Cym. Bind the offender,

And take him from our presence.

Bel. Stay, fir king:

This man is better than the man he flew,

As well defcended as thyfelf; and hath
More of thee merited, than a band of Clotens
Had ever fcar for.--Let his arms alone;

They were not born for bondage.

Cym. Why, old foldier,

[To the guard.

Wilt thou undo the worth thou art unpaid for,
9 By tafting of our wrath? How of defcent
As good as we ?

Arv. In that he spake too far.
Cym. And thou fhalt die for't.
Bel. We will die all three :

But I will prove, that two of us are as good
As I have given out him.-My fons, I muft,
For my own part, unfold a dangerous fpeech,
Though, haply, well for you.

Arv. Your danger's ours.

Guid. And our good his.

Bel. Have at it then.

By leave; Thou had'ft, great king, a subject, who Was call'd Belarius.

Cym. What of him? he is

A banish'd traitor.

Bel. He it is, that hath

By tafting of our wrath ?

-] But how did Belarius undo

or forfeit his merit by tafling or feeling the king's wrath? We fhould read:

By hafting of our wrath ?

i.e. by haftening, provoking; and as such a provocation is undutiful, the demerit, confequently, undoes or makes void his former worth, and all pretenfions to reward. WARBURTON.

There is no need of change; the confequence is taken for the whole action; by tafting is by forcing us to make thee tafte.

A a 3

JOHNSON.

Affum'd

'Affum'd this age: indeed, a banish'd man ; I know not how, a traitor.

Cym. Take him hence;

The whole world fhall not fave him.
Bel. Not too hot:

First pay me for the nurfing of thy fons;
And let it be confifcate all, fo foon
As I have receiv'd it.

Cym. Nurfing of my fons?

Bel. I am too blunt, and faucy: Here's my Ere I arife, I will prefer my fons ;

Then, spare not the old father. Mighty fir,

knee:

These two young gentlemen, that call me father,
And think they are my fons, are none of mine;
They are the iffue of your loins, my liege,
And blood of your begetting.

Cym. How! my iffue?

Bel. So fure as you your father's. I, old Morgan, Am that Belarius whom you fometime banish'd: Your pleasure was my near offence, my punishment

Itself,

Affum'd this age: I believe is the fame as reach'd or attain'd this age. STEEVENS.

As there is no reafon to imagine that Belarius had affumed the appearance of being older than he really was, I fufpect that, inftead of age, we ought to read gage; fo that he may be underftood to refer to the engagement, which he had entered into, a few lines before, in these words:

We will die all three ;

"But I will prove two of us are as good

"As I have given out him."

TYRWHITT.

Your pleasure was my near offence,] I think this paffage may better be read thus:

Your pleasure was my dear offence, my punishment

Itfelf was all my treafon; that I suffer'd,

Was all the harm I did.

The offence which coft me fo dear was only your caprice. My fufferings have been all my crime. JOHNSON.

The reading of the old copies, though corrupt, is generally nearer to the truth than that of the later editions, which, for the most part, adopt the orthography of their refpective ages. An

inftance

Itself, and all my treafon; that I fuffer'd,
Was all the harm I did. Thefe gentle princes
(For fuch, and fo they are) thefe twenty years
Have I train'd up: thofe arts they have, as I
Could put into them; my breeding was, fir, as
Your highness knows. Their nurfe, Euriphile,
Whom for the theft I wedded, ftole thefe children'
Upon my banishment: I mov'd her to't;
Having receiv'd the punishment before,
For that which I did then: Beaten for loyalty
Excited me to treafon: Their dear lofs,
The more of you 'twas felt, the more it shap'd
Unto my end of ftealing them. But, gracious fir,
Here are your fons again; and I must lose

Two of the fweet'ft companions in the world :-
The benediction of these covering heavens

Fall on their heads like dew! for they are worthy To inlay heaven with stars.

Cym. Thou weep'ft, and fpeak'st.

