Which I can scarcely bear.

Cor. What must I do?

Men. Return to the tribunes.
Cor. Well, what then? what then?
Men. Repent what you have spoke.

Cor. For them?—I cannot do it to the gods;
Muft I then do't to them?

Vol. You are too abfolute;

Though therein you can never be too noble,
But when extremities fpeak. I have heard you fay,
Honour and policy, like unfever'd friends,

I' the war do grow together: Grant that, and tell me,
In peace, what each of them by th' other lose,
That they combine not there?

Cor. Tufh, tush!

Men. A good demand.

Vol. If it be honour, in your wars, to seem
The fame you are not, (which, for your best ends,
You adopt your policy,) how is it less, or worse,
That it thall hold companionship in peace
With honour, as in war; fince that to both
It stands in like request?

Cor. Why force you this?

Vol. Because that now it lies you on to speak

To the people; not by your own instruction,

Nor by the matter which your heart prompts you,

4- You are too abfolute,

Though therein you can never be too noble,

But

But when extremities Speak.] Except in cafes of urgent neceffity, when your refolute and noble fpirit, however commendable at other times, ought to yield to the occafion. MALONE.

5 Why force you-] Why urge you.

So, in K. Henry VIII.

JOHNSON.

"If you will now unite in your complaints,

"And force them with a conftancy-." MALONE.

Nor by the matter which your beart prompts you,] Perhaps, the meaning is, which your heart prompts you to. We have many fuch elliptical expreffions in thefe plays. See p. 128, n. 8. So, in Julius Cæfar: "Thy honourable metal may be wrought "From what it is difpos'd [to].

But I rather believe, that our author has adopted the language of the theatre, and that the meaning is, which your heart fuggefts to you; which your heart furnishes you with, as a prompter furnishes the player

with

But with fuch words that are but roted in
Your tongue, though but baftards, and fyllables
Of no allowance, to your bofom's truth 7.
Now, this no more dishonours you at all,
Than to take in a town with gentle words,
Which elfe would put you to your fortune, and
The hazard of much blood.-

I would diffemble with my nature, where
My fortunes, and my friends, at stake, requir'd,
I fhould do fo in honour: I am in this,

Your wife, your son, these senators, the nobles;
And you will rather fhew our general lowts'

How you can frown, than spend a fawn upon them,
For the inheritance of their loves, and fafeguard
Of what that want 2 might ruin.

Men. Noble lady!— `

with the words that have escaped his memory. So afterwards: "Come, come, we'll prompt you.' The editor of the fecond folio, who was entirely unacquainted with our author's peculiarities, reads-prompts you to, and fo all the fubfequent copies read. MALONE.

baftards, and fyllables

Of no allowance, to your bofom's truth.] I read: " of no alliance;" therefore baftards. Yet allowance may well enough ftand, as meaning lega right, eftablished rank, or fettled authority. JOHNSON.

Allowance is certainly right. So, in Orbello, Act II. fc. i: 66- his pilot

"Of very expert and approv'd allowance." STEEVENS.

I at firft was pleased with Dr. Johnson's proposed emendation, decaufe of no allowance, i. e. approbation, to your bofom's truth," appeared to me unintelligible. But allowance has no connection with the fubfequent words, "to your bofom's truth." The conftruction isthough but baftards to your bofom's truth, not the lawful iffue of your The words, and fyllables of no allowance," are put in appofition with baftards, and are as it were parenthetical. MALONE. 8 Than to take in a town-] To fubdue or destroy. See p. 160, n. 6. MALONE.

beart.

9- I am in this

Your wife, your fon; the fenators, the nobles;] I am in their condi. tion, I am at flake, together with your wife, your fon. JOHNSON. I think the meaning is, In this advice, in exhorting you to act thus, I fpeak not only as your mother, but as your wife, your fon, &c. all' of whom are at Stake, MALONE.

1-our general ionuts.—] Our common clowns. JOHNSON. 2 — that want ➡] The want of their loves. JOHNSON.

Come

Come, go with us; fpeak fair: you may falve fo,
Not what is dangerous prefent, but the lofs
Of what is past.

Vol. I pr'ythee now, my fon,

Go to them, with this bonnet in thy hand+;

And thus far having ftretch'd it, (here be with them,)
Thy knee buffing the ftones, (for in fuch bufiness
Action is eloquence, and the eyes of the ignorant
More learned than the ears,) waving thy head,
Which often, thus, correcting thy ftout heart,
Now humble, as the ripeft mulberry,

That will not hold the handling: Or, fay to them,

4

Thou

• Not what-] In this place not feems to fignify not only. JOHNSON. - with this bonnet in thy band;] Surely our author wrote-with by bonnet in thy hand; for I cannot fuppofe that he intended that Volumnia fhould either touch or take off the bonnet which he has given to Coriolanus. MALONE.

5 Which often, thus, correcting thy flout heart,

Now bumble, as the ripeft mulberry,

That will not bold the bandling:] Thus the old copy; and I am perfuaded thefe lines are printed exactly as the author wrote them, a fimilar kind of phrafeology being found in his other plays. Which, &c. is the abfolute cafe, and is to be understood as if he had written-It often, &c. So, in The Winter's Tale:

This your fon-in-law,

"And fon unto the king, (whom heavens directing,)
"Is troth-plight to your daughter."

Again, in K. John:

"Of kings and beggars, old men, young men, maids,-
'bo having no external thing to lofe

"But the word maid,-cheats the poor maid of that."

