Clo. O Lord, Sir-fpare not me. Count. Do you cry, O Lord, Sir, at your whipping, and spare not me? indeed, your O Lord, Sir, is very sequent to your whipping: you would answer very well to a whipping, if you were but bound to't. Clo. I ne'er had worfe luck in my life, in my →→ O Lord, Sir; I fee, things may serve long, but not ferve ever. Count. I play the noble hufwife with the time, to entertain it fo merrily with a fool. Clo. O Lord, Sir-why, there't serves well again. Count. An end, Sir; to your business: give Helen this, And urge her to a present answer back. Commend me to my kinsmen, and my fon : Clo. Not much commendation to them? Count. Not much imployment for you, you underftand me. Clo. Moft fruitfully, I am there before Count. Hafte you again. Laf. SCENE V. my legs. [Exeunt. Changes to the Court of France. Enter Bertram, Lafeu, and Parolles. THE HEY fay, miracles are paft; and we have our philofophical perfons to make modern, and familiar, things fupernatural and caufelefs. Hence is it, that we make trifles of terrors; enfconfing ourfelves into seeming knowledge, when we fhould fubmit ourselves to an unknown fear. 5 Par. Why, 'tis the rareft argument of wonder that hath shot out in our later times. Ber. And fo 'tis. 5- unknown fear.] Fear is here the object of fear. Laf. Laf. To be relinquish'd of the artists Par. So I fay, both of Galen and Paracelfus. 6 Laf. That gave him out incurable, Par. Right, as 'twere a man affur'd of an Par. Juft, you say well: fo would I have said, Laf. A fhewing of a heav'nly effect in an earthly actor. 7 Par. That's it, I would have faid the very fame. Par. So I fay, both of Galen and Paracelfus. Laf. Of all the learned and authentick fellows -] Shakespeare, as I have often obferved, never throws out his words at random. Paracelfus, tho' no better than an ignorant and knavish enthufiaft was at this time in fuch vogue, even amongst the learned, that he had almoft juftled Galen and the ancients out of credit. On this account learned is applied to Galen; and authentick or fashionable to Paracelfus. Sancy, in his Confeffion Catholique, p. 301. Ed. Col. 1720, is made to fay, Je trouve la Riviere premier Medecin, de meilleure bumeur que ces gens la. Il eft bon Galenifte, & tres bon Paracelfifte. Il dit que la doctrine de Galien est honorable, non mefprifable pour la pathologie, profitable pour les Boutiques. L'autre, pourveu que Iaf. Why, your dolphin is not luftier: for me, I fpeak in refpect Par. Nay, 'tis ftrange, 'tis very strange, that is the brief and the tedious of it; and he's of a moft facinerious fpirit, that will not acknowledge it to be the Laf. Very hand of heav'n. Par. Ay, fo I say. Laf. In a moft weak 8 Par. And debile minifter, great power, great tranfcendence; which fhould, indeed, give us a farther ufe to be made than alone the recov'ry of the King; as to be Laf. Generally thankful. SCENE VI. Enter King, Helena, and attendants. Par. I would have said it, you faid well. Here comes the King. Laf. Luftick, as the Dutchman fays. I'll like a Maid the better, while I have a tooth in my head. Why, he's able to lead her a Corranto. Par. Mort du Vinaigre! is not this Helena? King. Go, call before me all the Lords in court. which should, indeed, give us a farther ufe to be made, &c.] Between the words us and a farther, there feems to have been two or three words dropt, which appear to have been to this purpofe-hould, indeed, give us [notice, that there is of this,] a farther ufe to be made. fo that the paffage fhould be read with afterifks for the future. WARBURTON. I cannot fee that there is any Inatus, or other irregularity of language than fuch as is very common in thefe plays. I believe Parolles has again ufurped words and fenfe to which he has no right; and I read this passage thus, Laf. In a most weak and debile minifter, great porver, great tranfcendence; which should, indeed, give us a farther ufe to be made than the mere recovery of the king. Par. As to be. Sit, my preserver, by thy patient's fide; And with this healthful hand, whose banish'd fense Enter three or four Lords. Fair maid, fend forth thine eye; this youthful parcel Of noble bachelors ftand at my bestowing, O'er whom both fov'reign power and father's voice I have to use; thy frank election make; Thou haft power to chufe, and they none to forfake. My mouth no more were broken than these boys, King. Perufe them well: Not one of those, but had a noble father. [She addreffes herself to a Lord. Hel. Gentlemen, heaven hath, through me, reftor'd The King to health. All. We understand it, and thank heaven for you. Hel. I am a fimple maid, and therein wealthiest, That, I proteft, I fimply am a maid.— Please it your Majefty, I have done already : "We blush that thou should chufe, but be refus'd; "Let the white death fit on thy cheek for ever, ' "We'll ne'er come there again. King. Make choice, and see, Who Thuns thy love, fhuns all his love in me. 9 A broken mouth is a mouth which has loft part of its teeth. Let the white DEATH fit on thy cheek for ever,] Shakefeare, I think, wrote DEARTH; i. e. want of blood, or more figuratively barrennefs, want of fruit or iffue. WARBURTON. The white death is the chlorofis. Hel 2 Hel. Now, Dian, from thy altar do I fly, And to imperial Love, that God most high, Do my fighs ftream: Sir, will you hear my I Lord. And grant it. fuit? Hel. Thanks, Sir:all the reft is mute. Laf. I had rather be in this choice, than throw amesace for my life. Hel. The honour, Sir, that flames in your fair eyes, Before I speak, too threatningly replies: Love make your fortunes twenty times above Hel. My wifh receive, Which great Love grant! and fo I take my leave. Laf. Do all they deny her? if they were fons of mine, I'd have them whipt, or I would fend them to the Turk to make eunuchs of. Hel. Be not afraid that I your hand fhould take, Laf. Thefe boys are boys of ice, they'll none of her; fure, they are baftards to the English, the French ne'er got 'em. Hel. You are too young, too happy, and too good, To make yourself a fon out of my blood. 4 Lord. Fair one, I think not fo. 2 And to IMPERIAL Love,-] The old editions read IMPARTIAL, which is right. Love who has no regard to difference of condition, but yokes together high and low, which was her cafe. WARBURTON. There is no edition of this play older than that of 1623, the next is that of 1632, of which both read imperial: the VOL. III. Y fecond reads imperial Jove. 3 Laf. Do they all deny her?] None of them have yet denied her, or deny her afterwards but Bertram. The scene must be fo regulated that Lafeu and Pa olles talk at a distance, where they may fee what paffes between Helena and the lords, but not hear it, fo that they know not by whom the refufal is made. Laf. |