Call Philostrate.2 Philos. Here, mighty Theseus. The. Say, what abridgment3 have you for this evening? What mask? what musick? How shall we beguile The lazy time, if not with some delight? 4 Philos. There is a brief, how many sports are ripe;5 Make choice of which your highness will see first. [Giving a paper. 2 Call Philostrate.] In the folio, 1623, it is, Call Egeus, and all the speeches afterwards spoken by Philostrate, except that beginning, "No, my noble lord," &c. are there given to that character. But the modern editions, from the quarto 1600, have rightly given them to Philostrate, who appears in the first scene as master of the revels to Theseus, and is there sent out on a similar kind of errand. In The Knight's Tale of Chaucer, Arcite, under the name of Philostrate, is 'squire of the chamber to Theseus. Steevens. 3 Say, what abridgment, &c.] By abridgment our author may mean a dramatick performance, which crowds the events of years into a few hours. So, in Hamlet, Act II, sc. vii, he calls the players "abridgments, abstracts, and brief chronicles of the time." Again, in K. Henry V: "Then brook abridgment; and your eyes advance "After your thoughts · وو It may be worth while, however, to observe that, in the North, the word abatement had the same meaning as diversion or amusement. So, in the Prologue to the 5th Book of G. Douglas's version of the Eneid: "Ful mony mery abaitmentis followis here." Steevens. Does not abridgment, in the present instance, signify amusement to beguile the tediousness of the evening? or, in one word, pastime? Henley. 4a brief,] i. e. a short account or enumeration. So, in Gascoigne's Dulce Bellum Inexpertis: "She sent a brief unto me by her mayd." Again, in King John: 66 the hand of time "Shall draw this brief into as huge a volume." Steevens. 5 ―are ripe;] One of the quartos has-ripe; the other old editions-rife. Johnson. Ripe is the reading of Fisher's quarto. Rife, however, is a word used both by Sydney and Spenser. It means abounding, but is now almost obsolete. Thus, in the Arcadia, Lib. II: "A shop of shame, a booke where blots be rife." Again, in Stephen Gosson's School of Abuse, 1579: " shall find the theaters of the one, and the abuses of the other, to be rife among us." Steevens. - you The. reads.] The battle with the Centaurs, to be sung, We'll none of that: that have I told my love, The riot of the tipsy Bacchanals, Tearing the Thracian singer in their rage. 8 A tedious brief scene of young Pyramus, 6 The. reads.] This is printed as Mr. Theobald gave it from both the old quartos. In the first folio, and all the following editions, Lysander reads the catalogue, and Theseus makes the remarks. Johnson. 7 By an Athenian eunuch to the harp.] This seems to imply a more ancient practice of castration for the voice, than can be found in opera annals. Burney. 8 The thrice three Muses mourning for the death Of learning, &c.] I do not know whether it has been before observed, that Shakspeare here, perhaps, alluded to Spenser's poem, entitled The Tears of the Muses, on the neglect and contempt of learning. This piece first appeared in quarto, with others, 1591. The oldest edition of this play, now known, is dated 1600. If Spenser's poem be here intended, may we not presume that there is some earlier edition of this? But, however, if the allusion be allowed, at least it seems to bring the play below 1591. T. Warton. 9 - keen, and critical,] Critical here means criticising, censuring. So, in Othello: "O, I am nothing if not critical." Steevens. 1 Merry and tragical?] Our poet is still harping on Cambyses, of which the first edition might have appeared in 1569-70; when "an Enterlude, a lamentable Tragedy full of pleasant Myrth," was licensed to John Alde, Regist. Stat. fol. 184, b. Steevens. 2 That is, hot ice, and wonderous strange snow.] The nonsense of this line should be corrected thus: "That is, hot ice, a wonderous strange show." Warburton. Mr. Upton reads, and not improbably: "And wonderous strange black snow." Johnson. How shall we find the concord of this discord? Philos. A play there is, my lord, some ten words long; Which is as brief as I have known a play; But, by ten words, my lord, it is too long; Philos. Hard-handed men, that work in Athens here, Which never labour'd in their minds till now; And now have toil'd their unbreath'd memories3 With this same play, against your nuptial. The. And we will hear it. Philos. No, my noble lord, 4 Sir Thomas Hanmer reads-wondrous scorching snow. Mr. Pope omits the line entirely. I think the passage needs no change, on account of the versification; for wonderous is as often used as three, as it is as two syllables. The meaning of the line is— hot ice, and snow of as strange a quality." There is, however, an ancient