The state of your affection; for your paffions HEL. Then, I confess, Here on my knee, before high heaven and you, My friends were poor, but honeft; fo's my love: Be not offended; for it hurts not him, That he is lov'd of me: I follow him not By any token of prefumptuous fuit; Nor would I have him, till I do deserve him; captious and intenible fieve,] The word captious I never found in this fenfe; yet I cannot tell what to fubftitute, unless carious for rotten, which yet is a word more likely to have been mistaken by the copiers than used by the author. JOHNSON. Dr. Farmer fuppofes captious to be a contraction of capacious. As violent ones are to be found among our ancient writers, and efpecially in Churchyard's Poems, with which Shakspeare was not unacquainted. STEEVENS. By captious, I believe Shakspeare only meant recipient, capable of receiving what is put into it; and by intenible, incapable of holding or retaining it. How frequently he and the other writers of his age confounded the active and paffive adjectives, has been already more than once observed. The original copy reads-intemible. The correction was made in the fecond folio. MALONE. And lack not to lofe ftill:] Perhaps we should read- I believe lofe is right. So afterwards, in this speech: 66 "But lend and give, where she is fure to lofe." Helena means, I think, to fay that, like a perfon who pours water into a veffel full of holes, and ftill continues his employment though he finds the water all loft, and the vessel empty, fo, though Religious in mine error, I adore The fun, that looks upon his worshipper, Το HEL. Madam, I had. Wherefore? tell true." fhe finds that the waters of her love are ftill loft, that her affection is thrown away on an object whom she thinks she never can deserve, The yet is not difcouraged, but perfeveres in her hopeless endeavour to accomplish her withes. The poet evidently alludes to the trite ftory of the daughters of Danaus. MALONE. Whofe aged honour cites a virtuous youth,] i. e. whose re fpectable conduct in age shows, or proves, that you were no less virtuous when young. As a fact is proved by citing witneffes, or examples from books, our author with his ufual license uses to cite, in the fenfe of to prove. MALONE. 8 Wish chaftly, and love dearly, that your Dian Was both herself and Love;] i. e. Venus. Helena means to fay" If ever you wished that the deity who prefides over chastity, and the queen of amorous rites, were one and the fame perfon; or, in other words, if ever you wished for the honeft and lawful completion of your chafte defires." I believe, however, the words were accidentally tranfpofed at the prefs, and would readLove dearly, and wish chaftly, that your Dian, &c. MALONE. It is 9 tell true.] This is an evident interpolation. needlefs, because it repeats what the Countefs had already faid: it is injurious, because it fpoils the meafure. STEEVENS. HEL. I will tell truth; by grace itself, I swear. You know, my father left me fome prescriptions Of rare and prov'd effects, fuch as his reading, And manifeft experience, had collected For general fovereignty; and that he will'd met COUNT. For Paris, was it? fpeak. This was your motive HEL. My lord your fon made me to think of this; Elfe Paris, and the medicine, and the king, Had, from the converfation of my thoughts, Haply, been absent then. COUNT. But think you, Helen, If you should tender your fuppofed aid, He would receive it? He and his phyficians Are of a mind; he, that they cannot help him, HEL. There's fomething hints, More than my father's fkill, which was the greatest 2 notes, whofe faculties inclufive-] Receipts in which greater virtues were inclofed than appeared to obfervation. JOHNSON. 3 Embowell'd of their doctrine,] i. c. exhausted of their skill, So, in the old fpurious play of K. John: "Back war-men, back; embowel not the clime." STEEVENS, Of his profeffion, that his good receipt By the luckiest stars in heaven: and, would your honour But give me leave to try fuccefs, I'd venture COUNT. Doft thou believe't? HEL. Ay, madam, knowingly. COUNT. Why, Helen, thou fhalt have my leave, and love, Means, and attendants, and my loving greetings 4 There's fomething hints More than my father's skill, that his good receipt, &c.] The old copy reads-fomething in't. STEEVENS. Here is an inference, [that] without any thing preceding, to which it refers, which makes the fentence vicious, and shows that we fhould read There's fomething hints More than my father's skill, that his good receipt. i. e. I have a fecret premonition, or prefage. WARBURTON. This neceffary correction was made by Sir Thomas Hanmer. MALONE. S into thy attempt :] So in the old copy. We might more intelligibly read, according to the third folio,-unto thy attempt. STEEVENS, ACT II. SCENE I. Paris. A Room in the King's Palace. Flourish. Enter King, with young Lords taking leave for the Florentine war; BERTRAM, PAROLLES, and Attendants. KING. Farewell, young lord, these warlike prin ciples Do not throw from you :-and you, my lord, farewell: 7 Share the advice betwixt you; if both gain all, Farewell, &c.] In all the latter copies thefe lines ftood thus: Do not throw from you. You, my lords, farewell; The gift doth ftretch itfelf as 'tis receiv'd. The third line in that state was unintelligible. Sir Thomas Hanmer reads thus: Farewell, young lord: these warlike principles Do not throw from you; you, my lord, farewell; And is enough for both. The first edition, from which the paffage is reftored, was fufficiently clear; yet it is plain, that the latter editors preferred a reading which they did not understand. JOHNSON. 7 and you, my lord, farewell:] The old copy, both in this and the following inftance, reads-lords, STEEVENS. It does not any where appear that more than two French lords (befides Bertram) went to ferve in Italy; and therefore I think the King's fpeech fhould be corrected thus: Farewell, young lord; these warlike principles Do not throw from you; and you, my lord, farewell; |