He acts thy greatness in: and when he speaks,
'Tis like a chime a mending; with terms unfquar'd,
Which, from the tongue of roaring Typhon dropp'd,
Would feem hyperboles. At this fufty ftuff,
The large Achilles, on his prefs'd bed lolling,
From his deep cheft laughs out a loud applause;
Cries-Excellent !-'tis Agamemnon juft.-
Now play me Neftor ;-hem, and stroke thy beard,
As he, being 'dreft to fome oration.
That's done ;-as near as the extremeft ends
Of parallels; as like as Vulcan and his wife:
Yet good Achilles ftill cries, Excellent!
'Tis Neftor right! Now play him me, Patroclus,
Arming to anfwer in a night alarm.
And then, forfooth, the faint defects of age
Must be the scene of mirth; to cough, and fpit,
And with a palfy-fumbling on his gorget',
Shake in and out the rivet :-and at this fport,
Sir Valour dies; cries, O!-enough, Patroclus ;-
Or give me ribs of feel! I shall split all
In pleasure of my Spleen. And in this fashion,
All our abilities, gifts, natures, shapes,
Severals and generals of grace exact*,
Atchievements, plots, orders, preventions,
Excitements to the field, or fpeech for truce,
Succefs, or lofs, what is, or is not, ferves
As stuff for these two to make paradoxes 3.
Neft. And in the imitation of these twain
(Whom, as Ulyffes fays, opinion crowns
With an imperial voice,) many are infect,
Ajax is grown felf-will'd; and bears his head4
9 The parallels to which the allufion feems to be made, are the parallels on a map. As like as east to weft.
1 Palfy, Mr. Tyrwhitt obferves, is here used adjectively, for paralytick Fumbling is often applied by our old English writers to the fpeech.
2 All our good grace exact, means, our excellence irreprehenfible. 3 Paradoxes may have a meaning, but it is not clear and distinct. I wish the copies had given : -to make parodies. JOHNSON.
4 Holds up his head as haughtily. We still say of a girl, she bridles.
In fuch a rein, in full as proud a place
As broad Achilles: keeps his tent like him;
Makes factious feafts; rails on our state of war,
Bold as an oracle: and fets Therfites
(A flave, whofe gall coins flanders like a mint 5,)-
To match us in comparisons with dirt;
To weaken and difcredit our exposure,
How rank foever rounded in with danger.
Uly. They tax our policy, and call it cowardice ;
Count wisdom as no member of the war;
Foreftall pre-fcience, and esteem no act
But that of hand: the ftill and mental parts,-
That do contrive how many hands shall strike,
When fitness calls them on; and know, by measure
Of their obfervant toil, the enemies' weight,-
Why, this hath not a finger's dignity;
They call this-bed-work, mappery, closet war:
So that the ram, that batters down the wall,
For the great fwing and rudeness of his poize,
They place before his hand that made the engine;
Or thofe, that with the fineness of their fouls
By reafon guide his execution.
Neft. Let this be granted, and Achilles' horfe Makes many Thetis' fons.
[Trumpet founds. Agam. What trumpet? look, Menelaus. Men. From Troy.
Agam. What would you 'fore our tent?
Ene. Is this great Agamemnon's tent, I pray you?
Agam. Even this.
Ene. May one, that is a herald, and a prince,
Do a fair meffage to his kingly ears?
Agam. With furety ftronger than Achilles' arm
'Fore all the Greekish heads, which with one voice Call Agamemnon head and general.
Ene. Fair leave, and large fecurity. How may
5 i. e. as faft as a mint coins money.
6 A rank weed is a high weed,
A ftranger to thofe moft imperial looks▾
Know them from eyes of other mortals?
Agam. How?
ne. Ay; I afk, that I might waken reverence,
And bid the cheek be ready with a blush
Modeft as morning when the coldly eyes
The youthful Phoebus:
Which is that god in office, guiding men?
Which is the high and mighty Agamemnon?
Agam. This Trojan fcorns us; or the men of Troy
Are ceremonious courtiers.
Ene. Courtiers as free, as debonair, unarm'd,
As bending angels; that's their fame in peace:
But when they would feem foldiers, they have galls,
Good arms, ftrong joints, true fwords; and, Jove's ac-
cord,
Nothing fo full of heart. But peace, Eneas,
Peace, Trojan; lay thy finger on thy lips!
