Thou hast beguil'd my hopes; nought but mine eye I am sorry I must never trust thee more, But count the world a stranger for thy sake. The private wound is deepest: O time most accurst! 'Mongst all foes, that a friend should be the worst! Pro. My shame and guilt confound me.— Forgive me, Valentine: if hearty sorrow Be a sufficient ransom for offence, I tender it here; I do as truly suffer, Val. Then I am paid; And once again I do receive thee honest:- Is nor of heaven, nor earth; for these are pleas'd; Jul. O me, unhappy! Pro. Look to the boy. [Faints. Val. Why, boy! why, wag! how now? what is the matter? Look up; speak. Jul. O good sir, my master charg'd me to deliver a ring to Madam Silvia; which, out of my neglect, was never done. Pro. Where is that ring, boy! Jul. Here 'tis this is it. [Gives a ring. Pro. How! let me see: why this is the ring I gave to Julia. Jul. O, cry you mercy, sir, I have mistook; this is the ring you sent to Silvia. [Shows another ring, Pro. But, how cam'st thou by this ring? at my depart, I gave this unto Julia. Jul. And Julia herself did give it me; And Julia herself hath brought it hither. Pro. How! Julia! Jul. Behold her that gave aim to all thy oaths, And entertain'd them deeply in her heart: How oft hast thou with perjury cleft the root?? O Proteus, let this habit make thee blush! Be thou asham'd, that I have took upon me Such an immodest raiment; if shame live In a disguise of love: It is the lesser blot modesty finds, Women to change their shapes, than men their minds. Pro. Than men their minds? 'tis true: O heaven! were man But constant, he were perfect: that one error Fills him with faults; makes him run through all the sins: Inconstancy falls off, ere it begins: What is in Silvia's face, but I may spy 6 Steevens confounded the phrases of to cry aim (Merry Wives of Windsor, Act iii. Sc. 2) and to give aim, both terms in archery. He who gave aim appears to have been called the mark, and was stationed near the butts, to inform the archers how near their arrows fell to the butt. We are indebted to Mr. Gifford for distinguishing the terms.-Vide Massinger, vol. ii. p. 27. Julia means to say that she was the mark that gave direction to his vows! 7 i. e. of her heart, the allusion to archery is continued, and to cleaving the pin in shooting at the butts. Enter Out-laws, with DUKE and THURIO. Out. A prize, a prize, a prize! Val. Forbear, forbear, I say; it is my lord the duke. is welcome to a man disgrac'd, Your grace Duke. Sir Valentine! Thu. Yonder is Silvia; and Silvia's mine. Val. Thurio, give back, or else embrace thy death; Come not within the measure of my wrath: Do not name Silvia thine: if once again, Verona shall not hold thee. Here she stands, Take but possession of her with a touch;I dare thee but to breathe upon my love. Thu. Sir Valentine, I care not for her, I; I hold him but a fool, that will endanger His body for a girl that loves him not: I claim her not, and therefore she is thine. Duke. The more degenerate and base art thou, To make such means 9 for her as thou hast done, And leave her on such slight conditions.Now, by the honour of my ancestry, I do applaud thy spirit, Valentine, And think thee worthy of an empress' love. 8" Verona shall not hold thee," is the reading of the only authentic copy. Theobald proposed the reading, "Milan shall not behold thee," which has been adopted by all subsequent editors, but there is no authority for the change. If the reading is erroneous Shakspeare must be held accountable for this as well as some other errors in his early productions. 9" To make such means for her," to make such interest for, to take such disingenuous pains about her, Thou art a gentleman, and well deriv'd; Take thou thy Silvia, for thou hast deserv'd her. Val. I thank your grace; the gift hath made me happy. I now beseech you, for your daughter's sake, Duke. I grant it for thine own, whate'er it be. Val. These banish'd men, that I have kept withal, Are men endued with worthy qualities; Forgive them what they have committed here, And fit for great employment, worthy lord. Duke. Thou hast prevail'd: I pardon them, and thee; Dispose of them, as thou know'st their deserts. 11 With triumphs 11, mirth, and rare solemnity. Val. And, as we walk along, I dare be bold With our discourse to make your grace to smile: What think you of this page, my lord? Duke. I think the boy hath grace in him; he blushes. Val. Iwarrant you, my lord; more grace than boy. Duke. What mean you by that saying? Val. Please you, I'll tell you as we pass along, That will wonder what hath fortuned.you Come, Proteus; 'tis your penance, but to hear The story of your loves discovered : That done, our day of marriage shall be yours; [Exeunt. 10 Include is here used for conclude. This is another of Shakspeare's Latinisms: " includo, to include, to shut in, to close in."Cooper. Triumphs are pageants, such as masks and shows. In this play there is a strange mixture of knowledge and ignorance, of care and negligence. The versification is often excellent, the allusions are learned and just; but the author conveys his heroes by sea from one inland town to another in the same country; he places the emperor at Milan, and sends his young men to attend him, but never mentions him more; he makes Proteus, after an interview with Silvia, say he has only seen her picture; and, if we may credit the old copies, he has, by mistaking places, left his scenery inextricable. The reason of all this confusion seems to be, that he took his story from a novel, which he sometimes followed, and sometimes forsook, sometimes remembered, and sometimes forgot. That this play is rightly attributed to Shakspeare, I have little doubt. If it be taken from him, to whom shall it be given? This question may be asked of all the disputed plays, except TITUS ANDRONICUS; and it will be found more credible, that Shakspeare might sometimes sink below his highest flights, than that any other should rise up to his lowest. JOHNSON. Johnson's general remarks on this play are just, except that part in which he arraigns the conduct of the poet, for making Proteus say he had only seen the picture of Silvia, when it appears that he had had a personal interview with her. This however is not a blunder of Shakspeare's, but a mistake of Johnson's, who considers the passage alluded to in a more literal sense than the author intended it. Sir Proteus, it is true, had seen Silvia for a few moments; but though he could form from thence some idea of her person, he was still unacquainted with her temper, manners, and the qualities of her mind. He therefore considers himself as having seen her picture only.-The thought is just, and elegantly expressed.-So, in The Scornful Lady, the elder Loveless says to her : I was mad once, when I loved pictures ; For what are shape and colours else, but pictures? M. MASON. |