MILTON, Spencer and Shakespeare his originals, 365. Bor-` rows from Shakespeare, 411, 412. Often repeats the fame letter, 267, 268. Jingling terminations, whether to be found in his His broken verfes, how artful, 366, &c. A fine inftance of the fuitableness of character Tincture of Vanity in Eve, bow finely and tenderly touched, 72, n. The Paradife Loft, how far a picture of his Paffages illuftrated, 96, & n. 141, 142, 143, xxviii, &c. 227, 228, 334, 337, 338, n. 343, 344, 355, 359, 366, n. Corrected and explained, 198, 202, 230, 402, 403. A better reading propofed, 152, 153. Samfon Agonistes, 144. Corrected, 407, 408. Mifanthrope, 68, 69. Mocker, 397. Models, for taft, 130, 131. Monofyllables, frequent in the ancient Greek language, 364. Monftrous characters, how far allowable in poetry, 67. Moral painting in poetry, 84. Moralities, 99, & n. and drop it on the last. But whatever beauty this alliteration might have, yet the affectation of it must appear ridiculous; for poems are not made by mechanical rules: and it was ridi. culed as long ago as the times of old Ennius. O Tite tute Tati tibi tante tyranne tulisti. And by Shakespeare in his Midfummer-Night's dream, A& V. . "Whereat with blade, with bloody blameful "blade, "He bravely broach'd his boiling bloody breast." TH SECT. XIII. HERE are many blunders that creep into books from a compendious manner of writing; and if this happen to be blotted, the transcriber has a hard talk to trace the author's words. This feems to have occafion'd a very extraordinary confufion in a paffage in Othello. But before I mention my emendation, I beg leave to cite a fhort story from the first book of the Ethiopian romance of Heliodorus. Thyamis, an Aegyptian robber, fell in love with Chariclea; ftung with jealoufie, and defpairing to enjoy her himself, he refolves to murder murder her and thinking he had killed her, (but it happened to be another) he cries out, Alas poor maid, thefe are the nuptial gifts I prefent thee. This story is alluded to in the TwelfthNight, A& V. Nor did the allusion escape the notice of Mr. Theobald. "Duke. Why fhould I not, had I the heart "to do't, "Like the Egyptian thief, at point of death in And this fame story feems to me it Othello, Act V. where the Mour peaking of his favage jealoufie, adds, Thefe circumftances all croud into Othello's mind to increase his horror: for this reafon, as well as for feveral others, with great propriety he calls himself, the bafe Egyptian. In Mr. Pope's edition 'tis "Like the bafe Indian, &c." which he thus interprets: "In the firft edition "it is Judian, occafion'd probably by the word "tribe just after, but the common reading is "better; as the word tribe is applicable to any race of people, and the thought of an igno"rant Indian's cafting away a pearl very natu"ral in itself; whereas to make sense of the "other, we must presuppose some particular "ftory of a few alluded to, which is much less "obvious." Mr. Theobald in his edition has plainly overthrown Mr. Pope's explanation and reading, but whether he has established his own may be doubted; he reads, Like the bafe Judian, &c. i. e. (fays he) the bafe Jew Herod, who "threw away fuch a jewel of a wife as Mari"amne." But first of all there is no fuch word as Judian, which must certainly occasion a sufpicion of it's not being genuine. Again, if any one will confider the hiftory of Mariamne from Jofephus, he will find, 'tis very little applicable to Defdemona's cafe. Mariamne had an averfion to Herod, and always treated him with fcorn and contempt; fhe was publicly, tho' falfely, accused of an attempt to poison him, and accordingly put to death. In the present circumstances, with which Othello is furrounded, he would never apply Herod's cafe to himself : he was a private murderer,-one whofe hand, &c. Herod brought his wife to public juftice; Defdemona was fond of the Moor, the Jewels hated her husband. On the other hand, the story of the Egyptian thief is very minutely applicable; and the verses, cited from the Twelfth Night, fhew that our author was pleased with the allufion. It seems the correction was owing to fome fort of ill-written abbreviation, that might be in the original, as Egypian, and which could not easily be understood by printer or player. From fuch like abbreviations arife no fmall blunders in ancient books. In the Greek manufcripts we often find ἄνθρωπος, ἀνθρώπων, thus abbreviated, As, Av. This abbreviation has occafion'd fome confufion in many printed books. As for example, in a differtation of Maximus Tyrius, Τί ὁ Θεὸς κατὰ Πλάτωνα, what Deity is according to Plato. We find Plato is there called, ὁ εὐφων T 2 |