8

Or, fhedding breed a nursery of like evil,

To over-bulk us all.

Neft. Well, and how?

Uly. This Challenge that the gallant Hector fends, However it is fpread in general name,

Relates in purpose only to Achilles.

9

Neft. The purpose is perfpicuous ev'n as Substance, Whofe groffness little characters fum up.

1

1 And, in the publication, make no ftrain, But that Achilles, were his brain as barren As banks of Libya, tho', Apalla knows,

'Tis dry enough, will with great fpeed of judgment, Ay, with celerity, find Hector's purpose Pointing on him.

Ul. And wake him to the anfwer, think you? Neft. Yes, 'tis moft meet; whom may you elfe oppose,

That can from Hector bring his honour off,.
If not Achilles? though a sportful.combat,
Yet in this trial much opinion dwells.

For here the Trojans taste our dear'st Repute
With their fin'ft palate: and truft to me, Ulyffes,
Our imputation fhall be odly pois'd

In this wild action. For the fuccefs,

the concifencfs of the expreffion. WARBURTON.

And, in the publication, make

no rain. Neftor goes on to fay, make no difficulty, no doubt, when this duel comes to be proclaim'd, but that Achilles, dull as he is, will difcover the drift of it. This is the meaning of the line. So af terwards, in this play, Ulyffes fays,

I do not train at the position, i. e. I do not hesitate at, I make no difficulty of it. THEOB.

Although

2

Although particular, fhall give a * fcantling
Of good or bad unto the general,

And in fuch indexes, although small pricks
To their fubfequent volumes, there is feen
The baby figure of the giant-mafs

Of things to come, at large. It is fuppos'd,
He that meets Hector iffues from our Choice;
And Choice, being mutual act of all our fouls,
Makes merit her election; and doth boil,
As 'twere, from forth us all, a man diftill'd
Out of our virtues; who mifcarrying,
What heart from hence receives the conqu'ring part,
To feel a ftrong opinion to themselves!

4 Which entertain'd, limbs are his inftruments,
In no lefs working, than are fwords and bows
Directive by the limbs.

Uly. Give pardon to my Speech;

Therefore 'tis meet, Achilles meet not Hector.
Let us, like merchants, fhew our fouleft wares,
And think, perchance, they'll fell; if not,
The luftre of the better, yet to fhew,
Shall fhew the better. Do not then confent,
That ever Hector and Achilles meet:

For both our honour and our fhame in this
Are dogg'd with two ftrange followers.

Neft. I fee them not with my old eyes: what are they?

Uly. What Glory our Achilles fhares from Hector, Were he not proud, we all fhould share with him : But he already is too infolent;

And we were better parch in Africk Sun,

Than in the pride and falt fcorn of his eyes,
Should he 'fcape Heftor fair. If he were foil'd,

-fcantling] That is a meafure, proportion. The carpenter cuts his wood to a certain fcantling.

3-Small pricks] Small

points compared with the volumes.

4 Which entertain'd-] Thefe two lines are not in the quarto. 5-hare-] So the quarto. The folio, wear.

Whys

Why, then we did our main opinion crush
In taint of our beft man. No, make a Lott❜ry;
And by device let blockish Ajax, draw

The Sort to fight with Hector: 'mong our felves,
Give him allowance as the worthier man,
For that will phyfick the great Myrmidon,
Who broils in loud applause, and make him fall
His creft, that prouder than blue Iris bends,
If the dull brainless Ajax come fafe off,
We'll dress him up in voices; if he fail,
Yet go we under our opinion ftill,
That we have better men.

But, hit or mifs,
Our project's life this fhape of fenfe affumes,
Ajax, employ'd, plucks down Achilles' plumes,
Neft. Ulyffes, now I relish thy advice,
And I will give a tafte of it forth with
To Agamemnon; go we to him ftraight;
Two curs fhall tame each other; pride alone
Muft tar the maftiffs on, as 'twere their bone.

[Exeunt,

ACT II.

SCENE I,

The Grecian Camp.

Enter Ajax and Therfites,

HER SITES,

TH

AJAX.

