PRELIMINARY REMARKS.

I HAVE not hitherto discovered any novel on which this comedy appears to have been founded; and yet the story of it has most of the features of an ancient romance. STEEVENS.

I suspect that there is an error in the title of this play, which I believe, should be-" Love's Labours Lost." M. MASON. Love's Labour's Lost, I conjecture to have been written in 1594. See An Attempt to ascertain the Order of Shakspeare's Plays. MALONE.

The first edition was published in 4to. in 1598, W. W. for Cuthbert Burby. BosWELL.

BOYET,

Lords, attending on the Princess

MERCADE, Sof France.

DON ADRIANO DE ARMADO, a fantastical Spaniard.

SIR NATHANIEL, a curate.

HOLOFERNES, a schoolmaster.
DULL, a constable.

COSTARD, a clown.

MOTH, page to Armado.
A Forester.

This enumeration of the persons was made by Mr. Rowe.

JOHNSON.

2 Berowne in the old editions throughout. BoswELL.

LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST.

ACT I. SCENE I.

Navarre. A Park, with a Palace in it.

Enter the King, BIRON, LONGAVILLE, and DUMAIN.
KING. Let fame, that all hunt after in their lives,
Live register'd upon our brazen tombs,

And then grace us in the disgrace of death;
When, spite of cormorant devouring time,
Th' endeavour of this present breath may buy
That honour, which shall bate his scythe's keen
edge,

And make us heirs of all eternity.

Therefore, brave conquerors!-for so you are,
That war against your own affections,

And the huge army of the world's desires,—
Our late edíct shall strongly stand in force :
Navarre shall be the wonder of the world:
Our court shall be a little Academe,
Still and contemplative in living art.

You three, Birón, Dumain, and Longaville,
Have sworn for three years' term to live with

me,

My fellow-scholars, and to keep those statutes,
That are recorded in this schedule here:

Your oaths are past, and now subscribe your

names;

That his own hand may strike his honour down,
That violates the smallest branch herein:

If you are arm'd to do, as sworn to do,
Subscribe to your deep oath3, and keep it too.
LONG. I am resolv'd: 'tis but a three years' fast;
The mind shall banquet, though the body pine:
Fat paunches have lean pates; and dainty bits
Make rich the ribs, but bank'rout quite * the wits.
DUM. My loving lord, Dumain is mortified;
The grosser manner of these world's delights
He throws upon the gross world's baser slaves:
To love, to wealth, to pomp, I pine and die ;
With all these living in philosophy *.

BIRON. I can but say their protestation over,
So much, dear liege, I have already sworn,
That is, To live and study here three years.
But there are other strict observances:
As, not to see a woman in that term;
Which, I hope well, is not enrolled there:
And, one day in a week to touch no food;
And but one meal on every day beside ;
The which, I hope, is not enrolled there :
And, then, to sleep but three hours in the night,
And not be seen to wink of all the day;

(When I was wont to think no harm all night,
And make a dark night too of half the day ;)
Which, I hope well, is not enrolled there:
O, these are barren tasks, too hard to keep;
Not to see ladies, study, fast, not sleep 5.

* Folio, bankerout, omitting quite. 3your deep OATH,] The old copies have-oaths. Corrected by Mr. Steevens. MALone.

4 With ALL THESE living in PHILOSOPHY.] The style of the rhyming scenes in this play is often entangled and obscure. I know not certainly to what all these is to be referred; I suppose he means, that he finds love, pomp, and wealth in philosophy.

JOHNSON.

By all these, Dumain means the King, Biron, &c. to whom he may be supposed to point, and with whom he is going to live in philosophical retirement. A. C.