Love's feeling is more foft, and fenfible, Than are the tender horns of cockled 3 fnails; Love's tongue proves dainty Bacchus grofs in taste : Still climbing trees in the Hefperides ? 4 As bright Apollo's lute, ftrung with his hair ; 5 And, "The fufpicious bead of theft is the head fufpicious of theft." "He watches like one that fears robbing," fays Speed, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. This tranfpofition of the adjective is fometimes met with. Grimme tells us, in Damon and Pythias: "A beavy pouch with golde makes a light hart." FARMER. The thief is as watchful on his part, as the perfon who fears to be robbed, and Biron poetically makes theft a perfon. M. MASON. Mr. M. Mafon might have countenanced his explanation, by a paffage in the third part of K. Henry VI: "Sufpicion always haunts the guilty mind: "The thief doth fear each bush an officer: " and yet my opinion concurs with that of Dr. Farmer; though his expla nation is again controverted, by a writer who figns himself Lucius, in The Edinburgh Magazine, Nov. 1786. "The fufpicious bead of theft (fays he) is the fufpicious head of the thief. There is no man who liftens fo eagerly as a thief, or whofe ears are fo acutely upon the stretch." STEEVENS. STEEVENS! I rather incline to Dr. Warburton's interpretation. MALONE. 3 ie. infhelled, like the fish called a cockle. 4 Our author had heard or read of the gardens of the Hefperides,' and feems to have thought that the latter word was the name of the garden in which the golden apples were kept; as we fay, the gardens of the Tuilleries, &c. Qur poet's contemporaries, I have lately obferved, are chargeable with the fame inaccuracy. MALONE. 5 This expreffion, like that other in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, of "Orpheus' barp was ftrung with poet's finews," is extremely beautiful, and highly figurative. Apollo, as the fun, is represented with golden hair; fo that a lute ftrung with his hair, means no more than ftrung with gilded wire. WARBURTON. The author of the Revifal fuppofes this expreffion to be allegorical, p. 138. "Apollo's lute ftrung with funbeams, which in poetry are called hair." But what idea is conveyed by Apollo's lute ftrung with funbeams? Undoubtedly the words are to be taken in their literal fenfe; and in the ftile of Italian imagery, the thought is highly elegant. The very fame fort of conception occurs in Lyly's Mydas, a play which probably preceded Shakspeare's. A&t IV. fc. i. Pan tells Apollo: "Had thy Jute been of lawrell, and the firings of Daphne's baire, thy tunes might have been compared to my notes." &c. T. WARTON. And, when love fpeaks, the voice of all the gods 6 This nonfenfe we fhould read and point thus: And when love fpeaks the voice of all the gods, Never i. e. in the voice of love alone is included the voice of all the gods. Alluding to that ancient theogony, that Love was the parent and fupport of all the gods. Hence, as Suidas tells us, Palæphatus wrote a poem called, * Αφροδίτης και Εξω αν φανὴ καὶ λύγω. The voice and speech of Venus and Love, which appears to have been a kind of cosmogony, the harmony of which is fo great, that it calms and allays all kinds of diforders: alluding again to the ancient ufe of mufic, which was to compose monarchs, when, by reafon of the cares of empire, they used to pafs whole nights in restless inquietude. WARBURTON. The ancient reading is, "Make beaven”. JOHNSON. I cannot find any reafon for Dr. Warburton's emendation, nor dɔ I believe the poet to have been at all acquainted with that ancient theogony mentioned by his critick. The former reading, with the flight addition of a fingle letter, was, perhaps, the true one. When love fpeaks, (lays Biron,) the affembled gods reduce the element of the sky to a calm, by ther ba monious applaufes of this favoured orator. Mr. Collins obterves, that the meaning of the paffage may be this.That the voice of all the gods united, could inspire only drowsiness, when compared with the cheerful effects of the voice of Love. That fenfe is fufficiently congruous to the rest of the fpech. Dr. Warburton has raised the idea of his author, by imputing to him a knowledge, of which I believe, he was not poffeffed; but should eicher of thefe explanations prove the true one, I fhall offer no apology for having made him stoop from the critick's elevation. I would, however, read, "Makes beaven drowsy with its harmony." Though the words mark! and behold! are alike used to bespeak or fummon attention, yet the former of them appears fo harsh in Dr. War. burton's emendation, that I read the line feveral times over before I perceived its meaning. To fpeak the voice of the gods, appears to me as defective in the fame way. Dr. Warburton, in a note on All's Well that ends Well, obferves, that to speak a found is a barbarifm. To fpeak a voice is, I think, no lefs reprehenfible. STEEVENS. The meaning is, whenever love fpeaks, all the gods join their voices with his in harmonious concert. HEATN. Makes beaven drowsy with the harmony.] The old copies read-make. The emendation was made by Sir T. Hanmer More correct writers than Shakspeare often fall into this inaccuracy when a noun of multitude has preceded the verb. In a former part of this fpeech the fame error Occurs: each of you have forfworn-," For