What Majefty should be, what duty is,
Why day is day, night night, and time is time,

And how exquifitely does the poet ridicule the reafoning in fahion, where he makes Polonius remark on Hamlet's madness; Though this be madness, yet there's method in't:

As if method, which the wits of that age thought the most effential quality of a good difcourfe, would make amends for the madrefs. It was madness indeed, yet Polonius could comfort himself with this reflection, that at leaft it was methad. It is certain Shakespear excels in nothing more than in the prefervation of his characters; To this life and ariey of character (fays our great poet in his admirable preface to Shakespear) we must add the wonderful prefervation of it. We have faid what is the character of Polonius; and it is allowed on all hands to be drawn with wonderful life and fpirit, yet the unity of it has been thought by fome to be grofly violated in the excellent precepts and inflructions which Shakespear makes his statefman give to his fon and fervant in the middle of the firft, and beginning of the Second act. But

I will venture to fay, thefe criticks have not entered into the poet's art and addrefs in this particular. He had a mind to ornament his fcenes with thofe fine leffens of focial life; but his Polonius was too weak to be the author of them, tho' he was pedant enough to have met with them in his reading, and fop enough

Were

to get them by heart, and retail them for his own. And this the poet has finely fhewn us was the cafe, where, in the middle of Polonius's inftructions to his fervant, he makes him, tho' without having received any interruption, forget his leffon, and fay,

And then, Sir, does he this; He does- -what was I about to fay?

I was about to fay Something? where did I leave ?

The fervant replies,

At, clofes in the confequence. This fets Polonius right, and he goes on,

At, clofes in the confequence.
-Ah marry,

He clofes thus - I know the
gentleman, &c.

which fhews they were words got by heart which he was repeating. Otherwife clofes in the confequence, which conveys no particular idea of the subject he was upon, could never have made him recollect where he broke off. This is an extraordinary inftance of the poet's art, and attention to the prefervation of Character. WARB.

This account of the character of Polonius though it fufficiently reconciles the feeming inconfiflency of fo much wisdom with fo much folly, does not perhaps correfpond exactly to the ideas of our authour. The commentator makes the charactor of Polonius, a character only of manners, difcriminated by properties fuperficial, accidental, and acquired.

The

Were nothing but to wafte night, day, and time.
Therefore, fince brevity's the foul of wit,
And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
I will be brief; you noble fon is mad;
Mad, call I it; for, to define true madness,
What is't, but to be nothing else but mad?
But let that go-

Queen. More matter, with lefs art,

Pol. Madam, I fwear, I ufe no art at all.That he is mad, 'tis true; 'tis true, 'tis pity; And pity 'tis, 'tis true. A foolish figure, But farewel it; for I will ufe no art.

Mad let us grant him then; and now remains
That we find out the caufe of this effect,
Or rather fay, the cause of this defect;
For this effect, defective, comes by cause;
Thus it remains, and the remainder thus.-Perpend.--
I have a daughter; have, whilft she is mine;

The poet intended a nobler de lineation of a mixed character of manners and of nature. Polonius is a man bred in courts, exercised in business, stored with obfervation, confident of his knowledge, proud of his eloquence, and declining into dotage. His mode of oratory is truly reprefented as defigned to ridicule the practice of thofe times, of prefaces that made no introduction, and of method that embarraffed rather than explained. This part of his character is accidental, the reft is natural. Such a man is pofitive and confident, because he knows that his mind was once strong, and knows not that it is become weak. Such a man excels in ge. neral principles, but fails in the particular application. He is

knowing in retrofpect, and ignorant in forefight. While he depends upon his memory, and can draw from his repofitories of knowledge, he utters weighty fentences, and gives ufeful counfel; but as the mind in its enfeebled ftate cannot be kept long bufy and intent, the old man is fubject to fudden dereliction of his faculties, he lofes the order of his ideas, and entangles himself in his own thoughts, till he recovers the leading principle, and falls again into his former train. This idea of dotage encroaching upon wisdom, will folve all the phænomena of the character of Polonius.

