original quartos there is no punctuation. If a comma is put after " was," the preceding words will signify the late King. The reader wiU punctuate and understand according to his fancy. This passage is not to be foimd in the original quarto, 1603. I. 3. p. 28. Eifter note (62) — [I wiU requite your loves — All. Our duty to your honour. H. Your loves, as mine to you] The original quarto of 1603 gives, O, your loves, your loves. The exclamation here, and this emphatic reiteration of the plural " loves," (for as all the copies agree, which they do in nothing else, Hamlet com- mences with this plural) seem to require that we should adopt this reading. Which for the above reason we are induced to do ; and, though not imme- diately to our point, would take leave to observe that the whole of this is in perfect accordance with the characteristic courtesy and affectionate warmth with which Hamlet is ever seen to address those whom he considers as his friends. It is the breathing of the same spirit, that, in answer to Horatio's " Your poor servant ever," exclaimed, " Sir, my good friend; I'll change that name with you." I. 2. p. 18. 4 II. 1. p. 48. note (9) after " I can't catch words, — and pity those who can." Rosciad. Upon mentioning this as we once did in pretty strong terms to the late Mr. Hampton, the translator of Polybius, he said, that it was a fact perfectly well known to all who were at all acquainted with the subject; and that Sheridan, who was so unhappily organized as to be utterly incapable of exemplifying his excellent precepts, would frequently point out to him his errors ; and that on one occasion of this sort (in which Garrick wagered a rump and dozen in support of his method of speaking, but wisely put the wager on the issue of his drawing a plaudit from the audience) he (Mr. H.) was seated in Garrick's box as one of the judges ; that Garrick did perfect justice, delivered the passage quite in his own way, but mouthed it and looked at the galleries with that sort of demand of applause, that it drew down a thunder of it, and as Garrick passed off the stage he lolled out his tongue at Sheridan and the judges, who sat in his pigeon-hole where they only could see him : but that every one of the judges felt upon the subject more strongly than Churchill, when he penned the above lines. AS YOU LIKE IT. I. 2. p. 15. 1. 10. the destinies decrees, O. C. II. 4. p. 37- 1. 13. for ne'er love read never love. 1. 25. for my own read mine own. 6. p. 43. 1. 3. for I'll read / will. 1. 5. for cheerily read cheerely. 1. 9. Cheerely, good Adam, O. C. 44. 1. 12. for may we read we may, 58. 1. 5. his heart, O. C. 61. 1. 15. dele very. 65. 1. 16. so 1632, defying the name, 1623. 74. 1. 11. for unto read to. 76. last 1. but one. That makes the world, O. C. 91. 1. 4. for wilt you read wilt thou. 1. 24. for I should read should I. 92. 1. 9. handkercher, O. C. 93. lastl. so 1632, I' brief, 1623. 98. 1. 7. for seek you read seekes you. 1. 17. for nor her sudden consenting read nor sudden consenting, i. e. nor the sudden consentgiven. p. 99. 1. 14. handkercher, O. C. 1. 20. so 1632, overcome, 1623. . p. 106. 1. 22. for If she refuses read If she refuse. p. 108. 1. 25. so 1632, to lie circumstantial, 1623. p. 109. Hym. 1. 6. brought her hether, O. C. p. 113. 1. 5. so 1632, we' el begin, 1623. 7. p. III. 2, ■ p. P- P- 5. p. P- IV. 3 .p. P- P- V. 1. p. 2.