makes, r. make. MALONE. Few Never durft poet touch a pen to write, From women's eyes this doctrine i derive: 7 Then Few paffages have been more canvaffed than this. I believe, it wants no alteration of the words, but only of the pointing, And when love peaks (the voice of all) the gods Love, I apprehend, is called the voice of all, as gold, in Timon, is faid to Speak with every tongue; and the gods (being drowly themselves with the barmony) are fuppofed to make heaven drowsy. If one could poffibly fufpect Shakspeare of ha ing read Pindar, one should say, that the idea of mufic making the hearers drowsy, was borrowed from the first Pythian. TYRWHITT. Perhaps here is an accidental tranfpofition. We may read, as I think, fome one has propofed before: "The voice makes all the gods "Of heaven drowfy with the harmony' FARMER. That harmony had the power to make the hearers drowy, the prefent commentator might infer from the effect it ufually pro iuces on himself. In Cinthia's Revenge, 1613, however, is an inftance which should weigh more with the reader: "Howl forth fome ditty, that valt hell may ring "With charms all potent, earth afbeep to bring." STEEVENS. 7 In this fpeech I fufpect a more than common inftance of the inaccuracy of the first publishers: From women's eyes this doctrine I derine, and feveral other lines, are as unneceffarily repeated. Dr. Warburton was aware of this, and omitted two verfes, which Dr. Johnfon has fince inferted. Perhaps the players printed from piece-meal parts, or retained what the author had rejected, as well as what had undergone his reviful. It is here given according to the regulation of the old copies. STEEVENS. This and the two following lines, are omitted by Warburton, not from inadvertency, but because they are repeated in a fubfequent part of the fpeech. There are alfo fome other lines repeated in the like manner. But we are not to conclude from thence, that any of thefe lines ought to be struck Biron repeats the principal topicks of his argument, as preachers do their text, in order to recall the attention of the auditors to the fubject of their difcourfe. M. MASON. out. Then fools you were, these women to forfwear; And who can fever love from charity? King. Saint Cupid, then! and, foldiers, to the field! Biron. Advance your standards, and upon them, lords; Pell-mell, down with them! but be first advis'd, In conflict that you get the fun of them." 8 -a word that loves all men ;] We should read: "a word all women love." The following line: "Or for men's fake (the authors of these women;} Long which refers to this reading, puts it out of all queftion. WARBURTON. Perhaps we might read thus, tranfpofing the lines: Or for love's fake, a word that loves all men : The antithefis of a word that all men love, and a word which loves all men, though in itself worth little, has much of the spirit of this play. JOHNSON. There will be no difficulty, if we correct it to "men's fakes, the authors of these words." FARMER. I think no alteration fhould be admitted in thefe four lines, that deftroys the artificial structure of them, in which, as has been obferved by the author of the Revifal, the word which terminates every line, is prefixed to the word fake in that immediately following. TOLLET. -a word that loves all men ;] i. e. that is pleafing to all men. So, in the language of our author's time, it likes me well, for it pleafes me. Shakspeare ufes the word thus licentiously, merely for the fake of the antithefis. Men in the following line are with fufficient propriety said to he authors of women, and these again of men, the aid of both being neceflary to the continuance of human kind. There is furely, therefore, no need of any of the alterations that have been proposed to be made in thefe lines. MALONE. 9 In the days of archery, it was of confequence to have the fun at the back of the bowmen, and in the face of the enemy. This circumftance was Long. Now to plain-dealing; lay these glozes by: Shall we refolve to woo thefe girls of France? King. And win them too: therefore let us devife Some entertainment for them in their tents. Biron. First, from the park let us conduct them thither; Then, homeward, every man attach the hand Of his fair miftrefs: in the afternoon We will with fome ftrange paftime folace them, Biron. Allons! Allons!-Sow'd cockle reap'd no corn; * Light wenches may prove plagues to men forfworn; [Exeunt ACT V. SCENE I. Another part of the fame. Enter HOLOFERNES, Sir NATHANIEL, and DULL. Hol. Satis quod fufficit.4 Nath. I praife God for you, fir: your reasons at dinner have was of great advantage to our Henry the Fifth at the battle of Agincourt. -Our poet, however, I believe, had also an equivoque in his thoughts. MALONE. 2 This proverbial expreffion intimates, that beginning with perjury, they can expect to reap nothing but falfhood. The following lines lead us to this fenfe. WARBURTON. Dr. Warburton's first interpretation of this paffage, which is preferved in Mr. Theobald's edition,-if we don't take the proper measures for winning these ladies, we shall never achieve them," is undoubtedly the true one. HEATH. Mr. Edwards, however, approves of Dr. Warburton's fecond thoughts. MALONE. 3 Here Mr. Theobald ends the third act. JOHNSON. i. e. Enough's as good as a feaft. STEEVENS, |