Love keeps his revels where there be but twain; These blue-vein'd violets whereon we lean, The tender spring upon thy tempting lip Fair flowers that are not gather'd in their prime, Were I hard-favour'd, foul, or wrinkled-old, Then might'st thou paufe, for then I were not for thee; Thou canst not fee one wrinkle in my brow; Mine eyes are grey 2, and bright, and quick in turning ; My flesh is foft and plump, my marrow burning; Bid me difcourfe, I will enchant thine ear3, Love ■ — and lacking juice,] Thus the octavo 1596. The edition of 1600 has-joice. The word juice, as Dr. Farmer informs me, is fo pronounced in the midland counties. MALONE. 2 Mine eyes are grey,] What we now call blue eyes, were in ShakSpeare's time called grey eyes, and were confidered as eminently beautiful. See a note on Romeo and Juliet, A&t III. fc. i. MALONE. 3-I will enchant thine ear,] It appears from the corresponding rhime, that this word was formerly pronounced as if it were written air. In our authour's native county it is ftill fo pronounced by the vulgar. MALONE. 4 Or, like a nymph, with long dishevell'd hair, Dance on the fands, and yet no footing feen :] So, in The Tempest: "And Love is a fpirit all compact of fire, Not grofs to fink, but light, and will aspire". Witness this primrose bank whereon I lie ; Is thine own heart to thine own face affected? And dy'd to kifs his fhadow in the brook. Torches are made to light, jewels to wear, " And ye, that on the fands with printless feet 5 Love is a fpirit all compact of fire, Not grofs to fink, but light, and will afpire.] So, in The Comedy of Errors: Let love, being light, be drowned, if the fink." Compact is, made up, compofed. See Vol. II. p. 521, n. 6. MALONE. Things growing to themfelves are growib's abufe:] Alluding to twinn'd cherries, apples, peaches, &c. which accidentally grow into each other. Thus our author fays, King Henry VIII. and Francis I. embraced "as they grew together. STEEVENS. Shakspeare, I think, meant to fay no more than this; that thofe things which grow only to [or for] themselves, without producing any fruit, or benefiting mankind, do not answer the purpofe for which they were intended. Thus, in a fubfequent paffage : "So in thyself thyself art made away." Again, in our authour's 95th Sonnet: "The fummer's flower is to the fummer fweet, Again, more appofitely in the prefent poem: "Poor flower! quoth the, this was thy father's guife, "For every little grief to wet his eyes; "To grow unto bimfelf was his defire, C 3 Seeds Seeds fpring from feeds, and beauty breedeth beauty; Upon the earth's increafe3 why fhould'ft thou feed, By this, the love-fick queen began to fweat, And now Adonis, with a lazy fpright, His low'ring brows o'er-whelming his fair fight, Ah me, (quoth Venus,) young, and fo unkind"? I'll 3 Upon the earth's increafe-] i. e. upon the produce of the earth, See Vol. II. p. 467, n. 8. MALONE. 4 And Titan-with burning eye, &c] So, in K. Henry V, "like a lackey, from the rife to fet, "Sweats in the eye of Phoebus." MALONE. 5 Souring bis cheeks,] So, in Coriolanus : "Some news is come, "That turns their countenances." Again, in Timon of Athens: "Has friendship fuch a faint and milky heart, "It turns in lefs than two nights?" MALONE. 6-young, and fo unkind?] So, in K. Lear, Act I. fc. i.: "So young, and fo untender ?" STEEVENS. 7. I'll figh celeftial breath,—] So, in Coriolanus : 66 -Never I'll make a fhadow for thee of my hairs; If they burn too, I'll quench them with my tears. The fun that shines from heaven, fhines but warm 3, The heat I have from thence doth little harm, Art thou obdurate, flinty, hard as fteel, She had not brought forth thee, but died unkind'. What am I, that thou fhould't contemn me this? And one for intereft, if thou wilt have twain. "Sigh'd truer breath." MALONE! The fun that fhines from beaven, fpines but warm,] The fun affords only a natural and genial heat: it warms, but it does not burn. "Thou fun," exclaims Timon, Act V. fc. ii. "that comfort'ft, burn!" MALONE. So, in K. Lear: "her eyes are fierce, but thine "Do comfort, and not burn." W. 90 bad thy mother, &c.] So, in All's well that ends well: MALONE. "And now you fhould be as your mother was, Kind and nature were formerly I fuppofe, without regard to the exactnefs of the rhime, we fhould read -thus. Thus and kifs correfpend in found as well as unlikely and quickly, adder and shudder, which we meet with afterwards. STEEVENS. C 4 Fie, Fie, lifeless picture, cold and fenfelefs ftone, Thing like a man, but of no woman bred; This faid, impatience chokes her pleading tongue, Sometimes fhe shakes her head, and then his hand, Fondling, fhe faith, fince I have hemm'd thee here, I'll be thy park, and thou shalt be my deer"; 3-ber intendments-] i. e. intentions. Thus, in Every Man in bis Humour: "but I, fpying his intendment, discharg'd my petronel into his bofom." STEEVENS. She locks her lilly fingers, one in one.] Should we not read She locks their lilly fingers, one in one. FARMER. I do not fee any need of change.-The arms of Venus at prefent infold Adonis. To prevent him from efcaping, the renders her hold more fecure, by locking her hands together. MALONE. 5 I'll be thy park, and thou shalt be my deer;] The old copy has-the park. For this flight emendation I am anfwerable. The fame errour has often happened in our authour's plays.-The image prefented here occurs again in The Comedy of Errors: "my decayed fair "A funny look of his would foon repair; Again, in The Merry Wives of Windfer: "I will never take you for my love again, but I will always count you my dear," STEEVENS. Graze |