The fervice, that you three have done, is more
Unlike than this thou tell'ft: I loft my children;
If these be they, I know not how to wish

A pair of worthier fons.

Bel. Be pleas'd a while.

This gentleman, whom I call Polydore,

Moft worthy prince, as yours, is true Guiderius:
This gentleman, my Cadwal, Arviragus,

inftance occurs in the play of Cymbeline, in the laft fcene. Belarius fays to the king:

Your pleasure was my near offence, my punishment

Itfelf, and all my treason.

Dr. Johnfon would read dear offence. In the folio it is neere; which plainly points out to us the true reading meere, as the word was then fpelt. TYRWHITT.

3 Thou weep ft and speak'ft.] Thy tears give teftimony to the fincerity of thy relation; and I have the lefs reafon to be incredulous, because the actions which you have done within my knowledge are more incredible than the ftory which you relate." The king reafons very juftly. JOHNSON.

Your younger princely fon; he, fir, was lap'd
In a most curious mantle, wrought by the hand
Of his queen mother, which, for more probation,
I can with ease produce.

Cym. Guiderius had

Upon his neck a mole, a fanguine star;
It was a mark of wonder.

Bel. This is he;

Who hath upon him ftill that natural stamp :
It was wife nature's end in the donation,
To be his evidence now,

Cym. O, what am I

A mother to the birth of three? Ne'er mother
Rejoic'd deliverance more:-Bleft may you be *,
That, after this strange starting from your orbs,
Your may reign in them now!-O Imogen,
Thou haft loft by this a kingdom.

Imo. No, my lord;

I have got two worlds by't.-O my gentle brothers,

Have we thus met? O never say hereafter,
But I am trueft fpeaker: you call'd me brother,
When I was but your fifter; I you brothers,
5 When you were so indeed.

Cym. Did you e'er meet?

Arv. Ay, my good lord,

Guid. And at first meeting lov'd; Continued fo, until we thought he died. Cor. By the queen's dram fhe fwallow'd; Cym. O rare inftinct!

-may you be.] The old copy reads-pray you be.

When you were fo, indeed.] The folio gives;
When we were fo, indeed,

If this be right, we must read;

Imo. I, you brothers.

STEEVENS,

Ary. When we were fo, indeed, JOHNSON.

When

When shall I hear all through? This fierce abridg

ment

Hath to it circumftantial branches, which

Distinction fhould be rich in.-Where? how liv'd you?

And when came you to ferve our Roman captive? How parted with your brothers? how firtt met them? 7 Why fled you from the court? and whither? Thefe,

And your three motives to the battle, with

I know not how much more, fhould be demanded;
And all the other by-dependancies,

From chance to chance; but nor the time, nor place,
Will ferve our long intergatories. See,
Pofthumus anchors upon Imogen;

And fhe, like harmless lightning, throws her eye
On him, her brothers, me, her mafter; hitting
Each object with a joy: the counter-change
Is feverally in all. Let quit this ground,
And smoke the temple with our facrifices.
Thou art my brother; So we'll hold thee ever.
[To Belarius.

• fierce abridgment] Fierce, is vchement, rapid. JOHNSON. So, in Timon of Athens:

Oh, the fierce wretchedness that glory brings! STEEVENS. Why fled you from the court, and whether thefe ?] It must be rectified thus:

Why filed you from the court? and whither? Thefe, &c. The king is afking his daughter, how the has lived; why the fled from the court, and to what place: and having enumerated fo many particulars, he ftops fhort. THEOBALD.

Will ferve our long-] So the firft folio. Later editors have omitted our, for the fake of the metre, I fuppofe; but unneceffarily; as interrogatory is used by Shakspeare as a word of five fyllables. See the Merchant of Venice near the end, where in the old edition it is written intergatory. TYRWHITT.

See alfo Vol. IV. p. 118. I believe this word was generally used as one of five fyllables in our author's time. So in Novella, by Brome, Act II. fc. i.

-Then you must answer
To thefe intergatories.-

EDITOR.

Imo