1 OUT. And I, for such like petty crimes as these. But to the purpose,-for we cite our faults, That they may hold excus'd our lawless lives, And, partly, seeing you are beautify'd With goodly shape; and by your own report A linguist; and a man of such perfection, 8 As we do in our quality much want ; 3 OUT. Indeed, because you are a banish'd man, Therefore, above the rest, we parley to you: Are you content to be our general? To make a virtue of necessity, And live, as we do, in this wilderness? 3 OUT. What say'st thou? wilt thou be of our consort ? Say, ay, and be the captain of us all : We'll do thee homage, and be rul❜d by thee, 1 OUT. But if thou scorn our courtesy, thou diest. 2 OUT. Thou shalt not live to brag what we have offer'd. VAL. I take your offer, and will live with you; Provided that you do no outrages 9 On silly women, or poor passengers. 3 OUT. No, we detest such vile base practices. Come, go with us, we'll bring thee to our crews, And shew thee all the treasure we have got; Which, with ourselves, all rest at thy dispose. 8 [Exeunt. -in our QUALITY -] i. e. in our profession. So, in The Tempest: "Ariel, and all his quality." MALONE. Hamlet, speaking of the young players, says, "Will they pursue the quality no longer than they can sing?" afterwards, "Come give us a touch of your quality;" in both which passages quality means profession. M. MASON. 9 no outrages On silly women, or poor passengers.] This was one of the rules of Robin Hood's government. STEEVENS. SCENE II. Milan. The Court of the Palace. Enter PROTEUS. PRO. Already have I been false to Valentine, And now I must be as unjust to Thurio. Under the colour of commending him, I have access my own love to prefer ; But Silvia is too fair, too true, too holy, To be corrupted with my worthless gifts. When I protest true loyalty to her, She twits me with my falshood to my friend; When to her beauty I commend my vows, She bids me think, how I have been forsworn In breaking faith with Julia whom I lov'd: And, notwithstanding all her sudden quips1, The least whereof would quell a lover's hope, Yet, spaniel-like, the more she spurns my love, The more it grows, and fawneth on her still. But here comes Thurio: now must we to her window, And give some evening musick to her ear. Enter THURIO, and Musicians. THU. How now, sir Proteus? are you crept before us? PRO. Ay, gentle Thurio; for, you know, that love Will creep in service where it cannot go2. I sudden quips,] That is, hasty passionate reproaches and scoffs. So Macbeth is in a kindred sense said to be sudden; that is, irascible and impetuous. JOHNSON. The same expression is used by Dr. Wilson in his Arte of Rhetorique, 1553:—" and make him at his wit's end through the sudden quip." MALONE. 2 you know, that love Will CREEP in service where it cannot go.] Kindness will creep where it cannot gang, is to be found in Kelly's Collection of Scottish Proverbs, p. 226. REEd. THU. Ay, but I hope, sir, that you love not here. PRO. Sir, but I do; or else I would be hence. THU. Who? Silvia3 ? PRO. Ay, Silvia,-for your sake. THU. I thank you for your own. Now, gentlemen, Let's tune, and to it lustily a while. Enter Host, at a distance; and JULIA in boy's cloaths. HOST. Now, my young guest! me thinks you're allycholly; I pray you, why is it? JUL. Marry, mine host, because I cannot be merry. HOST. Come, we'll have you merry: I'll bring you where you shall hear musick, and see the gentleman that you ask'd for. JUL. But shall I hear him speak? HOST. Ay, that you shall. JUL. That will be musick *. HOST. Hark! hark! JUL. Is he among these? [Musick plays. HOST. Ay: but peace, let's hear 'em. SONG. Who is Silvia? what is she, That all our swains commend her? Holy, fair, and wise is she; The heaven such grace did lend her, That she might admired be. 3 WHO? Sylvia?] So the old copy; for which Mr. Steevens and the other modern editors have given us-Whom? Sylvia? See p. 76, n. 1. MALONE. 4 Jul. But shall I hear him SPEAK? Host. Ay, that you shall. Jul. That will be MUSICK.] So, in the Comedy of Errors: "When every word was musick to mine ear." 5 Who is Silvia? what is she, &c. MALONE. The heaven such grace did lend her,] So, in Pericles: Is she kind, as she is fair? For beauty lives with kindness": To help him of his blindness; Then to Silvia let us sing, HOST. How now? are you sadder than you were before? How do you, man? the musick likes you not. JUL. You mistake; the musician likes me not. HOST. Why, my pretty youth? JUL. He plays false, father. HOST. How? out of tune on the strings? very heart-strings. 6 HOST. You have a quick ear. "So buxom, blithe, and full of face, "As heaven had lent her all his grace." Douce. beauty lives with kindness:] Beauty without kindness dies unenjoyed, and undelighting. JOHNSON. So, Withers: "If she be not fair for me, "What care I how fair she be." MALONE. Upon the DULL EARTH dwelling :] So, in Venus and Adonis, 1593: "He sees her coming; "And with his bonnet hides his angry brow, "Looks on the dull earth with disturbed mind." Again, in our author's 29th Sonnet: "Like to the lark at break of day arising "From sullen earth." Again, in King Henry II. Part II. Act I. Sc. II. : 66 'Why are thine eyes fix'd on the sullen earth?" MALONE. JUL. Ay, I would I were deaf! it makes me have a slow heart, HOST. I perceive, you delight not in musick. HOST. Hark, what fine change is in the musick! HOST. You would then have them always play but one thing? JUL. I would always have one play but one thing. But, host, doth this Proteus, that we talk on, often resort unto this gentlewoman? HOST. I tell you what Launce, his man, told me, he lov'd her out of all nick 8. JUL. Where is Launce? HOST. Gone to seek his dog; which, to-morrow, by his master's command, he must carry for a present to his lady. JUL. Peace! stand aside; the company parts. IRO. Sir Thurio, fear you not; I will so plead, That you shall say, my cunning drift excels. THU. Where meet we?. PRO. At saint Gregory's well. THU. Farewell. [Exeunt THURIO and Musicians. SILVIA appears above, at her window. PRO. Madam, good evening to your ladyship. SIL. I thank you for your musick, gentlemen: Who is that, that spake ? 8 -out of all nick.] Beyond all reckoning or count. Reckonings are kept upon nicked or notched sticks or tallies. WARBURTON. "The tallies at my girdle seven years together, "For I did ever love to deal honestly in the nick."” As it is an inn-keeper who employs the allusion, it is much in character. STEEVENS. |