From certain and possess'd conveniences,
To doubtful fortunes; séquest'ring from me all
That time, acquaintance, custom, and condition,
Made tame and most familiar to my nature;
And here, to do you service, am become
As new into the world, strange, unacquainted:

to clear the argument of Calchas, it will ftill appear liable to objedion; nor do I discover more to be urged in his defence, than that though his skill in divination determined him to leave Troy, yet that he joined himself to Agamemnon and his army by unconftrained good-will; and though he came as a fugitive escaping from deftru&ion, yet his fervices after his reception, being voluntary and important, deserved reward. This argument is not regularly and diftinaly deduced, but this is, I think, the best explication that it will yet admit. JOHNSON.

In p. 224, n. 5, an account has been given of the motives which induced Calchas to abandon Troy. The services to which he alludes, a short quotation from Lydgate will fufficiently explain. Auncient Hift. &c. 1555:

"He entred into the oratorye,-
"And befily gan to knele and praye,
"And his things devoutly for to sayè,
"And to the god crye and call full ftronge;
And for Apollo would not the prolonge,

"Sodaynly his answere gan attame,
"And fayd Calchas twies by his name;
"Be right well 'ware thou ne tourne agayne
"To Troy towne, for that were but in vayne,

For finally lerne this thynge of me,
"In shorte tyme it shall deftroyed be:
"This is in footh, whych may not be denied.
"Wherefore I will that thou be afyed
"With the Greekes, and with Achilles go
"To them anone; my will is, it be so:-
" For thou to them shall be neceffary,
"In counseling and in giving rede,

"And be right helping to their good spede."

Mr. Theobald thinks it strange that Calchas should claim any merit from having joined the Greeks after he had faid that he knew his country was undone; but there is no inconfiftency: he had left, from whatever caufe, what was dear to him, his country, friends,

)

I do beseech you, as in way of tafte,
To give me now a little benefit,
Out of those many register'd in promise,
Which, you say, live to come in my behalf.

AGAM. What would'st thou of us, Trojan? make

demand.

CAL. You have a Trojan prisoner, call'd Antenor,
Yesterday took; Troy holds him very dear.
Oft have you (often have you thanks therefore,)
Defir'd my Cressid in right great exchange,
Whom Troy hath still deny'd': But this Antenor,
I know, is such a wrest in their affairs, 5

children, &c. and, having joined and ferved the Greeks, was entitled to protetion and reward.

4 On the phrafe - As new into the world, (for so the old copy reads,) I must observe, that it appears from a great number of palfages in our old writers, the word into was formerly often used in the sense of unto, as it evidently is here. In proof of this affertion, the following passages may be adduced:

"It was a pretty part in the old church-playes when the nimble Vice would skip up nimbly like a jackanapes into the devil's necke, and ride the devil a course," Harsnet's Declaration of Popish Impostures, 4to. 1602.

Again, in a letter written by J. Pafton, July 8, 1468; Paton Letters, Vol. II. p. 5: " -- and they that have justed with him into this day, have been as richly beseen," &c.

Again, in Laneham's Account of the Entertainment at Kenelworth, 1575: what time it pleased her to ryde forth into the chase, to hunt the hart of fors; which found, anon," &c.

Chafe indeed may mean here, the place in which the queen hunted; but I believe it is employed in the more ordinary fenfe. Again, in Daniel's Civil Warres, Book IV. ft. 72, edit. 1602: "She doth conspire to have him made away," Thruft thereinto not only with her pride, "But by her father's counsell and confent."

5

Again, in our author's All's well that ends well:

I'll stay at home,

" And pray God's bleffing into thy attempt." MALONE. Such a wrelt in their affairs, According to Dr. Johnson, who quotes this line in his Dictionary, the meaning is, that the

That their negociations all must slack,
Wanting his manage; and they will almost
Give us a prince of blood, a fon of Priam,
In change of him: let him be fent, great princes;
And he shall buy my daughter; and her prefence
Shall quite strike off all fervice I have done,
In most accepted pain.

loss of Antenor is such a violent distortion of their affairs, &c. But as in a former scene [p. 257. See n. 6.) we had o'er-rested for o'er-wrested, fo here I strongly suspect wrest has been printed instead of reft. Antenor is such a stay or support of their affairs, &c. All the ancient English muskets had rests by which they were supported. The fubfequent words wanting his manage - appear to me to confirm the emendation. To say that Antenor himself (for fo the paffage runs, not the loss of Antenor,) is a violent diftortion of the Trojan negotiations, is little better than nonfenfe.

