BIRON. Why, all delights are vain; but that most vain, Which, with pain purchas'd, doth inherit pain: As, painfully to pore upon a book, To feek the light of truth; while truth the while Doth falfely blind the eyefight of his look: Light, feeking light, doth light of light beguile: Who dazzling fo, that eye fhall be his heed, That will not be deep fearch'd with faucy looks; Have no more profit of their fhining nights, Doth falfely blind-] Falfely is here, and in many other places, the fame as difboneftly or treacherously. The whole fenfe of this gingling declamation is only this, that a man by too clofe ftudy may read himself blind, which might have been told with lefs obfcurity in fewer words. JOHNSON. 1 Who dazzling fo, that eye fhall be his heed, And give him light that was it blinded by.] This is another paffage unneceffarily obfcure: the meaning is, that when he dazzles, that is, has his eye made weak, by fixing his eye npon a fairer eye, that fairer eye fhall be his heed, his direction or lode-ftar, (See Midfummer-Night's Dream) and give him light that was blinded by it. JOHNSON. The old copies read—it was. ♣ Too much to know, is, to know Corrected by Mr. Steevens. nought but fame; MALONE. And every godfather can give a name.] The confequence, Lays KING. How well he's read, to reafon against reading! DUM. Proceeded well, to stop all good proceeding!? LONG. He weeds the corn, and still lets grow the weeding. BIRON. The fpring is near, when green geefe are a breeding. DUM. How follows that? BIRON. Fit in his place and time. DUM. In reafon nothing. Before the birds have any cause to fing? Than wish a snow in May's new-fangled fhows; Biron, of too much knowledge, is not any real folution of doubts, but mere empty reputation. That is, too much knowledge gives only fame, a name which every godfather can give likewife. JOHNSON. 9 Proceeded well, to flop all good proceeding!] To proceed is an academical term, meaning, to take a degree, as he proceeded bachelor in phyfick. The fenfe is, he has taken his degrees in the art of hindering the degrees of others. JOHNSON. I don't fufpect that Shakspeare had any academical term in contemplation, when he wrote this line. He has proceeded well, means only, he has gone on well. M. MASON. -fneaping froft,] So fneaping winds in The Winter's Tale : To fneap is to check, to rebuke. Thus alfo, Falftaff, in K. Henry IV. P. II: "I will not undergo this neap, without reply." STEEVENS. 3 Why Should I joy in an abortive birth? At Christmas I no more defire a rofe, Than wish a snow in May's new-fangled fhows; But like of each thing, that in feafon grows.] As the greatest part So you, to study now it is too late, Climb o'er the house to unlock the little gate. of this fcene (both what precedes and follows) is ftrictly in rhimes, either fucceffive, alternate, or triple, I am perfuaded, that the copyifts have made a flip here. For by making a triplet of the three laft lines quoted, birth in the clofe of the first line is quite destitute of any rhime to it. Befides, what a difpleafing identity of found. recurs in the middle and close of this verfe? Than wish a fnow in May's new-fangled fhows: Again; new fangled shows feems to have very little propriety. The flowers are not new-fangled; but the earth is new-fangled by the profufion and variety of the flowers, that fpring on its bofom in May. I have therefore ventured to fubftitute earth, in the clofe of the third line, which restores the alternate measure. It was very eafy for a negligent tranfcriber to be deceived by the rhime immediately preceding; fo miftake the concluding word in the fequent line, and corrupt it into one that would chime with the other. THEOBALD. I rather fufpect a line to have been loft after "an abortive birth." For an in that line the old copies have any. Corrected by Mr. Pope. MALONE. By thefe bors the poet means Maygames, at which a frow would be very unwelcome and unexpected. It is only a periphrafis for May. T. WARTON. I have no doubt that the more obvious interpretation is the true one. So, in Chaucer's Knightes Tale: And frefher than May with floures new,"-. So alfo, in our poet's K. Richard II: "She came adorned hither, like sweet May.” i. e. as the ground is in that month enamelled by the gay diverfity of flowers which the fpring produces. Again, in The Deftruction of Troy, 1619: " At the entry of the month of May, when the earth is attired and adorned with diverfe flowers," &c. MALONE. I concur with Mr. Warton: for with what propriety can the flowers which every year produces with the fame identical fhape and colours, be called-new-fangled? The fports of May might be annually diverfified, but its natural productions would be invariably the fame. STEEVENS. 4 Climb o'er the boufe, &c.] This is the reading of the quarto, 1598, and much preferable to that of the folio "That were to climb o'er the house to unlock the gate.” MALONE, KING. Well, fit you out: go home, Biron; adicu! with you: And, though I have for barbarism spoke more, fhame! } BIRON. [Reads.] Item, That no woman shall come within a mile of my court. And hath this been proclaim'd? LONG. Four days ago. BIRON. Let's fee the penalty. [Reads.]—On pain of lofing her tongue.— LONG. Marry, that did I. Who devis'd this? BIRON. Sweet lord, and why? LONG. To fright them hence with that dread nalty. BIRON. A dangerous law against gentility!" pe fit you out:] This may mean, hold you out, continue rea fractory. But I fufpect, we fhould read-fet you out. MALONE. To fit out, is a term from the card-table. Thus Bishop Sanderson: "They are glad, rather than fit out, to play very small game." The perfon who cuts out at a rubber of whift, is still said to fit ut; i. e. to be no longer engaged in the party. STEEVENS. Who devis'd this?] The old copies read-this penalty. I have omitted this needlefs repetition of the word penalty, because it deftroys the meafure. STEEVENS. A dangerous law againft gentility!] I have ventured to prefix the name of Biron to this line, it being evident, for two reasons, that it, by fome accident or other, flipt out of the printed books. In the first place, Longaville confefles, he had devifed the penalty: [Reads.] Item, If any man be feen to talk with a woman within the term of three years, he shall endure Such publick Shame as the rest of the court can poffibly devife. This article, my liege, yourself must break; For, well you know, here comes in embaffy The French king's daughter, with yourself to fpeak, A maid of grace, and cómplete majesty,About furrender-up of Aquitain To her decrepit, fick, and bed-rid father: Therefore this article is made in vain, Or vainly comes the admired princefs hither. KING. What say you, lords? why, this was quite forgot. BIRON. So ftudy evermore is overshot; While it doth ftudy to have what it would, It doth forget to do the thing it fhould: And when it hath the thing it hunteth most, 'Tis won, as towns with fire; fo won, fo loft. KING. We muft, of force, difpenfe with this de cree; She muft lie here" on mere neceffity. and why he should immediately arraign it as a dangerous law, feems to be very inconfiftent. In the next place, it is much more natural for Biron to make this reflexion, who is cavilling at every thing; and then for him to purfue his reading over the remaining articles. As to the word gentility, here, it does not fignify that rank of people called, gentry; but what the French exprefs by, gentileffe, 1. e. elegantia, urbanitas. And then the meaning is this: Such a law for banishing women from the court, is dangerous, or injurious, to politeness, urbanity, and the more refined pleafures of life. For men without women would turn brutal, and favage, in their natures and behaviour. THEOBALD. ?lie here] Means refide here, in the fame fenfe as an ambassador is faid to lie leiger. See Beaumont and Fletcher's Love's Cure, or the Martial Maid, A& II. fc, ii : |