From his deep chest laughs out a loud applause;
Cries „Excellent! 't is Agamemnon just. 50
Now play me Nestor; - hem, and stroke thy beard,
As he, being 'drest to some oration." 51

That's done; as near as the extremest ends
Of parallels, 52 as like as Vulcan and his wife:
Yet god Achilles 53 still cries, „Excellent!
'Tis Nestor right! Now play him me, Patroclus,
Arming to answer in a night alarm.“ 54

And then, forsooth, the faint defects of age
Must be the scene of mirth; to cough, and spit,
And with a palsy, fumbling 55 on his gorget,

Shake in and out the rivet:

Sir Valour 56 dies; cries, „O!

and at this sport,

enough, Patroclus;

Or give me ribs of steel! I shall split all

58

In pleasure of my spleen." And in this fashion,
All our abilities, gifts, natures, shapes,
Severals and generals of grace exact; 57
Achievements, plots, orders, preventions,
Excitements to the field, or speech for truce,
Success, or loss, what is, or is not, serves
As stuff for these two to make paradoxes. 59
Nest. And in the imitation of these twain
(Whom, as Ulysses says, opinion crowns
With an imperial voice) many are infect.
Ajax is grown self-will'd; and bears his head
In such a rein, 60 in full as proud a place

51) wenn er sich zu einer feierlichen Rede rüstet.

52 parallels sind die Parallellinien auf Landkarten, deren äusserste Enden also möglichst weit von einander entfernt sind.

53 god Achilles ist die Lesart der Qs. und Fol., wofür die meisten Hgg. stillschweigend good setzen. Schon die späteren Folioausgg. lasen so.

5+) wie er sich rüstet zur Wehr bei einem nächtlichen plötzlichen Aufruf zu den Waffen. 55) Die meisten Hgg. bilden, im Widerspruch mit den alten Ausgaben, ein Compositum palsy-fumbling, das Tyrwhitt mit paralytic fumbling erklärt.

56) Sir als ironischer Titel vor Wörtern, die erst durch diese Verbindung personificirt werden, kommt bei Sh. häufig vor; so Sir Prudence in Tempest (A. 2, Sc. 1.), Sir Smile in Winter's Tale (A. 1, Sc. 2.), Sir Oracle in Merchant of Venice (A. 1, Sc. 1.)

57) unsere wohlbestellten Gaben im Einzelnen und im Allgemeinen.

58) preventions sind die Vorbereitungen zum Thun.

59) paradox eigentlich ein scheinbarer Unsinn im Reden, ist hier - Unsinn, Abgeschmacktheit im Handeln. In Othello (A. 2, Sc. 1.) these are old fond paradoxes to make fools laugh in the ale-house.

60) Das Bild ist von einem hoch aufgezäumten Pferde entlehnt.

As broad Achilles; keeps 61 his tent like him;
Makes factious feasts; rails on our state of war,
Bold as an oracle, and sets Thersites,

(A slave whose gall coins slanders like a mint)
To match us in comparisons with dirt:
To weaken and discredit our exposure, 63
How rank soever rounded in with danger.

Ulyss. They tax our policy, and call it cowardice;
Count wisdom as no member of the war;
Forestall prescience, 64 and esteem no act
But that of hand: the still and mental parts,
That do contrive how many hands shall strike,
When fitness calls them on, and know, by measure
Of their observant toil, the enemies' weight, 65
Why, this hath not a finger's dignity.
They call this bed-work, mappery, closet-war:
So that the ram, that batters down the wall,
For the great swing and rudeness of his poise,
They place before his hand that made the engine,
Or those that with the fineness of their souls
By reason guide his execution. 66

Nest. Let this be granted, and Achilles' horse
Makes many Thetis' sons.

What trumpet? look, Menelaus.

Agam.

[A Tucket.

Ene. May one, that is a herald and a prince,

Do a fair message to his kingly ears? 67

61) Die Fol. hat and keeps.

62) er münzt Lästerworte so ergiebig, wie die Münze Geldstücke. So in Love's Labour 's lost (A. 1, Sc. 1.) A man

-

that hath a mint of phrases in his brain. 63) exposure ist die dem Feinde ausgesetzte Lage, oder die Art, wie sie sich dem Feinde aussetzen. Die Qs. lesen our discredit.

64) prescience

=

Vorbedacht, Vorherwissen, scheint hier auf der zweiten Sylbe betont zu sein, während das Wort an den beiden andern Stellen, wo es bei Sh. sich findet, Tempest (A. 1, Sc. 2.) und Antony and Cleopatra (A. 1, Sc. 2.) die gewöhnliche Betonung hat.

65) Die beobachtende Thätigkeit oder Anstrengung gewährt das Mass, nach welchem sie das Gewicht, die Bedeutung der Feinde messen. Für enemies ist vielleicht enemy's zu lesen, da das enemies der alten Ausgg. sowohl das Eine, wie das Andere sein kann. 66) his execution ist die Arbeit des Mauerbrechers.

67) So die Fol. Die Qs. haben eyes.

Agam.

With surety stronger than Achilles' arm

'Fore all the Greekish heads, which with one voice Call Agamemnon head and general.

Ene. Fair leave, and large security. How may A stranger to those most imperial looks

Know them from eyes of other mortals?

Which is that god in office, guiding men?
Which is the high and mighty Agamemnon?

Ay;

Agam. This Trojan scorns us, or the men of Troy Are ceremonious courtiers.

Ene. Courtiers as free, as debonair, unarm'd, 69
As bending angels: that 's their fame in peace;

But when they would seem soldiers, they have galls,
Good arms, strong joints, true swords; and, Jove's accord,
Nothing so full of heart. 70 But peace, Æneas,

Peace, Trojan! lay thy finger on thy lips.
The worthiness of praise distains his worth,

If that the prais'd himself bring the praise forth;

But what the repining enemy commends,

That breath fame blows; 71 that praise, sole pure, transcends.
Agam. Sir, you of Troy, call you yourself Æneas?

