GENT. The king's not here. HEL. GENT. Not here, fir? Not, indeed: He hence remov'd last night, and with more haste Than is his use. WID. Lord, how we lose our pains! HEL. All's well that ends well, yet; Though time seem so advérfe, and means unfit.I do beseech you, whither is he gone? GENT. Marry, as I take it, to Roufillon; HEL. GENT. This I'll do for you. HEL. And you fhall find yourself to be well thank'd, Whate'er falls more.-We must to horse again;— Go, go, provide. [Exeunt. • Our means will make us means.] Shakspeare delights much in this kind of reduplication, fometimes fo as to obfcure his meaning. Helena fays, they will follow with such speed as the means which they have will give them ability to exert. JOHNSON. Roufillon. The inner Court of the Countefs's Palace. Enter Clown and PAROLLES. PAR. Good monfieur Lavatch,' give my lord Lafeu this letter: I have ere now, fir, been better known to you, when I have held familiarity with fresher clothes; but I am now, fir, muddied in fortune's moat, and smell somewhat strong of her strong difpleasure.' 2-Lavatch,] This is an undoubted and perhaps irremediable corruption of fome French word. STEEVENS. 3 — but I am now, fir, muddied in fortune's moat, &c.] In former editions:-but I am now, fir, muddied in fortune's mood, and smell Somewhat ftrong of her strong difpleasure. I believe the poet wrotein fortune's moat; because the Clown in the very next fpeech replies "I will henceforth eat no fish of fortune's buttering;" and again, when he comes to repeat Parolles's petition to Lafeu, That hath fallen into the unclean fishpond of her difpleasure, and, as he says, is muddied withal." And again" Pray you, fir, ufe the carp as you may," &c. In all which places, it is obvious a moat or a pond is the allufion. Befides, Parolles fmelling ftrong, as he fays, of fortune's ftrong difpleasure, carries on the fame image; for as the moats round old feats were always replenished with fifh, fo the Clown's joke of holding his nofe, we may prefume, proceeded from this, that the privy was always over the moat; and therefore the Clown humouroufly fays, when Parolles is preffing him to deliver his letter to Lord Lafeu, " Foh! pr'ythee ftand away; a paper from fortune's clofeftool, to give to a nobleman!" WARBURTON. Dr. Warburton's correction may be fupported by a paffage in The Alchemift: "Subtle. Come along fir, "I muft now fhew you Fortune's privy lodgings. "Only the fumigation fomewhat ftrong." FARMER. CLO. Truly, fortune's difpleasure is but fluttish, if it fmell fo ftrong as thou fpeak'ft of: I will henceforth eat no fifh of fortune's buttering. Pr'ythee, allow the wind.+ PAR. Nay, you need not to stop your nose, sir; I fpake but by a metaphor. CLO. Indeed, fir, if your metaphor stink, I will ftop my nofe; or against any man's metaphor.' Pr'ythee, get thee further. By the whimfical caprice of Fortune, I am fallen into the mud, and smell fomewhat ftrong of her displeasure. In Pericles, Prince of Tyre, 1609, we meet with the fame phrase: but Fortune's mood " Varies again." Again, in Timon of Athens: "When fortune, in her fhift and change of mood, Again, in Julius Cæfar: "Fortune is merry, "And in this mood will give us any thing." Mood is again ufed for refentment or caprice, in Othello: "You are but now caft in his mood, a punishment more in policy than in malice." Again, for anger, in the old Taming of a Shrew, 1607: This brain-fick man, "That in his mood cares not to murder me." Dr. Warburton in his edition changed mood into meat, and his emendation was adopted, I think, without neceffity, by the fubfequent editors. All the expreffions enumerated by him," I will eat no fib,"-" he hath fallen into the unclean fishpond of her difpleasure," &c.