Moreover that we much did long to fee you, That being of fo young days brought up with him, Queen. Good gentlemen, he hath much talked And fure I am two men there are not living, Rof. Both your Majesties Might by the fovereign power you have of us, Guil. But we both obey, And here give up ourselves, in the full bent To lay our fervice freely at your feet. King. Thanks, Rofincrantz, and gentle Guildenftern. Queen. Thanks, Guildenftern, and gentle Rofin. And I befeech you instantly to vifit [crantz. My too much changed fon. Go, some of ye, And bring thefe gentlemen where Hamlet is. Guil. Heavens make our prefence and our pracPleafant and helpful to him! [tices [Exeunt Rof. and Guil. Queen. Amen. Enter POLONIUS. Pol. Th' ambaffadors from Norway, my good Are joyfully returned. [Lord, King. Thou ftill haft been the father of good news. Pol. Have I, my Lord? affure you, my good I hold my duty, as I hold my foul, [liege, Both to my God, and to my gracious King; And I do think, (or else this brain of mine Hunts not the trail of policy fo fure As I have used to do) that I have found The very caufe of Hamlet's lunacy. King. Oh, fpeak of that, that do I long to hear. Pol. Give first admittance to th' amballadors: in. My news fhall be the fruit to that great feaft. Queen. I doubt it is no other but the main, His father's death, and our o'er-hafty marriage.. Re-enter POLONIUS, with VOLTIMOND, and CORNELIUS. King. Well, we fhall fift him.---- Welcome, my good friends! Say, Voltimond, what from our brother Norway Vol. Moft fair return of greetings and defires. Upon our first, he fent out to fupprefs Gives him threefcore thoufand crowns in annual fee; (27) (27) Gives him three thousand crowns in annual fee;] This reading first obtained in the edition put out by the players. But all the old Quartos (from 1605, downwards) read, as I have reformed the text. I had hinted, that three core thoufand crowns feemed a much more fuitable donative from a King: to his own nephew, and the general of an army, than fo poor a pittance as three thousand crowns, a pension fearce large enough for a dependent courtier. I therefore restored; Gives him threefore thousand crowns. To this Mr Pope, (very archly critical, as he imagines) has only replied,—which in his ear is a verfe. I own it is; and I'll venture to prove to this great mafter in numbers, that two fyllables may, by pronunciation, be refolved and melted into one, as eafily as two notes are flurred in music; and a redundance of a fyllable, that may be so funk, has never been a breach of harmony in any language. We must pronounce, as if 'twere written; Gi's'm three core thou find crowns [ But has Mr Pope, indeed, fo long been converfant with verse, and never obferved the licence of the pes proceleufma ticus, or that an anapast is equal in time and quantity to a fpondée ? A few inftances from the Claflics will convince him, and perfons (if there are any fuch) of superior learning. Γαλακτοφάγων, ἀβιων, δικαιοτάτων ἀνθρώπων. Hom. Π. v. v.6. Βορέης και Ζέφυρος, τώ τε Θρήκηθεν ἄκλον. II. . v. 5. Νέα μέν μοι κατέαξε Ποσειδάων ενοσίχθων. And his commiffion to employ those foldiers, Ἱέρευον δὲ σύας σιαλος καὶ βῦν ωγελαίνη. Odyff. p. v. 187. Κύκλωψ, τῆ, πιε οἶνον, ἐπεὶ φάγες ἀνδρόμεα κρέα. Odyf. 1. 347. Arietat in portas et duros objice poftes Ennius. Lucret. Idem. Idem. Horat. Virgil. Idem. Idem. Idem.. Senec. Idem. Idem. Let us 1 Ego laticis hauftu fatior? aut ullo furor, &c. Unholyrood day, the gallant Hotfpur there. Henry. IV. March. I am the fon of Henry | the Fifth. For Henry here is made a trifyllable. Ibid. Ibid. Tul. Caf. As fire drives out fire, fo pity pity.. And I might amafs a thousand more inftances in proof. To conclude, without this liberty of liquidating fyllables, as we may call it, how would Mr Pope, or any body elfe, fcan this verfe in Johnfon's Volpene? But Pără | fites or | sub-pa | râfites. | And yet, &c. King. It likes us well; And at our more confidered time we'll read, Mean time, we thank you for your well-took labour. Go to your reft; at night we'll feaft together. Most welcome home! Pol. This business is well ended. [Exeunt Ambas My Liege, and Madam, to expoftulate (28) Why day is day, night night, and time is time, (28) My liege, and Madam, to expoftulate] There seems to me in this fpeech most remarkable strokes of humour. Inever read it without astonishment at the Author's admirable art of preferving the unity of character. It is so just a satire on impertinent oratory, (especially of that then in vogue) which was of the formal cut, and proceeded by definition, division, and fubdivifion, that I think every body must be charmed with it. Then as to the jingles, and play of words, let us but look into the fermons of Dr Donne, (the wittiest man of that age) and we hall find them full of this vein; only, there they are to be admired, here to be laughed at. Then with what art is Polonius made to pride him felf in his wit? A foolish figure.-But, farewel it. Again, how finely is he fneering the formal oratory in fafhion, when he makes this reflection on Hamlet's raving: Though this be madness, yet there's method in it. As if method in a difcourfe (which the wits of that age thought the most essential part of good writing) would make amends for the madnefs of it. This in the mouth of Polonius is exceeding fatirical. Though it was madness, yet he could comfort himself with the reflection that at least it was method. Mr Warburton. |