Imatges de pàgina
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That in this defert inacceffible,

Under the fhade of melancholy boughs,

Lose and neglect the creeping hours of time;
If ever you have look'd on better days;

If ever been where bells have knoll'd to church;
If ever fate at any good man's feast;
If ever from your eyelids wip'd a tear,
And known what 'tis to pity, and be pitied;
Let gentleness my strong enforcement be.
In the which hope I blufh, and hide my fword.

[Sheathing his fword.
Duke Sen. True is it, that we have feen better days;
And have with holy bell been knoll'd to church;
And fate at good men's feafts, and wip'd our eyes
Of drops, that facred pity hath engender'd:
And therefore fit you down in gentleness,"
And take upon command what help we have',
That to your wanting may be miniftred.

Orla. Then but forbear your food a little while,
. Whiles, like a doe, I go to find my fawn,
And give it food. There is an old poor man,
Who after me hath many a weary step
Limp'd in pure love; 'till he be first fuffic'd,
Opprefs'd with two weak evils, age and hunger,
I will not touch a bit.

Duke Sen. Go find him out,

And we will nothing wafte till your return.

Orla. I thank ye; and be blefs'd for your good com

fort!

SCENE IX.

[Exit.

Duke Sen. Thou feeft, we are not all alone un

happy:

This wide and univerfal Theatre

? Then take upon command what belp we have.] It seems neLeffary to read, then take upon

demand what help, &c. that is, ask for what we can fupply, and have it.

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Prefents more woful pageants, than the scene
Wherein we play in.

Jaq. All the world's a Stage,

And all the men and women meerly Players;
They have their Exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts:
His acts being feven ages. At firft the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.

And then, the whining fchool-boy with his fatchel,
And fhining morning-face, creeping like fnail
Unwillingly to school. And then, the lover;
Sighing like furnace, with a woful ballad

Made to his mistrefs' eye-brow. Then a foldier:
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, fudden, and quick in quarrel;
Seeking the bubble reputation

Even in the cannon's mouth. And then, the justice
In fair round belly, with good capon lin❜d,
With eyes fevere, and beard of formal cut,
Full of wife faws and modern inftances,
And fo he plays his part. The fixth age fhifts
Into the lean and flipper'd pantaloon,
With fpectacles on nofe, and pouch on fide;
His youthful hefe well fav'd, a world too wide
For his fhrunk fhank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes

Full of wife faws and modern inftances.] It is remarkable that Shakespear uíes modern in the double fenfe that the Greeks ufed xao, both for recens and abfurdus. WARBURTON. I am in doubt whether modern is in this place ufed for abfurd: the meaning feems to be, that the juftice is full of old fayings and late examples.

9

The fixth age shifts
Late the lean and flipper'd pan-
talon. There is a greater

beauty than appears at first fight in this image. He is here comparing human life to a flage play, of feven acts, (which was no unusual divifion before our author's time.) The fixth he calls the lean and flipper'd pantaloon, alluding to that general charac ter in the Italian comedy, called Il Pantalóne; who is a thin ema ciated old man in flippers; and well defigned, in that epithet, because Pantalóne is the only character that acts in flippers. WARE

And

And whistles in his found.

Laft Scene of all,

That ends this ftrange eventful History,

Is fecond childishness, and meer oblivion,

Sans teeth, fans eyes, fans tafte, fans every thing.

SCENE X.

Enter Orlando, with Adam.

Duke Sen. Welcome. Set down your venerable burden ';

And let him feed.

Orla. I thank you most for him.

Adam. So had you need.

I scarce can speak to thank you' for myself.

Duke Sen. Welcome, fall to: I will not trouble you, As yet to question you about your fortunes.

Give us fome mufick; and, good coufin, fing.

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Heigh

Duke's exiled condition, who had been ruined by ungrateful flatterers. Now the winter wind, the fong fays, is to be prefer'd to man's ingratitude. But why? Because it is not SEEN. But this was not only an aggravation of the injury, as it was done in fecret, not seen, but was the very circumftance that made the keennefs of the ingratitude of his

Heigh ho! fing, beigh bo! unto the green bolly;
Moft friendship is feigning; most loving meer folly :
Then heigh ho, the holly!

This life is most jolly.

Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
That doft not bite fo nigh,
As benefits forgot:
Tho' thou the waters warp,
Thy fting is not fo sharp
As friend remembred not.
Heigh bo! fing, &c.

faithlefs courtiers. Without
doubt, Shakespear wrote the line
thus,

Because thou art not SHEEN, i. e. fmiling, fhining, like an ungrateful court-fervant, who flatters while he wounds, which was a very good reafon for giving the winter wind the prefeSo in the Midfummer's

rence.

Night's Dream,
Spangled ftar light SHEEN.
and several other places.

cer ufes it in this fenfe,

Chau

forgot to leave the reafon, which is now wanting, Why the winter wind was to be preferred to man's ingratitude. WARBURTON.

I am afraid that no reader is

fatisfied with Dr. Warburton's emendation, however vigorously forced with more art than truth. enforced; and it is indeed enSheen, i. e. fmiling, shining. That been fignifies Joining is easily proved, but when or where did it fignify fmiling? yet smiling gives the fenfe neceffary in this place. Sir T. Hanmer's change is lefs uncouth, but too remote For my

You blissful fufter Lucina the from the present text

SHENE.

And Fairfax,
The facred Angel took his Tar-

get SHENE,

And by the Chriflian Champion fiood unfeen.

The Oxford editor, who had this emendation communicated to him, takes occafion from thence to alter the whole line thus,

part I question whether the original line is not loft, and this fubftituted merely to fill up the measures and the rhyme. Yet even out of this line, by strong agitation, may fenfe be elicited,

and fenfe not unfuitable to the

occafion. Thou winter wind,
says the Duke, thy rudeness gives
the less pain, as thou art not feen,
as thou art an enemy that doft not
brave us with thy prefence, and
whofe unkindness is therefore not

Thou caufeft not that teen.
But, in his rage of correction, he aggravated by insult.

Duke

Duke Sen. If that you were the good Sir Rowland's
Son,

As you have whisper'd faithfully you were,
And as mine eyes doth his effigies witness,
Most truly limn'd, and living in your face,
Be truly welcome hither. I'm the Duke,
That lov'd your Father. The refidue of your fortune
Go to my cave and tell me. Good old Man,
Thou art right welcome, as thy master is.
-Support him by the arm; give me your hand,
And let me all your fortunes understand.

[Exeunt.

ACT III. SCENE I.

The PALACE.

Enter Duke, Lords, and Oliver.

DUKE.

WOT fee him fince?-Sir, Sir, that cannot be

NOT

But were I not the better part made mercy,
Ifhould not feek an abfent argument 3

Of my revenge, the prefent: but look to it;
Find out thy brother, wherefoe'er he is;

Seek him with candle; bring him dead or living,
Within this twelvemonth; or turn thou no more
To feek a living in our territory.

Thy lands and all things that thou doft call thine,
Worth feizure, do we feize into our hands;
Till thou canft quit thee by thy brother's mouth,
Of what we think against thee.

An abfent argument.] An argument is afed for the contents of a book, thence Shakespeare con

fidered it as meaning the fabje, and then used it for subject in yet another sense.

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