Remember to have heard.. Man's nature cannot carry Th' affliction, nor the force.. Lear. Let the great gods, That keep this dreadful pudder o'er our heads, wretch, (27) Tremble, thou That haft within thee undivulged crimes, Unwhipped of justice. Hide thec, thou bloody hand; Thou Perjure, and thou Simular of virtue, (28) Thefe dreadful fummoners grace.-I am a man. Kent, Alack, bare-headed? Gracious, my Lord, hard by here is a hovel; (27) Tremble, thou wretch,] Thus Juvenal in his 13th fatire; Hi furt qui trepidant, et ad omnia fulgura pallent, Cum tomat, &c. (28) Thou perjured, and thou fimular man of vrtue,] The fift Folio leaves out ma in this verfe; and I believe rightly to the Poet's mind. He would use a fimular of virtue to fignify a falfe pretender to it; a diflembler, that would make. an outward thew of it: as he elsewhere employs perjuresubstantively, for a perjured creature. So in Love's Labour's Loft ; Why, he comes like a Perjure, wearing papers. And fo, in his Troublejome Reign of King John, in two parts But now black-ipotted terjure as he is. Lear. My wits begin to turn. Come on, my boy How doft, my boy? art cold? I'm cold myself. Where is the ftraw, my fellow! The art of our neceffities is ftrange, That can make vile things precious. hovel; Come, your Poor fool and knave, I've one part in my heart Faol. He that has a little tiny wit,. With heigh ho, the wind and the rain; Must make content with his fortunes fit,. Though the rain it raineth every day. Lear True, my good boy: come, bring us tothis hovel. [Exit Fool. 'Tis a brave night to cool a courtezan. F'll fpeak a prophecy or ere I go; When priests are more in words than matter, No Squire in debt, nor no poor Knight; Come to great confufion. Then comes the time, who lives to fee't, That going fhall be ufed with feet. This prophecy Merlin fhall make, for I do live be fore his time. [Exit SEENE, an Apartment in Glo'ster's Castle.. Go Alack, alack, Edmund, I like not this un natural dealing. When I defired their leave that I might pity him, they took from me the use of mine own houfe; charged me, on pain of perpetual difpleasure, neither to speak of him, entreat for him, or any way fuftain him. Edm. Moft favage and unnatural! Glo. Go to; fay you nothing. There is 'divifion between the Dukes, and a worfe matter than that? I have received a letter this night, 'tis dangerous to be spoken; (I have locked the letter in my clofet:) thefe injuries, the King now bears, will be revenged home; there is part of a power already footed; (†) we must incline to the King; I will look for him, and privily relieve him; go you, and maintain talk with the Duke, that my charity be not of hiin perceived; if he afk for me, I am ill, and gone to bed; it I die for it, as no less is threatened me, the King my old mafter must be relieved. There are ftrange things toward, Edmund; pray you, be careful. [Exit. Edm. This courtesy forbid thee, fhall the Duke Inftantly know, and of that letter too.. This feems a fair deferving, and muft draw me That which my father lofes; no lefs than all. The younger rifes, when the old doth fall. [Exit. (†) There is part of a power already landed;] This reading, notwithstanding Mr Pope's declaration in his preface, is not ex fide codicum. All the authentic copies read footed, i. e. on foot, on their march. If this gentleman's nice car was offended at the word in this place, how came he to let it pafs undisturbed in fome others? As for infiance, afterwards in this play; And what confederacy have you with the traitors, And again, in Henry V. Dispatch us with all speed. left that our King For he is footed in this land already. SCENE changes to a part of the Heath, with a Hovel. Enter LEAR, KENT, and Fool. Kent. Here is the place, my Lord; good my Lord, enter The tyranny o' th' open night's too rough For nature to endure. Lear. Let me alone.. Kent. Good my Lord, enter here. Lear. Wilt break my heart? ` [Storm ftill Kent. I'd rather break mine own; good my Lord, enter: Lear. Thou thinkeft 'tis much that this conten- Invades us to the fkin; fo 'tis to thee; The leffer is fcarce felt. Thou'dit fhun a bear; when the mind's free, The body's delicate; the tempeft in my mind Doth from my fenfes take all feeling elfe, Save what beats there. Filial ingratitude! Is it not as this mouth fhould. tear this hand For lifting food to't?- -But I'll punish home: No, I will weep no more---In fuch a night To thut me out?---Pour on, I will endure: In fuch a night as this? O Regan, Goneril, Your old kind father, whofe frank heart gave all---O, that way madness lyes; let me fhun that; No more of that.----- Kent. Good, my Lord, enter here. Lear. Pr'ythee, go in thyfelf; feek thine ow cafe: : This tempeft will not give me leave to ponder Edg. within.] Fathom and half, fathom and half! poor Tom. Fool. Come not in here, nuncle, here's a fpirit; help me, help me. [The Fool runs out from the hovel. Kent. Give me thy hand; who's there? Fool. A fpirit, a fpirit; he fays his name's poor Tom. Kent. What art thou that doft grumble there ' th' ftraw? come forth. Enter EDGAR, difguifed like a Madman. Thro' Edg. Away! the foul fiend follows me. the fharp hawthorn blows the cold wind. Humph, go to thy bed and warm thee. Lear. Didit thou give all to thy daughters? and art thou come to this? (29) (29) Did thou give all to thy daughters? and art thou come to this? Here Lear's madness first begins to break out. His mind, long beating on his afflictions, had laid a preparation for his frenzy; and nothing was wanting but fuch an object as Edgar to fet it on work, as it were by fympathy. In this our Author has fhewn an exquifite knowledge of Nature as he has, with no lefs propricty, diflinguiflied the King's |
