Cre. Will you walk in, my lord?

Troi. O Creffida, how often have I wisht me thus ? Cre. Wifht, my lord! the Gods grant- O my lord. Troi. What should they grant? what makes this pretty abruption? what too curious dreg efpies my fweet lady in the fountain of our love?

Cre. More dregs than water, if my fears have eyes. Troi. Fears make devils of cherubins, they never fee truly.

Cre. Blind fear, which feeing reafon leads, finds safer footing than blind reafon ftumbling without fear. To fear the worst, oft cures the worse.

Troi. O, let my lady apprehend no fear; in all Capid's Pageant there is prefented no monfter.

Cre. Nor nothing monftrous neither?

Troi. Nothing, but our Undertakings; when we vow to weep feas, live in fire, eat rocks, tame tygers; thinking it harder for our mistress to devife impofition enough, than for us to undergo any difficulty impofed. This is the monftruofity in love, lady, that the will is infinite, and the execution confin'd; that the defire is boundless, and the act a flave to limit.

Cre. They fay, all lovers fwear more performance than they are able; and yet reserve an ability, that they never perform: vowing more than the perfection of ten, and difcharging less than the tenth part of one. They that have the voice of lions, and the act of hares, are they not monftrous?

Troi. Are there fuch? fuch are not we: praife us as we are tafted, allow us as we prove: our head fhall go bare, 'till merit crown it; no perfection in reverfion fhall have a praise in prefent; we will not name defert before his birth, and, being born, his addition fhall be humble; few words to fair faith. Troilus fhall be fuch to Creffida, as what envy can fay worst, fhall be a mock for his truth; and what truth can speak trueft, not truer than Troilus. Cre. Will you walk in, my lord?

Enter Pandarus.

Pan. What, blufhing ftill? have you not done talking yet?

Cre

Cre. Well, uncle, what folly I commit, I dedicate to you.

Pan. I thank you for that; if my lord get a boy of you, you'll give him me; be true to my lord; if he Hinch, chide me for it.

Troi. You know now your hoftages; your uncle's word and my firm faith.

Pan. Nay, I'll give my word for her too; our kindred, though they be long ere they are woo'd, they are conftant, being won: they are burrs, I can tell you, they'll flick where they are thrown.

Cre. Boldness comes to me now, and brings me heart: Prince Troilus, I have lov'd you night and day, For many weary months.

Troi. Why was my Crefid then fo hard to win ? Cre. Hard to feem won: but I was won, my lord, With the first glance that ever- -pardon me If I confefs much, you will play the tyrant: I love you now; but not till now, so much But I might mafter it- -in faith, I lieMy thoughts were, like unbridled children, grown Too headstrong for their mother; fee, we fools! Why have I blabb'd? who shall be true to us, When we are fo unfecret to our felves? But though I lov'd you well, I woo'd you not; And yet, good faith, I wifht my self a man: Or that We women had men's privilege, Of fpeaking firft. Sweet, bid me hold my tongue; For in this rapture I fhall furely speak The thing I fhall repent; fee, fee, your filence (Cunning in dumbness) from my weakness draws My very foul of counfel. Stop my mouth.

Troi. And shall, albeit fweet mufick iffues thence.

Pan. Pretty, i'faith.

Cre. My lord, I do befeech you, pardon me; 'Twas not my purpose thus to beg a kifs:

[Kiffing

I am afham'd; -O heavens, what have I done!
For this time will I take my leave, my lord.

Troi. Your leave, fweet Creffid?

Q4

Pan.

Pan. Leave! an you take leave till to morrow mor

ing

Cre. Pray you, content you.
Trci. What offends you, lady?
Cre. Sir, mine own company.
Troi. You cannot fhun your felf.
Cre. Let me go try:

I have a kind of felf refides with you:
But an unkind self, that it self will leave,

To be another's fool. Where is

my wit? I would be gone: I fpeak, I know not what.

Troi. Well know they what they fpeak, that fpeak fo

wifely.

Cre. Perchance, my lord, I fhew more craft than love,

And fell fo roundly to a large confeffion,

To angle for your thoughts: but you are wife,
Or else you love not: To be wife and love,
Exceeds man's might, and dwells with Gods above.
Troi. O, that I thought it could be in a woman,
(As, if it can, I will prefume in you,)

To feed for ay her lamp and flames of love,
To keep her conftancy in plight and youth
Out-living Beauties outward; with a mind
That doth renew swifter than blood decays!
Or, that perfwafion could but thus convince me,
That my integrity and truth to you
Might be affronted with the match and weight
Of fuch a winnow'd purity in love:
How were I then up lifted! but alas,
I am as true as Truth's fimplicity,
And fimpler than the infancy of truth.
Cre. In that I'll war with you.