Ther. Agamemnon-how if he had boiles

full, all over, generally. Ajax. Therfites.

Mufttar the mastiffs on.-] Tarre, an old English word fignifying to provoke or urge on. See King John, A& 4. Scene 1. -like a Dog

[Talking to himself.

Snatch at his Mafter that doth

РОРЕ.

tar him on. At II.] This play is not di vided into Acts in any of the original editions.

Ther:

Ther. And thofe boiles did run-fay fodid not the General run? were not that a botchy core? Ajax. Dog!

Ther. Then there would come fome matter from him ; I fee none now.

feel then.

Ajax, Thou bitch-wolf's fon, canft thou not hear? [Strikes him, Ther. The plague of Greece upon thee, thou mungrel beef-witted Lord!

9

Ajax. Speak then, thou unfalted leaven, speak; I will beat thee into handsomeness.

Ther. I fhall fooner rail thee into wit and holiness; but, I think, thy horfe will fooner con an oration, than thou learn a prayer without book: thou canst ftrike, canft thou? a red murrain o'thy jade's tricks! Ajax. Toads-ftool, learn me the proclamation. Ther. Doeft thou think, I have no fenfe, thou ftrik'ft me thus ?

Ajax. The proclamation

The plague of Greece] Alluding perhaps to the plague fent by Apollo on the Grecian army.

9 Speak then, thou unfalted leaven, Speak ;] The reading ob truded upon us by Mr. Pope, was anfalted leaven, that has no authority or countenance from any of the copies; nor that approaches in any degree to the traces of the old reading, you whinid't leaven. This, 'tis true, is corrupted and unintelligible; but the emendation, which I have coin'd out of it, gives us a fenfe apt and confonant to what Ajax would fay, unwinnow'dft leaven. "Thoù lump of four dough, "kneaded up out of a flower, unpurg'd and unfifted, with all the drofs and bran in it."

THEOBALD.

Speak then, thou WHINID'ST leaven,] This is the reading of the old copies; It should be WINDYEST, i. e. moft windy; leaven being made by a great fermentation. This epithet agrees well with Therfites's character. WARBURTON,

Hanmer preferves whinid'ft, the reading of the folio; but does not explain it, nor do I understand it. If the folio be followed, I read, vinew'd, that is mouldy leven. Thou compofition of muftiness and fournefs.

Theobald's affertion, however confident, is falfe. Unsalted leven is in the old quarto. It means; four without falt, malignity without wit. Shakespeare wrote first unfalted, but recollecting that want of falt was no fault in leven, changed it to vinɛw'd.

Ther.

Ther. Thou art proclaim'd a fool, I think.

Ajax. Do not, porcupine, do not. My fingers itch.. Ther. I would, thou didft itch from head to foot, and I had the fcratching of thee; I would make thee the loathfom'ft fcabin Greece.

Ajax. I fay, the proclamation

Ther. Thou grumbleft and raileft every hour on Achilles, and thou art as full of envy at his Greatness, as Cerberus is at Proferpina's Beauty: ay,

bark'ft at him.

Ajax. Miftrefs Therfites!

Ther. Thou fhouldft ftrike him.

Ajax. Cobloaf!

that thou

Ther. He would pun thee into shivers with his

fift, as a failor breaks a bisket.

Ajax. You whorefon cur!

Ther. Do, do.

Ajax. Thou ftool for a witch!

[Beating bim.

Ther. Ay, do, do, thou fodden-witted Lord; thou haft no more brain than I have in my elbows; an Affinego may tutor thee. Thou fcurvy valiant afs! thou art here but to thrash Trojans, and thou art bought and fold among thofe of any wit, like a Barbarian flave. If thou ufe to beat me, I will begin at thy heel, and tell what thou art by inches, thou thing of no bowels, thou!

Ajax. You dog!

Ther. You fcurvy Lord!

Ajax. You cur!

[Beating him. Ther. Mars his ideot! do, rudeness; do, camel, do, do.

1 in Greece] The quarto adds thefe words, when thou art forth in the incurfions, thou frikeft as

flow as another.

that thou bark'ft at him.] I read, O that thou bark dft at him.

SCENE

!