An appetite that I am fick withal,

To fee great Hector in his weeds of peace ;
To talk with him, and to behold his visage,
Even to my full of view. A labour sav'd!

Enter THERSITES.

THER. A wonder!
ACHIL. What?

THER. Ajax goes up and down the field, asking for himself.

ACHIL. How fo?

THER. He must fight singly to-morrow with Hector; and is so prophetically proud of an heroical cudgelling, that he raves in saying nothing. ACHIL. How can that be?

3

THER. Why, he stalks up and down like a peacock, a stride, and a stand: ruminates, like an hostess, that hath no arithmetick but her brain to fet down her reckoning: bites his lip with a politick regard, as who should say - there were wit in this head, an 'twould out; and so there is; but it lies as coldly in him as fire in a flint, which will not show without knocking. The man's undone for ever; for if Hector break not his neck i'the combat, he'll break it himself in vain-glory. He knows not me: I said, Good morrow, Ajax; and he replies, Thanks, Agamemnon. What think you of this man, that takes me for the general? He is

3

it lies

as

with a politick regard, With a ly look. JOHNSON. as coldly in him fire in a flint, which will not show without knocking.) So, in Julius Cafar:

" That carries anger, as the flint bears fire;
"Who, much enforced, shows a hafty spark,
"And straight is cold again. STEEVENS.

"

grown a very land-fish, languageless, a monster. A plague of opinion! a man may wear it on both fides, like a leather jerkin.

ACHIL. Thou must be my embassador to him, Therfites.

THER. Who, I? why, he'll answer nobody! he professes not answering; speaking is for beggars; he wears his tongue in his arms. 4 I will put on his prefence; let Patroclus make demands to me, you shall fee the pageant of Ajax.

ACHIL. To him, Patroclus: Tell him, - Ihumbly defire the valiant Ajax, to invite the most valorous Hector to come unarm'd to my tent; and to procure safe conduct for his person, of the mag nanimous, and most illustrious, fix-or-seven timeshonour'd captain-general of the Grecian army, Agamemnon. Do this.

PATR. Jove bless great Ajax.

THER. Humph!

PATR. I come from the worthy Achilles, -THER. Ha!

PATR. Who most humbly desires you, to invite

Hector to his tent; -

THER. Humph!

THER. God be wi' you, with all my heart. PATR. Your answer, fir.

THER. If to-morrow be a fair day, by eleven o'clock it will go one way or other; howsoever, he shall pay for me ere he has me. PATR. Your answer, fir.

THER. Fare you well, with all my heart. ACHIL. Why, but he is not in this tune, is he? THER. No, but he's out o'tune thus. What mufick will be in him when Hector has knock'd out his brains, I know not: But, I am sure, none; unless the fiddler Apollo get his finews to make catlings on.5

ACHIL. Come, thou shalt bear a letter to himm straight.

THER. Let me bear another to his horse; for that's the more capable creature. 6

ACHIL. My mind is troubled, like a fountain

ftirr'd;

And I myself fee not the bottom of it."

5

Exeunt ACHILLES and PATROCLUS.

to make catlings on.] It has been already observed that a Catling fignifies a small lute-string made of catgut. One of the muficians in Romeo and Juliet is called Simon Gatling.

6

-

STEEVENS.

the more capable creature.) The more intelligent creature, So, in King Richard III:

" Bold, forward, quick, ingenious, capable."

See also p. 177, n. 9.

MALONE.

And I myself fee not the bottom of it. ) This is an image frequently introduced by our author. So, in King Henry IV. Part II: "I see the bottom of Justice Shallow." Again, in King Henry VI.

Part II:

THER. 'Would the fountain of your mind were clear again, that I might water an ass at it! I had rather be a tick in a sheep, than fuch a valiant ig norance.

[Exit.

ACT IV. SCENE I.

Troy. A Street.

Enter, at one fide, ÆNEAS, and Servant, with a torch; at the other, PARIS, DEIPHOBUS, ANTEÑOR, DIOMEDES, and Others with torches.

PAR. See, ho! who's that there?

DEI.

'Tis the lord Eneas.

ÆNE. Is the prince there in perfon ?

Had I so good occafion to lie long,

As you, prince Paris, nothing but heavenly busi

nefs

Should rob my bed-mate of my company.

Dio. That's my mind too. - Good morrow, lord Æneas.

PAR. A valiant Greek, Æneas; take his hand: Witness the process of your speech, wherein You told-how Diomed, a whole week by days, Did haunt you in the field.

ÆNE.

Health to you, valiant fir,

- valiant fir, The epithet - valiant, appears to have been caught by the compositor from the preceding speech, and is ins troduced here only to spoil the metre. STEEVENS.

During all question of the gentle truce: '
But when I meet you arm'd, as black defiance,
As heart can think, or courage execute.

DIO. The one and other Diomed、embraces.
Our bloods are now in calm; and, so long, health:
But when contention and occafion meet,
By Jove, I'll play the hunter for thy life,
With all my force, pursuit, and policy.

ÆNE. And thou shalt hunt a lion, that will fly With his face backward. - In humane gentleness, Welcome to Troy! now, by Anchises' life, Welcome, indeed! By Venus' hand I swear, No man alive can love, in such a fort, The thing he means to kill, more excellently.

DIO. Wesympathize: -Jove, let Æneas live, If to my sword his fate be not the glory, A thousand complete courses of the fun! But, in mine emulous honour, let him die, With every joint a wound; and that to-morrow! ÆNE. We know each other well.

worfe.

DIO. We do; and long to know each other
PAR. This is the most despiteful gentle greeting,

"During all queftion of the gentle truce:] I once thought to read: During all quiet of the gentle truce: But I think question means intercourse, interchange of conversation. JOHNSON.

See Vol. VIII. p. 113, n. 5. Queftion of the gentle truce is, conversation while the gentle truce lasts. MALONE.

8

By Venus' hand I swear, This oath was used to infinuate his resentment for Diomedes' wounding his mother in the hand.

WARBURTON.

I believe Shakspeare had no such allusion in his thoughts. He would hardly have made Æneas civil and uncivil in the fame breath.

STEEVENS.