Works of John Dryden. The Works of John Dryden, Volume XIII: Plays: All for Love, Oedipus, Troilus and Cressida 9780520905290

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THE WORKS OF JOHN DRYDEN General Editor ALAN ROPER

Textual Editor VINTON A. DEARING

VOLUME THIRTEEN EDITOR

Maximillian E. Novak TEXTUAL EDITOR

George R. Guffey ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Alan Roper

VOLUME XIII

The Works of John Dryden Plays ALL FOR LOVE OEDIPUS TROILUS AND CRESSIDA

University of California Press Berkeley

Los Angeles I9 8 4

London

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS

Berkeley and Los Angeles, California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS, LTD.

London, England

The copy texts of this edition have been drawn in the main from the Dryden Collection of the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library

Copyright © 1984 b\ The Regents of the University of California Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-0-520-02127-3 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 55-7149 Designed by Ward Ritchie

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FACADE OF DORSET GARDEN THEATRE FROM ELKANAH SETTLE, The Empress of Morocco (1673)

To the Memory

of H. T. Swedenberg, Jr. (1906-1978)

The preparation of this volume of the California edition of The Works of John Dryden has been made possible by a grant from the Editing Program of the National Endowment for the Humanities and by a matching grant from The UCLA Foundation.

Preface The editors of this volume divided their labors as follows: George R. Guffey prepared the text; Maximillian E. Novak wrote the commentary to All for Love and Troilus and Cressida and supplied notes and suggestions used in the commentary to Oedipus; Alan Roper wrote the commentary to Oedipus. In addition to those whose support is separately acknowledged on the preceding page, the editors are particularly indebted to the following: To the staffs of the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, the Henry E. Huntington Library, and the British Library for advice and assistance. To Vice-Chancellor William D. Schaefer for encouragement and support. To Professors A. R. Braunmuller and Robert W. Dent for researching and answering many questions. To Professor David M. Vieth for very kindly lending us microfilm copies of the quartos he collated for his Regents edition of All for Love. To Jane Abelson, Michael Berens, Dianne Dugaw, Barbara Fox, Lester Field, Robert Hunt, Janette Lewis, and the following graduate students of the UCLA Department of English for their assistance in gathering and verifying materials used in the commentary, and for their help in preparing and proofing the text: Kathryne Lindberg, Geraldine Moyle, Eric Schroeder, Diana Van Zile, and Susan Wing. To Mrs. Geneva Phillips and Mrs. Grace Stimson for preparing the manuscript so carefully for the printer, and to the former for coordinating the work of editors and research assistants. To Chancellor Charles E. Young, and to the Research Committee of the University of California, Los Angeles, for sabbatical leave and annual grants-in-aid. The editors' deepest debt is recorded in the dedication of this volume to H. T. Swedenberg, Jr., cofounder of the California Dryden and sole General Editor for more than twenty years. Without his leadership, the editors are learning to walk by themselves, but slowly, and non passibus aequis. V.A.D. G.R.G. M.E.N. G.P. A.R.

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Contents AII for Love Oedipus Troilus and Cressida Commentary Textual Notes Appendixes A. Pay-Sheet of the King's Company for All for Love and The Rival Queens B. Petition of the Shareholders of the King's Company C. Comparative Chart for Troilus and Cressida D. Commendatory Poem to Troilus and Cressida Index to the Commentary

1 113 217 357 567

627 629 630 634 637

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Illustrations FRONTISPIECE TO Settle's The Empress of Morocco with Facade of Dorset Garden Theatre TITLE PAGE OF AII for Love Gentlewoman Posing as Cleopatra TITLE PAGE OF Oedipus FRONTISPIECE TO Oedipus (1735) TITLE PAGE OF Troilus and Cressida FRONTISPIECE TO Troilus and Cressida (1735)

(1673) Frontispiece 2 Facing Page 23 114 Facing Page 211 218 Facing Page 348

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ALL FOR LOVE OR,

THE WORLD WELL LOST

ALL — LOVE: O R, THE

World well Loft. A

TRAGEDY, As it is Ated at the

THEATRE-ROYAL; And Written in Imitation of Sbakgfpearc's Stile.

By fobn 'Dryden, Servant to His Majefty. Facile eft verbum aliquod ardens (ut ita. dicam) notare : idque rejiindis animorum incendiis irridere. Cicero.

In the SAV.Or? Printed by Tho. Newcomb, for Henry Herringman,, at the Blew An>chor in the Lower Walk of the New-Exchnnge. 1678. TITLE PAGE OF THE FIRST EDITION (MACDONALD 82A)

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To the Right Honourable, THOMAS Earl of Danby, Viscount Latimer, and Baron OSBORNE of Kiveton in Yorkshire, Lord High Treasurer of England, One of His Majesties most Honourable Privy-Council, and Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, &c. My LORD, HE Gratitude of Poets is so troublesome a Virtue to Great Men, that you are often in danger of your own Benefits: for you are threaten'd with some Epistle, and not suffer'd to do good in quiet, or to compound for their silence whom you have oblig'd. Yet, I confess, I neither am nor ought to be surpriz'd at this Indulgence: for your Lordship has the same right to favour Poetry which the Great and Noble have ever had.

T

Carmen amat, quisquis carmine digna gerit. 10

There is somewhat of a tye in Nature betwixt those who are born for Worthy Actions, and those who can transmit them to Posterity: And though ours be much the inferiour part, it comes at least within the Verge of Alliance; nor are we unprofitable Members of the Commonwealth, when we animate others to those Virtues, which we copy and describe from you. 'Tis indeed their Interest, who endeavour the Subversion of Governments, to discourage Poets and Historians; for the best which can happen to them is to be forgotten: But such who, under Kings, are the Fathers of their Country, and by a just and 20 prudent ordering of affairs preserve it, have the same reason to cherish the Chroniclers of their Actions, as they have to lay up in safety the Deeds and Evidences of their Estates: For such Records are their undoubted Titles to the love and reverence of 19 Kings] F, Di-2; KINGS Qi-3 (italics and romans reversed in dedication in Q3, F, D1-2). [These sigla are identified in the Textual Notes, where also fluctuations in the texts cited are explained.]

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After-Ages. Your Lordships Administration has already taken up a considerable part of the English Annals; and many of its most happy years are owing to it. His Majesty, the most knowing Judge of Men, and the best Master, has acknowledg'd the Ease and Benefit he receives in the Incomes of His Treasury, which You found not only disorder'd, but exhausted. All things were in the confusion of a Chaos, without Form or Method, if not reduc'd beyond it, even to Annihilation: so that you had not only to separate the Jarring Elements, but (if that boldness of expression 10 might be allow'd me) to Create them. Your Enemies had so embroyl'd the management of your Office, that they look'd on your Advancement as the Instrument of your Ruine. And as if the clogging of the Revenue, and the Confusion of Accounts, which you found in your entrance, were not sufficient, they added their own weight of malice to the Publick Calamity, by forestalling the Credit which shou'd cure it: your Friends on the other side were only capable of pitying, but not of aiding you: No farther help or counsel was remaining to you, but what was founded on your Self: and that indeed was your Security: For your Diligence, 20 your Constancy, and your Prudence, wrought more surely within, when they were not disturb'd by any outward Motion. The highest Virtue is best to be trusted with it Self, for Assistance only can be given by a Genius Superiour to that which it assists. And 'tis the Noblest kind of Debt, when we are only oblig'd to God and Nature. This then, My Lord, is your just Commendation, That you have wrought out your Self a way to Glory, by those very Means that were design'd for your Destruction: You have not only restor'd, but advanc'd the Revenues of your Master without grievance to the Subject: and as if that were little yet, the so Debts of the Exchequer, which lay heaviest both on the Crown, and on Private Persons, have by your Conduct been establish'd in a certainty of satisfaction; an Action so much the more Great 1 Lordships] D1-2; Lordships Q1-3, F. 2 Annals] Annals Q1-3, F, D1-2. 3 Majesty] D1-2; MAJESTY Q1; MAJESTY Q2-3, F. 25 My Lord] D1-2; My Lord Q1~3, F. 30 Crown] Di-2; Crown Qi~3, F. 31 Private Persons] Di-2; Private Persons Qi~3, F. 32 satisfaction; an] ,— An Qi~3, F, Di-2.

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and Honourable, because the case was without the ordinary relief of Laws, above the Hopes of the Afflicted, and beyond the Narrowness of the Treasury to redress, had it been manag'd by a less able Hand. 'Tis certainly the happiest, and most unenvy'd part of all your Fortune, to do good to many, while you do injury to none: to receive at once the Prayers of the Subject, and the Praises of the Prince: and by the care of your Conduct, to give Him Means of exerting the chiefest, (if any be the chiefest) of His Royal Virtues, His Distributive Justice to the Deserving, and his 10 Bounty and Compassion to the Wanting. The Disposition of Princes towards their People, cannot better be discover'd than in the choice of their Ministers: who, like the Animal Spirits betwixt the Soul and Body, participate somewhat of both Natures, and make the Communication which is betwixt them. A King, who is just and moderate in his Nature, who Rules according to the Laws, whom God made happy by forming the Temper of his Soul to the Constitution of his Government, and who makes us happy, by assuming over us no other Soveraignty than that wherein our Welfare and Liberty consists; a Prince, I say, of so excel20 lent a Character, and so suitable to the Wishes of all Good Men, could not better have convey'd Himself into his Peoples Apprehensions, than in your Lordships Person: who so lively express the same Virtues, that you seem not so much a Copy, as an Emanation of Him. Moderation is doubtless an Establishment of Greatness; but there is a steadiness of temper which is likewise requisite in a Minister of State: so equal a mixture of both Virtues, that he may stand like an Isthmus betwixt the two encroaching Seas of Arbitrary Power, and Lawless Anarchy. The Undertaking would be difficult to any but an extraordinary Genius, to 30 stand at the Line, and to divide the Limits; to pay what is due to the Great Representative of the Nation, and neither to inhance, nor to yeild up the undoubted Prerogatives of the Crown. These, My Lord, are the proper Virtues of a Noble Englishman, as indeed they are properly English Virtues: No People in the World z 29 33 33 34

Laws,} ~; Qi-3, F, Di-2. Genius] Di-2; Genius Qi~3, F. My Lord] Di-a; My Lord Qi~3, F. Englishman] Di-z; Englishman Qi~3, F. English] Di-2; English Qi-3, F.

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being capable of using them, but we who have the happiness to be born under so equal, and so well-pois'd a Government; a Government which has all the Advantages of Liberty beyond a Commonwealth, and all the Marks of Kingly Sovereignty without the danger of a Tyranny. Both my Nature, as I am an Englishman, and my Reason, as I am a Man, have bred in me a loathing to that specious Name of a Republick: that mockappearance of a Liberty, where all who have not part in the Government, are Slaves: and Slaves they are of a viler note than such 10 as are Subjects to an absolute Dominion. For no Christian Monarchy is so absolute, but 'tis circumscrib'd with Laws: But when the Executive Power is in the Law-makers, there is no farther check upon them; and the People must suffer without a remedy, because they are oppress'd by their Representatives. If I must serve, the number of my Masters, who were born my Equals, would but add to the ignominy of my Bondage. The Nature of our Government above all others, is exactly suited both to the Situation of our Country, and the Temper of the Natives: An Island being more proper for Commerce and for Defence, than 20 for extending its Dominions on the Continent: for what the Valour of its Inhabitants might gain, by reason of its remoteness, and the casualties of the Seas, it cou'd not so easily preserve: and therefore, neither the Arbitrary Power of one in a Monarchy, nor of many in a Commonwealth, could make us greater than we are. 'Tis true, that vaster and more frequent Taxes might be gather1'd, when the consent of the People was not ask'd or needed, but this were only by Conquering abroad to be poor at home: And the Examples of our Neighbours teach us, that they are not always the happiest Subjects whose Kings extend their Dominso ions farthest. Since therefore we cannot win by an Offensive War, at least a Land-War, the Model of our Government seems naturally contriv'd for the Defensive part: and the consent of a People is easily obtain'd to contribute to that Power which must protect it. Felices nimium bona si sua norint, Angligenae! And yet 2 Government; a] ~. A Qi-J, Di-z; ~: A F. 6 Englishman] Di-z; Englishman Qi~3, F. 7 Republick] Republick Qi-3, F, Di-2. 21 Valour] Qa-g, F, Di-a; Valour Qi.

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there are not wanting Malecontents amongst us, who surfeiting themselves on too much happiness, wou'd perswade the People that they might be happier by a change. 'Twas indeed the policy of their old Forefather, when himself was fallen from the station of Glory, to seduce Mankind into the same Rebellion with him, by telling him he might yet be freer than he was: that is, more free than his Nature wou'd allow, or (if I may so say) than God cou'd make him. We have already all the Liberty which Free-born Subjects can enjoy; and all beyond it is but License. But if it be 10 Liberty of Conscience which they pretend, the Moderation of our Church is such, that its practice extends not to the severity of Persecution, and its Discipline is withal so easie, that it allows more freedom to Dissenters than any of the Sects wou'd allow to it. In the mean time, what right can be pretended by these Men to attempt Innovations in Church or State? Who made them the Trustees, or (to speak a little nearer their own Language) the Keepers of the Liberty of England? // their Call be extraordinary, let them convince us by working Miracles; for ordinary Vocation they can have none to disturb the Government under which they 20 were born, and which protects them. He who has often chang'd his Party, and always has made his Interest the Rule of it, gives little evidence of his sincerity for the Publick Good: 'Tis manifest he changes but for himself, and takes the People for Tools to work his Fortune. Yet the experience of all Ages might let him know, that they who trouble the Waters first, have seldom the benefit of the Fishing: As they who began the late Rebellion, enjoy'd not the fruit of their undertaking, but were crush'd themselves by the Usurpation of their own Instrument. Neither is it enough for them to answer that they only intend a Reformation so of the Government, but not the Subversion of it: On such pretences all Insurrections have been founded: 'Tis striking at the Root of Power, which is Obedience. Every Remonstrance of private Men, has the seed of Treason in it; and Discourses which are couch'd in ambiguous Terms, are therefore the more dangerous, because they do all the Mischief of open sedition, yet are safe from the punishment of the Laws. These, My Lord, are Con34 are] Qz-g, F, Di-z; ars Qi. 36 My Lord] Di-a; My Lord Qi-3, F.

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siderations which I should not pass so lightly over, had I room to manage them as they deserve: for no Man can be so inconsiderable in a Nation, as not to have a share in the welfare of it; and if he be a true Englishman, he must at the same time be fir'd with Indignation, and revenge himself as he can on the Disturbers of his Country. And to whom could I more fitly apply my self, than to your Lordship, who have not only an inborn, but an hereditary Loyalty? The memorable constancy and sufferings of your Father, almost to the ruine of his Estate for the Royal Cause, were an 10 earnest of that, which such a Parent and such an Institution wou'd produce in the Person of a Son. But so unhappy an occasion of manifesting your own Zeal in suffering for his present Majesty, the Providence of God, and the Prudence of your Administration, will, I hope, prevent. That as your Fathers Fortune waited on the unhappiness of his Sovereign, so your own may participate of the better Fate which attends his Son. The Relation which you have by Alliance to the Noble Family of your Lady, serves to confirm to you both this happy Augury. For what can deserve a greater place in the English Chronicle, than the 20 Loyalty and Courage, the Actions and Death of the General of an Army Fighting for His Prince and Country? The Honour and Gallantry of the Earl of Lindsey, is 50 illustrious a Subject, that 'tis fit to adorn an Heroique Poem; for He was the Proto-Martyr of the Cause, and the Type of his unfortunate Royal Master. Yet, after all, My Lord, if I may speak my thoughts, you are happy rather to us than to your self: for the Multiplicity, the Cares, and the Vexations of your Imployment, have betray'd you from your self, and given you up into the Possession of the Publick. You are Robb'd of your Privacy and Friends, and scarce any so hour of your Life you can call your own. Those who envy your Fortune, if they wanted not good Nature, might more justly pity it; and when they see you watch'd by a Croud of Suitors, whose importunity 'tis impossible to avoid, would conclude with 4 13 15 16 19 25

Englishman] Di-a; Englishman Qi~3, F. Majesty] Di-z; MAJESTY Qi; Majesty Qa-g, F. Sovereign] Di-2,1 Sovereign Qi-3, F. Son] Di-2; Son Qi-3, F. English] Di-2; English Qi-3, F. My Lord] Di-2; My Lord Qi~3, F.

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Reason, that you have lost much more in true content, than you have gain'd by Dignity; and that a private Gentleman is better attended by a single Servant, than your Lordship with so clamorous a Train. Pardon me, My Lord, If I speak like a Philosopher on this Subject; the Fortune which makes a Man uneasie, cannot make him happy: and a Wise Man must think himself uneasie, when few of his Actions are in his choice. This last Consideration has brought me to another, and a very seasonable one for your relief; which is, That while I pity your 10 want of leisure, I have impertinently Detain'd you so long a time. I have put off my own Business, which was my Dedication, till 'tis so late, that I am now asham'd to begin it: And therefore I will say nothing of the Poem, which I Present to you, because I know not if you are like to have an Hour, which, with a good Conscience, you may throw away in perusing it: And for the Author, I have only to beg the continuance of your Protection to him, who is, MY LORD, Your Lordships, most Oblig'd, most Humble, and most Obedient Servant,

JOHN 4 My Lord} Di-g; My Lord Qi~3, F.

DRYDEN.

io

All for Love Preface.

T

HE death of Antony and Cleopatra, is a Subject which has been treated by the greatest Wits of our Nation, after Shakespeare; and by all so variously, that their example has given me the confidence to try my self in this Bowe of Ulysses amongst the Crowd of Sutors; and, withal, to take my own measures, in aiming at the Mark. I doubt not but the same Motive has prevailed with all of us in this attempt; I mean the excellency of the Moral: for the chief persons represented, were famous patterns of unlawful love; and their end accordingly was unfortu10 nate. All reasonable men have long since concluded, That the Heroe of the Poem, ought not to be a character of perfect Virtue, for, then, he could not, without injustice, be made unhappy; nor yet altogether wicked, because he could not then be pitied: I have therefore steer'd the middle course; and have drawn the character of Antony as favourably as Plutarch, Appian, and Dion Cassius wou'd give me leave: the like I have observ'd in Cleopatra. That which is wanting to work up the pity to a greater heighth, was not afforded me by the story: for the crimes of love which they both committed, were not occasion'd by any necessity, 20 or fatal ignorance, but were wholly voluntary; since our passions are, or ought to be, within our power. The Fabrick of the Play is regular enough, as to the inferior parts of it; and the Unities of Time, Place and Action, more exactly observ'd, than, perhaps, the English Theater requires. Particularly, the Action is so much one, that it is the only of the kind without Episode, or Underplot; every Scene in the Tragedy conducing to the main design, and every Act concluding with a turn of it. The greatest errour in the contrivance seems to be in the person of Octavia: For, though I might use the priviledge of a Poet, to introduce her into so A lexandria, yet I had not enough consider'd, that the compassion she mov'd to her self and children, was destructive to that which i Antony] Di-2; Anthony Qi-3, F. 15 Antony] Di-a; Anthony Qi-g, F. 24 English] Di-z; English Qi-$, F.

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I reserv'd for Antony and Cleopatra; whose mutual love being founded upon vice, must lessen the favour of the Audience to them, when Virtue and Innocence were oppress'd by it. And, though I justified Antony in some measure, by making Octavia's departure, to proceed wholly from her self; yet the force of the first Machine still remain'd; and the dividing of pity, like the cutting of a River into many Channels, abated the strength of the natural stream. But this is an Objection which none of my Critiques have urg'd against me; and therefore I might have let 10 it pass, if I could have resolv'd to have been partial to my self. The faults my Enemies have found, are rather cavils concerning little, and not essential Decencies; which a Master of the Ceremonies may decide betwixt us. The French Poets, I confess, are strict Observers of these Punctilio's: They would not, for example, have suffer'd Cleopatra and Octavia to have met; or if they had met, there must only have pass'd betwixt them some cold civilities, but no eagerness of repartee, for fear of offending against the greatness of their Characters, and the modesty of their Sex. This Objection I foresaw, and at the same time contemn'd: 20 for I judg'd it both natural and probable, that Octavia, proud of her new-gain'd Conquest, would search out Cleopatra to triumph over her; and that Cleopatra, thus attacqu'd, was not of a spirit to shun the encounter: and 'tis not unlikely, that two exasperated Rivals should use such Satyre as I have put into their mouths; for after all, though the one were a Roman, and the other a Queen, they were both Women. 'Tis true, some actions, though natural, are not fit to be represented; and broad obscenities in words, ought in good manners to be avoided: expressions therefore are a modest cloathing of our thoughts, as Breeches and 90 Petticoats are of our bodies. If I have kept my self within the bounds of modesty, all beyond it is but nicety and affectation; which is no more but modesty deprav'd into a vice: they betray themselves who are too quick of apprehension in such cases, and leave all reasonable men to imagine worse of them, than of the Poet. i Antony] Di-a; Anthony Qi-g, F. 4 Antony] Di-z; Anthony Qi-g, F.

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Honest Montaigne goes yet farther: Nous ne sommes que ceremonie; la ceremonie nous emporte, if laissons la substance des choses: Nous nous tenons aux branches, if abandonnons le tronc & le corps. Nous avons appris aux Dames de rougir, oyans seulement nommer ce qu'elles ne craignent aucunement a faire: Nous n'osons appeller a droict nos membres, if ne craignons pas de les employer a toute sorte de debauche. La ceremonie nous defend d'exprimer par paroles les choses licites if naturelles, if nous I'en crayons; la raison nous defend de n'en faire point d'illicites if 10 mauvaises, if personne ne I'en croid. My comfort is, that by this opinion my Enemies are but sucking Critiques, who wou'd fain be nibbling ere their teeth are come. Yet, in this nicety of manners does the excellency of French Poetry consist: their Heroes are the most civil people breathing; but their good breeding seldom extends to a word of sense: All their Wit is in their Ceremony; they want the Genius which animates our Stage; and therefore 'tis but necessary when they cannot please, that they should take care not to offend. But, as the civilest man in the company is commonly the dullest, so these 20 Authors, while they are afraid to make you laugh or cry, out of pure good manners, make you sleep. They are so careful not to exasperate a Critique, that they never leave him any work; so busie with the Broom, and make so clean a riddance, that there is little left either for censure or for praise: for no part of a Poem is worth our discommending, where the whole is insipid; as when we have once tasted of pall'd Wine, we stay not to examine it Glass by Glass. But while they affect to shine in trifles, they are often careless in essentials. Thus their Hippolitus is so scrupulous in point of decency, that he will rather expose himself to so death, than accuse his Stepmother to his Father; and my Critiques I am sure will commend him for it: but we of grosser apprehensions, are apt to think that this excess of generosity, is not practicable but with Fools and Madmen. This was good manners with a vengeance; and the Audience is like to be much concern'd at the misfortunes of this admirable Heroe: but take Hippolitus out of his Poetique Fit, and I suppose he would think it a wiser 10 I'en] Qa-j, F; le'n Qi, Di-2.

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part, to set the Saddle on the right Horse, and chuse rather to live with the reputation of a plain-spoken honest man, than to die with the infamy of an incestuous Villain. In the mean time we may take notice, that where the Poet ought to have preserv'd the character as it was deliver'd to us by Antiquity, when he should have given us the picture of a rough young man, of the A mazonian strain, a jolly Huntsman, and both by his profession and his early rising a Mortal Enemy to love, he has chosen to give him the turn of Gallantry, sent him to travel from Athens to Paris, 10 taught him to make love, and transform'd the Hippolitus of Euripides into Monsieur Hippolite. I should not have troubled my self thus far with French Poets, but that I find our Chedreux Critiques wholly form their judgments by them. But for my part, I desire to be try'd by the Laws of my own Country; for it seems unjust to me, that the French should prescribe here, till they have conquer'd. Our little Sonnettiers who follow them, have too narrow Souls to judge of Poetry. Poets themselves are the most proper, though I conclude not the only Critiques. But till some Genius as Universal, as Aristotle, shall arise, one who can pene20 trate into all Arts and Sciences, without the practice of them, I shall think it reasonable, that the Judgment of an Artificer in his own Art should be preferable to the opinion of another man; at least where he is not brib'd by interest, or prejudic'd by malice: and this, I suppose, is manifest by plain induction: For, first, the Crowd cannot be presum'd to have more than a gross instinct, of what pleases or displeases them: every man will grant me this; but then, by a particular kindness to himself, he draws his own stake first, and will be distinguish'd from the multitude, of which other men may think him one. But, if I come closer to those so who are allow'd for witty men, either by the advantage of their quality, or by common fame, and affirm that neither are they qualified to decide Sovereignly, concerning Poetry, I shall yet have a strong party of my opinion; for most of them severally will exclude the rest, either from the number of witty men, or at least of able Judges. But here again they are all indulgent to themselves: and every one who believes himself a Wit, that is, every 12 French] Di-z; French Qi-J, F. 15 French] Di-z; French Qi-g, F.

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man, will pretend at the same time to a right of judging. But to press it yet farther, there are many witty men, but few Poets; neither have all Poets a taste of Tragedy. And this is the Rock on which they are daily splitting. Poetry, which is a Picture of Nature, must generally please: but 'tis not to be understood that all parts of it must please every man; therefore is not Tragedy to be judg'd by a witty man, whose taste is only confin'd to Comedy. Nor is every man who loves Tragedy a sufficient Judge of it: he must understand the excellencies of it too, or he will only prove 10 a blind Admirer, not a Critique. From hence it comes that so many Satyrs on Poets, and censures of their Writings, fly abroad. Men of pleasant Conversation, (at least esteem'd so) and indu'd with a triffling kind of Fancy, perhaps help'd out with some smattering of Latins, are ambitious to distinguish themselves from the Herd of Gentlemen, by their Poetry; Rarus enim ferme sensus communis in ilia Fortund. And is not this a wretched affectation, not to be contented with what Fortune has done for them, and sit down quietly with their 20 Estates, but they must call their Wits in question, and needlesly expose their nakedness to publick view? Not considering that they are not to expect the same approbation from sober men, which they have found from their flatterers after the third Bottle? If a little glittering in discourse has pass'd them on us for witty men, where was the necessity of undeceiving the World? would a man who has an ill Title to an Estate, but yet is in possession of it, would he bring it of his own accord, to be try'd at Westminster? We who write, if we want the Talent, yet have the excuse that we do it for a poor subsistence; but what can be urg'd so in their defence, who not having the Vocation of Poverty to scribble, out of meer wantonness take pains to make themselves ridiculous? Horace was certainly in the right, where he said, That no man is satisfied with his own condition. A Poet is not pleas'd because he is not rich; and the Rich are discontented, because 14 Latine] Di-a; Latine Qi~3, F. 30-31 scribble, . . . wantonness] Di-a; ~A . . . F. 501 + s.d. /Egyptians] F; Egyptians Qi-2; ^Egyptians Qj; Egyptians Di-2. 502 Two] 2. Qi-j.F, Di-2 (2 A Di-2).

