ore

Of all that infolent Greece or haughty Rome
Sent forth, or fince did from their afhes come.
Triumph, my Britain, thou hast one to show,
To whom all fcenes of Europe homage owe.
He was not of an age, but for all time!
And all the mufes ftill were in their prime,
When like Apollo he came forth to warm
Our ears, or like a Mercury to charm!
Nature herself was proud of his defigns,
And joy'd to wear the dreffing of his lines!
Which were fo richly spun, and woven so fit,
As, fince, fhe will vouchfafe no other wit.
The merry Greek, tart Ariftophanes,
Neat Terence, witty Plautus, now not please;
But antiquated, and deferted lie,

As they were not of Nature's family.
Yet must I not give Nature all: thy Art.
My gentle Shakespeare, muft enjoy a part.
For though the poet's matter Nature be,

His Art doth give the fashion. And, that he
Who cafts to write a living line, must sweat,
(Such as thine are,) and ftrike the fecond heat
Upon the mufes anvile; turn the fame,
And himself with it, that he thinks to frame;
Or for the laurel, he may gain a scorn,
For a good poet's made, as well as born.

And fuch wert thou. Look how the father's face
Lives in his iffue, even fo the race

Of Shakespeare's mind and manners brightly shines
In his well torned and true filed lines:

In each of which he seems to shake a lance,
As brandifh'd at the eyes of Ignorance.
Sweet fwan of Avon! what a fight it were

To fee thee in our water yet appear,

And make those flights upon the banks of Thames.
That fo did take Eliza, and our James!

But ftay, I fee thee in the hemifphere

Advanc'd, and made a conflellation there!

Shine forth, thou ftar of poets, and with rage,
Or influence, chide, or chear the drooping flage;

Which, fince thy flight from hence, hath mourn'd like night,
And defpairs day, but for thy volume's light.

BEN. JOHNSON.

A general Criticism on SHAKESPEARE'S Dramatic Works, by dividing them into four Claffes, and fo giving an estimate of each Play reduced to its proper Clafs. By Mr. War

The comedies and tragedies in the laft clafs are cer tainly not of Shakespeare. The moft that can be faid of them is, that he has, here and there, corrected the dialogue, and now and then added a fcene. It may be juft worth while to obferve, in this place, that the whole firft Act of Fletcher's Two noble kinfmen was wrote by Shakespeare, but in his worft manner.

The

The BEAUTIES of SHAKESPEARE, regularly felected from each Play. By WILLIAM DODD, B. A.

VOLUME I.

THE TEMPEST.

AN ufurping fubftitute compared to ivy, p. 6. 1. 7. 8. 9. Ariel's defcription of his managing the storm, p. 9. l. 12 to 22.26.10 32.

Ariel's expreffion a little above is very fine and picturesque, 1. 6. 7. As is the following of Profpero, p. 11. 7. 7. to II.

Caliban's curfes, p. 13. l. 10 to 13. 20. to 36.

Caliban's exultation after Profpero tells him, he fought to violate the bonour of his child, has fomething in it very ftrikingly in character, p. 14 1. 2. 3. 4.

A lover's fpeech, p. 18. l. 13. to 20.

A defcription of Ferdinand's swimming ashore, p. 21. 7. 34. to 42. Sleep, a comforter to forrow, p. 24. l. 1. 2. 3.

A fine apofiopefis, p. 24. l. 15. to 21.

Caliban's curfes, p. 28. l. 12. to 30.

A fatyr on the English curiosity, p. 29. l. I. to 7.
Caliban's promifes, p 32. l. 11. to 16. 19. to 25.

There perhaps cannot be conceived any thing more beautiful and natural than fcene 1. of act 3. Ferdinand's fpeech bearing a log,

is expreffive of true and unbiaffed affection, p. 33. 4. to 19. Miranda's offering to carry the logs for him, is peculiarly elegant, p. 33. l. 31. 32. 33.

And afterwards, how innocent, p. 35. l. 23. to 26.

Guilty confcience, p. 43. l. 13. 14. 15.

Continence before marriage, p. 44. l. 10. to 17.

Paffion too ftrong for vows, p. 45. l. 10. to 13.

Vanity of human nature, p. 48. l. 14. to 24.
Drunkards inchanted by Ariel, p. 49 l. 1. to 13.
Light of foot, p. 49. l. 30. 31.

Tears, p. 52. 1. 12. 13.

Compaffion and clemency fuperior to revenge, p. 52. 1. 20. to 23.
Fairies and magic, p. 52. l. 34. to 41. p. 53. l. 1. 10 II.
Senfes returning, p. 53. l. 31. to 35. p. 54. 1. 6. to 9.

A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM.

A Father's authority, p. 63. l. 40. 41. p. 64. l. 1. 2. 3.

Nun, p. 64. 1. 20. to 31.

True love ever croffed, p. 66. 1. 4. 5. 6. 7. 10. 12. 14. 40 22.
Affignation, p. 67. 1. 1. to 10.

VOL. 1.

Moon

Moon, p. 68. 1. 2. 3. 4.

Love defcribed, p. 68. l. 26. to 35.

Puck, or Robin Good Fellow, p. 72. l. 39. 40. 41. p. 73. l. 1.

to 12".

Fairy jealoufy, and the effects of it, p. 74. l. 1. to 34.
Love in idlenefs, p. 68. l. 26. to 35.

