in Greece, roaming thro' the bounds of Afia? What a voyage too is here mentioned-roaming thro' the bounds of Afia! 'Tis trifling to dwell on refuting fuch abfurdities. The paffage is tranflated from the Menæchmi of Plautus, "Hic annus fextus, poftquam rei buic operam damus. Iftros, Hifpanos, Maffylienfes, Illurios, "Mare fuperum omne, Græciamque exoticam, Orafque ITALICAS omnes, quà egreditur mare, "Sumus circumvelti.” Who does not fee therefore that ASTA is the transcriber's or press-corrector's word instead of ITALY? "Roaming clean thro' the bounds of ITALY." Thus all is eafy and natural, and agreeable to the original. 'Tis well known Italy was called Græcia Magna: So Ovid, Itala nam tellus Græcia magna fuit : Which I mention as a comment on this place of Plautus and our poet. In King Lear, Act III. Edg, Fraterretto calls me and tells me that "Nero is an angler in the lake of darkness." Nero Nero was a fidler in hell, as Rabelais tells us, B. 2. c. 30. And Trajan was an angler. Shakespeare was a reader of Rabelais, as may be proved from many imitations of him; and here plainly he has that facetious Frenchman in his view. Trajan might have this office given him in hell, not only becaufe he was a perfecutor of the Christians, but as he was a great drinker, and that he might have liquor enough in the next world, he was made a fisherman: Rabelais has as trifling reafons as this, for many of his witticisms but whatever was Rabelais' reafon is another question: this however was not Nero's office. But the players and editors, not willing that fo good a prince as Trajan fhould have fuch a vile employment, substituted Nero in his room, without any fenfe or allufion at all. From Rabelais therefore the paffage fhould be thus corrected, Trajan is an angler in the lake of darkness. For one cannot fay, I fhould think, with any propriety, Nero is a fidler in the lake of darkness. I cannot pass over a moft true correction, printed in the Oxford edition, of a faulty paffage in Antony and Cleopatra, Act III. which was originally corrupted by this change of the first editors, ❝ Cleop. Cleop. What shall we do, Enobarbus ? "Eno. Think, and die.” Drink and die; This emendation is undoubtedly true. 'Tis spoken by Enobarbus, in allufion to the fociety of the ΣΥΝΑΠΟΘΑΝΟΥΜΕΝΟΙ, mention'd in Plutarch, p. 949. D. The hint was taken from a comedy of Diphilus, mention'd by Terence in his prologue to the Adelphi, « ΣΥΝΑΠΟΘΝΗΣΚΟΝΤΕΣ Diphili comoedia eft: "Eam commorientes Plautus fecit fabulam." The fame kind of blunders we have frequent in ancient books: I will mention one in those verfes of Tyrtaeus, which Stobaeus has preferved. Ξυνὸν δ ̓ ἐσθλὸν τἔτο πόληΐ τε παί τε δήμῳ, The old reading, instead of ANHP, was AN ET, which the transcriber changed into ANHP. Οσις ἂν εὖ διαβὰς ἐν προμάχοισι μένῃ. 2 So in Act I. Where the foothfayer is telling their fortunes, and they are made to speak fomething foreboding their deftinies; Ænobarbus says, "Mine, and most of our fortunes to night shall be to go drunk to bed." This was an expreffion that Tyrtaeus was fond of, and he repeats it again, ̓Αλλά τις εὖ διαβὰς μενέτω, ποσὶν ἀμφοτέροισι E dabas, ftanding firm, one leg advanced before the other: the legs being fevered and fet afunder, each from the other. But he took the expreffion from Homer, Il. μ'. 458. ΣΤῆ δὲ μάλ ̓ ἐγγὺς ἰῶν, καὶ ἐρεισάμεν© βάλε μέσσας, Which the translator renders, firmiter divaricatis cruribus ftans and the scholiaft interprets by ixugus sás. which interpretation Milton follows: 3 Stand firm, for in his look defiance lours." Notwithstanding Tyrtaeus borrowed this from Homer, yet by laying so much stress on this pofture of fighting, and by his often repeating it, 3 Par. L. IV, 873. Milton, in this whole episode, keeps close to his master Homer, who sends out Ulyffes and Diomede into the Trojan camp as fpies. Il. x'. fpies. Il. κ'. 533. "Ω φίλοι, x. T. λ. Ιππων μὲ ὠκυπόδων ἀμφὶ κλύπος ἔαλα βάλλει. Οὔπω πᾶν εἴρηλο ἔπος, ὅτ ̓ ἄρ ̓ ἤλυθον αὐτοί. Ι. κ. 540. Book II. Plato in his first book of laws makes no fcruple of calling it Tyrtaeus' own expreffion. Aabales δ' εὖ καὶ μαχόμενοι, ἐθέλοντες αποθνήσκειν ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ (Φράζει Τύρλαιο) τῶν μισθοφόρων εἰσὶ πάμπολλοι. "There are many mercenaries, who firmly standing their ground with one foot boldly advanc❝ed before the other, (for fo Tyrtaeus expreffes “it) would gladly die fighting in battle." 66 NOT SECT. XI. OTHING is more common than for words to be tranfpofed in hafty writing, and to change their places. This has happen'd in the Tempeft. Act I. where Profpero fpeaks to Ariel. "Profp. This blue-ey'd hag was hither brought with child, "And here was left by th' Sailors; thou, my Llave, "As thou report'ft thyfelf, waft then her Servant." The reader will eafily fee how proper 'tis to the whole drift of this difcourfe, and to the character of the person speaking, as well as the person fpoken to, that we fhould read, |