called as followeth, the first year a fawn; the second year. pricket; the third year a forel; the fourth year a fore; the fifth year, a buck of the first head, &c. Manhood of the laws of the foreft, p. 44. P. 43. L. 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, WARB. CAPELL.* rejected by HANMER.* L. 24. Nath. Faufte, precor, gelida] Though all the editions concur to give this speech to Sir Nathaniel, yet as Dr. Thirlby ingeniously obferved to me, it is evident, it must belong to Holofernes. The curate is employed in reading the letter to himself; and while he is doing fo, that the ftage may not ftand ftill, Holofernes either pulls out a book, cr, repeating fome verfe by heart from Mantuanus, comments upon the character of that poet. Baptifta Spagnolus, (firnamed Mantuanus, from the place of his birth) was a writer of poems, who flourished towards the latter end of the 15th century. THEOBALD. Ibid. Faufte precor gelida, &c.], A note of La Monnoye's on thefe very words in Les Contes des Periers, Nov. 42. will explain the humour of the quotation, and fhew how well Shakespeare has fuftained the character of his pedant.. Il defigne le Carme Baptifte Mantuan, dont au commencement du 16 fiecle on lifoit publiquement à Paris les Poefies; fi celebres alors, que, comme dit plaisamment Farnabe, dans Ja preface fur Martial, les Pedans ne faifoient nulle difficulté de preferer à l'Arma virumque cano, le Faufte precor gelida, c'eft-a-dire, à l'Eneide de Virgile les Eclogues de Mantuan, la premiere defquelles commence par Faufte precor gelida. WAR. L. 27. In old editions: Venechi, venache a, qui non te wide, i non te piaecb.] And thus Mr. Rowe, and Mr. Pope. But that poets, fcholars, and Linguifts, could not reftore this little scrap of true Italian, is to me unaccountable. Our author is applying the praises of Mantuanus to a common proverbial fentence, faid of Venice. Vinegia, Vinegia! ebi non te vede ei non te pregia. O Venice, Venice, he who has never feen thee, has thee not in esteem. THE. Ibid.] The proverb, as I am informed, is this; He that fees Venice little, values it much; be that fees it much, values it little. But I fuppofe Mr. Theobald is right, for the true proverb would not ferve the speaker's purpose. JoN. P. 44. L. 24. Let me fupervise the Cangenet.] If the editors have met with any fuch word, it is more than I have done, or, I believe, ever fhall do. Our author wrote Canzonet, from the Italian word Canzonetto, a little fong, We meet with it in B. Johnson's Cynthia's Revells. O! what a call is there! I will have a Canzonet made with nothing in it but, Sirrab! and the burden fhall be, 1 come. THEOBALD*. Nath. Here are only numbers ratified; ] Though this fpeech has been all along plac'd to Sir Nathaniel, I have ventured to join it to the preceding words of Holofernes; and not without reafon. The speaker here is impeaching the verfes; but Sir Nathaniel, as it appears above, thought them learned ones: befides, as Dr. Thirlby obferves, almost every word of this fpeech fathers itself on the pedant. So much for the regulation of it: now, a little, to the contents. And why indeed Nafo, but for fmeling out the odoriferous flowers of fancy? the jerks of invention imitary is nothing. Sagacity with a vengeance! I fhould be ashamed to own myself a piece of a scholar, to pretend to the task of an editor, and to pafs fuch ftuff as this upon the world for genuine, Who ever heard of Invention imitary? Invention and imitation have ever been accounted two diftinct things. The fpeech is by a pedant, who frequently throws in a word of Latin amongst his English; and he is here flourishing npon the merit of invention, beyond that of imitation, or copying after another. My change of imitary to imitari, makes the whole fo plain and intelligible, that, I think, it carries conviction along with it. THEOBALD. L. 26. Ovidius Nafo was the man.] Our author makes his pedant affect the being converfant in the best authors: con trary to the practice of modern wits, who represent them as defpifers of all fuch. But thofe who know the world, know the pedant to be the greatest affector of politenefs. WAR. L. 29. fo doth the bound his master, the ape his keeper, the TIRED horfe his rider.] The pedant here, to run down imitation, fhews that it is a quality within the capacity of beafts: that the dog and the ape are taught to copy tricks by their master and keeper; and fo is the tir'd horse by his rider. This last is a wonderful inftance; but it happens not to be true. The author must have wrote the TRYED horfe his rider: i. e. one, exercis'd, and broke to the manage: for he obeys every fign, and motion of the rein, or of his rider. So in the two gentlemen of Verona, the word is used in the fenfe of trained, exercised; And how he cannot be a perfect man, WARB. Ibid.] We never lay in English a try'd horfe to fignity a horfe exercised in the manage. Undoubtedly we should read the train'd horse. REVISAL. CAPELL*. Ibid.] Tir'd horse. P. 45. L. 1, 2. -Monfieur Biron, one of the strange queen's