Cre. In that I'll war with you.

Troi. O virtuous fight!

When right with right wars who fhall be moft right.
'True fwains in love fhall in the world to come
Approve their truths by Troilus; when their rhymes,
Full of proteft, of oath, and big compare,
Want fimiles: truth, tired with iteration,
As true as feel, as planets to their moons, (27)
As fun to day, as turtle to her mate,

As iron to adamant, as earth to the center:
Yet after all comparisons of truth,

(As truth's authentic author to be cited)

(27)

-as planets to the moon;] Plantage is cer tainly very justly thrown out, as a reading of no fenfe or truth; and yet the text is a little corrupted, and must be helped thus;

-as planets to their moons.

Ile fetches here his comparifons of true love from the fympathy or affection of the feveral parts of Nature. As true as fteel. I know by this phrafe, men generally mean, as true as a well-tempered fword is to the hand of the warrior; but I am perfuaded the phrafe had another original; and that was, from obferving its ftrange affection to the loadstone.But other planets, befides the earth, (before the time of our Author) were discovered to have their moons which revolved round them. Jupiter has four moons, and Saturn five. The aftronomers fometimes called thefe icons, and fometimes (2tellites. Sometimes when they spoke of the moon, they called it the earth's fatellite; and when they fpoke of the fatellites of the other planets, they called them Jupiter, or Saturn's 122ons. Their conftant unerring attendance on their refpective planets made this phænomenon very proper for compari fon; though, properly speaking, as it is here put, it is inverted; for it thould be, as true as moons to their planetsBecaufe the moons depend on their planets, not the pla nets on their moons. But that this inverted order is nothing with Shakespeare, is plain from many places of his works, and particularly from the immediate following words, as fun to day-which is likewife in the fame manner inver ted, for the day depends on the fun, and not the fun on the day. Mr Warburton.

As true as Troilus fhall crown up the verfe,
And fan&tify the numbers.

Cre. Prophet may you be !

If I be falfe, or fwerve a hair from truth,
When time is old and hath forgot itfulf,
When water drops have worn the ftones of Troy,
And blind Oblivion fwallowed cities up,
And mighty ftates characterlefs are grated
To dufty nothing; yet let memory,

From falfe to falie, among falfe mains in love,
Upbraid my falfehood! when they've faid, as false
As air, as water, as wind, as fandy earth;
As fox to lamb, as wolf to heifer's calf;

Pard to the hind, or ftep-dame to her fon;
Yea, let them fay, to stick the heart of falfchood,
As falfe as Creffid-

Pan. Go to; a bargain made: feal it, feal it, I'll be the witnefs.----Here I hold your hand; here iny coufin's; if ever you prove falfe to one another, fince I have taken fach pains to bring you together, let all pitiful goers-between be called to the world's end after my name; call them all Pandars: let all inconftant men be Troilufes, all falfe women Creffidas, and all brokers between Pandars: fay, fay, Amen. Troi. Amen!

Cre. Amen! Pan. Amen. Whereupon I will fhew you a bedchainber; which bed, because it fhall not fpeak of your pretty encounters, prefs it to death: away. And Cupid grant all tongue-tyed maidens here, Bed, chamber, and Pandar to provide this geer!

Cc3

[Exeunt.

SCENE changes to the Grecian Camp.

Enter AGAMEMNON, ULYSSES, DIOMEDES, NESTOR, AJAX, MENELAUS, and CALCHAS.

Cal. Now, princes, for the fervice I have done you,

The advantage of the time prompts me aloud
To call for recompence: appear it to you, (28)
That, through the fight I bear in things to come,
I have abandoned Troy, left my poffeffion,
Incurred a traitor's name, expofed myself,
From certain and poffefs'd conveniences,
To doubtful fortunes; fequefter'd from all
That time, acquaintance, custom, and condition,
Made tame and most familiar to my nature:
And here to do you service, ain become
As new into the world, ftrange, unacquainted.
I do befeech you, as in way of taste,
To give me now a little benefit,

Out of thofe many registered in promife,
Which, you fay, live to come in my behalf.