MALONE.

I have been informed that a wrest anciently signified a fort of tuning-hammer, by which the strings of some musical instruments were screwed or wrested up to their proper degree of tenfion. An. tenor's advice might be supposed to produce a congenial effect on the Trojan councils, which otherwise

muft flack,

Wanting his manage; --." STEEVENS.

" And

Wreft is not misprinted for reft, as Mr. Malone supposes in his corre&ion of Dr. Johnson, who has certainly mistaken the sense of this word. It means an instrument for tuning the harp by drawing up the strings. Lanebam, in his Letter from Kenelworth, p. 50, describing a minftrel, says, "his harp in good grace dependaunt before him; his wreaft iyed to a green lace and hanging by." And again, in Wynne's History of the Gwedir family: setting forth very early before day, unwittingly carried upon his finger the wrest of his cofen's harpe." To wrest, is to wind. See Minsheu's Dictionary. The form of the wrest may be seen in some of the illuminated service books, wherein David is represented playing on his harp; in the Second Part of Mersenna's Harmonics, p. 69; and in the Syntagmata of Pretorius, Vol. II. Fig. xix. DoUCE.

5 In most accepted pain.) Sir T. Hanmer, and Dr. Warburton after him, read: In most accepted pay.

They do not seem to understand the construction of the paffage,

1

AGAM.

Let Diomed bear him,
And bring us Cressid hither; Calchas shall have
What he requests of us. -Good Diomed,
Furnish you fairly for this interchange:
Withal, bring word_if Hector will to-morrow
Be answer'd in his challenge: Ajax is ready.

DIO. This shall I undertake; and 'tis a burden
Which I am proud to bear.

[Exeunt DIOMEDES and CALCHAS.

Enter ACHILLES and PATROCLUS, before their Tent.

ULYSS. Achilles stands i'the 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 last: 'Tis like, he'll question me,
Why such unplausive eyes are bent, why turn'd on

him:"

If so, I have derision med'cinable,
To use between your strangeness and his pride,
Which his own will shall have defire to drink;
It may do good: pride hath no other glass
To show itself, but pride; for fupple knees
Feed arrogance, and are the proud man's fees.

AGAM. We'll execute your purpose, and put on

Her prefence, says Calchas, shall ftrike off, or recompence the fervice
I have done, even in those labours which were most accepted.
JOHNSON.

7 Why Such unplausive eyes are bent, why turn'd on him: If the eyes were bent on him, they were turn'd on him. This tautology therefore, together with the redundancy of the line, plainly show that we ought to read, with Sir Thomas Hanmer:

Why Suck unplaufive eyes are bent on him:--. STEEVENS.

A form of strangeness as we pass along;
So do each lord; and either greet him not,
Or else disdainfully, which shall shake him more
Than if not look'd on. I will lead the way.

ACHIL. What, comes the general to speak with me?

You know my mind, I'll fight no more 'gainst Troy. AGAM. What says Achilles? would he aught with us?

NEST. Would you, my lord,aught with the general? ACHIL.

NEST. Nothing, my lord.

No.

[Excunt AGAMEMNON and NESTOR.

MEN. How do you? how do you ?

ACHIL.

Good day, good day.

[Exit MENELAUS.

What, does the cuckold scorn me?

AJAX. How now, Patroclus?

PATR. They pass by strangely: they were us'd

to bend,

* Good morrow.] Perhaps in this repetition of the salute, we should read, as in the preceding instance, - Good morrow, Ajax; or, with more colloquial spirit, - I say, good morrow. Otherwise the metre is defetive. STEEVENS.