Shall, for that vaft of night that they may work,
All exercise on thee: thou fhalt be pinch'd

As thick as honey-combs, each pinch more stinging
Than bees that made 'em.

Cal. I must eat my dinner.

"This Inland's mine by Sycorax my mother, "Which thou tak'ft from me. When thou camest first, "Thou ftroak'dft me, and mad'ft much of me; and would't give me

"Water with berries in't; and teach me how "To name the bigger light, and how the less, "That burn by day and night: and then I lov'd thee, And fhew'd thee all the qualities o'th' Inle,

"The fresh fprings, brine-pits; barren place, and fertile.

Curs'd be I, that I did fo! all the charms "Of Sycorax, toads, beetles, bats, light on you! "For I am all the fubjects that you have,

"Who first was mine own King; and here you fty me In this hard rock, whiles you do keep from me The reft of th' Island.

Pro. Thou moft lying flave,

Whom Stripes may move, not kindness; I have us'd thee

(Filth as thou art), with humane care, and lodg'd In mine own cell, 'till thou didst feek to violate

The honour of my child.

J

Cal. Oh ho, oh ho!I wou'd, it had been done! Thou didft prevent me, I had peopled elfe

This Ifle with Calibans.

- Pro. Abhorred flave;

Which any print of goodness wilt not take,
Being capable of all ill! I pity'd thee,

Took pains to make thee fpeak, taught thee each hour

·4 Abhorred slave;] In the common Editions this fpeech was given to Miranda. Mr. Dryden in his alteration of this play rightly transferred it to Profpero.

One

One thing or other. When thou couldst not, favage,
Shew thine own meaning, but wouldft gabble like
A thing most brutish, I endow'd thy purposes

With words that made them known. But thy vile race (Tho' thou didst learn) had that in't, which good

natures

Could not abide to be with; therefore waft thou
Defervedly confin'd into this rock,

Who hadít deferv'd more than a prifon

Cal. You taught me language, and my profit on't Is, I know how to curfe: the red plague rid you, For learning me your language!

5

When thou DIDST not, Savage,

KNOW thy own meaning, but would gabble like

A thing most brutish, I endow'd thy purposes

With words to make them known.] The benefit which Profpero here upbraids Caliban with having beftowed, was teaching him language. He fhews the greatness of this benefit by marking the inconvenience Caliban lay under for want of it. What was the inconvenience? This, that he did not know his own meaning. But fure a Brute, to which he is compared, doth know its own meaning, that is, knows what it would be at. This, indeed, it cannot do, it cannot bew its meaning to others. this certainly is what Profpera would fay,

-When thou coULDST not, Savage,

SHEW thy own meaning,"

The following words makes it evident,

but wouldst gabble like

A thing moft brutish.

---

And

And when once [her] was corrupted to [know] the tranfcribers would of courfe change [could] into [didft] to make it agree with the other falfe reading. There is indeed a Senfe in which Know thy own meaning may be well applied to a brute. For it may fignify the not having any reflex knowledge of the operations of its own mind, which, it would seem, a Brute hath not. Tho' this, I fay, may be applied to a brute, and confequently to Caliban, and tho' to remedy this brutality be a nobler benefit than even the teaching language; yet fuch a fenfe would be impertinent and abfurd in this place, where only the benefit of language is talked of by an exact and learned Speaker. Befides, Profpero exprefly fays, that Caliban had purposes; which, in other words, is that he did know his own meaning.

C 3

Pro.

Pro. Hag-feed, hence!

Fetch us in fewel, and be quick (thou wert' beft)
To answer other bufinefs. Shrug'ft thou, malice?
If thou neglect'ft, or doft unwillingly

What I command, I'll rack thee with old cramps;
Fill all thy bones with aches, make thee roar,
That beafts fhall tremble at thy din.

Cal. No, 'pray thee.

I must obey; his art is of fuch pow'r,
It would controul my dam's god Setebos,

And make a vaffal of him.

Pro. So, flave, hence!

SCENE

[Exit Caliban.

V.

Enter Ferdinand; and Ariel invifible, playing
and finging.

ARIEL'S SONG.

Come unto thefe yellow fands,
And then take bands:

Curt'fied when you have, and kift

(The wild waves whift ;)

Foot it featly here and there,

And, fweet Sprites, the burthen bear.

Burthen, difperfedly.

