Torments me to conceal. By villany I got this ring; 'twas Leonatus' jewel, Whom thou didst banish, and, which more may grieve thee, As it doth me, a nobler Sir ne'er liv'd 'Twixt fky and ground. Will you hear more, my Lords? 1 Cym. All that belongs to this. Iach. That paragon, thy daughter, For whom my heart drops blood, and my falfe fpirits Quail to remember-give me leave, I faint. Cym. My daughter, what of her? renew thy I'd rather thou fhouldft live, while nature will, For Beauty, that made barren the fwell'd Boaft 3-for feature, laming] Feature, for proportion of parts, which Mr. Theda'd not understanding, would alter to ftature, for feature, laming The Shrine of Venus, or ftraightpight Minerva, Poffures beyond brief nature;] i. e. The ancient ftatues of Venus and Minerva, which exceeded, in beauty of exact proportion, O'er picturing that Venus where Poftures, beyond brief nature; for condition, A fhop of all the qualities, that man Loves woman for; befides that hook of wiving, Cym. I ftand on fire. Come to the matter. Iach. All too foon I fhall, Unless thou wouldst grieve quickly.-This Pofthumus, That had a royal lover, took his hint; It appears, from a number of fuch paffages as thefe, that our author was not ignorant of the fine arts. A paffage in De Piles' Cours de peinture par principes will give great light to the beauty of the text.-Peu de fentimens ont été partagez fur la beauté de l'antique. Les gens d'efprit qui aiment les beaux arts ont eftimé dans tous les tems ces merveilleux ouvrages. Nous voyons dans les anciens Auteurs quantité de pafJages ou pour louer les beautez vivantes on les comparoit aux ftatues. Ne vous imaginez (dit Maxime de Tyr) de pouvoir jamais trouver une beauté naturelle, qui le difpute aux ftatues. Ovid, ou il fait la defcription de Cyllare, le plus beau de Centaures, dit Qu'il avoit une fi grande vivacité dans le vifage, que le col, les épaules, les mains, & l'eftomac en etoient fi beaux qu'on pouvoit affurer qu' en tout ce qu'il avoit de l'homme c'etoit la meme beauté que l'on remarque dans les ftatues les plus parfaites. Et Philoftrate, parlant de la beauté de Neoptoleme, & de la reffemblance qu' il avoit avec fon pere Achille, dit, Qu'en beauté fon pere avoit autant d' avantage fur lui que les ftatuës en ont fur les beaux hommes. Les auteurs modernes ont fuivi ces mêmes fentimens fur la beauté de l' Antique. Fe reporterai feulement celui de Scaliger. Le Moyen, dit il, que nous puiffions rien voir qui aproche de la perfection des belles ftatues, puifqu'il eft permis à l'art de choifir, de retrancher, d'adjoûter, de diriger, & qu' au contraire, la nature s' eft toujours alterée depuis la creation du premier homme en qui Dieu joignit la beauté de la forme à celle de l' innocence. This last quotation from Scaliger well explains what Shakespear meant by Brief Nature; i. e. inelaborate, hasty, and carelefs as to the elegance of form, in respect of art, which uses the peculiar addrefs, above explained, to arrive at perfection. Cc 4 WARBURTON. His His mistress' picture; which by his tongue being made, And then a mind put in 't, either our brags Cym. Nay, nay, to th' purpofe. Iach. Your daughter's chastity-there it begins- In fuit the place of 's bed, and win this ring Than I did truly find her, ftakes this ring; 4-averring notes] Such marks of the chamber and pictures, as averred or confirmed my report. I having I having ta'en the forfeit; whereupon- Poft. Ay, fo thou do'st, 393 [Coming forward. Italian fiend!-ah me, moft credulous fool, That all th' abhorred things o' th' earth amend, Be villainy less than 'twas!-Oh Imogen! Imo. Peace, my lord, hear, hear- Thou fcornful page, there lie thy part. Pif. Oh, gentlemen, help, [Striking her, fhe falls. Mine, and your miftrefs-Oh, my lord Pofthumus! You ne'er kill'd Imogen 'till now Mine honour'd lady. Cym. Does the world go round? -Help, help, Poft. How come thefe ftaggers on me? Pif. Wake, my mistress! Cym, If this be fo, the Gods do mean to ftrike me To death with mortal joy. Pif. How fares my mistress? 5-and She herself.] That is, She was not only the temple of Virtue, but Virtue herfelf. -thefe faggers-] This wild and delirious perturbation. Staggers is the horfe's apoplexy. Imo. O, get thee from my fight; Thou gav'ft me poison: dang'rous fellow, hence! Cym. The tune of Imogen! Pif. Lady, the Gods throw ftones of fulphur on me, If what I gave you was not thought by me A precious thing: I had it from the Queen. Imo. It poifon'd me. Cor. Oh Gods! I left out one thing which the Queen confefs'd, Cym. What's this, Cornelius? Cor. The Queen, Sir, very oft importun'd me Do their due functions. Have you ta'en of it? Bel. My boys, there was our error. Guid. This is, fure, Fidele. Imo. Why did you throw your wedded lady from you? 7 Think, that you are upon a rock, and now Throw me again. 7 Think, that you are upon a rock,- In this fpeech, or in the anfwer, there is little meaning. I fuppofe, she would fay, Confider fuch another act as equally fatal to me with precipitation from a rock, and now let me fee whether you will repeat it. Poft. |