-agree fufficiently well with the text, without any change. Parolles having talked metaphorically of being muddy'd by the displeasure of fortune, the clown to render him ridiculous, fupposes him to have actually fallen into a fishpond. MALONE. Though Mr. Malone defends the old reading, I have retained Dr. Warburton's emendation, which, in my opinion, is one of the luckieft ever produced. STEEVENS. allow the wind.] i. e. ftand to the leeward of me. STEEVENS. 5 Indeed, fir, if your metaphor ftink, I will stop my nose; or against any man's metaphor.] Nothing could be conceived with greater PAR. Pray you, fir, deliver me this paper. CLO. Foh, pr'ythee, ftand away; A paper from fortune's close-ftool to give to a nobleman! Look, here he comes himself. Enter LAFEU. Here is a pur of fortune's, fir, or of fortune's cat," (but not a mufk-cat,) that has fallen into the unclean fishpond of her displeasure, and, as he says, is muddied withal: Pray you, fir, ufe the carp as you may; for he looks like a poor, decay'd, ingenious, foolish, rascally knave. Î do pity his distress humour or juftnefs of fatire, than this fpeech. The use of the ftinking metaphor is an odious fault, which grave writers often commit. It is not uncommon to fee moral declaimers against vice, describe her as Hefiod did the fury Tristitia: Τῆς ἐκ οίνων μύξαι ρέον. Upon which Longinus juftly obferves, that, inftead of giving a terrible image, he has given a very nasty one. Cicero cautions well against it, in his book de Orat. " Quoniam hæc, fays he, vel fumma laus eft in verbis transferendis ut fenfum feriat id, quod translatum fit, fugienda eft omnis turpitudo earum rerum, ad quas eorum animos qui audiunt trahet fimilitudo. Nolo morte dici Áfricani caftratam effe rempublicam. Nolo fturcus curiae dici Glauciam. Our poet himself is extremely delicate in this refpect; who, throughout his large writings, if you except a paffage in Hamlet, has fcarce a metaphor that can offend the moft fqueamish reader. WARBURTON. Dr. Warburton's recollection must have been weak, or his zeal for his author extravagant. Otherwife, he could not have ventured to countenance him on the fcore of delicacy; his offenfive metaphors and allufions being undoubtedly more frequent than those of all his dramatick predeceffors or contemporaries. STEEVENS. 6 Here is a pur of fortune's, fir, or of fortune's cat,] We should read-or fortune's cat; and indeed I believe there is an error in the former part of the sentence, and that we ought to read—Here is a pufs of fortune's, inftead of pur. M. MASON. in my fmiles of comfort,' and leave him to your lordship. [Exit Clown. PAR. My lord, I am a man whom fortune hath cruelly fcratch'd. LAF. And what would you have me to do? 'tis too late to pare her nails now. Wherein have you play'd the knave with fortune, that the fhould fcratch you, who of herself is a good lady, and would not have knaves thrive long under her? There's a quart d'ecu for you: Let the juftices make you and fortune friends; I am for other business. PAR. I befeech your honour, to hear me one fingle word. LAF. You beg a fingle penny more: come, you fhall ha't; fave your word." PAR. My name, my good lord, is Parolles. LAF. You beg more than one word then.8-Cox' my paffion! give me your hand :-How does your drum? 5 I do pity his diftrefs in my fmiles of comfort,] We should read,fimilies of comfort, fuch as the calling him fortune's cat, carp, &c. WARBURTON. The meaning is, I teftify my pity for his diftrefs, by encouraging him with a gracious fmile. The old reading may stand. HEATH. 66 Dr. Warburton's propofed emendation may be countenanced by an entry on the books of the Stationers' Company, 1595: “— A booke of verie pythie fimilies, comfortable and profitable for all men to reade." STEEVENS. 6 - under her?] Her, which is not in the firft copy, was fupplied by the editor of the fecond folio. MALONE. 7 fave your word.] i, e. you need not afk;-here it is. MALONE. You beg more than one word then.] A quibble is intended on the word Parolles, which in French is plural, and fignifies words. One, which is not found in the old copy, was added, perhaps unneceffarily, by the editor of the third folio. MALONE. |