Of good or bad unto the general; And in fuch indexes, although small pricks Of things to come at large. It is fuppos'd, What heart receives from hence a conquering part, Which entertain'd, limbs are in his inftruments, Uly. Give pardon to my fpeech; Therefore 'tis meet, Achilles meet not Hector. By fhewing the worfe firft. Do not confent, For both our honour and our fhame, in this, Neft. I fee them not with my old eyes; What are they? — small pricks-] Small points compared with the volumes. JOHNSON. Indexes were in Shakspeare's time often prefixed to books. MALONE. 7 Which entertain'd, &c.] These two lines [and the concluding hemiftick] are not in the quarto. JOHNSON. 8 The luftre of the better shall exceed, By fhewing the worst firft.] The folio reads: The lutre of the better, yet to fhew, Shall fhew the better. I once thought that the alteration was made by the authour; but a more diligent comparifon of the quartos and the firft folio has convinced me that fome arbitrary alterations were made in the latter copy by its editor. The quarto copy of this play is in general more correct than the folio. MALONE. Were Were he not proud, we all should share with him: And we were better parch in Africk fun. 9-fhare-] So the quarto. The folio, wear. JoHNSON. The our main opinion] is, our general eftimation or character. See Vol. V. p. 256, n. 1. Opinion has already been used in this scene in the fame fenfe. MALONE. 2 — blockish Ajax-] Shakspeare on this occafion has deferted Lidgate, who gives a very different character of Ajax: Again: "Another Ajax (furnamed Telamon) "There was, a man that learning did adore, &c." "That in his time the like could not be found." "And one that bated pride and flattery," &c. Our author appears to have drawn his portrait of the Grecian chief from the invectives thrown out against him by Ulyffes in the thirteenth book of Ovid's Metamorphofis; or from the prologue to Harrington's Metamorphofis of Ajax, 1596, in which he is reprefented as "trong, heady, boisterous, and a terrible fighting fellow, but neither wife, learned, ftaide, nor polliticke." STEEVENS. I fufpect that Shakspeare confounded Ajax Telamonius with Ajax Oileus. The characters of each of them are given by Lydgate. Shakfare knew that one of the Ajaxes was Hector's nephew, the fon of his fifter; but perhaps did not know that he was Ajax Telamonius, and in confequence of not attending to this circumftance has attributed to the person whom he has introduced in this play part of the character which Lydgate had drawn for Ajax Oileus : Oileus Ajax was right corpulent; "To be well cladde he fet all his entent. "Of armes great, with fhoulders fquare and brode; "High of ftature, and boyftrous in a pres, Ajax Telamonius he thus defcribes : N 3 The fort to fight with Hector: Among ourselves, For that will phyfick the great Myrmidon, 4 Yet go we under our opinion ftill, That we have better men. But, hit or miss, 1 "Another Ajax Thelamonyius "There was alío, diferte and virtuous; "Wonder faire and femely to behold, "Whofe heyr was black and upward ay gan folde, "In compas wife round as any sphere; "And of mufyke was there none his pere. yet had he good practike "In armes eke, and was a noble knight. "Devoyde of pomp, hating all vayn glorye, " Lydgate's Auncient Hiftorie, &c. 1555 There is not the smallest ground in Lydgate for what the authour of the Rifacimento of this poem published in 1614, has introduced, concerning his eloquence and adoring learning. See Mr. Steevens's note. Perhaps, however, The Deftru&ion of Troy led Shakspeare to give this reprefentation; for the authour of that book, describing these two perfons, improperly calls Ajax Oileus, fimply Ajax, as the more eminent of the two: "Ajax was of a huge ftature, great and large in the fhoulders, great armes, and always was well clothed, and very richly; and was of no great enterprife, and fpake very quicke. Thelamon Ajax was a marvellous faire knight; he had black hayres, and he hadde great pleafure in muficke, and he fang him felfe very well: he was of great proweffe, and a valiant man of warre, and without pompe." MALONE. 3 The fort-] i. e. the lot. STEEVENS. So, in Lydgate's Auncient Hifiorie, &c. "Calchas had experience "Efpecially of calculation; "Of forte alfo, and divynation." MALONE. 4- under our opinion] Here again opinion means character. MALONE. Our Our project's life this fhape of fense affumes,- Now I begin to relish thy advice; And I will give a taste of it forthwith To Agamemnon: go we to him straight. Muft tarre the mastiffs on ", as 'twere their bone. [Exeunt. ACT II'. SCENE I. Another part of the Grecian Camp. Enter AJAX, and THERSITES. Ajax. Therfites, Ther. Agamemnon-how if he had boils? full, all over, generally? Ajax. Therfites,— Ther. And thofe boils did run?-Say fo,-did not the general run then? were not that a botchy core? Ajax. Dog, Ther. Then would come fome matter from him; I fee none now. Ajax. Thou bitch-wolf's fon, canft thou not hear? Feel then. [Atrikes him. Ther. The plague of Greece upon thee, thou mungrel beef-witted lord! s Ulyffes, Ajax. Now I begin, &c.] The quarto and folio have-Now, Ulyes, I begin, &c. The tranfpofition was made by Mr. Steevens. MALONE. 6 Muft tarre the maftiffs on,] Tarre, an old English word fignifying to provoke or urge on. See King John, Act IV. sc. i. like a dog "Snatch at his mafter that doth tar him on." PorE. 7 This play is not divided into acts in any of the original editions.. JOHNSON. 8The plague of Greece upon thee,] The following lines of Lydgate's Auncient Hiftorie, &c. of the Warres between the Trojans and Grecians, 1555, were probably here in our authour's thoughts: * And Ajax. Speak then, thou unfalted leaven, speak: I will beat thee into handsomeness. 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 canft ftrike, canft thou? a red murrain o' thy jade's tricks! Ajax. Toads-ftool, learn me the proclamation. "And in this whyle a great mortalyte, "For thirty dayes, and Priamus the kinge "Without abode graunted his arynge." MALONE. 1-thou mongrel beef-witted lord!] So, in Twelfth-Night: "I am a great eater of beef, and I believe that does harm to my wit." STEEVENS. He calls Ajax mongrel on account of his father's being a Grecian and his mother a Trojan. See Hector's fpeech to Ajax in Act IV. fc. v. "Thou art, great lord, my father's fifter's fon," &c. MALONE. 2 Speak then, thou unfalted leaven,] Thus the quarto. The folio has-thou wbinid' leaven, a corruption undoubtedly of winnewedft, or vinniedft: that is, thou most mouldy leaven; "thou compofition" (to ufe Dr. Johnson's words) " of muftinefs and fournefs." In Dorfet hire they at this day call cheese that is become mouldy, vinny cheese. MALONE. Unfalted leaven means four without falt, malignity without wit. Shakspeare wrote first unfalted; but recollecting that want of felt was no fault in leaven, changed it to vinew'd. JOHNSON. The want of falt is no fault in leaven; but leaven without the addition of falt will not make good bread: hence Shakspeare ufed it as a term of reproach. MALONE. Unfalted is the reading of both the quartos. Francis Beaumont, in his letter to Speght on his edition of Chaucer's works, 1602, fays: "Many of Chaucer's words are become as it were vinew'd and hoarie with over long lying." STEEVENS. In the preface to James the Firft's bible the tranflators speak of fenowed (i. e. vinewed or mouldy) traditions. BLACKSTONE. Ther |