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Serap. 'Twas what I fear'd. Charmion, is this well done? Char. Yes, 'tis well done, and like a Queen, the last Of her great Race: I follow her. (Sinks down; Dies.) Alexas. 'Tis true, She has done well: much better thus to die, Than live to make a Holy-day in Rome. Serap. See, see how the Lovers sit in State together, As they were giving Laws to half Mankind. 510 Th' impression of a smile left in her face, Shows she dy'd pleas'd with him for whom she liv'd, And went to charm him in another World. Ccesar's just entring; grief has now no leisure. Secure that Villain, as our pledge of safety To grace th' Imperial Triumph. Sleep, blest Pair, Secure from humane chance, long Ages out, While all the Storms of Fate fly o'er your Tomb; And Fame, to late Posterity, shall tell, No Lovers liv'd so great, or dy'd so well. [Exeunt. 518,519 lines indented in QJ-J, F, Di-z. 519+ s.d. [Exeunt.] omitted from Qi~3, F, Di-z.

All for Love Epilogue.

P

OETS, like Disputants, when Reasons fail, Have one sure Refuge left; and that's to rail. Fop, Coxcomb, Fool, are thunder'd through the Pit; And this is all their Equipage of Wit. We wonder how the Devil this diff'rence grows, Betwixt our Fools in Verse, and yours in Prose: For, 'Faith, the quarrel rightly understood, 'Tis Civil War with their own Flesh and Blood. The thread-bare Author hates the gawdy Coat; 10 And swears at the Guilt Coach, but swears a-foot: For 'tis observ'd of every Scribling Man, He grows a Fop as fast as e'er he can; Prunes up, and asks his Oracle the Glass, If Pink or Purple best become his face. For our poor Wretch, he neither rails nor prays; Nor likes your Wit just as you like his Plays; He has not yet so much of Mr. Bays. He does his best; and, if he cannot please, Wou'd quietly sue out his Writ of Ease. 20 Yet, if he might his own Grand Jury call, By the Fair Sex he begs to stand or fall. Let Cassar's Pow'r the Mens ambition move, But grace You him who lost the World for Love. Yet if some antiquated Lady say, The last Age is not Copy'd in his Play; Heav'n help the Man who for that face must drudge, Which only has the wrinkles of a Judge. Let not the Young and Beauteous join with those; For shou'd you raise such numerous Hosts of Foes, so Young Wits and Sparks he to his aid must call; 'Tis more than one Man's work to please you all.

FINIS. 3 Fop, Coxcomb, Fool] in italics in Qi-3, F, Di-2. 10 a-foot] Di-z; a foot Qi-g, F.

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OEDJPUS A

TRAGEDY. As it is ACTED at His

Royal Highnefs DUKE'sHTheatre. The A U T H O R S Mr. D R TJ) E Nt and Mr. L E E. Hi frtpritm F, D (set as verse). 288 Traytors,] Qa-5, F, 0; ~ A Qi. 299 Oedipus!] ~. Qi-5, F, D.

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i Cit. He puts the Prophet in a Mouse-hole. 2 Cit. I knew it wou'd be so; the last man ever speaks the best reason. Tir. Can benefits thus dye, ungrateful Thebans! Remember yet, when, after Lajus's death, The Monster Sphinx laid your rich Country waste, Your Vineyards spoil'd, your labouring Oxen slew; Your selves for fear mew'd up within your Walls. She, taller than your Gates, o're-look'd your Town; But when she rais'd her Bulk to sail above you, sio She drove the Air around her like a Whirlwind, And shaded all beneath; till stooping down, She clap'd her leathern wing against your Tow'rs, And thrust out her long neck, ev'n to your doors. Dioc. Ale. Pyr. We'll hear no more. Tir. You durst not meet in Temples T' invoke the Gods for aid; the proudest he Who leads you now, then cowr'd, like a dar'd Lark: This Creon shook for fear, The blood of Lajus cruddled in his Veins, Till Oedipus arriv'd. 320 Call'd by his own high courage and the Gods, Himself to you a God: ye offer'd him Your Queen, and Crown; (but what was then your Crown!) And Heav'n authoriz'd it by his success: Speak then, who is your lawful King? All. 'Tis Oedipus. Tir. 'Tis Oedipus indeed: your King more lawful Than yet you dream: for something still there lyes In Heav'ns dark Volume, which I read through mists: 'Tis great, prodigious; 'tis a dreadful birth, Sao Of wondrous Fate; and now, just now disclosing. 300 308 310 314 318

/] i Qi-5, F, D. Town;] Q5, F; ~, Qi~4, D. around] Qj-5, F, D; arround Qi-a. Ale.] Q2-5, F, D; Alk. Qi. Lajus] Qz-5, F, D; ~, Qi.

301 2] z Qi-g, F, D.

315 aid;] Qs, F; ~, Qi~4, D. 318 Veins,] ~: Qi-4, D; ~; Qs, F.

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I see, I see! how terribly it dawns. And my Soul sickens with it. i Cit. How the God shakes him! Tir. He comes! he comes! Victory! Conquest! Triumph! But oh! Guiltless and Guilty: Murder! Parricide! Incest! Discovery! Punishment 'tis ended, And all your sufferings o're. A Trumpet within; Enter Haemon. Heem. Rouze up ye Thebans; tune your lo Pceans! Your King returns; the Argians are o're-come; 340 Their Warlike Prince in single Combat taken, And led in Bands by God-like Oedipus. All. Oedipus, Oedipus, Oedipus! Creon aside. Furies confound his Fortune! [To them.] Haste, all haste; And meet with Blessings our Victorious King; Decree Processions; bid new Holy-days; Crown all the Statues of our Gods with Garlands; And raise a Brazen Collumn, thus inscrib'd, To Oedipus, now twice a Conquerour; Deliverer of his Thebes, sso Trust me, I weep for joy to see this day. Tir. Yes, Heav'n knows why thou weep'st. Go, Countrymen, And, as you use to supplicate your Gods So meet your King, with Bayes, and Olive-branches: Bow down, and touch his Knees, and beg from him An end of all your Woes; for only he Can give it you. [Ex. Tiresias, the People following. 332 it.] Q3-5, F; ~: Qi-2, D. 333 z] i Qi-5, F, D. 336 Incest!] Qs, F, D; ~; 0.1-4. 338 lo] 0,2-5, F, D; Jo Qi. 343 Creon aside. . . . Fortune! [To them.] Haste, all haste;] Creon. . . . Fortune! [aside. / Haste, all haste; [To them. QI-S, F, D. 348-349 To Oedipus, now twice a Conquerour; / Deliverer of his Thebes] To Oedipus, now twice a Conquerour; Deliverer of his Thebes Qi~5, F, D (set as one line). 351 weep'st.] ~: Qi-z, 0.5, F, D; ~A 0,3-4. 351 Go] Q5, F, D; go 0.1-4.

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Enter Oedipus in triumph; Adrastus Prisoner; Dymas, Train. Creon. All hail, great Oedipus; Thou mighty Conquerour, hail; welcome to Thebes: To thy own Thebes; to all that's left of Thebes: For half thy Citizens are swept away, sec And wanting to thy Triumphs: And we, the happy remnant, only live To welcome thee, and dye. Oedipus. Thus pleasure never comes sincere to man; But lent by Heav'n upon hard Usury: And, while Jove holds us out the Bowl of Joy, E're it can reach our Lips it's dasht with Gall By some left-handed God. O mournful Triumph! O Conquest gain'd abroad and lost at home! 0 Argos! now rejoyce, for Thebes lyes low; 370 Thy slaughter'd Sons now smile and think they won; When they can count more Theban Ghosts than theirs. Adrast. No; Argos mourns with Thebes; you temper'd so Your Courage while you fought, that Mercy seem'd The manlier Virtue, and much more prevail'd: While Argos is a People, think your Thebes Can never want for Subjects: Every Nation Will crowd to serve where Oedipus commands. Creon to Hcem. How mean it shews to fawn upon the Victor! Hcem. Had you beheld him fight, you had said otherwise: 380 Come, 'tis brave bearing in him, not to envy Superiour Vertue. Oed. This indeed is Conquest, To gain a Friend like you: Why were we Foes? Adrast. 'Cause we were Kings, and each disdain'd an equal. 1 fought to have it in my pow'r to do What thou hast done; and so to use my Conquest; To shew thee, Honour was my only motive, Know this, that were my Army at thy Gates, And Thebes thus waste, I would not take the Gift, 377 crowd] Qa-g, F, D; crow'd Qi.

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Which, like a Toy, dropt from the hands of Fortune, 390 Lay for the next chance-comer. Oed. embracing. No more Captive, But Brother of the War: 'Tis much more pleasant, And safer, trust me, thus to meet thy love, Than when hard Gantlets clench'd our Warlike Hands, And kept 'em from soft use. Adr. My Conquerour! Oed. My Friend! that other name keeps Enmity alive. But longer to detain thee were a Crime; To love, and to Eurydice, go free: Such welcome as a ruin'd Town can give Expect from me; the rest let her supply. 400 Adr. I go without a blush, though conquer'd twice, By you and by my Princess. [Ex. Adrastus. Creon aside. Then I am conquer'd thrice; by Oedipus, And her, and ev'n by him, the slave of both: Gods, I'm beholding to you, for making me your Image, Wou'd I cou'd make you mine. [Ex. Creon. Enter the People with branches in their hands, holding them up, and kneeling: Two Priests before them. Oedipus. Alas, my People! What means this speechless sorrow, down-cast eyes, And lifted hands! if there be one among you Whom grief has left a tongue, speak for the rest. i Pr. O Father of thy Country! 410 To thee these knees are bent, these eyes are lifted, As to a visible Divinity: A Prince on whom Heav'n safely might repose The business of Mankind: for Providence Might on thy careful bosome sleep secure, And leave her task to thee. 394 Conquerourl] D; ~. Qi~5, F. 406 down-cast] Qs, F, D; down cast Qi-4409 /] i QI-S, F, D. 411 Divinity:] — (£1-5, F, D.

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But where's the Glory of thy former acts? Ev'n that's destroy'd when none shall live to speak it. Millions of Subjects shalt thou have; but mute: A people of the dead; a crowded desart; 420 A Midnight silence at the noon of day. Oed. O were our Gods as ready with their pity, As I with mine, this Presence shou'd be throng'd With all I left alive; and my sad eyes Not search in vain for friends, whose promis'd sight Flatter'd my toyls of war. / Pr. Twice our deliverer! Oed. Nor are now your vows addrest to one who sleeps: When this unwelcome news first reach'd my ears, Dymas was sent to Delphos to enquire The cause and cure of this contagious ill: 430 And is this day return'd: but since his message Concerns the publick, I refus'd to hear it But in this general Presence: let him speak. Dymas. A dreadful answer from the hallow'd Urn, And sacred tripos, did the Priestess give, In these Mysterious words, The Oracle. Shed in a cursed hour, by cursed hand, Blood-Royal unreveng'd, has curs'd the Land. When Lajus death is expiated well Your Plague shall cease: the rest let Lajus tell. 440 Oed. Dreadful indeed! blood, and a Kings blood too: And such a Kings, and by his Subjects shed! (Else why this curse on Thebes?) no wonder then If Monsters, Wars, and plagues revenge such Crimes! If Heav'n be just, its whole Artillery, All must be empty'd on us: Not one bolt Shall erre from Thebes; but more be call'd for, more: 418, 425 426 434 446

419 mute: . . . desart;] ~. . . . ~. QI-S, F, D (desart: Qs, F). /] i Qi-5, F, D. 425 deliverer!] Qs, F; — Qi~4, D. Oed.... vows addrest... sleeps] Oed.... vows / Addrest... sleeps Qi-5, F, D. tripos,] tripousA Qi-5, F, D. 444 its] Qs-5, F, D; it's Qi. more . . . for,] Qa-5, F, D; ~, . . . ~A Qi.

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New-moulded thunder of a larger size; Driv'n by whole Jove. What, touch annointed Pow'rl Then Gods beware; Jove wou'd himself be next; 450 Cou'd you but reach him too. 2 Pr. We mourn the sad remembrance. Oed. Well you may: Worse than a plague infects you: y'are devoted To Mother Earth, and to th' infernal Pow'rs: Hell has a right in you. I thank you Gods, That I'm no Theban born: how my blood cruddles! As if this curse touch'd me! and touch'd me nearer Than all this presence! Yes, 'tis a Kings blood, And I, a King, am ty'd in deeper bonds To expiate this blood: but where, from whom, 460 Or how must I attone it? tell me, Thebans, How Lajus fell; for a confus'd report Pass'd through my ears, when first I took the Crown: But full of hurry, like a morning dream, It vanish'd in the business of the day. / Pr. He went in private forth; but thinly follow'd; And ne're return'd to Thebes. Oed. Nor any from him? came there no attendant? None to bring news? 2 Pr. But one; and he so wounded, He scarce drew breath to speak some few faint words. 470 Oed. What were they? something may be learnt from thence. 1 Pr. He said a band of Robbers watch'd their passage; Who took advantage of a narrow way To murder Lajus and the rest: himself Left too for dead. Oed. Made you no more enquiry, But took this bare relation? 2 Pr. 'Twas neglected: 447 451 461 468 475

New-moulded] Qs, F; New moulded Qi-4, D. 2] 2. Qi, F; 2 Q2-5, D. 454 you.] ~: Qi-5, F, D. fell;] Qs, F; ~? Qi-4, D. 465 /] i Qi-5, F, D. 2] 2 Qi-5, F, D. 471 i] i Qi-s, F, D. 2] 2- Q>. Q3. F; a Qa, Q4~5, D.