In the former of these paffages, "whom heavens directing," is to be understood as if Shakspeare had written, bim heavens directing; (illum deo ducente;) and in the latter, "who having" has the import of They having. Nibil quod amittere poffint, præter nomen virginis, poffidentibus. See Vol. IV. p. 488.

This mode of speech, though not fuch as we should now ufe, having been used by Shakspeare, any emendation of this contested paffage be comes unneceflary. Nor is this kind of phrafeulogy peculiar to our authour; for in R. Raignold's Lyves of all the Emperours, 1571, fol. 5. b. I find the fame conftruction: "as Pompey was paffing in a small boate toward the hoare, to fynde the kynge Ptolemey, he was by his commaundement flayne, before he came to land, of Septimius and Achilla, who hoping by killing of him to purchase the friendship of

Thou art their foldier, and being bred in broils,
Haft not the soft way, which, thou doft confefs,

Were

Cæfar. Who now being come unto the fhoare, and entering Alexandria, had fodainly prefented unto him the head of Pompey the great," &c.

Mr. Mafon fays, that there is no verb in the fentence, and therefore it must be corrupt. The verb is go, and the sentence, not more abrupt than many others in thefe plays. Go to the people, fays Volumnia, and appear before them in a fupplicating attitude,with thy bonnet in thy hand, thy knees on the ground, (for in fuch cafes action is eloquence, &c.) waving thy head; it, by its frequent bendings, (fuch as thofe that I now make,) fubduing thy ftout heart, which now should be as humble as the ripeft mulberry: or, if these filent geftures of fupplication do not move them, add words, and fay to them, &c.

Dr. Warburton, for bead, substitutes band, and instead of often reads foften. "Do any of the ancient or modern mafters of elocution (fays he,) prefcribe the waving of the bead, when they talk of action? Whoever has feen a player fupplicating to be heard by the audience, when a tumult, for whatever caufe, has arifen in a theatre, will perfectly feel the force of the words "waving thy bead."

No emendation whatever appears to me to be neceflary in thefe lines. MALONE.

Dr. Warburton's correction is ingenious, but I think, not right. Head or bond is indifferent. The band is waved to gain attention; the bead is fhaken in token of forrow. The word wave fuits better to the hand, but in confidering the authour's language, too much ftrefs muft not be laid on propriety, against the copies. I would read thus:

·waving thy bead,

With often, thus, correcting thy flout heart. That is, shaking thy bead, and ftriking thy breaft. fight, and the gefture recommended not improper. Shakspeare ufes the fame expreffion in Hamlet:

The alteration is JOHNSON.

"And thrice bis head waving thus, up and down." STEEVENS. I have fometimes thought this paffage might originally have ftood thus : -waving thy head,

(Which bumble thus ;) correcting thy ftout heart,

Now foftened as the ripeft mulberry. TYRWHITT.

-bumble as the ripeft mulberry,] This fruit, when thoroughly ripe,

drops from the tree. STEEVENS.

Aefchylus (as appears from a fragment of his ΦΡΥΓΕΣ Η ΕΚΤΟΡΟΣ ATTPA, preferved by Athenæus, lib. ii.) fays of Hector, that he was fter than mulberries.

Ανὴρ δ ̓ ἐκεῖν©· ἦν πεπαίτερο μόρων. MUSGRAVE,
and, being bred in broils,

Haft not the loft way-] So, in Othello (folio 1623) :

"Rude am 1 in my speech,

"And little bleis'd with the foft phrase of peace ;

And

Were fit for thee to use, as they to claim,
In afking their good loves; but thou wilt frame
Thyfelf, forfooth, hereafter theirs, fo far

As thou hast power, and perfon.

Men. This but done,

Even as she speaks, why, their hearts were yours:
For they have pardons, being afk'd, as free

As words to little purpose.

Vol. Pr'ythee now,

Go, and be rul'd: although, I know, thou hadst rather
Follow thine enemy in a firy gulf,

Tan flatter him in a bower.

Here is Cominius.

Enter COMINIUS.

Com. I have been i' the market-place: and, fir, 'tis fit
You make ftrong party, or defend yourself
By calmness, or by abfence; all's in anger.

Men. Only fair speech.

Com. I think, 'twill ferve, if he

Can thereto frame his fpirit.

Vol. He must, and will:

Pr'ythee, now, fay, you will, and go about it.

Cor. Muft I go fhew them my unbarb'd sconce?? Muft I,

"And little of this great world can I fpeak,

"More than pertains to feats of broils and battles." MALONE. 7 - my unbarb'd fconce?] The fuppliants of the people used to prefent themselves to them in fordid and neglected dreffes. JOHNSON.

Unbarbed, bare, uncover'd. In the times of chivalry when a horfe was fully armed and accoutred for the encounter, he was faid to be barbed; probably from the old word barbe, which Chaucer ufes for a veil or covering. HAWKINS.

Unbarbed fconce is untrimm'd or unshaven bead. To barb a man, was to fhave him. So, in Promos and Caffandra, 1578:

"Grim. you are fo clean a young man.

"Row. And who barbes you, Grimball?

"Grim. A dapper knave, one Rofco.

"Row. I know him not; is he a deaft barber 9"

To barbe the field was to cut the corn. So, in Marston's Malcontent & "The ftooping scytheman that doth barbe the field."

Unbarbed may, however, bear the fignification which the late Mr. Hawkins would affix to it. So, in Magnificence, andnterlude by Skel ton, Fancy fpeaking of a booded hawk, fays:

"Barbyd like a nonne, for burnynge of the fonne." STEEV. VOL. VII.

R

With