His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms;

And then, the whining school-boy, with his satchel,
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school: And then, the lover;
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eye-brow: Then, a soldier;
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick' in quarrel,
Seek the bubble reputation

Even in the cannon's mouth: And then, the justice,
In fair round belly, with good capon lin❜d,
With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances,
And so he plays his part: The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon;d
With spectacles on nose, and pouch on side;
His youthful hose well sav'd, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound: Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,

Is second childishness, and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans every thing.

Re-enter ORLANDO, with ADAM.

Duke S. Welcome: Set down your venerable burden, And let him feed.

His acts being seven ages.] This was not an unfrequent division of a play before our author's time. One of Chapman's plays (Two wise men and all the rest fools), is in seven acts. Steevens once possessed an old print, of which Henley remembers to have seen a copy, entitled "The Stage of Man's life, divided into Seven Ages." From this most probably Shakspeare took his hint. "I well remember," says Steevens, "that it exhibited the school-boy with his satchel hanging over his shoulder."-The division of man's life, into seven ages was not a modern invention, it was so divided by Proclus and Hippo

crates.

a

b

and bearded like the pard,] Beards of different cut were appropriated in our author's time to different characters and professions.-MALONE. sudden and quick-] Lest it should be supposed that these epithets are synonymous, it is necessary to be observed, that one of the ancient senses of sudden, is violent. STEEVENS.

c

d

modern-] i. e. Trite, common.

pantaloon;] One of the general characters of the Italian comedy, called il pantalone, is a thin emaciated old man in slippers; and is the only character so dressed.-WARBURTON.

Orl.

I thank you most for him.

Adam. So had you need;

I scarce can speak to thank you for myself.
Duke S. Welcome, fall to; I will not trouble you
As yet, to question you about your fortunes :—
Give us some musick; and, good cousin, sing.

Blow, blow, thou winter wind,

Thou art not so unkind

As man's ingratitude;

Thy tooth is not so keen,

Because thou art not seen,

Although thy breath be rude.

Heigh, ho! sing, heigh, ho! unto the green holly :
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly :
Then, heigh, ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly.

II.

Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
That dost not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot:

Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp

As friend remember'd' not.

Heigh, ho! sing, heigh, ho! &c.

Duke S. If that you were the good sir Rowland's son,— As you have whisper'd faithfully, you were ;

And as mine eye doth his effigies witness

e Because thou are not seen.] Dr. Johnson supposes that the original line having been lost, the above was substituted to supply the deficiency; and it is confessed, on all hands, that this stanza can only be tortured into a meaning. Dr. Johnson's paraphrase is :-Thou winter wind, thy rudeness gives the less pain, because thou art an enemy that does not brave us with thy presence, and whose unkindness is therefore not aggravated by insult.-I never perceived any difficulty, till it was pointed out by the commentators, but supposed the words to mean, that the inclemency of the wind was not so severely felt as the ingratitude of man, because the foe is unseen, i. e. unknown, and the sense of injury is not heightened by the recollection of any former kindness.

f

· remember'd]—for remembering.

Most truly limn'd, and living in your face,-
Be truly welcome hither: I am the duke,
That lov'd your father: The residue of your fortune,
-Good old man,

Go to my cave and tell me.

Thou art right welcome as thy master is:

Support him by the arm.-Give me your hand,

And let me all your fortunes understand.

ACT III.

SCENE I.-A Room in the Palace.

[Exeunt.

Enter Duke FREDERICK, OLIVER, Lords, and
Attendants.

Duke F. Not see him since? Sir, sir, that cannot be :
I not the better

But were
part made mercy,
I should not seek an absent arguments

Of my revenge, thou present: But look to it;
Find out thy brother, wheresoe'er he is:

Seek him with candle; bring him dead or living,
Within this twelvemonth, or turn thou no more
To seek a living in our territory.

Thy lands, and all things that thou dost call thine,
Worth seizure, do we seize into our hands;
Till thou canst quit thee by thy brother's mouth,
Of what we think against thee.

Oli. O, that your highness knew my heart in this!

I never lov'd my brother in my life.

