Or, fhedding breed a nursery of like evil, Neft. Well, and how? Uly. This Challenge that the gallant Hector fends, However it is fpread in general name, Relates in purpose only to Achilles. Neft. The purpose is perfpicuous ev'n as Substance, Whofe groffness little characters fum up. And, in the publication, make no ftrain, But that Achilles, were his brain as barren As banks of Libya, tho', Apollo knows, 'Tis dry enough, will with great fpeed of judgment, Ay, with celerity, find Hector's purpose Pointing on him. Ul. And wake him to the anfwer, think you? Neft. Yes, 'tis moft meet; whom may you elfe oppofe, That can from Hector bring bis honour off, For here the Trojans tafte our dear'ft Repute In this wild action. For the fuccefs, Although particular, fhall give a * fcantling And in fuch indexes, although fmall pricks Of things to come, at large. It is fuppos'd, 4 Which entertain'd, limbs are his inftruments, Uly. Give pardon to my Speech; Therefore 'tis meet, Achilles meet not Hedor. For both our honour and our fhame in this Neft. I fee them not with my old eyes: what are they? Uly. What Glory our Achilles fhares from Hector, Were he not proud, we all fhould fhare with him: But he already is too infolent; And we were better parch in Africk Sun, Than in the pride and falt fcorn of his eyes, 2 -fcantling] That is a meafure, proportion. The carpenter cuts his wood to a certain fcantling. Small pricks] Small points compared with the volumes. 4 Which entertain'd-] These two lines are not in the quarto. 5-hare-] So the quarto. The folio, wear. Why, Why, then we did our main opinion crush The Sort to fight with Hector: 'mong our felves, That we have better men. But, hit or mifs, [Exeunt. 'ACT II. SCENE I. The Grecian Camp. Enter Ajax and Therfites. HERSITES, Th AJAX. Ther. Agamemnon-how if he had boiles full, all over, generally. Ajax. Therfites. Muft tar the maftiff's on,-] Tarre, an old English word fignifying to provoke or urge on. See King John, A& 4. Scene 1. like a Dog [Talking to himself. Snatch at his Mafter that doth POPE. tar him on. Aa II.] This play is not divided into Acts in any of the original editions. Ther: Ther. And those boiles did run-fay fodid not the General run? were not that a botchy core? Ajax. Dog! Ther. Then there would come fome matter from him; I fee none now. Ajax. Thou bitch-wolf's fon, canft thou not hear? feel then. [Strikes bim. Ther. The plague of Greece upon thee, thou mungrel beef-witted Lord! Ajax. Speak then, thou unfalted leaven, speak; I will beat thee into handfomeness. Ther. I fhall fooner rail thee into wit and holiness but, I think, thy horfe will fooner con an oration, than thou learn a prayer without book: thou canst ftrike, cant thou? a red murrain o'thy jade's tricks! Ajax. Toads-tool, learn me the proclamation. Ther. Doeft thou think, I have no fenfe, thou ftrik't me thus ? Ajax. The proclamation8 The plague of Greece] Alluding perhaps to the plague fent by Apollo on the Grecian army. 9 Speak then, thou unfalted Leaven, Speak ;] The reading obtruded upon us by Mr. Pope, was anfalted leaven, that has no authority or countenance from any of the copies; nor that approaches in any degree to the traces of the old reading, you whinid leaven. This, 'tis true, is corrupted and unintelligible; but the emendation, which I have coin'd out of it, gives us a fenfe apt and confonant to what Ajax would fay, unwinnow'dft leaven. "Thou lump of four dough, "kneaded up out of a flower, "unpurg'd and unfifted, with all the drofs and bran in it."— THEOBALD, Speak then, thou WHINID'ST leaven,] This is the reading of the old copies; It should be WINDYEST, i. e. most windy; leaven being made by a great fermentation. This epithet agrees well with Therfites's character. WARBURTON, Hanmer preferves whinid'ft, the reading of the folio; but does not explain it, nor do I understand it. If the folio be followed, I read, vinew'd, that is mouldy leven, Thou compofition of musiness and fournef. Theobald's affertion, however confident, is falfe, Urfalted leven is in the old quarto. It means, four without falt, malignity without wit. Shakespeare wrote first unfalted, but recollecting that want of falt was no fault in leven, changed it to vine'd. Ther. Ther. Thou art proclaim'd a fool, I think. Ajax. Do not, porcupine, do not. My fingers itch. Ther. I would, thou didft itch from head to foot, and I had the scratching of thee; I would make thee the loathfom'ft fcab in Greece. Ajax. I fay, the proclamation Ther. Thou grumbleft and raileft every hour on Achilles, and thou art as full of envy at his Greatness, as Cerberus is at Proferpina's Beauty: ay, bark'ft at him. Ajax. Miftrefs Therfites! Ther. Thou shouldst strike him. Ajax, Cobloaf! that thou Ther. He would pun thee into fhivers with his fift, as a failor breaks a bifket. Ajax. You whore fon cur! Ther. Do, do. Ajax. Thou ftool for a witch !— [Beating bim. Ther. Ay, do, do, thou fodden-witted Lord; thou haft no more brain than I have in my elbows; an Affinego may tutor thee. Thou fcurvy valiant afs! thou art here but to thrash Trojans, and thou art bought and fold among thofe of any wit, like a Barbarian lave. If thou ufe to beat me, I will begin at thy heel, and tell what thou art by inches, thou thing of no bowels, thou! Ajax. You dog! Ther. You fcurvy Lord! Ajax. You cur! [Beating him. Ther. Mars his ideot! do, rudeness; do, camel, do, do. in Greece] The quarto adds these words, when thou art forth in the incurfions, thou firikeft as flow as another. that thou bark'ft at him.] I read, O that thou bark'dft at him. SCENE |