2

York. My brother General, the Common-wealth, To Brother born an household Cruelty,

fuch redress

I make my quarrel in particular.
West. There is no need of any
Or if there were, it not belongs to you.

Mcwb. Why not to him in part, and to us all,
That feel the bruifes of the days before;

And fuffer the condition of these times
To lay an heavy and unequal hand
Upon our honours?

Weft. O my good Lord Mowbray,
confecrate the general's fword,
which was employ'd in the fer-
vice of the church. To this
cuftom the line in queftion al-
ludes. As to the cant of unifor-
mity of metaphor in writing, this
is to be cbferved, that changing
the allufion in the fame fentence
is indeed vicious, and what Quin
tilian condemns, Multi quum ini
tum à tempeftate fumferint, in-
cendio aut ruinâ finiunt. But when
one comparison or allufion is
fairly feparated from another, by
diftinct fentences, the cafe is dif-
ferent. So it is here; in one
fentence we fee the book of re-
bellion fampt with a feal divine;
in the other, the word of civil
difcord confecrated. But this change
of the metaphor is not only al-
lowable, but fit. For the dwell-
ing overlong upon one occafions
the difcourfe to degenerate into
a dull kind of allegorifm.

WARBURTON.

What Mr. Theobald fays of two editions feems to be true, for my copy reads, commotion's bitter edge, but civil is undoubtedly right, and one would wonder how bitter could intrude if civil had been written first, perhaps the authour himself made the change.

2 My brother general, &c. I make my quarrel in particular.] The fenfe is this, My brother general, the Common-wealth, wh ch ought to diftribute its benefits equally, is become an enemy to thefe of his own houfe, to brothersborn, by giving fome all, and others none; and this (fays he) I make my quarrel or grievance that bonours are unequally dributed; the conftant birth of male-contents, and fource of civil commotions. WARBURTON. In the first folio the fecond line is omitted, yet that reading, unintelligible as it is, has been followed by Sir T. Hanmer. How difficultly fenfe can be drawn from the beft reading the explication. of Dr. Warburton may fhow. I believe there is an errour in the first line, which perhaps may be rectified thus,

My quarrel general, the commonwealth,

To Brother born an household cruelty,

I make my quarrel in particul r. That is, my general caufe of dif content is publick mifmanagement, my particular caufe a domeftick injury done to my natural brother, who had been beheaded by the King's order. X 2

Con

* Conftrue the times to their neceffities,
And you shall say, indeed, it is the time,
And not the King, that doth you injuries.
Yet, for your part, it not appears to me,
+Or from the King, or in the prefent time,
That you should have an inch of any ground
To build a grief on. Were you not restor'd
To all the Duke of Norfolk's Seigniories,
Your noble and right-well remember'd father's?

Mowb. What thing, in honour, had my father lost,
That need to be reviv'd and breath'd in me?
The King, that lov'd him, as the State ftood then,
Was, force per force, compell'd to banish him.
And then, when Harry Bolingbroke and he
Being mounted and both rowfed in their feats,
Their neighing Courses daring of the fpur,

Their armed ftaves in charge, their beavers down, Their eyes of fire fparkling through fights of steel, And the loud trumpet blowing them together; Then, then, when there was nothing could have ftaid My father from the breaft of Bolingbroke, O, when the King did throw his warder down, His own life hung upon the ftaff he threw ; Then threw he down himself, and all their lives, That by indictment, or by dint of sword, Have fince mifcarried under Bolingbroke.

[not what. West. You fpeak, Lord Mowbray, now, you know The Earl of Hereford was reputed then In England the most valiant gentleman.

Who knows, on whom fortune would then have fimil'd? But if your father had been victor there,

*Conftrue the times to their necefliter.] That is, judge of what is done in theje tims according to the exigencies that overrule us.

+ Or from the King, &c] Whether the faults of government be imputed to the time or

the king, it appears not that you have, for your part, been injured either by the king or the time.

Their armed faves in charge] An armed faff is a lance. To be in charge, is to be fixed for the en

counter.

He

He ne'er had borne it out of Coventry;
For all the country in a general voice

Cry'd hate upon him; all their prayers and love
Were fet on Hereford, whom they doted on,

And blefs'd, and grac'd, indeed, more than the King.
But this is mere digreffion from my purpose.-
Here come I from our princely General,

To know your griefs, to tell you from his Grace,
That he will give you audience, and wherein
It shall appear that your demands are just,
You fhall enjoy them; every thing let off,
That might fo much as think you enemies.
Mowb. But he hath forc'd us to compel this offer,
And it proceeds from policy, not love.

