> Out of his Lunacies. Guil. We will provide ourselves; Rof The single and peculiar life is bound, King. Arm you, I pray you, to this fpeedy voyage; Both. We will hafte us. (Exeunt Gentlemen, Enter Polonius. Pol. My Lord, he's going to his mother's closet; Behind the arras I'll convey myself 8 Out of his Lunacies.] The I take Brows to be, properly old quarto's read, read, Frows, which, I think, is Out of his Brows, a provincial word, for perverse This wa from the ignorance of humours; which being, 'I fapthe fi it editors; as is chis unne- pore, not underflood, was changceflary. Alexandrine, which we ed to Lunacies. But of this I ove to the players. The poet, am not confident, I am persuaded, wrote, 9 That Jpirit, on whole weal-] as deth burly grozu So the quarto. The folio gives, Out of bis Lunes. On whole /pirit. i.e. bi: madness, frenzy. THEOB. Το To hear the process. I'll warrant, she'll tax him home. And, as you said, and wisely was it said, 'Tis meet, that fome more audience than a mother, Since nature makes them partial, should o'er-hear The speech, 'of vantage. Fare you well, my Liege; I'll call upon you ere you go to bed, And tell you what I know. [Exit. King. Thanks, dear my Lord. . Oh! my offence is rank, it smells to heav'n, It hath the primal, eldeft, curse upon't ; A brother's murder. Pray I cannot, * Though inclination be as sharp as 't will; My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent: And, like a man to double business bound, I stand in pause where I shall first begin, And both neglect. What if this cursed hand Were thicker than itself with brother's blood ? Is there not rain enough in the sweet heav'ns To wash it white as snow? Whereto ferves Mercy, But to confront the visage of offence? And what's in prayer, but this two-fold force, To be fore-stalled ere we come to fall, Or pardon'd being down? Then I'll look up; My fault is past. But oh, what form of prayer Can ferve my turn? Forgive me my foul murder! That cannot be, since I am still poffeft Of those effects for which I did the murder, My Crown, mine own Ambition, and my Queen. 1 Of vantage.] By fame op- crime does. The line immediportunity of secret observation. ately following thews this to be - I bough inclination be as sharp the true reading, as WILL;] This is rank My Aronger guilt defeats my nonsense. We should read, prong intent. WARB. Tho' inclination be as sharp as I have followed the easier TH'ILL; emendation of Theobald, received i. e. tho' my inclination makes by Hanmer, me as restless and uneasy as my May 3 May one be pardon'd, and retain th' offence ? Oh 3 May one be pardon'd, and re. and reasonable thought ; and tain th' offence;} This which the transcribers might js a Itrarge question; and much have seen was the refult of his the same as 10ʻalk whether his preceding reflections. offence could be remitted while it --Forgive me my foul murtber! was retain'd. Shakespear here That cannot be, fince I am still repeated a word with propriety poleft and elegance which he employed Of those effects, for which I two lines above, did the murther, May one be pardon'd, and retain My Crown, my own Ambition, th' Ęffects? and my Queen. i. e. of his murder, and this was May one be pardon'd, and retaire a reasonable question. He uses th'effe as ? the word offence, properly, in the besides, the poet could never next line but one, and from have made his speaker say, he thence, I suppose, came the blun- could not repent, when this whole der. WARBURTON, speech is one thorough act of the I see no difficulty in the pre- discipline of contrition. And fent reading. He that does not what was wanting was the mai. amend what can be amended, re ter of restitution : this, the speaktains his offence. The King kept er could not resolve upon; which the crown from the right heir. makes him break out, * Yet what can it, when one Oh limed foul, that, frugsling CANNOT repent?] This non co get free, fense even excecds the lait. Shake At more engaged ! Spear wrote, For it is natural, while the restiYet whai caril, when one CAN tution of what one highly values BUT repent ? is projected, that the fondness for i. e. what can repentance do it should strike the imagination without relitution a natural with double force. Because the man, Oh wretched state ! oh bolom, black as death! steel, Be soft as sinews of the new-born babe! All may be well. [The King retires and kneels. Ham. Now might I do it pat, now he is praying, And now I'll do't. And so he goes to heav'n. And so am I reveng'd ? that would be scann'd. A villain kills my father, and for that Ś I, his sole fon, do this fame villain fend To man, in that situation, figures to thing, and I am told that nothing himself his condition when de. will do; is not that one thing prived of those advantages, which included in the negative? But, having an unpleafing view, he if so, it comes at last to this, holds what he is pósleðfed of more that even repentance will not do closely than ever. Hence, the when one cannot repent. laft quoted exclamation receives WARBURTON. all its force and beauty, which The sense of the received read. on any other interpretation is ing is, I think, fo plain, that I mean and senseless. But the Ox am afraid left it should be obford Editor, without troubling scured by any attempt at illuftrahimself with any thing of this, tion. What can repentance do reads, for a man that can not be penitent, Try what repentance can. What for a man who has only part of can it not? penitence, distress of conscience, Yet what can aught, when one without the other part, resolution cannot repent? of amendment. Which comes to the same non s I, his fole fon, do this fame fenfe of the common reading, villain fend ] The folio only a littie more round about. reads foule son. This will lead For when I am bid to try one us to the true reading, which is, To heav'n. O, this is hire and salary, not revenge. is, faln fon, i. e. disinherited. very natural to conclude, that This was an aggravation of the with the change of a single letter, injury; that he had not only our author's geouine word was, murder'd the father, but reind Bent ; i. c. arift, frove, ircinsthe son. WARBURTON, tin, purjoje, &c. TILOBALD. The folio 'gives a reading ap - This reading is followed by parently corrupted from the Sir T. Hanmir and Dr. Wirbus quarto. The meaning is plain. ton; but Hent is probably the İ, bis only fun, who am bound right word. To bent is used by to punish his morder. Sbakıljeare for, to faizi, to catch, 6 In the common editions, Up, to lay boid or, Hent is therefore, fword, and know thou a more hor. bold, or seizure. Lay hold on rid time.] This is a sophis- him, sword, at a more horrid ticated reading, warranted by time, none of the copies of any autho. 7 As bell, whereto it goes.-] rity. Mr. Pope says, I read con- This speech, in which Hamki, ječturally ; represented as a virtuous characa more horrid Bent. ter, is not content with taking I do lo; and why? the two old., blood for blood, but contrives eft quarto's, as well as the two damnation for the man that he elder folio's, read; a more would punih, is too horrible to koriid Hent. But as there is no be read or to be uttered. dach English fubftantive, it seems T'be |