I' ACT IV. SCENE I. Profpero's cell. Enter Profpero, Ferdinand, and Miranda. PROSPER O. F I have too aufterely punish'd you, Your compenfation makes amends; for I Have given you here 7 a third of mine own life, Or that for which I live; whom once again I tender to thy hand: all thy vexations Were but my trials of thy love, and thou Haft ftrangely ftood the teft. Here, afore heaven, I ratify this my rich gift: O Ferdinand, Do not smile at me that I boast her off; For thou fhalt find fhe will outftrip all praise, 7 a third of mine own life,] Thus all the impreffions in general; but why is the only a third of his own life? He had no wife living, nor any other child, to rob her of a share in his affection fo that we may reckon her at least half of himself. Nor could he intend, that he loved himself twice as much as he did her; for he immediately fubjoins, that it was he for whom be liv'd. In Othello, when Iago alarms the fenator with the lofs of his daughter, he tells him, "Your heart is burst, you have loft half your foul." And dimidium anima mea was the current language with the Latines on fuch occafions. THEOBALD. In confequence of this ratiocination Mr. Theobald printed. the text, a thread of my own life. I have reftored the ancient reading. Profpero, in his reafon fubjoined why he calls her the third of his life, feems to allude to fome logical distinction of caufes, making her the final caufe. JOHNSON. - ftrangely flood the teft.] Strangely is ufed by way of commendation, merveilleufement, to a wonder; the fenfe is the fame in the foregoing fcene, with obfervation ftrange. JOHNSON. Fer. I believe it, Against an oracle. Pro, Then as my 9 gift, and thine own acquifition Worthily purchas'd, take my daughter. But If thou doft break her virgin-knot, before With full and holy rite be minister'd, No fweet afperfion shall the heavens let fall Fer. As I hope For quiet days, fair iffue, and long life, With fuch love as 'tis now; the murkieft den, Mine honour into luft; to take away The edge of that days celebration, When I fhall think or Phoebus' steeds are founder'd, Or night kept chain'd below. Pro. Fairly fpoke. - Sit then, and talk with her, fhe is thine own.- Enter Ariel. I Ari. What would my potent master? here I am, Pro. Thou and thy meaner fellows your last service Did worthily perform; and I must use you In fuch another trick: go, bring the rabble, O'er whom I give thee power, here, to this place; Incite them to quick motion, for I must Beftow upon the eyes of this young couple my gift,—] My gueft, first folio. JOHNSON. Some Some vanity of mine art; it is my promise, And they expect it from me. Ari. Presently? Pro. Ay, with a twink. Ari. Before you can fay, 2 Come, and go, And breathe twice; and cry, fo, so; Each one, tripping on his toe, Will be here with mop and mow. Do you love me, mafter? no. Pro. Dearly, my delicate Ariel: do not approach, Till thou doft hear me call. Ari. Well, I conceive. [Exit. Pro. Look, thou be true; do not give dalliance Fer. I warrant you, Sir; The white, cold, virgin-fnow upon my heart Pro. Well. Now come, my Ariel; 3 bring a corollary, Rather than want a fpirit; appear, and pertly. 4 No tongue; all eyes; be filent. Amafque. Enter Iris. [To Ferdinand. [Soft mufick. Iris. Ceres, moft bounteous lady, thy rich leas Of wheat, rye, barley, vetches, oats, and pease; Each one, tripping on his toe,] So Milton, "Come, and trip it as you go "On the light fantastic toe.' 3 STEEVENS. bring a corollary,] That is, bring more than are fufficient, rather than fail for want of numbers. Collorary means furplus. STEEVENS. No tongue;-] Those who are prefent at incantations are obliged to be ftrictly filent," elfe," as we are afterwards told, the fpell is marred," JOHNSON. Thy Thy turfy mountains, where live nibbling sheep, To make cold nymphs chafte crowns; 7 and thy broom groves, Whose fhadow the difmiffed batchelor loves, Bids thee leave thefe; and with her fovereign grace, 5-thatch'd with ftover,-] Stover is a law word, and fignifies an allowance in food or other neceffaries of life. It is here ufed for provifion in general for animals. STEEVENS. Thy banks with pionied, and tulip'd brims.] The old edition reads pioned and twilled brims, which gave rife to Mr. Holt's conjecture, that the poet originally wrote, with pioned and tilled brims. Spenfer and the author of Mulcaffes the Turk, a tragedy, 1610, ufe pioning for digging. It is not therefore difficult to find a meaning for the word as it ftands in the old copy; and remove a letter from twilled and it leaves us tilled. I am yet, however, in doubt whether we ought not to read lillied brims, as Holland's tranflation of Pliny's Nat. Hiftory mentions the water-lilly as a preferver of chastity. In Ovid's Banquet of Senfe, by Chapman, 1595, I met with the following ftanza in which twill-pants are enumerated among flowers; White and red jafmines, merry, melliphill, "Fair crown-imperial, emperor of flowers, "Immortal amaranth, white aphrodill, "And cup-like twill-pants ftrew'd in Bacchus bowers." If twill be the ancient name of any flower, the prefent reading, pionied and twilled, may certainly ftand. Twill is alfo a north country word for the quill on which they wind yarn. STEEVENS. 7—and thy broom groves,] A grove of broom, I believe, was never heard of, as it is a low fhrub and not a tree. Hanmer reads brown groves. STEEVENS, 8 thy pole-clipt vineyard,] To clip is to twine round or embrace. The poles are clipt or embraced by the vines. STEEVENS, Here Here on this grafs-plot, in this very place, Enter Ceres. Cer. Hail, many-colour'd meffenger, that ne'er Who, with thy faffron wings, upon my flowers I Cer. Tell me, heavenly bow, If Venus, or her fon, as thou do'ft know, Iris. Of her fociety Be not afraid I met her deity Cutting the clouds towards Paphos; and her fon Her wafpifh-headed fon has broke his arrows, My bofky acres, &c.] Bofky is woody. Bofquet, Fr. Sq Milton, 1 And every bosky bourn from fide to fide," STEEVENS, -to this fhort-grafs'd green?] The old copy reads fhort graz'd green. Short-graz'd green means grazed fo as to be fort. STEEVENS. Swears |