Pro. You do extend These thoughts of horror further than you fhall Enter Dolabella. Dol. Proculeius, What thou haft done thy mafter Cæfar knows, Pro. So, Dolabella, It shall content me beft. Be gentle to her,- If you'll employ me to him. Cleo. Say, I would die. [To Cleopatra. [Exit Proculeius. Dol. Most noble emprefs, you have heard of me? Dol. Affuredly you know me. Cleo. No matter, fir, what I have heard, or known. You laugh, when boys or women tell their dreams; Is't not your trick? Dol. I understand not, madam. Cleo. I dreamt, there was an emperor Antony; Oh fuch another fleep, that I might see But fuch another man! Dol. If it might please ye, Cleo. His face was as the heavens; and therein ftuck A fun and moon, which kept their courfe, and lighted The little O the earth. Dol. Moft fovereign creature!- A fun and moon, which kept their courfe, and lighted The little o' the earth. Clea. Dol. Moft fovereign creature!] What a bleffed limping verle thefe hemiftichs give us! Had none of the editors an ear to find the hitch in its pace? There is but a fyllable wanting, and that, I believe verily, was but of a fingle letter. I reftore, The Cleo. His legs beftrid the ocean; his rear'd arm There was no winter in't: an autumn 'twas, Walk'd crowns and crownets; realms and islands were Dol. Cleopatra, Cleo. Think you, there was, or might be fuch a man As this I dreamt of? The little o' th' earth. i. e. the little orb or circle. Our poet in other paffages chufes to express himself thus. THEOBALD. 2 -For his bounty, There was no winter in't: an Antony it was, That grew the more by reaping.] There was certainly a contraft both in the thought and terms, defign'd here, which is loft in an accidental corruption. How could an Antony grow the more by reaping; I'll venture, by a very easy change, to restore an exquifite fine allufion; which carries its reafon with it too, why there was no winter in his bounty. -For his bounty, There was no winter in't: an autumn 'twas, I ought to take notice, that the ingenious Dr. Thirlby likewife I cannot refift the temptation to quote the following beautiful Down to the laps of thankful men. STEEVENS. * As plates] Plates mean, I believe, filver money. STEEVENS. Dol. Dol. Gentle madam, no. Cleo. You lye, up to the hearing of the Gods. But, if there be, or ever were, one fuch, It's past the fize of dreaming: nature wants stuff To vie strange forms with fancy; yet to imagine An Antony, were Nature's piece 'gainst Fancy, Condemning fhadows quite. Dol. Hear me, good madam. 2 Your lofs is as yourself, great; and you bear it, By the rebound of yours, a grief that shoots 2 yet to imagine An Antony were Nature's PIECE 'gainft Fancy, This is a fine fentiment; but by the falfe reading and pointing becomes unintelligible. Though when fet right, obfcure enough to deserve a comment. Shakespeare wrote, yet to imagine An Antony were Nature's PRIZE 'gainst Fancy, The fenfe of which is this, Nature, in general, has not materials enough to furnish out real forms, for every model that the boundless power of the imagination can sketch out: [Nature wants matter to vie ftrange forms with Fancy.] But though this be true in general, that nature is more poor, narrow, and confined than fancy, yet it must be owned, that when nature prefents an Antony to us, she then gets the better of fancy, and makes even the imagination appear poor and narrow: or in our author's phrafe, [condemns fhadows quite.] The word PRIZE, which I have restored, is very pretty, as figuring a contention between Nature and Imagination about the larger extent of their powers; and Nature gaining the prize by producing Antony. WARBURTON. In this paffage I cannot difcover any temptation to critical experiments. The word piece, is a term appropriated to works of art. Here Nature and Fancy produce each their piece, and the piece done by Nature had the preference. Antony was in reality paft the fize of dreaming; he was more by Nature than Fancy could prefent in fleep. JOHNSON. Know you, what Cæfar means to do with me? Dol. Though he be honourable,— Dol. Madam, he will. I know it. All. Make way there, -Cæfar. Enter Cafar, Gallus, Mecenas, Proculeius, and Attendants. Caf. Which is the queen of Ægypt? Dol. It is the emperor, madam. Caf. Arife, you shall not kneel: [Cleo, kneels, I pray you, rife. Rife, Egypt. Cleo. Sir, the Gods Will have it thus; my mafter and my lord I must obey. Caf. Take to you no hard thoughts. Though written in our flesh, we fhall remember Cleo. Sole fir o' the world, 3 I cannot project mine own cause fo well 3 I cannot project mine own caufe fo well] Project fignifies to invent a caufe, not to plead it; which is the fenfe here required. It is plain then we should read, I cannot PROCTER my own cause so well. The technical term, to plead by an advocate. Sir T. Hanmer reads, I cannot parget my own cause— WARB. meaning, I cannot whitewash, varnish, or glofs my cause. I believe the prefent reading to be right. To project a caufe is to reprefent a caufe; to project it well, is to plan or contrive a scheme of defence. JOHNSON. To To make it clear, but do confess, I have, Caf. Cleopatra, know, We will extenuate rather than inforce. Antony's courfe, you fhall bereave yourself Cleo. And may, through all the world: 'tis yours; and we Your 'fcutcheons, and your figns of conquest, shall Not petty things admitted. Where's Seleucus ? 'tis exactly valued, Not petty things admitted.] Sagacious editors! Cleopatra gives in a lift of her wealth, fays, 'tis exactly valued, but that petty things are not admitted in this lift and then the appeals to her treasurer, that the has reserved nothing to herself. And when he betrays her, fhe is reduced to the shift of exclaiming against the ingratitude of fervants, and of making apologies for having fecreted certain trifles. Who does not fee, that we ought to read, Not petty things omitted? For this declaration lays open her falfhood; and makes her angry when her treasurer detects her in a direct lie. THEOBALD. Notwithstanding the wrath of Mr. Theobald, I have restored the old reading. She is angry afterwards, that she is accufed of having referved more than petty things. Dr. Warburton and fir T. Hanmer follow Theobald. JOHNSON. Cleo. |