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believe me, an abfolute gentleman, 5 full of most excellent differences, of very foft fociety, and great fhewing indeed, to fpeak feelingly of him, he is 6 the card or calendar of gentry; 7 for you fhall find in him the continent of what part a gentleman would fee.

Ham. Sir, his definement fuffers no perdition in you; though I know, to divide him inventorially would dizzy the arithmetic of memory; 9 and yet but raw neither in refpect of his quick fail. But, in the verity of extolment, I take him to be a foul of

great

5-full of most excellent differences,—] Full of diftinguishing excellencies. JOHNSON.

6-the card or calendar of gentry;-] The general preceptor of elegance; the card by which a gentleman is to direct his courfe; the calendar by which he is to choose his time, that what he does may be both excellent and feasonable. JOHNSON.

7—for you shall find in him the continent of what part a gentleman would fee.] You shall find him containing and comprifing every quality which a gentleman would defire to contemplate for imitation. I know not but it should be read, You fball find him the continent. JOHNSON.

8 Sir, his definement, &c.] This is defigned as a fpecimen, and ridicule of the court-jargon, amongst the precieux of that time. The fenfe in English is, "Sir, he fuffers nothing in your account of him, though to enumerate his good qua"lities particularly would be endless; yet when we had done

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our beft, it would fill come fhort of him. However, in "ftrictness of truth, he is a great genius, and of a character "fo rarely to be met with, that to find any thing like him "we must look into his mirrour, and his imitators will appear "no more than his fhadows." WARBURTON.

9 and yet but RAW neither-] We should read SLOW.

WARBURTON.

I believe raw to be the right word; it is a word of great latitude; raw fignifies unripe, immature, thence unformed, imperfect, unfkilful. The best account of him would be imperfect, in refpect of his quick fail. The phrase quick fail was, I fuppofe, a proverbial term for activity of mind. JOHNSON. a foul of great article ;] This is obfcure. I once thought it might have been, a foul of great altitude; but, I fuppofe, a foul of great article, means a foul of large compre

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henfion,

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great article; and his infufion of such dearth and rareness, as, to make true diction of him, his femblable is his mirrour; and, who elfe would trace him, his umbrage, nothing more.

Ofr. Your lordship speaks most infallibly of him. Ham. The concernancy, Sir?-Why do we wrap the gentleman in our more rawer breath?

Ofr. Sir

Hor. 3 Is't not poffible to understand in another tongue? you will do't, Sir, really.

Ham. What imports the nomination of this gentle

man ?

Ofr. Of Laertes ?

Hor. His purfe is empty already all's golden words are spent.

Ham. Of him, Sir.

Ofr. I know, you are not ignorant

Ham. I would you did, Sir. Yet, in faith, 4 if you did, it would not much approve me.-Well, Sir. Ofr. You are not ignorant of what excellence Laertes is.

Ham. 5 I dare not confefs that, left I should com

pare

henfion, of many contents; the particulars of an inventory are called articles. JOHNSON.

2-of fuch dearth-] Dearth is dearnefs, value, price. And his internal qualities of fuch value and rarity. JOHNSON.

3 Is't not poffible to understand in another tongue? you will do't, Sir, really.] Of this interrogatory remark the fenfe is very obfcure. The queftion may mean, Might not all this be underfood in plainer language. But then, you will do it, Sir, really, fems to have no ufe, for who could doubt but plain language would be intelligible? I would therefore read, Is't poffible not to be understood in a mother tongue. You will do it, Sir, really. JOHNSON.

✦ —if you did, it would not much approve me. e.] If you knew I was not ignorant, your esteem would not much advance my reputation. To approve, is to recommend to approbation.

JOHNSON.

I dare not confefs that, left I should compare with him, &c.] I dare not pretend to know him, left I fhould pretend to an

equality :

pare with him in excellence: but to know a man well, were to know himself.

Ofr. I mean, Sir, for his weapon: but in the imputation laid on him by them in his meed, he's unfellow'd.]

Ham. What's his weapon?

Ofr. Rapier and dagger.

Ham. That's two of his weapons; but well.

Ofr. The king, Sir, hath wag'd with him fix Barbary horses, against the which he has 7 impon'd, as I take it, fix French rapiers and poniards, with their affigns, as girdle, hangers, and fo. Three of the carriages, in faith, are very dear to fancy, very refponfive to the hilts, moft delicate carriages, and of very liberal conceit.

Ham. What call you the carriages?

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Hor. I knew, you must be edified by the margent, ere you had done.

Ofr. The carriages, Sir, are the hangers.

