But on the caufe and queftion now in hand
Have gloz'd but fuperficially; not much
Unlike young men, whom Ariftotle thought
Unfit to hear moral philofophy.

The reasons, you alledge, do more conduce
To the hot paffion of diftemper'd blood,
Than to make up a free determination
"Twixt right and wrong: for pleasure and revenge
Have ears more deaf than adders, to the voice
Of any true decifion. Nature craves,
All dues be render'd to their owners; now
What nearer debt in all humanity,

Than wife is to the husband? If this law
Of nature be corrupted through affection,
And that great minds, of partial indulgence
To their benummed wills, refift the fame;
There is a law in each well-order'd nation,
To curb thofe raging appetites that are
Moft difobedient and refractory.
If Helen then be wife to Sparta's King,
(As, it is known, fhe is) thefe moral laws
Of nature, and of nation, speak aloud
To have her back return'd. Thus to perfift
In doing wrong, extenuates not wrong,

But makes it much more heavy. Hector's opinion
Is this in way of truth; yet ne'ertheless,

My sprightly brethen, I propend to you

In refolution to keep Helen ftill;

For 'tis a caufe that hath no mean dependance
Upon our joint and feveral dignities.

Troi. Why there you touch'd the life of our defign: Were it not glory that we more affected

Than the performance of our heaving spleens,
I would not wish a drop of Trojan blood

expreffed himself thus: It is abfurd to fay, that People have talked well, and yet but fuperficially at the fame Time. I have ventured to fubftitute a Disjunctive inftead of the Copulative, by which we gain this commodious Senfe: "You have argued very well in the "general, but have gloz'd too fuperficially upon the particular Quef

❝tion in Debate."

Spent

Spent more in her defence. But, worthy Hector,
She is a theam of honour and renown;
A fpur to valiant and magnanimous,deeds;
Whofe prefent courage may beat down our foes,
And fame, in time to come, canonize us.
For, I prefume brave Hector would not lofe
So rich advantage of a promis'd glory,
As fmiles upon the forehead of this action,
For the wide world's revenue.

Hect. I am yours,

You valiant off-spring of great Priamus.
I have a roifting challenge fent amongst
The dull and fectious nobles of the Greeks,
Will ftrike amazement to their drowsy fpirits,
I was advertis'd, their great General flept,
Whilft emulation in the army crept:
This, I prefume, will wake him.

[Exeunt

SCENE, before Achilles's Tent, in the Grecian Camp.

HOW

Enter Therfites folus.

TOW now, Therfites? what, loft in the labyrinth of thy fury fhall the elephant Ajax carry it thus ? he beats me, and I rail at him: O worthy fatisfaction! 'would, it were otherwife; that I could beat him, whilft he rail'd at me: 'sfoot, I'll learn to conjure and raise devils, but I'll see some iffue of my spiteful execrations. Then there's Achilles, a rare engineer. If Troy be not taken 'till these two undermine it, the walls will stand 'till they fall of themselves. O thou great thunder-darter of Olympus, forget that thou art Jove the King of Gods; and, Mercury, lofe all the ferpentine craft of thy Caduceus, If thou take not that little, little, lefs than little wit from them that they have; which fhort-arm'd ignorance itself knows is fo abundant fcarce, it will not in circumvention deliver a fly from a fpider, without drawing the maffy irons and cutting the web. After this, the vengeance on the whole camp! or rather the bone-ach, for that, methinks,,

thinks, is the curfe dependant on thofe that war for a placket. I have faid my prayers, and devil envy fay Amen. What ho! my Lord Achilles!

Enter Patroclus.

Patr. Who's there? Therfites? good Therfites, come. in and rail.

Ther. If I could have remember'd a gilt counter, thou couldft not have flipp'd out of my contemplation; but it is no matter, thyfelf upon thyfelf! the common curfe of mankind, folly and ignorance, be thine in great revenue! heaven blefs thee from a tutor, and difcipline come not near thee! let thy blood be thy direction 'till thy death, then if fhe, that lays thee out, fays thou art a fair coarfe, I'll be fworn and fworn upon't, fhe never fhrowded any but Lazars; Amen. Where's Achilles?

Patr. What, art thou devout? waft thou in prayer Ther. Ay, the heav'ns hear me!

