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What Majesty should be, what duty is,
Why day is day, night night, and time is time,
Were

And how exquifitely does the poet ridicule the reafoning in fafhion, where he makes Polonius, remark on Hamlet's madnefs; Though this be madness, yet

there's method in't: As if method, which the wits of that age thought the moft effential quality of a good difcourfe, would make amends for the madnefs. It was madness indeed, yet Polonius could comfort himself with this reflection, that at least it was method. It is certain Shakespear excels in nothing more than in the prefervation of his characters; To this life and variey of character (fays our great poet in his admirable preface to Shakespear) we must add the wonderful profervation of it. We have faid what is the charac. ter of Polonius; and it is allowed on all hands to be drawn with wonderful life and fpirit, yet the unity of it has been thought by fome to be grofly violated in the excellent precepts and inftructions which Shakespear makes his ftatefman give to his fon and fervant in the middle of the firft, and beginning of the Second act. But I will venture to fay, thefe criticks have not entered into the poet's art and addrefs in this particular. He had a mind to ornament his fcenes with thofe fine leffons of focial life; but his PoLanius was too weak to be the author of them, tho' he was pedant enough to have met with them in his reading, and fop enough

to get them by heart, and retail
them for his own. And this the
poet has finely fhewn us was the
cafe, where, in the middle of
Polonius's inftructions to his fer-
vant, he makes him, tho' with-
out having received any interrup-
tion, forget his leffon, and fay,
And then, Sir, does he this;
He does what was I about
to Jay?

I was about to Say Something?
-where did I leave?

The fervant replies,

At, clofes in the confequence. This fets Polonius right, and he goes on,

At, clofes in the confequence.
Ab marry,

He clefes thus ;

gentleman, &c.

-I know the

which fhews they were words got by heart which he was repeating. Otherwife clafes in the confequence, which convevs no particular idea of the fubject he was upon, could never have made him recollect where he broke off. This is an extraordinary inftance of the poet's art, and attention to the prefervation of Character. WARB.

This account of the character of Polonius though it fufficiently reconciles the feeming inconfillency of fo much wifdom with fo much folly, does not perhaps correfpond exactly to the ideas of our authour. The commentator makes the charactor of Polonius, a character only of manners, difcriminated by properties fuperficial, accidental, and acquired.

Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time.
Therefore, fince brevity's the foul of wit,
And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
I will be brief; you noble fon is mad;
Mad, call I it; for, to define true madness,
What is't, but to be nothing else but mad?
But let that go-

Queen. More matter, with less art.

Pol. Madam, I fwear, I use no art at all.
That he is mad, 'tis true; 'tis true, 'tis pity;
And pity 'tis, 'tis true.
A foolish figure,
But farewel it; for I will use no art.

Mad let us grant him then; and now remains
That we find out the cause of this effect,
Or rather fay, the cause of this defect;
For this effect, defective, comes by caufe;
Thus it remains, and the remainder thus.-Perpend.-
I have a daughter; have, whilft fhe is mine;

The poet intended a nobler de lineation of a mixed character of manners and of nature. Polonius is a man bred in courts, exercifed in business, stored with obfervation, confident of his knowledge, proud of his eloquence, and declining into dotage. His mode of oratory is truly reprefented as defigned to ridicule the practice of those times, of prefaces that made no introduction, and of method that embarraffed rather than explained. This part of his character is accidental, the reft is natural. Such a man is pofitive and confident, because he knows that his mind was once ftrong,

and knows not that it is become weak. Such a man excels in ge. neral principles, but fails in the particular application. He is

knowing in retrofpect, and ignorant in forefight. While he depends upon his memory, and can draw from his repofitories of knowledge, he utters weighty fentences, and gives useful counfel; but as the mind in its enfeebled ftate cannot be kept long bufy and intent, the old man is fubject to fudden dereliction of his faculties, he loses the order of his ideas, and entangles himself in his own thoughts, till he recovers the leading principle, and falls again into his former train. This idea of dotage encroaching upon wifdom, will folve all the phænomena of the character of

Polonius.

