Guid. Than be fo,

Better to cease to be. Pray, Sir, to the army;
I and my brother are not known; yourself
So out of thought, and thereto fo o'er-grown,
Cannot be queftion'd.

Arv. By this fun that shines,

I'll thither what thing is it, that I never
Did fee man die? fcarce ever look'd on blood,
But that of coward hares, hot goats, and venifon?
Never beftrid a horse fave one, that had

A rider like myself, who ne'er wore rowel,
Nor iron on his heel? I am asham'd
To look upon the holy fun, to have
The benefit of his bleft beams, remaining
So long a poor unknown.

If

Guid. By heavens, I'll go:

you will bless me, Sir, and give me leave, I'll take the better care; but if

you

will not, The hazard therefore due fall on me, by The hands of Romans!

Arv. So fay I; Amen.

Bel. No reafon I, fince of your lives you fet So flight a valuation, fhould reserve

My crack'd one to more care.

Have with you, boys: If in your country wars you chance to die,

That is my bed too, lads; and there I'll lie.

Lead, lead.—The time seems long: their blood thinks

fcorn

Till it fly out, and fhew them princes born.

[Afide.

[Exeunt.

ACT

ACT V. SCENE I.

A field between the British and Roman camps.

I

Enter Pofthumus, with a bloody bandkerchief.

'Y

POSTHUMU S.

EA, bloody cloth, I'll keep thee; for I wish'd
Thou shouldít be colour'd thus. You married
ones,

If each of you would take this courfe, how many
Muft murder wives much better than themselves
For wrying but a little? Oh, Pifanio!
Every good fervant does not all commands:
No bond, but to do just ones.-Gods! if you
Should have ta'en vengeance on my faults, I never
Had liv'd 3 to put on this: fo had you fav'd
The noble Imogen to repent; and struck

Me, wretch, more worth your vengeance. But, alack,

bloody handkerchief] The bloody token of Imogen's death, which Pifanio in the foregoing act determined to fend. JOHNSON.

2 Yea, bloody cloth, &c.] This is a foliloquy of nature, uttered when the effervefcence of a mind agitated and perturbed fpontaneously and inadvertently difcharges itfelf in words. The fpeech, throughout all its tenor, if the laft conceit be excepted, feems to iffue warm from the heart. He firft condemns his own violence; then tries to difburden himfelf, by imputing part of the crime to Pifanio; he next fooths his mind to an artificial and momentary tranquillity, by trying to think that he has been only an inftrument of the gods for the happiness of Imogen. He is now grown reasonable enough to determine, that having done fo much evil he will do no more; that he will not fight against the country which he has already injured; but as life is not longer fupportable, he will die in a juft caufe, and die with the obfcurity of a man who does not think himself worthy to be remembered. JOHNSON.

3 to put on ] Is to incite, to infligate. JoHNSON.

You

You fnatch fome hence for little faults; that's love,
To have them fall no more; you fome permit
To fecond ills with ills, 4 each elder worse;

5 And make them dread it, to the doers' thrift.

4

But

each elder worse;] For this reading all the later

editors have contentedly taken,

each worse than other,

Yet they

without enquiries whence they have received it. know, or might know, that it has no authority. The original copy reads,

each elder worse,

The laft deed is certainly not the oldeft, but Shakespeare calls the deed of an elder man an elder deed. JOHNSON.

s And make them dread it, to the doers' thrift.] The divinityfchools have not furnished jufter obfervations on the conduct of Providence, than Pofthumus gives us here in his private reflections. You gods, fays he, act in a different manner with your different creatures;

You fnatch fome hence for little faults; that's love,
To have them fall no more.

Others, fays our poet, you permit to live on, to multiply and increase in crimes,

And make them dread it, to the doers' thrift. Here is a relative without an antecedent fubftantive; which is a breach of grammar. We must certainly read,

And make them dreaded, to the doers' thrift.

i. e. others you permit to aggravate one crime with more; which enormities not only make them revered and dreaded, but tarn in other kinds to their advantage. Dignity, refpect, and profit, accrue to them from crimes committed with impunity. THEOBALD.

This emendation is followed by HANMER. Dr. WARBURTON reads, I know not whether by the printer's negligence, And make them dread, to the doers' thrift.

There feems to be no very fatisfactory fenfe yet offered. I read, but with hesitation,

And make them deeded, to the doers' thrift. The word deeded I know not indeed where to find; but Shakefpeare has, in another fenfe undeeded, in Macbeth:

my fword

"I fheath again undeeded."

I will try again, and read thus,

others you permit

To fecond ills with ills, each other worfe,
And make them trade it, to the doers' thrift.

Trade

But Imogen's your own. 9 Do your best wills,
And make me bleft to obey !-1 am brought hither
Among the Italian gentry, and to fight

Against my lady's kingdom. 'Tis enough,

That, Britain, I have kill'd thy miftrefs.

Peace!
I'll give no wound to thee. Therefore, good heavens,
Hear patiently my purpose: I'll difrobe me
Of these Italian weeds, and fuit myself
As does a Briton peafant: fo I'll fight
Against the part I come with; fo I'll die
For thee, O Imogen, even for whom my life
Is, every breath, a death: and thus unknown,
Pitied nor hated, to the face of peril

Myfelf I'll dedicate. Let me make men know
More valour in me, than my habits fhew.
Gods, put the ftrength o' the Leonati in me!
To fhame the guife o' the world, I will begin
The fashion, lefs without, and more within.

[Exit.

Enter Lucius, Iachimo, and the Roman army at one door; and the British army at another; Leonatus Pofthumus following it like a poor foldier. They march over, and Then enter again in skirmish Iachimo and Pofibumus: he vanquisheth and disarmeth Iachimo, and then leaves him.

go out.

Iach. The heavinefs, and guilt, within my bofom, Takes off my manhood. I have bely'd a lady,

Trade and thrift correfpond. Our author plays with trade, as it fignifies a lucrative vocation, or a frequent practice. Ifabella fays,

9

"Thy fins, not accidental, but a trade." JoHNSON.

Do your beft wills,

So

And make me bleft t' obey!] So the copies. It was more in the manner of our author to have written,

Do your bleft wills,

And make me bleft t' obey.

JOHNSON.

The

The princefs of this country; and the air on't
Revengingly enfeebles me; or could this carle,
A very drudge of nature, have subdu'd me
In my profeflion? Knighthoods and honours borne
As I wear mine, are titles but of fcorn.

If that thy gentry, Britain, go before

This lout, as he exceeds our lords, the odds
Is, that we scarce are men, and you are gods. [Exit.

The battle continues; the Britons fly; Cymbeline is taken: then enter to his refcue, Belarius, Guiderius, and Arviragus.

Bel. Stand, ftand! We have the advantage of the ground;

That lane is guarded: nothing routs us, but
The villainy of our fears.

Guid. Arv. Stand; ftand and fight!

Enter Pofthumus, and feconds the Britons. They rescue Cymbeline, and exeunt.

Then enter Lucius, Iachimo, and Imogen.

Luc. Away, boy, from the troops, and fave thy

felf:

For friends kill friends, and the disorder's fuch
As war were hood-wink'd.

Iach. 'Tis their fresh fupplies.

Luc. It is a day turn'd strangely: or betimes Let's re-inforce, or fly.

[Exeunt.

Another part of the field.

Enter Poftbumus and a British Lord.

Lord. Cam'ft thou from where they made the stand? Paft. I did.

Though you, it feems, come from the fliers."

Lord.