ACT V. SCENE I. The same. An Apartment in the Palace of Theseus. Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, PHILOSTRATE, Hip. "Tis strange, my Theseus, that these lovers The. More strange than true. I never may believe These antique fables, nor these fairy toys. Lovers, and madmen, have such seething brains, Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend More than cool reason ever comprehends. The lunatick, the lover, and the poet, Are of imagination all compact:' One sees more devils than vast hell can hold; That is, the madman: the lover all as frantick, The poet's eye in a fine frenzy rolling, Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven, And, as imagination bodies forth The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen Such tricks hath strong imagination; That, if it would but apprehend some joy, Are of imagination all compact:] i. e. are made of mere imagination. 2in a brow of Egypt:] the brow of a gipsy, Hip. But all the story of the night told over, And grows to something of great constancy;3 Enter LYSANDer, Demetrius, HERMIA, and The. Here come the lovers, full of joy and mirth. Joy, gentle friends! joy, and fresh days of love, Lys. More than to us Wait on your royal walks, your board, your bed! The. Come now; what masks, what dances shall we have, To wear away this long age of three hours, Philost. Here, mighty Theseus. The. Say, what abridgment have you for this evening? What mask, what musick? How shall we beguile The lazy time, if not with some delight? Philost. There is a brief," how many sports are ripe; 3-constancy;] Consistency, stability, certainty. Say, what abridgment, &c.] By abridgment our author may mean a dramatick performance, which crowds the events of years into a few hours. It may be worth while, however, to observe, that in the North the word abatement had the same meaning as diversion or amusement. 5 ——————— a brief,] i, e. a short account or enumeration. VOL II. G G Make choice of which your highness will see first. [Giving a paper. The. reads.] The battle with the Centaurs, to be sung, By an Athenian eunuch to the harp. The riot of the tipsy Bacchanals, Tearing the Thracian singer in their rage. That is an old device, and it was play'd When I from Thebes came last a conqueror. The thrice three Muses mourning for the death Of learning, late deceas'd in beggary. That is some satire, keen, and critical, Not sorting with a nuptial ceremony. A tedious brief scene of young Pyramus, And his love Thisbe; very tragical mirth. Merry and tragical Tedious and brief? That is, hot ice, and wonderous strange show. How shall we find the concord of this discord? Philost. A play there is, my lord, some ten words long; Which is as brief as I have known a play; Philost. Hard-handed men, that work in Athens here, Which never labour'd in their minds till now; 6 unbreath'd] Unexercised, unpractised. With this same play, against your nuptial. The. And we will hear it. Philost. No, my noble lord, It is not for you: I have heard it over, And it is nothing, nothing in the world; The. Go, bring them in; and take your places, ladies. The. Why, gentle sweet, you shall see no such thing. Hip. He says, they can do nothing in this kind. The. The kinder we, to give them thanks for nothing. Our sport shall be, to take what they mistake: Noble respect takes it in might, not merit. I read as much, as from the rattling tongue Enter PHILOSTRATE. Philost. So please your grace, the prologue is addrest." The. Let him approach. [Flourish of trumpets.. Enter Prologue. Prol. If we offend, it is with our good will. That you should think, we come not to offend, But with good will. To show our simple skill, That is the true beginning of our end. Consider then, we come but in despite. We do not come as minding to content you, Our true intent is. All for your delight, We are not here. That you should here repent you, The actors are at hand; and, by their show, You shall know all, that you are like to know. The. This fellow doth not stand upon points. Lys. He hath rid his prologue, like a rough colt; he knows not the stop. A good moral, my lord: It is not enough to speak, but to speak true. Hip. Indeed he hath played on this prologue, like a child on a recorder; a sound, but not in government.1 The. His speech was like a tangled chain; nothing impaired, but all disordered. Who is next? 7-addrest.] That is, ready. Flourish of trumpets.] It appears that the prologue was anciently ushered in by trumpets. 9 on a recorder;] It should seem that the flute and the recorder were different instruments, and that the latter in propriety of speech was no other than the flagelet. but not in government.] That is, not tunefully. |