Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time. Queen. More matter, with lefs art. Pal. Madam, I fwear, I ufe no art all. Mad let us grant him then: and now remains, I have a daughter; have, while fhe is mine; The commentator makes the character of Polonius, a character only of manners, difcriminated by properties fuperficial, accidental, and acquired. The poet intended a nobler delineation of a mixed character of manners and of nature. Polonius is a man bred in courts, exercifed in bufinefs, ftored 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 embarrassed 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 general principles, but fails in the particular application. He is knowing in retrospect, 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 wifdom, will folve all the phænomena of the character of Polonius. JOHNSON. To To the celestial, and my foul's idol, the most beautified Ophelia,-4 That's an ill phrase, a vile phrase; beautify'd is a vile phrafe; but you fhall hear. Thus: In her excellent white bosom, these3, &c. 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 fun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; But never doubt, I love. [reads. O dear Ophelia, I am ill at thefe numbers; I have not art to reckon my groans: but that I love thee beft, O most beft, believe it. Adieu. Thine evermore, most dear lady, whilst this machine is to him, Hamlet. This 4 To the celeftial, and my foul's idol, the most beautified Ophelia-] Mr. Theobald for beautified fubftituted beatified. MALONE. Dr. Warburton has followed Theobald; but I am in doubt whether beautified, though, as Polonius calls it, a vile phrafe, be not the proper word. Beautified feems to be a vile phrafe, for the ambiguity of its meaning. JOHNSON. Hayward, in his Hiftory of Edward VI. fays, «Katherine Parre, queen dowager to king Henry VIII. was a woman beautified with many excellent virtues." FARMER. Again, Nash dedicates his Chrift's Tears over Jerufalem, 1594, to the most beautified lady, the lady Elizabeth Carey." Again, in Green's Mamilia, 1593: "-although thy perfon is fo bravely beautified with the dowries of nature." Ill and vile as the phrafe may be, our author has used it again in the Two Gentlemen of Verona: "-seeing you are beautified "With goodly fhape," &c. STEEVENS. 5 In ber excellent white bofom,-] So, in the Two Gentlemen of Verona : "Thy letters. "Which, being writ to me, fhall be deliver'd See a note on this paffage." STEEVENS. This, in obedience, hath my daughter fhewn me As they fell out by time, by means, and place, 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 seen 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 given my heart a working, mute and dumb; What might you think? no, I went round to work, In our poet's time the word These was usually added at the end of the fuperfcription of letters, but I have never met with it both at the beginning and end. MALONE. 60 most beft] So, in Acolaftus, a comedy, 1540: "that fame m beft redreffer or reformer, is God." STEEVENS. 7 more above,-] is, moreover, befides. JOHNSON. 8 If I bad play'd the defk or table-book; Or given my beart a working, mute and dumb; Or look'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 obferved 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 overlooked it [looked upon this love with idle fight]; what would you have thought of me? WARBURTON. I doubt whether the first line is rightly explained. It may mean, if I had lock'd up this fecret in my own breaft, as closely as if it were confined in a desk or table-book. MALONE. Or given my beart a working mute and dumb;] nafm is found in our authour's Rape of Lucrece: "And in my hearing be you mute and dumb." The folio reads a winking. STEEVENS. The fame pleo MALONE. Lord Lord Hamlet is a prince out of thy Sphere; Thence to a watch: thence into a weakness; And all we mourn for. King. Do you think, 'tis 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 so, When it prov'd otherwife? King. 9 Lord Hamlet is a prince out of thy fphere ;] The quarto 1604, and the first folio, for sphere, have far. The correction was made by the editor of the second folio. Mr. Steevens obferves, that all princes were alike out of her sphere," and therefore points thus: Lord Hamlet is a prince :-out of thy fphere;" I fee no need of departing from the ancient punctuation. The poet clearly means that lord Hamlet is a prince, and, being a prince, is out of Ophelia's fphere. MALONE. 1-prefcripts gave ber,] Thus the quarto. The folio reads precepts. The original copy in my opinion is right. Polonius had ordered his daughter to lock berfelf from Hamlet's refort, &c. See p. 219. "I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth, "Have you fo flander any moment's leisure "As to give words or talk with the lord Hamlet: 2 Which done, he took the fruits of my advice:] She took the fruits of advice when the obeyed advice; the advice was then mado fruitful. JOHNSON, 3-a fhort tale to make, Fell into 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 stages of Hamlet's diforder, from his fadnefs to his raving, as regularly 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 tells us, with a confidence peculiar to small politicians, that he could find Where King. Not that I know. Pol. Take this from this, if this be otherwise: [pointing to his head and shoulder. If circumstances lead me, I will find Where truth is hid, though it were hid indeed Within the centre. King. How may we try it further? Pol. You know, fometimes he walks four hours toge ther 4, Here in the lobby. Queen. So he does, indeed. Pol. At fuch a time I'll loose my daughter to him: Be and I behind an arras then ; you Mark the encounter: if he love her not, And be not from his reafon fallen thereon, But keep a farm, and carters 5. Where truth was bid, though it were bid indeed Within the centre. WARBURTON. King four hours together,] Perhaps it would be better were we to read indefinitely, for hours together. TYR WHITT. I formerly was inclined to adopt Mr. Tyrrwhitt's propofed emendation; but have now no doubt that the text is right. The expreffion, four hours together, two bours together, &c. appears to have been common: So, in King Lear, A& I. "Edm. Spake you with him? "Edg. Ay, two bours together." Again, in The Winter's Tale: "ay, and have been, any time these four hours." Again, in Webster's Dutchess of Malfy, 1623 : "She will mufe four bours together, and her filence "Methinks exprefleth more than if she spake." MALONE. 5 At fuch a time I'll loofe my daughter to bim : Be you and I bebind an arras then ; Mark the encounter: if he love ber not, But keep a farm, and carters.] The scheme of throwing Ophelia in Hamlet's way, in order to try his fanity, as well as the addrefs of the king in a former fcene to Rofencrantz and Guildenstern, I entreat you both That you vouchfafe your reft here in our court "Some |