pamphlet entitled, "Tarlton's Devise upon this unlooked for grete Snowe." And perhaps the passage before us may contain some allusion to it. This work is entered on the books of the Stationers' Company; as also, "A ballet of a Northerne Man's Report of the wonderful great Snowe in the Southerne parts," &c. Steevens. As there is no antithesis between strange and snow, as there is between hot and ice, I believe we should read-" and wonderous strong snow." M. Mason. In support of Mr. Mason's conjecture it may be observed that the words strong and strange are often confounded in our old plays. Mr. Upton's emendation also may derive some support from a passage in Macbeth: 3 66 when they shall be opened, black Macbeth "Shall seem as pure as snow." Malone. unbreath'd memories -] That is, unexercised, unpractised memories. Steevens. 4 Unless you can find sport in their intents,] Thus all the copies. But as I know not what it is to stretch and con an intent, I suspect a line to be lost. Johnson. Extremely stretch'd, and conn'd with cruel pain, The. I will hear that play: For never any thing can be amiss, When simpleness and duty tender it.5 Go, bring them in;—and take your places, ladies. The. Why, gentle sweet, you shall see no such thing. The. The kinder we to give them thanks for nothing. Noble respect takes it in might, not merit.3 To intend and to attend were anciently synonymous. Of this use several instances are given in a note on the third scene of the first Act of Othello. Intents, therefore, may be put for the object of their attention. We still say, a person is intent on his business. Steevens. 5 never any thing can be amiss, When simpleness and duty tender it.] Ben Jonson, in Cynthia's Revels has employed this sentiment of humanity on the same occasion, when Cynthia is preparing to see a masque: 66 Nothing which duty and desire to please "Bears written on the forehead, comes amiss." Steevens. 6 Our sport shall be, &c.] Voltaire says something like this of Louis XIV, who took a pleasure in seeing his courtiers in confusion when they spoke to him. I am told, however, by a writer in the Edinburgh Magazine, for Nov. 1786, that I have assigned a malignant, instead of a humane, sentiment to Theseus, and that he really means-We will accept with pleasure even their blundering attempt. Steevens. 7 And what poor duty cannot do,] The defective metre of this line shows that some word was inadvertently omitted by the transcriber or compositor. Mr. Theobald supplied the defect by reading, "And what poor willing duty," &c. Malone. 8 And what poor duty cannot do, Noble respect takes it in might, not merit.] The sense of this passage, as it now stands, if it has any sense, is this: What the inability of duty cannot perform, regardful generosity receives as an act of ability, though not of merit. The contrary is rather true: What dutifulness tries to perform without ability, regardful generosity receives as having the merit, though not the power, of complete performance. We should therefore read: Where I have come, great clerks have purposed9 I read as much as from the rattling tongue Love, therefore, and tongue-tied simplicity, Enter PHILOSTRATE. Philos. So please your grace, the prologue is addrest.1 The. Let him approach. And what poor duty cannot do, [Flourish of trumpets. Noble respect takes not in might, but merit. Johnson. In might, is, perhaps, an elliptical expression for what might have been. Steevens. If this passage is to stand as it is, the meaning appears to be this::-"and what poor duty would do, but cannot accomplish, noble respect considers as it might have been, not as it is." M. Mason. And what dutifulness tries to perform without ability, regardful generosity receives with complacency, estimating it not by the actual merit of the performance, but by what it might have been, were the abilities of the performers equal to their zeal.— Such, I think, is the true interpretation of this passage; for which the reader is indebted partly to Dr. Johnson, and partly to Mr. Steevens. Malone. 9 Where I have come, great clerks have purposed, &c.] So, in Pericles: "She sings like one immortal, and she dances "As goddess like to her admired lays; "Deep clerks she dumbs." It should be observed, that periods, in the text, is used in the sense of full points. Malone. 11 addrest.] That is, ready. So in King Henry V: "To-morrow for our march we are addrest." Steevens. 2 Flourish of Trumpets.] It appears, from The Guls Hornbook, by Decker, 1609, that the prologue was anciently ushered in by trumpets. "Present not yourselfe on the stage (especially at a new play) until the quaking prologue hath (by rubbing) got cullor in his cheekes, and is ready to give the trumpets their cue that hee's upon point to enter." Steevens. |