PERSONS REPRESENTED. * FERDINAND, King of Navarre. BIRON, LONGAVILLE, DUMAIN, BOYET, MERCADE, Lords, attending on the King. } Lords, attending on the Princess of France. Don ADRIANO DE ARMADO, a fantastical Spaniard. HOLOFERNES, a Schoolmaster. COSTARD, a Clown. MOTH, Page to Armado. Officers and others, Attendants on the King and Princess. SCENE, NAVarre. * This enumeration of persons was made by Mr. Rowe. JOHNSON. LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST. ACT I. SCENE I.-Navarre. A Park, with a Palace in it. Enter the King, BIRON, LONGAVILLE, and DUMAIN. King. LET fame, that all hunt after in their lives, That honour, which shall bate his scythe's keen edge, Therefore, brave conquerors ! -for so you are, You three, Birón, Dumain, and Longaville, Your oaths are past, and now subscribe your names; If you are arm'd to do, as sworn to do, Biron. I can but say their protestation over, King. Your oath is pass'd to pass away from these. And stay here in your court for three years' space. Long. You swore to that, Birón, and to the rest. Biron. By yea and nay, sir, then I swore in jest. What is the end of study? let me know. King. Why, that to know, which else we should not know. 1 With all these -- -] i. e. the King, Biron, &c. Biron. Things hid and barr'd, you mean, from common sense? King. Ay, that is study's god-like recompense. To know the thing I am forbid to know: As thus, To study where I well may dine, When I to feast expressly am forbid; Or, study where to meet some mistress fine, Study knows that, which yet it doth not know: King. These be the stops that hinder study quite, And train our intellects to vain delight. Biron. Why, all delights are vain; but that most vain, Which, with pain purchas'd, doth inherit pain: As, painfully to pore upon a book, To seek the light of truth; while truth the while Light, seeking light, doth light of light beguile : By fixing it upon a fairer eye; Who dazzling so, that eye shall be his heed, Doth falsely blind,] Falsely is here, and in many other places, the same as dishonestly or treacherously. 3 Who dazzling so, that eye shall be his heed, And give him light that was it blinded by.] This passage is unnecessarily obscure; the meaning is, that when he dazzles, that is, has his eye made weak, by fixing his eye upon a fairer eye, that fairer eye shall be his heed, his direction or lode-star, and give him light that was blinded by it. JOHNSON. Mr. Malone reads "it was." Study is like the heaven's glorious sun, That will not be deep-search'd with saucy looks; Save base authority from others' books. Have no more profit of their shining nights, Than those that walk, and wot not what they are. Too much to know, is, to know nought but fame; And every godfather can give a name. King. How well he's read, to reason against reading! Dum. Proceeded well, to stop all good proceeding! Long. He weeds the corn, and still lets grow the weeding. Biron. The spring is near, when green geese are a breeding. Long. Birón is like an envious sneaping frost,* That bites the first-born infants of the spring. Biron. Well, say I am; why should proud summer boast, Before the birds have any cause to sing? Why should I joy in an abortive birth? Than wish a snow in May's new-fangled shows; 5 Climb o'er the house to unlock the little gate. 4 5 } King. Well, sit you out: go home, Birón; adieu! sneaping frost,] To sneap is to check, or rebuke. May's new-fangled shows;] By these shows the poet means Maygames at which a snow would be very unwelcome and unexpected. It is only a periphrasis for May. 6 sit you out,] To sit out: is a term from the card-table." |