Despising many forfeits and subduements,
When thou hast hung thy advanced sword i' the air,
Not letting it decline on the declin'd;6*
That I have said to some my standers-by,

Lo, Jupiter is yonder, dealing life!

And I have seen thee pause, and take thy breath,
When that a ring of Greeks have hemm'd thee in,
Like an Olympian wrestling: This have I seen;
But this thy countenance, still lock'd in steel,
I never saw till now. I knew thy grandsire,7
And once fought with him: he was a soldier good;
But, by great Mars, the captain of us all,

Never like thee: Let an old man embrace thee;
And, worthy warrior, welcome to our tents.

Ene. 'Tis the old Nestor.

to countenance my opinion, that in a former instance his horse was meant for a real one, and not, allegorically, for a ship. See p. 34, n. 3. Steevens.

Despising many forfeits and subduements,] Thus the quarto. The folio reads:

"And seen thee scorning forfeits and subduements. Johnson. • When thou hast hung thy advanced sword i' the air,

Not letting it decline on the declin'd;] Dr. Young appears to have imitated this passage in the second Act of his Busiris:

"Has hung in air, forgetful to descend,

"And for a moment spar'd the prostrate foe." Steevens. So, in King Henry IV, Part II:

"And hangs resolv'd correction in the air,

"That was uprear'd to execution."

The declin'd is the fallen. So, in Timon of Athens:

#

"Not one accompanying his declining foot." Malone. Again, in Coriolanus, Act II, sc. i:

7

66

Death, that dark spirit, in 's nervy arm doth lie;
"Which being advanc'd, declines; and then men die."

thy grandsire,] Laomedon. Steevens.

8 'Tis the old Nestor ] So, in Julius Cæsar:

"Old Cassius still."

Am. Ed.

If the poet had the same idea in both passages, Æneas means, "Nestor is still the same talkative old man, we have long known him to be." He may, however, only mean to inform Hector that Nestor is the person who has addressed him. Malone.

I believe, that Æneas, who acts as master of the ceremonies is now merely announcing Nestor to Hector, as he had before

Hect. Let me embrace thee, good old chronicle, That hast so long walk'd hand in hand with time :Most reverend Nestor, I am glad to clasp thee.

Nest. I would, my arms could match thee in contention,

As they contend with thee in courtesy.

Hect. I would they could.

Nest. Ha!

By this white beard, I'd fight with thee to-morrow.
Well, welcome, welcome! I have seen the time
Ulyss. I wonder now how yonder city stands,
When we have here her base and pillar by us.
Hect. I know your favour,* lord Ulysses, well.
Ah, sir, there's many a Greek and Trojan dead,
Since first I saw yourself and Diomed

In Ilion, on your Greekish embassy.

Ulyss. Sir, I foretold you then what would ensue: My prophecy is but half his journey yet;

For yonder walls, that pertly front your town,

Yon towers, whose wanton tops do buss the clouds,1

announced Menelaus to him; for, as Mr. Ritson has observed, the first speech in p. 153, most evidently belongs to Æneas. Steevens. 9 As they contend-] This line is not in the quarto. Johnson. * I know your favour,] I know your features, I know your counAm. Ed.

tenance.

1 Yon towers, whose wanton tops do buss the clouds,] So, in our author's Rape of Lucrece:

"Threatening cloud kissing Ilion with annoy." Again, in Pericles, Prince of Te, 1609:

"Whose towers bore heads so high, they kiss'd the clouds." Ilion, according to Shakspeare's authority, was the name of Priam's palace, that was one of the richest and strongest that ever was in all the world. And it was of height five hundred paces, besides the height of the towers, whereof there was great plenty, and so high as that it seemed to them that saw them from farre, they raught up unto the heaven." The Destruction of

Troy, Book II, p 478

So also Lydgate, sign F 8, verso:

"And whan he gan to his worke approche,
"He made it builde hye upon a roche,
"It for to assure in his foundation,

"And called it the noble Ylion."

Shakspeare was thinking of this circumstance when he wrote, in the first Act, these lines. Troilus is the speaker:

"Between our Ilium, and where she resides, [i. e. Troy] "Let it be call'd the wild and wand'ring flood." Malone.

Must kiss their own feet.

Hect.

I must not believe you :

There they stand yet; and modestly I think,
The fall of every Phrygian stone will cost
A drop of Grecian blood: The end crowns all;
And that old common arbitrator, time,

Will one day end it.

Ulyss.

So to him we leave it.

Most gentle, and most valiant Hector, welcome:
After the general, I beseech you next

To feast with me, and see me at my tent.

Achil. I shall forestall thee, lord Ulysses, thou!2— Now, Hector, I have fed mine eyes on thee;3 I have with exact view perus'd thee, Hector, And quoted joint by joint.4

2 I shall forestall thee, lord Ulysses, thou!] Should we not read -though? Notwithstanding you have invited Hector to your tent, I shall draw him first into mine. So, in Beaumont and Fletcher's Cupid's Revenge, Act III, sc. i:

66 O dissembling woman,

"Whom I must reverence though -" Tyrwhitt.

