"Horfe, fays he, or in the Growling of a Maftiff, "there is a Meaning, there is as lively Expreffion, " and (may I fay) more Humanity, than many times "in the tragical Flights of Shakespeare. Others "again are apt to reckon thofe Anomalies, as we may call them, amongst the Corruptions of his .. Text, and fo perplex themselves with Conjectures "without End to the Depravation, not Reform of "the Author." In a word, fays Mr. Birch, this Gloffary will remove the greatest Obfcurities in Shakespeare's Writings, and be a continued Comment on his Text. We come in the next Place to thofe Specimens of Mr. Warburton's Edition, that either relate to the general Character of Shakespeare's Writings (which, as aforefaid, is to be one of the Appendages of it) or are Commentaries on particular Paffages of his Works. These laft will ferve, as well as the former, not only to illuftrate the Author's Meaning, but alo to give the Readers an Idea of the prodigious Elevation of his Genius, and the almoft unparallel'd Beauty of its Productions: Let me add, that feveral of Mr. Warburton's Observations are founded on or exactly coincident with Mr. Pope's Sentiments of our Poet, as they are finely exprefs'd in that admirable Difcourfe which is prefix'd to Mr. Tonfon's Impreffion of his Dramatick Pieces. Thus Mr. Pope faith, the Poetry of Shakespeare was Inspiration indeed. "And hath often, fays Mr. War"burton, in it the Obfcurity of an Oracle; but fo "much Beauty,when unriddled, that these are not the "leaft amiable Parts of his Writings. As in Mid"fummer Night's-dream, A. 2. the King of Faries fays to his Attendant; ཝ་ thou remember'ft, Since once I fat upon a Promontory, And beard a Mermaid on a Dolphin's Back A 4 That That the rude Sea grew civil to her Song, "The Compliment made to Queen Elizabeth in "the Lines that immediately follow, is so obvious "as to be taken notice of by every-body. But the "Character of Mary Queen of Scots in the Lines "above was too allegorically, it feems, delivered, "to be understood; and yet nothing is truer, than "that both a Compliment and a Satyr on that un"fortunate Lady were here intended, either of "which was a fufficient Reason to disguise the Mat"ter by an Allegory. First, the laying of the "Scene fhews it to be near the British Ifland, for "the Speaker is reprefented as hearing the Mer maid at the very Time he faw Cupid's Attempt "on the Vestal. The Mermaid on the Dolphin's "Back plainly defigns Queen Mary's Marriage "with the Dauphin of France. The Poet defigns "her under the Image of a Mermaid on two Ac"counts, because she was Queen of one Part of "the Ifle, and because of her mischievous Allure"ments. Uttering fuch dulcet and harmonious "Breath. This alludes to her great Parts of Ge"nius and Learning, which rendered her the most "accomplished Woman of her Time. The French "Writers tell us, that while fhe was in the Court of "France, Wife to the Dauphin, fhe pronounced a "Latin Oration in the great Hall of the Louvre "with fo much Grace and Eloquence, that the "whole Affembly were in Admiration. That the rude Sea grew civil to her Song: By this is meant Scotland, long in Arms against her. There is "the greater Juftnefs and Beauty in it, because the common Opinion is, that the Mermaid fings in << Storms. And And certain Stars foot madly from their Spheres To bear the Sea-maid's Mufick: "This alludes in general to the many Matches proposed to her; but more particularly to the "Duke of Norfolk's famous Negotiation with her; "which bringing fuch Destruction on him, and on "the Earls of Northumberland and Weftmoreland, ❝ and many other noble Families, it was faid, with "the utmost Propriety, that certain Stars fhot madly from their Spheres." — Again, Mr. Pope remarks, That we find him knowing in the Customs, Rites, and Manners of Antiquity. Mr. Warburton on his Part notes, That he always makes an Ancient speak the Language of Antiquity. So Julius Cæfar, Act I. Scene III. Ye Gods, it doth amaze me, A Man of fuch a feeble Temper fhould "This noble Image is taken from the Olympic "Games. The majestic World is a fine Periphrafis "for the Roman Empire: Majestic, because the noble Romans ranked themselves on a Foot ing with Kings; and a World, because they "called their Empire Orbis Romanus. But the "whole seems to allude to the known Story of "Cafar's great Exemplar, Alexander, who when " he was afked whether he would run the Courfe "of the Olympic Games, replied, Yes, if the Racers "were Kings. "So again in Anthony and Cleopatra, Act I. "Scene I. Anthony fays with infinite Sublimity Let Rome in Tyber melt, and the wide Arch "Taken Taken from the Roman Cuftom of raising tri"umphal Arches to perpetuate their Victories. "And again in Act III. Scene IV. Octavia " fays to Anthony of the Difference between him and " her Brother," Wars 'twixt you twain would be As if the World fhould cleave, and that flain Men Should folder up the Rift. "This is wonderfully Sublime: The Thought is "taken from the Story of Curtius's leaping into the "Chafm in the Forum, in order to clofe it; fo that "as that was clefed by one Roman, if the whole "World were to cleave, Romans only could folder "it up. The Metaphor of foldering is extremely "exact; for as Metal is foldered up by Metal, that " is more refined than that which it folders; so the "Earth was to be foldered by Men, who are only "a more refined Earth. So very proper, and at "the fame time fo full of Senfe is all that Shake"Speare fays. ર "Again Act I. Scene II. the Soothsayer is tell"ing Charmian her Fortune:" Sooth. You fhall outlive the Lady whom you ferve. Charm. Oh excellent! I love long Life better than Figs. "Here Shakespeare has copied the ancient Manners "with the utmoft Beauty as well as Propriety. He never introduced his Knowledge of Antiquity "with greater Art than on this Occafion, where he "makes Charmian speak thefe ominous Words; I "love long Life better than Figs; for the Afpics by "which he died, though after her Mistress, were "brought in a Basket of Figs. Omens were a Su 66 per "perstition, which Pythagoras first taught the "Greeks; the undefigned Confequence of Words "cafually spoken. The Words were fometimes "taken from the Speaker, and applied by the Au"ditors to the Speaker's own Affairs, as in the "Cafe of Paulus Emilius after his Conqueft of "Macedon. Sometimes again the Words of the "Speaker were transferred to the Affairs of the "Hearer, as in the Cafe of the fame Paulus before "his Conqueft of Macedon. Itaque rebus divinis quæ publice fierent, ut faverent Linguis, impera"batur. Cicero de Divinit. L. I." Again, Mr. Pope takes Notice, that in our Poet's Writings, the Manners of other Nations in general, the Egyptians, Venetians, French, &c. are drawn with equal Propriety. An Inftance or two of this, Mr. Warburton produces, with regard to the Ve netians. In the Merchant of Venice A& IV. Scene I. his Loffes, That have of late fo huddled on his Back, For "We are not to imagine the Word Royal to be a "random founding Epithet. It is used with great "Propriety by the Poet, and defigned to fhew him "well acquainted with the History of the People "whom he here brings upon the Stage. << when the French and Venetians, in the Beginning "of the thirteenth Century, had won Conftantinople, "the French, under the Emperor Henry, endea"voured to extend their Conquefts into the Pro"vinces of the Grecian Empire on the Terra Firma, while the Venetians, being Mafters of the Sea, "gave Liberty to any Subject of the Republic, ❤ who would fit out Veffels, to make themselves "Mafters of the Ifles of the Archipelago and other "Maritime |