junction and' immediately before for,' and to point the passage a little differently:

'

How unluckily it happened; that I should purchase the day before: and, for a little part', (partage) 'undo a great deal of honor.' i. e. How unfortunate! that I should have made a purchase only the day before and, for a trifling possession, lost a great deal of honor.', B.

1 Stran. Had his necessity made use of me,
I would have put my wealth into donation,
And the best half should have return'd to him,
So much I love his heart:

I would have put my wealth into donation,
And the best half should have return'd to him.]

Hanmer reads,

I would have put my wealth into partition,
And the best half should have attorn'd to him.

Dr. Warburton receives attorn'd. The only difficulty is in the word return'd, which, since he had received nothing from him, cannot be used but in a very low and licentious meaning. JouN.

I would have put my wealth into donation,' &c.

It is the business of a commentator to give, wherever it can well be done, an exposition of controverted passages, without the change of a single word in the present instance nothing but transposition appears to be necessary. This transposition, indeed, will afford a totally different, but, I hope, improved sense.

'Had his necessity made use of me,

I would have put the best half of my wealth

Into donation to him: and should have return'd

His heart, I so much love.'

I would have employed the best part of my wealth in affording assistance to Timon, who in return would have given me his heart; and I should have thought myself repaid in possessing it, in having the heart of him whom I so greatly honor.' B.

Sem. Must I be his last refuge? His friends, like physicians,

Thrive, give him over; Must I take the cure upon me? -his friends like physicians

Thriv'd, give him over?]

I have restored this old reading, only amending the pointing, which was faulty. Mr. Pope, suspecting the phrase, has substituted three in the room of thriv'd, and so disarmed the poet's satire. Physicians thriv'd is no more than physicians grown rich, only the adjective passive of this verb, indeed, is not so common in use; and yet it is a familiar expression to this day to say Such an one is well thriven on his trade. THEOB. The original reading is,

his friends (like physicians)

Thrive, give him over :

which Theobald has misrepresented. Hanmer reads, try'd, plausibly

enough. Instead of three proposed by Mr. Pope, I should read thrice. But perhaps the old reading is the true. JouN.

Perhaps we should read--- shriv'd. They give him over shriv'd; that is, prepared for immediate death by shrift. TYRWH.

-his friends, like physicians, Thrive, give him o'er,' &c.

No kind of sense can be discovered in the present order of the words. By a slight transposition, however, and by printing thrive!' as at once expressive of doubt and surprise, the meaning will be sufficiently clear. I regulate the passage thus:

Must I be his last refuge? thrive! his friends
Like physicians, give him over.-

Must I take the cure upon me?"

i. e. Must I be last sent to ? do well! [how should that be when] his friends, like physicians, have given him over? [and in such a case] must I undertake the cure? The words between hooks must be understood as of the text. B.

Sem. I had rather than the worth of thrice the sum,
He had sent to me first, but for my mind's sake;

I had such a courage to do him good. But now return,
And with their faint reply this answer join;

Who bates mine honor, shall not know my coin.

I had such a courage.] Such an ardor, such an eager desire. JOHN. 'I had such a courage.' The present reading is harsh, and many of the words, I think, are misplaced. For courage' I would read courtage (fr.) which signifies agreement, dealing. It seems to be here used in the latter sense, and for measure of treatment. The following arrangement may be preferred, especially as it improves the sense:

• I had rather than the worth of thrice the sum,
He had first sent to me to do him good.

(But for my mind's sake)

Had I had such a courtage. But now return, &c.'

i. e. ' I would he had sent first to me to do him service. [I wish it merely as being grateful to my feelings.] Had I been so dealt by, had I met with such treatment,-But go,' &c. B.

Serv. The devil knew not what he did, when he made man politick; he cross'd himself by't: and I cannot think, but, in the end, the villainies of man will set him clear.

The devil knew not what he did.] I cannot but think that the negative not has intruded into this passage, and the reader will think so too, when he reads Dr. Warburton's explanation of the next words. JoHN.

Will set him clear.] Set him clear does not mean acquit him before heaven; for then the devil must Le supposed to know what he did : but it signifies puzzle him, outdo him at his own weapons. WARB.

How the devil, or any other being, should be set clear by being puzzled and outdone, the commentator has not explained. When in a crowd we would have an opening made, we say, Stand clear, that is, out of the way of danger. With some affinity to this use, though not without great harshness, to set clear, may be to set aside. But I believe the original corruption is the insertion of the negative, which was obtruded by some transcriber, who supposed crossed to mean thwarted, when it meant, erempted from evil. The use of crossing, by way of protection or purification, was probably not worn out in Shakspeare's time. The sense of set clear is now easy; he has no longer the guilt of tempting man. To cross himself may mean, in a very familiar sense, to clear his score, to get out of debt, to quit his reckoning. Be knew not what he did, may mean, he knew not how much good he was doing himself. There is no need of emendation. JoHN.

'The devil knew not what he did,'-' will set him clear,' Johnson's remark on Warburton's interpretation of set clear,' as signi fying puzzled, outdone, is perfectly just: no such meaning can possibly be affixed to the words. There is evidently a corruption in the text, for the reasoning is illogical, it is unsound. The error lies, I believe, in the word 'clear' which should be dear,' i. e. sore, grievous, hurtful, (properly, it should be spelled dere). The word thus changed, let us attend to the sense. The devil knew not what he was about when he gave craftiness to humankind, for in so doing he was an enemy to himself, and I cannot but think, so many are the villainies of man, that he (the devil) will be grievously hard set by him in other words, and in vulgar language, he will meet with his match. The c and I, when joined at the press, will make a d, as I have observed of a like mistake in another place. B.

