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LOVE'S LABOUR's Loft.

A CT
C T I.

SCENE, The Palace.

Enter the King, Biron, Longaville and Dumain.

L

KING.

ET Fame, that all hunt after in their lives,
Live registred upon our brazen tombs ;

And then grace us in the disgrace of death':
When, fpight of cormorant devouring time,
Th' endeavour of this prefent breath may buy
That honour, which fhall bate his fythe's keen edge;
And make us heirs of all eternity.

Therefore, brave conquerors! for so you are,
That war against your own affections,
And the huge army of the world's defires;
Our late edict fhall ftrongly ftand in force.
Navarre fhall be the wonder of the world;
Our court fhall be a little academy,
Still and contemplative in living arts.
You three, Biron, Dumain, and Longaville,
Have fworn for three years term to live with me,
My fellow-fcholars; and to keep those statutes,
That are recorded in this schedule here..

Your oaths are paft, and now fubscribe your names:

H 3

That

That his own hand may ftrike his honour down,
That violates the fmalleft branch herein :
If you are arm'd to do, as fworn to do,
Subfcribe to your deep oaths, and keep them too.
Long. I am refolv'd; 'tis but a three years
faft:
The mind fhall banquet, tho' the body pine;
Fat paunches have lean pates; and dainty bits
Make rich the ribs, but bankerout the wits.

Dum. My loving Lord, Dumain is mortify'd:
The groffer manner of thefe world's delights
He throws upon the grofs world's bafer flaves:
To love, to wealth, to pomp, I pine and die;
With all thefe living in philofophy.

Biron. I can but fay their proteftation over,
So much (dear Liege) I have already fworn,
That is, to live and study here three years:
But there are other ftrict obfervances;
As, not to fee a woman in that term,
Which, I hope well, is not enrolled there.
And one day in a week to touch no food,
And but one meal on every day befide;
The which, I hope, is not enrolled there.'
And then to fleep but three hours in the night
And not be feen to wink of all the day;

(When I was wont to think no harm all night, (1)
And make a dark night too of half the day ;)
Which, I hope well, is not enrolled there.
O, these are barren tafks, too hard to keep;
Not to fee Ladies, study, fast, not sleep.

King. Your oath is pass'd to pass away from thefe. Biron. Let me fay, no, my Liege, an if you please ; I only fwore to ftudy with your Grace,

And stay here in your court for three years fpace.
Long. You fwore to that, Biron, and to the rest.
Biron. By yea and nay, Sir, then I fwore in jest.

(1) When I was went to think no harm all night,] i. e. When I was ufed to fleep all night long, without once waking. The Latines have a proverbial expreflion very nigh to the fenfe of our author's thought here:

Qui bene dormit, nibil mali cogitat.

What

What is the end of ftudy? let me know?.

King.Why, that to know, which elfe we should not know. Biron. Things hid and barr'd (you mean) from common fenfe.

King. Ay, that is ftudy's god-like recompence.
Biron. Come on then, I will fwear to ftudy fo,
To know the thing I am forbid to know;
As thus; to study where I well may dine,
When I to feaft exprefly am forbid; (2)
Or ftudy where to meet fome mistress fine,
When miftreffes from common sense are hid:
Or having fworn too hard a keeping oath,
Study to break it, and not break my troth.
If ftudy's gain be this, and this be fo,

Study knows that, which yet it doth not know:
Swear me to this, and I will ne'er fay, no.

King. Thefe be the ftops, that hinder ftudy quite; And train our intellects to vain delight.

Biron. Why, all delights are vain; but that most vain, Which, with pain purchas'd, doth inherit pain; As, painfully to pore upon a book,

To feek the light of truth; while truth the while Doth falfly blind the eye-fight of his look:

Light, feeking light, doth light of light beguile;
So, ere you find where light in darkness lies,
Your light grows dark by lofing of your eyes.
Study me how to please the eye indeed,
By fixing it upon a fairer eye;

Who dazzling fo, that eye fhall be his heed,
And give him light, that it was blinded by.

Study is like the heaven's glorious fun,

That will not be deep fearch'd with faucy looks;

(2) When I to faft exprefly am forbid.] This is the reading of all the copies in general; but I would fain ask our accurate editors, if Biron ftudied where to get a good dinner, at a time when he was forbid to faft, how was this ftudying to know what he was forbid to know? common fenfe, and the whole tenour of the context require us to read, either as I have eftor'd; or, to make a change in the last word of the verfe, which will bring us to the fame meaning;

When I to fast exprefly am for-bid; i. e. when I am enjoin'd before-hand to faft.