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For then the Monster Sphinx began to rage; And present cares soon buried the remote; So was it hush'd, and never since reviv'd. Oed. Mark, Thebans, mark! 480 Just then, the Sphinx began to rage among you; The Gods took hold ev'n of th' offending minute, And dated thence your woes: thence will I trace 'em. i Pr. Tis Just thou should'st. Oed. Hear then this dreadful imprecation; hear it: 'Tis lay'd on all; not any one exempt: Bear witness Heav'n, avenge it on the perjur'd. If any Theban born, if any stranger Reveal this murder, or produce its Author, Ten Attique Talents be his just reward: 490 But, if for fear, for favour, or for hire, The murder'r he conceale, the curse of Thebes Fall heavy on his head: Unite our plagues Ye Gods, and place 'em there: from Fire and Water, Converse, and all things common be he banish'd. But for the murderer's self, unfound by man, Find him ye pow'rs Ccelestial and Infernal; And the same Fate or worse, than Lajus met, Let be his lot: his children be accurst; His Wife and kindred, all of his be curs'd. soo Both Pr. Confirm it Heav'n! Enter Jocasta; Attended by Women. Joe. At your Devotions! Heav'n succeed your wishes; And bring th' effect of these your pious pray'rs On you, and me, and all. Both Pr. Avert this Omen, Heav'n! 476, 483 489 500 504

480 Sphinx] D; Sphynx Qi~5, F. /] i Qi-5, F, D. Attique] Attique Qi-g, D; Antique (£4-5, F. Confirm] Qa-5, F, D; Confim Qi. Both Pr.] Pr. Qi-5, F, D.

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Oed. O fatal sound, Unfortunate Jocasta! What hast thou said! an ill hour hast thou chosen For these fore-boding words! why, we were cursingl Joe. Then may that curse fall only where you laid it. Oed. Speak no more! 510 For all thou say'st is ominous: we were cursing; And that dire imprecation hast thou fasten'd On Thebes, and thee and me, and all of us. Joe. Are then my blessings turn'd into a curse? O Unkind Oedipus! My former Lord Thought me his blessing: be thou like my Lajus. Oed. What, yet again! the third time hast thou curs'd me? This imprecation was for Lajus death, And thou hast wish'd me like him. Joe. Horrour seizes me! 520 Oed. Why dost thou gaze upon me? prithee, love, Take off thy eye; it burdens me too much. Joe. The more I look, the more I find of Lajus: His speech, his garb, his action; nay his frown; (For I have seen it;) but ne're bent on me. Oed. Are we so like? Joe. In all things but his love. Oed. I love thee more: So well I love, words cannot speak how well. No pious Son e're lov'd his Mother more Than I my dear Jocasta. Joe. I love you too 530 The self-same way: and when you chid, methought A Mothers love start up in your defence, 511 fasten'd] Qa-5, F, D; fastn'd Qi. 514 Oedipus!] Qs, F; — Qi-4, D. 516 What,] Q5, F; whatA Qi; WhatA Qz-4, D. 520 Why] Qa-5, F, D; why Qi. 520 prithee, love,] Q5, F; ~ A ~ A Qi-4, D. 526-527 Oed. . . . more: /So ... well] Oed. . . . more: so ... well Qi~5, F, D (set as one line of verse; So Q5, F). 528 e're] Q2-4; er'e Qi; e'er Cfe, F; ere D. 530 self-same] Q5, F; self same Qi-4, D. 530 methought] (£2-5, F, D; me thought Qi.

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And bade me not be angry: be not you: For I love Lajus still as wives shou'd love: But you more tenderly; as part of me: And when I have you in my arms, methinks I lull my child asleep. Oed. Then we are blest: And all these curses sweep along the skyes Like empty clowds; but drop not on our heads. Joe. I have not joy'd an hour since you departed, 540 For publick Miseries, and for private fears; But this blest meeting has or'e-pay'd 'em all. Good fortune, that comes seldom, comes more welcome. All I can wish for now, is your consent To make my Brother happy. Oed. How, Jocasta? Joe. By marriage with his Neece, Eurydice! Oed. Uncle and Neece! they are too near, my Love; 'Tis too like Incest: 'tis offence to Kind: Had I not promis'd, were there no Adrastus, No choice but Creon left her of Mankind, 550 They shou'd not marry; speak no more of it; The thought disturbs me. Joe. Heav'n can never bless A Vow so broken, which I made to Creon; Remember he's my Brother. Oed. That's the Bar: And she thy Daughter: Nature wou'd abhor To be forc'd back again upon her self, And like a whirle-pool swallow her own streams. Joe. Be not displeas'd; I'll move the Suit no more. Oed. No, do not; for, I know not why, it shakes me When I but think on Incest; move we forward sec To thank the Gods for my success, and pray To wash the guilt of Royal Blood away. [Exeunt Omnes. 532 be angry] Qi (corrected form), Qz-5, F, D; beangry Qi (uncorrected form). 542 fortune, . . . seldom,] S-S; ~A . . . ~A Qi~5, F, D (seldom, Qs, F).

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ACT II. SCENE I. An open Gallery. A Royal Bed-Chamber being suppos'd behind. The Time, Night. Thunder, Sec. Enter Haemon, Alcander, Pyracmon. Heem. Sure 'tis the end of all things! Fate has torn The Lock of Time off, and his head is now The gastly Ball of round Eternity! Call you these Peals of Thunder, but the yawn Of bellowing Clouds? By Jove, they seem to me The World's last groans; and those vast sheets of Flame Are its last Blaze! The Tapers of the Gods, The Sun and Moon, run down like waxen-Globes; The shooting Stars end all in purple Gellies, 10 And Chaos is at hand. Pyr. 'Tis Midnight, yet there's not a Theban sleeps, But such as ne're must wake. All crowd about The Palace, and implore, as from a God, Help of the King; who, from the Battlement, By the red Lightning's glare, descry'd afar, Atones the angry Pow'rs. [Thunder, 8cc. Heem. Ha! Pyracmon, look; Behold, A Icander, from yon' West of Heav'n, The perfect Figures of a Man and Woman: A Scepter bright with Gems in each right hand, 20 Their flowing Robes of dazling Purple made; Distinctly yonder in that point they stand, ACT]Q2-5,F,D;~. Qi. s.d. Enter Hasmon] F, D; Haemon Qi-512 crowd] 05, F, D; crow'd Qi~4. 16 Pow'rs] F; Powers Qi-5, D. 16 s.d. [Thunder] D; A ~ Qi-4; s.d. omitted from Q$, F. 16 s.d. Sec.] D; be. Qi~4; s.d. omitted from Qj, F. 20 made;] ~, QI-S, F, D.

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Just West; a bloody red stains all the place: And see, their Faces are quite hid in Clouds. Pyr. Clusters of Golden Stars hang o're their heads, And seem so crouded, that they burst upon 'em: All dart at once their baleful influence, In leaking Fire. Ale. Long-bearded Comets stick, Like flaming Porcupines, to their left sides, As they would shoot their Quills into their hearts, so Hcem. But see! the King, and Queen, and all the Court! Did ever Day or Night shew ought like this? [Thunders again. The Scene draws, and discovers the Prodigies. Enter Oedipus, Jocasta, Eurydice, Adrastus, all coming forward with amazement. Oed. Answer, you Pow'rs Divine; spare all this noise, This rack of Heav'n, and speak your fatal pleasure. Why breaks yon dark and dusky Orb away? Why from the bleeding Womb of monstrous Night, Burst forth such Miriads of abortive Stars? Ha! my Jocasta; look! the Silver Moon! A selling Crimson stains her beauteous Facet She's all o're Blood! and look, behold again, 40 What mean the mistick Heav'ns, she journeys on? A vast Eclipse darkens the labouring Planet. Sound there, sound all our Instruments of War; Clarions and Trumpets, Silver, Brass, and Iron, And beat a thousand Drums to help her Labour. Adr. 'Tis vain; you see the Prodigies continue; Let's gaze no more, the Gods are humorous. Oed. Forbear, rash man. Once more I ask your pleasurel If that the glow-worm light of Humane Reason Might dare to offer at Immortal knowledge, 31+ s.d. Eurydice] Qs~5, F, D; Euridice Qi-2. 40 Heav'ns] Qa-5, F, D (Heavn's Qs); Heavens Qi. 41 Planet.] ~: Qi-5, F, D. 48 glow-worm light] Qa-5, F, D; glow-worm-light Qi.

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so And cope with Gods, why all this storm of Nature? Why do the Rocks split, and why rouls the Sea? Why these Portents in Heav'n, and Plagues on Earth? Why yon' Gygantick Forms, Ethereal Monsters? Alas! is all this but to fright the Dwarfs Which your own hands have made? Then be it so. Or if the Fates resolve some Expiation For murder'd Lajus; Hear me, hear me, Gods! Hear me thus prostrate: Spare this groaning Land, Save innocent Thebes, stop the Tyrant Death; eo Do this, and lo I stand up an Oblation To meet your swiftest and severest anger; Shoot all at once, and strike me to the Center. [The Cloud draws that veil'd the heads of the Figures in the Skie, and shews 'em Crown'd, with the names of Oedipus and Jocasta written above in great Characters of Gold. A dr. Either I dream, and all my cooler senses Are vanish'd with that Cloud that fleets away; Or just above those two Majestick heads, I see, I read distinctly in large gold, Oedipus and Jocasta. Ale. 1 read the same. Adr. 'Tis wonderful; yet ought not man to wade Too far in the vast deep of Destiny. [Thunder; and the Prodigies vanish. TO Joe. My Lord, my Oedipus, why gaze you now, When the whole Heav'n is clear, as if the Gods Had some new Monsters made? will you not turn, And bless your People; who devour each word You breathe? Oed. It shall be so. Yes, I will dye, O Thebes, to save thee! Draw from my heart my blood, with more content Than e're I wore thy Crown. Yet, O, Jocasta! By all the indearments of miraculous love, 61 anger;] ~,Qi-5,F,D. 62+ s.d. [The] A~ Qi-5,F,D. 67 Oedipus and Jocasta] Oedipus and Jocast Qi-5, F, D. 74 breathe?] Qs, F; ~. Qi~4, D.

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so By all our languishings, our fears in pleasure, Which oft have made us wonder; here I swear On thy fair hand, upon thy breast I swear, I cannot call to mind, from budding Childhood To blooming youth, a Crime by me committed, For which the awful Gods should doom my death. Joe. 'Tis not you, my Lord, But he who murder'd Lajus, frees the Land: Were you, which is impossible, the man, Perhaps my Ponyard first should drink your blood; 90 But you are innocent, as your Jocasta, From Crimes like those. This made me violent To save your life, which you unjust would lose: Nor can you comprehend, with deepest thought, The horrid Agony you cast me in, When you resolv'd to dye. Oed. Is't possible? Joe. Alas! why start you so? Her stiff'ning grief, Who saw her Children slaughter'd all at once, Was dull to mine: Methinks I should have made My bosom bare against the armed God, 100 To save my Oedipus! Oed. I pray, no more. Joe. You've silenc'd me, my Lord. Oed. Pardon me, dear Jocasta; Pardon a heart that sinks with sufferings, And can but vent it self in sobs and murmurs: Yet to restore my peace, I'll find him out. Yes, yes, you Gods! you shall have ample vengeance On Lajus murderer. O, the Traytor's name! I'll know't, I will; Art shall be Conjur'd for it, And Nature all unravel'd. Joe. Sacred Sir, no Oed. Rage will have way, and 'tis but just; I'll fetch him, Tho' lodg'd in Air, upon a Dragon's wing, Tho' Rocks should hide him: nay, he shall be dragg'd 101 You've] Qz-5, D; Yo've Qi; You have F.

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From Hell, if Charms can hurry him along: His Ghost shall be, by sage Tiresias pow'r, (Tiresias, that rules all beneath the Moon) Confin'd to flesh, to suffer death once more; And then be plung'd in his first fires again. Enter Creon. Cre. My Lord, Tiresias attends your pleasure. Oed. Haste, and bring him in. 120 O, my Jocasta, Eurydice, Adrastus, Creon, and all ye Thebans, now the end Of Plagues, of Madness, Murders, Prodigies, Draws on: This Battel of the Heav'ns and Earth Shall by his wisdom be reduc'd to peace. Enter Tiresias, leaning on a staff, led by his Daughter Manto, follow'd by other Thebans. O thou, whose most aspiring mind Know'st all the business of the Courts above, Open'st the Closets of the Gods, and dares To mix with Jove himself and Fate at Council; O Prophet, answer me, declare aloud iso The Traytor who conspir'd the death of Lajus: Or be they more, who from malignant Stars Have drawn this Plague that blasts unhappy Thebes. Tir. We must no more than Fate commissions us To tell; yet something, and of moment, I'll unfold, If that the God would wake; I feel him now, Like a strong Spirit Charm'd into a Tree, That leaps, and moves the Wood without a Wind: The rouzed God, as all this while he lay Intomb'd alive, starts and dilates himself; 118 Cre. . . . Lord, Tiresias . . . pleasure] Cre. . . . Lord, / Tiresias . . . pleasure Qi-5, F, D (Pleasure Q5, F, D). 120 Eurydice] Qz-5, F, D; Euridice Qi. 138 rouzed] D; rouz'd Qi~5, F.

