If voluble and sharp discourse be marr'd, Will lose his beauty; and the gold bides ftill, (5) I fee the Jewel beft enameled Will lofe his Beauty; yet the gold bides fill } By Falfhood and Corruption doth it Shame.] In this miferably mangled Condition is this Paffage exhibited in the firft Folio. All the Editions fince have left out the laft Couplet of it; I prefume, as too hard for them. Mr. Pope, who pretends to have collated the first Folio, fhould have fpard us the Lines, at least, in their Corruption. I communicated my Doubts upon this Paffage to my Friend Mr. Warburton; and to his Sagacity. I owe, in good part, the Correction of it. The Sense of the whole is now very pertinent; which, without the two Lines from the 1ft Folio, was very imperfect; not to fay, ridiculous. The Comparifon is fully clofed." Gold, indeed, bides handling well; but, for all "that, often Touching will wear even Gold: So, no Man of a great "Character, even as pure as Gold, but may in Time lofe it by Falfhood "and Corruption. SCENE Ant. SCENE changes to the Street. TH Enter Antipholis of Syracufe. 'H E gold I gave to Dromio is laid up How now, Sir? is your merry humour alter'd? S. Dro. What answer, Sir? when spake I such a word? Ant. Even now, even here, not half an hour fince. S. Dro. I did not fee you fince you fent me hence Home to the Centaur, with the gold you gave me. Ant. Villain, thou didst deny the gold's receipts And told'ft me of a mistress, and a dinner; For which, I hope, thou felt'ft I was difpleas'd. S. Dro. I'm glad to fee you in this merry vein: What means this jeft, I pray you, mafter, tell me? Ant. Yea, doft thou jeer and flout me in the teeth? Think'ft thou, I jeft? hold, take thou that, and that. [Beats Dro. S. Dro. Hold, Sir, for God's fake, now your jeft is earnest; Upon what bargain do you give it me? Ant. Because that I familiarly fometimes But But creep in crannies, when he hides his beams: S. Dro. Sconce, call you it? fo you would leave battering, I had rather have it a head; an you use these blows long, I must get a fconce for my head, and infconce it too, or elfe I fhall feek my wit in, my fhoulders: but, I pray, Sir, why am I beaten? Ant. Doft thou not know? S. Dro. Nothing, Sir, but that I am beaten. S. Dro. Ay, Sir, and wherefore; for they fay, every why hath a wherefore. Ant. Why, firft, for flouting me; and then wherefore, for urging it the fecond time to me. S. Dro. Was there ever any man thus beaten out of season, When, in the why, and wherefore, is neither rhime nor reafon? Well, Sir, I thank you. Ant. Thank me, Sir, for what? S. Dro. Marry, Sir, for this fomething that you gave me for nothing. Ant. I'll make you amends next, to give you nothing for fomething. But fay, Sir, is it dinner-time? S. Dro. No, Sir, I think, the meat wants that I have. Ant. In good time, Sir; what's that? S. Dro. Bafting. Ant. Well, Sir, then 'twill be dry. S. Dro. If it be, Sir, I pray you eat none of it. S. Dro. Left it make you cholerick, and purchase me another dry-basting. Ant. Well, Sir, learn to jeft in good time; there's a time for all things. S. Dro. I durft have deny'd that, before you were so cholerick. Ant. By what rule, Sir? VOL. III. C S. Dro. S. Dro. Marry, Sir, by a rule as plain as the plain bald pate of father Time himself. Ant. Let's hear it. S. Dro. There's no time for a man to recover his hair, that grows bald by nature. Ant. May he not do it by fine and recovery? S. Dro. Yes, to pay a fine for a peruke, and recover the loft hair of another man. (6) Ant. Why is Time fuch a niggard of hair, being, as it is, fo plentiful an excrement? S. Dro. Because it is a bleffing that he beftows on beasts; and what he hath scanted men in hair, he hath given them in wit. Ant. Why, but there's many a man hath more hair than wit. S. Dro. Not a man of those, but he hath the wit to lofe his hair. Ant. Why, thou didst conclude hairy men plain dealers without wit. S. Dro. The plainer dealer, the fooner loft; yet he lofeth it in a kind of jollity. Ant. For what reason? S. Dro. For two, and found ones too. S. Dro. Sure ones then. Ant. Nay, not fure in a thing falfing. Ant. Name them. S. Dro. The one to fave the money that he spends in tyring; the other, that at dinner they fhould not drop in his porridge. (6) Ant. Why is Time fuch a Niggard of Hair, being, as it is, fo plentiful an Excrement? S. Dro. Because it is a Bleffing that he bestows on Beafts, and what he bath fcanted them in hair, he hath given them in Wit] Surely, this is Mock-reafoning, and a Contradiction in Sense. Can Hair be fuppos'd a Bleffing, which Time bestows on Beasts peculiarly; and yet that he hath fcanted them of it too? I corrected this Paffage, as I have now reform'd the Text, in my SHAKESPEARE reftor'd; and Mr. Pope has been pleas'd to adopt my Correction in his laft Edition. Men and Them, I obferve, are very frequently mistaken vice verfa for each other, in the old Impreffions of our Author. Ant. Ant. You would all this time have prov'd, there is no time for all things. S. Dro. Marry, and did, Sir; namely, no time to recover hair loft by nature. Ant. But your reason was not fubftantial, why there is no time to recover. S. Dro. Thus I mend it: Time himself is bald, and therefore to the world's end will have bald Followers. Ant. I knew, 'twould be a bald conclufion: but, foft! who wafts us yonder? Enter Adriana, and Luciana. Adri. Ay, ay, Antipholis, look ftrange and frown, The time was once, when thou, unurg'd, wouldft vow, That never Touch well welcome to thy Hand, How comes it now, my husband, oh, how comes it, Am better than thy dear felf's better part. As take from me thy felf; and not me too. And |