(28)

-appear it to you,

That through the fight I bear in things to come,

I have abandoned Troy, Calchas is here preffing for fome reward from the Grecian princes, for his having come over to them: but does it in any kind add to his merit with them to fay, "Gentlemen, by my power of prescience I found my country muft be fubdued and ruined; and therefore I have left houfe and home in time to [fave myself, and] come and ferve you?"-And yet this is the drift and hinge upon which his argument turns, and his hopes and pretence for recompence are formed. I own the motives of his oratory feem to me fomewhat perverfe and unartful; nor do I know how to reconcile it, unless our Poet purpofely intended to make Calchas act the part of a true prieft, and fo from motives of felf-intereft infinuate the merit of fervice.

Aga. What wouldst thou of us, Trojan? make demand.

Cal. You have a Trojan prisoner, called Antenor, Yesterday took: Troy holds him very dear. Oft have you (often have you thanks therefore) Defired my Creffid in right-great exchange, Whom Troy hath ftill denied: but this Antenor I know is fuch a wreft in their affairs, That their negotiations all must flack, Wanting his manage; and they will almost Give us a Prince o' th' blood, a fon of Priam, In change of him. Let him be ient, great Princes, And he thall buy my daughter: and her prefence Shall quite ftrike off all fervice I have done, In molt accepted pain.

ga. Let Diomedes bear him,

And bring us Creffid hither: Calchas fhall have
What he requests of us. Good Diomede,
Furnith you fairly for this enter change;
Withal, bring word, if Hector will to-morrow
Be answered in his challenge. Ajax is ready.
Dio. This fhall I undertake, and 'tis a burden
Which I am proud to bear.

[Exit. Enter ACHILLES and PATROCLUS, before their Tent.

Ulyf. Achilles ftands i' th' entrance of his tent;
Please it our general to pass strangely by him,
As if he were forgot; and, princes all,
Lay negligent and loose regard upon him.
I will come laft; 'tis like, he'll question me,
Why fuch unplaufive eyes are bent on him?
If fo, I have decifion medicinable

To ufe between your strangeness and his pride,
Which his own will fhall have defire to drink.
It may do good: pride hath no other glass
To fhew itself, but pride; for fupple knees
Feed arrogance, and are the proud man's fees.

Aga. We'll execute your purpofe, and put on A form of frangencfs as we pafs along;

So do each Lord; and either greet him not,
Or elfe difdainfully, which will shake him more
Than if not looked on. I will lead the way. [me!
Achil. What, comes the general to fpeak with
You know my mind. I'll fight no more 'gainit Troy.
Aga. What fays Achilles? would he aught with
us?

Neft. Would you, my Lord, aught with the
Achil. No.

Neft. Nothing, my Lord.

Aga. The better.

Achil. Good-day, good-day.

Men., How do you? how do you?

[general?

Achil. What, does the cuckold fcorn me?

Ajax. How now, Patroclus?

Achil. Good-morrow, Ajax.

Ajax. Ha?

Achil. Good-morrow.

Ajax. Ay, and good next day too.

[Exeunt

Achil. What mean thefe fellows? know they not Achilles?

Pat. They pafs by ftrangely: they were used to To fend their fmiles before them to Achilles, [bend, To come as humbly as they used to creep

To holy altars.

Achil. What, am I poor of late?

'Tis certain, greatnefs, once fallen out with fortune,
Muft fall out with men too: what the declined is,
He fhall as foon read in the eyes of others,
As feel in his own fall: for men, like butterflies,
Shew not their mealy wings but to the fummer;
And not a man, for being fimply man,

Hath honour, but is honoured by thofe honours
That are without him; as place, riches, favour,
Prizes of accident as oft as, merit.: