It was commanded so. Prov. sage. Duke. For which I do discharge you of your of fice: Give up your keys. Prov. Duke. Prov. What's he? His name is Barnardine. Ang. I am sorry, that such sorrow I procure : Re-enter Provost, Barnardine, Claudio, and Juliet. Duke. Which is that Barnardine? Prov. This, my lord. Duke. There was a friar told me of this man :- And squar'st thy life according. Thou'rt condemn'd; Consideration. ; I leave him to your hand.-What muffled fellow's that? Prov. This is another prisoner, that I sav'd, That should have died when Claudio lost his head; As like almost to Claudio, as himself. [Unmuffles Claudio. Duke. If he be like your brother, [To Isabella.] for his sake Is he pardon'd; And, for your lovely sake, yours. I find an apt remission in myself: And yet here's one in place I cannot pardon; One all of luxuryt, an ass, a madman; That you extol me thus? Lucio. 'Faith; my lord, I spoke it but according to the trick: If you will hang me for it, you may, but I had rather it would please you, I might be whipp'd. Duke. Whipp'd first, sir, and hang'd after.— Laucio. I beseech your highness, do not marry me to a whore! Your highness said even now, I made + Incontinence. * Requites. you a duke: good my lord, do not recompense me, in making me a cuckold. Duke. Upon mine honour, thou shalt marry her. Thy slanders I forgive; and therewithal Remit thy other forfeits* :-Take him to prison: Lucio. Marrying a punk, my lord, is pressing to death, whipping, and hanging. Duke. Sland'ring a prince deserves it. She, Claudio, that you wrong'd, look you restore.- I have confess'd her, and I know her virtue.- What's mine is yours, and what is yours is mine:-- The novel of Giraldi Cinthio, from which Shakspeare is supposed to have borrowed this fable, may be read in Shakspeare Illustrated, elegantly translated, with remarks which will assist the inquirer to discover how much absurdity Shakspeare has admitted or avoided. I cannot but suspect that some other had new-modelled the novel of Cinthio, or written a story which Punishments. + To reward. in some particulars resembled it, and that Cinthio was not the author whom Shakspeare immediately followed. The emperor in Cinthio is named Maximine: the duke, in Shakspeare's enumeration of the persons of the drama, is called Vincentio. This ap pears 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 the list, by the mere habit of transcription? It is therefore likely that there was then a story of Vincentio duke of Vienna, different from that of Mai mine emperor of the Romans. Of this play, the light or comick part is very natu ral and pleasing, but the grave scenes, if a few pas sages be excepted, have more labour than elegance. The plot is rather intricate than artful. The time of the action is indefinite: some time, we know not how much, must have elapsed between the recess of the duke and the imprisonment of Claudio; for he must have learned the story of Mariana in his dis guise, or he delegated his power to a man already known to be corrupted. The unities of action and place are sufficiently preserved. JOHNSON. END OF VOL. I. Printed by S. Hamilton, Weybridge. |