And last eat up itself. Great Agamemnon!
This Chaos, when degree is fuffocate,
Follows the choaking:
And this neglection of degree is it,
That by a pace goes backward,' with a purpose
It hath to climb. The General's disdain'd
By him one step below; he, by the next;
That next, by him beneath; so every step,
Exampled by the first pace that is fick
Of his Superior, grows to an envious fever
Of pale and bloodless emulation.
And 'tis this fever that keeps Troy on foot,
Not her own finews. To end a Tale of length,
Troy in our weakness lives, not in her strength.
Nest. Most wisely hath Ulyffes here discover'd
The fever, whereof all our power is sick.
Agam. The nature of the fickness found, Ulyffes, What is the remedy?
Ulyff. The great Achilles, whom opinion crowns
The finew and the fore-hand of our Hoft,
Having his ear full of his airy fame,
Grows dainty of his worth, and in his tent
Lies mocking our designs. With him, Patroclus,
Upon a lazy bed, the live long day
And with ridiculous and aukward action,
Which, flanderer, he imitation calls,
He pageants us. Sometimes, great Agamemnon,
* Thy topless Deputation he puts on;
That by a pace] That goes backward step by step. 1-with a purpose
It hath to climb.-] With a design in each man to aggrandise himself, by flighting his immediate fuperiour.
2-blaadless emulation] An emulation not vigorous and aczive, but malignant and fluggish. VOL. VII.
* Thy TOPLESS Deputation-] I don't know what can be meant by topless, but the contrary to what the speaker would infinuate, I suspect the poet wrote STOPLESS, i. e, unlimited; which was the cafe.
Topless is that has nothing topping or overtopping it; fupreme; fovereign. Ff
And, like a strutting Player, whose conceit
Lies in his ham-string, and doth think it rich
To hear the wooden dialogue and found
'Twixt his ftretch'd footing and the scaffoldage
Such to-be-pitied and o'er-wrested Seeming
He acts thy Greatness in: and when he speaks,
'Tis like a chime a mending; with terms unsquar'd :
Which, from the tongue of roaring Typhon dropt,
Would feem hyperboles. At this fusty stuff
The large Achilles, on his prest-bed lolling,
From this deep chest laughs out a loud applause :
Cries-excellent!-'tis Agamemnon just-
Now play me Nestor-bum, and stroke thy beard,
As be, being 'drest to some oration.
That's done as near as the extremest ends
Of parallels; as like, as Vulcan and his wife:
Yet god Achilles still cries, excellent !
'Tis Neftor right! now play him me, Patroclus,
Arming to answer in a night alarm.
And, then forfooth, the faint defects of age
Must be the scene of mirth, to cough and spit,
And with a palsy fumbling on his gorget,
Shake in and out the rivet and at this sport,
Sir Valour dies; cries "O!-enough, Patroclus
“Or give me ribs of steel, I shall split all
"In pleasure of my spleen." And, in this fashion,
4 All our abilities, gifts, natures, shapes,
Severals and generals of grace exact,
3-as near as the extremeft ends, &c.] The parallels to which the allusion seems to be made are the parallels on a map. As like as East to Weft.
* All our abilities, gifts, na-
tures, shapes,
Severals and generals of GRACE
Atchievements, plots, &c.] The meaning is this, All our good
qualities, feverals and generals of grace: i. e. whether they be fo veral and belong to particular men, as prudence to Ulyffes, experience to Neftor, magnanimity to Agamemnon, valour to Ajax, &c. or whether they be general and belonging to the Greek nations in general, as valour, polished manners, &c. all these good qualities, together with our archieve
Atchievements, plots, orders, preventions,
Excitements to the field, or speech for truce,
Success, or loss, what is, or is not, ferves
As stuff for these two to make paradoxes.