Ham. The phrafe would be 9 more germane to the matter, if we could carry cannon by our fides; I would it might be hangers till then. But, on: fix Barbary horles againft fix French fwords, their affigns, and three liberal-conceited carriages; that's the French

equality no man can completely know another, but by knowing himself, which is the utmost extent of human wisdom. JOHNSON.

6 -in his meed,-] In his excellence. JOHNSON. 7-impon'd,-] Perhaps it fhould be, depon'd. So Hudi

bras,

"I would upon this caufe depone,

"As much as any I have known."

But perhaps imponed is pledged, impawned, fo fpelt to ridicule the affectation of uttering English words with French pronunciation. JOHNSON.

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-you must be edified by the margent,-] Dr. Warburton very properly obferves, that in the old books the glofs or comment was ufually printed on the margent of the leaf.

9 -more germane-] More a-kin. JOHNSON.

STEEVENS.

bett

bett against the Danish. Why is this impon'd, as you call it ?

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Ofr. The king, Sir, hath laid, that in a dozen paffes between yourfelf and him, he shall not exceed you three hits; he hath laid on twelve for nine; and it would come to immediate trial, if your lordfhip would vouchsafe the answer.

Ham. How, if I anfwer, no?

Ofr. I mean, my lord, the oppofition of your perfon in trial.

Ham. Sir, I will walk here in the hall. If it please his majefty, 'tis the breathing time of day with me; let the foils be brought, the gentleman willing, and the king hold his purpofe, I will win for him, if I can: if not, I'll gain nothing but my fhame, and the odd hits.

Ofr. Shall I deliver you fo?

Ham. To this effect, Sir, after what flourish your nature will.

Ofr. I commend my duty to your lordship. [Exit. Ham. Yours, yours. He does well to commend it himself, there are no tongues elfe for's turn.

Hor. This lapwing runs away with the shell on his head.

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The king, Sir, hath laid,-] This wager I do not underftand. In a dozen paffes one mult exceed the other more or lefs than three hits. Nor can I comprehend, how, in a dozen, there can be twelve to nine. The paffage is of no importance; it is fufficient that there was a wager. The quarto has the paffage as it ftands. The folio, He hath one twelve for mine. JOHNSON.

2 This lapwing runs away with the hell on his head.] I fee no particular propriety in the image of the lapwing. Ofrick did not run till he had done his butinefs. We may read, This lap-wing ran away-That is, this fellow was full of unimportant buftle from his birth. JOHNSON.

The fame image occurs in Ben Jonfon's Staple of News. -and coachmen

"To mount their boxes reverently, and drive

"Like lapwings with a fell upon their heads

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Thorough the ftreets."

STEEVENS.

Ham.

Ham. 3 He did compliment with his dug before he fuck'd it: thus has he (and many more of the fame breed, that I know the droffy age dotes on) only got the tune of the time, and outward habit of encounter, 4 a kind of yefty collection, which carries them through

3 He did fo, Sir, with his dug, &c.] What, run away with it? The folio reads, He did cOMPLY with his dug. So that the true reading appears to be, He did COMPLIMENT with his dug, i. e. ftand upon ceremony with it, to fhew he was born a courtier. This is extremely humorous. WARBURTON.

Hanmer has the fame emendation. JOHNSON.

4 -a

kind of yefty collection, which carries them through and through the moft FOND and winnowed opinions; and do but blow them to their trials, the bubbles are out.] The metaphor is frangely mangled by the intrufion of the word FOND, which undoubtedly should be read FANN'D; the allufion being to corn feparated by the fan from chaff and duft. But the editors feeing, from the character of this yefty collection, that the opinions, through which they were fo currently carried, were false opinions; and fann'd and winnow'd opinions, in the most obvious fenfe, fignifying tried and purified opinions; they thought fann'd muft needs be wrong, and therefore made it fond, which word fignified in our author's time, foolish, weak, or childish. They did not confider that fann'd and winnow'd opinions had also a different fignification: for it may mean the opinions of great men and courtiers, men feparated by their quality from the vulgar, as corn is feparated from the chaff. This yefty collection, fays Hamlet, infinuates itself into people of the highest quality, as yeft into the finest flower. The courtiers admire him, but when he comes to the trial, &c. WARBURTON.

This is a very happy emendation; but I know not why the critic fhould fuppofe that fond was printed for fann'd in confequence of any reafon or reflection. Such errors, to which there is no temptation but idlenefs, and of which there was no caufe but ignorance, are in every page of the old editions. This paffage in the quarto ftands thus: " They have got out "of the habit of encounter, a kind of mifty collection, which "carries them through and through the most profane and "trennowned opinions." If this printer preferved any traces of the original, our author wrote, "the most fane and re"nowned opinions," which is better than fann'd and winnow'd.

The

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