Sir And. Taurus? that's fides and heart ".

Sir To. No, fir; it is legs and thighs. Let me fee thce caper: ha! higher: ha, ha!

SCENE

The palace.

-excellent!

IV.

Enter Valentine, and Viola in man's attire.

Exeunt.

Val. If the duke continue these favours towards you, Cefario, you are like to be much advanc'd; he hath known you but three days, and already you are no ftranger.

Vio. You either fear his humour, or my negligence, that you call in queftion the continuance of his love: Is he inconftant, fir, in his favours?

Val. No, believe me.

Enter Duke, Curio, and attendants.
Vio. I thank you. Here comes the count.
Duke. Who faw Cefario, ho?

Vio. On your attendance, my lord; here.
Duke. Stand you a-while aloof.-Cefario,
Thou know'ft no lefs but all; I have unclasp'd
To thee the book even of my secret foul:
Therefore, good youth, address thy gait unto her;
Be not deny'd accefs, ftand at her doors,
And tell them, there thy fixed foot shall grow,
'Till thou have audience.

Vio, Sure, my noble lord,

If the be so abandon'd to her forrow

As it is fpoke, fhe never will admit me.

Taurus? that's fides and heart.] Alluding to the medical aftrology still preserved in almanacks, which refers the affections of particular parts of the body, to the predominance of particular conftellations, JOHNSON.

Duke.

Duke. Be clamorous, and leap all civil bounds, Rather than make unprofited return.

Vio. Say, I do fpeak with her, my lord; What then?
Duke. O, then, unfold the paffion of my love,
Surprize her with difcourfe of my dear faith:
It fhall become thee well to act my woes;
She will attend it better in thy youth,
Than in a nuncio of more grave afpect.
Vio. I think not fo, my lord.
Duke. Dear lad, believe it;

For they fhall yet belye thy happy years,
That fay, thou art a man: Diana's lip

Is not more smooth, and rubious; thy finall pipe
Is as the maiden's organ, fhrill, and sound,
And all is femblative a woman's part 3.

I know, thy conftellation is right apt

For this affair :-Some four, or five, attend him;
All, if you will; for I myself am beft,

When least in company :-Profper well in this,
And thou fhalt live as freely as thy lord,

To call his fortunes thine.

Vio. I'll do my best,

To woo your lady: [Exit Duke.] yet, a barrful strife 4! Who-e'er I woo, myfelf would be his wife. [Exeunt

Mar. Nay, either tell me where thou hast been, or I will not open my lips, so wide as a bristle may enter,

3

-a woman's part.]

That is, thy proper part in a play would be a woman's. Women were then perfonated by boys. JOHNSON.

4

a barrful ftrife!]

i. e. a conteft full of impediments. STEEVENS.

in way of thy excufe: my lady will hang thee for thy absence.

Clo. Let her hang me: he, that is well hang'd in this world, needs fear no colours 5.

Mar. Make that good.

Clo. He fhall fee none to fear.

Mar. A good lenten answer: I can tell thee where that saying was born, of, I fear no colours. Clo. Where, good miftrefs Mary?

Mar. In the wars; and that may you be bold to fay in your foolery.

Clo. Well, God give them wisdom, that have it; and those that are fools, let them use their talents.

Mar. Yet you will be hang'd, for being fo long abfent, or be turn'd away; Is not that as good as a hanging to you?

Clo. Marry, a good hanging prevents a bad marriage; and, for turning away, let fummer bear it out. Mar.

fear no colours.] This expreffion frequently occurs in the old plays. So, in Ben Jonfon's Sejanus. The perfons converfing are Sejanus, and Eudemus the phyfician to the princess Livia:

"Sej. You minister to a royal lady then.

"Eud. She is, my lord, and fair.

"Sej. That's understood

"Of all their fex, who are or would be fo;

"And those that would be, phyfick foon can make 'em :
For those that are, their beauties fear no colours."

Again,
1, in the Two Angry Women of Abington, 1599:

are you difpofed, fir?

"Yes indeed: I fear no colours; change fides, Richard.”

·lenten anfwer:·

anfwer. JOHNSON.