Enter Varro, Titus, Hortensius, Lucius, and other servants of Timon's creditors.

Lucius.] Lucius is here again for the servant of Lucius. JOHN. Lucius.' I suspect that Lucius, and other servants' has been originally written

Lucius' and other servants,

which will mean Lucius' servant, and other servants. In the Dramatis personæ, there is both a lord and servant of the name of Lucius. B.

Alc. I am an humble suitor to your virtues;

For pity is the virtue of the law,

And none but tyrants use it cruelly.

I am an humble suitor to your virtue ;

For pity is the virtue of the law,

And none but tyrants use it cruelly.'

There is here a material error. The principle advanced in the present reading, for pity is the virtue of the law' is false. The law acknowledges no such virtue as pity: it professes to stand up for justice, nothing but justice. Mercy, indeed, may be extended to the criminal by the magistrate, but this is a totally different matter. It is for this mercy, however, that Alcibiades would plead, and which he very roperly calls in them (the senators) a virtue. We

must therefore read, pity is not the virtue of the law,' i. e. the letter of the law. must condemn him. The meaning of the whole is this" I am an humble suitor to you for pity, (a virtue which the law must not know, since justice might thence be perverted, or turned from its course,) but I may appeal to you on the score of humanity, and in consideration of the long and faithful services of him whom I hold as my friend. I, ask, in short, for mercy, from circumstances which the law could not admit or listen to, but which you assuredly may, for none but tyrants exercise, or put the law in force cruelly.' In a word, the law must determine according to the fact: its sentence you may confirm or set aside."

It may not be impertinent to observe, that the Egyptians, who it is supposed were the inventors of picture-writing, figured the distributor of justice by a man without hands, and with his eyes fixed on the earth, thereby signifying that a judge ought not to be moved either by interest or pity. This was called the tropologic or moral hieroglyph, according to the learned Warburton, in his history of symbolical images. B.

Alc. And with such sober and unnoted passion,
He did behave his anger, ere 'twas spent,

As if he had but prov'd an argument.

I and unnoted passion] Unnoted, for common, bounded. WARB.
He did behave his anger,-- -] Behave, for curb, manage. But the
Oxford Editor equips the old poet with a more modern phrase:

He did behave in's anger,

A paltry clipt jargon of modern fops, for behave himself. WARB.

The original copy reads not behave but behoove. I do not well understand the passage in either reading. Shall we try a daring conjecture? -with such sober and unnoted passion

He did behold his adversary shent,

As if he had but prov'd an argument.

He looked with such calmness on his slain adversary. I do not suppose that this is right, but put it down for want of better. JOHN.

'He did behave his anger.' The construction is not behave his anger,' but he did behave.' The commentators have ill-employed their time in the explaining of unnoted,' which does not appear to be the proper word. It certainly has here but little force. I would therefore readinnated passion,' i. e. natural, inbred passion: such passion as is common to and honorable in man. He was sensible to injury: but without violence.' 'Ere' and 'was' change places and the passage should be printed thus: And with such sober and innated passion

He did behave; his anger was, 'ere spent,
As if he had but prov'd an argument.'

• Behoove' is the same as behave.' B.

1 Sen. If, after two days' shine, Athens contain thee, Attend our weightier judgment.

And, not to swell our spirit,

He shall be executed presently.

And (not to swell our spirit)] What this nonsense was intended to mean I don't know, but it is plain Shakspeare wrote:

And now to swell your spirit:

i. e. to provoke you still more.

WARB.

And, not tą swell our spirit.' 'Swell our spirit' may be understood, but sweal, I think, will be the better, the more significant term. And not to waste away our spirit in words-he dies.'

Alc.

I'll cheer up

My discontented troops, and lay for hearts.
'Tis honor, with most lands to be at odds;
Soldiers as little should brook wrongs, as gods.
In former copies :

-And lay for hearts.

'Tis honor with most lands to be at odds;

But surely, even in a soldier's sense of honor, there is very little in being at odds with all about him; which shews rather a quarrelsome disposition than a valiant one. Besides, this was not Alcibiades's case. He was only fallen out with the Athenians. A phrase in the foregoing line will direct us to the right reading. I will lay, says he, for hearts; which is a metaphor taken from card-play, and signifies to game deep and boldly. It is plain then the figure was continued in the following line, which should be read thus:

'Tis honor with most hands to be at odds;

i. e. to fight upon odds, or at disadvantage; as he must do against the united strength of Athens: and this, by soldiers, is accounted honorable. Shakspeare uses the same metaphor on the same occasion, in Coriolanus:

"He lurch'd all swords. WARB.

I think hands is very properly substituted for lands. In the foregoing line, for, lay for hearts, I would read, play for hearts. JouN.

I do not conceive that to lay for hearts is a metaphor taken from cardplay, or that lay should be changed into play. We should now say to lay out for hearts, i. e. the affections of the people. TYRWH.

And lay for hearts.

'Tis honor, witli most lands to be at odds.'

Mr. Tyrwhitt is right. Lay for hearts' is lay out for (endeavour to gain) hearts. Lands' is undoubtedly wrong, and for the reason given by Warburton; but the word he would substitute for it (hands), although it gives us the sense required, is feeble. I read,

Tis honor, with most brands to be at odds.' Brand is sword, See Spenser, Milton, and others. Thus the expression becomes characteristic of the speaker, proper from the lips of a soldier. B.

Flav. Poor honest lord,
Undone by goodness!

brought low by his own heart; Strange, unusual blood, When man's worst sin is, he does too much good!

-Strange, unusual blood,] Of this passage, I suppose, every reader would wish for a correction: but the word, harsh as it is, stands fortified