Shall from your neck unloose his amorous fold,
And, like a dew-drop from the lion's mane,
Be fhook to air.

Achil. Shall Ajax fight with Hector?

Patr. Ay; and, perhaps, receive much honour by him Achil. I fee, my reputation is at stake;

My fame is fhrewdly gor'd.

Patr. O, then beware;

Those wounds heal ill, that men do give themselves:
Omiffion to do what is neceffary

Seals a commiffion to a blank of danger;

And danger, like an ague, fubtly taints

Even then when we fit idly in the fun.

Achil. Go call Therfites hither, fweet Patroclus: I'll fend the fool to Ajax, and defire him

To invite the Trojan lords after the combat,

To fee us here unarm'd: I have a woman's longing,
An appetite that I am fick withal,

To fee great Hector in his weeds of peace;
To talk with him, and to behold his visage,
Even to my full of view. A labour fav'd!

Ther. A wonder!

Achil. What?

Enter THERSITES.

Ther. Ajax goes up and down the field, asking for himself.

Achil. How fo?

Ther. He must fight fingly to-morrow with Hector; and is fo prophetically proud of an heroical cudgelling, that he raves in faying nothing.

Achil. How can that be?

Ther. Why, he ftalks up and down like a peacock, a ftride, and a fland: ruminates, like an hoftefs, that hath no arithmetick but her brain to fet down her reckoning: bites his lip with a politick regard, as who fhould fay --there

8. By neglecting our duty we commiffion or enable that danger of dif honour, which could not reach us before, to lay hold upon us, 9 with a politick regard,] With a fly look,

there were wit in this head, an 'twould out; and fo there is; but it lies as coldly in him as fire in a flint, which will not fhew without knocking. The man's undone for ever; for if Hector break not his neck i'the combat, he'll break it himself in vain-glory. He knows. not me: I faid, Good-morrow, Ajax; and he replies, Thanks, Agamemnon. What think you of this man, that takes me for the general? He's grown a very land-fish, Languagelefs, a moniter. A plague of opinion! a man may wear it on both fides, like a leather jerkin.

Achil. Thou must be my embaffador to him, Therfites. Ther. Who, I? why, he'll anfwer no body; he profeffes not answering; fpeaking is for beggars; he wears his tongue in his arms. I will put on his prefence; let Patroclus make demands to me, you shall see the pageant of Ajax.

Achil. To him, Patroclus: Tell him,-I humbly de fire the valiant Ajax, to invite the moft valorous Hector to come unarm'd to my tent; and to procure fafe conduct for his perfon, of the magnanimous, and moft illuftrious, fix-or-feven-times-honour'd captain-general of the Grecian army, Agamemnon. Do this.

Patr. Jove blefs great Ajax!

Ther. Humph!

Patr. 1 come from the worthy Achilles,-
Ther. Ha!

Patr. Who moft humbly defires you, to invite Hector to his tent;

Ther, Humph!

Patr. And to procure fafe conduct from Agamemnon. Ther. Agamemnon?

Patr. Ay, my lord.

Ther. Ha!

Patr. What fay you to't?

Ther. God be wi'you, with all my heart.

Patr. Your answer, fir.

Ther. If to-morrow be a fair day, by eleven o'clock it

will go one way or other; howsoever, he shall pay for Ime ere he has me.

Patr.

Patr. Your anfwer, fir.

Ther. Fare you well, with all my heart..

Achil. Why, but he is not in this tune, is he?

Ther. No, but he's out o'tune thus. What mufick will be in him when Hector has knock'd out his brains, I know vot: But, I am sure, none; unless the fidier Apollo get his finews to make catlings on '.

Achil. Come, thou shalt bear a letter to him ftraight. Ther. Let me bear another to his horfe; fo, that's the more capable creature 2...

Achil. My mind is troubled, like a fountain ftirr'd; And I myself fee not the bottom of it.

[Exeunt ACHILLES, and PATROCLUS. Ther. 'Would the fountain of your mind were clear again, that I might water an afs at it! I had rather be a tick in a fheep, than fuch a valiant ignorance. [Exit.

A CT IV.

SCENE I

Troy. A Street.

