1 LORD. Joy and all comfort in your sacred

breast.

2 LORD. And keep your mind, till you return to

us,

Peaceful and comfortable!

HEL. Peace, peace, my lords, and give experience tongue.

They do abuse the king, that flatter him:

For flattery is the bellows blows up sin;
The thing the which is flatter'd, but a spark,
To which that breath gives heat and stronger
glowing1;

Whereas reproof, obedient, and in order,

Fits kings, as they are men, for they may err.
When signior Sooth 2 here does proclaim a peace,
He flatters you, makes war upon your life:
Prince, pardon me, or strike me, if you please;
I cannot be much lower than my knees.

PER. All leave us else; but let your cares o'erlook

What shipping, and what lading's in our haven, And then return to us. [Exeunt Lords.] Helicanus,

thou

Hast moved us: what seest thou in our looks?

HEL. An angry brow, dread lord.

PER. If there be such a dart in prince's frowns,

To which that BREATH, &c.] i. e. the breath of flattery. The old copy reads that spark; the word (as Mr. Steevens has observed,) being accidentally repeated by the compositor. He would read-that wind. MALONE.

This passage seems to be corrupt, as it stands, and the sense requires that we should read:

"To which that blast gives heat and stronger glowing." Steevens agrees with me in the necessity of some amendment, but proposes to read wind, which I think not so proper a word as blast. M. MASON.

2 When signior Sooth-] A near kinsman of this gentleman is mentioned in The Winter's Tale: "and his pond fish'd by his next neighbour, by sir Smile, his neighbour." MALONE.

How durst thy tongue move anger to our face? HEL. How dare the plants look up to heaven, from whence

They have their nourishment 3 ?

PER.

To take thy life.

Thou know'st I have power

HEL. [Kneeling.] I have ground the axe myself; Do you but strike the blow.

PER.

Rise, pr'ythee rise;

Sit down, sit down; thou art no flatterer:

I thank thee for it; and high heaven forbid, That kings should let their ears hear their faults hid"!

Fit counsellor, and servant for a prince,

Who by thy wisdom mak'st a prince thy servant, What would'st thou have me do?

HEL.

With patience bear

Such griefs as you do lay upon yourself.

PER. Thou speak'st like a physician, Helicanus ; Who minister'st a potion unto me,

That thou would'st tremble to receive thyself.
Attend me then I went to Antioch,

3 How dare the PLANTS look up to heaven, from whence They have their nourishment?] Thus the quarto 1609, Mr. Rowe, &c. read:

"How dare the planets look up unto heaven

"From whence they have their nourishment?'

It would puzzle a philosopher to ascertain the quality of planetary nourishment, or to discover how planets, which are already in heaven, can be said to look up to it. STEEVENS.

That kings should LET their ears hear their faults hid!] Heaven forbid, that kings should stop their ears, and so prevent them from hearing their secret faults!-To let formerly signified to hinder.

So, in Hamlet:

By heaven I'll make a ghost of him that lets me." Again, in Tancred and Gismund, 1592:

"Nor base suspect of aught to let his suit." MALONE. I am not clear, but that let is here used in its ordinary sense: "Forbid it, heaven, (says Pericles,) that kings should suffer their ears to hear their failings palliated!" HOLT WHITE.

Where, as thou know'st, against the face of death,
I sought the purchase of a glorious beauty,
From whence an issue I might propagate,
Are arms to princes, and bring joys to subjects".
Her face was to mine eye beyond all wonder;
The rest (hark in thine ear,) as black as incest;
Which by my knowledge found, the sinful father
Seem'd not to strike, but smooth: but thou
know'st this,

'Tis time to fear, when tyrants seem to kiss.
Which fear so grew in me, I hither fled,
Under the covering of a careful night,

6 From whence an issue I might propagate,

Are arms to princes, and bring joys to subjects.] From whence I might propagate an issue that are arms, &c. MALONE. I once imagined that a line was wanting to complete the sense of this passage, and that the deficiency might be supplied as follows:

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a glorious beauty,

"From whence an issue I might propagate;

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For royal progeny are general blessings,
"Bring arms to princes, and to subjects joy.
"Her face," &c.

Influenced, however, by the subsequent remark of Mr. M. Mason, I have recovered the sense for which he contends, by omitting one word in the corrupted line, and transposing others. STEEVENS.

