Cre. No, Paris is not; for you know, 'tis true, That you are odd, and he is even with you. Men. You fillip me o' th' head,

Cre. No, I'll be fworn.

Ulyf. It were no match, your nail against his horn May I, fweet lady, beg a kiss of you?

Cre. You may.

Uly. I do defire it.

Cre. Why, beg then.

Ulyf. Why then, for Venus fake, give me a kifs, When Helen is a maid again, and his

Cre. I am your debtor, claim it when 'tis due. Uyf. Never's my day, and then a kifs of you. Neft. A woman of quick fenfe!

Dio. Lady, a word-I'll bring you to your Father. [Dioniede leads out Creffida. Ulyf. Fie, fie upon her!

There's language in her eye, her cheek, her lip: Nay, her foot speaks; her wanton fpirits look out At every joint, and motive of her body:

7

Oh, thefe Encounterers! So glib of tongue,
They give a Coafting welcome ere it comes;
And wide unclafp the tables of their thoughts
To every ticklish reader: fet them down
For fluttish Spoils of Opportunity,

And daughters of the Game.

[Trumpet within.

Enter Hector, Paris, Troilus, Æneas, Helenus, and Attendants.

All. The Trojans' trumpet!

Aga. Yonder comes the troop.

Ene. Hail, all the State of Greece! what fhall be

done

To him that Victory commands? Or do you purpose, A Victor fhall be known? will you, the Knights Shall to the edge of all extremity

7 — and motive of her body:] Motive, for motion.

Purfue

Purfue each other, or fhall be divided
By any voice, or order of the field?
Hector bade ask.

Aga. Which way would Hector have it?
Ene. He cares not; he'll obey conditions.

8

Achil. 'Tis done like Hector, but fecurely done, A little proudly, and great deal misprizing The Knight oppos'd.

Ene. If not Achilles, Sir,

What is your name?

Achil. If not Achilles, nothing.

Ene. Therefore, Achilles; but whate'er, know this; In the extremity of great and little

9 Valour and pride parcell themselves in Hector;
The one almoft as infinite as all,

The other blank as nothing; weigh him well;
And That, which looks like pride, is courtefie.
This Ajax is half made of Hector's blood,
In love whereof, half Hector stays at home;
Half heart, half hand, half Hector, come to feek
This blended Knight, half Trojan and half Greek.
Achil. A maiden-battle then? O, I perceive you.
Re-enter Diomede.

Aga. Here is Sir Diomede: go, gentle Knight,
Stand by our Ajax; as you and lord Æneas

8 'Tis done like Hector, but fecurely done,] In the fenfe of the latin, fecurus fecurus admodum de bello, animi fecuri homo. A negligent fecurity arifing from a contempt of the object opposed.

9 Valour and pride EXCELL themselves in Hector;] It is an high abfurdity to fay, that any thing can excell in the extremity of little; which little, too, is as blank as nothing. Without doubt Shakespear wrote,

Valour and pride PARCELL themselves in Hector ; i. e. divide themselves in Hector in fuch a manner, that the one is almost infinite; the other almoft nothing. For the use of this word we may fee Richard III.

-their woes are PARCELLED.

Confent upon the order of the fight,

So be it; either to the uttermoft,

Or else a breath. The Combatants being kin
Half fints their ftrife before their strokes begin.
Ulyf. They are oppos'd already.

66

Aga. What Trojan is that fame, that looks fo heavy?

Uly. The youngefl fon of Priam, a true knight; "Not yet mature, yet matchlefs; firm of word; Speaking in deeds, and deedlefs in his tongue; "Not foon provok'd, nor, being provok'd, foon calm'd;

"His heart and hand both open, and both free; For what he has, he gives; what thinks, he fhews; "Yet gives he not, 'till judgment guide his bounty; Nor dignifies an impair thought with breath: Manly as Hector, but more dangerous;

For Hector in his blaze of wrath fubfcribes
To tender objects, but he in heat of action
Is more vindicative than jealous love.
They call him Troilus, and on him erect
A fecond hope, as fairly built as Hector.
Thus fays Eneas, one that knows the youth
Ev'n to his inches; and with private foul,
Did in great Ilion thus tranflate him to me.