Lords. Old copies. CAPELL.. L. 19. Colourable colours.] That is, fpecious, or fair appearances. JOHNSON. L. 24 being repaft.] As I do not understand the meaning of these words, I muit beg leave to put in my claim to the undoubted privilege of a critick on the like occafions, that of amending the text, by substituting, being request, for requested. REVISAL. Ibid.] before repaft. Old copies. P. 46. Scene 4. here begins A&t 4. in CAPELL. L 5. Alluding to lady Rofaline's complexion, who is, through the whole play, reprefented as a black beauty. JOHNSON. L, 28. The night of dew, that on my cheeks down flows.] I cannot think the night of dew the true reading, but know not what to offer. JOHNSON. P. 47. L. 18. He comes in like a perjure.] The punishment of perjury is to wear on the breast a paper expreffing the JOHNSON. crime. P. 48. L. 4. Oh, rhimes are guards on wanton Cupid's hofe; Disfigure not his fhop.] All the editions happen to concur in this error; but what agreement in fenfe is there betwixt Cupid's hofe and his bop? Or, what relation can those two terms have to one another? Or, what, indeed, can be underftood by Cupid's bop? It must undoubtedly be corrected, as I have reformed the text. Slops are large and wide. P. 49. knee'd breeches, the garb in fashion in our author's days, as we may obferve from old family pictures; but they are now worn only by boors and Sea-faring men and we have dealers whofe fole business it is to furnish the failors with fhirts, Jackets, &c. who are called, flop-men; and their shop, pop-foops. THEOBALD. L. 21. The liver vein.] The liver was anciently supposed to be the feat of love. JOHNSON. L. 5- Old edition: By earth he is not corporal, there you ye,] Dumain, one of the lovers in fpite of his vow to the contrary, thinking himself alone here, breaks out into fhort foliloquies of admiration on his mistress; and Biron, who ftands behind as an eves dropper, takes pleasure in contradicting his amorous raptures. But Dumain was a a young lord; he had no fort of post in the army: what wit, or allufion, then, can there be in Biron's calling him Corporal? I dare warrant, but corporal, reftores the poets true meaning, which is this. Dumain calls his mistress divine, and the wonder of a mortal eye; and Biron in flat terms denies thefe hyperbolical praises. I fearce need hint, that our poet commonly uses corporal as corporeal. Ibid.] not corporal. ТНЕОВ. CAPELL. L. 6. For coted read quoted, i. e. esteemed, reckoned. L. 18. REVISAL. WARB. Ibid] bath amber quoted. P. 50. L. 6. Air, would I might triumph fo.] Perhaps we may better read, Ah! would I might triumph Jo. JOHN. my true love's fafting pain;] I should rather chufe to read feftring, rankling. Ibid.] There is no need of any alteration; fafting is longing, hungry, wanting. Ibid.] lafting pain, against old copies. P. 51. L. 13. How will he triumph, LEAP, and laugh at it ?] We fhould certainly read GEAP, i. e. jeer, ridicule. WARBURTON. Jони. CAPELL. Ibid.] To leap is to exult, to skip for joy. It must stand. JOHNSON. P. 52. L. 1. To fee a king transformed to a knot!] Read POPE and CAPELL*. gnat, Ibid.] Knot may fignify fitting in a folded contemplative posture. REVISAL*. Ibid.] Knot has no fenfe that can fuit this place. We may read fot. The rhymes in this play are fuch as that fat and fot may be well enough admitted. L. 5. CYNIC. JOHN S. CRITIC Timon] ought evidently to be WAR. CAPELL.* -] This is a ftrange sense L.. 12. betray'd to you. L. 16. With MEN like men,lefs line, and fhould be read thus, With VANE lke men, of strange incorftancy. WAR. and CAP. Ibid.] This is well imagined, but perhaps the poet may mean with men like common men. JOHNS. and REVISAL.* P. 54. L. 18. She an attending star.] Something like this is ftanza of Sir Henry Wotton, of which the poetical reader will forgive the infertion. reftars, the train of night, That poorly fatisfy our eyes More by your number than your light: Te common people of the skies, What are ye when the fun ball rife! JOHN. P. 55. L. 3. Is ebony like her? O Word divine !] This is the reading of all the editions that I have feen: but both Dr. Thirlby and Mr. Warburton cuncurred in reading, (as I had likewife conjectured) O Wood divine! L. 10. In former editions ; THE. The School of night.] Black, being the School of night, is a piece of mystery above my comprehenfion. I had gueffed, it should be, the Stole of night: but I have preferred the conjecture of my friend Mr. Warburton, who reads the fcowl of night, as it comes nearer, in pronunciation to the Corrupted reading, as well as agrees better with the other images. THEOB, and CAP. Ibid. I am inclined to think our poet wrote ftole the robe or drefs of night, a word frequently used by Chaucer. Nor doth this reading differ fo greatly from the common one, jcbool as it may appear to do at firft fight. For we find this latter word conftantly written fchole in Chaucer, and from the resemblance of the two words it hath actually happened, that tole, by the mistake of the tranfcriber, is fubftituted |