MEASURE FOR MEASURE*. ACT I. SCENE I. The Duke's PALACE. Enter Duke, Efcalus, and Lords. DUKE. SCALUS, Es Efcal. My Lord. Duke. Of Government the properties t'un- Would seem in me t'affect speech and discourse. * There is perhaps not one of Shakespeare's plays more darkened than this by the peculiarities of its Authour, and the unfkilfulness of its Editors, by distortions of phrafe, or negligence of tranfcription: 'The story is taken from Cinthio's Novels, Decad. 8. No. POPE. vel 5: then no more remains : * 3 But Lifts.] Bounds, Limits: &c. mine. But that to your fufficiency, as your worth is able, And let them work. The nature of our people, Our City's Inftitutions, and the terms the Impertinence of the Actors, or the Negligence of the Copy-, ifts, has come maim'd to us. Inthe firft Place, what an unmeafurable, inharmonicus, Verfe have we here; and, then, how lame is the Senfe! What was Efcalus to put to his Sufficiency? Why, his Science. But his Science and his Sufficiency were but One and the fame Thing. On what then does the Relative, them, depend? The old Editi ns read thus. Then no more remains. But that to your Sufficiency, as your Worth is able, And let them work. For that, where two Words of a fimilar Length and Termination. happen to lie under one another, nothing is more common than for Tranfcribers to glance their Eye at once from the first to the undermoft Word, and to leave out the intermediate part of the Sentence. THEOBALD. Since I am not to know, that your own Science Exceeds, in that the lifts of all advice My ftrength can give you: then no more remains : Put that to your sufficiency, as your worth is able, And let them work. To the rearity of this reading Mr. Theobald objects and fays, What was escalus to put to his fufficiency! why his fcience: But bis fcience and sufficiency were but one and the jame thing. On what then does the relative them depend? He will have it, therefore, that a line has been accidei tally dropt, which he attempts to rettore by due diligence. Nodum in feirpo querit. And all for want of knowing, that by fufficiency is meant authority, the power delegated by the Luke to Efcalus. The plain meaning of the word being this: Put your kill in governing (favs the Duke) to the powe swhich I give you to exercife it, and let them work together. WARBURTON. Sir Tho. Hanmer having caught from Mr. Theobald a hint that a For common justice, y'are as pregnant in, That we remember. There is our Commiffion, I fay, bid come before us Angelo : What figure of us, think you, he will bear? Elected line was loft, endeavours to fup- tue now work together. It may ply it thus. -Then no more remains, But that to your fufficiency you join A will to ferve us, as your worth is able. He has by this bold conjecture undoubtedly obtained a meaning, but, perhaps not, even in his own opinion, the meaning of Shakespeare. That the paffage is more or lefs corrupt, I believe every reader will agree with the Editors. I am not convinced that a line is loft, as Mr. Theobald conjectures, nor that the change of but to put, which Dr Warburton has admitted after some other Editor, will amend the fault. There was probably fome original obfcu. rity in the expreffion, which gave occafion to mistake in repetition or tranfcription. I therefore fufpect that the Authour wrote thus. Then no more remains, Then nothing remains more than. to tell you that your Virtue is now invefted with power equal to your knowledge and wisdom. Let there eafily be conceived how fufficiencies was, by an inarticulate speaker, or inattentive hearer, confounded with Jufficiency as, and how abled, a word very unusual was changed into able. For abled, however, an authority is not wanting. Lear ufes it in the fame fenfe, or nearly the fame, with the Duke. As for fufficiencies, D. Hamilton, in his dying fpeech, prays that Charles II. may exceed both the virtues and fufficiencies of his father. For common juftice you're as preg The latter Editions all give it, without authority, the terms of justice, and Dr. Warburton makes rather think the Duke meant to terms fignify bounds or limits. I fay, that Escalus was pregnant, that is ready and knowing in all the forms of law, and, among other things, in the terms or times fet apart for its administration. SOUL. 5 For you must know we have with special Elected him our abfence to fupply.] This nonfenfe muit be corrected thus, with special ROLL for your knowledge and your wir- i, e. by a fpecial commiffion. For Elected him our Abfence to fupply; Lent him our Terror, dreft him with our Love; Of our own Power: fay, what think you of it? To undergo fuch ample grace and honour, ŚCENE Enter Angelo. Duke. Look, where he comes. Ang. Always obedient to your Grace's will, I come to know your pleasure. Duke. Angelo, There is a kind of character in thy life, For it appears, from this fcene, To th' hopeful execution do I leave you Of your commiffions. Why Angelo's was call'd the pecial roll, was because he was in authority fuperior to Escalus. -old Efcalus, lefs happy in his emendation. I read, We have with special feal Elected him our abfence to fupply. A fpecial feal is a very natural Metonymy for a special commif fion. • There is a kind of chara&er in thy life, That to th' obferver, &c.] Either this introduction has more folemnity than meaning, or it has a meaning which I cannot discover. What is there peculiar in this, that a man's life informs Tho first in queflion, is thy fecon- the obferver of his hiftory? Might dary. WARBURTON. This Editor is, I think, right in fuppofing a corruption, but it be fuppofed that Shakespear wrote this ? There is a kind of chara&er in thy look, Thyself upon thy virtues; them on thee. As if we had them not. Spirits are not finely touch'd, The smalleft fcruple of her excellence, But, like a thrifty Goddess, fhe determines Both thanks and use. But I do bend my speech I In our remove, be thou at full our felf. Live in thy tongue and heart: old Efcalus, 7 for if our wirtues, &c, WARBURTON. 8 To fine iffues.] To great confequences. For high purposes. 9I do bend my Speech To One that can my part in him advertise.] This is obfcure. The meaning is, I direct my speech to one who is able to teach me how to govern: my part in him, fignifying my office, which I have delegated to him. My part in him advertise; i. e. who knows what appertains to the character of deputy or viceroy. Can advertise my part in him; that is, his reprefentation of my perfon. But all thefe quaintneffes of expreffion, the Oxford Editor feems fworn to extirpate; that is, to take away one of Shakespear's |