STEEVENS.

-] A lean, or as we now call it, a dry

Sure a lenten answer, rather means a fort and Spare one, like the commons in lent. So, in Hamlet:

7

66

--

- what lenten enter

tainment the players shall receive from you." STEEVENS. and for turning away, let fummer bear it out.] This feems to be a pun from the nearness in the pronunciation of turning away and turning of whey.

I found this obfervation among fome papers of the late Dr. Letherland,

Mar. You are refolute then?

Clo. Not fo neither; but I am refolv'd on two points. Mar. That, if one break, the other will hold; or, if both break, your gafkins fall.

Clo. Apt, in good faith; very apt! Well, go thy way; if fir Toby would leave drinking, thou wert as witty a piece of Eve's flesh as any in Illyria.

Mar. Peace, you rogue, no more o'that; here comes my lady: make your excufe wifely, you were beft. [Exit.

Enter Olivia, and Malvolio.

Clo. Wit, and't be thy will, put me into good fooling! Thofe wits, that think they have thee, do very oft prove fools; and I, that am fure I lack thee, may pafs for a wife man: For what fays Quinapalus? Better a witty fool, than a foolish wit3. God bless thee, lady!

Oli. Take the fool away.

Clo. Do you not hear, fellows? take away the lady. Oli. Go to, you're a dry fool; I'll no more of you: befides, you grow difhoneft.

Clo. Two faults, Madonna', that drink and good.

Letherland, for the perufal of which, I am happy to have an opportunity of returning my particular thanks to Mr. Glover, the author of Medea and Leonidas, by whom, before, I had been obliged only in common with the rest of the world.

I am yet of opinion that this note, however fpecious, is wrong, the literal meaning being eafy and appofite. For turning away, let Summer bear it out. It is common for unfettled and vagrant ferving-men, to grow negligent of their bufinefs towards fummer; and the fenfe of the paffage is: If I am turned away, the advantages of the approaching fummer will bear cut, or fupport all the inconveniences of difmiffion; for I shall find employment in every field, and lodging under every bedge. STEEVENS.

8 Better a witty fool, than a foolish wit. -] Hall, in his Chronicle, fpeaking of the death of Sir Thomas More, fays, "that he knows not whether to call him a foolish wife man, or a wife foolish man." JOHNSON.

9 Madonna, Ital. miftrefs, dame. So, La Maddena, by way of pre-eminence, the Bleed Virgin. STEEVENS.

counfel

counsel will amend: for give the dry fool drink, then is the fool not dry; bid the dishonest man mend himfelf; if he mend, he is no longer difhoneft; if he cannot, let the botcher mend him: Any thing, that's mended, is but patch'd: virtue, that tranfgreffes, is but patch'd with fin; and fin, that amends, is but patch'd with virtue: If that this fimple fyllogifm will ferve, fo; if it will not, What remedy? as there is no true cuckold but calamity, fo beauty's a flower:-the lady bade take away the fool; therefore, I fay again, take her away.

Oli. Sir, I bade them take away you.

Clo. Mifprifion in the highest degree !-Lady, Cucullus non facit monachum; that's as much as to fay, I wear not motley in my brain. Good Madonna, give me leave to prove you a fool.

Oli. Can you do it?

Clo. Dexterously, good Madonna.
Oli. Make your proof.

Clo. I must catechize you for it, Madonna; Good my mouse of virtue, answer me.

Oli. Well, fir, for want of other idleness, I'll bide your proof.

Clo. Good Madonna, why mourn'ft thou?

Oli. Good fool, for my brother's death.
Clo. I think, his foul is in hell, Madonna.

Oli. I know his foul is in heaven, fool.

Clo. The more fool you, Madonna, to mourn for your brother's foul being in heaven.-Take away the fool, gentlemen.

Oli. What think you of this fool, Malvolio? doth he not mend ?

Mal. Yes; and fhall do, till the pangs of death shake him: Infirmity, that decays the wife, doth ever make the better fool.

Clo. God fend you, fir, a speedy infirmity, for the better encreasing your folly! fir Toby will be fworn,

that