9 - 10 expoftulate] To exp ftulate, for to enquire or difcufs.

N 4

WARB.

Who

Who in her duty and obedience, mark,
Hath given me this; now gather, and furmife.

[He opens a letter, and reads.]

To the celestial, and my foul's idol, the most beautified Ophelia That's an ill phrafe, a vile phrase: beautified is a vile phrase; but you fhall hear-Thefe to her excellent white bofom, thefe.

Queen. Came this from Hamlet to her?

Pol. Good Madam, stay a while. I will be faithful.

Doubt thou, the stars are fire,

Doubt, that the Sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar,

But never doubt, I love.

[Reading.

Oh, dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers; I have

To the celeftial, and my foul's idol, the most beautified Ophelia.] I have ventur'd at an emendation here, against the authority of all the copies; but, I hope, upon examination it will appear probable and reasonable. The word beautified may carry two diftinct idea, either as applied to a woman made up of artificial beauties, or to one rich in native charms. As Shakespeare has therefore chofe to use it in the latter acceptation, to exprefs natural comeliness; I cannot imagine, that here, he would make Polonius except to the phrafe, and call it a vile one. But a ftronger objection ftill, in my mind, lies against it. As celeftial and foul's idol are the introductory characteriflics of Ophelio, what a dread

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not art to reckon my groans; but that I love thee beft,

ob most beft, believe it.

Adieu.

Thine evermore, moft dear Lady, whilst

this Machine is to him, Hamlet.

This in obedience hath my daughter fhewn me,
And, more above, hath his folicitings,

2

As they fell out by time, by means and place,
All given to mine ear.

King. But how hath she receiv'd his love?
Pol. What do you think of me?

King. As of a man faithful and honourable.

Pol. I would fain prove fo. But what might you think

When I had feen this hot love on the wing,
(As I perceiv'd it, I muft tell you that,
Before my daughter told me:) what might you,
Or my dear Majefty your Queen here, think
3 If I had play'd the defk or table-book,
Or giv❜n my heart a working, mute and dumb,
Or look'd upon this love with idle fight?

What might you think? No, I went round to work,
And my young mistress thus I did befpeak;
Lord Hamlet is a Prince out of thy sphere,

2 More above, is, more over, befides.

3 If I had play'd the desk or table-book,

Or giv'n my heart a working

mute and dumb, Or lock'd upon this love with

idle fight;

What might you think?-] i. e. If either I had conveyed intelligence between them, and been the confident of their amours,

[play'd the defk or table-book,] or had connived at it, only obferved them in fecret without acquainting my daughter with my difcovery, [given my heart a mute and dumb working, or laftly, had been negligent in obferving the intrigue, and over-looked it, [look'd upon this love with idie fight;] what would you have thought of me? WARB.

This

This must not be; and then, I precepts gave her, That she should lock herself from his refort, Admit no messengers, receive no tokens :

4 Which done, she took the fruits of my advice; And he repulfed, a fhort tale to make,

5

Fell to a sadness, then into a fast,

Thence to a watching, thence into a weakness,
Thence to a lightnefs, and, by this declenfion,
Into the madnefs wherein now he raves,
And all we wail for.

King. Do you think this?

Queen. It

may be very likely.

Pol. Hath there been fuch a time, I'd fain know that,

That I have pofitively faid, 'tis so,

When it prov'd otherwise?

King. Not that I know.

Pol. Take this from this, if this be otherwise.

[Pointing to his Head and Shoulder.

If circumstances lead me, I will find

Where truth is hid, though it were hid indeed

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this character is here admirably
fuftained. He would not only
be thought to have discovered
this intrigue by his own fagacity,
but to have remarked all the
ftages of Hamlet's disorder, from
his fadness to his raving, as re-
gularly as his phyfician could
have done; when all the while
the madness was only feigned.
The humour of this is exquifite
from a man who tell us, with a
confidence peculiar to fmall po-
liticians, that he could find

Where truth was hid, though
it were hid indeed
Within the cente.

WARB.

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