Enter, at one fide, EREAS, and Servant, with a torch; at the other, PARIS, DELPHOBUS, ANTENOR, D1O.. MEDES, and Others, with torches.

Par. See, ho! who is that there?

Dei. It is the lord Æneas.

Ene. Is the prince there in perfon?-
Had I fo good occafion to lie long,

As you, prince Paris, nothing but heavenly bufinefs
Should rob my bed-mate of my company.

Dio. That's my mind too.-Good morrow, lord Æneas.
Par. A valiant Greek, Æneas; take his hand:

Witness the process of your speech, wherein
You told-how Diomed, a whole week by days,.

Did

1 A catling fignifies a small-lute-string made of catgut. One of the musicians in Romeo and Juliet is called Simon Catling.

the more capable creature.] The more intelligent creature,.

Did haunt you in the field.

Ene. Health to you, valiant fir,
During all queftion of the gentle truce 3:
But when I meet you arm'd, as black defiance,
As heart can think, or courage execute.

Dio. The one and other Diomed embraces.
Our bloods are now in calm; and, fo long, health:
But when contention and occafion meet,

By Jove, I'll play the hunter for thy life,
With all my force, purfuit, and policy.

Ene. And thou shalt hunt a lion, that will fly
With his face backward.-In humane gentleness,
Welcome to Troy! now, by Anchifes' life,
Welcome, indeed! By Venus' hand I swear,
No man alive can love, in fuch a fort,
The thing he means to kill, more excellently.
Dio. We fympathize:-Jove, let Æneas live,
If to my fword his fate be not the glory,

A thoufand cómplete courfes of the fun!

But, in mine emulous honour, let him die,
With every joint a wound; and thate-morrow
Ene. We know each other well.

Dio. We do; and long to know each other worse. Par. This is the most defpightful gentle greeting, The nobleft hateful love, that e'er I heard of.What bufinefs, lord, fo early?

Ene. I was fent for to the king; but why, I know not.
Par. His purpose meets you; 'Twas' to bring this
Greek

To Calchas' houfe; and there to render him,
For the enfree'd Antenor, the fair Creffid:
Let's have your company; or, if you please,
Hafte there before us: I conftantly do think,
(Or, rather, call my thought a certain knowledge,)
My brother Troilus lodges there to-night;
Roufe him, and give him note of our approach,

With

3: Intercourfe, interchange of converfation. Queftion of the gentle

truce,

is converfation while the gentle truce lafts.

4. I bring you his meaning and his orders.

With the whole quality wherefore: I fear,
We fhall be much unwelcome.

Ene. That I affure you;

Troilus had rather Troy were borne to Grecce,
Than Creffid borne from Troy.

Par. There is no help;

The bitter difpofition of the time

Will have it fo. On, lord; we'll follow you.

Ene. Good morrow, all.

[Exit.

Par. And tell me, noble Diomed; 'faith, tell me true,

Even in the foul of found good-fellowship,

Who, in your thoughts, merits fair Helen beft,
Myfelf, or Menelaus ?

Dio. Both alike:

He merits well to have her, that doth feek her
(Not making any fcruple of her foilure)
With fuch a hell of pain, and world of charge;
And you as well to keep her, that defend her
(Not palating the tafte of her dishonour)
With fuch a coftly lofs of wealth and friends:
He, like a puling cuckold, would drink up
The lees and dregs of a flat tamed piece 5;
You, like a lecher, out of whorish loins
Are pleas'd to breed out your inheritors:
Both merits pois'd, each weighs nor less nor more
But he as he, the heavier for a whore".

Par. You are too bitter to your country-woman.
Dio. She's bitter to her country: Hear me, Paris,-
For every falfe drop in her bawdy veins

A Grecian's life hath funk; for every fcruple
Of her contaminated carrion weight,

A Trojan hath been flain: fince the could speak,
She hath not given fo many good words breath,
As for her Greeks and Trojans fuffer'd death.

Par

5 i.e. a piece of wine out of which the fpirit is all down. 6 The merits of each, whatever they may be, being weigh'd one against the other, are exactly equal; in each of the fcales, however, in which their merits are to be weighed, a harlot must be placed, fince each of them has been equally attached to one.