Achil. Why, how now, Ajax? wherefore do you this?

How now, Therfites? what's the matter, man?
Ther. You fee him there, do you?
Abil. Ay, what's the matter?
Ther. Nay, look upon him.

Achil. So I do, what's the matter?
Ther. Nay, but regard him well.
Achil. Well, why, I do fo.

Ther. But yet you look not well upon him: for whofoever you take him to be, he is Ajax,

Achil. I know that, fool.

Ther. Ay, but that fool knows not himself.

Ajax. Therefore I beat thee.

Ther. Lo, lo, lo, lo, what modicums of wit he utters; his evafions have ears thus long. I have bobb'd his brain, more than he has beat my bones. I will buy nine fparrows for a penny, and his Pia Mater is not worth the ninth part of a fparrow. This Lord (Achil les) Ajax, who wears his wit in his belly, and his guts in his head, I'll tell you what I fay of him. Achil. What?

[Ajax offers to ftrike him, Achilles interpofes

Ther. I fay, this Ajax

Achil. Nay, good Ajax.

Ther. Has not fo much wit

Acbil. Nay, I must hold you.

Ther. As will ftop the eye of Helen's needle, for

whom he comes to fight.

Achil. Peace, fool!

Ther. I would have peace and quietness, but the

fool will not; he there, that he, look you there.

Ajax. O thou damn'd cur, I fhall

Achil. Will you fet your wit to a fool's?

Ther. No, I warrant you; for a fool's will shame it. Patr. Good words, Therfites.

Achil. What's the quarrel?

Ajax. I bade the vile owl go learn me the tenour of the proclamation, and he rails upon me. Ther. I ferve thee not.

Ajax. Well, go to, go to.

Ther. I ferve here voluntary.

Achil. Your laft fervice was fufferance, 'twas not voluntary; no man is beaten voluntary; Ajax was here the voluntary, and you as under an imprefs.

Ther. Ev'n fo-a great deal of your wit too lies in your finews, or elfe there be liars. Hector fhall have a great catch, if he knock out either of your brains ; he were as good crack a fufty nut with no kernel.

Achil. What, with me too, Therfites?

Ther. There's Ulyffes and old Neftor, (whofe wit was mouldy ere your Grandfires had nails on their toes,) yoke you like draft oxen, and make you plough up the war.

to.

Achil, What! what!

Ther. Yes, good footh; to, Achilles! to Ajax!

Ajax. I fhall cut out your tongue.

Ther. 'Tis no matter, I shall speak as much as thou afterwards.

Patr. No more words, Therfites. Peace.

4

Ther. I will hold my peace, when Achilles' brach bids me, fhall I? .

3 Neftor, whofe it was mouldy ere their Grandfires had nails] This is one of thefe editors wife riddles. What! Was Neftor's wit mouldy, before his Grandfire's toes had any nails? Prepofterous nonfenfe! and yet so easy a change, as one poor pronoun 3

for another, fets all right and clear. THEOBALD. 4 when Achilles' brach bids me,] The folio and quarto read, Achilles' BROOCH. Brooch is an appendant ornament. The meaning may be, equivalent to one of Achilles's hangers on.

Achil

Achil. There's for you, Patroclus.

Ther. I will fee you hang'd like clotpoles, ere Í come any more to your Tents. I will keep where there is wit ftirring, and leave the faction of fools.

Patr. A good riddance.

[Exit.

Achil. Marry, this, Sir, is proclaim'd through all our Hoft,

That Hector, by the fifth hour of the Sun,
Will, with a trumpet, 'twixt our Tents and Troy,
To morrow morning call fome Knight to arms,
That hath a stomach, fuch a one that dare

Maintain I know not what. 'Tis trafh, farewel.
Ajax. Farewel! who fhall anfwer him?

Achil. I know not, 'tis

He knew his man.

put to lott'ry, otherwife

Ajax. O, meaning you.

I'll go learn more of it.

[Exit.