A Fairy bank, p. 78. l. 15. to 20.
Fairy courtefies, p. 87. 1. 30. to 40.

Female friendship, p. 93. l. 30. to 41. p. 94. l. 1. to 10.
Day-break, p. 98. 1. 24: to 27.

Dew in flowers, p. 102. 1. 26. to 29.

Hunting, p. 104. l. 9. to 18.

Hounds, p. 104. l. 19. to 25.

The power of imagination, p. 108. l. 24. to 34.

Simplenefs and duty, p. 110. l. 27. 28. 31. 32.

Modest duty always acceptable, p. 110. l. 39. to 42. p. 111.h1

to 7.

Clock, p. 117. 1. 21.

Night, p. 117. 1. 30. to 39. p. 118. l. 1. 2.

THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA.

Love commended and difpraised, p. 121. 1. 25. to 32. p. 122. L. 1,
Love froward and dissembling, p. 126. l. 4. 10 8.
The advantage of travel, p. 128. l. 37. 38. 39. p. 129. l. I.
Love compared to an April day, p. 130. 1. 24. to 27.
A comical defcription of a man in love, p. 131. l. 17. to 30.
An accomplished young gentleman, p. 139. l. 16. to 21.
Contempt of love punished, p. 141. l. 6. to 19.

Love compared to a waxen image, p. 142. l. 38. 39. 40.
Oppofition in love increases it, p. 146. l. 9. to 30.
A faithful and conftant lover, p. 147. l. 28. to 31.
Gifts prevalent with women, p. 150. l. 18. 19. 20.
A lover's banishment, p. 152. l. 17. 10 28.

A beautiful perfon petitioning in vain, p. 153. l. 30. to 39.
Hope the lover's staff, p. 154. l. 13. 14.

Love compared to a figure on ice, p. 157. l. 30. 31. 32.
Three things hated of women, p. 158. l. 16. 17. 18.
The power of poetry with women, p. 159. l. 15. to 23.
The power of action, p. 171. l. 24. to 31.

A lover in folitude, p. 175. l. 9. to 20.
Love unreturned, p. 176. l. 12. to 15.
Infidelity in a friend, p. 177. l. I. to 5.
Repentance, p. 177. l. 14. 15.
Inconftancy in man, p. 178. l. 9. to 12.

* We cannot (fays Mr. Dodd) help admiring Shakespeare's cxcellence in these fictitious characters. No man ever equalled him in defcriptions of ghosts and fairies; no man ever like him.

With refpect to The Merry Wives of Windfor, which is the next play in order, Mr. Dodd, in his preface, has the following observation. "There are many paffages in Shakespeare, fo clofely connected "with the plot and characters, and on which their beauties fo wholly "depend, that it would have been abfurd and idle to have produced "them here. Hence the reader will find little of the inimitable FalStaff in this work, and not one line extracted from the Merry "Wives of Windsor, one of Shakespeare's best, and most justly admi"red comedies. Whoever reads that play, will immediately fee "there was nothing either proper or poffible for this work."

MEASURE FOR MEASURE.

Virtue given to be exerted, p. 257. 1. 25. to 33.

Pardon, the fanction of wickedness, p. 265. l. 7. 8. 9.
A fevere, faint-like governor, p. 265. l. 20. 10 24.
Refolution, p. 267. 1. 35. 36. 37.

The prayers of maidens effectual, p. 267. l. 37. to 41.
All men frail, p. 268. I. 20. to 28 *.

<

The faults of others no juftification of our own, p. 268. 1. 29. to 34%

34. p. 269. l. 1. to 5.

Mercy frequently mistaken, p. 275. 1. 29. 30.

Mercy in governors comniended, p. 277. l. 31. to 35.
The duty of mutual forgivenefs, p. 278. l. 4. to II.

Juftice, p. 278. 1. 35. to 40.

The abuse of authority, p. 279. l. 1. 2. 3.

Great mens' abuse of power, p. 279. l. 5. to 18.

The privilege of authority, p. 279. 1. 23. 24. 26. 27.

The power of virtuous beauty, p. 280. 1. 27. to 41. p. 281. l. 1. to 9. Love in a grave, fevere governor, p: 282. l. 25. to 40.

A fimile on the prefence of the beloved object, p. 283. l. 5. to 16.
Lowlinefs of mind, p, 284. 1. 28. to 31.

Temporal far better than eternal death, p. 285. l. 17. 18. 19.
Woniens' frailty, p. 285. l. 37. 10 42. p. 286. l. I. .

Hope the only relief of the miferable, p. 287. 1. 27. 28.

Moral reflections on the vanity of life, p. 287. l. 30. to 35. p. 288..

1. I. to 30.

The terrors of death most in apprehenfion, p. 289. l. 34. to 41.
An outwardly pious governor, p. 290. l. 6. to 15.

The terrors of death, p. 290. l. 42. p. 291. l. 1. to 16.
Virtue and goodness, p. 293. l. 19.

This (fays Mr. Dodd) is a fine remark, and worthy the attention of all those who reflect vehemently on the offences of others, and never remember the frailty and imperfection of their own nature: like thofe fo feverely condemned by our bleffed Saviour, who could observe the mote in their brother's eye, but perceived not the beam in their own. Our excellent author, well knowing, that, notwithstanding this, the offences of others were no juftification of our own, has added a fine anfwer to this fpeech, to obviate that objection.