9 - 10 expoftulate } To expftulate, for to enquire or difcufs.

N 4

WARB.

Who

Who in her duty and obedience, mark,

Hath given me this; now gather, and furmife.

[He opens a letter, and reads.]

To the celeftial, and my foul's idol, the most beautified
That's an ill phrafe, a vile phrase:

beautified is a vile phrafe; but you fhall hear

to her excellent white bofom, thefe:

Queen. Came this from Hamlet to her?

Pol. Good Madam, ftay a while. I will be faithful.

Doubt thou, the ftars are fire,

Doubt, that the Sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar,

But never doubt, I love.

Oh, dear Ophelia, I am ill at thefe numbers; I have

not art to reckon my groans; but that I love thee beft, ob most beft, believe it.

Adieu.

Thine evermore, most dear Lady, whilst

this Machine is to him, Hamlet.

This in obedience hath my daughter fhewn me,
And, more above, hath his folicitings,

2

As they fell out by time, by means and place,
All given to mine ear.

King. But how hath she receiv'd his love?
Pol. What do you think of me?

King. As of a man faithful and honourable.
Pol. I would fain prove fo. But what might you
think

When I had feen this hot love on the wing,
(As I perceiv'd it, I muft tell you that,
Before my daughter told me:) what might you,
Or my dear Majefty your Queen here, think
3 If I had play'd the defk or table-book,
Or giv❜n my heart a working, mute and dumb,
Or look'd upon this love with idle fight?

What might you think? No, I went round to work,
And my young mistress thus I did befpeak;
Lord Hamlet is a Prince out of thy sphere,

2 More above, is, more over, befides.

3 If I had play'd the desk or
table-book,

Or giv'n my heart a working
mute and dumb,
Or lock'd upon this love with

idle fight;

What might you think?-] i. e. If either I had conveyed intelligence between them, and been the confident of their amours,

[play'd the defk or table-book,] or had connived at it, only observed them in fecret without acquainting my daughter with my difcovery, [given my heart a mute and dumb working, or laftly, had been negligent in obferving the intrigue, and over-locked it, [look'd upon this love with idle fight;] what would you have thought of me ?

WARB.

This must not be; and then, I precepts gave her,
That she should lock herfelf from his refort,
Admit no meffengers, receive no tokens:
Which done, fhe took the fruits of my advice;
And he repulfed, 5 a fhort tale to make,
Fell to a fadness, then into a fast,

Thence to a watching, thence into a weakness,
Thence to a lightnefs, and, by this declenffon,
Into the madnefs wherein now he raves,
And all we wail for.

King. Do you think this?

Queen. It may be very likely.

Pol. Hath there been fuch a time, I'd fain know that,

That I have pofitively faid, 'tis fo,

When it prov'd otherwise?

King. Not that I know.

Pol. Take this from this, if this be otherwife. [Pointing to his Head and Shoulder.

If circumstances lead me, I will find

Where truth is hid, though it were hid indeed

4 Which done, SHE TOOK the
fruits of my advice;
AND be repulfed,-] The fruits
of advice are the effects of ad-
vice. But how could fhe be faid
to take them? the reading is
corrupt. Shakespear wrote,

Which done, SEE TOO the fruits
of my advice;
FOR, he repulfed,

WARBURTON.

She took the fruits of advice when fhe obeyed advice, the advice was then made fruitful.

S - a fhort tale to make,
Fell to a fadness, then into a
faft, &c.] The ridicule of

this character is here admirably
fuftained. He would not only
be thought to have difcovered
this intrigue by his own fagacity,
but to have remarked all the
ftages of Hamlet's disorder, from
his fadnefs to his raving, as re-
gularly as his phyfician could
have done; when all the while
the madness was only feigned.
The humour of this is exquifite
from a man who tell us, with a
confidence peculiar to fmall po-
liticians, that he could find

Where truth was hid, though
it were hid indeed
Within the centre.

WARB.