Or "

Must be the scene of mirth, to cough and spit,
And with a palfie fumbling on his gorget,
Shake in and out the rivet- -and at this fport,
Sir Valour dies; cries "O! -enough, Patroclus-
give me ribs of steel, I shall split all
"In pleafure of my fpleen." And, in this fashion,
All our abilities, gifts, natures, shapes,
Severals and generals of grace exact,
Atchievements, plots, orders, preventions,
Excitements to the field, or fpeech for truce,
Succefs or lofs, what is, or is not, ferves
As ftuff for these two to make paradoxes.
Neft. And in the imitation of these twain,
(Whom, as Ulyffes fays, opinion crowns
With an imperial voice) many are infect:
Ajax is grown felf-will'd, and bears his head
In fuch a rein, in full as proud a pace,

As broad Achilles; and keeps his tent like him;
Makes factious feafts, rails on our state of war,
Bold as an Oracle; and fets Therfites

(A flave, whose gall coins flanders like a mint)
To match us in comparisons with dirt;
To weaken and difcredit our exposure,
How hard foever rounded in with danger.

Uh. They tax our policy, 'and call it cowardife,
Count wisdom as no member of the war ;
Fore-ftall our prefcience, and esteem no Act
But that of hand: The ftill and mental parts,
That do contrive how many hands shall strike,
When fitness call them on, and know by measure
Of their obfervant toil the enemies' weight;
Why, this hath not a finger's dignity;

They call this bed-work Mapp'ry, closet war:

(6) They call this bed-work, mapp'ry, clofet War,] The Poet in my Opinion would fay, This is planning out Action and War, as a Man might do on his Pillow, and in his Clofet. If fo, bedwork must be the Epithet to Mappery, as closet is to War: and therefore I have expung'd the Comma, which feparated the First from its Subftantive. So Guiderius, in Cymbeline, speaking of an unactive Life, fays it is

A cell of Ignorance; travelling a-bed.

Se

S

So that the ram, that batters down the wall,
For the great fwing and rudeness of his poize,
They place before his hand that made the engine;
Or thofe, that with the fineness of their fouls
By reafon guide his execution.

Neft. Let this be granted, and Achilles' horfe
Makes many Thetis' fons.

Aga. What trumpet ? look, Menelaus.
Men. From Troy.

Enter Æneas.

Aga. What would you 'fore our tent?

[Tucket founds.

Ene. Is this great Agamemnon's tent, I pray you?
Aga. Even this.

Ene. May one, that is a Herald and a Prince,
Do a fair meffage to his kingly ears?

Aga. With furety ftronger than Achilles' arm,
'Fore all the Greekish heads, which with one voice
Call Agamemnon Head and General.

Ene. Fair leave, and large fecurity. How may
A ftranger to those most imperial looks
Know them from eyes of other mortals ?
Aga. How?

Ene. I ask, that I might waken Reverence,
And bid the cheek be ready with a blush
Modeft as morning, when the coldly eyes
The youthful Phœbus:

Which is that God in office, guiding men ?
Which is the high and mighty Agamemnon?
Aga. This Trojan fcorns us, or the men of Troy
Are ceremonious courtiers.

Ene. Courtie s is free, as debonair, unarm'd,
As tending Angels; that's their fame in peace :
But when they would feem foldiers, they have galls, (7)
Good

(7) But when they would feem Soldiers, they have Galls, Good Arms, Strong Joints, true Swords, and Jove's Accord, Nothing fo full of heart.] Can the Poet be fuppos'd to mean, that the Trojans had Jove's Accord whenever they would feem Soldiers? No; certainly, he would intimate that nothing was fo full of Heart as they, when that God did but shew himself on VOL. VII

P

their

Good arms, ftrong joints, true fwords; and, Jove's
Accord,

Nothing fo full of heart. But peace, Æneas;
Peace, Trojan; lay thy finger on thy lips;
The worthiness of praife diftains his worth,
If he, that's prais'd, himself bring the praise forth:
What the repining enemy commends,

That breath Fame blows, that praise sole

pure tranfcends Aga. Sir, you of Troy, call you your felf Æneas? Ene. Ay, Greek, that is my name.

Aga. What's your affair, I pray you ?

Ene. Sir, pardon; 'tis for Agamemnon's ears.
Aga.. He hears nought privately that comes from Troy,
Ene. Nor Ifrom Troy come not to whisper him;

I bring a trumpet to awake his Ear,

To fet his fenfe on the attentive bent,
And then to speak.

Aga. Speak frankly as the wind,

It is not Agamemnon's fleeping hour;
That thou fhalt know, Trojan, he is awake,
He tells thee fo himself.

