bis image, i. e. a brutish Vice's image: the Vice Gluttony; not without some allufion to the VICE of the old plays. Or VICE may be in the abstract, as in Martial, Non Vitiofus homo es, Zoile, fed VITIUM. But rather, I think, 'tis an abbreviation of Vice-Devil, as Vice-roy, Vice-doge, &c. and therefore properly called THE VICE. He makes very free with his master, like moft other Vice-roys, or prime-minifters. So that he is the Devil's Vice, and prime minister; and 'tis this, that makes him fo fawcy. The other old droll characters, are the Fool, and the Clown, which we have in Shakespeare's plays. The Romans in their Atellan interludes, and Mimes, had their buffoons, called Maccus, Maxos, from whence the English word Mocker; and Sannio, from whence the Italian Zanni, and Zany. See Cicer. de Orat. L. 2. c. 61. and Bucco : Quoigrales, quod buccas inflaret ad rifum movendum : from whence is derived a Buffoon. Page 128. SHAKESPEARE labouring with a multiplicity of fublime ideas often gives himself not time to be delivered of them by the rules of" flow"endeavouring art :" bence be crowds various figures together, and METAPHOR upon METAPHOR; and runs the hazard of far-fetched expreffions, whilst intent on nobler ideas be condescends not to grammatical niceties.] The crouding and mixing together heterogeneous metaphors is doing a fort of violence to the mind; for each new metaphor calls it too foon off from the idea which the former has rais'd; 'tis a fault doubtless, and not to be apologized apologized for; and inftances are very numerous in Shake. fpeare. The poet is to take his share of the faults, and the critic is to keep his hands from the context. Yet 'tis ftrange to see how many paffages the editors have corrected, meerly for the cafe of confonance of metaphor: breaking thro' that golden rule of criticism: mend only the faults of tranfcribers. Bentley fhew'd the way to critics, and gave a fpecimen, in his notes on Callimachus of his emendations of Horace by correcting the foliowing verfe, Et male tornatos incudi reddere verfus. where he reads ter natos, for conference of metaphor. This verse of Horace has been variously criticized. So at present I say no more concerning it; but return to our poet, whose vague and licentious use of metaphors is fo visible to almost every reader, that I wonder any editor, of what degree foever, should in this respect think of altering his manner of expreffion. Some few alterations of this kind I here exhibit to the reader, and leave it to him to make his own reflections. Shakespeare. Measure for Measure, A& II. "Look, here comes one; a gentlewoman of mine, "Who falling in the flaws of her own youth, "Hath blifter'd her report. "Who doth not fee that the integrity of metaphor re quires we should read FLAMES of her own youth.” Mr. W. In the Merchant of Venice, A& II. "How much honour « Pickt from the chaff and ruin of the times, "To be new varnish’d. Mr. W. has printed it, To be new vanned." In All's Well, that Ends Well, A& I. Hel." The composition that their valour and fear makes "in you, is a virtue of a good WING, and I like "the wear well." Mr. W.-" is a virtue of good мING." Ibid. A& V. Count. " 'Tis paft, my liege; "And I beseech your Majesty to make it "Natural rebellion, done i' th' blade of youth, "The whole figure here employ'd fhews we should read, “ith' BLAZE of youth.” Mr. W. In the fecond part of K. Henry IV. A&I. "For from his metal was his party steel'd, "Which once in him abated, all the reft "Turn'd on themselves, like dull and heavy lead. Mr. W." rebated." In the laft part of K. Henry VI. A& II. Sc. the laft. "Here dies the dusky torch of Mortimer, "Choak'd with ambition of the meaner fort. Mr. W. Here Hes, &c." In King Henry VIII. A& III. Sc. the last. "Say, Wolfey, that once trod the ways of glory, "And founded all the depths and fhoals of honour, "Found thee a way, &c. Mr. W.-" Rode the waves of glory." In Julius Cæfar, A& II. "But do not ftain "The even virtue of our enterprize, "Nor th' infuppreffive mettle of our spirits Mr. W. to preserve the integerity of the metaphor, reads, "do not STRAIN." In Antony and Cleopatra, A& I. "Take but good note, and you shall see in him "The triple pillar of the world transform'd "Into a ftrumpet's fool. "The metaphor is here miferably mangled; we should "read. "Into a ftrumpet's STOOL." Mr. W. There is much more of this kind of uncritical ftuff in the late edition; but I am already weary with tranfcribing. Page 216. SHAKESPEARE was a great reader of the fcriptures, and from the bold figures and metaphors be found there enriched his own elfewhere unmatched ideas. 1 could wish fome of our modern poets would follow the example of the three beft Makers, that our nation, or perhaps, perhaps any nation, ever faw; and like them fearch the Scriptures, at least for furnishing their minds with interesting images and expreffions. SPENCER is full of beauties of this kind and I could easily fhew in many places of Milton, how finely he has enriched his verses with fcriptural thoughts, even where he seems moft closely to have copied Virgil or Homer. For example, B. I, 84. If thou beeft he-But o how fallen! how changed Cloth'd with tranfcendent brightness, didst outshine Tho' this feems closely followed from Virgil, Aen. II. 274. Hei mihi qualis erat, quantum mutatus ab illo Hectore, qui, &c. Yet what additional beauty does it receive from Isaiah xiv, 12. How art thou fallen from heaven, o Lucifer, fon of the morning! &c. Neither the mythological account of Pallas being born from the brain of Jupiter, nor the poetical description of Error by Spencer in his Fairy Queen, would have been fufficient authority for our divine poet's episode in his fecond book of SIN and DEATH: had not scripture told us, James i, 14. Then when LUST hath conceived, it bringeth forth SIN; and SIN when it is finished, bringeth forth DEATH. In B. IV, 996, &c. Tho' it is plain the poet had ftrongly in his mind the golden scales of Jupiter, mentioned both by Homer and Virgil; yet he is entirely governed by fcripture; for Satan only is weighed, viz. his parting and his fight, Dan. v, 27. TEKEL, THOU art weigh'd in the balances, and art found wanting. And before, . 998. His |