" for being a bawd; i. e. The true caufe is the moft "bonourable. This is in character." WARB.. Pompey, as he is going to prifon, on feeing Lucio, cries, I fpy comfort; I cry bail :' &c. hoping, that Lucio would ftand his friend: but he all along, inftead of comforting, aggravates his diftrefs, by ban tering him. After feveral other queftions, he afks, "Art thou going to prifon, Pompey ?" Clown. "Yes, faith, Sir. Lucio. "Why 'tis not amifs, Pompey: farewel. "Go, fay I fent thee thither." After this jeft he refumes his questions, and asks the cause of his commitment" For debt, Pompey, or how?" to which the Clown gives the true answer; that he was committed for being a bawd. 66 Where now is there the left foundation for this conceit, of hiding the ignominy of his punishment? or the humor of that reply, for being a bawd; i. e. the true caufe is the most honourable; which is a reflexion, that deferves to be ranked under Canon XII. EXAMP. XXXII. Vol. 1. P. 412. MEASURE FOR MEASURE. "It is too GENERAL a vice] The occafion of the "observation was, Lucio's faying, That it ought "to be treated with a little more lenity; and his an"fwer to it is-The vice is of great kindred. No"thing can be more abfurd than all this. From the occafion and the anfwer therefore it appears, ..that Shakespear wrote, "It is too gentle a vice. " which "which fignifying both indulgent and well-bred, "Lucio humouroufly takes it in the latter fenfe." WARB. Read either, it is too indulgent a vice, or too wellbred a vice, in answer to what Lucio fays; and you will find, they are both nonsense. The word gentle, therefore, if Shakespear did write it, must have a third sense; which Mr. Warburton unkindly keeps to himself. But the truth is, the old reading is right; and the dialogue, before Mr. Warburton interrupted it, went-on very well. "A little more lenity to "leachery (fays Lucio) would do no harm in him;' the Duke anfwers, "It is too general à vice." "Yes (replies Lucio). the Vice is of great kindred, "it is well allied," &c. As much as to fay, Yes truly, it is general; for the greatest men have it, as well as we little folks. And, a little lower, he taxes the Duke perfonally with it. Nothing can be more natural than all this. EXAM.XXXIII.Vol. 3. P. 150. TWELFTH NIGHT. "it is filly footh; "And dallies with the innocence of love, "Like the old age." Speaking of a fong. It is a plain old fong, fays he, has the fimplicity of the ancients, and dallies with the innocence of love; i. e. fports and plays innocently with a love fubject, as they did in old times. But Mr. Warburton, who is here out of his Element, and on a fubject not dreamt of in his Philofophy; pronounces peremptorily, "Dallies has no fense; we should read tallies.” WARB Spoken more like a baker or milkman, than a lover. EXAMP. XXXIV. Vol. 1. P. 77. TEMPEST. "I'll break my staff; "Bury it certain fadoms in the earth, &c. "Certain, in its prefent fignification, is predicated "of a precife determinate number: but this fenfe "would make the thought flat and ridiculous. We "muft confider the word certain therefore, as ufed "in its old fignification of a many indefinitely. So Bale in his Acts of English Votaries fays, but be took with him A CERTEN of his idle companions: for a many. So that Shakespear, I fuppofe, wrote the line thus; Bury't a CERTAIN fa"dom in the earth. WARB.". may Certain has now, as it alfo had of old, two fenfes : it y either be used indefinitely; or else (as Mr. W. chooses to exprefs himself) may be "predicated of a precife determinate number." But how it came into our Critic's head, that in it's indefinite use it must fignify a great number, or (as he elegantly calls it) a many; I am at a lofs to guefs. Nor can I conceive, what bulky Grammarian fell from the shelves upon his head; that he takes fuch bitter revenge on poor Prifcian, as to change fadoms plur. for fadom fing. at the inftant he is telling you, Shakespear meant many fadoms: unless perhaps he did it for the fake of uniformity of ftyle. Then indeed, to fay-two, three, twenty fadom, inftead of fadoms, is juft fuch a piece of vulgarity in speech; as to fay -a many for a great many. One may fay, that Mr. W. has written certain obferva obfervations and emendations on Shakespear: but, nobody, that ever read them, except ONE, would imagine; that it was, or could be intended hereby to predicate, that the obfervations were precife and determinate; or the emendations certain. I fuppofe, Shakespear intended by this expreffion to fignify; that there was a certain precife determinate number of fadoms, which Profpero by his art knew of; at which depth if he buried his staff, it would never more be discovered, fo as to be used in enchantments. EXAMP. XXXV. Vol. 1. P. 356. MEASURE FOR MEASURE. "We have with fpecial Soul "Elected Him, Our abfence to supply." "This nonsense must be corrected thus; with fpe"cial roll: i. e. by a special commiffion." WAR B. With fpecial Soul, may fairly be interpreted to mean, with great thought, upon mature deliberation; but with special roll, for-by fpecial commiffion, is hard and awkward: and to elect a man by a commiffion, instead of appoint him, is flat nonfenfe which must be re-corrected thus-with fpecial SOUL. EXAMP. XXXVI. Vol. 1. P.217. Two GENTLEMEN, &C. "I am but a Fool, look you; and yet I have the "wit to think, my master is a kind of knave: but "that's all one, if he be but one knave.] Where is "the fenfe, or, if you wont allow the fpeaker that, where is the humour of this speech? Nothing had "given the fool occafion to fufpect, that his master 66 E 2 66 was Riches; not being come to your eftate, being dependent on your Elders for fubfiftence. And be. cause you are advanced in years, before you come 'to your Inheritance; therefore by that time you get riches to purchase the pleasures of life, your appetites and ftrength forfake you; and you are incapable of enjoying them, on that account.* Appetite, in Shakespear's loofe manner, is fignified by two words, viz. heat, affection; and Strength by two others, limb, beauty. This laft Mr. W. does not like; and therefore pronounces, "We fhould read, bounty; which compleats the "fenfe, and is this; Thou haft neither the pleasure of enjoying riches thy-felf, for thou wantest vigour; nor of feeing it enjoyed by others, for thou "wanteft bounty. Where the making the want of bounty as infeparable from old age as the want "of health, is extremely fatyrical; though not al"together juft." WARB. This reafon for the alteration is worthy of the critic by profeffion; who not finding in his author what to cenfure, firft corrupts under pretence of amending him; and then abuses him for the imputed fentiment. 旷 CANON III. Thefe alterations he may make, in fpite of the exactness of measure. EXAMP. I. Vol. 5. P. 383. HENRY VIII. "What kind of my obedience I should tender, More than my All is nothing; nor my prayers,"&c. See this fentiment well expreffed in LEAR, Vol. 6. P. 8. Where |