Weft. Mowbray, you over-ween to take it fo;
This offer comes from mercy, not from fear.
For, lo! within a ken, our army lies,
Upon mine honour, all too confident
To give admittance to a thought of fear.
Our battle is more full of names than yours,
Our men more perfect in the ufe of arms,
Our armour all as ftrong, our cause the best;
Then reafon wills, our hearts fhould be as good.
Say you not then, our offer is compell'd.

3

Mowb. Well; by my will, we shall admit no parley. Weft. That argues but the fhame of your offence, A rotten case abides no handling.

In

Haft. Hath the Prince John a full commiffion, very ample virtue of his father,

To hear and abfolutely to determine

Of what conditions we fhall ftand upon ?

Weft. That is intended in the General's name :

3 And blefs'd and grac'd more

than the King himfeif.] The Two oldeft Folio's (which firit gave us this Speech of Weftmorland) read this Line thus ; And bless'd and grac`d and did

more than the King. Dr. Thiriby reform'd the Text

very near to the Traces of the corrupted Reading. THEOBALD. 4 This is intended in the Ge

neral's name :] That is, this power is included in the name or office of a general. We wonder that you can ask a question fo trifling.

X 3

I mufe,

I mufe, you make fo flight a question.

York. Then take, my lord of Weftmorland, this For this contains our general grievances.

Each feveral article herein redrefs'd;

[schedule,

All members of our caufe, both here and hence,
That are infinewed to this action,

*

Acquitted by a true fubftantial form; And prefent executions of our wills 5 To us, and to our purpofes, confin'd; "We come within our awful banks again, And knit our powers to the arm of peace. [lords, Weft. This will I fhew the General. Please you, "In fight of both our battles, we may meet; And either end in peace, which heav'n fo frame! Or to the place of difference call the fwords, Which must decide it.

York. My lord, we will do fo.

Subfantial form.] That is, by a pardon of due form and legal validity.

5 Tous, and to our PURPOSES, confi'd;] This schedule we fee confifts of three parts, 1. A redrefs of general grievances. 2. A pardon for those in arms. 3. Some demands of advantage for them. But this third part is very firangely expreffed.

And prefent execution of our wills To us and to our PURPOSES Confin'd.

The first line fhews they had fomething to demand, and the fecond expreffes the modefty of that demand. The demand, fays the fpeaker, is confined to us and to our purposes. A very modeft kind of reltriction truly! only as extenfive as their appetites and paffions. Without queftion ShakeJpear wrote,

8

[Exit Weft.

To us and to our PROPERTIES confin'd;

ble demand.

i. e. we defire no more than feCurity for our liberties and preperties and this was no unreafonaWARBURTON. This paffage is so obscure that I know not what to make of it. Nothing better occurs to me, than to read confign'd, for confin'd. That is, let the execution of our demands be put into our hands acCording to our declared purposes. 6 We come within our AWFUL

banks again,] Wefhould read LAWFUL. WARE. Arful banks are the proper limits of reverence.

7 The old copies: We may meet At either, end in peace; which

Heav'n fo frame!] That eafy, but certain, Change in the Text, I owe to Dr. Thirdby.

THEOBALD.

SCENE

Mowb. There is a thing within my bofom tells me, That no conditions of our peace can stand.

Haft. Fear you not that; if we can make our peace Upon fuch large terms and fo absolute,

As our conditions fhall infift upɔn,

Our peace shall stand as firm as rocky mountains.
Mowb. Ay, but our valuation fhall be fuch,
That ev'ry flight and falfe-derived cause,
Yea, ev'ry idle, nice and wanton reason,
Shall to the King taste of this action.
'That, were our loyal faiths martyrs in love,
We fhall be winnow'd with fo rough a wind,
That ev'n our corn fhall feem as light as chaff,
And good from bad find no partition.

York. No, no, my lord, note this; the King is weary * Of dainty and fuch picking grievances :

For he hath found, to end one doubt by death,

Revives two greater in the heirs of life.

And therefore will he wipe his tables clean,
And keep no tell-tale to his memory,

That may repeat and hiftory his lo's

To new remembrance. For full well he knows,
He cannot fo precifely weed this land,
As his mifdoubts prefent occafion;
His foes are fo enrooted with his friends,
That, plucking to unfix an enemy,
He doth unfaften fo and shake a friend.
So that this Land, like an offenfive wife,