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140 He struggles, and he tears my aged Trunk With holy Fury; my old Arteries burst, My rivel'd skin, Like Parchment, crackles at the hallow'd fire; I shall be young again. Manto, my Daughter, Thou hast a voice that might have sav'd the Bard Of Thrace, and forc'd the raging Bacchanals, With lifted Prongs, to listen to thy airs: O Charm this God, this Fury in my bosom, Lull him with tuneful notes, and artful strings, iso With pow'rful strains; Manto, my lovely Child, Sooth the unruly God-head to be mild. SONG to Apollo. Phcebus, God belov'd by men; At thy dawn, every Beast is rouz'd in his Den; At thy setting, all the Birds of thy absence complain, And we dye, all dye till the morning comes again. Phcebus, God belov'd by men! Idol of the Eastern Kings, Awful as the God who flings His Thunder round, and the Lightning wings; leo God of Songs, and Orphean strings, Who to this mortal bosom brings, All harmonious heav'nly things! Thy drouzie Prophet to revive, Ten thousand thousand forms before him drive; With Chariots and Horses all o' fire awake him, Convulsions, and Furies, and Prophesies shake him: Let him tell it in groans, tho' he bend with the load, Tho' he burst with the weight of the terrible God. Tir. The wretch, who shed the blood of old Labdacides, no Lives, and is great; 141 Fury;] ~, Qi~5, F, D. >55 again.] D, d; ~, Qi-5, F, mi.

144 again.] /~: Qi-5, F, D.

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But cruel greatness ne're was long: The first of Lajus blood his life did seize, And urg'd his Fate, Which else had lasting been and strong. The wretch, who Lajus kill'd, must bleed or fly; Or Thebes, consum'd with Plagues, in ruines lye. Oed. The first of Lajus blood! pronounce the person; May the God roar from thy prophetick mouth, That even the dead may start up, to behold: iso Name him, I say, that most accursed wretch, For by the Stars he dies: Speak, I command thee; By Phoebus, speak; for sudden death's his doom: Here shall he fall, bleed on this very spot; His name, I charge thee once more, speak. Tir. 'Tis lost, Like what we think can never shun remembrance; Yet of a sudden's gone beyond the Clouds. Oed. Fetch it from thence; I'll have't, where-e're it be. Cre. Let me intreat you, sacred Sir, be calm, And Creon shall point out the great Offender. 190 'Tis true, respect of Nature might injoin Me silence, at another time; but, oh, Much more the pow'r of my eternal Love! That, that should strike me dumb: yet Thebes, my Country I'll break through all, to succour thee, poor City! O, I must speak. Oed. Speak then, if ought thou know'st: As much thou seem'st to know, delay no longer. Cre. O Beauty! O illustrious Royal Maid! To whom my Vows were ever paid till now, And with such modest, chaste, and pure affection, 200 The coldest Nymph might read 'em without blushing; Art thou the Murdress then of wretched Lajus? And I, must I accuse thee! O my tears! 181 For . . . dies: Speak . .. thee] For . . . dies: / Speak . . . thee Qi-5, F, D. 184 thee] Qa-5, F, D; the Qi. 187 where-e're] Qa-5, F, D; where e're Qi.

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Why will you fall in so abhorr'd a Cause? But that thy beauteous, barbarous, hand destroy'd Thy Father (O monstrous act!) both Gods And men at once take notice. Oed. Eurydice! Eur. Traytor, go on; I scorn thy little malice, And knowing more my perfect innocence, Than Gods and men, then how much more than thee, 210 Who art their opposite, and form'd a Lyar, I thus disdain thee! Thou once didst talk of Love; Because I hate thy love, thou dost accuse me. Adr. Villain, inglorious Villain, And Traytor, double damn'd, who dur'st blaspheme The spotless virtue of the brightest beauty; Thou dy'st: nor shall the sacred Majesty, [Draws and wounds him. That guards this place, preserve thee from my rage. Oed. Disarm 'em both. Prince, I shall make you know That I can tame you twice. Guards, seize him. Adr. Sir, 220 I must acknowledge in another Cause Repentance might abash me; but I glory In this, and smile to see the Traytor's blood. Oed. Creon, you shall be satisfy'd at full. Cre. My hurt is nothing, Sir; but I appeal To wise Tiresias, if my accusation Be not most true. The first of Lajus blood Gave him his death. Is there a Prince before her? Then she is faultless, and I ask her pardon. And may this blood ne're cease to drop, O Thebes, 2so If pity of thy sufferings did not move me To shew the Cure which Heav'n it self prescrib'd. Eur. Yes, Thebans, I will dye to save your lives, More willingly than you can wish my fate; 206 212 218 224

Eurydice} Qz-5, F, D; Euridice Qi. Because . . . love, thou . .. me] Because .. . love, / Thou ... me Qi~5, F, D. both.] F; ~: Qi-5, D. Cre. . . . appeal] (£2-5, F, D; not indented in Qi.

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But let this good, this wise, this holy man, Pronounce my Sentence: for to fall by him, By the vile breath of that prodigious Villain, Would sink my Soul, tho' I should dye a Martyr. A dr. Unhand me, slaves. O mightiest of Kings, See at your feet a Prince not us'd to kneel; 240 Touch not Eurydice, by all the Gods, As you would save your Thebes, but take my life: For, should she perish, Heaven would heap plagues On plagues, rain Sulphur down, hurl kindled bolts Upon your guilty heads. Cre. You turn to gallantry, what is but justice: Proof will be easie made. Adrastus was The Robber who bereft th' unhappy King Of life; because he flatly had deny'd To make so poor a Prince his Son-in-law: 250 Therefore 'twere fit that both should perish. i Theb. Both, let both dye. All Theb. Both, both; let 'em dye. Oed. Hence, you wild herd! For your Ring-leader here, He shall be made Example. Hcemon, take him. / Theb. Mercy, O mercy. Oed. Mutiny in my presence! Hence, let me see that busie face no more. Tir. Thebans, what madness makes you drunk with rage? Enough of guilty death's already acted: 260 Fierce Creon has accus'd Eurydice, With Prince Adrastus; which the God reproves By inward checks, and leaves their Fates in doubt. Oed. Therefore instruct us what remains to do, Or suffer; for I feel a sleep like death Upon me, and I sigh to be at rest. Tir. Since that the pow'rs divine refuse to clear 240 Eurydice] Qa-5, F, D; Euridice Qi. 242-243 For .. . plagues / On plagues, rain .. . bolts] For .. . plagues on plagues, / Rain . . . bolts Qi-5, F, D. 242 Heaven] Heav'n Qi-5, F, D. 251, 255 /] i Qi~5, F, D. 260 Eurydice] Qz-5, F, D; Euridice Qi.

150

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The mystic deed, I'll to the Grove of Furies; There I can force th' Infernal Gods to shew Their horrid Forms; each trembling Ghost shall rise, 270 And leave their grizly King without a waiter: For Prince Adrastus and Eurydice, My life's engag'd, I'll guard 'em in the Fane, Till the dark mysteries of Hell are done. Follow me, Princes; Thebans, all to rest. O, Oedipus, to morrow but no more. If that thy wakeful Genius will permit, Indulge thy brain this night with softer slumbers: To morrow, O to morrow! sleep, my Son; And in prophetick dreams thy Fate be shown. [Ex. Tires. Adrast. Euryd. Manto, Thebans. [Manent Oed. Joe. Creon, Pyrac. Hasm. Alcan. aso Oed. To bed, my Fair, my Dear, my best Jocasta. After the toils of war, 'tis wondrous strange Our loves should thus be dash'd. One moment's thought, And I'll approach the arms of my belov'd. Joe. Consume whole years in care, so now and then I may have leave to feed my famish'd eyes With one short passing glance, and sigh my vows: This, and no more, my Lord, is all the passion Of languishing Jocasta. [Exit. Oed. Thou softest, sweetest of the World! good night. 290 Nay, she is beauteous too; yet, mighty Love! I never offer'd to obey thy Laws, But an unusual chillness came upon me; An unknown hand still check'd my forward joy, Dash'd me with blushes, tho' no light was near: That ev'n the Act became a violation. Pyr. He's strangely thoughtful. Oed. Hark! who was that? Ha! Creon, did'st thou call me? 269 Their . . . Forms; each . . . rise] D (Each); Their . . . Forms; / Each . . . rise Qi-5- F. 271 Eurydice] 0,2-5, F, D; Euridice Qi. 279+ s.d. Euryd.] (£2-5; Eurid. Qi, F; Eur. D. 279+ s.d. [Manent Oed. Joe. Creon, Pyrac. Haem. Alcan.] QJJ, F, D (^Manent); Manent Oed. Joe. Creon, Pyrac. Hcem. Alcan. Qi-4 (s.d. centered).

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310

320

330

Oedipus

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Cre. Not I, my gracious Lord, nor any here. Oed. That's strange! methought I heard a doleful voice Cry'd Oedipus.The Prophet bad me sleep; He talk'd of Dreams, and Visions, and to morrow! I'll muse no more on't, come what will or can, My thoughts are clearer than unclouded Stars; And with those thoughts I'll rest. Creon, good night. [Ex. with Haemon. Cre. Sleep seal your eyes, Sir, Eternal sleep. But if he must sleep and wake again, O all Tormenting Dreams, wild horrours of the night, And Hags of Fancy wing him through the air: From precipices hurl him headlong down; Charybdis roar, and death be set before him. Ale. Your Curses have already ta'en effect; For he looks very sad. Cre. May he be rooted, where he stands, for ever; His eye-balls never move, brows be unbent, His blood, his Entrails, Liver, heart and bowels, Be blacker than the place I wish him, Hell. Pyr. No more: you tear your self, but vex not him. Methinks 'twere brave this night to force the Temple, While blind Tiresias conjures up the Fiends, And pass the time with nice Eurydice. A Ic. Try promises, and threats, and if all fail, Since Hell's broke loose, why should not you be mad? Ravish, and leave her dead, with her Adrastus. Cre. Were the Globe mine, I'd give a Province hourly For such another thought. Lust, and revenge! To stab at once the only man I hate, And to enjoy the woman whom I love! I ask no more of my auspicious Stars, The rest as Fortune please; so but this night She play me fair, why, let her turn for ever. Enter Haemon. 300 Oedipus] Oedipus Qi-5, F, D. 311 ta'en] Qs, F; ta'ne Qi-4; tak'n D.

304 rest.] ~: Qi~5, F, D.

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Ham. My Lord, the troubled King is gone to rest; Yet, e're he slept, commanded me to clear The Antichambers: none must dare be near him. Cre. Hcemon, you do your duty; ^Thunder. And we obey. The night grows yet more dreadful! 'Tis just that all retire to their devotions; The Gods are angry: but to morrow's dawn, If Prophets do not lye, will make all clear. [As they go off. Oedipus Enters, walking asleep in his shirt, with a Dagger in his right hand., and a Taper in his left. Oed. O, my Jocasta! 'tis for this the wet 340 Starv'd Soldier lies all night on the cold ground; For this he bears the storms Of Winter Camps, and freezes in his Arms: To be thus circled, to be thus embrac'd. That I could hold thee ever! Ha! where art thou? What means this melancholly light, that seems The gloom of glowing embers? The Curtain's drawn; and see, she's here again! Jocasta? Ha! what, fall'n asleep so soon? How fares my love? this Taper will inform me. 350 Ha! Lightning blast me, Thunder Rivet me ever to Prometheus Rock, And Vultures gnaw out my Incestuous heart! By all the Gods! my Mother Merope! My Sword, a Dagger! Ha, who waits there? slaves, My Sword! what, Hcemon, dar'st thou, Villain, stop me? With thy own Ponyard perish. Ha! who's this? Or is't a change of Death? By all my Honors, New murder; thou hast slain old Polybus: Incest and parricide, thy Father's murder'd! seo Out thou infernal flame! now all is dark, 333 343 354 360

him.] Q2-5> F; ~ A Qi, D. embrac'd.] ~; QI-S, F, D. Dagger!] ~; Qi-5> F, D. flame!] ~: Qi-5,F, D.

338 s.d. off.] Q5, F; ~, Qi-4, D. 352 heartl] ~, Qi-5, F; ~. D. 355 Sword!] ~: Qi-5, F, D.

