King. But what of this, are we not all in love?

Biron. Nothing fo fure, and thereby all forfworn. King. Then leave this chat; and, good Biron, now

prove

Our loving lawful, and our faith not torn.
Dum. Ay, marry, there;

this evil.

some flattery for

Long. O, fome Authority how to proceed;

3 Some tricks, fome quillets, how to cheat the devil. Dum. Some falve for perjury.

Biron. O, 'tis more than need.

Have at you then, Affection's Men at arms;
Confider, what you firft did fwear unto :
To faft, to ftudy, and to fee no woman;
Flat treafon 'gainst the kingly state of youth.
Say, can you faft? your ftomachs are too young:
And abftinence ingenders maladies.

1

And where that you have vow'd to study, (Lords)
In that each of you hath forfworn his book.
Can you ftill dream, and pore, and thereon look?
For when would you, my Lord, or you, or you,
Have found the ground of Study's excellence,
Without the beauty of a woman's face?
Why, univerfal plodding prifons up
+ The nimble spirits in the arteries;
As motion and long-during Action tires
The finewy Vigour of the traveller.

Some tricks, fome quillets, how to cheat the devil.] Quillet
is the peculiar word applied to law-chicane. I imagine the ori-
ginal to be this, in the French pleadings, every feveral allegation
in the plaintiff's charge, and every diftinct plea in the defendant's
anfwer, began with the words Qu'il eft;
formed the word quillet, to fignify a falfe charge or an evasive
anfwer.

from whence was

4 The nimble fpirits in the arteries ;] In the old fyftem of phyfic they gave the fame office to the arteries as is now given to the nerves; as appears from the name which is derived from diga înger.

~

R 3

Now,

Now, for not looking on a woman's face,
You have in That forfworn the use of eyes;
And Study too, the caufer of your vow.
For where is any author in the world,
5 Teaches fuch duty as a woman's eye?
Learning is but an adjunct to our self,
And where we are, our Learning likewife is.
Then, when our felves we fee in ladies eyes,
Do we not likewife fee our Learning there?
O, we have made a vow to study, lords;
And in that vow we have forfworn our books:
For when would you, my liege, or you, or you,
"In leaden contemplation have found out
Such fiery numbers, as the prompting eyes
Of beauteous tutors have enrich'd you with?
Other flow arts entirely keep the brain;
And therefore finding barren practifers,
Scarce fhew a harvest of their heavy toil.
But love, firft learned in a lady's eyes,
• Lives not alone immured in the brain:
But with the motion of all elements,
• Courses as fwift as thought in every power;
And gives to every power a double power,
• Above their functions and their offices.
It adds a precious Seeing to the eye:

5 Teaches fuch BEAUTY as a woman's eye?] This line is abfolute nonfenfe. We fhould read DUTY, i. e. ethics, or the offices and devoirs that belong to man. A woman's eye, fays he, teaches obfervance above all other things.

6-In leaden contemplation have found out

Such fiery numbers, Alluding to the difcoveries in modern aftronomy; at that time greatly improving, in which the ladies eyes are compared, as ufual to ftars. He calls them numbers, alluding to the Pythagorean principles of aftronomy, which were founded on the laws of harmony. The Oxford editor, who was at a lofs for the conceit, changes numbers to notions, and fo lofes both the fenfe and the gallantry of the allu fion. He has better luck in the following line, and has rightly changed beauty's to beauteous.

• A

• A lover's eyes will gaze an eagle blind!
A lover's ear will hear the lowest Sound,
• When 7 the fufpicious head of theft is ftopt.
'Love's Feeling is more foft and fenfible,
'Than are the tender horns of cockled fnails.
Love's Tongue proves dainty Bacchus grofs in Tafte;
For valour, is not Love a Hercules,

Still climbing trees in the Hefperides?
Subtle as Sphinx; as fweet and mufical

As bright Apollo's lute, ftrung with his hair:
And when Love fpeaks the voice of all the Gods,
Mark, Heaven drowfie with the harmony!

