Aga. Let Diomedes bear him,

And bring us Creffid hither; Calchas fhall have
What he requests of us. Good Diomede,
Furnish you fairly for this enterchange;
Withal, bring word, if Hector will to-morrow
Be answer'd in his challenge. Ajax is ready,
Dio. This fhall I undertake, and 'tis a burden
Which I am proud to bear,

Enter Achilles and Patroclus, before their Tent.
Ulyf. Achilles ftands i' th' entrance of his Tent,
Please it our General to pafs ftrangely by him,
As if he were forgot; and, Princes all,

Lay negligent and loofe regard upon him.
I will come laft; 'tis like, he'll question me,
Why fuch unplaufive eyes are bent, why turn'd en

him;

If fo, I have derifion medicinable

To use between your strangeness and his pride,
Which his own will shall have desire to drink;
It may do good; Pride hath no other glafs
To fhew itself, but pride; for supple knees
Feed arrogance, and are the proud man's fees,
Aga. We'll execute your purpofe, and put on
A form of ftrangeness as we pafs along;
So do each Lord; and either greet him not,
Or elfe difdainfully, which fhall make him more
Than if not look'd on. I will lead the way.

Achil. What, comes the General to speak with me? You know my mind. I'll fight no more 'against Troy. Aga. What fays Achilles? Would he aught with us?

-derifion medicinable] All the modern editions have decifion. The old copies are apparently right. The folio in this place

agrees with the quarto, fo that the corruption was at firit merely accidental,

Neft,

Neft. Would you, my Lord, aught give the General ?

Achil. No.

Neft. Nothing, my Lord.

Aga. The better.

Achil. Good day, good day.

Men. How do you? how do you?

Achil. What, does the cuckold scorn me?

Ajax How now, Patroclus?

Achil. Good-morrow, Ajax.

Ajax. Ha?

Achil. Good-morrow.

Ajax. Ay, and good next day too.

[Exeunt.

Achil. What mean thefe fellows? Know they not Achilles?

Patr. They pafs by ftrangely. They were us'd to bend,

To fend their smiles before them to Achilles,

To come as humbly as they us'd to creep
To holy altars.

Achil. What, am I poor of late?

'Tis certain, Greatnefs, once fall'n out with fortune,
Muft fall out with men too; what the declin'd IS
He fhall as foon read in the eyes of others,

As feel in his own Fall; for men, like butterflies,
Shew not their mealy wings but to the fummer,
And not a man, for being fimply man,

Hath any honour, but honour by thofe honours
That are without him, as place, riches, favour,
Prizes of accident as oft as merit,

Which, when they fall, (as being flipp'ry ftanders)
The love that lean'd on them, as flipp'ry too,
Doth one pluck down another, and together
Die in the Fall. But 'tis not fo with me;
Fortune and I are friends, I do enjoy

At ample point all that I did poffefs,

Save thefe men's looks! who do, methink, find out

VOL. VII.

I i

Something

Something in me not worth that rich beholding,
As they have often giv'n. Here is Ulysses.

How now, Ulyffes?

I'll interrupt his reading.
Ulyf. Now, great Thetis' fon!
Achil. What are you reading?
Uly. A ftrange fellow here

Writes me, that man, how dearly ever parted,
How much in Having, or without, or in,
Cannot make boaft to have that which he hath,
Nor feels not what he owes, but by reflection;
As when his virtues fhining upon others
Heat them, and they retort that heat again
To the firft giver.

Achil. This is not ftrange, Ulyffes.

The beauty that is borne here in the face
The bearer knows not, but commends itself
To others' eyes: nor doth the eye itself,
That most pure spirit of sense, behold itself
Not going from itfelf; but eyes oppos'd
Salute each other with each other's form.
For fpeculation turns not to itself,

'Till it hath travell'd, and is marry'd there
Where it may fe its felf. This is not ftrange at all.
Ulyf. I do not ftrain at the pofition,

It is familiar, but the author's drift;
Who, in his circumftance, exprefly proves
That no man is the Lord of any thing,

Tho' in, and of, him there be much confisting,

excellently endowed, with however dear or precious parts enriched or adorned.