Troi. O virtuous fight!

When Right with Right warrs who fhall be moft right. True fwains in love fhall in the world to come

Approve their truths by Troilus; when their rhimes,.. Full of protest, of oath, and big compare,

Want fimilies: truth, tired with iteration,

A

As true as steel, as Planets to their Moons, (15)
As Sun to day, as turtle to her mate,
As iron to adamant, as earth to th' center:
Yet after all comparisons of truth,

(As truth's authentick author to be cited)
As true as Troilus fhall crown up the verse,
And fanctifie the numbers.

Cre. Prophet may you be !

If I be falfe, or fwerve a hair from truth,
When time is old and hath forgot it self,
When water-drops have worn the ftones of Troy,
And blind Oblivion swallow'd Cities up,
And mighty States characterlefs are grated.
To dufty Nothing; yet let Memory,

(15) -as Planets to the Moon.] Plantage is certainly very juftly thrown out, as a Reading of no Senfe or Truth: and yet the Text is a little corrupted, and must be help'd thus; -as Planets to their Moons.*

He fetches here his Comparisons of true Love from the Sympathy or Affection of the feveral Parts of Nature. As true as Steel- -I know, by this Phrafe, Men generally mean as true as a well-temper'd Sword is to the Hand of the Warrior: but I am perfuaded, the Phrase had another Original; and that was, from obferving its strange Affection to the Loadstone.But other Planets, befides the Earth, (before the Time of our ́Author,) were discover'd to have their Moons which revolv'd roundthem. Jupiter has four Moons, and Saturn five. The Aftronc mers, fometimes call'd thefe, Moons; and fometimes, Satellites. Sometimes, when they spoke of the Moon, they call'd it: the Earth's Satellite: and when they spoke of the Satellites of the other Planets, they call'd them Jupiter, or Saturn's Moons. Their conftant unerring Attendance on their respective Planets made this Phanomenon very proper for Comparifons: tho' properly speaking, as it is here put, it is inverted; for it should be, as true as Moons to their Planets.- -Because the Moons de.

pend on their Planets, not the Planets on their Moons. But that this inverted Order is nothing with Shakespeare, is plain from many Places of his Works, and particularly from the immediate following Words, As Sun to Day- -which is likewife in the fame manner inverted: for the Day depends on the Sun, and not the Sun on the Day. Mr. Warburton,

From

From falfe to falfe, among falfe maids in love,
Upbraid my falfehood! when they've faid, as false
As air, as water, as wind, as fandy earth;
As fox to lamb, as wolf to heifer's calf;
Pard to the hind, or step-dame to her fon;
Yea, let them fay, to flick the heart of falsehood,
As falfe as Creffid.

Pan.. Go to, a bargain made: feal it, feal it, I'll be the witnefs.- Here I hold your hand; here my coufin's; if ever you prove falfe to one another, fince I have taken fuch pains to bring you together, let all pitiful Goers-between be call'd to the world's end after my name; call them all Pandars: let all conftant men be Troilus's, all falfe women Crefida's, and all brokers be tween Pandars: say, Amen.

Troi. Amen!

Cre. Amen!

Pan. Amen. Whereupon I will fhew you a bed, chamber; which bed, because it shall not fpeak of your pretty encounters, prefs it to death: away.

And Cupid grant all tongue-ty'd maidens here,
Bed, chamber, and Pandar to provide this Geer!

[Exeunt.

SCENE changes to the Grecian Camp.

Enter Agamemnon, Ulyffes, Diomedes, Neftor, Ajax, Menelaus, and Calchas.

Cal.

NOW

Ow, Princes, for the fervice I have done you, Th' advantage of the time prompts me aloud To call for recompenfe: appear it to you,

That, through the fight I bear in things to come,
I have abandon'd Troy, left my poffeffion,
Incurr'd a traitor's name, expos'd myfelf,
From certain and poffeft conveniences,
To doubtful fortunes; fequeftred from all
That time, acquaintance, custom, and condition,
Made tame and most familiar to my nature:
And here, to do you service, am become
As new into the world, ftrange, unacquainted.

J