Neft. And in the imitation of these twain,
Whom, as Ulyffes says, opinion crowns
With an imperial voice, many are infect :
Ajax is grown felf-will'd, and 'bears his head
In such a rein, in full as proud a place,
As broad Achilles; and keeps his tent like him;
Makes factious feafts, rails on our state of war,
Bold as an Oracle; and sets Thersites,
A flave, whose gall coins flanders like a mint,
To match us in comparisons with dirt;
To weaken and discredit our exposure,
7 How rank soever rounded in with danger.
Ulyff. They tax our policy, and call it cowardise,
Count wisdom as no member of the war;
Forestall our prefcience, and esteem no Act
atchievements, plots, orders, &c.
are all turned into ridicule by the
buffoonery of Achilles and Patro-
clus. This is the sense; but what
then is the meaning of grace ex-
aft? no other can be made of it,
than that Achilles and Patroclus
exactly mimick all our qualities
and actions. But the speaker
thought very differently of their
buffoonery: the imitation, he
says, being as unlike the original
as Vulcan to his wife. The fault
lies here; exalt should be exοίς;
and belongs to the second divifion,
namely, the enumeration of the
actions; and should be read thus;
All our abilities, gifts, natures,
Shapes
Severals and generals of grace;
Atchievements, plots, &c.
i. e. exactments, publick taxes, and contributions for carrying on the war. WARBURTON.
Hanmer reads, though of grace exact. I see no great need of emendation; the meaning is plain; of grace exact, of excellence irreprehenfible.
s-to make paradoxes.] Paradoxes may have a meaning, but it is not clear and diftinct. I with the copies had given, -to make parodies, 6-bears his head
In such a reign,-] That is, holds up his head as haughtly. Westill say of a girl, she bridles.. 7 How rank fever rounded in with danger.] A rank weed is a high weed. The modern editions filently read, How hard foever
But that of hand: The still and mental parts,
That do contrive how many hands shall strike,
When fitness call them on, and know by measure
Of their obfervant toil the enemies' weight;
Why, this hath not a finger's dignity;
They call this bed-work, Mapp'ry, closet war:
So that the ram, that batters down the wall,
For the great swing and rudeness of his poize,
They place before his hand that made the engine;
Or those, that with the fineness of their fouls
By reason guide his execution.
Neft. Let this be granted, and Achilles' horse
Makes many Thetis' fons.
Aga. What trumpet? look, Menelaus.
Men. From Troy.
Aga. What would you 'fore our tent?
Ane. Is this great Agamemnon's tent, I pray you?
Aga. Even this.
Æne. May one, that is a Herald and a Prince,
Do a fair message to his kingly ears?
Aga. With furety stronger than' Achilles' arm, 'Fore all the Greekish heads, which with one voice Call Agamemnon Head and General.
Æne. Fair leave, and large security. A stranger to those most imperial looks Know them from eyes of other mortals? Aga. How?
Æne. I ask, that I might waken Reverence,
-and know by measure
Of their obfervant toil the enemies' weight;] I think it
were better to read,
- and know the measure, By their obfervant toil, of th
enemies weight.
9-kingly ears?] The quarto,
-kingly eyes.
-Achilles' arm,] So the copies. Perhaps the authour wrote, -Alcides' arm.
And bid the cheek be ready with a blush
Modest as morning, when the coldly eyes
The youthful Phœbus :
Which is that God in office, guiding men?
Which is the high and mighty Agamemnon?
Aga. This Trojan scorns us, or the men of Troy Are ceremonious courtiers.
Æne. Courtiers as free, as debonair, unarm'd, As bending Angels; that's their fame in peace : But when they would seem foldiers, they have galls, Good arms, strong joints, true swords; and, Jove's
Nothing fo full of heart. But peace, Æneas;
Peace, Trojan; lay thy finger on thy lips;
The worthiness of praise distains his worth,
If he, that's prais'd, himself bring the praise forth:
But what th' repining enemy commends,
That breath Fame blows, that praise fole pure tran-
Aga. Sir, you of Troy, call you yourself Eneas? Æne. Ay, Greek, that is my name.
Aga. What's your affair, I pray you?
Ane. Sir, pardon; 'tis for Agamemnon's ears.
Aga. He hears nought privately that comes from
Ene. Nor I from Troy come not to whisper him;
I bring a trumpet to awake his Ear,
To set his fenfe on the attentive bent,
And then to speak.
Aga. Speak frankly as the wind,
It is not Agamemnon's fleeping hour;
That thou shalt know, Trojan, he is awake,
He tells thee so himself.
Æne. Trumpet, blow loud,
Send thy brass voice thro' all these lazy tents;
bid the cheek-] So the folio. The quarto has,
-on the cheek
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