Id. c. 2. l. 55,--'the fills.] That is, in the shafts. Fill is a provincial word used in some counties for thills, the shafts of a cart or waggon. Id. 1. 59. So, so; rub on, and kiss the mistress. The allusion is to bowling. What we now call the jack, seems, in Shakspeare's time, to have been termed the mistress. A bowl that kisses the jack, or mistress, is in the most advantageous situation. Rub on is a term at the same

game.

Id. 1. 62. The falcon as the tercel-] Pandarus means, that he'll match his niece against her lover for any bet. The tercel is the male hawk; by the falcon we generally understand the female

P. 275, c. 1, l. 29.

-his addition shall be humble.

We will give him no high or pompous titles.
JOHNSON.

Id. 1. 31.- what envy can say worst, shall be a mock for his truth; i. e. shall be only a mock for his truth. Even malice (for such is the meaning of the word envy) shall not be able to impeach his truth, or attack him in any other way, except by ridiculing him for his constancy.

Id. c. 2, 1. 29. Might be affronted with the match] I wish "my integrity might be met and matched with such equality and force of pure unmingled love." JouNSON.

Id. 1. 33. And simpler than the infancy of truth.]

This is fine; and means, "Ere truth, to defend itself against deceit in the commerce of the world, had, out of necessity, learned worldly policy."

Id. l. 41. compare, i. e. comparison. Id. I. 47. As truth's authentic author to be cited, Troilus shall crown the verse, as a man to be cited as the authentic author of truth, as one whose protestations were true to a proverb. crown up-] i e. conclude it.

Id. l. 49.

SCENE HIL

P. 276, c. 1, 7. 28. such a wrest— Wrest is an instrument for tuning the harp by drawing up the strings. Id. l. 35. I most accepted pain.] i. e. Her presence, says Calchas, shall strike off, or recompense the service I have done, even in those labours which were most accepted. JOHNSON.

Id. c. 2, l. 21. "riches, and favour,”—MALONE. Id. l. 37. how dearly ever parted,] However excellently endowed, with however dear or precious parts curiched or adorned. Id. 1. 56. in his circumstance,] In the detail or circumduction of his argument. Id. 1.68. The unknown Ajai.] Ajax, who has abilities, which were never brought into view or use. JOHNSON,

P. 277, c. 1, 45. And give to dust, that is a little gilt,

More laud than gilt o'er-dusted. Dust a little gilt means, ordinary performances tentatiously displayed and magnified by the favour of friends and that admiration of novelty which prefers "new-born gawds" to "things past." Gilt o'er-dusted means, splendid actions of preceding ages, the remembrance of which is weakened by time.

Id. 1. 55. Made emulous missions-] This means the descent of deities to combat on either side; an idea which Shakspeare very probably adopted from Chapman's translation of Homer. In the fifth Book, Diomed wounds Mars, who on his return to heaven is rated by Jupiter for having interfered in the battle. This disobe dience is the faction which I suppose Ulysses would describe STEEVENS.

Id. l. 62. one of Priam's daughters] Polyxena, in the act of marrying whom he was afterwards killed by Paris.

Id. l. 71.

with whom relation Durst never meddle)-] There is a secret administration of affairs, which no history was ever able to discover. JOHNSON. Id. c. 2. 1. 23. Omission to do, &c.] By neglecting our duty we commission or enable that dan ger of dishonour. which could not reach us before to lay hold upon us. JOHNSON. Id. l. 47. with a politic regard.] With a sig

look.

Id. 1. 47. During all question] Question means intercourse, interchange of conversation. Id. 1. 72. His purpose meets you;] I bring you his meaning and his orders, JOHNSON.

Id. c. 2, l. 27. --a flat tamet piece: i. e. a piece of wine out of which the spirit is all Hown.

Id. 1. 30. Both merits pois'd, &c. The senst appears to be this: the merits of either are sunk in value, because the contest between them is only for a strumpet.

Id. 1. 35. For I will throw my glove to death-] That is, I will challenge death himself in defence of thy fidelity.

Id. c. 2, l. 61.

was a dance.

