Which I did make him fwear to keep for ever.

Por. Thou may'ft, I warrant. We fhall have old fwearing,

That they did give the rings away to men;

But we'll out-face them, and out-fwear them too: -Away, make hafte, thou know'ft where I will tarry, Ner. Come, good Sir, will you fhew me to this house? [Exeunt.

A CT V. SCENE I.

Belmont. A Grove, or green Place, before
Portia's House.

TH

Enter Lorenzo and Jeffica.

LORENZO.

HE moon fhines bright-In fuch a night as this, When the fweet wind did gently kifs the trees, And they did make no noife; in fuch a night, Troilus, methinks, mounted the Trojan wall; And figh'd his foul towards the Grecian tents, Where Creffid lay that night.

Jef. In fuch a night,

Did Thisbe fearfully o'er-trip the dew;
And faw the lion's fhadow ere himself,

And ran dismayed away.

Lor. In fuch a night,

Stood Dido with a willow in her hand

Upon the wild fea-banks, and wav'd her love
To come again to Carthage.

Jef. In fuch a night,

Medea gather'd the enchanted herbs,

That did renew old Æfon.

Lor. In fuch a night,

Did Jeffica fteal from the wealthy Jew,

And with an unthrift love did run from Venice,

As far as Belmont.

Jef. And in fuch a night,

Did young Lorenzo fwear, he lov'd her well;
Stealing her foul with many vows of faith,
And ne'er a true one.

Lor. And in fuch a night,

Did pretty Jeffica (like a little fhrew)
Slander her love, and he forgave it her.

Jef. I would out-night you, did no body come:
But hark, I hear the footing of a man.

Enter Stephano.

Lor. Who comes fo faft, in filence of the night? Mef. A friend.

Lor. A friend? what friend? your name, I

you, friend?

Mef. Stephano is my name, and I bring word,
My mistress will before the break of day
Be here at Belmont. She doth ftray about
By holy Croffes, where fhe kneels, and prays,
For happy wedlock hours.

Lor. Who comes with her?

Mef. None, but a holy hermit,' and her maid.

-I pray you, is my mafter yet return'd?

pray

Lor. He is not, nor have we yet heard from him. But go we in, I pray thee, Jeffica,

And ceremoniously let us prepare

Some welcome for the miftrefs of the house.

Enter Launcelot.

Laun. Sola, fola, wo ha, ho, fola, fola!

1 None but a holy hermit.] I do not perceive the ufe of this hermit, of whom nothing is feen or heard afterwards. The Poet had firft

planned his fable fome other way, and inadvertently, when he changed his fcheme, retained fomething of the original defign. Hh3

Lor.

Lor. Who calls?

Laun. Sola! did you fee Mafter Lorenzo and Miftrefs Lorenza? fola, fola!

Laun. Tell him, there's a post come from my mafter with his horn full of good news. My mafter will be here ere morning.

Lor. Sweet love, let's in, and there expect their coming.

And yet no matter-why fhould we go in?
My friend Stephane, figaity, I pray you,
Within the house, your miftrefs is at hand;
And bring your mulick forth into the air,

[Exit Stephano,
How fweet the moon-light fleeps upon this bank!
Here will we fit, and let the founds of mufick
Creep in our ears; foft ftillness, and the night
Become the touches of fweet harmony.
Sit, Felica: look, how the floor of heav'n
Is thick inlay'd with pattens of bright gold; 2
There's not the fmalleft orb, which thou behold'st,
But in his motion like an angel fings,

Still quiring to the young-ey'd cherubims;
Such harmony is in immortal fouls! 3

But

But whilft this muddy vesture of decay
Doth grofly clofe us in, we cannot hear it.
Come, ho, and wake Diana with a hymn; 4
With fweetest touches pierce your mistress' ear,
And draw her home with mufick.

Jef. I'm never merry, when I hear fwcet mufick. [Mufick. Lor. The reafon is, your fpirits are attentive; For do but note a wild and wanton herd, Or race of youthful and unhandled colts,

Fetching mad bounds, bellowing and neighing loud,
Which is the hot condition of their blood,

If they perchance but hear a trumpet found,
Or any air of muûck touch their ears,

You fhall perceive them make a mutual stand; -
Their favage eyes turn'd to a modest gaze,

By the sweet power of mufick. Therefore, the Poet
Did feign that Orpheus drew trees, ftones, and floods;

Such harmony is in immortal fouls, But while this muddy veflure of decay

Doth grofly clofe in it, we cannot bear it.

That the third is corrupt must be allowed, but it gives reason to fufpect that the original was,

Doth grofly close it in.

Yet I know not whether from this any thing better can be produced than the received reading. Perhaps barmony is the power of perceiving harmony, as afterwards, Mufick in the foul is the quality of being moved with concord of Sweet jounds. This will fomewhat explain the old copies, but the fentence is ftill imperfect.

4

wake Diana with a hymn ;] Diana is the Moon, who is in the next fcene reprefented as fleeping. Hh 4 Since

Since nought fo stockish, hard and full of rage,
But mufick for the time doth change his nature.
The man that hath no mufick in himself, 5
Nor is not mov'd with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, ftratagems, and spoils;
The motions of his fpirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus:

Let no fuch man be trufted-Mark the mufick.
Enter Portia and Neriffa at a distance.

Por. That light we fee, is burning in my hall :
How far that little candle throws his beams!

So fhines a good deed in a naughty world.

Ner. When the moon fhone, we did not fee the candle.

Por. So doth the greater glory dim the less:
A fubftitute fhines brightly as a King,
Until a King be by; and then his state
Empties itself, as doth an inland brook

Into the main of waters.-Musick, hark! [Mufick.
Ner. It is your mufick, Madam, of the house.
Por. Nothing is good, I fee, without refpect: 6
Methinks, it founds much fweeter than by day.
Ner. Silence beftows the virtue on it, Madam.
Por. The crow doth fing as fweetly as the lark,
When neither is attended; and, I think,
The nightingale, if she should fing by day,

5 The man that hath no mufick
in himself,
Nor is not mov'd with concord of
fweet founds,] The thought
here is extremely fine: As if the
being affected with mufick was
only the harmony between the
internal [mufick in himself] and
the external mufick [concord of
Sweet Sounds; which were mu-
tually affected like unifon ftrings.
This whole fpeech could not
chufe but pleafe an English au-
dience, whofe great paffion, as

well then as now, was love of mufick. Jam verò video naturam (fays Erafmus in praife of Folly) ut fingulis nationibus, ac pene civitatibus, communem quandam infeviffe Philautiam: Atque hinc fieri, ut BRITANNI præter alia, Formam, MUSICAM, & lautas Menfas propriè fibi vindicent.

WARBURTON.

6 -without respect.] Not abfolutely good, but relatively, good as it is modified by circumflances.

When