That his own hand may ftrike his honour down,
That violates the smallest branch herein :
If you are arm'd to do, as fworn to do,
Subscribe to your deep oaths, and keep them too.
Long. I am refolv'd; 'tis but a three years fast:
The mind shall banquet tho' the body pine;
Fat paunches have lean pates; and dainty bits
Make rich the ribs, but bankerout the wits.

Dum. My loving lord, Dumain is mortify'd:
The groffer manner of these world's delights
He throws upon the grofs world's bafer flaves:
To love, to wealth, to pomp, I pine and die ;
With all these living in philofophy '.

Biron. I can but fay their proteftation over.
So much (dear liege) I have already fworn,
That is, to live and study here three years:
But there are other ftrict observances;
As, not to fee a woman in that term,
Which, I hope well, is not enrolled there.
And one day in a week to touch no food,
And but one meal on every day befide;
The which, I hope, is not enrolled there.
And then to fleep but three hours in the night,
And not be feen to wink of all the day;
(When I was wont to think no harm all night,
And make a dark night too of half the day ;)
Which, I hope well, is not enrolled there.
O, these are barren tasks, too hard to keep;
Not to fee ladies, ftudy, faft, not sleep.

King. Your oath is pafs'd to pafs away from thefe.
Biron. Let me fay, no, liege, an' if you please;
I only fwore to study with your Grace,

And stay here in your Court for three years' space.

With all these living in philofophy.] The ftile of the rhyming fcenes in this play is often entangled and obfcure. I know

not certainly to what all these is to be referred; I fuppofe he means that he finds love, pomp, and wealth in philosophy.

Long.

Long. You swore to that, Biron, and to the rest. Biron. By yea and nay, Sir, then I fwore in jeft. What is the end of study? let me know?

King. Why, that to know, which elfe we should not know.

Biron. Things hid and barr'd (you mean) from common sense.

King. Ay, that is ftudy's god-like recompence.
Biron. Come on then, I will swear to study so,
To know the thing I am forbid to know;
As thus; to ftudy where I well may dine,
When I to feast exprefly am forbid2;
Or study where to meet some mistress fine,
When miftreffes from common fenfe are hid:
Or, having fworn too hard-a-keeping oath,
Study to break it, and not break my troth.
If study's gain be this, and this be fo,

Study knows that, which yet it doth not know:
Swear me to this, and I will ne'er say, no.

King. These be the ftops, that hinder ftudy quite; And train our Intellects to vain delight.

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 3 Doth falfly blind the eye-fight of his look:

Light, feeing light, doth light of light beguile;

The copies all have, When I to fast exprefly am forbid.] But if Biron ftudied where to get a good Dinner, at a time when he was forbid to fast, how was This studying to know what he was forbid to know? Common Senfe, and the whole tenour of the Context, requires us to read feaft, or to make a Change in the laft Word of the Verfe.

When I to fast exprefly am fore-
bid;
VOL. II.

i. e. when I am enjoin'd beforehand to faft. THEOBALD.

3while truth the while

Doth falfly blind--] Falfly is here, and in many other places, the fame as dishonestly or treacherously. The whole fenfe of this gingling declamation is only this, that a man by too close study may read himself blind, which might have been told with lefs obfcurity in fewer words.

I

So,

So, ere you find where light in darkness lies,
Your light grows dark by lofing of your eyes.
Study me how to please the eye indeed,
By fixing it upon a fairer eye;

Who dazzling fo, that eye shall be his heed 4,
And give him light, that it was blinded by.
Study is like the Heaven's glorious Sun,

That will not be deep fearch'd with fawcy looks ;
Shall have continual plodders ever won,
Save base authority from other's books.
These earthly godfathers of heaven's lights,
That give a name to every fixed ftar,
Have no more profit of their fhining nights,

Than thofe that walk and wot not what they are. "Too much to know, is to know nought: but fame And every godfather can give a name."

4 Who dazzling fo, that eye
fhall be his beed,
And give him light, that it was

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 upon a fairer eye, that fairer eye hall be his beed, his direction or lodeftar, (fee Midfummer Night's Dream) and give him light that was blinded by it.

5 Too much to know, is to know nought but FAME. And every godfather can give a name.] The first line in this reading is abfurd and impertinent. There are two ways of fetting it right. The first is to read it thus,

Too much to know, is to know nought but SHAME; This makes a fine fenfe, and al

King.

ludes to Adam's Fall, which came from the inordinate paffion of knowing too much. The other way is to read, and point it thus,

Too much to know, is to know nought: but FEIGN, i. e. to feign. As much as to fay, the affecting to know too much is the way to know nothing. The fenfe, in both these readings, is equally good: but with this difference; If we read the first way, the following line is impertinent; and to fave the correction, we must judge it fpurious. If we read it the fecond way, then the following line compleats the fenfe. Confequently the correction of feign is to be preferred. To know too much (fays the fpeaker) is to know nothing; it is only feigning to know what we do not: giving names for things without knowing their natures; which is false knowledge:

King. How well he's read, to reafon againft reading!
Dum. Proceeded well, to ftop all good proceeding.
Long. He weeds the corn, and ftill let's 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.

Biron, Something then in rhime.

Long. Biron is like an envious fneaping froft,
That bites the first-born infants of the spring.
Biron. Well; fay, I am; why should proud fummer
boast,

Before the birds have any caufe to fing?
Why fhould I joy in an abortive birth?

That there are two ways of Jetting a paffage right gives reafon to fufpect that there may be a third way better than either. The firft of these emendations makes a fine fenfe, but will not unite with the next line; the other makes a fenfe lefs fine, and will not rhime to the correfpondent word. I cannot fee why the paffage may not ftand without difturbance. The confequence, fays Biron, of too much knowledge, is not the real folution of doubts, but mere empty reputation.

At

Proceeded well, to flop all good proceeding] To proceed is an academical term, meaning to take a degree, as be proceeded ba chelor in phyfick. The fenfe is, he has taken his degrees on the art of hindering the degrees of others.

7 Why should I joy in an abort-
ive Birth?

At Christmas I no more defire a
Rofe,

Than wish a Snow in May's
new-fangled Shows;
But like of each Thing, that in

Seafon grows] As the greatest part of this Scene (both what precedes and follows) is ftrictly in Rhimes, either fucceffive, alternate, or triple; I am perfuaded, the Copyifts have made a flip here. For by mak ing a Triplet of the three laft Lines quoted, Birth in the Close of the firft Line is quite deftitute of any Rhyme to it. Befides,

12

what

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 feason grows.
So you, to study, now it is too late,

That were to climb o'er th' house t'unlock the gate.
King. Well, fit you out-Go home, Biron: Adieu !
Biron. No, my good lord, I've fworn to stay with

you :

And though I have for barbarifm fpoke more,
Than for that angel knowledge you can fay;
Yet confident I'll keep what I have fwore,

And 'bide the penance of each three years' day.
Give me the paper, let me read the fame;
And to the ftrict'ft decrees I'll write my name.
King. How well this yielding refcues thee from
shame!

Biron. Item. That no woman shall come within a mile of my Court.

[reading.

Hath this been proclaimed?

Long. Four days ago.

Biron. Let's fee the penalty.

On pain of lofing ber tongue :

[reading.

Who devis'd this penalty?

Long. Marry, that did I.

Biron. Sweet lord, and why?

Long. To fright them hence with that dread penalty Biron. A dangerous law against gentility!

what a difpleafing Identity of Sound recurs in the Middle and Clofe of this Verfe?

Than wifh a Snow in May's

new-fangled Shows. 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

Item