Ene. Ay, Greek, that is my name.

Agam.

What's your affair, I pray you?

Ene. Sir, pardon: 't is for Agamemnon's ears.

Agam. He hears nought privately that comes from Troy.

Ene. Nor I from Troy came not to whisper him:

I bring a trumpet to awake his ear;

To set his sense on the attentive bent,

And then to speak.

68) And on the cheek liest die Fol.

72

69) unarm'd bezieht sich auf men of Troy: Wenn sie ihre Waffen abgelegt haben, sind die Trojaner so freiwillige und freundliche Höflinge, wie die Engel, die sich verneigen, die ihre Huldigung darbringen.

70 Die Construction ist elliptisch: und, wenn Jupiters Zustimmung vorhanden ist, d. h. wenn Jupiter ihnen zustimmt, ist Nichts so beherzt, wie die Trojaner. Die Qs. haben and great Jove's accord.

71) Was der Feind ungern preist, das Wort verbreitet, verkündet der Ruhm. Für blows lesen die gewöhnlichen Ausgg. ohne alle Autorität follows.

72) um seinem Sinn, d. h. dem Gehörsinn, eine aufmerksame Richtung zu geben. Qs. lesen seat für sense, und that attentive bent.

Die

Ene.

Trumpet, blow loud,
Send thy brass voice through all these lazy tents;
And every Greek of mettle, let him know,
What Troy means fairly shall be spoke aloud.
We have, great Agamemnon, here in Troy
A prince call'd Hector, (Priam is his father,)
Who in this dull and long-continued truce 73
Is rusty grown: he bade me take a trumpet,.
And to this purpose speak. Kings, princes, lords!
If there be one among the fair'st of Greece,
That holds his honour higher than his ease;
That seeks his praise more than he fears his peril;
That knows his valour, and knows not his fear;
That loves his mistress more than in confession, 74
(With truant vows to her own lips he loves,)
And dare avow her beauty and her worth,
In other arms 75 than hers,

to him this challenge.

If none, he'll say in Troy, when he retires,

The Grecian dames are sun-burnt, and not worth

The splinter of a lance. Even so much. 79

Agam. This shall be told our lovers, lord Æneas;

If none of them have soul in such a kind,

[Trumpet sounds.

73) Die Notiz von einem den Trojanern bewilligten sechsmonatlichen Waffenstillstand fand Sh. in der Destruction of Troy und benutzte sie hier im Widerspruch mit dem, was von Hector's Kämpfen in den beiden vorhergehenden Scenen gesagt war. — Für rusty lesen die Qs. restie, wie Cymbeline (A. 3, Sc. 6.) resty slooth steht.

74) confession ist hier ein bloss äusserliches Bekenntniss und erhält seine wahre Erklärung durch die folgende Zeile: mit ungetreuen Gelübden auf den Lippen derjenigen, die er liebt.

76) scil. his best to make it good, d. h. zu beweisen, dass er eine Dame hat u. s. w. 77) So die Fol. Die Qs. haben couple.

78) er wird ihn ehren, indem er den Zweikampf mit ihm besteht.

79) Das ist der Inhalt meines Auftrags, so viel habe ich zu melden.

We left them all at home: But we are soldiers;
And may that soldier a mere recreant prove,
That means not, hath not, or is not in love! so
If then one is, or hath, or means to be,

That one meets Hector; if none else, I'll be he. 81
Nest. Tell him of Nestor, one that was a man
When Hector's grandsire suck'd: he is old now;
But if there be not in our Grecian mould 82
One noble man, that hath one spark of fire
To answer for his love, tell him from me,
I'll hide my silver beard in a gold beaver,
And in my vantbrace 83 put this wither'd brawn;
And, meeting him, will tell him, that my lady
Was fairer than his grandam, and as chaste
As may be in the world. His youth in flood,

I 'll pawn 84 this truth with my three drops of blood.
Ene. Now heavens forbid such scarcity of youth! 85
Ulyss. Amen.

Agam. Fair lord Æneas, let me touch your hand;

To our pavilion shall I lead you first.

Achilles shall have word of this intent;

So shall each lord of Greece, from tent to tent;

Yourself shall feast with us before you go,

And find the welcome of a noble foe. [Exeunt all but ULYSSES and NESTOR. Ulyss. Nestor,

Nest. What says Ulysses?

Ulyss. I have a young conception in my brain;

Be you my time 86 to bring it to some shape.

Nest What is 't?

Ulyss. This 't is:

Blunt wedges rive hard knots: the seeded 87 pride,

80) Zu means not ist to be in love, zu hath not ist been in love zu suppliren.

84) So die Fol. Nestor will die Wahrheit seiner Behauptung, wie ein Pfand, um das gekämpft wird, oder wie ein Symbol der Herausforderung, hinwerfen. Die Qs. lesen matter prove.

86)

85) Die Qs. lesen forefend für forbid, und men für youth. - Die folgende Rede Agamemnon's theilen die Qs. irrig dem Ulysses zu, und haben in deren zweiter Zeile lead you, Sir. my time ist die Zeit der Schwangerschaft, in welcher die Geburt reift und gefördert wird So in Merchant of Venice (A. 1, Sc. 1.) Nature hath fram'd strange fellows in her time. 67) seeded Samen tragend, von der Pflanze entlehnt, wird näher erklärt durch das Folgende: Or, shedding, breed a nursery of like evil, wo nursery ebenfalls von einer Pflanzschule oder Baumschule zu verstehen ist.