Nath. Laus deo, bone; intelligo.

Hol. Bone?--bone, for benè: Prifcian a little fcratch'd; 'twill ferve.

Enter Armado, Moth, and Coftard.

Nath. Videfne quis venit?

Hol. Video, & gaudeo.

Arm. Chirra!

Hol. Quare Chirra, not Sirrah?

Arm. Men of peace, well encountred.
Hol. Moft military Sir, falutation.

Moth. They have been at a great feaft of languages, and ftoln the scraps. [To Coftard afide. Coft. O, they have liv'd long on the alms-basket of words! I marvel, thy mafter hath not eaten thee for a word; for thou art not fo long by the head as

Bone?- -bone for bene. Prifcian a little feratched: 'twill ferve. Alluding to the common phrafe, Diminuis Prifciani caput, applied to fuch as speak falfe Latin. THEOBALD.

It infinuareth me of infamy. There is no need to make the pedant worse than Shakespeare made him; who, without doubt, wrote infanity. WARBURTON,

There feems yet fomething wanting to the integrity of this paffage, which Mr. Theobald has in the most corrupt and difficult places very happily restored. For ne intelligis domine, to make frantick, Lunatick, I read, (nonne intelligis, domine?) to be mad, frantick, lumatick. JOHNSON.

In a book,

Infanie appears to have been a word anciently used. entitled, The Fall and evil Succeffe of Rebellion from time to time, &c. written in old English Verse by Wilfride Holme, imprinted at London by Henry Bynneman; without date, (though, from the concluding stanza, it appears to have been produced in the 8th year of the reign of Henry VIII. i. e. 1537) I find the word used.

"In the days of fixth Henry, Jack Cade made a brag,
"With a multitude of people, but in the confequence,
"After a little infanie, they fled tag and rag,

"For Alexander Iden he did his diligence," STEEVENS.

bonorificabilitudinitatibus: thou art easier swallowed

than a flap-dragon.

6

Moth. Peace; the peal begins.

Arm. Monfieur, are you not letter'd ?

Moth. Yes, yes; he teaches boys the horn-book: What is A B fpelt backward with a horn on his head? Hol. BA, pueritia, with a horn added.

Moth. Ba, moft filly fheep, with a horn. You hear his learning.

Hol. Quis, quis, thou confonant?

Moth. The third of the five vowels, if you repeat them; or the fifth, if I.7

Hol. I will repeat them, a, e, I.—

Moth. The fheep: the other two concludes it,

o, u.

Arm. Now by the falt wave of the Mediterraneum, a fweet touch, a quick venew of wit: fnip, fnap, quick and home; it rejoiceth my intellect: true

wit.

Moth. Offer'd by a child to an old man; which is wit-old.

Hol. What is the figure? what is the figure?
Moth. Horns.

Hol. Thou difputeft like an infant: go, whip thy gigg.

Moth. Lend me your horn to make one, and I

Honorificabilitudinitatibus.] This word, whencefoever it comes, is often mentioned as the longest word known JOHNSON.

7 Moth. The third of the five vowels, &c.] In former editions: The last of the five vowels, if you repeat them; or the fifth, if I; Hol. I will repeat them, a, e,

I

Moth. The sheep :-the other two concludes it out.

Is not the last and the fifth the fame vowel? Though my correc tion reftores but a poor conundrum, yet if it reftores the poet's meaning, it is the duty of an editor to trace him in his loweft conceits. By O, U, Moth would mean-Oh, you-i. e. You are the fheep fill, either way; no matter which of us repeats them.

THEOBALD.

will

will whip about your infamy circùm circà; a gigg of a cuckold's horn.

Coft. An' I had but one penny in the world, thou fhouldft have it to buy ginger-bread: hold, there is the very remuneration I had of thy mafter, thou half-penny purfe of wit, thou pigeon egg of difcretion. O, that the heavens were fo pleased, that thou wert but my baftard! what a joyful father wouldst thou make me? Go to, thou haft it ad dungbill; at the finger's ends, as they fay.