S CE

[Alarum. Hector and Ajax fight.

Aga. They are in action.

NE

Neft. Now, Ajax, hold thine own.

IX.

Troi. Heltor, thou fleep'ft, awake thee.

Aga. His blows are well difpos'd; there, Ajax.

Dio. You must no more.

Ene. Princes, enough, so please you.

[Trumpets cease.

Ajax. I am not warm yet, let us fight again.
Dio. As Hector pleases.

Helt. Why then, will I no more.

Thou art, great lord, my father's fifter's fon;
A coufin-german to great Priam's feed:
The obligation of our blood forbids
A gory emulation 'twixt us twain.

Were thy commixion Greek and Trojan so,
That thou could'st say, this hand is Grecian all,
And this is Trojan; the finews of this leg
All Greek, and this all Troy; my mother's blood
Runs on the dexter cheek, and this finister
Bounds in my fire's: by Jove multipotent,
Thou should'ft not bear from me a Greekish member,
Wherein my fword had not impreffure made
Of our rank feud: But the juft Gods gainfay,
That any drop thou borrow'ft from thy mother,
My facred aunt, fhould by my mortal sword
Be drain'd! Let me embrace thee, Ajax:
By him that thunders, thou haft lufty arms;
Hector would have them fall upon him thus.-
Coufin, all honour to thee!

Ajax. I thank thee, Hector!

Thou art too gentle, and too free a man :
I came to kill thee, coufin, and bear hence
A great addition earned in thy death.

I

Helt. Not Neoptolemus's Sire irafcible,

1 Not Neoptolemus so MIRABLE,

(On

when

(On whole bright creft, Fame, with her loud ft O yes, Cries, this is he ;) could promise to himself, &c.] That is to fay, You, an old veteran warrior, threaten to kill me, not the young fon of Achilles (who is yet to ferve his apprentisage in war, under the Grecian generals, and on that account called Neonlineu dare bimfelf entertain fuch a thought. But ShakeSpear meant another fort of man, as is evident from,

On whofe bright creft, &c.

Which characterifes one who goes foremost and alone: and can therefore

(On whose bright creft, Fame, with her loud'ft O yes, Cries, this is he;) could promise to himself

A thought of added honour torn from Hector.

Ene. There is expectance here from both the fides, What further you will do.

Het. We'll anfwer it:

The iffue is embracement: Ajax, farewel.
Ajax. If I might in entreaties find fuccefs,
(As feld I have the chance) I would defire
My famous coufin to our Grecian tents.

therefore fuit only one, which one was Achilles; as Shakespear himself has drawn him,

The great Achilles, whom opinion crowns
The new and the forehand of our Hoft.

And again,

Whofe glorious deeds but in these fields of late
Made em'lous miffions 'mongst the Gods themselves,
And drove great Mars to faction.

And indeed the fenfe and spirit of Hector's fpeech requires that the most celebrated of his adverfaries fhould be picked out to be defied; and this was Achilles, with whom Hector had his final affair. We must conclude then that Shakespear wrote,

Not Neoptolemus's SIRE IRASCIBLE

On whofe bright creft

Irafcible is an old school term, and is an epithet fuiting his character, and the circumstances he was then in.

Impiger, iracundus, inexorabilis, acer.

But our editor Mr. Theobald, by his obfcure diligence. had found out that Wynken de Werde, in the old chronicle of The three defructions of Troy, introduces one Neoptolemus into the ten years quarrel, a perfon diftin&t from the fon of Achilles, and therefore will have it, that Shakespear here means no other than the Neoptolemus of this worthy chronicler. He was told, to no purpose, that this fancy was abfurd. For firft, Wynken's Neoptolemus is a common-rate warrior, and fo defcribed as not to fit the character here given. Secondly, It is not to be imagined that the poet fhould on this occafion make Hector refer to a character not in the play, and never fo much as mentioned on any other occafion. Thirdly, Wynken's Neoptolemus is a warrior on the Trojan side, and flain by Achilles. But Hector muft needs mean by one who could promife a thought of added honour torn from him, a warrior amongst his enemies on the Grecian fide.