Thoughless than yours in past, must o'ertop yours: For time is like a fashionable hoft, That flightly shakes his parting guest by the hand; And with his arms out-ftretch'd, as he would fly, Grafps-in the comer: Welcome ever smiles," And farewell goes out fighing. O, let not virtue feek Remuneration for the thing it was; For beauty, wit, High birth, vigour of bone, defert in service, To envious and calumniating time. One touch of nature makes the whole world kin, - which a similar ellipfis is found. So, in this play, p. 343: but commends itself-," inftead of " but it commends itself." MALONE. 7 - 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. 8. For beauty, wit, &c.] The modern editors read: MALONE. For beauty, wit, high birth, defert in fervice, &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 printers. He has somewhere else observed, that perhaps we have not received one of our author's plays as it was originally written. STEEVENS. And give to dust, that is a little gilt, More laud than gilt o'er-dufted.] ( The old copies-goe to dust.] In this mangled condition do we find this truly fine observation tranfmitted. Mr. Pope saw it was corrupt, and therefore, as I presume, threw it out of the text; because he would not indulge his private fenfe in attempting to make sense of it. I owe the founda The present eye praises the present object: selves, And drave great Mars to faction. tion of the amendment, which I have given in the text, to the 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-dufted. JOHNSON. Gilt in the second line is a substantive, See Vol. XVII. p. 231, n. 7. Duft a little gilt means, ordinary performances oftentatiously difplayed and magnified by the favour of friends and that admiration of novelty which prefers " new-born gawds" to " things paft." Gilt o'er-dufted means, splendid a&ions of preceding ages, the remembrance of which is weakened by time. The poet seems to have been thinking either of those monuments which he has mentioned in All's well that ends well: "Where duft and damn'd oblivion is the tomb or of the gilded armour, trophies, banners, &c. often hung up in 2 - went once on thee, So the quarto. The folio-went out on thee. MALONE. 3 Made emulous miffions - ] 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. It means the descent of deities to combat on cither fide; an 1 ACHIL. Of this my privacy I have strong reasons. ULYSS. But 'gainst your privacy The reasons are more potent and heroical: 'Tis known, Achilles, that you are in love With one of Priam's daughters. 4 ULYSS. Is that a wonder? Ha! known? 5 6 The providence that's in a watchful ftate, 7 gods, idea which Shakspeare very probably adopted from Chapman's translation of Homer. In the fifth book Diomed wounds Mars, who on his return to heaven is rated by Jupiter for having interfered in the battle. This disobedience is the faction which I fuppose Ulyffes would describe. STEEVENS. 4 one of Priam's daughters.) Polyxena, in the act of mar rying whom, he was afterwards killed by Paris. STEEVENS. 5 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. 6 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 Philafter, A& IV: 'Tis not the wealth of Plutus, nor the gold "Lock'd in the heart of earth --." 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 Cafar, A& IV. fc. iii. where it has been properly corrected: -- within, a heart, " Dearer than Pluto's mine, richer than gold. " So, in this play, A& IV. sc. i. we find in the quarto - to Calcho's house - instead of - to Calchas' house. MALONE. 7 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. Does thoughts unveil in their dumb cradles." The expreffion is exquifitely fine: yet the Oxford editor alters it to - Keeps pace, and so destroys all its beauty. WARBURTON. Is there not here fome allufion to that fublime description of the HENLEY. divine omnipresence in the 139th Pfalm? 7 Does thoughts unveil in their dumb cradles. It is clear from the defea of the metre that some word of two fyllables was omitted by the carelessness of the transcriber or compositor. Shakspeare perhaps wrote: or, Does thoughts themselves unveil in their dumb cradles, So, in King Richard III: " " And turn his infant morn to aged night. In Timon of Athen's, we have the fame allufion: "Joy had the like conception in my brain, " And at that inftant, like a babe Sprung up." MALONE. Sir Thomas Hanmer reads: Does even our thoughts &c. STEEVENS. (with whom relation Durst never meddle;-) There is a secret adminiftration of affairs, which no history was ever able to discover. JOHNSON. 1 PATR. To this effect, Achilles, have I mov'd you: A woman impudent and mannish grown Is not more loath'd than an effeminate man In time of action. I stand condemn'd for this; They think, my little stomach to the war, And your great love to me, restrains you thus: Sweet, rouse yourself; and the weak wanton Cupid Shall from your neck unloofe his amorous fold, And, like a dew-drop from the lion's mane, Be shook to air, 9 ACHIL. Shall Ajax fight with Hector? PATR. Ay; and, perhaps, receive much honour by him. ACHIL. I fee, my reputation is at stake; My fame is shrewdly gor'd. PATR. 2 O, then beware; Those wounds heal ill, that men do give them felves: Omiffion to do what is necessary Seals a commission to a blank of danger; And danger, like an ague, subtly taints Even then when we fit idly in the fun. ACHIL. Go call Therfites hither, sweet Patro clus: I'll send the fool to Ajax, and defire him To invite the Trojan lords after the combat, To fee us here unarm'd: I have a woman's longing, 6 3 --to air. So the quarto. The folio - ayrie air. JOHNSON. My fame is shrewdly gor'd.) So, in our author's rioth Sonnet: 3 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. |