The repetition of thou! was anciently used by one who meant to insult another. So, in Twelfth Night:

some thrice, it shall not be amiss."

Again, in The Tempest:

-if thou thou'st him

"Thou ly'st, thou jesting monkey, thou!" Again, in the first scene of the fifth Act of this play: "tassel of a prodigal's purse, thou!" Steevens.

- thou

Steevens's observations on the use of the word thou are per fectly just, and therefore I agree with Tyrwhitt that we ought to read: "- - lord Ulysses, though!" as it could not be the intention of Achilles to affront Ulysses, but merely to inform him, that he M. Mason. expected to entertain Hector before he did.

Mr. Steevens's remark is incontrovertibly true: but Ulysses had not said any thing to excite such contempt.

Malone

Perhaps the scorn of Achilles arose from a supposition that Ulysses, by inviting Hector immediately after his visit to Agamemnon, designed to represent himself as the person next in rank and consequence to the general of the Grecian forces.

Steevens.

3 Now, Hector, I have fed mine eres on thee;] The hint for this scene of altercation between Achilles and Hector is taken from Lydgate. See p. 178. Steevens.

4 And quoted joint by joint.] To quote is to observe. So, in Hamlet:

"I am sorry that with better heed than judgment
"I had not quoted him."

Hect.

Achil. I am Achilles.

Is this Achilles?

Hect. Stand fair, I pray thee: let me look on thee. Achil. Behold thy fill.

Hect.

Nay, I have done already. Achil. Thou art too brief; I will the second time, As I would buy thee, view thee limb by limb.

Hect. O, like a book of sport thou 'lt read me o'er; But there's more in me than thou understand'st. Why dost thou so oppress me with thine eye?

Achil. Tell me, you heavens, in which part of his body
Shall I destroy him? whether there, there, or there?
That I may give the local wound a name;
And make distinct the very breach, whereout
Hèctor's great spirit flew: Answer me, heavens!
Hect. It would discredit the bless'd gods, proud man,
To answer such a question: Stand again:

Think'st thou to catch my life so pleasantly,
As to prenominate in nice conjecture,

Where thou wilt hit me dead?

Achil.

I tell thee, yea.

Hect. Wert thou an oracle to tell me so,
I'd not believe thee. Henceforth guard thee well;
For I'll not kill thee there, nor there, nor there;
But, by the forge that stithied Mars his helm,5
I'll kill thee every where, yea, o'er and o'er.—
You wisest Grecians, pardon me this brag,
His insolence draws folly from my lips;

But I'll endeavour deeds to match these words,
Or may I never

Ajax.

Do not chafe thee, cousin ;

And you Achilles, let these threats alone,

Till accident, or purpose, bring you to 't:
You may have every day enough of Hector,
If
you have stomach; the general state, I fear,

Again, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona:

"Thu. And how quote you my folly?

"Val. I quote it in your jerkin." Steevens.

5 But, by the forge that stithied Mars his helm,] A stithy is au anvil, and from hence the verb stithied is formed.

The word is still used in Yorkshire. Malone.

M. Mason.

A stith is an anvil, a stithy a smith's shop. See Hamlet, Act III, sc. ii, Vol. XV. Steevens.

Can scarce entreat you to be odd with him.6
Hect. I pray you, let us see you in the field;
We have had pelting wars, since you refus'd
The Grecians' cause.

Achil.

7

Dost thou entreat me, Hector?

To-morrow, do I meet thee, fell as death;
To-night, all friends.

Hect.

Thy hand upon that match.

Agam. First, all you peers of Greece, go to my tent; There in the full convive we: afterwards, As Hector's leisure and your bounties shall Concur together, severally entreat him.Beat loud the tabourines, let the trumpets blow, That this great soldier may his welcome know.1

[Exeunt all but TRO. and ULYSS. Tro. My lord Ulysses, tell me, I beseech you, In what place of the field doth Calchas keep? Ulyss. At Menelaus' tent, most princely Troilus: There Diomed doth feast with him to-night; Who neither looks upon the heaven, nor earth,

6

the general state, I fear,

Can scarce entreat you to be odd with him.] Ajax treats Achilles with contempt, and means to insinuate that he was afraid of fighting with Hector. " You may every day (says he) have enough of Hector, if you choose it; but I believe the whole state of Greece will scarcely prevail on you to engage with him."

To have a stomach to any thing, is, to have an inclination to it. M. Mason. -pelting wars,] i. e. petty, inconsiderable ones. So, in A Midsummer Night's Dream:

7

"Have every pelting river made so proud," &c.

See Vol. II, p. 272, n. 6. Steevens.

8 convive-] To convive is to feast. This word is not peculiar to Shakspeare. I find it several times used in The History of Helyas Knight of the Swanne, bl. 1. no date. Steevens.

? Beat loud the tabourines,] For this the quarto and the latter editions have

To taste your bounties.

The reading which I have given from the folio seems chosen at the revision, to avoid the repetition of the word bounties. Johnson. Tabourines are small drums. The word occurs again in Antony and Cleopatra. Steevens.

1 That this great soldier may his welcome know.] So, in Macbeth; "That this great king may kindly say,

"Our duties did his welcome pay." Steevens.