Duke F. More villain thou.-Well, push him out of

And let my officers of such a nature

Make an extenth upon his house and lands:

Do this expediently,' and turn him going.

[doors;

[Exeunt.

an absent argument-] An argument is used for the contents of a book, thence Shakspeare considered it as meaning the subject, and then used it for subject in yet another sense.-JOHNSON..

Make an extent-] "To make an extent of lands," is a legal phrase, from the words of a writ, (extendi facias,) whereby the sheriff is directed to cause certain lands to be appraised to their full extended value, before he delivers them to the person entitled under a recognizance, &c. in order that it may be certainly known how soon the debt will be paid.-MALONE,

i. expediently,] That is, expeditiously;-throughout our author's plays expedient is used in the sense of expeditious. STEEVENS.

Orl.

I thank you most for him.

Adam. So had you need;

I scarce can speak to thank you for myself.

Duke S. Welcome, fall to; I will not trouble you
As yet, to question you about your fortunes :-
Give us some musick; and, good cousin, sing.

AMIENS sings.

SONG.

I.

Blow, blow, thou winter wind,

Thou art not so unkind

As man's ingratitude;

Thy tooth is not so keen,

Because thou art not seen,o

Although thy breath be rude.

Heigh, ho! sing, heigh, ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly :
Then, heigh, ho, the holly!

This life is most jolly.

II.

Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
That dost not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot:

Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp

As friend remember'd' not.

Heigh, ho! sing, heigh, ho! &c.

Duke S. If that you were the good sir Rowland's son,As you have whisper'd faithfully, you were;

And as mine eye doth his effigies witness

e Because thou are not seen.] Dr. Johnson supposes that the original line having been lost, the above was substituted to supply the deficiency; and it is confessed, on all hands, that this stanza can only be tortured into a meaning. Dr. Johnson's paraphrase is :—Thou winter wind, thy rudeness gives the less pain, because thou art an enemy that does not brave us with thy presence, and whose unkindness is therefore not aggravated by insult.-I never perceived any difficulty, till it was pointed out by the commentators, but supposed the words to mean, that the inclemency of the wind was not so severely felt as the ingratitude of man, because the foe is unseen, i. e. unknown, and the sense of injury is not heightened by the recollection of any former kindness.

f

remember'd]-for remembering.

Most truly limn'd, and living in your face,-
Be truly welcome hither: I am the duke,
That lov'd your father: The residue of your fortune,
Go to my cave and tell me.-Good old man,
Thou art right welcome as thy master is :
Support him by the arm.-Give me your hand,
And let me all your fortunes understand.

ACT III.

SCENE I.-A Room in the Palace.

[Exeunt.

Enter Duke FREDERICK, OLIVER, Lords, and
Attendants.

Duke F. Not see him since? Sir, sir, that cannot be But were I not the better part made mercy,

I should not seek an absent arguments

Of my revenge, thou present: But look to it;
Find out thy brother, wheresoe'er he is:

Seek him with candle; bring him dead or living,
Within this twelvemonth, or turn thou no more
To seek a living in our territory.

Thy lands, and all things that thou dost call thine,
Worth seizure, do we seize into our hands;

Till thou canst quit thee by thy brother's mouth,
Of what we think against thee.

Oli. O, that your highness knew my heart in this!

I never lov'd my brother in my life.

Duke F. More villain thou.-Well, push him out of

And let my officers of such a nature

[doors;

Make an extenth upon his house and lands:

Do this expediently,' and turn him going.

[Exeunt.

an absent argument-] An argument is used for the contents of a book, thence Shakspeare considered it as meaning the subject, and then used it for subject in yet another sense.-JOHNSON..

h Make an extent-] "To make an extent of lands," is a legal phrase, from the words of a writ, (extendi facias,) whereby the sheriff is directed to cause certain lands to be appraised to their full extended value, before he delivers them to the person entitled under a recognizance, &c. in order that it may be certainly known how soon the debt will be paid.—MALONE.

expediently,] That is, expeditiously;—throughout our author's playserpedient is used in the sense of expeditious.-STEEVENS.