Good word, nor look: What, are my deeds forgot? A great-sized monster of ingratitudes : Those scraps are goods deeds past: which are devour'd As done: Perséverance, dear my lord, In monumental mockery. Take the instant way; Where one but goes abreast: keep then the path; That one by one pursue: If you give way, Or, like a gallant horse fallen in first rank, O'er-run and trampled on: Then what they do in pre sent, Though less than yours in past, must o'ertop yours: 6 Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back.] This speech is printed in all the modern editions with such deviations from the old copy, as exceed the lawful power of an editor. Johnson. This image is literally from Spenser: "And eeke this wallet at your backe arreare "And in this bag, which I behinde me don, Fairy Queen, B. VI, c. viii, st. 24. Boaden. 7 to the abject rear,] So Hanmer. All the editors before him read-to the abject near. Johnson. & O'er-run &c.] The quarto wholly omits the simile of the horse, and reads thus: Johnson. And leave you hindmost, then what they do at present · The folio seems to have some omission, for the simile begins Or, like a gallant horse The construction is, Or, like a gallant horse, &c. you lie there for pavement ; the personal pronoun of a preceding line being understood here. There are many other passages in these plays which a similar ellipsis is found. So, in this play p. 115:"- but commends itself" instead of "- but it commends itself." Malone. That slightly shakes his parting guest by the hand; And farewel goes out sighing. O, let not virtue seek For beauty, wit,1 High birth, vigour of bone, desert in service, One touch of nature makes the whole world kin,- More laud than gilt o'er-dusted.2 Welcome ever smiles,] The compositor inadvertently repeated the word the, which has just occurred, and printed-the welcome, &c. The emendation was made by Mr. Pope. Malone. For beauty, wit, &c.] The modern editors read: For beauty, wit, high birth, desert in service, &c. I do not deny but the changes produce a more easy lapse of numbers, but they do not exhibit the work of Shakspeare. Johnson. Dr. Johnson might have said,-the work of Shakspeare, as mangled by theatres, ignorant transcribers, and unskilful printHe has somewhere else observed, that perhaps we have not received one of our author's plays as it was originally writSteevens. ers. ten. 2 And give to dust, that is a little gilt, More laud than gilt o'er-dusted.] [The old copies-goe to dust.] In this mangled condition do we find this truly fine observation transmitted. Mr. Pope saw it was corrupt, and therefore, as I presume, threw it out of the text; because he would not indulge his private sense in attempting to make sense of it. I owe the foundation of the amendment, which I have given in the text, to the sagacity of the ingenious Dr. Thirlby. I read: And give to dust, that is a little gilt, More laud than they will give to gold, o'er-dusted. Theobald. This emendation has been adopted by the succeeding editors, but recedes too far from the copy. There is no other corruption than such as Shakspeare's incorrectness often resembles. He has omitted the article-to in the second line: he should have written: More laud than to gilt o'er-dusted. Johnson. Gilt, in the second line, is a substantive. See Coriolanus, Act I, sc. iii. Dust a little gilt means, ordinary performance ostentatiously displayed and magnified by the favour of friends and that admiration of novelty which prefers "new-born gawds" to "things The present eye praises the present object: 3 Whose glorious deeds, but in these fields of late, Achil. I have strong reasons. Of this my privacy Ulyss. But 'gainst your privacy Achil. Ulyss. Is that a wonder? Ha! known? The providence that's in a watchful state, past." Gilt o'er-dusted means, splendid actions of preceding ages, the remembrance of which is weakened by time. The poet seems to have been thinking either of those monu. ments which he has mentioned in All's Well that Ends Well: "Where dust and damn'd oblivion is the tomb or of the gilded armour, trophies, banners, &c. often hung up in churches in " monumental mockery." Malone. 3 went once on thee,] So the quarto. The folio-went out on thee. Malone. 4 Made emulous missions -] The meaning of mission seems to be dispatches of the gods from heaven about mortal business, such as often happened at the siege of Troy. Johnson. 5 one of Priam's daughters.] Polyxena, in the act of marrying whom, he was afterwards killed by Paris. Steevens. 6 Ha! known?] I must suppose that, in the present instance, some word, wanting to the metre, has been omitted. Perhaps the poet wrote-Ha! is 't known? Steevens. 7 Knows almost every grain of Plutus' gold;] For this elegant line the quarto has only: Knows almost every thing Johnson. The old copy has--Pluto's gold, but, I think, we should read -of Plutus' gold. So, in Beaumont and Fletcher's Philaster, Act IV: Finds bottom in the uncomprehensive deeps; But it must grieve young Pyrrhus now at home, ""Tis not the wealth of Plutus, nor the gold Steevens. The correction of this obvious error of the press, needs no justification, though it was not admitted by Mr. Steevens in his own edition. The same error is found in Julius Cæsar, Act IV, sc. iii, where it has been properly corrected: 66 - within, a heart, "Dearer than Pluto's mine, richer than gold." So, in this play, Act IV, sc. i, we find in the quarto-to Calcho's house, instead of―to Calchas' house. Malone. 8 Keeps place with thought,] i. e. there is in the providence of a state, as in the providence of the universe, a kind of ubiquity. The expression is exquisitely fine: yet the Oxford editor alters it toKeeps pace, and so destroys all its beauty Warburton. Is there not here some allusion to that sublime description of the Divine Omnipresence in the 139th Psalm? Henley. 9 Does thoughts unveil in their dumb cradles.] It is clear, from the defect of the metre, that some word of two syllables was omitted by the carelessnes of the transcriber or compositor. Shakspeare perhaps wrote: Or, Does thoughts themselves unveil in their dumb cradles,— Does infant thoughts unveil in their dumb cradles. So, in King Richard III: "And turn his infant morn to aged night." In Timon of Athens, we have the same allusion: "Joy had the like conception in my brain, “And at that instant, like a babe sprung up." Malone. Durst never meddle)-] There is a secret administration of affairs, which no history was ever able to discover. Johnson. 2 All the commmérce—] Thus also is the word accented by Chapman, in his version of the fourth Book of Homer's Odyssey; "To labour's taste nor the commerce of men." Steevens VOL. XII. M When fame shall in our islands sound her trump; But our great Ajax bravely beat down him. The fool slides o'er the ice that you should break. [Exit. Is not more loath'd than an effeminate man Achil. Shall Ajax fight with Hector? Patr. Ay; and, perhaps, receive much honour by him. Achil. I see, my reputation is at stake; My fame is shrewdly gor'd.4 Patr. O, then beware; Those wounds heal ill, that men do give themselves: Omission to do what is necessary 5 Seals a commission to a blank of danger; And danger, like an ague, subtly taints Even then when we sit idly in the sun. Achil. Go call Thersites hither, sweet Patroclus: I'll send the fool to Ajax, and desire him To invite the Trojan lords after the combat, To see us here unarm'd: I have a woman's longing; To see great Hector in his weeds of peace; Ther. A wonder! 3 -to air.] So the quarto, The folia-ayrie air. Johnson. 4 My fame is shrewdly gor❜d.] So, in our author's 110th Sonnet. "Alas, 'tis true; I have gone here and there,— "Gor'd mine own thoughts, " Malone. 5 Omission to do &c.] By neglecting our duty we commission or enable that danger of dishonour, which could not reach us before to lay hold upon us. Johnson. |