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Of author's pen, or actor's voice; but fuited
In like conditions as our argument ;—
To tell you, fair beholders, that our play
Leaps o'er 3 the vaunt and firstlings of those broils,
'Ginning i' the middle: ftarting thence away,
To what may be digefted in a play.

Like, or find fault,-do, as your pleafures are;
Now good, or bad, 'tis but the chance of war.

♪ —the vaunt—] i. e. the avaunt, what went before.

STEEVENS.

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Helen, wife to Menelaus.

Andromache, wife to Hector.

Caffandra, daughter to Priam, a prophetess.
Creflida, daughter to Calchas.

Alexander, Creffida's fervant.

Boy, page to Troilus.

Trojan and Greek Soldiers, with other attendants.

SCENE, TROY, and the Grecian Camp before it.

ACT I. SCENE I.

Priam's palace.

Enter Pandarus and Troilus.

TROILUS.

ALL here my varlet, I'll unarm again :
Why fhould I war without the walls of Troy,
That find fuch cruel battle here within?

Each Trojan, that is master of his heart,
Let him to field; Troilus, alas! hath none.

Pan.

The story was originally written by Lollius, an old Lombard author, and fince by Chaucer. POPE.

Mr. Pope (after Dryden) informs us, that the ftory of Troilus and Crefida was originally the work of one Lollius, a Lombard. Dryden goes yet further; declares it to have been written in Latin verfe, and that Chaucer tranflated it. Lollius was a hiftoriographer of Urbino in Italy. Shakespeare received the greatest part of his materials for the ftructure of this play from the Troye Beke of Lydgate. Lydgate was not much more than a tranflator of Guido of Columpna, who was of Mefina in Sicily, and wrote his Hiftory of Troy in Latin, after Dictys Cretenfis, 1278. Guido's work was published at Cologne in 1477, again in 1480, at Strafburgh 1486, and ibidem 1489. This work appears to have been tranflated by Raoul le Feure, at Cologne, into French, from whom Caxton rendered it into English in 1471, under the title of his Recuyel, &c. fo that there must have been yet fome earlier edition of Guido's performance than I have hitherto feen or heard of, unless his firft tranflator had recourse to a manufcript.

Guido of Columpna is referred to as an authority by our own chronicler Grafton. Chaucer had made the loves of Troilus and Creffida famous, which very probably might have been. Shakespeare's inducement to try their fate on the ftage.Lydgate's Troye Boke was printed by Pynfon, 1513. STEEVENS.

A 4

Troilus

Pan. Will this geer ne'er be mended?

Troi. The Greeks are ftrong, and skilful to their ftrength,

Fierce to their fkill, and to their fiercenefs valiant;
But I am weaker than a woman's tear,
Tamer than fleep, 2 fonder than ignorance;
Lefs valiant than the virgin in the night,
And skill-lefs as unpractis'd infancy.

Pan. Well, I have told you enough of this. For my part, I'll not meddle nor make no further. He that will have a cake out of the wheat, must needs. tarry the grinding.

Troi. Have I not tarried?

Pan. Ay, the grinding; but you must tarry the boulting.

Troi. Have I not tarried?

Pan. Ay, the boulting; but you leavening.

must tarry the

Troilus and Crefida.] Before this play of Troilus and Creffida, printed in 1609, is a bookfeller's preface, fhewing that first impreffion to have been before the play had been acted, and that it was published without Shakespeare's knowledge, from a copy that had fallen into the bookfeller's hands. Mr. Dryden thinks this one of the first of our author's plays: but, on the contrary, it may be judged from the fore-mentioned preface that it was one of his laft; and the great number of obfervations, both moral and politic (with which this piece is crowded more than any other of his) feems to confirm my opinion. POPE.

We may rather learn from this preface, that the original proprietors of Shakespeare's plays thought it their intereft to keep them unprinted. The author of it adds, at the conclufion, thefe words: Thank fortune for the 'scape it hath "made among you, fince, by the grand poffeffors will, I be

lieve you should rather have prayed for them, than have "been prayed," &c. By the grand possessors, I fuppofe, were meant, Heming and Condell. STEEVENS.

2 -- fonder than ignorance ;] Fonder, for more childish. WARBURTON.

3 And kill-lefs, &c.] Mr. Dryden, in his alteration of this. play, has taken this fpeech as it ftands, except that he has changed fill-les to artless, not for the better, becaufe fkill-lefs refers to kill and filful. JOHNSON.

Troi. Still have I tarried.

Pan. Ay, to the leavening: but here's yet in the word hereafter, the kneading, the making of the cake, the heating of the oven, and the baking; nay, you must stay the cooling too, or you may chance to burn your lips.

Trai. Patience herself, what goddess ere fhe be, Doth leffer blench at fufferance than I do.

At Priam's royal table do I fit;

And when fair Creffid comes into my thoughts,
So, traitor!-when she comes! When is the thence?
Pan. Well, the look'd yesternight fairer than ever
I faw her look, or any woman else.

Troi. I was about to tell thee, when my heart,
As wedged with a figh, would rive in twain,
Left Hector or my father fhould perceive me,
I have (as when the fun doth light a storm)
Buried this figh in wrinkle of a fimile:

But forrow, that is couch'd in feeming gladnefs,
Is like that mirth fate turns to fudden fadnefs.

Pan. An her hair were not fomewhat darker than Helen's-Well, go to, there were no more comparifon between the women.-But, for my part, fhe is my kinfwoman; I would not, as they term it, praife her, but I would fomebody had heard her talk yesterday, as I did. I will not difpraise your fifter Caffandra's wit; but

Trei. O Pandarus! I tell thee, Pandarus, When I do tell thee, there my hopes lie drown'd; Reply not in how many fathoms deep

They lie indrench'd. I tell thee, I am mad

In Creffid's love. Thou answer'ft, fhe is fair,
Pour'it in the open ulcer of my heart

Her eyes, her hair; her cheek, her gait; her voice
Handleft in thy difcourfe :-O that her hand!
In whofe comparison all whites are ink

Writing their own reproach; to whofe foft feizure

The

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