Ene. Trumpet, blow loud:

Send thy brafs voice thro' all these lazy tents;
And every Greek of mettle, let him know
What Troy means fairly, fhall be spoke aloud.
[The trumpets found.
We have, great Agamemnon, here in Troy
A Prince call'd Hector, (Priam is his father)
Who in this dull and long-continu'd truce
Is rufty grown; he bad me take a trumpet,
And to this purpose fpeak: Kings, Princes, Lords,
If there be one amongst the fair'ft of Greece,
That holds his honour higher than his ease,
That feeks his praise more than he fears his peril,

their Side. This Circumftance, added, brings no Impeachment to their Courage: Valour would become Presumption and Impiety in them, if they had trufted to it when Jove manifeftly declared himself on the other Side. My Regulation of the Pointing fixes the Poet's Senfe; and 'tis every where his Manner to mention the Concurrence of the Deity fuppos'd.

That

That knows his valour and knows not his fear,
That loves his mistress more than in confeffion,
(With truant vows to her own lips, he loves,)
And dare avow her beauty and her worth
In other arms than hers: to him this Challenge.
Hector, in view of Trojans and of Greeks,
Shall make it good, (or do his best to do it)
He hath a lady, wifer, fairer, truer,
Than ever Greek did compass in his arms;
And will to morrow with his trumpet call,
Midway between your tents and walls of Troy,
To rowze a Grecian that is true in love.
If any come, Hector fhall honour him:
If none, he'll fay in Troy when he retires,
The Grecian Dames are fun-burn'd, and not worth
The fplinter of a lance;
even fo much.
Aga. This fhall be told our lovers, lord Eneas.
If none of them have soul in such a kind,
We've left them all at home: but we are foldiers;
And may that foldier a meer recreant prove,
That means not, hath not, or is not in love!
If then one is, or hath, or means to be,
That one meets Hector; if none else, I'm he.
Neft. Tell him of Neftor; one, that was a man
When Hector's Grandfire fuckt; he is old now,
But if there be not in our Grecian Hoft

One noble man that hath one spark of fire,
To answer for his love: tell him from me,
I'll hide my filver beard in a gold beaver
And in my vantbrace put this wither'd brawns
And, meeting him, will tell him, that my lady
Was fairer than his grandam, and as chafte
As may be in the world: his youth in flood,
pawn this truth with my three drops of blood.
Ene. Now heav'ns forbid fuch scarcity of youth!
Uly. Amen.

Aga. Fair lord Eneas, let me touch your hand : To our Pavilion fhall I lead you firft:

Achilles fhall have word of this intent,

So fhall each lord of Greece from tent to tent:

Your felf fhall feast with us before you go,
And find the welcome of a noble foe.

Manent Ulyffes and Neftor.

Ulyff. Neftor,

Neft. What fays Ulyffes?

Uly. I have a young conception in my brain,
Be you my time to bring it to fome shape.
Neft. What is't?

Ul. This 'tis :

Blunt wedges rive hard knots; the feeded pride,
That hath to this maturity blown up

In rank Achilles, muft or now be cropt,

Or, fhedding, breed a nursery of like evil,
To over-bulk us all.

Neft. Well, and how now?

[Exeunt.

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

Relates in purpose only to Achilles.

Neft. The purpose is perfpicuous even as Substance, (8)

(8) The Purpofe is perfpicuous ev'n as Subftance,

Whofe Groffness little Characters fum up,

And in the Publication make no Strain:] The modern Editors, 'tis plain, have lent each other very little Information upon this Paffage: Τυφλὸς τυφλῷ ὁδηγὸς, as the Proverb fays; the Blind have led the Blind. As they have pointed the Paffage, 'tis ftrange Stuff; and how they folv'd it to themfelves, is paft my Discovery. That little Characters, or Particles, fum up the Groffness of any Subftance, I conceive: but how thofe Characters, or Particles, make no Strain in the Publication, feems a little harder than Algebra. My Regulation of the Pointing brings us to clear Senfe; "The Aim and Purpose of

this Duel is as vifible as any grofs Subftance can be, compound"ed of many little Particles". And having said thus, Ulysses goes on to another Obfervation; " And make no Difficulty, no "Doubt, when this Duel comes to be proclaim'd, but that .4"chilles, dull as he is, will discover the Drift of it." This is the Meaning of the laft Line. So afterwards, in this Play, Vlyffes fays, I do not ftrain at the Pofition,

ie. I do not hesitate at, I make no Difficulty of it.

Whofe