Hark, bark, bough-waugh: the watch-dogs bark,

Baugh-waugh.

Ari. Hark, bark, I hear

The ftrain of ftrutting chanticlere

Cry, Cock-a-doodle-do.

Fer. Where fhould this Mufick be, i'th' air, or earth?

It founds no more: and, fure, it waits upon
Some God o'th' Ifland. Sitting on a bank,
Weeping against the King my father's wreck,

This mufick crept by me upon the waters;
Allaying both their fury and my paffion,
With its fweet air; thence I have follow'd it,
Or it hath drawn me rather but 'tis gone.
No, it begins again.

ARIEL'S SONG.

• Full fathom five thy father lies,
Of his bones are coral made:
Thofe are pearls, that were his eyes;
Nothing of him that doth fade,

But

6 Full fathom five thy father lies, &c.] Gildon, who has
pretended to criticife our Author, would give this up as an in-
fufferable and fenfelefs piece of trifling. And I believe this is the
general opinion concerning it. But a very unjust one. Let us
confider the business Ariel is here upon, and his manner of exe-
cuting it. The Commiffion Profpero had intrufted to him, in a
whisper, was plainly this; to conduct Ferdinand to the fight of
Miranda, and to difpofe him to the quick fentiments of love,
while he, on the other hand, prepared his daughter for the fame
impreffions. Ariel fets about his bufinefs by acquainting Ferdi-
nand, in an extraordinary manner, with the afflictive news of his
father's death. A very odd Apparatus, one would think, for a
love-fit. And yet as odd as it appears, the Poet has fhewn in it
the finest conduct for carrying on his plot. Profpero had faid,
I find my Zenith doth depend upon

A moft aufpicious flarr; whofe influence
If now I court not, but omit, my Fortunes
Will ever after droop.-

In confequence of this his prefcience, he takes advantage of every
favourable circumftance that the occafion offers. The principal affair
is the Marriage of his daughter with young Ferdinand. But to
fecure this point it was neceffary they should be contracted before
the affair came to Alonzo the Father's knowledge. For Profpero
was ignorant how this form and fhipwreck, caufed by him, would
work upon Alonzo's temper. It might either foften him, or in-
crease his averfion for Profpero as the author. On the other hand,
to engage Ferdinand, without the confent of his Father, was dif-
ficult. For not to fpeak of his Quality, where fuch engagements
are not made without the confent of the Sovereign, Ferdinand is
represented (to fhew it a Match worth the feeking) of a moft

C 4

pious

But doth fuffer a fea-change,
Into fomething rich and strange.

Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell.

Hark, now I hear them, ding-dong, bell.

[Burthen: ding-dong.

Fer. The ditty does remember my drown'd father This is no mortal bufinefs, nor no found

That the earth owns: I hear it now above me.

Pro. 7 The fringed curtains of thine eyes advance, And fay, what thou feeft yond.

Mira.

pious temper and difpofition, which would prevent his contracting himfelf without his Father's knowledge. The Poet therefore,

with the utmost address, has made Ariel perfuade him of his Father's death to remove this Remora, which might otherwise have either ftop'd, and retarded beyond the time of action, or quite Spoiled the whole Plot.

The fringed curtains of thine eyes advance,

And fay, what thou feeft yond. ]

The Daughters of Profpero, as they are drawn by Dryden, feem rather to have had their Education in a Court or a Playhoufe, than under the fevere precepts of a Philofopher in a Desert. But the Miranda of Shakespear is truly what the Poet gives her out. And his art in preferving the unity of her character is wonderful. We must remember what was faid in the foregoing note of Profpero's intention to make his Daughter fall in love at fight. And notwithstanding what the wits may fay, or the Pretty-fel lows think, on this occafion, it was no fuch eafy matter to bring this naturally about. Those who are the leaft acquainted with human nature know of what force inftitution and education are to curb and even deface the very ftrongest paffions and affections. She had been brought up under the rough difcipline of ftoical Morality, and misfortunes generally harden the morality of virtuous men into Stoicifm. Such a one was Profpero. And he tells us, that his daughter fully anfwered the care he bestowed upon her, So that there would be fome difficulty for nature to regain its influence fo fuddenly as the Plot required. The Poet, therefore, with infinite addrefs, caufes her to be foftened by the tender story her father told her of his misfortunes. For pity preceeds love,

and