Id. c. 2, l. 1.

the high lavolt,] The lavolta

catch mere simplicity;] The meaning, I think, is while others, by their art, gain high estimation, I, by honesty, obtain a plain simple approbation. JOHNSON Id. 10. At the port,] The port is the gate. ld. 7. 11. -possess thee what she is.]

I will make thee fully understand. This sense of the word possess is frequent in our author. Id. l. 33. my lust: Lust is inclination, will. Id. 1. 37. "I tell thee, Diomed,"-MALONE.

contributes to motion.

Id. l. 50. That give a coasting welcome ere it comes, A coasting welcome, is a conciliatory welcome; that make silent advances before the tongue has uttered a word.

Id 1 53. - sluttish spoils of opportunity.] Corrupt wenches, of whose chastity every opportunity may make a prey. JOHNSON. Id. 1. 79. Valour and pride excel themselves in Hector;] Shakspeare's thought is not exactly deduced. Nicety of expression is not his The meaning is plain: "Valour (says eas) is in Hector greater than valour in other men, and pride in Hector is less than pride in other men. So that Hector is distinguished by the excellence of having pride less than other pride, and valour more than other valour." JOHNSON.

character.

Ide 2.1.3. This Ajax is half made of Hector's blood:] Ajax and Hector were cousin-germans. Id. 1. 13. a breath;] i. e. breathing, a slight

exercise of arm. 1. L. 14 - stints-] i. e. stops. I. (20 -deedless in his tongue;] i. e. no

boaster of his own deeds.

11. 25. -an impair thought-] A thought unsuitable to the dignity of his character. Id 1 27. Hector-subscribes-] that is, yields, gives way.

Id 1 34.

thus translate him to me.] Thus explain his character. Id 1 61 My sacred aunt,] It is remarkable that

the Greeks give to the uncle the title of Sacred, S. And this circumstance may tend to establish the opinion, that this play was not the entire composition of Shakspeare, to whom the Grecism before us was probably unknown. Id 1 69. A great addition-] 1. e, denomination. 14. L. 70. Not Neoptolemus- My opinion is, that by Neoptolemus the author meant Achilles himself; and remembering that the son was Pyrrhus Neoptolemus, considered Neoptolemus as the nomen gentilitium, and thought the father was likewise Achilles Neoptolemus.

JOHNSON

P. 82, c. 1, l. 25. most imperious] ImpeFLORS and imperial had formerly the same signification.

Id. l. 35. the untraded oath ;] A singular oath not

in common use.

ld. l. 48. the declin'd;] The declin'd is the fallen. Id. 1. 55.

thy grandsire, Laomedon. Id. c. 2, l. 15. And quoted joint by joint.] To quote is to observe.

ld. 1. 42. that stithied Mars his helm,] A stith is an anvil, and from hence the verb stithied is formed.

Id. l. 52.

-the general state, I fear,

Can scarce entreat you to be odd with him.] Ajax treats Achilles with contempt, and means to insinuate that he was afraid of fighting with Hector. "You may every day (says he) have enough of Hector, if you choose it; but I believe the whole state of Greece will scarcely prevail on you to engage with him." Id. 1. 55. pelting wars,] i. e. petty, inconsiderable ones.

Id. l. 63. -convive-] To convive is to feast. Id. 1. 66. Beat loud the tabourines,] Tabourines are small drums.

ACT V.

SCENE I.

P. 283, c. 1, 1. 25. The surgeon's box,] In this answer Thersites quibbles upon the word tent. Id. l. 26. Well said, Adversity!] Adversity, in this instance, siguifies contrariety. The reply of Thersites has been studiously adverse to the drift of the question urged by Patroclus. Id. l. 46. -thou idle immaterial skein of sleive silk,] All the terms used by Thersites of Patroclus, are emblematically expressive of flexibility, compliance, and mean officiousness. Id. 1. 52. Finch egg!] A finch's egg is remarkable gaudy; but of such terms of reproach it is difficult to pronounce the true signification. Id. c. 2, l. 1. a fitchew,] i. e. a polecat. Id. l. 7. -spirits and fires!] This Thersites speaks upon the first sight of the distant lights. Id. 1. 26. "sweet lord Menelaus." MALONE. Id. 1. 50.- he will spend his mouth, and pro

mise, like Brabler the hound;] If a hound gives his mouth, and is not upon the scent of the game, he is by sportsmen called a babler or brabler.

