fection to her husband, became an earnest futer for his life: the Kinge tendringe the generall benefit of the common weale, before her special eafe, although he favoured her much) would not graunt her fute. Andrugio (difguifed amonge the company) forrowing the griefe of his fifter, bewrayde his fafety, and craved pardon. The Kinge, to renowne the vertues of Caffandra, pardoned both him, and Promos. The circumstances of this rare Hiftory, in action livelye foloweth."

The play itself opens thus :

"Atus. I. Scena. I.

Promos, Mayor, Shirife, Swordebearer: One with a bunch of keyes: Phallax, Promos man. You Officers which now in Julio ftaye Knowe you our leadge, the King of Hungarie: Sent me Promos, to joyne with you in fway: That fyll we may to Justice have an eye. And now to fhow, my rule and power at lardge, Attentivelic, bis Letters Pattents beare:

Phallax, reade out my Soveraines chardge.

-Phal. As you commaunde, I will: give beedefull eare.

Phallax readeth the Kinges Letters Patents, which must be fayre written in parchment, with fome great counterfeat zeale.

Pro. Loe, here you fee what is our Soveraignes wyl,

Loe, beare his wife, that right, not might, beare fraze:
Loe, beare his care, to weede from good the yll,

To fcourge the wights, good Lawes that difobey."

And thus it proceeds; without one word in it, that Shakespeare could make ufe of, or can be read with patience by any man living: And yet, befides the characters appearing in the argument, his Bawd, Clown, Lucio, Juliet, and the Provost, nay, and even his Barnardine, are created out of hints which this play gave him; and the lines too that are quoted, bad as they are, fuggefted to him the manner in which his own play opens. CAPELL.

P. 239 1. 5.] Put to know. Perhaps rightly.
L. 6. Lifts.] Bounds, Limits.

JOHN.
JOHN.

L. 7. Then no more remains, &c.] This is a paffage which has exercised the fagacity of the Editors, and is now to em ploy mine.

A 2

Then no more remains :

Put that to your fufficiency, as your Worth is able. And let them work.] I doubt not, but this Paffage, either from the Impertinence of the Actors, or the Negligence of the Copyifts, has come maim'd to us. In the first Place, what an unmeasurable, inharmonious, Verse have we here; and, then, how lame is the Senfe !What was Efcalus to put to his Sufficiency? Why, his Science. But his Science and his Sufficiency were but One and the fame Thing.. On what then does the Relative, them, depend? The old Editions read thus.

Then no more remains.

But that to your Sufficiency, as your Worth is able,
And let them work.

Here, again, the Senfe is manifeftly lame and defective, and as the Verfification is so too, they concur to make me think, a Line has accidently been left out. Perhaps, fomething like this might supply our Author's meaning.

Then no more remains,

But that to your Sufficiency you add
Due diligency, as your worth is able;
And let them work.

By fome fuch Supplement both the fenfe and measure would be cur'd. But as the conjecture is unfupported by any Authorities, I have not pretended to thrust it into the Text; but fubmit it to judgment. They, who are acquainted with Books, know, that, where two Words of a fimilar length and Termination happen to lie under one another, nothing is more common than for Transcribers to glance their Eye at once from the first to the undermoft Word, and fo leave out the intermediate part of the Sentence. THEOB.

Ibid. Since I am not to know, that your own Science
Exceeds, in that, the lifts of all advice

My ftrength can give you then no more remains :

Put that to your fufficiency, as your worth is able,

And let them work.] To the integrity of this read

ing Mr. Theobald objects, and fays, What was Efcalus to put to his fufficiency! why bis fcience: but bis science and fuffi

ciency were but one and the fame thing. On what then does the relative them depend? He will have it, therefore, that a line has been accidentally dropt, which he attempts to restore by due diligence. Nodum in fcirpo quærit. And all for want of knowing, that by fufficiency is meant authority, the power delegated by the Duke to Efcalus. The plain meaning of the word being this: Put your skill in governing (fays the Duke) to the power which I give you to exercife it, and let them work together. WARBURTON.

Ibid.] Sir Thomas Hanmer having caught from Mr. Theobald a hint that a line was loft, endeavours to fupply it thus, Then no more remains,

But that to your fufficiency you join

A will to serve us, as your worth is able.

He has by this bold conjecture undoubtedly obtained a meaning, bus, perhaps not, even in his own opinion, the meaning of Shakespear.