SCENE III.

Changes to Priam's Palace in Troy.

Enter Priam, Hector, Troilus, Paris and Helenus."

Pri.

A

FTER fo many hours, lives, fpeeches spent,

Thus once again fays Neftor from the Greeks: -Deliver Helen, and all damage elfe,

As honour, lofs of time, travel, expence,

Wounds, friends, and what elfe dear that is confum'd

In hot digeftion of this cormorant war,
Shall be struck off. Hector, what fay you to't?
Hect. Though no man leffer fears the Greeks than I,
As far as touches my particular, yet, dread Priam,

There

There is no lady of more fofter bowels,
More fpungy to fuck in the Senfe of fear,
More ready to cry out, who knows what follows?
Than Hector is. The Wound of Peace is Surety,
Surety fecure; but modeft Doubt is call'd
Thy beacon of the wife; the tent that fearches
To th' bottom of the worst. Let Helen go.
Since the firft fword was drawn about this queftion,
Ev'ry tithe foul 'mongst many thousand difmes
Hath been as dear as Helen. I mean, of ours.
If we have loft fo many tenths of ours
To guard a thing not ours, not worth to us,
Had it our name, the value of one ten;
What merit's in that reafon which denies
The yielding of her up?

Troi. Fy, fy, my brother:

Weigh you the worth and honour of a King
So great as our dread father in a scale

Of common ounces? will you with counters fum
5 The paft-proportion of his infinite?
And buckle in a waist most fathomlefs,
With spans and inches fo diminutive

As fears and reafons? Fy, for godly fhame!

Hel. No marvel, though you bite fo fharp at reasons, You are fo empty of them. Should not our father Bear the great fway of his affairs with reasons ; Because your speech hath none, that tells him fo? Troi. You are for dreams and flumbers, brother Prieft,

You fur your gloves with reafons. Here are your reafons.

You know, an enemy intends you harm;
You know, a fword imploy'd is perilous;

5 The paft-proportion of his infinite?] Thus read both the copies. The meaning is, that greatnefs to which no measure bears

any proportion. The modern edi-
tors filently give,
The vaft proportion

And

And reafon flies the object of all harm.
Who marvels then, when Helenus beholds
A Grecian and his fword, if he do set
The very wings of reason to his heels,
And fly like chidden Mercury from Jove,

Or like a ftar diforb'd!Nay, if we talk of reafon,
Let's fhut our gates, and fleep: manhood and honour
Should have hare-hearts, would they but fat their
thoughts

་

With this cramm'd reafon; reafon and respect,
Make livers pale, and luftyhood deject.

Helt. Brother, fhe is not worth what fhe doth coft The holding.

Tro. What is aught, but as 'tis valued?

Hect. But value dwells not in particular will
It holds its estimate and dignity

As well wherein 'tis precious of itself,
As in the prizer: 'tis mad idolatry,
To make the fervice greater than the God;
7 And the Will dotes, that is inclinable
To what infectiously itself affects,

* Without fome image of th' affected merit.
Troi. I take to-day a wife, and my election
Is led on in the conduct of my will;

My will enkindled by mine eyes and ears,
Two traded pilots 'twixt the dangerous fhores

6 And fly like chidden Mercury
from Jove,

Or like a far diforb'd!] These two lines are misplaced in all the folio editions. POPE. 7 And the Will dotes, that is inclinable] Old edition, not fo well, has it, attributive. POPE. By the old edition Mr. Pope means the old quarto. The folio has, as it ftands, inclinable.

I think the first reading better; the will dotes that attributes or gives the qualities which it affects; VOL. VII.

that firft caufes excellence, and then admires it.

8 Without fome image of th AFFECTED merit.] We

fhould read,

-th' AFFECTED's merit. i. e. without fome mark of merit in the thing affected. WARB.

The prefent reading is right. The will affects an object for fome fuppofed merit, which Hector fays, is uncenfurable, unless the merit fo affected be really there.

G g

Of