fupplied from voluptatibus just as in Antony and Cleopatra, Act II.

"My powers are crefcent, and my auguring hope 66 Says it will come to th' full."

The relative it agrees, and is to be referred to power understood in the plural powers. By the by, when Shakespeare put these words in Antony's mouth, he had a view to what Mahomet faid in a fort of prophetic rapture, That he would make his crefcent a full moon.

In Timon, Act III.

"Who stuck and fpangled you with flatteries, "Washes it off, and sprinkles in your faces "Your reaking villany."

In Macbeth, Act III.

"And keep the natural ruby of your cheeks, "When mine is blanch'd with fear."

In Antony and Cleopatra, Act III.

"You are abus'd

"Beyond the mark of thought; and the high "Gods

"To do you justice, make his ministers "Of thus, and those that love you."

This tranfition is very frequent among the ancients, from fingular to plural, and plural to fin

gular,

:

gular, when the deity is mentioned and one reafon may be because they confidered Deity, as

one or many.

Of this mixture of the fingular and plural, because it seems strange in Shakespeare, I will add an instance or two more from the Roman authors.

"Perfida, nec merito nobis inimica, merenti "Perfida, fed quamvis perfida, cara tamen.?

Tibull. III. el. 7.

"Reftituis cupido, atque infperanti ipfa refers te "Nobis." Catull. ep. 108.

.

'Tis fomewhat extraordinary, that when we meet these kind of folecifms in the ancient writers, we then try to reduce them to rule and grammar; but when we find the fame in Milton, or Shakespeare, we then think of nothing but correction and emendation.

RULE XIV.

He Chortens wozds by Ariking off the first oz laft fyllable: and fometimes lengthens them by adding a Latin termination,

'Tis very customary in our language to strike off the first fyllable. fyllable. Hence we fay, fam ple, for example; spittle, for hofpital, &c. In Shakespeare

Shakespeare among many others, niends, for amends: fend, for defend: force, for inforce, reinforce point, for appointments: conce, for enfconce, &c. Hailful, for availful: In Meafure for Measure, A& IV.

"He fays to 'vailful purpose."

i. e. toa purpose which will fully availl. Serving, for obferving: In Timon of Athens, A& IV. "Apem. What a coil's here,

"Serving of beeks and jetting out of bums? i. e. obferving one another's nods and bows. So fervans for obfervans, among the Latins.

Nor is it unusual with Shakespeare to strike off a fyllable, or more, from the latter part of words. So he ufes oftent, for oftentation: res verbs, for reverberates: intrince, for intrinficate, or intricate

In King Lear, A&t I.

"Nor are thofe empty hearted, whofe low "found

Reverbs no hollowness."

i. e. reverberates, à Lat. reverbero.

1 Chaucer has, vailable, for available. Vailed, for availed. à Lat. VALERE. So that a is prefixed according to our usual manner. As, mate, amate; mazed, amazed ; down, adown; &c. And this word bailful for availful hould not (perhaps) have been brought here as an inftance,

In King Lear, A& II.

"Like rats oft bite the holy cords atwaine, "Which are too' intrince t' unloose.

i. e. too intrinficate, too perplext. Mr. Theobald prints it thus,

"Like rats oft bite the holy cords in twain "Too intrinficate t unloofe."

And lets us fairly know the old books of authority read,

"Like rats oft bite the holy cords atwaine, "Which are intrince, to unloofe."

How came Mr. Theobald, who valued himself for being a critic, to give us the glofs, for the original word? Atwain, is an old word used by Chaucer, for in two, afunder, in twain. And then his other correction is too bold: he comes like an unskilful furgeon to cut and flash, when he fhould heal. This fhortening of words is too much the genius of our language and from hence the etymologifts know how eafy 'tis to trace porpoife from porcus pifcis: eftrich, from ・sexboxáμμnλ: to rap, from parín, &c. and many more of the like fort, too numerous here to be mention'd.

On the other hand he lengthens words by giving them a Latin termination. In Hamlet, A& III.

“Oh,

"Oh, fuch a deed,

"As from the body of contraction plucks "The very foul, and fweet religion makes "A rhapfody of words."

contraction, i. e. contract.

This lengthening of words, and giving them terminations, was the firft improvement of languages, which originally, perhaps chiefly, confifted of undeclined monofyllables. This feems to be the café of the politeft language in the world, the Greek, language. The old Greek word for a boufe was AO, afterwards they added the termination, and called it da. Barley was KPI, afterwards κριθὴ and κρίμνον : in vain, ΜΑΠΣ, afterwards adiws: again, or backwards, AI i. e. dniow: eafly PA i. e. pádiov. BPI, afterwards βριθὺ and βριαρόν. ΑΛΠΗΙ i. e. ἄφιλον. And fo of many other words, which are not by any abbreviations fhortened, as the grammarians tell us; but were the old original words, brought again into fashion and ufe by the poets, just as our Shakespeare and Milton often chofe the Saxon and obfolete words.

TO thefe rules many others may easily be added; but what has already been faid, may lead the way to a right reading of our author.

Concerning