• To others' eyes, &c.

That most pure Spirit, &c.] Thefe two lines are totally omitted in all the editions but the first quarto. POPE. 2-in his circumftance,-] In the detail or circumduction of his argument.

'Till he communicate his parts to others;

Nor doth he of himself know them for aught 'Till he behold them form'd in their applaufe

Where they're extended, who, like an arch, reverb'rate The voice again; or, like a gate of steel

Fronting the Sun, receives and renders back
His figure and his heat. I was much rapt in this,
And apprehended here immediately

3 The unknown Ajax;

Heav'ns! what a man is there? a very horfe,

That has he knows not what. Nature! what things there are,

Moft abject in regar, and dear in use?

What things again moft dear in the esteem,
And poor in worth? Now fhall we fee to-morrow
An act, that very Chance doth throw upon him.
Ajax renown'd! Oh heav'ns, what fome men do,
While fome men leave to do!

* How fome men creep in skittish Fortune's Hall,
While others play the ideots in her eyes!
How one man eats into another's pride,

5

While pride is feafting in his wantonness!
To fee thefe Grecian Lords! why ev'n already

3 The unknown Ajax-] Ajax, who has abilities which were never brought into view or use.

How some men CREEP in kittfb Fortune's hall,] This is faid with defign that Achilles fhould apply it to himself and Ajax. But as creep is to be applied to Achilles, it conveys a wrong idea, as reprefenting one who is timorous and afraid to atchieve great acts: whereas it fhould represent one entirely negligent in atchieving them. For this was then Achilles's cafe. So that we fhould read,

Fortune's ball.

For he was the first favourite of

fortune; yet when he got into her prefence instead of pushing his way, he became entirely ne gligent and unconcerned for her favours. WARBURTON.

To creep is to keep out of fight from whatever motive. Some men keep out of notice in the hall of Fortune, while others, though they but play the ideot, are always in her eye, in the way of diftinction.

5-feafting-] Folio. The quarto has fafting. Either word How fome men SLEEP infkittish may bear a good fenfe. Ii 2

They

They clap the lubber Ajax on the shoulder,
As if his foot were on brave Hector's breast,
And great Troy fhrinking.

Achil. I do believe it;

For they pafs'd by me, as mifers do by beggars,
Neither gave to me good word, nor good look.
What! are my deeds forgot!

Ulyf. Time hath, my Lord, a wallet at his back, Wherein he puts alms for Oblivion.

A great fiz'd monfter, of ingratitudes,

Thofe fcraps are good deeds paft, which are devour'd
As faft as they are made, forgot as foon

As done: 7 Perfeverance keeps Honour bright:
To have done, is to hang quite out of fashion,
Like rufty nail in monumental mockery..
For honour travels in a ftreight fo narrow,
Where one but goes abreaft? keep then the path;
For Emulation hath a thousand fons,
That one by one purfue; if you give way,
Or hedge afide from the direct forth-right,
Like to an entred tide, they all rufh by,
And leave you hindermoft; and there you lie,
Like to a gallant horfe fall'n in first rank,
For pavement to the abject rear, o'er-run
And trampled on: Then what they do in prefent,
Tho' lefs than yours in paft, muft o'er-top yours.

9

6 Time hath, my Lord, a wal

let at his back,] This fpeech is printed in all the modern editions with fuch deviations from the old copy, as exceed the law ful power of an editor.

7 In the old copy,
-Perfeverance, dear my Lord,
Keeps Honour bright: To have
done, is to bang
Quite out of fashion, like a rusty

nail

In monumental mockery. Take
the inftant way,
For honour, &c.

8 -and there you lie,] Thefe words are not in the folio.

-to the abject rear,-] So Hanmer. All the editors before him read,

-to the abject, near.

1 o'er-run, &c.] The quarto wholly omits the fimile of the horfe, and reads thus:

And leave you bindmoft, then what they do in present. The folio feems to have fome omiffion, for the fimile begins, Or like a gallant horfe

For