7 the fufpicious head of theft is flopt.] i. e. a lover in purfuit of his mistress has his fenfe of hearing quicker than a thief (who fufpects every found he hears) in purfuit of his prey. But Mr. Theobald fays, there is no contraft between a lover and a thief: and therefore alters it to thrift, between which and love, he fays, there is a remarkable antithefis. What he means by contraft and antithefis, I confefs I don't understand. But 'tis no matter: the common reading is fenfe; and that is better than either one or the other.

8 As bright Apollo's lute, frung with his hair :] This expreffion, like that other in The two Gentlemen of Verona, of-Orpheus' harp was ftrung with poets finues, is extremely beautiful, and highly figurative. Apollo, as the fun, is represented with golden hair; fo that a lute ftrung with his hair means no more than ftrung with gilded wire.

9 And when Love Speaks the voice of all the Gods,

Make, Heav'n drowfie with the harmony!] This nonfenfe we fhould read and point thus,

And when love speaks the voice of all the Gods,
Mark, beav'n drowfie with the harmony.

i. e. in the voice of love alone is included the voice of all the Gods. Alluding to the ancient Theogony, that love was the parent and fupport of all the Gods., Hence, as Suidas tells us, Palcephatus wrote a poem called, Αφροδίτης καὶ Ἔρωτος φωνὴ nai noyos The voice and speech of Venus and Love, which appears to have been a kind of Cofmogony, the harmony of which is fo great that it calms and allays all kind of diforders; alluding again the ancient ufe of mufic, which was to compofe monarchs, when, by reafon of the cares of empire, they ufed to pafs whole nights in reftlefs inquietude.

R 4

Never

Never durft Poet touch a pen to write,
Until his ink were temper'd with love's fighs;
O, then his lines would ravish favage ears,
And plant in tyrants mild humility.

From womens eyes this doctrine I derive:
They sparkle ftill the right Promethean fire,
They are the books, the arts, the academies,
That fhew, contain, and nourish all the world;
Elfe none at all in aught proves excellent.
Then fools you were, these women to forswear:
Or, keeping what is fworn, you will prove fools.
For wisdom's fake (a word, that all men love)
Or for love's fake, ('a word, all women love;)
Or for mens fake, (the author of these women;)
Or womens fake, (by whom we men are men ;)
Let us once lofe our oaths, to find our felves;
Or else we lose our felves, to keep our Oaths.
It is religion to be thus forfworn,

For charity it felf fulfils the law

;

And who can fever love from charity?

King. Saint Cupid, then! and, foldiers, to the field!
Biron. Advance your ftandards, and upon them,
Lords;

Pell-mell, down with them; but be first advis'd,
In conflict that you get the fun of them.

Long. Now to plain-dealing, lay these glozes by; Shall we refolve to woo thefe girls of France?

King. And win them too; therefore let us devife Some entertainment for them in their Tents.

Biron. First, from the Park let us conduct them thither;

Then homeward every man attach the hand

3 a word, THAT LOVES ALL MEN] We fhould read, A word all WOMEN love.

the following line

Or for mens fake (the author of these women ;) which refers to this reading, puts it out of all question.

Of

Of his fair mistress; in the afternoon
We will with fome ftrange paftime folace them,
Such as the fhortness of the time can shape:
For revels, dances, masks, and merry hours,
Forerun fair love, ftrewing her way with flowers.
King. Away, away! no time fhall be omitted,
That will be time, and may by us be fitted.
Biron. Allons! Allons! fown Cockle reap'd no

corn;

And justice always whirls in equal measure; Light wenches may prove plagues to men forfworn; If so, our copper buys no better treasure. [Exeunt.

A CT V. SCENE I

The STREET.

Enter Holofernes, Nathaniel and Dull.

HOLOFERN ES.

Satis, quod fufficit.

Nath. I praise God for you, Sir, your reasons at dinner have been fharp and fententious; pleasant without fcurrility, witty without affectation, audacious without impudency, learned without opinion, and strange without herefy: I did converfe this quondam-day with a companion of the King's, who is entituled, nominated, or called, Don Adriano de Armado.

Hol. Novi bominem, tanquam te. His humour is lofty, his difcourfe peremptory, his tongue filed, his eye ambitious, his gate majeftical, and his general be

2-fown cockle reap'd no corn ;] This proverbial expreffion intimates, that beginning with perjury, they can expect to reap nothing but falfhood. The following lines lead us to this fenfe.

haviour