Hol. Oh, I fmell falfe Latin; dunghill for unguem. Arm. Arts-man, præambula; we will be fingled from the barbarous. Do you not educate youth at the charge-houfe on the top of the mountain? Hol. Or, Mons the hill.

Arm. At your fweet pleasure, for the mountain? Hol. I do fans question.

Arm. Sir, it is the king's most sweet pleasure and affection, to congratulate the princefs at her pavilion, in the pofteriors of this day; which the rude multitude call, the afternoon.

Hol. The pofterior of the day, moft generous Sir, is liable, congruent, and measurable for the afternoon: the word is well cull'd, chofe, fweet, and apt, I do affure you, Sir, I do affure.

Arm. Sir, the king is a noble gentleman; and my familiar, (I do affure you,) very good friend :-For what is inward between us, let it pafs:-I do befeech thee, remember thy courtefy;-1 befeech thee, apparel thy head:-and among other importunate and moft ferious defigns, and of great import indeed too; but let that pafs :-for I must tell thee, it will please his grace (by the world) fometime to lean up

9 I will whip about your infamy unum cita :] Here again all the editions give us jargon inilead of Latin. But Moth would certainly mean, circum circa: i. e. about and about: tho' it may be defigned he fhould miflake the terms. THEOBALD.

on

on my poor fhoulder; and with his royal finger, thus, dally with my excrement, with my muftachio: but sweet heart, let that pafs. By the world, I recount no fable; fome certain fpecial honours it pleaseth his greatnefs to impart to Armado, a foldier, a man of travel, that hath feen the world: but let that pafs. The very all of all is;-but sweet heart, I do implore fecrefy,--that the king would have me present the princefs (fweet chuck) with fome delightful oftentation, or show, or pageant, or antick, or fire-work. Now, understanding that the curate and your sweet felf are good at fuch eruptions, and fudden breakings out of mirth, (as it were) I have acquainted you withal, to the end to crave your affiftance.

Hol. Sir, you fhall prefent before her the nine worthies. Sir Nathaniel, as concerning fome entertainment of time, fome fhow in the pofterior of this day, to be rendred by our affiftance, at the king's command; and this moft gallant, illuftrate, and learned gentleman, before the princess: I fay, none fo fit as to prefent the nine worthies.

Nath. Where will you find men worthy enough to present them?

Hol. Jofhua, yourfelf; myself or this gallant gentleman, Judas Maccabeus; this fwain (because of his great limb or joint) fhail pass Pompey the great; the page, Hercules.

Arm. Pardon, Sir, error: he is not quantity enough for that worthy's thumb; he is not fo big as the end of his club.

Hol. Shall I have audience? he fhall prefent Hercules in minority: his Enter and Exit fhall be ftrang

dally with my excrement,] The authour has before called the beard alour's excrement in the Merchant of Venice. JOHNSON.

ling a fnake; and I will have an apology for that purpose.

Moth. An excellent device! fo if any of the audience hifs, you may cry; "well done, Hercules, "now thou crusheft the fnake;" that is the way to make an offence gracious; tho' few have the grace to do it.

Arm. For the reft of the worthies ;-
Hol. I will play three myself.

Moth. Thrice-worthy gentleman !
Arm. Shall I tell you a thing?

Hol. We attend.

Arm. We will have, if this fadge not,' an antick. I beseech you, follow.

Hol. Via! good man Dull, thou haft spoken no word all this while.

Dull. Nor understood none neither, Sir.

Hol. Allons! we will employ thee.

Dull. I'll make one in a dance, or fo: or I will play on the tabor to the worthies, and let them dance the hay.

Hol. Moft dull, honeft Dull, to our sport away.

SCENE M.

Before the Princess's Pavilion.

Enter Princess, and Ladies.

[Exeunt.

Prin. Sweet hearts, we fhall be rich ere we depart, If fairings come thus plentifully in.

A lady wall'd about with diamonds!

Look you, what I have from the loving king,

2

Rof. Madam, came nothing elfe along with that?

if this fadge not,] i. e. fuit not. More inftances of the ufe of this word are given in Twelfth Night. STEEVENS.