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Duke Sen. What would you have? Your gentleness fhall force,

More than your force move us to gentleness.

Orla. I almoft die for food, and let me have it. Duke Sen. Sit down and feed, and welcome to our table.

Orla. Speak you fo gently? pardon me, I pray

you;

I thought, that all things had been favage here;
And therefore put I on the countenance

Of stern commandment. But whate'er you are,
That in this defart inacceffible,

Under the fhade of melancholy boughs,

< 5 Lose and neglect the creeping hours of time; If ever you have look'd on better days;

If ever been where bells have knoll'd to church; <If ever fate at any good man's feast; • If ever from your eyelids wip'd a tear,

And know what 'tis to pity, and be pitied;" Let gentleness my ftrong enforcement be,

In the which hope I blush, and hide my fword.
Duke Sen. True is it, and that we have feen better
days;

And have with holy bell been knoll'd to church;
And fate at good men's feafts, and wip'd our eyes
Of drops, that facred pity had engender'd :
And therefore fit you down in gentleness,
And take upon command what help we have,
That to your wanting may be miniftred.

Orla. Then but forbear your food a little while,
Whiles, like a doe, I go to find my fawn,
And give it food. There is an old poor man,
Who after me hath many a weary step
Limp'd in pure love; 'till he be firft fuffic'd,

5 Lofe and neglect the creeping hours of time ;]
Secretum iter & fallentis femita vita. Hor.

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Opprefs'd with two weak evils, age and hunger,
I will not touch a bit.

Duke Sen. Go find him out,

And we will nothing wafte till you return.

Orla. I thank ye; and be blefs'd for your good comfort!

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[Exit,

Duke Sen. Thou feeft, we are not all alone unhappy; This wide and univerfal Theatre

Prefents more woful pageants, than the scene
Wherein we play in.

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Faq. All the world's a Stage,

And all the men and women meerly Players;
They have their Exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts:
His acts being feven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms:

And then, the whining fchool-boy with his fatchel,
And fhining morning-face, creeping like fnail
Unwillingly to fchool. And then, the lover;
Sighing like furnace, with a woful ballad
Made to his miftrefs' eye-brow. Then, a foldier;
Full of ftrange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, fudden and quick in quarrel;
Seeking the bubble reputation

Even in the cannon's mouth. And then, the juftice
In fair round belly, with good capon lin❜d,
With eyes fevere, and beard of formal cut,
Full of wife faws and modern inftances,

And fo he plays his part. 7 The fixth age fhifts
Into the lean and flipper'd pantaloon,

• With

6 Full of wife faws and modern inftances,] It is remarkable that Shakespear ufes modern in the double fenfe that the Greeks ufed nails, both for recens and abfurdus.

7 The fixth age shifts

Into the lean and flipper'd pantaloon,] beauty than appears at firit fight in this image.

There is a greater
He is here com-

.

With fpectacles on nofe, and pouch on fide;
His youthful hofe well fav'd, a world too wide
For his fhrunk fhank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes,
And whiftles in his found. Laft Scene of all,
That ends this ftrange eventful Hiftory,
Is fecond childifhnefs, and meer oblivion,
Sans teeth, fans eyes, fans tafte, fans every thing,

SCE NE X.

Enter Orlando, with Adam.

Duke Sen. Welcome: fet down your venerable burden,

And let him feed.

Orla. I thank you moft for him.

Adam. So had you need,

I fcarce can fpeak to thank you for myself.
Duke Sen. Welcome, fall to: I will not trouble

you,

As yet to question you about your fortunes.

Give us fome mufick; and, good cousin, fing.

SONG.

Blow, blow, thou winter wind,

Thou art not fo unkind

As man's ingratitude;

Thy tooth is not fo keen,
Because thou art not sheen,

Altho thy breath be rude.

Heigh

paring human life to a fage play, of feven acts, (which was no unufual divifion before our author's time.) The fixth he calls the lean and flipper'd pantaloon, alluding to that general character in the Italian comedy, called Il Pantalóne; who is a thin emaciated old man in flippers; and well defigned, in that epithet, because Pantalóne is the only character that acts in flippers.

8 Because thou art not SEEN,] This fong is defigned to fuit the Duke's exiled condition, who had been ruined by ungrateful flatterers.

Heigh bo! fing, beigh bo! unto the green holly;
Most friendship is feigning; most loving meer folly:
Then beigh bo, the holly!

This life is most jolly.

Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
That doft not bite fo nigh
As benefits forgot :

Tho' thou the waters warp,
Thy fting is not so sharp

As friend remembred not.
Heigh bo! fing, &c.

Duke Sen. If that you were the good Sir Rowland's Son,

As you have whisper'd faithfully you were,

flatterers. Now the winter wind, the fong fays, is to be preferr'd to man's ingratitude. But why? Because it is not SEEN. But this was not only an aggravation of the injury, as it was done in fecret, not seen, but was the very circumftance that made the keennefs of the ingratitude of his faithlefs courtiers. Without doubt, Shakespear wrote the line thus,

Becaufe thou art not SHEEN,

i. e. fmiling, fhining, like an ungrateful court-servant, who flatters while he wounds, which was a very good reason for giving the winter wind the preference. So in the Midfummer's Night's Dream,

Spangled far light SHEEN,

and feveral other places. Chaucer ufes it in this sense, Your blisful fufter Lucina the SHENE.

And Fairfax,

The facred Angel took his Target SHENE,

And by the Chriftian Champion flood unfeen.

The Oxford editor, who had this emendation communicated to him, takes occafion from thence to alter the whole line thus,

Thou caufeft not that teen.

But, in his rage of correction, he forgot to leave the reason, which is now wanting, Why the winter wind was to be preferred to man's ingratitude.

And

And as mine eye doth his effigies witness,
Most truly limn'd, and living in your face,
Be truly welcome hither. I'm the Duke,
That lov'd your Father. The residue of your fortune
Go to my cave and tell me. Good old Man,
Thou art right welcome, as thy mafter is;
Support him by the arm; give me your hand,
And let me all your fortunes understand.

[Exeunt.

ACT III.

SCENE I.

The PALACE.

Enter Duke, Lords, and Oliver.

DUKE.

TOT fee him fince? Sir, Sir, that cannot be;

NR

But were I not the better part made mercy,

I should not feek an abfent argument

Of my revenge, thou prefent: but look to it
Find out thy brother, wherefoe'er he is;

Seek him with candle: bring him dead or living,
Within this twelvemonth; or turn thou no more
To feek a living in our territory.

Thy lands and all things that thou doft call thine,
Worth feizure, do we feize into our hands;
'Till thou can't quit thee by thy brother's mouth,
Of what we think against thee.

Oli. Oh, that your Highness knew my heart in this: I never lov'd my brother in my life.

Duke. More villain thou. Well, push him out of doors;

And let my officers of fuch a nature

Make an Extent upon his house and lands:

Do this expediently, and turn him going. [Exeunt.

SCENE

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