Id. l. 51. - prodigious,] i. e. portentous, omi

nous.

Id. 1. 75.

-

French.

SCENE II.

her cliff,] that is her key. Clef,

P. 284, c. 1, l. 50.- — palter.] i. e. shuffle, behave with duplicity. Id. 1. 72.- -keep this sleeve.] The custom of wearing a lady's sleeve for a favour, is of ancient date, but the sleeve given in the present instance was the sleeve of Troilus. It may be supposed to be an ornamented cuff, such, perhaps, as was worn by some of our young nobility at a tilt, in Shakspeare's age.

Id. l. 79. "It is no matter,"-MALONE, Id. c. 2, 1. 24. By all Diana's waiting-women yonder.] i. e. the stars which she points to. Id. 68. I cannot conjure, Trojan. that is, cannot raise spirits in the form of Cressida.

- knot, five-finger-tied,] A knot tied by giving her hand to Diomed.

Id. 1. 28. May worthy Troilus- Can Troilus really feel, on this occasion, half of what he utters? A question suitable to the calm Ulysses. JOHNSON.

Id. l. 44. Concupy. A cant word, formed by our author from concupiscence. Id. l. 58. and wear a castle on thy head!! i. e. defend thy head with armour of more than common security.

Id. c 2, l. 4.

SCENE HII.

-dear petition. Dear, on this occasion, seems to mean, important, consequential.

Id. . 14. - peevish—] i. e. foolish. Id. 1. 21. It is the purpose, The mad prophetess speaks here with all the coolness and judgment of a skilful casuist, "The essence of a law ful vow is a lawful purpose, and the vow of which the end is wrong, must not be regarded as cogent." JOHNSON.

Id. l. 27. dear man- Valuable man, Id l. 41. Which better fits a lion,, The traditions and stories of the darker ages abounded with examples of the lion's generosity. Upon the supposition that these acts of clemency were true, Troilus reasons not improperly, that to spare against reason, by mere instinct of pity, became rather a generous beast than a wise

тап.

Id. 1.46. You bid them rise, and live. Shakspeare seems not to have studied the Homeric character of Hector, whose disposition was by no means inclined to clemency.

Id. l. 60. -with fiery truncheon-- We have here but a modern Mars. Antiquity acknowledges no such ensign of command as a truncheon The spirit of the passage, however, is such as might atone for a greater impropriety.

P. 286, c. 1, 1. 7. - shame respect;] i. e. disgrace the respect I owe you, by acting in opposition to your commands.

Id. l. 49. cursed. i. e. under the influence of a malediction, such as mischievous beings have been supposed to pronounce upon those who had offended them. STEEVENS.

-the mower's swath':] Swath is the quantity of grass cut down by a single stroke of the mower's scythe. P. 287, c. 1, 7.7. of a boy.

- boy-queller,] i. e. murderer

SCENE VI.

Id 1 28. -- I will not look upon.] That is fas we should now speak), I will not be a looker

on.

Id. l. 29.

you cogging Greeks;] This epithet has no particular propriety in this place. but the author had heard of Græcia mendax JOHNSON.

Surely the epithet had propriety, in resport of Diomedes at least, who had defrauded him of his mistress. Troilus bestows it on both. unius ob culpam. A fraudulent man, as I am told, is still called, in the North, a gainful Greek. Cicero bears witness to this char tet of the ancient Geeks; "Testimoniorum religionem et fidem nunquam ista natio coluit." Again: "Græcorum ingenia ad faliendum STEEVENS. parata sunt." Id. l. 48. carry him; i. e. prevail over him. Id 1 55. I'll frush it. The word frush I never found elsewhere, nor understand it. Sir T. Hanmer explains it, to break or bruize. Jous

SON.