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All blind and dismal, most triumphant mischief! And now while thus I stalk about the room, I challenge Fate to find another wretch Like Oedipus! [Thunder, &c. Enter Jocasta attended, with Lights, in a Night-gown. Oed. Night, Horrour, Death, Confusion, Hell, and Furies! Where am I? O, Jocasta, let me hold thee, Thus to my bosom, ages; let me grasp thee. All that the hardest temper'd weather'd flesh, With fiercest humane Spirit inspir'd, can dare 370 Or do, I dare; but, oh you Pow'rs, this was By infinite degrees too much for man. Methinks my deafen'd ears Are burst; my eyes, as if they had been knock'd By some tempestuous hand, shoot flashing fire. That sleep should do this! Joe. Then my fears were true. Methought I heard your voice, and yet I doubted, Now roaring like the Ocean, when the winds Fight with the waves; now, in a still small tone Your dying accents fell, as racking ships, 38o After the dreadful yell, sink murmuring down, And bubble up a noise. Oed. Trust me, thou Fairest, best of all thy Kind, None e're in Dreams was tortur'd so before. Yet what most shocks the niceness of my temper, Ev'n far beyond the killing of my Father, And my own death, is, that this horrid sleep Dash'd my sick fancy with an act of Incest: I dreamt, Jocasta, that thou wert my Mother; Which, tho' impossible, so damps my Spirits, 39o That I cou'd do a mischief on my self, Lest I should sleep and Dream the like again. 364 s.d. &c.] Qs, F, D; ire. Qi~4. 372 deafen'd] F, D; deafn'd Qi-5383 before.] D; ~, Qi~4; ~; Q5, F.

367 thee.] ~: QI-S, F, D. 374 fire.] Q5, F; ~: Qi~4, 1).

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Joe. O, Oedipus, too well I understand you! I know the wrath of Heav'n, the care of Thebes, The cries of its Inhabitants, war's toils, And thousand other labours of the State, Are all referr'd to you, and ought to take you For ever from Jocasta. Oed. Life of my life, and treasure of my Soul, Heav'n knows I love thee. Joe. O, you think me vile, 400 And of an inclination so ignoble, That I must hide me from your eyes for ever. Be witness, Gods, and strike Jocasta dead, If an immodest thought, or low desire Inflam'd my breast, since first our Loves were lighted. Oed. O rise, and add not, by thy cruel kindness, A grief more sensible than all my torments. Thou think'st my dreams are forg'd; but by thy self, The greatest Oath, I swear, they are most true: But, be they what they will, I here dismiss 'em. 410 Begon, Chimeras, to your Mother Clouds. Is there a fault in us? Have we not search'd The womb of Heav'n, examin'd all the Entrails Of Birds and Beasts, and tir'd the Prophets Art? Yet what avails? he, and the Gods together, Seem like Physicians at a loss to help us: Therefore, like wretches that have linger'd long, Wee'll snatch the strongest Cordial of our love. To bed, my Fair. Ghost within. Oedipus! Oed. Ha! who calls? Did'st thou not hear a voice? Joe. Alas! I did. 420 Ghost. Jocasta! Joe. O my love, my Lord, support me! Oed. Call louder, till you burst your aiery Forms! 409 'em.] ~; Qi~4, D; ~: Qs, F. 413 Art?] Q2-5, F; ~. Qi, D. 421 Forms!] ~: Qi~5, F, D.

410 Clouds.] ~, Qi-4, D; ~: C&, F. 417 love.] Q5, F; ~; Qi-4, D.

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Rest on my hand. Thus, arm'd with innocence, I'll face these babling Daemons of the air: In spight of Ghosts, I'll on. Tho' round my Bed the Furies plant their Charms; I'll break 'em, with Jocasta in my arms: Clasp'd in the folds of love, I'll wait my doom; And act my joys, tho' Thunder shake the room.

[Exeunt.

ACT III. SCENE I. A dark Grove. Enter Creon, Diocles. Cre. 'Tis better not to be, than to be unhappy. Dio. What mean you by these words? Cre. 'Tis better not to be, than to be Creon. A thinking soul is punishment enough; But when 'tis great, like mine, and wretched too, Then every thought draws blood. Dio. You are not wretched. Cre. I am: my soul's ill married to my body. I wou'd be young, be handsom, be belov'd: Cou'd I but breath my self into Adrastus 10 Dio. You rave; call home your thoughts. Cre. I prithee let my soul take air awhile; Were she in Oedipus, I were a King; Then I had kill'd a Monster, gain'd a Battel; And had my Rival pris'ner; brave, brave actions: Why have not I done these? Dio. Your fortune hinder'd. Cre. There's it: I have a soul to do 'em all: But fortune will have nothing done that's great, But by young handsome fools: Body and brawn 423, 424 air: . . . on.] Qtj, F; ~. . . . / « - , Qi-4, D. s.d. Creon, Diocles.] Creon. Qi-5, F; Creon, and Diocles. D. 9 but] Qa-5, F, D; but but Qi.

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Do all her work: Hercules was a fool, 20 And straight grew famous: a mad boistrous fool, Nay worse, a Womans fool. Fool is the stuff, of which Heav'n makes a Hero. Dio. A Serpent ne're becomes a flying Dragon, Till he has eat a Serpent. Cre. Goes it there! I understand thee; I must kill Adrastus. Dio. Or not enjoy your Mistress: Eurydice and he are pris'ners here, But will not long be so: this tell-tale Ghost Perhaps will clear 'em both. Cre. Well: 'tis resolv'd. so Dio. The Princess walks this way; you must not meet her, Till this be done. Cre. I must. Dio. She hates your sight: And more since you accus'd her. Cre. Urge it not. I cannot stay to tell thee my design; For she's too near. Enter Eurydice. How, Madam, were your thoughts employ'd? Eur. On death, and thee. Cre. Then were they not well sorted: life and me Had been the better match. Eur. No, I was thinking On two the most detested things in Nature: 40 And they are death and thee. Cre. The thought of death to one near death is dreadful: O 'tis a fearful thing to be no more; Or if to be, to wander after death; 30 Dio.... way; you ... her] Dio. ... way; / You ... her Qi-g, F, D. 35 employ'd?] QS-S, F; ~! Qi-2, D. 40 thee.] Qa-5, F, D; ~, Qi. 42 more;] ~. Qi-5, F, D.

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To walk as spirits do, in Brakes all day; And when the darkness comes, to glide in paths That lead to Graves: and in the silent Vault, Where lyes your own pale shrowd, to hover o're it, Striving to enter your forbidden Corps; And often, often, vainly breathe your Ghost so Into your lifeless lips: Then, like a lone benighted Travellour Shut out from lodging, shall your groans be answer'd By whistling winds, whose every blast will shake Your tender Form to Attorns. Eur. Must I be this thin Being? and thus wander? No quiet after death! Cre. None: you must leave This beauteous body; all this youth and freshness Must be no more the object of desire, But a cold lump of Clay; eo Which then your discontented Ghost will leave, And loath it's former lodging. This is the best of what comes after death, Ev'n to the best. Eur. What then shall be thy lot? Eternal torments, baths of boiling sulphur: Vicissitudes of fires, and then of frosts; And an old Guardian Fiend, ugly as thou art, To hollow in thy ears at every lash, This for Eurydice; these for her Adrastus. Cre. For her Adrastus! Eur. Yes; for her Adrastus: 70 For death shall ne're divide us: death, what's death! Dio. You seem'd to fear it. 55 wander?] F; ~! Qi~5,D. 63 lot?] (£2-5, F; ~! Qi,D. 65 Vicissitudes] Qa-5, F, D; Vicisfitudes Qi. 67 lash,]Q5; ~; Qi-4, D ; — F . 68 This for Eurydice; these for her Adrastus] This for Eurydice; these for her Adrastus Qi~5, F, D. 69 For her Adrastus] For her Adrastus Qi~5, F, D. 69 for her Adrastus] for her Adrastus QI-S, F, D.

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Eur. But I more fear Creon: To take that hunch-back'd Monster in my arms; Th' excrescence of a man. Dio. to Cre. See what you've gain'd. Eur. Death only can be dreadful to the bad: To innocence, 'tis like a bug-bear dress'd To frighten Children; pull but off his Masque And he'll appear a friend. Cre. You talk too slightly Of death and hell. Let me inform you better. Eur. You best can tell the news of your own Country, so Dio. Nay now you are too sharp. Eur. Can I be so to one who has accus'd me Of murder and of parricide? Cre. You provok'd me: And yet I only did thus far accuse you, As next of blood to Lajus: be advis'd, And you may live. Eur. The means? Cre. 'Tis offer'd you. The Fool Adrastus has accus'd himself. Eur. He has indeed, to take the guilt from me. Cre. He says he loves you; if he does, 'tis well: He ne're cou'd prove it in a better time. 90 Eur. Then death must be his recompence for love! Cre. 'Tis a Fools just reward: The wise can make a better use of life: But 'tis the young mans pleasure; his ambition: I grudge him not that favour. Eur. When he's dead, Where shall I find his equal! Cre. Every-where. Fine empty things, like him, the Court swarms with 'em. Fine fighting things; in Camps they are so common, 72 arms;] Qa-5, F; ~. Qi; ~,D. 76 frighten] D; fright'n Qi-5, F, mi. 85 means?] £3-5, F, D; ~. Qi-z. 96 Fine . . . him, the . . . 'em] Fine . . . him, / The . . . 'em Qi-5, F, D.

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Crows feed on nothing else: plenty of Fools; A glut of 'em in Thebes. 100 And fortune still takes care they shou'd be seen: She places 'em aloft, o'th' topmost Spoke Of all her Wheel: Fools are the daily work Of Nature; her vocation: if she form A man, she looses by't, 'tis too expensive; 'Twou'd make ten Fools: A man's a Prodigy. Eur. That is, a Creon: O thou black detractor, Who spitt'st thy venom against Gods and man! Thou enemy of eyes: Thou who lov'st nothing but what nothing loves, no And that's thy self: who hast conspir'd against My life and fame, to make me loath'd by all; And only fit for thee. But for Adrastus death, good Gods, his death! What Curse shall I invent? Dio. No more: he's here. Eur. He shall be ever here. He who wou'd give his life; give up his fame Enter Adrastus. If all the Excellence of woman-kind Were mine; No, 'tis too little all for him.

120

Were I made up of endless, endless joyes Adr. And so thou art: the man who loves like me, Wou'd think ev'n Infamy, the worst of ills, Were cheaply purchast, were thy love the price: Uncrown'd, a Captive, nothing left, but Honour; 'Tis the last thing a Prince shou'd throw away; But when the storm grows loud, and threatens love, 106 is,] Qs, F; ~A Qi-4, D. 113 death, ... deathl ] ~,A !A Qi-5, F, D. 116 fame ] Qj-g, F; ~. Qi-2, D. 118,119 him.... joyes] Qs, F; ~: Qi-4, D (joyesA Qz~4; Joys D). 120 Adr art: the ... me] Adr art: / The ... me Qi-g, F, D (art. Qs, F).

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Throw ev'n that over-board, for Love's the Jewel; And last it must be kept. Cre. to Dio. Work him, be sure, To rage; he's passionate; Make him th' Aggressor. Dio. O false love; false honour. iso Cre. Dissembled both, and false! A dr. Dar'st thou say this to me? Cre. To you! why what are you, that I should fear you? I am not Lajus: Hear me, Prince of Argos, You give what's nothing, when you give your honour; 'Tis gone; 'tis lost in battel. For your love, Vows made in wine are not so false as that: You kill'd her Father; you confess'd you did: A mighty argument to prove your passion to the Daughter. Adrast. aside. Gods, must I bear this brand, and not retort 140 The lye to his foul throat! Dio. Basely you kill'd him. A dr. aside. O, I burn inward: my blood's all o' fire. Alcides, when the poison'd shirt sate closest, Had but an Ague fit to this my Feaver. Yet, for Eurydice, ev'n this I'll suffer, To free my love. Well then, I kill'd him basely. Cre. Fairly, I'm sure, you cou'd not. Dio. Nor alone. Cre. You had your fellow-Thieves about you, Prince; They conquer'd, and you kill'd. A dr. aside. Down swelling heart! 'Tis for thy Princess all. O my Eurydice! [To her. iso Euryd. to him. Reproach not thus the weakness of my Sex, As if I cou'd not bear a shameful death, Rather than see you burden'd with a Crime Of which I know you free. Cre. You do ill, Madam, To let your head-long Love triumph o're Nature: 127, 128 him,... sure,... rage;] Qs, F; ~ A ... ~ A ... ~, Qi-4, D. 132 you!]Q5,F, D; ~; Qi-4. 140 Dio.] Qa-5, F,D; Dio, Qi.

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Dare you defend your Fathers Murderer? Eur. You know he kill'd him not. Cre. Let him say so. Dio. See he stands mute. Cre. O pow'r of Conscience, ev'n in wicked menl It works, it stings, it will not let him utter leo One syllable, one no to clear himself From the most base, detested, horrid act That e're cou'd stain a Villain, not a Prince. Adr. Ha! Villain! Dio. Eccho to him, Groves: cry Villain. Adr. Let me consider! did I murther Lajus, Thus like a Villain? Cre. Best revoke your words; And say you kill'd him not. Adr. Not like a Villain; prithee change me that For any other Lye. Dio. No, Villain, Villain. Cre. You kill'd him not! proclaim your innocence, 170 Accuse the Princess: So I knew 'twou'd be. Adr. I thank thee, thou instruct'st me: No matter how I kill'd him. Cre. aside. Cool'd again. Eur. Thou, who usurp'st the sacred name of Conscience, Did not thy own declare him innocent; To me declare him so? The King shall know it. Cre. You will not be believ'd, for I'll forswear it. Eur. What's now thy Conscience? Cre. 'Tis my Slave, my Drudge, my supple Glove, My upper Garment, to put on, throw off, iso As I think best: 'Tis my obedient conscience. Adr. Infamous wretch! Cre. My Conscience shall not do me the ill office To save a Rivals life; when thou art dead, (As dead thou shall be, or be yet more base 160 no] no Qi-s; not F; No D. 163 him,]Q5, F; ~ A Qi-4, D.

