The laws, your curb and whip3, in their rough power of Albumazar was an Italian comedy called Lo Astrologo, written by Battista Porta, the famous physiognomist of Naples, and printed at Venice in 1606. The translator is said to have been a Mr. Tomkis, of Trinity College, Cambridge. The Alchymist was brought on in 1610, which is four years before Albumazar was performed for the entertainment of King James; and Ben Jonson in his title-page boldly claims the merit of having introduced a new subject and new characters on the stage: petere inde coronam Unde prius nulli velarint tempora musæ. The play of Albumazar was not entered on the books of the Stationer's Company till April 28, 1615. In Albumazar, however, such examples of thievery likewise occur: "The world's a theatre of theft: Great rivers Puttenham, in his Arte of English Poesie, 1589, quotes some one of a "reasonable good facilitie in translation, who finding certaine of Anacreon's Odes very well translated by Ronsard the French poet-comes our minion, and translates the same out of French into English:" and his strictures upon him evince the publication. Now this identical ode is to be met with in Ronsard; and as his works are in few hands, I will take the liberty of transcribing it: La terre les eaux va boivant; Edit. fol. p. 507. The name of the wretched plagiarist stigmatized by Puttenham, Have uncheck'd theft. Love not yourselves; away: 3 THIEF. He has almost charmed me from my profession, by persuading me to it. 1 THIEF. 'Tis in the malice of mankind, that he thus advises us; not to have us thrive in our mystery 6. 2 THIEF. I'll believe him as an enemy, and give over my trade. 1 THIEF. Let us first see peace in Athens: There is no time so miserable, but a man may be true'. [Exeunt Thieves. was John Southern, as appears from the only copy of his Poems that has hitherto been discovered. He is mentioned by Drayton in one of his Odes. See also the European Magazine, for June 1778. STEEVENS. 2- by a COMPOSTURE - ] i. e. composition, compost. STEEVENS. 3 The laws, your curb and whip,] So, in Measure for Measure : 4 read: 5 most biting laws, "The needful bits and curbs for headstrong steeds." MALONE. nothing can you steal, To complete the measure I would - where nothing can you steal -." STEEVENS. - Steal NOT less,] Not, which was accidentally omitted in the old copy, was inserted by Mr. Rowe. MALONE. 6 'Tis in the malice of mankind, that he thus advises us; not to have us thrive in our mystery.) The reason of his advice, says the Thief, is malice to mankind, not any kindness to us, or desire to have us thrive in our mystery. JOHNSON. 7 Let us first see peace in Athens: There is no time so miserable, but a man may be true.] [Dr. Warburton divides this line between the two thieves.] This and the concluding little speech have in all the editions been placed to one speaker: But, it is evident, the latter words ought to be put in the mouth of the second Thief, who is repenting, and leaving off his trade. WARBURTON. Enter FLAVIUS. FLAV. O you gods! Is yon despis'd and ruinous man my lord ? Desperate want made ! What viler thing upon the earth, than friends, do 2! The second Thief has just said, he'll give over his trade. It is time enough for that, says the first Thief: let us wait till Athens is at peace. There is no hour of a man's life so wretched, but he always has it in his power to become a true, i. e. an honest man. I have explained this easy passage, because it has, I think, been misunderstood. MALONE. 8 What an alteration of honour has Desperate want made!] An alteration of honour, is an alteration of an honourable state to a state of disgrace. JOHNSON. 9 HOW RARELY does it meet - Rarely for fitly; not for seldom. WARBURTON. How curiously; how happily. MALONE. When man was wish'd to love his enemies :) We should read-will'd. He forgets his Pagan system here again. WARBURTON. Wish'd is right. It means recommended. See vol. vi. p. 388, n. 6; and vol. vii. p. 72, n. 6. REED. 2 Grant, I may ever love, and rather woo Those that would mischief me, than those that DO!) It is plain, that in this whole speech friends and enemies are taken only for those who profess friendship and profess enmity; for the friend is supposed not to be more kind, but more dangerous than the enemy. The sense is, "Let me rather woo or caress those that would mischief, that profess to mean me mischief, than those that really do me mischief, under false professions of kindness." The Spaniards, I think, have this proverb: "Defend me from my friends, and from my enemies I will defend myself." This proverb is a sufficient comment on the passage. JOHNSON. He has caught me in his eye: I will present TIMON comes forward from his Cave. TIM. Away! what art thou ? Have you forgot me, sir? TIM. Why dost ask that? I have forgot all men; Then, if thou grant'st thou'rt a man3, I have forgot thee. FLAV. A honest poor servant of yours. Then I know thee not: I ne'er had honest man FLAV. The gods are witness, Ne'er did poor steward wear a truer grief For his undone lord, than mine eyes for you. TIM. What, dost thou weep? -Come nearer ;- Because thou art a woman, and disclaim'st 4 weeping! FLAV. I beg of you to know me, good my lord, 3 - thou'rt man,] Old copy-"thou'rt a man." STEEVENS. that I have supplied this pronoun, for the metre's sake. STEEVENS. 5 - knaves,] Knave is here in the compound sense of a servant and a rascal. JOHNSON. 6 - Pity's sleeping:) I do not know that any correction is necessary, sary, but I think we might read: " But thorough lust and laughter, pity sleeping:-" Eyes never flow (to give is to dissolve, as saline bodies in moist weather,) but by lust or laughter, undisturbed by emotions of pity. JOHNSON. To accept my grief, and, whilst this poor wealth lasts, To entertain me as your steward still. TIM. Had I a steward so true, so just, and now So comfortable? It almost turns My dangerous nature wild'. Let me behold Johnson certainly is right in reading-" Pity sleeping." The following line proves it : "Alcib. -on thy low grave, on faults forgiven." Surely Theobald's punctuation is preferable to Malone's. M. MASON. - Pity's sleeping:" So, in Daniel's second Sonnet, 1594: "Waken her sleeping pity with your crying." MALONE. 7 It almost turns My dangerous nature WILD.] i. e. It almost turns my dangerous nature to a dangerous nature; for, by dangerous nature is meant wildness. Shakspeare wrote: " It almost turns my dangerous nature mild." i. e. It almost reconciles me again to mankind. For fear of that, he puts in a caution immediately after, that he makes an exception but for one man. To which the Oxford editor says, recté. WARBURTON. This emendation is specious, but even this may be controverted. To turn wild is to distract. "An appearance so unexpected, (says Timon,) almost turns my savageness to distraction." Accordingly he examines with nicety lest his phrenzy should deceive him: Let me behold Thy face. Surely, this man was born of woman -." And to this suspected disorder of the mind he alludes: Ye powers whose intellects are out of the reach of perturbation. JOHNSON. He who is so much disturbed as to have no command over his actions, and to be dangerous to all around him, is already distracted, and therefore it would be idle to talk of turning such " a dangerous nature wild:" it is wild already. Besides; the baseness and ingratitude of the world might very properly be mentioned as driving Timon into frenzy: (So, in Antony and Cleopatra : "The ingratitude of this Seleucus does but surely the kindness and fidelity of his Steward was more likely to soften and compose him; that is, to render his dangerous nature mild. I therefore strongly incline to Dr. Warburton's emendation. MALONE. |