Par. I would, the cutting of my garments would serve the turn; or the breaking of my Spanish fword. Lord. We cannot afford you fo. [Afide. Par. Or the baring of my beard; and to fay, it was Par. Or to drown my clothes, and fay, I was ftript. in ftratagem. Lord. 'Twould not do. [Afide. Lord. Hardly ferve. [Afide. Par. Though I fwore I leap'd from the window of the citadel Lord. How deep? [Afide. Par. Thirty fathom. Lord. Three great oaths would scarce make that be believ❜d. [Afide. Par. I would, I had any drum of the enemies'; I would fwear, I recover'd it. Lord. You fhall hear one anon. [Afide. Par. A drum now of the enemies! [Alarum within. Lord. Throca movoufus, cargo, cargo, cargo. All. Cargo, cargo, villianda par corbo, cargo. Par. Oh! ranfom, ranfom :-Do not hide mine eyes. [They feize him and blindfold him. Inter. Bofkos thromuldo bofkos. Par. I know you are the Muskos' regiment, I understand thee, and can speak thy tongue :- Betake thee to thy faith, for seventeen poniards Par. Oh! Inter. Oh, pray, pray, pray. Manka revania dulche. Lord. Ofcorbi dulchos volivorco. Inter. The general is content to fpare thee yet; And, And, hood-winkt as thou art, will lead thee on Par. Oh, let me live, And all the fecrets of our camp I'll fhew, Inter. But wilt thou faithfully? Par. If I do not, damn me. Inter. Acorda linta. Come on, thou art granted space. [Exit with Parolles. [Afhort alarum within. Lord. Go, tell the count Roufillon, and my brother, We have caught the woodcock, and will keep him muffled 'Till we do hear from them. Sol. Captain, I will. Lord. He will betray us all unto ourselves; Inform 'em that. Sol. So I will, fir. Lord. 'Till then I'll keep him dark, and safely lock'd. SCENE II. The Widow's house. Enter Bertram and Diana. [Exeunt. Ber. They told me, that your name was Fontibell. Ber., Titled goddess ; And worth it, with addition! But, fair foul, H 2 Dia. My mother did but duty; fuch, my lord, Ber. No more of that! I pr'ythee, do not strive against my vows: By love's own fweet constraint, and will for ever Dia. Ay, fo you ferve us, "Till we serve you: but when you have our roses, You barely leave our thorns to prick ourselves, And mock us with our bareness. 4 No more of that! I pr'ythee, do not firive against my vows : I was compell'd to her; -] I know not well what Bertram can mean by entreating Diana not to ftrive against his vows. Diana had just mentioned his wife, fo that the vows feem to relate to his marriage. In this sense not Diana, but himself ftrives against his vows. His vows indeed may mean vows made to Diana; but, in that cafe, to ftrive against is not properly used for to reject, nor does this fenfe cohere well with his first exclamation of impatience at the mention of his wife. N. more of that! Perhaps we might read: I pr'ythee do not drive against my vows. Do not run upon that topick; talk of any thing else that I can bear to bear. I have another conceit upon this paffage, which I would be thought to offer without much confidence: No more of that! I pr'ythee do not fhrive-against my voice I was compell'd to her ; Diana tells him unexpectedly of his wife. He answers with perturbation, No more of that! I pr'ythee do not play the confeffor against my own confent I was compelled to her. When a young profligate finds his courtship fo gravely repreffed by an admonition of his duty, he very naturally defires the girl not to take upon her the office of a confeffor. JOHNSON. Againfi his vows, I believe, means againft his determined refolution never to cohabit with Helena; and this vow, or refolution, he had very strongly expreffed in his letter to her. STEEVENS. Ber. Ber. How have I fworn? Dia. 'Tis not the many oaths, that make the truth; But the plain fingle vow, that is vow'd true. "What is not holy, that we fwear not by, But take the Highest to witness: Then, pray you, tell me, 5 What is not holy, that we fear not by,] If Yes, nothing is more common than fuch kind of oaths. But Diana is not here accufing Bertram for fwearing by a being not holy, but for fwearing to an unholy purpofe; as is evident from the preceding lines: 'Tis not the many oaths, that make the truth; But the plain fimple vow, that is vow'd true. The line in queftion, therefore, is evidently corrupt, and should be read thus: What is not holy, that we fwear, not 'bides, i. e. if we fwear to an unholy purpose the oath abides not, but is diffolved in the making. This is an answer to the purpose. She fubjoins the reafon two or three lines after : this has no holding, To fivear by him, whom I proteft to love, i.e. that oath can never hold, whofe fubject is to offend and difplease that being, whom, I profefs, in the act of fwearing by him, to love and reverence.-What may have mifled the editors into the common reading was, perhaps, miftaking Bertram's words above: By love's own feet conftraint to be an oath; whereas it only fignifies, being conftrained by love. WARBURTON. This is an acute and excellent conjecture, and I have done it the due honour of exalting it to the text; yet, methinks, there is fomething yet wanting. The following words, but take the High'ft to witnefs, even though it be understood as an anticipation or affumption in this sense,—but now fuppofe that you take the Highest to witnefs, has not fufficient relation to the antecedent fentence. I will propofe a reading nearer to the furface, and let it take its chance. Ber. How have I fworn! Diana. 'Tis not the many oaths, that make the truth ; But the plain fingle wow, that is vow'd true. Ber. What is not holy, that we fwear not by, But take the High'ft to witness." Diana. Then, pray you If I should fwear, &c. tell me, H 3 Bertram "If I fhould fwear by Jove's great attributes, 2 Τα Bertram means to enforce his fuit, by telling her, that he has bound himself to her, not by the petty proteftations usual among lovers, but by vows of greater folemnity. She then makes a proand rational reply. JOHNSON. per I have replaced the old reading, being convinced that it is the true one, by the following paffage in the REVISAL. "The fenfe is, We never fwear by what is not holy, but fwear by, or take to witnefs, the Higheft, the Divinity. The tenor of the reafoning contained in the following lines perfectly corresponds with this; If I fhould fwear by Jove's great attributes, that I lov'd you dearly, would you believe my oaths, when you found by experience that I loved you ill, and was endeavouring to gain credit with you in order to feduce you to your ruin? No, furely, but you would conclude that I had no faith either in Jove or his attri butes, and that my oaths were mere words of course. For that oath can certainly have no tye upon us, which we fwear by him we profefs to love and honour, when at the fame time we give the strongest proof of our disbelief in him, by purfuing a courfe which we know will offend and difhonour him. By not comprehending the poet's fcope and meaning, Dr. Warburton hath been reduced to the neceffity of fathering upon him fuch strange English as this "What is not holy, that we fear," to fignify, If we fwear to an unholy purpose; a fenfe those words will by no means bear. "Not bides," to fignify, The oath is diffolved in the making; meaning which can no more be deduced from the words than the former. a As to the remaining words, "But take the High'ft to witness," they fo plainly and directly contradict Dr. Warburton's interpretation, that it was utterly impracticable for him to reconcile them to it, and therefore he hath very prudently paffed them over without notice." STEEVENS. 6 If I fhould fwear by Jove's great attributes,] In the print of the old folio, it is doubtful whether it be Jove's or Love's, the characters being not diftinguishable. If it is read Love's, perhaps it may be fomething lefs difficult. I am still at a lofs. JOHNSON. * this has no holding, &c. It may be read thus: To fwear by him whom I atteft to love, That I will work against him. There is no confiftence in expreffing reverence for Jupiter by calling |