163 Villain!] Qs, F, D; ~. Qi-4. 163 Villain] Villain QI-S, F,D.

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Than thou think'st me, By forfeiting her life, to save thy own. ) Know this, and let it grate thy very Soul, She shall be mine: (she is, if Vows were binding;) Mark me, the fruit of all thy faith and passion, 190 Ev'n of thy foolish death, shall all be mine. Adr. Thine, say'st thou, Monster; shall my love be thine? O, I can bear no more! Thy cunning Engines, have with labour rais'd My heavy anger, like a mighty weight, To fall and pash thee dead. See here thy Nuptials; see, thou rash Ixion, [Draws. Thy promis'd Juno vanish'd in a Cloud; And in her room avenging Thunder rowls To blast thee thus. Come both, [Both Draw. Cre. 'Tis what I wish'd! 200 Now see whose Arm can lanch the surer bolt, And who's the better Jove. [Fight. Eur. Help; Murther, help! Enter Haemon and Guards, run betwixt them and beat down their Swords. Hcem. Hold; hold your impious hands: I think the Furies, To whom this Grove is hallow'd, have inspir'd you: Now, by my soul, the holiest earth of Thebes You have profan'd with war. Nor Tree, nor Plant Grows here, but what is fed with Magick Juice, All full of humane Souls; that cleave their barks To dance at Midnight by the Moons pale beams: At least two hundred years these reverend Shades 210 Have known no blood, but of black Sheep and Oxen, Shed by the Priests own hand to Proserpine. Adr. Forgive a Strangers ignorance: I knew not 191 Adr. . . . Monster; shall . . . thine] Adr. . . . Monster; / Shall . . . thine Q.-5, F, D. 202 Hold] Q2-5, F, D; hold Qi.

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The honours of the place. Ham. Thou, Creon, didst. Not Oedipus, were all his Foes here lodg'd, Durst violate the Religion of these Groves, To touch one single hair: but must, unarm'd, Parle as in Truce, or surlily avoid What most he long'd to kill. Cre. I drew not first; But in my own defence. Adr. I was provok'd, 220 Beyond Man's patience: all reproach cou'd urge Was us'd to kindle one not apt to bear. Ham. 'Tis Oedipus, not I, must judge this Act. Lord Creon, you and Diodes retire: Tiresias, and the Brother-hood of Priests, Approach the place. None at these Rites assist, But you th' accus'd, who by the mouth of Lajus Must be absolv'd or doom'd. Adr. I bear my fortune. Eur. And I provoke my tryal. Hcem. 'Tis at hand. For see the Prophet comes with Vervin crown'd, 230 The Priests with Yeugh, a venerable band; We leave you to the Gods. [Ex. Haemon with Creon and Diocles. Enter Tiresias, led by Manto: The Priests follow; all cloathed in long black Habits. Tir. Approach, ye Lovers; Ill-fated Pairl whom, seeing not, I know: This day your kindly Stars in Heav'n were join'd: When lo, an envious Planet interpos'd, And threaten'd both with death: I fear, I fear. Eur. Is there no God so much a friend to love, 228 Act.]F; ~: QI-S, D. 232 Ill-fated] Qs, F; I'11-fated Qi-4, D.

225 place.] ~: Qi-g.F, D.

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Who can controle the malice of our fate? Are they all deaf? or have the Gyants Heav'n? Tir. The Gods are just. 240 But how can Finite measure Infinite? Reason! alas, it does not know it self! Yet Man, vain Man, wou'd with this short-lin'd Plummet, Fathom the vast Abysse of Heav'nly justice. Whatever is, is in it's causes just; Since all things are by Fate. But pur-blind Man Sees but a part o'th' Chain; the nearest links; His eyes not carrying to that equal Beam That poizes all above. Eur. Then we must dye! Tir. The danger's imminent this day. 250 Adr. Why then there's one day less for humane ills: And who wou'd moan himself, for suffering that, Which in a day must pass? something, or nothing I shall be what I was again, before I was Adrastus; Penurious Heav'n, canst thou not add a night To our one day? give me a night with her, And I'll give all the rest. Tir. She broke her vow First made to Creon: but the time calls on: And Lajus death must now be made more plain. zeo How loth I am to have recourse to Rites So full of horrour, that I once rejoice I want the use of Sight. i Pr. The Ceremonies stay. Tir. Chuse the darkest part o'th' Grove; Such as Ghosts at noon-day love. Dig a Trench, and dig it nigh Where the bones of Lajus lye. Altars rais'd of Turf or Stone, 244 Whatever] Qg, F, D; What ever Qi-4. 255 Heav'n,] D;~ A Qi- 4 ;~! Qs, F. 256 day?] Qs, F; ~; Qi-4, D. 263 /] i QI-S, F, L>.

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Will th' Infernal Pow'rs have none, arc Answer me, if this be done? All Pr. 'Tis done. Tir. Is the Sacrifice made fit? Draw her backward to the pit: Draw the barren Heyfer back; Barren let her be and black. Cut the curled hair that grows Full betwixt her horns and brows: And turn your faces from the Sun: Answer me, if this be done? zso All Pr. 'Tis done. Tir. Pour in blood, and blood like wine, To Mother Earth and Proserpine: Mingle Milk into the stream; Feast the Ghosts that love the steam; Snatch a brand from funeral pile; Toss it in to make 'em boil; And turn your faces from the Sun; Answer me, if all be done? All Pr. All is done. [Peal of Thunder; and flashes of Lightning; then groaning below the Stage. 29o Manto. O, what Laments are those? Tir. The groans of Ghosts, that cleave the Earth with pain, And heave it up: they pant and stick half way. [The Stage wholly darken'd. Man. And now a sudden darkness covers all, True genuine Night: Night added to the Groves; The Fogs are blown full in the face of Heav'n. Tir. Am I but half obey'd: Infernal Gods, Must you have Musick too? then tune your voices, And let 'em have such sounds as Hell ne're heard Since Orpheus brib'd the Shades. 291 pain,] D; ~: Qi-5, F. 292 + s.d. darken'd] D; darkn'd Qi-4; darkned (£5, F.

iG6

Mustek first. Then Sing.

soo

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This to be set through.

i. Hear, ye sullen Pow'rs below: Hear, ye taskers of the dead: 2. You that boiling Cauldrons blow, You that scum the molten Lead: 3. You that pinch with Red-hot Tongs; 1. You that drive the trembling hosts Of poor, poor Ghosts, With your Sharpen'd Prongs; 2. You that thrust 'em off the Brim: 3. You that plunge 'em when they Swim: i. Till they drown; Till they go On a row Down, down, down Ten thousand thousand, thousand fadoms low. Chorus. Till they drown, &c. 1. Musick for a while Shall your cares beguile: Wondring how your pains were eas'd: 2. And disdaining to be pleas'd; 3. Till Alecto free the dead From their eternal bands; Till the snakes drop from her head, And whip from out her hands. i. Come away Do not stay, But obey

sio

320

301 303 304 307 308 309 318 319 322

dead: ] ~.A Qi~5, F,D,mi; omitted from mz. Lead: ] ~.A Qi-g, F, D, mi-s (~M ma). Tongs; ] ~;A Qi-g, F, D, mi-2. Prongs; ] ~;A QI-S, F, D, mi-2. Brim: ] ~.A Qi-4; ~;A Q5, F, D, mi-2 (~M mz). Swim: ] ~:A Qi-5, F, D,mi-a. eas'd: ] ~.A Qi-5, F; ~;A D, mi-2 (^^ m2>. pleas'd; ] ~;AQi~5, F, D,mi-2. Till\ aligned with "3" of line 320 in Qi-$, F, D.

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167

While we play, For Hell's broke up, and Ghosts have holy-day. Chorus. Come away, Sec. [A flash of Lightning: the Stage is made bright; and the Ghosts are seen passing betwixt the Trees. i. Lajus! 2. Lajus! 3. Lajus! i. Hear! z. Hear! 3. Hear! Tir. Hear and appear: By the Fates that spun thy thread; Cho. Which are three, Tir. By the Furies fierce, and dread! Cho. Which are three, Tir. By the Judges of the dead! Cho. Which are three, Three times three! Tir. By Hells blew flame: By the Stygian Lake: And by Demogorgon'5 name, At which Ghosts quake, Hear and appear. The Ghost of Lajus rises arm'd in his Chariot, as he was slain. And behind his Chariot,, sit the three who were Murder'd with him. Ghost of Lajus. Why hast thou drawn me from my pains below, To suffer worse above? to see the day, And Thebes more hated? Hell is Heav'n to Thebes. For pity send me back, where I may hide, In willing night, this Ignominious head: 330 i 2 3.] Qg, F, D, mi; I A ... 2A ... 3A Qi~4 (i. CM); omitted from m2. 331 i. ... 2. ... 3.] Q5, F, D, mi; IA . .. 8A . . . gA Qi~4 (i. Q4); omitted from mi. 333 By] flush left in Qt-2, D, mi; aligned with "r" of "Tir." in Qj-4; aligned with "e" of "Hear" in Qj, F; unaligned in ma. 333 thread; ] ~;A QI-S, F,D,mi-2. 334 three, ] ~,A Qi-4, D, mi-2; ~.A Q5, F. 344+ s.d. The .. . [to] . .. him.] set flush right in Qi-5, F, D ([The). 346 above?] ~: Qi~5, F; ~; D.

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S5o In Hell I shun the publick scorn; and then They hunt me for their sport, and hoot me as I fly: Behold ev'n now they grin at my gor'd side, And chatter at my wounds. Tir. I pity thee: Tell but why Thebes is for thy death accurst, And I'll unbind the Charm. Ghost. O spare my shame. Tir. Are these two innocent? Ghost. Of my death they are. But he who holds my Crown, Oh, must I speak! Was doom'd to do what Nature most abhors. The Gods foresaw it; and forbad his being, 360 Before he yet was born. I broke their laws, And cloath'd with flesh his pre-existing soul. Some kinder pow'r, too weak for destiny, Took pity, and indu'd his new-form'd Mass With Temperance, Justice, Prudence, Fortitude, And every Kingly vertue: but in vain. For Fate, that sent him hood-winckt to the world, Perform'd its work by his mistaking hands. Ask'st thou who murder'd me? 'twas Oedipus: Who stains my Bed with Incest? Oedipus: 37o For whom then are you curst, but Oedipus! He comes; the Parricide: I cannot bear him: My wounds ake at him: Oh his murd'rous breath Venoms my aiery substance! hence with him, Banish him; sweep him out; the Plague he bears Will blast your fields, and mark his way with ruine. From Thebes, my Throne, my Bed, let him be driv'n; Do you forbid him Earth, and I'll forbid him Heav'n. [Ghost descends. 357

361 363 368 370 377

Oh

spea

}^~...~!^Q1-5, F, D.

soul.] D; ~, Qi-5, F. new-form'd] Qa-5, F; new form'd Qi, D. Ask'st] D; Asks Qi-5, F. For] Qi (some copies), Qa-5, F, D; or Qi (some copies). Heav'n] D; Heavn Qi; Heaven Qa-5, F.

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Oedipus Enter Oedipus, Creon, Hsemon, &c.

Oed. What's this! methought some pestilential blast Strook me just entring; and some unseen hand aso Struggled to push me backward! tell me why My hair stands bristling up, why my flesh trembles! You stare at me! then Hell has been among ye, And some lag Fiend yet lingers in the Grove. Tir. What Omen saw'st thou entring? Oed. A. young Stork, That bore his aged Parent on his back; Till weary with the weight, he shook him off, And peck'd out both his eyes. A dr. Oh, Oedipus! Eur. Oh, wretched Oedipus! Tir. O! Fatal King! Oed. What mean these Exclamations on my name? 390 I thank the Gods, no secret thoughts reproach me: No: I dare challenge Heav'n to turn me outward, And shake my Soul quite empty in your sight. Then wonder not that I can bear unmov'd These fix'd regards, and silent threats of eyes: A generous fierceness dwells with innocence; And conscious vertue is allow'd some pride. Tir. Thou know'st not what thou say'st. Oed. What mutters he! tell me, Eurydice: Thou shak'st: thy souls a Woman. Speak, Adrastus; 400 And boldly as thou met'st my Arms in fight; Dar'st thou not speak? why then 'tis bad indeed. Tiresias, thee I summon by thy Priesthood, Tell me what news from Hell: where Lajus points, And who's the guilty head! Tir. Let me not answer. Oed. Be dumb then, and betray thy native soil 377 + s.d. be] Qs-5, F, D; &c Qi-2. 401 speak?] D; ~, Qi-g, F.

401 indeed.] ~: Qi-5, F, D.

