THE

DRAMATICK WRITINGS

OF

WILL. SHAKSPERE,

With the Notes of all the various Commentators ;

PRINTED COMPLETE FROM THE BEST EDITIONS OF

SAM. JOHNSON and GEO. STEEV ENS.

Uolume the fifth.

CONTAINING

MEASURE for MEASURE.
COMEDY of ERRORS.

LONDON:
Printed for, and under the Direction of,
John Bell, British Library, STRAND,
Bookseller to His Royal Highness the PRINCE of WALES.

MDCC LXXXVIII.

MEASURE for MEASURE.

BY

WILL. SHAKSPERE:

Printed Complete from the TEXT of
S.AM. JOHNSON and GEO. STEEVENS,

And revised from the last Editions.

Passages omitted in Representation, are distinguished by invcited Commas, thus

When Learning's triumph o'cr her barb'rous focs
First rear'd the Stage, immortal SH.KSPERE rose;
Each change of many-colour'd life hc drew,
Exhausted worlds, and then imagin'd new :
Existence saw him spurn her bounded reign,
And panting Time toil'd after him in vain :
His pow'rful strokes presiding Truth confess'd,
And unresisted Passion storm'd the breast.

DR. SAMUZI JOHNSON,

LONDON :

Printed for, and under the direction of
John BELL, British Library, STRAND,

MDCCLXXXV.

OBSERVATIONS

ON THE Fable And Composition of

MEASURE for MEASURE.

The story is taken from Cinthio's Novels, Decad. 8, Novel 5. Pope.

There is perhaps not one of Shakspere's plays more dark ened than this by the peculiarities of its author, and the unskilfulness of its editors, by distortions of phrase, or negligence of transcription. JOHNSON,

This story was attempted for the scene before our author was fourteen years old, by one George Whetstone, in Two Comical Discourses, as they are called, containing the right excellent and famous history of Promos and Cassandra, printed with the black letter, 1578. The author going that year with sir Humphrey Gilbert to Norimbega, left them with his friends to publish. THEOBALD.

I cannot but suspect that some other had new-modelled the novel of Cynthio, or written a story which in some particulars resembled it, and that Cynthio was not the author whom Shakspere immediately followed. The emperor in Cynthio is named Maximine; the duke, in Shakspere's enumeration of the persons of the drama, is called Vincentio. This appears a very slight remark; but since the duke has no name in the play, nor is ever mentioned but by his title, why should he be called Vincentio among the persons, but because the name was copied from the story, and placed superfluously at the head

of