That the paffage is more or lefs corrupt, I believe every reader will agree with the Editors. I am not convinced that a line is loft, as Mr. Theobald conjectures, nor that the change of put to but, which Dr. Warburton has admitted after fome other Editor, will amend the fault. There was probably fome original obfcurity in the expreffion, which gave occafion to mistake in repetition or tranfcription. I therefore fufpect that the Author wrote thus,

Then no more remains,

But that to your fufficiencies your worth is abled,
And let them work.

"Then nothing remains more than to tell you that your Virtue is now invefted with power equal to your knowledge and wisdom. Let therefore your knowledge and your virtue now work together." It may eafily be conceived how fufficiencies was, by an inarticulate fpeaker, or inattentive hearer, confounded with fufficiency as, and how abled, a word very unufual, was changed into able. For abled, however, an authority is not wanting. Lear ufes it in the fame fenfe, or nearly the fame, with the Duke. As for fufficiencies, D. Hamilton, in his dying fpeech, prays that Charles II. may exceed both the virtues and fufficiencies of his father. JOHN.

Ibid.] The whole difficulty of this paffage will be removed by pointing it thus, and by confidering for a moment the fituation and action of the Duke, while he utters the words. Duke. Of Government the properties t' unfold,

L. 11.

Would seem in me t'affect speech and difcourfe;
Since I am not to know, that your own Science
Exceeds, in that, the lifts of all advice,

My ftrength can give you. Then no more remains
(or is wanting,)

But THAT, (pointing to the Commiffion lying on a Table)
to your fufficiency, as your worth is able,
And let them work.

The terms

For common juftice you're as pregnant in.]

ANON.*

The later Editions all give it, without authority, the terms of justice, and Dr. Warburton makes terms fignify bounds or limits. I rather think the Duke meant to say, that Efcalus was pregnant, that is, ready and knowing in all the forms of law, and, among other things, in the terms or times fet apart for it administration. JOHNSON. L. 17. For you must know we have with Special Soul Elected him our abfence to fupply.

This nonfenfe must be corrected thus,

with fpe ial ROLL

i. e. By a fpecial commiffion. For it appears, from this fcene, that Efcalus had one commiffion, and Angelo another. The Duke had before delivered Efcalus his commiffion. He now declares that defigned for Angelo: and he fays, afterwards, to both,

To th' hopeful execution do I leave you

Of your commiflions.

Why Angelo's was called the fpecial roll was, because he was in autho ity fuperior to Efcalus.

Old Efcalus,

Tho' firft in queftion, is thy fecondary.

WARB.

Ibid.] With fpecial Soul, may fairly be interpreted to mean, with great thought, upon mature deliberation; but with special roll, for-by fpecial commiffion, is hard and aukward and to elect a man by a commiffion, instead of appoint him, is flat nonfenfe; which must be re-corrected thus-with Special Soul.

CANONS.

Ibid.] Dr. Warburton is, I think, right in fuppofing a corruption, but lefs happy in his emendation. I read We have with special feal

Elected him our abfence to fupply.

JOHNSON.

A special feal is a very natural Metonymy for a special commiffion. P. 240. 1. 7. There is a kind of character in thy life,

That to th' obferver, &c.] Either this introduction has more folemnity than meaning, or it has a meaning which I cannot difcover. What is there peculiar in this, that a man's life informs the obferver of his biftory? Might it be fuppofed that Shakespeare wrote this?

There is a kind of character in thy look.

JOHNS.

THEOB.

L. 16. To fine ilues.] To great confequences. For high purposes.

L. 20. I do bend my fpeech

JOHNS.

To one that can my part in him advertife.] This is obfcure. The meaning is, direct my fpeech to one who is able to teach me how to govern: my part in him, fignifying my office, which I have delegated to him. My part in kim advertife; i. e. who knows what appertains to the character of deputy or viceroy. Can advertise my part in him; that is, his reprefentation of my perfon. But all thefe quaintnefies of expreffion, the Oxford Editor feems fworn to extirpate; that is, to take away one of Shakespeare's characteristic marks; which, if not one of the comlieft, is yet one of the ftrongeft. So he alters this to

To one that can, in my part, me advertise.

A better expreffion indeed, but, for all that, none of Shakefpeare's.

WARB.

Ibid.] I know not whether we may not better read,

One that can my part to him advertise.

One that can inform himfelf of that which it would be otherwife my part to tell him.

JOHNS.

L. 22. Hold therefore, Angelo] That is, continue to be

Angelo, bold as thou art.

JOHNS.