The worthiness of praise diftains his worth,
If that the prais'd, himself bring the praise forth:
But what the repining enemy commends,
That breath fame blows; that praise, fole pure, tranfcends.
Agam. Sir, you of Troy, call you yourself Æneas?
Ene. Ay, Greek, that is my name.
Agam. What's your affair, I pray you?
Ene. Sir, pardon; 'tis for Agamemnon's ears.
Agam. He hears nought privately, that comes from
Ene. Nor I from Troy come not to whisper him:
I bring a trumpet to awake his ear;
To fet his fenfe on the attentive bent,
And then to speak.
Agam. Speak frankly as the wind;
It is not Agamemnon's fleeping hour:
7 And yet this was the feventh year of the war. wonderfully preferves character, ufually confounds nations, and probably supposed that the ancients chivalry) fought with beavers to their helmets.
Shakspeare, who fo the customs of all (like the heroes of
That thou shalt know, Trojan, he is awake,
He tells thee fo himself.
Ene. Trumpet, blow loud,
Send thy brass voice through all these lazy tents ;-
And every Greek of mettle, let him know,
What Troy means fairly, fhall be spoke aloud.
[Trumpet founds.
We have, great Agamemnon, here in Troy
A prince call'd Hector, Priam is his father,
Who in this dull and long-continu'd truce3
Is rufty grown; he bade me take a trumpet,
And to this purpofe fpeak. Kings, princes, lords!
If there be one, among the fair'it of Greece,
That holds his honour higher than his ease;
That feeks his praise more than he fears his peril;
That knows his valour, and knows not his fear;
That loves his mistress more than in confeffion",
(With truant vows to her own lips he loves',)
And dare avow her beauty and her worth,
In other arms than hers,-to him this challenge.
Hector, in view of Trojans and of Greeks,
Shall make it good, or do his best to do it,
He hath a lady, wifer, fairer, truer,
Than ever Greek did compass in his arms;
And will to-morrow with his trumpet call,.
Mid-way between your tents and walls of Troy,
To roufe a Grecian that is true in love:
If any come, Hector fhall honour him;
If none, he'll fay in Troy, when he retires,
The Grecian dames are sun-burn'd, and not worth
The fplinter of a lance 3. Even so much.
8 Of this long truce there has been no notice taken; in this very act it is faid, that Ajax coped Hector yesterday in the battle. 9 Confeffion, for profeffion.
That is, confeffion made with idle vows to the lips of her whom be loves.
2 Arms is here ufed equivocally, for the arms of the body, and the armour of a foldier.
3 This is the language of romance. Such a challenge would better have fuited Palmerin or Amadis, than Hector or Æneas.
Agam. This fhall be told our lovers, lord Æneas;
If none of them have soul in such a kind,
We left them all at home: But we are foldiers
And may that foldier a mere recreant prove,
That means not, hath not, or is not in love!
If then one is, or hath, or means to be,
That one meets Hector; if none else, I am he.
Neft. Tell him of Neftor, one that was a man
When Hector's grandfire fuck'd: he is old now;
But, if there be not in our Grecian host
One noble man, that hath one spark of fire
To answer for his love, Tell him from me,—
I'll hide my filver beard in a gold beaver,
And in my vantbrace put this wither'd brawn ;
And, meeting him, will tell him, That my lady
Was fairer than his grandame, and as chafte
may be in the world: His youth in flood,
I'll prove this truth with my three drops of blood.
Ene. Now heavens forbid fuch scarcity of youth!
Uly. Amen.
Agam. Fair lord Æneas, let me touch your hand;
To our pavilion fhall I lead you, fir.
Achilles fhall have word of this intent;
So fhall each lord of Greece, from tent to tent;
Yourself shall feast with us before you go,
And find the welcome of a noble foe.
[Exeunt all but Ulyffes and Neftor.
Neft. What fays Ulyffes?
Uly. I have a young conception in my brain,
Be you my time to bring it to fome shape 5.
Neft. What is't?
Blunt wedges rive hard knots: The feeded pride
4 An armour for the arm, avantbras.
5 i. c. be you to my present purpose what time is in respect of all other schemes, viz. a ripener and bringer of them to maturity.
I believe Shakspeare was here thinking of the period of geftation, which is fometimes denominated a female's time, or reckoning. T. C.
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