Pol. Mad for thy love?

Oph. My lord, I do not know; But, truly, I do fear it.

Pol. What faid he?

Oph. He took me by the wrift, and held me hard Then goes he to the length of all his arm; And, with his other hand thus o'er his brow, He falls to fuch perufal of my face, As he would draw it. Long ftaid he so; At laft, a little fhaking of mine arm, And thrice his head thus waving up and down,He rais'd a figh fo piteous and profound, As it did feem to fhatter all his bulk, And end his being: That done, he lets me go; And, with his head over his fhoulder turn'd, He feem'd to find his way without his eyes; For out o'doors he went without their helps, And, to the laft, bending their light on me. Pol. Come, go with me; I will go feek the king, This is the very ecftasy of love;

7

Whofe violent property foredoes itself,
And leads the will to defperate undertakings,
As oft as any paffion under heaven,

That does afflict our natures. I am forry,-
What, have you given him any hard words of late?
Oph. No, my good lord; but, as you did command,
I did repel his letters, and deny'd

His accefs to me.

Pol. That hath made him mad.

I am forry, that with better heed, and judgment, I had not quoted him; I fear'd, he did but trifle,

And

7-foredoes itfelf. To foredo is to deftroy. So, in Othello: That either makes me, or foredoes me quite." STEEVENS.

I had not quoted him :-] The old quarto reads coted. It appears Shik peare wrote noted. Quoted is nonfenfe.

WARBURTON.

To quote is, I believe, to reckon, to take an account of, to take the quotient or refult of a computation. JOHNSON,

Since

And meant to wreck thee; but, befhrew my jealousy!
It feems, it is as proper to our age

To caft beyond ourfelves in our opinions,
As it is common for the younger fort

To lack difcretion. Come, go we to the king: This must be known; which, being kept clofe, might move

More grief to hide, than hate to utter love.

Come.

[Exeunt.

Since I propofed a former explanation, I met with a paffage in the Ile of Gulls, a comedy, by John Day, 1633, which proves Dr. Johnson's fenfe of the word to be not far from the true one: " 'twill be a scene of mirth

"For me to quote his paffions, and his fmiles."

To quote on this occafion undoubtedly means to obferve. Again, in Drayton's Mooncalf:

"This honeft man the prophecy that noted,

"And things therein moft curioufly had quoted;
"Found all thefe figns, &c."

Again, in The Woman Hater, by Beaumont and Fletcher, the intelligencer fays," I'll quote him to a tittle." i. e. I will obferve him. STEEVENS.

9

it is as proper to our age

To caft beyond ourselves in our opinions,

As it is common for the younger fort

To lack difcretion.-] This is not the remark of a weak man. The vice of age is too much fufpicion. Men long accustomed to the wiles of life caft commonly beyond themselves, let their cunning go farther than reafon can attend it. This is always the fault of a little mind, made artful by long commerce with the world. JOHNSON.

The quartos read-By heaven it is as proper, &c. STEEVENS. This must be known; which, being kept clofe, might move

More grief to hide, than hate to utter love.] i. e. This must be made known to the king, for (being kept fecret) the hiding Hamlet's love might occation more mifchief to us from him and the queen, than the uttering or revealing of it will occasion hate and refentment from Hamlet. The poet's ill and obfcure expreffion feems to have been caufed by his affectation of concluding the fcene with a couplet.

Hanmer reads,

More grief to hide hate, than to utter love. JOHNSON.

SCENE

Enter King, Queen, Rofincrantz, Guildenstern, and

attendants.

King. Welcome, dear Rofincrantz, and Guildenftern!

Moreover that we much did long to fee you,
The need, we have to ufe you, did provoke
Our hafty fending. Something have you heard
Of Hamlet's transformation; fo I call it,
Since nor the exterior nor the inward man
Resembles that it was: What it fhould be,
More than his father's death, that thus hath put him
So much from the understanding of himself,
I cannot dream of: I entreat you both,

That,-being of fo young days brought up with him;
And, fince, fo neighbour'd to his youth and hu-

mour,

That you vouchsafe your reft here in our court
Some little time: fo by your companies
To draw him on to pleafures; and to gather,
So much as from occafion you may glean,
Whether, aught, to us unknown, afflicts him thus,
That, open'd, lies within our remedy.

Queen. Good gentlemen, he hath much talk'd of

you;

And, fure I am, two men there are not living,
To whom he more adheres. If it will please you
4 To fhew us fo much gentry, and good will,
As to expend your time with us a while,

2

·and humour.] Thus the folio. The quartos read, haviour. STERVENS.

3 Whether aught, &c.] This line is omitted in the folio.

STEEVENS

4 To her us fo much gentry-] Gentry, for complaisance.

Y 4

WARBURTON.

For

For the fupply and profit of our hope, Your vifitation fhall receive fuch thanks As fits a king's remembrance.

Rof. Both your majefties

Might, by the fovereign power you have of us,
Put your dread pleafures more into command
Than to entreaty.

Guil. But we both obey;

And here give up ourselves, in the full bent,
To lay our fervice freely at your feet,

To be commanded.

King. Thanks, Rofincrantz, and gentle Guildenftern.

Queen. Thanks, Guildenftern, and gentle Rofen

crantz :

And I beseech you inftantly to vifit

My too much changed fon.-Go, fome of you,
And bring thefe gentlemen where Hamlet is.

Guil. Heavens make our prefence, and our prac tices,

Pleasant and helpful to him! [Exeunt Rof. and Guil. Queen. Ay, amen!

Enter Polonius.

Pol. The embaffadors from Norway, my good lord,

Are joyfully return'd.

King. Thou ftill haft been the father of good news. Pol. Have I, my lord? Affure you, my good liege, I hold my duty, as I hold my foul,

Both to my God, and to my gracious king:

5 For the Supply, &c.] That the hope which your arrival has raifed may be completed by the defired effect. JOHNSON. 6-in the full bent,] Bent, for endeavour, application.

WARBURTON. The full bent is the utmost extremity of exertion. The allufion is to a bow bent as far it will go. So afterwards in this play: They fool me to top of my bent." MALONE.

And

And I do think (or elfe this brain of mine
Hunts not the trail of policy fo fure
As it hath us'd to do) that I have found
The very cause of Hamlet's lunacy.

in.

King. O, fpeak of that; that I do long to hear. Pol. Give firft admittance to the embaffadors; My news fhall be 8 the fruit to that great feast. King Thyfelf do grace to them, and bring them [Exit Polonius. He tells me, my dear Gertrude, he hath found The head and fource of all your fon's diftemper. Queen. I doubt, it is no other but the main; His father's death, and our o'ér-hafty marriage.

Re-enter Polonius, with Voltimand, and Cornelius. King. Well, we fhall fift him.Welcome, my. good friends!

Say, Voltimand, what from our brother Norway?
Volt. Moft fair return of greetings, and defires.
Upon our firft, he fent out to fupprefs

His nephew's levies; which to him appear'd
To be a preparation 'gainst the Polack;
But, better look'd into, he truly found.

It was against your highness: Whereat griev'd,—
That fo his ficknefs, age, and impotence,
Was falfely borne in hand 9,-fends out arrefts
On Fortinbras; which he, in brief, obeys;
Receives rebuke from Norway; and, in fine,
Makes vow before his uncle, never more
To give the affay of arms against your majefty.
Whereon old Norway, overcome with joy,

7-the trial of policy-] The trail is the course of an animal pursued by the fcent. JOHNSON.

-the fruit-] The defert after the meat. JOHNSON. 9-borne in hand,-] i. e. deceived, impofed on. See vol. iv. P552. STEEVENS,

Give