There is surely no need of emendation. › We say at present, Such a thing is enough to make a parson swear, i. e. deviate from a proper res spect to decency, and the sanctity of his character. The idea of swearing agrees very well with that of a tyrant in our ancient mysteries.

STEEVENS. I do not much like mercy swear, the old reador mercy swerve, Dr. Warburton's correcI believe it should be, this would make mercy severe.

ing; tion.

FARMER.

We still say, to swear like an emperor; and from some old book, of which I unfortunately! neglected to copy the title, I have noted swear like a tyrant. To swear like a termas gant is quoted elsewhere. RITSON.

P4251. 29. from the see,] The folig reads: from the sea.JOHNSON 6

was

The emendation, which is undoubtedly right, as made Mr. Theobald. In Hall's Chronicle, sea is often written for see. "MALONE." GK HIRI 1—3 There is scarce truth enough! alive, etc.] The speaker here alludes to those legal securities into which,,fellowship enter for each other. MALONE.

P.

The sense is,''',,There scarcely exists sufficieht honesty in the world to make social life secure;d but there are occasions enough where a man mayw be drawn in to become surety, -which will makes him pay dearly for his frieitdships." In exctiseo of this quibble, Shakspeare inay plead high authol rity. -"He that hateth suretiship is sure. Provid xisqks. HoĻE WHITES or towned b

5Rco1455 In123, — resolved—vi, en satisfied. 70 boworod-gued to bзusoidw

*F, 14576285 2910 but my brother justice have I found so severe, etc.] Summum jus, summa injuria. STEEVENSJE:

P. 144, 1. 45. 4. Pattern in himself to know, a Grace to stand; and virtue go] These lines I cannot understand, but believe that they should be read thus:

K

1

9 Patterning himself to know, er zon ob I -291102 In grace to stand, in virtue «go, xo

Po pattern is to work after a pattern, and, perhaps, in Shakspeare's licentious diction, simply to work. The sense is, he that bears the sword of heaven should be holy as well as severe; one that after good examples labours to know himselfivaton live with innocence, and to act with virtue. JOHNSON..h

: This passage is very obscure, nor can be cleared without a more licentious paraphrase than any reader

der may be willing to allow. He that bears the sword of heaven should be not less holy than severe: should be able to discover in himself a pattern of such grace as can avoid temptation, together with such virtue as dares venture abroad into the world without danger of seduction. STEEVENS.

This last line is not intelligible as it stands ; but a very slight alteration, the addition of ther word in, at the beginning of it, which may refer toruirtue as well as grace, will render the sense ofeito clear,,Pattern in himself to know,"is tar feeding his own breast that virtue which, hemato kes others practise M. MASON. •

Pattern in himself to knowpu̸ isgo do expo rience in his own bosom an original principle of action, which, instead of being borrowed or

copied from others, might serve as a pattern to them. MALONE.

P. 144, 1. 10. To weed my vice, and let his

grow!] i. e. to weed faults out of my dukedom, and yet indulge him. self in his own private vices. STEEVENS.

My, does not, I apprehend, relate to the Duke in particular, who had not been guilty of any vice, but to any indefinite person. The meaning seems to be To destroy by extirpation (as it is expressed in another place) a fault that I have committed, and to suffer his own vices to grow to a rank and luxuriant height. The speaker, for the sake of argument, puts himself in the case of an offending person. MALONE.

The Duke is plainly speaking in his own per son. What he here terms ,, my vice," may be explained from his conversation in Act I. sc. iv. with Friar Thomas, and especially the following. line:

„— 'twas my fault to give the people scope.L The vice of Angelo requires no explanation.

P. 144, 1. 13

'HENLEY.

P. 144, 1. 12. Though angel on the outward side! Here we see what induced our author to give the outwardsainted, deputy, the name of Angelo. MALONE. 16. How may likeness, made in crimes, etc.] The sense is this. How much wickedness may a man hide within, though he appear angel without. How may that likeness made in crimes, i. en by hypocrisy; [a pretty paradoxical expression, an angel made in crimes] by imposing upon the world [thus emphatically expressed, making praefice an the times] draw with its false aud feeble

pretences f finely called spiders' strings] the most pondrous and substantial matters of the world, as riches, honour, power, reputation', etc.

WARBURTON. Likeness may mean seemliness, fair appearance, as we say, a likely man. STEEVENS.

By made in crimes, the Duke means, trained in iniquity, and perfect in it. Thus we say -a made horse; a made pointer; meaning one welltrained. M. MASON.

P. 144, 1. 20. So disguise shall, by the dis-: guis'd,] So disguise shall by means of a person disguised, return an injurious demand with a counterfeit person. JOHNSON,

P. 144, 1. 28 and fol. Take, oh take those lips away, etc.] This is a part of a little song of Shakspeare's own writing, 'consisting of two stanzas, and so extremely sweet, that the reader won't be displeased to have the other:

Hide, oh hide those hills of snow,
Which thy frozen bosom bears,
On whose tops the pinks that grow,
Are of those that April wears.
But first set my poor heart free,

Bound in those icy chains by thee.

WARBURTON.

Though Sewell and Gildon have printed this among Shakspeare's Poems, they have done the same to so many other pieces, of which the real authors are since known, that their evidence is not to be depended on. It is not found in Jag-' gard's edition of our author's Sonnets, whih was printed during his life-time. STEEVENS.

P. 145, 1. 14. My mirth it much displeas'd,

Though the musick soothed my sorrows, no tendency to produce light merriment.

it had

JOHNSON,

P.. 145, 1. 24. constantly -] Certainly; without fluctuation of mind. JOHNSON.

P. 145, 1. 31. Circummured, walled round. He caused the doors to be mured and cased up. Painter's Palace of Pleasure. JOHNSON. P. 145, last 1. a planched gate, gate made of boards. Planche, Fr. A plancher is a plank. STEEVENS.

i.

P. 146, 1. 10. 11. In action all of precept, he did show me

The way twice o'er.]. i, e. shewing the several turnings of the way with his hand; which action contained so many precepts, being given for my direction. WARBURTON.

I rather think we should read,

In precept of all action,

that is, in direction given not by words, mute signs. JOHNSON.

but by

P. 146, 1. 15. And that I have possess'd him,] I have made him clearly and strongly comprehend.

JOHNSON.

To possess had formerly y the sense of inform or acquaint. REED.

P. 147, 1. 3 10. It plainly appears that this fine speech belongs to that which concludes the preceding scene between the Duke and Lucio. For they are re absolutely foreign to the subject of this, and are the natural reflections arising from that. Besides, the very words,

Bun with these false and most contrariou

evidently refer to Lucio's scandals just preceding which the Oxford editor, in his usual way, has emended,