In King Henry VIII. A& III. Sc. the laft. "Say, Wolfey, that once trod the ways of glory, "And founded all the depths and shoals of honour, "Found thee a way, &c. Mr. W.-" Rode the waves of glory." In Julius Cæfar, A& II. "But do not fain "The even virtue of our enterprize, "Nor th' infuppreffive mettle of our spirits "To think that or our caufe, or our performance, "Did need an oath. Mr. W. to preserve the integerity of the metaphor, reads, "do not STRAIN." In Antony and Cleopatra, Act 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 stuff in the late edition; but I am already weary with transcribing. 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. I 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 feriptures, at least for furnishing their minds with interesting images and expreffions. SPENCER is full of beauties of this kind and I could eafily fhew in many places of Milton, how finely he has enriched his verses with fcriptural thoughts, even where he seems most closely to have copied Virgil or Homer. For example, B. I, 84. If thou beeft heBut o how fallen! how changed. Cloth'd with tranfcendent brightness, didst outshine Tho' this seems 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 Ifaiah xiv, 12. How art thou fallen from heaven, o Lucifer, son 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 fcales 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 ftature reach'd the fky. Our poet has better authorities to follow than Homer's defcription of Difcord, Il. IV, 440. and Virgil's of Fame, IV, 177. For fo the destroying angel is described in the Wisdom of Solomon. xviii, 16. It touched the heaven, but it flood upon the earth. In B. V, 254. The gate felf open'd wide On golden hinges turning. So again, B. VII, 205. This has its fanction more from Pl. xxiv, 7. than from Hom. H. é. 749. Aurópatas dé πύλαι μύκον ἐραν. In B. XII, 370. He fall afcend The throne hereditary, and bound his reign With earth's wide bounds, his glory with the heav'ns ! Virgil fays Aen. I, 291. Imperium oceano famam qui terminat aftris. But the prophets ought rather here to be cited. Pfal. ii, 8. Ifai. ix, 7. Zech, ix, 9. And this account I have here given of Milton will serve to determine the meaning of some seeming doubtful paffages. For example. B. III, .383. "Thee next they fung of all creation first, "Begotten Son." First of all creation, i. e. before all worlds, begotten not made, according to the Greek idiom: as in John I, 15. Tęŵrós us is firft of me, i.e. before me. If we follow this pointing the meaning must be as here explained. But I would alter the pointing, and read, "Thee next they fung of all creation first. "Begotten fon." In allufion to St. Paul's words. Coloff. i, 15. IIgwlóronos wcons xlioews-And let this hint at prefent fuffice. πάσης κλίσεως Page 243. "SHAKESPEARE wrote, "Young "ADAM Cupid, &c. The printer, or tranfcriber, gave us this ABRAM, miftaking the d "for br: and thus made a paffage direct nonfenfe, which was understood in SHAKESPEARE'S "time by all his audience."] 66 A letter blotted, or a ftroke of the pen, might eafily occafion the corruption. -The reader will not be dif pleased, perhaps, to fee fome paffages cleared up, which from this caufe have been corrupted. Let us begin with our old poet Chaucer, whofe tranfcribers have blundered in the Legende of Hypfipyle and Medæa. Why lykid me thy yelowe here to fe "More than the boundis of myn honeste ? Why lykid me thy youth and thy fairnée, "And of thy tongue the' infpnite graciousnesse ?" These verses are tranflated from Ovid; "Cur mihi plus aequo flavi placuere capilli ? "Et decor, et linguae gratia FICTA tuae? Can it be doubted then but that Chaucer wrote fained or ifained, į, ė. feigned, diffembled,' th' ifained graciousness, ORATIA ICTA? And that the afpnite belongs to fome ignorant, or wrong gueffing tranfcriber There is another blunder which has exercised the critics; and is thus printed in the late edition. p. 4. in the Prologues of the Canterbury Tales. "A coke thei hadde with them for the nones I would read, "And purbeigh Manchet, &c." i. e. They had a cook with them whose business 'twas to boil, &c. and to provide Manchet, &c. In Spencer they have given us them for ft in the following, "Full fiercely laid the Amazon about, "And dealt her blows, &c. "Which Britomart withstood with courage ftout, "And them repaid again with double more." Read, ftore. See c. 8. ft. 34. B. 5. c. 7. ft. 31. In the Two Noble Kinfmen of Beaumont and Fletcher we have this blunder, 66 Daught. By my troth, I think Fame but stammers them, "they "Stand A GRIEF above the reach of report." Which fhould thus be corrected, "They stand A GRISE above the reach of report.", This word is used by Shakespeare in Othello, Act I. "Which as A GRISE or ftep may help these lovers, "Into your favours." And by Phaer in his verfion of Virgil, En. I, 452. 66 Aerea cui gradibus furgebant limina." The brazen grees afore the dares did mount. He hath three fquires, that welcome all his guests; "The first, HIGH [r. HIGHT,] Chamberlain, who will fee "Our beds prepar'd, and bring us fnowy sheets, "Where never footman ftretch'd his butter'd hams. "The fecond hight Tapftro," " |