Christian ink, I will endeavour to show, how they came to his acquaintance. It is notorious, that much of his matter of fact knowledge is deduced from Plutarch: but in what language he read him, hath yet been the question. Mr. Upton is pretty confident of his skill in the original, and corrects accordingly the errors of bis copyifts by the Greek standard. Take a few instances, which will elucidate this matter sufficiently. In the third act of Antony and Cleopatra, Octavius represents to his courtiers the imperial pomp of those illustrious lovers, and the arrangement of their dominion, Unto her "He gave the 'stablishment of Egypt, made her Read Libya, says the critick authoratively, as is plain from Plutarch, Πρώτην μὲν ἀπέφηνε Κλεοπάτραν βασίλισσαν Αἰγύπλο κὶ Κύπρο κὶ ΛΙΒΥΗΣ, κὶ κοίλης Συρίας. This is very true: Mr. Heath accedes to the correction, and Mr. Johnson admits it into the text: but turn to the tranflation, from the French of Amyot, by Thomas North, in folio, 1579,o and you will at once fee the origin of the mistake. • It is extraordinary, that this gentleman should attempt fo voluminous a work, as the Revifal of Shakespeare's Text, when, he tells us in his Preface, " he was not fo fortunate as to be furnished with either of the folin editions, much less any of the ancient quartos:" and even Sir Thomas Hanmer's performance was known to him only by Mr. Warburton's representation.” 9 I find the character of this work pretty early delineated: "First of all he did establish Cleopatra queene of Ægypt, of Cyprus, of Lydia, and the lower Syria." Again, in the fourth act: My messenger "He hath whipt with rods, dares me to personal combat, "Cæfar to Antony. Let th' old ruffian know " I have many other ways to die; mean time "Laugh at his challenge." "What a reply is this?" cries Mr. Upton, " 'tis acknowledging he should fall under the unequal combat. But if we read, Let the old ruffian know • He hath many other ways to die; mean time we have the poignancy and the very repartee of Cæfar in Plutarch." This correction was first made by Sir Thomas Hanmer, and Mr. Johnson hath received it. Most indisputably it is the sense of Plutarch, and given fo in the modern tranflation: but Shakspeare was misled by the ambiguity of the old one: "Antonius fent again to challenge Cæfar to fight him: Cæfar answered, That he had many other ways to die, than fo." In the third act of Julius Cæfar, Antony, in his well-known harangue to the people, repeats a part of the emperor's will: "To every Roman citizen he gives, "To every sev'ral man, seventy-five drachmas.- "His private arbours, and new-planted orchards, "On this fide Tiber." "Our author certainly wrote," says Mr. Theo bald," On that fide Tiber— • Trans Tiberim-prope Cæfaris hortos." VOL. II. C And Plutarch, whom Shakspeare very diligently studied, expressly declares, that he left the publick his gardens and walks, πέραν τῷ Ποταμᾶ, beyond the Tyber." This emendation likewife hath been adopted by the fubfequent editors; but hear again the old tranflation, where Shakspeare's study lay: "He bequeathed unto every citizen of Rome seventy-five drachmas a man, and he left his gardens and arbours unto the people, which he had on this fide of the river of Tyber." I could furnish you with many more instances, but these are as good as a thoufand. Hence had our author his characteristick knowledge of Brutus and Antony, upon which much argumentation for his learning hath been founded : and hence literatim the epitaph on Timon, which it was once presumed, he had corrected from the blunders of the Latin verfion, by his own fuperior knowledge of the original.* I cannot however omit a passage from Mr. Pope. "The Speeches copied from Plutarch in Coriolanus may, I think, be as well made an inftance of the learning of Shakspeare, as those copy'd from Cicero in Catiline, of Ben Jonfon's." Let us inquire into this matter, and transcribe a speech for a specimen. Take the famous one of Volumnia: "Should we be filent and not speak, our raiment * See Theobald's Preface to King Richard II. 8vo. 1720. " "His country's bowels out: and to poor we (Truft to't, thou shalt not,) on thy mother's womb, "That brought thee to this world." I will now give you the old translation, which shall effectually confute Mr. Pope: for our author hath done little more, than thrown the very words of North into blank verse: " If we helde our peace (my fonne) and determined not to speake, the state of our poore bodies, and present sight of our rayment, would eafely bewray to thee what life we haue led at home, fince thy exile and abode abroad. But thinke now with thy felfe, howe much more unfortunately, then all the women liuinge we are come hether, confidering that the fight which should be most pleafaunt to all other to beholde, spitefull fortune hath made moft fearfull to us: making my felfe to fee my fonne, and my daughter here, her husband, befieging the walles of his natiue countrie. So as that which is the only comfort to all other in their adversitie and miserie, to pray unto the goddes, and to call to them for aide; is the onely thinge which plongeth us into most deepe perplexitie. For we cannot (alas) together pray, both for victorie, for our countrie, and for fafety of thy life also: but a worlde of grievous curses, yea more than any mortall enemie can heappe uppon us, are forcibly wrapt up in our prayers. For the bitter soppe of most harde choyce is offered thy wife and children, to foregoe the one of the two: either to lose the perfone of thy felfe, or the nurse of their natiue contrie. For my felfe (my fonne) I am determined not to tarrie, till fortune in my life time doe make an ende of this warre. For if I cannot perfuade thee, rather to doe good unto both parties, then to ouerthrowe and destroye the one, preferring loue and nature before the malice and calamitie of warres: thou shalt fee, my fonne, and trust unto it, thou shalt no foner marche forward to affault thy countrie, but thy foote shall tread upon thy mother's wombe, that brought thee first into this world." The length of this quotation will be excused for its curiofity; and it happily wants not the assistance of a comment. But matters may not always be fo easily managed:-a plagiarism from Anacreon hath been detected. "The fun's a thief, and with his great attraction "This (fays Dr. Dodd) is a good deal in the manner of the celebrated drinking Ode, too well known to be inferted." Yet it may be alledged by those, who imagine Shakspeare to have been |