Why stand these royal fronts amazed thus? Then let confufion of one part confirm The other's peace; till then, blows, blood, and death. K. John. Whofe party do the townfimen yet admit? K. Phil. Speak, citizens, for England; who's your king? Cit. The king of England, when we know the king? K. Phil. Know him in us, that here hold up his right. K. John. In us, that are our own great deputy, Faul. Cry havock, kings!] That is, "command flaughter to proceed;" fo in another place." He with Atè by his fide, "Cries, havock!" JOHNSON. 2 In former copies : A greater pow'r, than WE, denies all this; Kings Of our fears ] We fhould read, than ye. What power was this? their fears. It is plain therefore we fhould read, Kings are our fears,- i. e. our fears are the kings which at prefent rule us. WARBURTON. Dr. Warburton faw what was requifite to make this paffage fenfe; and Dr. Johnfon, rather too haftily, I think, has received his emendation into the text. He reads, As the fame fenfe may be obtained by a much flighter alteration, I am more inclined to read, KING'D OF Our fears, King'd is ufed as a participle paffive by Shakespeare more than once, I believe. I remember one inftance in Henry the Fifth, A&t. ii. Scene 5. The Dauphin fays of England, VOL. V. he is fo idly king'd. Faule. By heaven, these scroyles of Angiers 3 flour And ftand fecurely on their battlements, Be friends a while 4, and both conjointly bend I'd play inceffantly upon thefe jades ; Leave them as naked as the vulgar air. To whom in favour fhe fhall give the day, How like you this wild counfel, mighty states? K. John. Now, by the fky, that hangs above our I like it well. France, fhall we knit our powers, It is fcarce neceffary to add, that, of, here (as in numberlefs other places) has the fignification of, by. Obfervations and Conjectures, &c. printed at Oxford, 1766. STEEVENS. 3-thefe feroyles of Angiers-] Eferouelles, Fr. i. e. fcabby, fcrophulous fellows. Ben Jonfon ufes the word in Every Man in his Humour, 66 hang them foroyles!" STEEVENS. 4 Be friends a while, &c.] This advice is given by the Baftard in the old copy of the play, though comprized in fewer and lefs fp ir ed lines. STEEVENS. Faulc. Faulc. An if thou haft the mettle of a king, Being wrong'd, as we are, by this peevish town, Turn thou the mouth of thy artillery, As we will ours, against these faucy walls: Auft. I from the north. K. Phil. Our thunder from the fouth Shall rain their drift of bullets on this town. Faulc. O prudent difcipline! from north to fouth; Auftria and France fhoot in each other's mouth.[Afide. I'll stir them to it: come, away, away! Cit. Hear us, great kings: vouchfafe a while to stay, And I will fhew you peace, and fair-fac'd league; K. John. Speak on, with favour; we are bent to hear. Cit.. That daughter there of Spain, the lady Blanch, Is near to England; look upon the years Of Lewis the Dauphin, and that lovely maid. If lufty love fhould go in queft of beauty, Where fhould he find it fairer than in Blanch? If 5 zealous love fhould go in fearch of virtue, Where fhould he find it purer than in Blanch? If love, ambitious, fought a match of birth, Whofe veins bound richer blood than lady Blanch? Such as she is, in beauty, virtue, birth, Is the young Dauphin every way complete: Zealous feems here to fignify pious, or influenced by motives of religion. JOHNSON. If not complete, ch fay, he is not she; And two fuch fhores, to two fuch ftreams made one, Lions fo confident, mountains and rocks So free from motion; no, not death himself As we to keep this city. Faulc. Here's a stay 9, That shakes the rotten carcafs of old death Out of his rags! Here's a large mouth, indeed, That 6 If not complete of, fay, &c.] Sir T. HANMER reads, O! fay. JOHNSON. He is the half part of a blessed man, Left to be finished by fuch as the:] Dr. Thirlby prefcrib'd that reading, which I have here reftored to the text. THEOBALD. at this match, With fwifter Spleen, &c.] Our author ufes fpleen for any violent hurry, or tumultuous fpeed. So in Midsummer Night's Dream he applies pleen to the lightning. I am loath to think that Shakespeare meant to play with the double of match for nuptial, and the match of a gun. JOHNSON. 9 Here's a fay, That bakes the rotten carcass of old death Out of his rags! I cannot but think that every reader withes for fome other word in the place of fay, which though That fpits forth death, and mountains, rocks and feas; As maids of thirteen do of puppy-dogs! He fpeaks plain cannon-fire, and fmoak, and bounce; Our ears are cudgel'd; not a word of his, But buffets better than a fift of France: Eli. Son, lift to this conjunction, make this match; Mark, how they whisper: urge them, while their fouls Left zeal, now melted, by the windy breath Cit. Why answer not the double majefties This friendly treaty of our threaten'd town? it may fignify an hindrance, or man that hinders, is yet very improper to introduce the next line. I read, Here's a flaw, That fakes the rotten carcass of old death. That is, here is a gust of bravery, a blast of menace. This fuits well with the fpirit of the fpecch. Stay and flaw, in a careless hand, are not eafily diftingui hed; and if the writing was obfcure, flaw being a word leis ufual was eafily miffed. JOHNSON. Left zeal, now melted, We have here a very unusual, and, I think, not very juft image of zeal, which, in its highest degree, is represented by others as a flame, but by Shakespeare as a froft. To reprefs zeal, in the language of others, is to cool, in Shakefpeare's to melt it; when it exerts its utmoft power it is commonly faid to flame, but by Shakespeare to be congealed. C 3 JOHNSON. K. Phil. |