H 4

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Sinall have continual plodders ever won,
Save bafe authority from others books.
Thefe earthly godfathers of heaven's lights,
That give a name to every fixed ftar,
Have no more profit of their fhining nights,

Than thofe that walk, and wot not what they are. Too much to know, is to know nought but fame; And every godfather can give a name.

King. How well he's read, to reafon against reading!
Dum. Proceeded well, to ftop all good proceeding.
Long. He weeds the corn, and ftill lets grow the weeding.
Bir.The fpring is near,when green geefe are abreeding.
Dum. How follows that?

Biron. Fit in his place and time.
Dum. In reafon nothing.

Biron. Something then in rhime.

Lang. Biron is like an envious fneaping froft,
That bites the firft-born infants of the fpring.
Biron. Well; fay,Iam; why should proud fummer boaft,
Before the birds have any caufe to fing?

Why should I joy in an abortive birth? (3)
At Christmas I no more defire a rose,

Than wifh a fnow in May's new-fangled earth:

But like of each thing, that in feason grows.

(3) Why should I joy in an abortive birth?

At Chriftmas I no more defire a role,

Than wifh a fnow in May's new-fangled shows:

But like of each thing, that in feafon grows.] As the greateft part of this fcene (both what precedes, and follows;) is strictly in. rhymes, either fucceffive, alternate, or triple; I am perfuaded, the copyifts have made a flip here. For by making a triplet of the three laft lines quoted, bith in the close of the first line is quite deftitute of any rhyme to it. Befides, what a difpleafing identity of found recurs in the middle and clofe of this verfe?

Than wifh a fnow in May's new-fangled fhows.

Again; new-fangled fhows feems to have very little propriety. The flowers are not new-fangled; but the earth is new-fangled by the profufion and variety of the flowers, that fpring on its bofom in May. I have therefore ventur'd to fubftitute, earth, in the close of the third line, which reftores the alternate meafure. It was very eafy for a negligent tranfcriber to be deceiv'd by the rhyme immediately preceding; fo, miftake the concluding word in the fequent line, and corrupt it into one that would chine with the other.

So

So you, to study now it is too late,
Climb o'er the houfe t'unlock the little gate.

King. Well, fit you out.-Go home, Biron: adieu!
Biron, No, my good Lord, I've fworn to stay with you.
And though I have for barbarifm fpoke more,
Than for that angel knowledge you can fay;
Yet confident I'll keep what I have fwore,

And bide the penance of each three years day.
Give me the paper, let me read the fame;
And to the ftri&'ft decrees I'll write my name.

King How well this yielding refcues thee from fhame!,

Biron. Item, That no woman fhall come within a mile of my court,

Hath this been proclaimed ?

Long. Four days ago.

Biron. Let's fee the penalty. On pain of lofing her tongue: Who devis'd this penalty? Long. Marry, that did I.

Biron. Sweet Lord, and why?

[reading.

[reading.

Long. To fright them hence with that dread penalty. Biron. A dangerous law againft gentility! (4)

Item, [reading] If any man be feen to talk with a woman within the term of three years, he fhall endure fach publick fhame as the reft of the court can poffibly devife.

This article, my liege, yourfelf muft break;

For, well you know, here comes in embaffy.

(4) A dangerous law againft gentility.] I have ventur'd to prefix the name of Biron to this line, it being evident, for two reafons, that it, by fome accident or other, flipt out of the printed books. In the first place, Longaville confeffes, he had devis'd the penalty: and why he should immediately arraign it as a dangerous law, feems to be very inconfiflent. In the next place it is much more natural for Birin to make this reflexion, who is cavilling at every thing; and then for him to purfue his reading over the remaining articles. As to the word gentility, here, it does not fignify that rank of people call'd, gentry; but what the French exprefs by, gentileffes, i. e elegantia, urbanitus. And then the meaning is this. Such a law, for banishing women from the court, is dangerous, or injurious, to politeness, urbanity, and the more refin'd pleafures of life. For men without women would turn brutal and favage, in their natures and behaviour.

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