But most it is prefumption in us, when 2 * Myself against the level of mine aim; But know I think, and think I know moft fure, King. Art thou fo confident? Within what space Hop'st thou my cure? Hel. The greatest grace lending grace, Hel. Tax of impudence, A ftrumpet's boldness, a divulged shame Myself against the level of mine aim ;] Sear'd i. e. pretend to greater things than befits the mediocrity of my condition. WARBURTON. I rather think that the means to fay, I am not an impoftor that proclaim one thing and defign another, that proclaim a cure and aim at a fraud: I think what I speak. JOHNSON. This paffage is apparently corrupt, and how fhall it be rectified? I have no great hope of fuccefs, but fomething must be tried. I read the whole thus, Sear'd otherwife; no worfe of worst extended, King. What dareft thou venture? A firumpet's boldness; a divulged foame, Sear'd otherwife, to worst of worst extended; When this alteration first came into my mind, I supposed Helen to mean thus, First, I venture what is deareft to me, my maiden reputation; but if your diftruft extends my character to the worst of the worf, and fuppofes me feared against the fense of infamy, I will add to the ftake of reputation, the ftake of life. This certainly is fenfe, and the language as grammatical as many other paffages of Shakespeare. Yet we may try another experi ment. Fear otherwife to worst of, werft extended; That is, let me act under the greatest terrors poffible. Yet once again we will try to find the right way by the glim mer of Hanmer's emendation, who reads thus, my maiden name Star'd; otherwife the worst of worst extended, &c, Perhaps it were better thus, my maiden name Sear'd; otherwife the worft to worst extended; JOHNSON. Let us try, if poffible, to produce fenfe from this paffage without exchanging a fyllable. I would bear (fays the) the tax of impudence, which is the denotement of a frumpet; would endure a fhame refulting from my failure in what I have undertaken, and thence become the fubject of odious ballads; let my maiden reputation be otherwife branded; and, no worse of worse extended, i. e. provided nothing swerfe is offered to me (meaning violation) let my life be ended with the worst of tortures. The poet for the fake of rhime has obfcured the fenfe of the paffage. The worst that can befal a woman being extended to me, feems to be the meaning of the laft line. STEEVENS. King. Methinks, in thee fome bleffed spirit doth speak, His powerful found within an organ weak: In common fenfe, fenfe faves another way. + Methinks, in thee fome blessed spirit doth Speak To speak a found is a barbarifm: for to speak fignifies to utter an articulate found, i. e. a voice. So Shakespeare, in Love's Labour Loft, fays with propriety, And when love Ipeaks the voice of all the gods. To speak a found therefore is improper, tho' to utter a found is not; because the word utter may be applied either to an articulate or inarticulate. Befides, the conftruction is vicious with the two ablatives, in thee, and, within an organ weak. The lines therefore fhould be thus read and pointed, Methinks, in thee fome blessed spirit doth Speak: His power full founds within an organ weak. But the Oxford editor would be only fo far beholden to this emendation, as to enable him to make fenfe of the lines another way, whatever become of the rules of criticism or ingenuous dealing. WARBURTON. It powerful founds within an organ weak. The verb, doth Speak, in the first line, fhould be understood to be repeated in the conftruction of the second, thus ; His powerful found speaks within a weak organ. REVISAL. in thee hath eftimate:] May be counted among gifts enjoyed by them. 6 Youth, beauty, wisdom, courage, all] the JOHNSON. The verfe wants a foot. VIRTUE, by mifchance, has dropt out of the line. 7 WARBURTON. prime] Youth; the fpring or morning of life. JOHNSON. Sweet Sweet practifer, thy phyfick I will try; Hel. If I break time, or flinch in property Hel. But will you make it even? King. Ay, by my fcepter, and my hopes of heaven. Hel. Then fhalt thou give me, with thy kingly hand, What husband in thy power I will command. Exempted be from me the arrogance To chufe from forth the royal blood of France; King. Here is my hand; the premises obferv'd, Thy will by my performance fhall be ferv'd: $ King. Make thy demand. Hel. But will you make it even? King. Ay, by Scepter and my hopes of help.] The king could have but a very flight hope of help from her, fcarce enough to fwear by: and therefore Helen might fufpect he meant to equivocate with her. Befides, obferve, the greatest part of the scene is strictly in rhime: and there is no fhadow of reafon why it should be interrupted here. I rather imagine the poet wrote, Ay, by my feepter, and my bopes of heaven. THIRLBY. * With any branch or IMAGE of thy fate:] Shakespeare unqueftionably wrote IMPAGE, grafting. IMPE a graff, or flip, or fucker by which the means one of the fons of France. So Caxton calls our prince Arthur, that noble IMPE of fame. WARBURTON. Image is farely the true reading, and may mean any reprefentative of thine; i. e. any one who refembles you as being related to your family, or as a prince reflects any part of your state and majesty. There is no fuch word as impage. STEEVENS. So, So, make the choice of thine own time, for I, More fhould I queftion thee, and more I muft; SCENE II. ROUSILLON. Enter Countess, and Clown. [Exeunt. Count. Come on, fir; I fhall now put you to the height of your breeding. Clo. I will fhew myfelf highly fed, and lowly taught: I know my business is but to the court. Count. But to the court? why, what place make you fpecial, when you put off that with fuch contempt? But to the court! Clo. Truly, madam, if God have lent a man any manners, he may eafily put it off at court: he that cannot make a leg, put off's cap, kiss his hand, and fay nothing, has neither leg, hands, lip, nor cap; and, indeed, fuch a fellow, to fay precifely, were not for the court: but, for me, I have an answer will ferve all men. Count. Marry, that's a bountiful answer, that fits all questions. Clo. It is like a barber's chair, that fits all buttocks; the pin-buttock, the quatch-buttock, the brown-buttock, or any buttock. Count. Will your answer ferve fit to all questions? 9 It is like a barber's chair, &c.] This expreffion is proverbial. See Ray's Proverbs. STEEVENS. Clo. |