PET. I say, it is the moon.

KATH.

I know it is.

PET. Nay, then you lie; it is the blessed

sun.

KATH. Then, God be blessed, it is the blessed

sun:

But sun it is not, when you say it is not;
And the moon changes, even as your mind.
What you will have it nam'd, even that it is;
And so it shall be so, for Katharine.

HOR. Petruchio, go thy ways; the field is

won.

PET. Well, forward, forward: thus the bowl should run,

And not unluckily against the bias.—

TAMING OF the shrew, a. 4, s. 5.

THE STAGE NATURE'S MIRROR. SPEAK the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue: but if you mouth it, as many of our players do, I had as lief the town-crier spoke my lines. Nor do not saw the air too much with your hand, thus: but use all gently for in the very torrent, tempest, and (as I may say) whirlwind of your passion, you must acquire and beget a temperance, that may give it smoothness. O, it offends me to the soul, to hear a robustious periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to tatters, to very rags, to split the ears of the ignorant; who, for the most part are capable of nothing but inexplicable dumb shows, and noise: I would have such a fellow whipped for o'er-doing Termagant; it out-herods Herod: pray you, avoid it. Be not too tame

neither, but let your own discretion be your tutor: suit the action to the word, the word to the action; with this special observance, that you o'er-step not the modesty of nature; for any thing so overdone is from the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first, and now, was, and is, to hold, as 'twere, the mirror up to nature; to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time, his form and pressure. Now this, overdone, or come tardy off, though it make the unskilful laugh, cannot but make the judicious grieve; the censure of which one, must, in your approval, o'er-weigh a whole theatre of others. O, there be players, that I have seen play, and heard others praise, and that highly,—not to speak it profanely, that, neither having the accent of christians, nor the gait of christian, pagan, nor man, have so strutted, and bellowed, that I have thought some of nature's journeymen had made men, and not made them well, they imitated humanity so abominably.

HAMLET, A. 2, s. 3.

I have a young conception in my brain,

Be you my time to bring it to some shape.
This 'tis :

Blunt wedges rive hard knots: The seeded pride
That hath to this maturity blown up

In rank Achilles, must or now be cropp'd,

Or, shedding, breed a nursery of like evil,
To overbulk us all.

This challenge that the gallant Hector sends,
However it is spread in general name,

Relates in purpose only to Achilles.

NESTOR. The purpose is perspicuous even as substance,

Whose grossness little characters sum up:
And, in the publication, make no strain,
But that Achilles, were his brain as barren
As banks of Libya,—though, Apollo knows,
'Tis dry enough,-will, with great speed of
judgment,

Ay, with celerity, find Hector's purpose
Pointing on him.

ULYSS. And wake him to answer, think you?
NEST.

Yes,

It is most meet; Whom may you else oppose, That can from Hector bring those honours off, If not Achilles? Though't be a sportful combat, Yet in the trial much opinion dwells;

For here the Trojans taste our dear'st repute
With their fin'st palate: And trust to me,
Ulysses,

Our imputation shall be oddly pois'd
In this wild action: for the success,
Although particular, shall give a scantling
Of good or bad unto the general;

And in such indexes, although small pricks
To their subséquent volumes, there is seen
The baby figure of the giant mass

Of things to come at large. It is suppos'd,
He, that meets Hector, issues from our choice;
And choice, being mutual act of all our souls,
Makes merit her election; and doth boil,
As 'twere from forth us all, a man distill'd

Out of our virtues; Who miscarrying,

What heart receives from hence a conquering part,

To steal a strong opinion to themselves?

Which entertain'd, limbs are his instruments, In no less working, than are swords and bows Directive by the limbs.

ULYSS. Give pardon to my speech;-
Therefore 'tis meet, Achilles meet not Hector.
Let us, like merchants, show our foulest wares,
And think, perchance, they'll sell; if not,
The lustre of the better shall exceed,

By showing the worst first. Do not consent,
That ever Hector and Achilles meet;

For both our honour and our shame, in this,
Are dogg'd with two strange followers.

NEST. I see them not with my old eyes; what are they?

ULYSS. What glory our Achilles shares from Hector,

Were he not proud, we all should share with

him:

But he already is too insolent;

And we were better parch in Africk sun,
Than in the pride and salt scorn of his eyes,
Should he 'scape Hector fair: If he were foil'd,
Why, then we did our main opinion crush
In taint of our best man. No, make a lottery;
And, by device, let blockish Ajax draw
The sort to fight with Hector: Among ourselves,
Give him allowance for the better man,
For that will physick the great Myrmidon,
Who broils in loud applause; and make him fall
His crest, that prouder than blue Iris bends.
If the dull brainless Ajax come safe off,
We'll dress him up in voices: If he fail,

Yet go we under our opinion still

That we have better men. But, hit or miss, Our project's life this shape of sense assumes,Ajax, employ'd, plucks down Achilles' plumes. NEST. Ulysses,

Now I begin to relish thy advice;

And I will give a taste of it forthwith

To Agamemnon: go we to him straight.

Two curs shall tame each other; Pride alone Must tarre the mastiffs on, as 'twere their bone.

TROILUS AND CRESSIDA, A. 1, s. 3.

THE STATESMAN'S DIFFICULTY.

IF I am traduc'd by tongues, which neither know

My faculties, nor person, yet will be

The chronicles of my doing, let me say,

'Tis but the fate of place, and the rough brake That virtue must go through. We must not stint

Our necessary actions, in the fear

To

cope malicious censurers; which ever, As ravenous fishes, do a vessel follow

That is new trimm'd; but benefit no further
Than vainly longing. What we oft do best,
By sick interpreters, once weak ones, is
Not ours, or not allow'd; what worst, as oft,
Hitting a grosser quality, is cried up

For our best act. If we shall stand still,
In fear our motion will be mock'd or carp'd at,
We should take root here where we sit, or sit
State statues only.

K. HENRY VIII., A. 1, s. 2.