Mr. Steevens reads:

"Bring arms to princes, and to subjects joys." BOSWELL. The meaning of this passage is clearly this: "From whence I might propagate such issue, as bring additional strength to princes, and joy to their subjects." The expression is certainly faulty; but it seems to be the fault of the author, not the printer. I believe it was written as it stands. M. MASON.

7 Seem'd not to strike, but sмOOTH:] To smooth formerly signified to flatter. See note on "-smooth every passion," in

King Lear, vol. x. p. 93, n. 7. MALONE.

To smooth in this place means to stroke. In the same sense we should understand the word in Milton's Comus, v. 251 :

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- smoothing the raven down

"Of darkness, till it smil'd."

They say in some counties smooth-instead of stroke, the cat.

HOLT WHITE.

Who seem'd my good protector; and being here,
Bethought me what was past, what might succeed.
I knew him tyrannous; and tyrants' fears
Decrease not, but grow faster than their years:
And should he doubt it, (as no doubt he doth 9,)
That I should open to the listening air,
How many worthy princes' bloods were shed,
To keep his bed of blackness unlaid ope,-
To lop that doubt, he'll fill this land with arms,
And make pretence of wrong that I have done him;
When all, for mine, if I may call❜t, offence,

Must feel war's blow, who spares not innocence 1:
Which love to all (of which thyself art one,
Who now reprov'st me for it)

HEL.

Alas, sir!

PER. Drew sleep out of mine eyes, blood from my cheeks,

Musings into my mind, a thousand doubts
How I might stop this tempest, ere it came;
And finding little comfort to relieve them,

8 than THEIR years :] Old copy-the years. Their suspicions outgrow their years; a circumstance sufficiently natural to veteran tyrants. The correction is mine. STEEVENS.

9 And should he DOUBT IT, (as no doubt he doth,)] The quarto 1609 reads:

"And should he doo't, as no doubt he doth-." from which the reading of the text has been formed. The repetition is much in our author's manner, and the following words, to lop that doubt, render this emendation almost certain.

MALONE.

Here is an apparent corruption. I should not hesitate to read -doubt on't-or,-doubt it. To doubt is to remain in suspense or uncertainty. Should he be in doubt that I shall keep this secret, (as there is no doubt but he is,) why, to "lop that doubt," i. e. to get rid of that painful uncertainty, he will strive to make me appear the aggressor, by attacking me first as the author of some supposed injury to himself. STEEVENS.

who SPARES not innocence:] Thus the eldest quarto. All the other copies read corruptly:

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"— who fears not innocence."

MALONE.

I thought it princely charity to grieve them3.
HEL. Well, my lord, since you have given me
leave to speak,

Freely I'll speak. Antiochus you fear,
And justly too, I think, you fear the tyrant,
Who either by publick war, or private treason,
Will take away your life.

Therefore, my lord, go travel for a while,
Till that his rage and anger be forgot,
Or Destinies do cut his thread of life.
Your rule direct to any; if to me,

Day serves not light more faithful than I'll be.
PER. I do not doubt thy faith;

But should he wrong my liberties in absence-
HEL. We'll mingle bloods together in the earth,
From whence we had our being and our birth.

PER. Tyre, I now look from thee then, and to
Tharsus

Intend my travel, where I'll hear from thee;
And by whose letters I'll dispose myself.
The care I had and have of subjects' good,

On thee I lay, whose wisdom's strength can bear it*.
I'll take thy word for faith, not ask thine oath;
Who shuns not to break one, will sure crack both 5:
But in our orbs we'll live so round and safe,

3 I thought it princely charity to GRIEVE THEM.] That is, to lament their fate. The eldest quarto reads-to grieve for them.But a rhyme seems to have been intended. The reading of the text was furnished by the third quarto 1630, which, however, is of no authority. MALONE.

4 -

-whose wisdom's strength can bear it.] Pericles transferring his authority to Helicanus during his absence, naturally brings the first scene of Measure for Measure to our mind.

MALONE.

s will SURE crack both :] Thus the folio. The word sure is not found in the quarto. MALONE.

6 But in our orbs WE'LL live so round and safe,] The first quarto reads-will live. For the emendation I am answerable.