Enter Achilles.

Achil. Who's there?

Patr. Therfites, my Lord.

Achil. Where, where? art thou come? why, my cheese, my digeftion- why haft thou not ferved thyfelf up to my table, fo many meals? come, what's Agamemnon!

Ther. Thy commander, Achilles; then tell me, Patroclus, what's Achilles?

Patr. Thy Lord, Therfites: then tell me, I pray thee, what's thyfelf?

Ther. Thy knower, Patroclus: then tell me, Patroclus, what art thou?

Patr. Thou may'ft tell, that know'ft.

Achil. O tell, tell,

Ther. I'll decline the whole queftion. Agamemnon commands Achilles, Achilles is my Lord, I am Patroclus's knower, and Patroclus is a fool.

Patr. You rafcal

Ther. Peace, fool, I have not done.

Achil. He is a privileg'd man. Proceed, Therfites.

Ther

Ther. Agamemnon is a fool, Achilles is a fool, Therfites is a fool, and, as aforefaid, Patroclus is a fool.

Achil. Derive this; come.

Ther. Agamemnon is a fool to offer to command Achilles, Achilles is a fool to be commanded of Agamemnon, Therfites is a fool to ferve fuch a fool, and Patroclus is a fool pofitive.

Par. Why am I a fool?

Ther. Make that demand to thy creator;-it fuffices me, thou art.

Enter Agamemnon, Ulyffes, Neftor, Diomedes, Ajax, and Calchas.

Look you, who comes here?

Achil. Patroclus, I'll fpeak with no body: come in with me, Therfites.

[Exit. Ther. Here is fuch patchery, fuch juggling, and fuch knavery: all the argument is a cuckold and a whore, a good quarrel to draw emulous factions, and bleed to death upon now the dry Serpigo on the subject, and war and lechery confound all! [Exit.

Aga. Where is Achilles?

Patr. Within his tent, but ill difpos'd, my Lord.
Aga. Let it be known to him that we are here.
He thent our meffengers, and we lay by (12)
Our appertainments, vifiting of him:

Let him be told fo, left, perchance, he think
We dare not move the queftion of our place;
Or know not what we are.

Patr. I fhall fo fay to him.

Uly. We faw him at the op'ning of his tent, He is not fick.

[Exit.

Ajax. Yes lion-fick, fick of a proud heart: you may call it melancholy, if you will favour the man; but, by

(12) He fent our Meffengers;] Who fent, in the Name of Accuracy? What did Achilles fend the Meffengers, who were fent by Agamemnon? I make no doubt, but the Poet wrote;

He fhent our Meffengers;

i, e. rebuked, ill-treated, rated out of his Prefence.

my

my head, 'tis pride; but why, why ?-let him fhew us the caufe. A word, my Lord. [To Agamemnon. Neft. What moves Ajax thus to bay at him?

Ulyf. Achilles has inveigled his fool from him.
Neft. Who, Therfites?

Ulyf. He.

Neft. Then will Ajax lack matter, if he have loft his argument.

Uh. No, you fee, he is his argument, that has his argument, Achilles.

Neft. All the better; their fraction is more our wish than their faction; but it was a ftrong counfel, that a fool could difunite,

Uly. The amity, that wifdom knits not, folly may. eafily untie.

Enter Patroclus.

Here comes Patroclus.

Neft. No Achilles with him?

Uly. The elephant hath joints, but none for courtefy; His legs are for neceffity, not flexure,

Pat. Achilles bids me fay, he is much forry,
If any thing more than your fport and pleafure
Did move your greatnefs, and this noble state,
To call on him; he hopes, it is no other,
But for your health and your digeftion-fake;
An after-dinner's breath.

Aga. Hear you, Patroclus;

We are too well acquainted with these answers;
But his evafion, wing'd thus fwift with fcorn,
Cannot outfly our apprehenfions.

Much attribute he hath, and much the reafon
Why we afcribe it to him; yet all his virtues
(Not virtuoufly on his own part beheld)
Do in our eyes begin to lofe their glofs;
And, like fair fruit in an unwholfome difh,
Are like to rot untafted. Go and tell him,
We come to speak with him; and you shall not fin,
If you do fay, we think him over-proud,

In felf-affumption greater than in note