SCENE VII.

Id. l. 66. execute your arms.] To execute their arms is to employ them; to put them

to use.

SCENE IX.

Id. c. 2, l. 45. And, stickler-like.) Sticklers are arbitrators, judges, or, as called in some places, sidesmen. At every wrestling in Cornwal before the games begin, a certain number of sticklers are chosen, who regulate the proceedings, and determine every dispute. Stickler (stic-kle-er) is immediately from the verb stickle, to interfere, to take part with, to busy one's self in any matter.

SCENE XI.

P. 288, c. 1. 7. 22. pight- i. e. pitched, fixed. The obsolete preterite and participle passive of to pitch.

Id 1. 30.

with comfort go: Hope of revenge shall hide our inward woe. This couplet affords a full and natural close of the play; and though I once thought differently, I must now declare my firm belief that Shakspeare designed it should end here, and that what follows is either a subsequent and injudicious restoration from the elder drama, or the nonsense of some wretched buf foon, who represented Pandarus. When the hero of the scene was not only alive, but og the stage, our author would scarce have trusted the conclusion of his piece to a subor dinate character, whom he had uniformly heid up to detestation. It is still less probable that he should have wound up his story with a stupid outrage to decency, and a deliberate insult on his audience.-But in several other parts of this drama I cannot persuade myself that I have been reading Shakspeare. STEE

VENS

до

868

THE story of the Misanthrope is told in almost every collection of the time, and particularly in two books, with which Shakspeare was intimately acquainted; the Palace of Pleasure, and the English Plutarch. Indeed, from a pasvage in an old play, called Jack Drum's Entertainment, I conjecture that he had before made fus appearance on the stage. FARMER.

The passage in Jack Drum's Entertainment, er Pasquil and Katherine, 1601, is this:

*Come, I'll be as sociable as Timon of Athens."

But the allusion is so slight, that it might as well have been borrowed from Plutarch or the novel.

Mr. Strutt, the late engraver, to whom our antiquaries are under no inconsiderable obligations, had in his possession a MS. play on this abject. It appears to have been written, or transcribed, about the year 1600. There is a scene in it resembling Shakspeare's banquet given by Timon to his flatterers. Instead of warm water, he sets before them stones painted Take artichokes, and afterwards beats them out of the room. He then retires to the woods, attended by his faithful steward, who (like Kent in King Lear) has disguised himself to continue nis services to his master. Timon in the last act is followed by his fickle mistress, &c. after he was reported to have discovered a hidden treasure by digging. The piece itself (though it appears to be the work of an academic) is a wretched one. The persona dramatis are as flows:

Timon.

The Actors' names:

"Laches, his faithful servant.

Eutrapelus, a dissolute young man. "Gelasimus, a cittie heyre. "Pseudocheus, a lying travailer. Demeas, an orator.

Philargurus, a covetous churlish ould man. Hermogenes, a fidler.

"Callimela, Philargurus daughter.

"Katte, her prattling nurse.

"SCENE, Athens." STEEVENS.

Shakspeare undoubtebly formed this play on the passage in Plutarch's Life of Antony relative to Timon, and not on the twenty-eighth novel of the first volume of Painter's Palace of Pleasure; because he is there merely described as "a man-hater, of a strange and beastly nature," without any cause assigned; whereas Plutarch furnished our author with the following hint to work upon: "Antonius forsook the citie, and companie of his friendes,—saying, that he would lead Timon's life because he had the like wrong offered him, that was offered unto Timon; and for the unthankfulness of those he had done good unto, and whom he tooke to be his friendes, he was angry with all men, and would trust no man."

To the manuscript play mentioned by Mr.Steevens, our author, I have no doubt, was also indebted for some other circumstances. Here he found the faithful steward, the banquet-scene, and the story of Timon's being possessed of great sums of gold which he had dug up in the wood a circumstance which he could not have had from Lucian, there being then no translation of the dialogue that relates to this subject. Spon says, there is a building near Athens, yet remaining, called Timon's Tower.

Timon of Athens was written, I imagine, in the year 1610. MALONE.