To answer for his love: tell him from me, Aga. Fair lord Eneas, let me touch your hand: Achilles fhall have word of this intent, So fhall each lord of Greece from tent to tent: And find the welcome of a noble foe. Ulyff. Neftor, Manent Ulyffes and Neftor. Neft. What fays Ulysses? Uly. I have a young conception in my brain, Ulyff. This 'tis : Blunt wedges rive hard knots; the feeded pride, In rank Achilles, muft or now be cropt, Or, fhedding, breed a nursery of like evil, Neft. Well, and how now ? [Exeunt. Uly. This Challenge that the gallant Hector fends, However it is fpread in general name, Relates in purpose only to Achilles. Neft. The purpose is perfpicuous even as Substance, (15) Whose groffnefs little characters fum up. (15) The Purpofe is perfpicuous ev'n as Substance, Whofe Graffnefs little Characters fum up, And And in the Publication make no Strain:] The modern Editors, 'tis plain, have lent each other very little Information upon this Paffage: Tupads Tupa@ odnyds, as the Proverb fays; the Blind have led the Blind. As they have pointed the Paffage, 'tis ftrange Stuff; and how they folv'd And, in the publication, make no ftrain, 'Tis dry enough,) will with great speed of judgment, Ay, with celerity, find Hector's purpose Pointing on him. Ulyff. And wake him to the answer, think you? If not Achilles? though a fportful combat, In this wild action. For the fuccefs, And in fuch indexes, although fmall pricks Of things to come, at large. It is fuppos'd, What heart from hence receives the conqu'ring part, Which entertain'd, limbs are his inftruments, it to themselves, is paft my Discovery. That little Characters, or Particles, fum up the Groffnefs of any Substance, I conceive: but how thofe Characters, or Particles, make no Strain in the Publication, feems a little harder than Algebra. My Regulation of the Pointing brings us to clear Senfe; "The Aim and Purpose of this Duel is as vifible as any grofs "Substance can be, compounded of many little Particles:" And having faid thus, Ulyffes goes on to another Obfervation; "And make no Difficulty, no Doubt, when this Duel comes to be proclaim'd, but that "Achilles, dull as he is, will discover the Drift of it." This is the Meaning of the laft Line. So afterwards, in this Play, Ulyffes fays, 66 I do not strain at the Pofition, i. e. I do not hesitate at, I make no Difficulty of it. 32 In no lefs working, than are fwords and bows Ulyff. Give pardon to my Speech; Therefore 'tis meet, Achilles meet not Hector. For both our honour and our shame in this Are dogg'd with two ftrange followers. Neft. I fee them not with my old eyes: what are they? And we were better parch in Africk Sun, The Sort to fight with Hector: 'mong our felves, That we have better men. But, hit or miss, Must tar the mastiffs on, as 'twere their bone. [Exeunt. ACT T ACT II. SCENE, the Grecian Camp. Enter Ajax and Therfites. AJAX. HERSITES, Ther. Agamemnon-how if he had boilesfull, all over, generally. [Talking to himself. Ajax. Therfites, Ther. And those boiles did run-fay fodid not the General run? were not that a botchy core? Ajax. Dog! Ther. Then there would come fome matter from him: I fee none now. Ajax. Thou bitch-wolf's fon, canft thou not hear? feel then. [Strikes him. Ther. The plague of Greece upon thee, thou mungrel beef-witted lord! Ajax. Speak then, you unwinnow'd'ft (16) leaven, fpeak; I will beat thee into handfomnefs. VOL. VII. C Ther. (16) Speak then, you unfalted Leaven, Speak ;] This is a Reading obtruded upon us by Mr. Pope, that has no Authority or Countenance from any of the Copies; nor that approaches in any Degree to the Traces of the old Reading, you whinid't Leaven. This, 'tis true, is corrupted and unintelligible; but the Emendation, which I have coin'd out of it, gives us a Sense apt and consonant to what Ajax would say. "Thou Lump "of fow'r Dough, kneaded up out of a Flower unpurg'd and unfifted, "with all the Drofs and Bran in it."- Kent, in Lear, uses the fame metaphorical Reproach to the cowardly Steward; I will tread this unboulted Villain into Mortar. i. c. This Villain of so grofs a Compofition, that he was not fifted thro' the Ther. I fhall fooner rail thee into wit and holiness; but, I think, thy horfe will fooner con an oration, than thou learn a prayer without book: thou canst ftrike, canft thou? a red murrain o' thy jade's tricks! Ajax. Toads-ftool, learn me the proclamation. Ther. Doeft thou think, I have no fenfe, thou strik'st me thus ? Ajax. The proclamation Ther. Thou art proclaim'd a fool, I think. Ajax. Do not, porcupine, do not; my fingers itch. Ther. I would, thou didst itch from head to foot, and I had the fcratching of thee; I would make thee the loathfom'ft fcab in Greece. Ajax. I fay, the proclamation Ther. Thou grumbleft and raileft every hour on Achilles, and thou art as full of envy at his Greatness, as Cerberus is at Proferpina's Beauty: I, that thou bark'st at him. Ajax. Miftrefs Therfites! Ther. Thou fhouldst strike him. Ther. He would pound thee into fhivers with his fift, as a failor breaks a bisket. Ajax. You whorfon cur! Ther. Do, do. Ajax. Thou ftool for a witch! [Beating him. Ther. Ay, do, do, thou fodden-witted lord; thou haft no more brain than I have in my elbows: an Affinego may tutor thee. Thou fcurvy valiant afs! thou art here but to thrash Trojans, and thou art bought and fold among thofe of any wit, like a Barbarian flave. If thou the boulting-Cloth, before he was work'd up into Leaven. So Pandarus fays to Troilus in the firft Scene of this Play. Ay, the boulting; but you must tarry the leavening. I cannot without Injuftice pafs over another Conjecture, propos'd by my ingenious Friend Mr. Warburton ;- - you windiefst Leaven. An Epithet, as he fays, not only admirably adapted to the Nature of Leaven, which is made only by Fermentation, but likewise most justly applied to the loquacious Therfites. And, indeed, in feveral Counties of England, an idle Prater is call'd, a windy Fellow. |