An appetite that I am fick withal, To fee great Hector in his weeds of peace; Enter THERSITES. THER. A Wonder! ACHIL. What? THER. Ajax goes up and down the field, asking for himself. ACHIL. How fo? THER. He must fight fingly to-morrow with Hector; and is fo prophetically proud of an heroical cudgelling, that he raves in faying nothing. ACHIL. How can that be? THER. Why, he stalks up and down like a peacock, a ftride, and a stand: ruminates, like an hostess, that hath no arithmetick but her brain to fet down her reckoning: bites his lip with a politick regard,' as who fhould fay-there were wit in this head, an 'twould out; and fo there is; but it lies as coldly in him as fire in a flint, which will not show without knocking.' The man's undone for ever; for if Hector break not his neck i'the combat, he'll break it himself in vain-glory. He knows not me: I faid, Good morrow, Ajax; and he replies, Thanks, Agamemnon. What think you of this man, that takes me for the general? He is 2 with a politick regard,] With a fly look. JOHNSON. 3 it lies as coldly in him as fire in a flint, which will not show without knocking.] So, in Julius Caefar: "That carries anger, as the flint bears fire; grown a very land-fifh, languagelefs, a monster. A plague of opinion! a man may wear it on both fides, like a leather jerkin. ACHIL. Thou must be my embassador to him, Therfites. THER. Who, I? why, he'll answer nobody; he profeffes not answering; fpeaking is for beggars; he wears his tongue in his arms. I will put on his prefence; let Patroclus make demands to me, you fhall fee the pageant of Ajax. ACHIL. To him, Patroclus: Tell him,-I humbly defire the valiant Ajax, to invite the most valorous Hector to come unarm'd to my tent; and to procure fafe conduct for his perfon, of the magnanimous, and moft illuftrious, fix-or-feven-timeshonour'd captain-general of the Grecian army, Agamemnon. Do this. PATR. Jove blefs great Ajax. THER. Humph! PATR. I come from the worthy Achilles, PATR. Who most humbly defires you, to invite Hector to his tent; THER. Humph! PATR. And to procure fafe conduct from Aga memnon. THER. Agamemnon? PATR. Ay, my lord. THER. Ha! PATR. What fay you to't? 4 He wears his tongue in his arms.] So, in Macbeth: 66 My voice is in my fword.". STEEVENS. THER. God be wi' you, with all my heart. PATR. Your answer, fir. THER. If to-morrow be a fair day, by eleven o'clock it will go one way or other; howfoever, he fhall pay for me ere he has me. PATR. Your answer, fir. THER. Fare you well, with all my heart. ACHIL. Why, but he is not in this tune, is he? THER. No, but he's out o'tune thus. What mufick will be in him when Hector has knock'd out his brains, I know not: But, I am fure, none; unless the fiddler Apollo get his finews to make catlings on.' ACHIL. Come, thou shalt bear a letter to him ftraight. THER. Let me bear another to his horfe; for that's the more capable creature." ACHIL. My mind is troubled, like a fountain ftirr'd; And I myself fee not the bottom of it." [Exeunt ACHILLES and PATROCLUS. 5 to make catlings on.] It has been already obferved that a catling fignifies a fmall lute-ftring made of catgut. One of the muficians in Romeo and Juliet is called Simon Catling. 6 STEEVENS. the more capable creature.] The more intelligent creature. So, in King Richard III: "Bold, forward, quick, ingenious, capable." See alfo Vol. XI. p. 177, n. 9. MALONE. 7 And I myself fee not the bottom of it.] This is an image frequently introduced by our author. So, in King Henry IV. Part II: "I fee the bottom of Juftice Shallow." Again, in King Henry VI. Part II: THER. 'Would the fountain of your mind were clear again, that I might water an afs at it! I had rather be a tick in a fheep, than fuch a valiant ig[Exit. norance. Enter, at one fide, ENEAS, and Servant, with a torch; at the other, PARIS, DEIPHOBUS, ANTENOR, DIOMEDES, and Others, with torches. PAR. See, ho! who's that there? DEI. 'Tis the lord Æneas. ENE. Is the prince there in perfon? Had I fo good occafion to lie long, As you, prince Paris, nothing but heavenly bufinefs Should rob my bed-mate of my company. Dio. That's my mind too.-Good morrow, lord Æneas. PAR. A valiant Greek, Æneas; take his hand : Witness the process of your speech, wherein You told-how Diomed, a whole week by days, Did haunt you in the field. ENE. 8 Health to you, valiant sir,3 8 -valiant fir,] The epithet-valiant, appears to have been caught by the compofitor from the preceding fpeech, and is introduced here only to spoil the metre. STEEVENS. During all queftion of the gentle truce:" DIO. The one and other Diomed embraces. Our bloods are now in calm; and, fo long, health: But when contention and occafion meet, By Jove, I'll play the hunter for thy life, ENE. And thou fhalt hunt a lion, that will fly Dio. We do; and long to know each other worse. PAR. This is the most despiteful gentle greeting, 7 During all question of the gentle truce:] I once thought to read: During all quiet of the gentle truce: But I think question means intercourfe, interchange of conversation. JOHNSON. See Vol. V. p. 503, n. 5. Question of the gentle truce is, converfation while the gentle truce lafts. MALONE. 8 - By Venus' hand I fwear,] This oath was used to infinuate his refentment for Diomedes' wounding his mother in the hand. WARBURTON. I believe Shakspeare had no fuch allufion in his thoughts. He would hardly have made Æneas civil and uncivil in the fame breath. STEEVENS. |