Even to his inches; and with private foul, [Alarm. Hector and Ajax fight. Aga. They are in action. Neft. Now, Ajax, hold thine own! Troi. Hector, thou fleep'ft, awake thee! Aga. His blows are well difpos'd.-There, Ajax! Dio. You must no more. [Trumpets ceafe. Ene. Princes, enough, so please you. Ajax. I am not warm yet, let us fight again. Helt. Why then, will I no more: Were thy commixtion Greek and Trojan so, Ajax. I thank thee, Hector: Thou art too gentle, and too free a man: thus tranflate him to me.] Thus explain his character. JOHNSON. I came to kill thee, coufin, and bear hence Het. 5 Not Neoptolemus fo mirable, (On whofe bright creft, Fame, with her loud'ft O yes, Cries, this is he) could promife to himself A thought of added honour torn from Hector. • Not Neoptolemus SO MIRABLE, Ene. (On whofe bright creft, Fame, with her loud' ft O yes, Cries, this is he;) could promife to himself, &c.] That is to fay, "You, an old veteran warrior, threaten to kill me, when "not the young fon of Achilles (who is yet to ferve his apprentifage in war, under the Grecian generals, and on that "account called Neonline) dare himself entertain such a "thought." But Shakespeare meant another fort of man, as is evident from, On whofe bright creft, &c. Which characterifes one who goes foremoft and alone: and can therefore fuit only one, which one was Achilles; as Shakespeare himself has drawn him, The great Achilles, whom opinion crowns The finew and the forehand of our host. And again, Whofe glorious deeds but in thefe fields of late Made emulous miffions 'mongst the gods themselves, And indeed the fenfe and fpirit of Hector's fpeech requires that the most celebrated of his adverfaries fhould be picked out to be defied; and this was Achilles, with whom Hector had his final affair. We must conclude then that Shakespeare wrote, Not Neoptolemus's SIRE IRASCIBLE, On whofe bright creft Irafcible is an old fchool term, and is an epithet fuiting his character, and the circumftances he was then in: "Impiger, iracundus, inexorabilis, acer.' But our editor Mr. Theobald, by his obfcure diligence, had found out that Wynken de Worde, in the old chronicle of The three Deftructions of Troy, introduces one Neoptolemus into the ten years quarrel, a perfon diftin&t from the fon of Achilles; and therefore will have it, that Shakespeare here means no other than the Neoptolemus of this worthy chronicler. He was told, to no purpose, that this fancy was abfurd. For firft, Wynken's Neoptolemus is a common-rate warrior, and fo defcribed as not to fit the character here given. Secondly, it is not Ene. There is expectance here from both the fides, What further you will do. Hect. 6 We'll answer it. The iffue is embracement.-Ajax, farewell. not to be imagined that the poet fhould on this occafion make Hector refer to a character not in the play, and never so much as mentioned on any other occafion. Thirdly, Wynken's Neoptolemus is a warrior on the Trojan fide, and flain by Achilles. But Hector must needs mean by one "who could "promife a thought of added honour torn from him," a warrior amongst his enemies on the Grecian fide. WARBURTON. After all this contention it is difficult to imagine that the critic believes mirable to have been changed to irafcible. I fhould fooner read, Not Neoptolemus th' admirable; as I know not whether mirable can be found in any other place. The correction which the learned commentator gave to Hanmer, Not Neoptolemus' fire fo mirable, as it was modefter than this, was preferable to it. But nothing is more remote from juftnefs of fentiment, than for Hector to characterife Achilles as the father of Neoptolemus, a youth that had not yet appeared in arms, and whofe name was therefore much lefs known than his father's. My opinion is, that by Neoptolemus the author meant Achilles himself; and remembering that the fon was Pyrrhus Neoptolemus, confidered Neoptolemus as the nomen gentilitium, and thought the father was likewife Achilles Neoptolemus. JOHNSON. Shakespeare certainly ufes Neoptolemus for Achilles. Wilfride Holme, the author of a poem called The Fall and evil Succeffe of Rebellion, &c. 1537, had made the fame mistake before him, as the following ftanza will shew: "Alfo the triumphant Troyans victorious, "By Anthenor and Æneas false confederacie, "Sending Polidamus to Neoptolemus, "Who was vanquished and fubdued by their confpiracie. "O dolorous fortune, and fatal miferie! "For multitude of people was there mortificate "With condigne Priamus, and all his progenie, "And flagrant Polixene, that lady delicate." STEEV. • We'll answer it.] That is, anfwer the expectance. JOHNS. Dio. 'Tis Agamemnon's wish; and great Achilles To the expectors of our Trojan part; Defire them home.-Give me thy hand, my coufin; 8 Aga. Worthy of arms! as welcome as to one But that's no welcome: understand more clear But in this extant moment, faith and troth, From heart of very heart, great Hector, welcome. 7 your knights.] The word knight as often as it occurs is fure to bring with it the idea of chivalry, and revives the memory of Amadis and his followers, rather than that of the mighty confederates who fought on either fide in the Trojan Some apology may be found indeed for the word knight; but when Mr. Pope, in his tranflation of the Iliad, fays,, "All bright in heavenly arms above his fquire "Achilles mounts, and fets the field on fire:" And again, "All mount their chariots, combatants and Squires :' I own I cannot reconcile myfelf to the expreffion, STEEVENS. 8 Worthy of arms ! —— -] ] Folio. Worthy all arms! Quarto. The quarto has only the two firft and the last line of this falutation; the intermediate verfes feem added on a revifion. JOHNSON. Hect. Whom must we answer? Ene. The noble Menelaus. Helt. O-you, my lord?-by Mars his gauntlet, thanks! Mock not that I affect the untraded oath, Your quondam wife fwears still by Venus' glove: She's well, but bade me not commend her to you. Men. Name her not now, Sir; fhe's a deadly theme. Hect. O, pardon.—I offend. Neft. I have, thou gallant Trojan, feen thee oft, Labouring for deftiny, make cruel way Through ranks of Greekish youth: and I have seen thee, As hot as Perfeus, fpur thy Phrygian steed, And feen thee fcorning forfeits and fubduements, And I have feen thee pause, and take thy breath, Helt. Let me embrace thee, good old chronicle, That haft fo long walk'd hand in hand with time.— Moft reverend Neftor, I am glad to clafp thee. Neft. I would my arms could match thee in con→ tention, As they contend with thee in courtesy. 9 Mock not, &c.] The quarto has here a ftrange corruption: Mock not thy affect, the untraded earth., JoHNSON. And feen thee icorning forfeits-] Folio. The quarto has, defpifing many forfeits JOHNSON. As they contend-] This line is not in the quarto. JOHNS. Het. |