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To farther Plagues. Tir. I dare not name him to thee. Oed. Dar'st thou converse with Hell, and canst thou fear An humane name! Tir. Urge me no more to tell a thing, which known 410 Wou'd make thee more unhappy: 'twill be found Tho' I am silent. Oed. Old and obstinate! Then thou thy self Art Author or Accomplice of this murther, And shun'st the Justice, which by publick ban Thou hast incurr'd. Tir. O, if the guilt were mine It were not half so great: know wretched man, Thou onely, thou art guilty; thy own Curse Falls heavy on thy self. Oed. Speak this again: But speak it to the Winds when they are loudest: 420 Or to the raging Seas, they'll hear as soon, And sooner will believe. Tir. Then hear me Heav'n, For blushing thou hast seen it: hear me Earth, Whose hollow womb cou'd not contain this murder, But sent it back to light: and thou Hell, hear me, Whose own black Seal has 'firni'd this horrid truth, Oedipus murther'd Lajus. Oed. Rot the tongue, And blasted be the mouth that spoke that lye! Thou blind of sight, but thou more blind of soul! Tir. Thy Parents thought not so. Oed. Who were my Parents? 430 Tir. Thou shalt know too soon. Oed. Why seek I truth from thee? The smiles of Courtiers, and the Harlots tears, The Tradesmans oaths, and mourning of an Heir, Are truths to what Priests tell. O why has Priest-hood priviledge to lye, 427,428 lye! ... soul!] ~

~. Qi-5, F, D.

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And yet to be believ'd! thy age protects thee. Tir. Thou canst not kill me; 'tis not in thy Fate, As 'twas to kill thy Father; wed thy Mother; And beget Sons, thy Brothers. Oed. Riddles, Riddles! Tir. Thou art thy self a Riddle; a perplext 440 Obscure ^Enigma, which when thou unty'st, Thou shall be found and lost. Oed. Impossible! Adrastus, speak, and as thou art a King, Whose Royal word is sacred, clear my fame. Adr. Wou'd I cou'd! Oed. Ha, wilt thou not! can that Plebeian vice Of lying mount to Kings! can they be tainted! Then truth is lost on earth. Cre. The Cheats too gross: Adrastus is his Oracle, and he, The pious Juggler, but Adrastus Organ. 450 Oed. 'Tis plain, the Priest's suborn'd to free the Pris'ner. Cre. And turn the guilt on you. Oed. O, honest Creon, how hast thou been bely'd! Eur. Hear me. Cre. She's brib'd to save her Lover's life. Adr. If, Oedipus, thou think'st Cre.

Adr. Then hear these holy men.

Hear him not speak.

Cre. Priests, Priests, all brib'd, all Priests.

Oed. Adrastus I have found thee: The malice of a vanquish'd man has seiz'd thee. Adr. If Envy and not Truth 460 Oed. I'll hear no more: away with him. [Hasmon takes him off by force: Creon and Eurydice follow. Oed. to Tir. Why stand'st thou here, Impostor! 445 not!]~:Qi-5,F,D. 452 bely'dl] ~? Qi-5, F, D. 454 If,Oed#tw,]D : ~ A ~ A Qi-5,F. 456 Priests, all] Qg-5, F; ~A~ Qi-2, D. 460+ s.d. Haemon] Qz-5, F, D; Hoemon Q:. 461 Oed. to] To Qi-5, F, D.

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So old, and yet so wicked. Lye for gain? And gain so short as age can promise thee! Tir, So short a time as I have yet to live Exceeds thy pointed hour; Remember Lajus: No more; if e're we meet again, 'twill be In Mutual darkness; we shall feel before us To reach each others hand; Remember Lajus. [Ex. Tiresias: Priests follow. Oedipus Solus. Remember Lajus! that's the burden still: 470 Murther, and Incest! but to hear 'em nam'd My Soul starts in me: the good Sentinel Stands to her Weapons; takes the first Alarm To Guard me from such Crimes. Did I kill Lajus? Then I walk'd sleeping, in some frightful dream; My Soul then stole my Body out by night; And brought me back to Bed e're Morning-wake. It cannot be ev'n this remotest way, But some dark hint would justle forward now; And goad my memory. Oh my Jocasta! Enter Jocasta. 4so

Joe. Why are you thus disturb'd? Oed. Why, would'st thou think it? No less than Murther. Joe. Murder! what of Murder? Oed. Is Murder then no more? add Parricide, And Incest; bear not these a frightful sound? Joe. Alas! Oed. How poor a pity is Alas For two such Crimes! was Lajus us'd to lye? 462 Lye]D; lyeQi-5,F. 462 gain?] S-S; ~; Qi-g, F, D. 468+ s.d. Oedipus] D; Oedipus Qi~5, F. 469 Remember] Qz-5, F, D; Rememember Qi. 474 dream;] ~, Qi-5, F, D. 481 Murther.] D; ~? Qi~5, F. 484 Alas] Alas Qi-5, F, D.

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Joe. Oh no: the most sincere, plain, honest man. One who abhorr'd a lye. Oed. Then he has got that Quality in Hell. He charges me but why accuse I him? 490 I did not hear him speak it: they accuse me, The Priest, Adrastus, and Eurydice, Of Murdering Lajus Tell me, while I think on't, Has old Tiresias practis'd long this Trade? Joe. What Trade? Oed. Why, this foretelling Trade. Joe. For many years. Oed. Has he before this day accus'd me? Joe. Never. Oed. Have you e're this inquir'd, who did this Murder? Joe. Often; but still in vain. Oed. I am satisfy'd. Then 'tis an infant-lye; but one day old. soo The Oracle takes place before the Priest; The blood of Lajus was to Murder Lajus: I'm not of Lajus's blood. Joe. Ev'n Oracles Are always doubtful, and are often forg'd: Lajus had one, which never was fulfill'd, Nor ever can be now! Oed. And what foretold it? Joe. That he shou'd have a Son by me, fore-doom'd The Murderer of his Father: true indeed, A Son was born; but, to prevent that Crime, The wretched Infant of a guilty Fate, 510 Bor'd through his untry'd feet, and bound with cords, On a bleak Mountain, naked was expos'd: The King himself liv'd many, many years, And found a different Fate; by Robbers Murder'd, Where three ways meet: yet these are Oracles; And this the Faith we owe 'em. Oed. Sayst thou, Woman? 490 me,] ~; Qi-5, F, D.

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By Heav'n thou hast awaken'd somewhat in me, That shakes my very Soul! Joe. What, new disturbance! Oed. Methought thou said'st, (or do I dream thou said'st it!) This Murder was on Lajus person done, 520 Where three ways meet? Joe. So common Fame reports. Oed. Wou'd it had ly'd. Joe. Why, good my Lord? Oed. No questions: 'Tis busie time with me; dispatch mine first; Say where, where was it done! Joe. Mean you the Murder? Oed. Coud'st thou not answer without naming Murder? Joe. They say in Phocide; on the Verge that parts it From Daulia, and from Delphos. Oed. So! How long? when happen'd this? Joe. Some little time before you came to Thebes. Oed. What will the Gods do with me! Joe. What means that thought? sac Oed. Something: but 'tis not yet your turn to ask: How old was Lajus, what his shape, his stature, His action, and his meen? quick, quick, your answer Joe. Big made he was, and tall: his port was fierce, Erect his countenance: Manly Majesty Sate in his front, and darted from his eyes, Commanding all he viewed: his hair just grizled, As in a green old age: bate but his years, You are his picture. Oed. aside. Pray Heav'n he drew me not!Am I his picture? 54o Joe. So I have often told you. Oed. True, you have; 516 awaken'd] D; awakn'd Qi-4; wakn'd Qs; waken'd F. 527 long?] ~! QI-S, F, D. 527 this?] €£2-5, F; ~! Qi, D. 539 notl Am] not? am Qi-5, F, D (not! F, D).

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Add that to the rest: how was the King Attended when he travell'd? Joe. By four Servants: He went out privately. Oed. Well counted still: One scap'd I hear; what since became of him? Joe. When he beheld you first, as King in Thebes, He kneel'd, and trembling beg'd I wou'd dismiss him: He had my leave; and now he lives retir'd. Oed. This Man must be produc'd; he must, Jocasta. Joe. He shall yet have I leave to ask you why? 550 Oed. Yes, you shall know: for where should I repose The anguish of my Soul, but in your breast! I need not tell you Corinth claims my birth; My Parents, Poly bus and Merope, Two Royal Names; their only Child am I. It happen'd once, 'twas at a Bridal Feast, One warm with Wine, told me I was a Foundling, Not the Kings Son; I, stung with this reproach, Strook him: my Father heard of it: the Man Was made ask pardon; and the business hush'd. sec Joe. 'Twas somewhat odd. Oed. And strangely it perplext me. I stole away to Delphos, and implor'd The God, to tell my certain Parentage. He bade me seek no farther: 'twas my Fate To kill my Father, and pollute his Bed, By marrying her who bore me. Joe. Vain, vain Oracles! Oed. But yet they frighted me; I lookt on Corinth as a place accurst, Resolv'd my destiny should wait in vain; And never catch me there. Joe. Too nice a fear. 570 Oed. Suspend your thoughts; and flatter not too soon. Just in the place you nam'd, where three ways meet, 555 once,] ~; Qi-5, F, D. 557 I,]~ A Qi-5-F,D.

558 Father] Q3-5.F.D;~,Qi-2.

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And near that time, five persons I encounter'd; One was too like, (Heav'n grant it prove not him) Whom you describe for Lajus: insolent And fierce they were, as Men who liv'd on spoil. I judg'd 'em Robbers, and by force repell'd The force they us'd: In short, four men I slew: The fifth upon his knees demanding Life, My mercy gave it Bring me comfort now. 68o If I slew Lajus, what can be more wretched! From Thebes and you my Curse has banish'd me: From Corinth Fate. Joe. Perplex not thus your mind; My Husband fell by Multitudes opprest, So Phorbas said: this Band you chanc'd to meet; And murder'd not my Lajus, but reveng'd him. Oed. There's all my hope: Let Phorbas tell me this, And I shall live again! To you, good Gods, I make my last appeal; Or clear my Vertues or my Crime reveal: 590 If wandring in the maze of Fate I run, And backward trod the paths I sought to shun, Impute my Errours to your own Decree; My hands are guilty, but my heart is free. [Ex. Ambo.

ACT IV. SCENE I. Enter Pyracmon, Creon. Pyr. Some business of import that Triumph wears You seem to go with; nor is it hard to guess When you are pleas'd, by a malicious joy: Whose Red and Fiery Beams cast through your Visage A glowing pleasure. Sure you smile revenge, 579 it] Q2-5, F, D; ~. Qi. 579 Bring] D; bring Qi~5,F. 579 now.] ~, Qi~5, F, D. 593 s.d. Ambo.] F; Ambo. Qi-5, D. s.d. Enter Pyracmon] F, D; Pyracmon Qi~5-

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And I cou'd gladly hear. Cre. Would'st thou believe! This giddy hair-brain'd King, whom old Tiresias Has Thunder-strook, with heavy accusation, Tho' conscious of no inward guilt, yet fears; 10 He fears Jocasta, fears himself, his shadow; He fears the multitude; and, which is worth An Age of laughter, out of all mankind, He chuses me to be his Orator: Swears that Adrastus, and the lean-look'd Prophet, Are joint-conspirators; and wisht me to Appease the raving Thebans; which I swore To do. Pyr. A dangerous undertaking; Directly opposite to your own interest. Cre. No, dull Pyracmon; when I left his presence 20 With all the Wings with which revenge could imp My flight, I gain'd the midst o'th' City; There, standing on a Pile of dead and dying, I to the mad and sickly multitude, With interrupting sobs, cry'd out, O Thebes, O wretched Thebes, thy King, thy Oedipus, This barbarous stranger, this Usurper, Monster, Is by the Oracle, the wise Tiresias, Proclaim'd the murderer of thy Royal Lajus: Jocasta too, no longer now my Sister, so Is found complotter in the horrid deed. Here I renounce all tye of Blood and Nature, For thee, O Thebes, dear Thebes, poor bleeding Thebes. And there I wept, and then the Rabble howl'd, 6 hear.] Q2-5, F, D; ~ A Qi. 6 believe!] D; ~. Qi; ~, Qa-4; ~ A Qs, F. 7 hair-brain'd] Qa-4, F, D; hair-braind Qi; hair brain'd Q515 wisht] Qa-5, F, D (wish'd D); wish Qi. 24-28 O . . . [to] . . . of] italics and romans reversed in Q'~5, F, D. 28 thy] thy Qi-5, F, D. 28-30 Royal... [to] ... found] italics and romans reversed in Qi—^j, F, D. 30 complotter] complotter Qi—5, F, D. 50—32 in ... [to]... Thebes.] italics and romans reversed in Qi—5, F, D.

177

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And roar'd, and with a thousand Antick mouths Gabbled revenge, Revenge was all the cry. Pyr. This cannot fail: I see you on the Throne; And Oedipus cast out. Cre. Then strait came on A Icander, with a wild and bellowing Croud, Whom he had wrought; I whisper'd him to join, 40 And head the Forces while the heat was in 'em: So to the Palace I return'd, to meet The King, and greet him with another story. But see, he Enters. Enter Oedipus, Jocasta, attended. Oed. Said you that Phorbas is retain'd, and yet Intreats he may return, without being ask'd Of ought concerning what we have discover'd? Joe. He started when I told him your intent, Replying, what he knew of that affair Would give no satisfaction to the King; so Then, falling on his knees, begg'd, as for life, To be dismiss'd from Court: He trembled too, As if Convulsive death had seiz'd upon him, And stammer'd in his abrupt Pray'r so wildly, That had he been the murderer of Lajus, Guilt and distraction could not have shook him more. Oed. By your description, sure as plagues and death Lay waste our Thebes, some deed that shuns the light Begot those fears: If thou respect'st my peace, Secure him, dear Jocasta; for my Genius so Shrinks at his name. Joe. Rather let him go: So my poor boding heart would have it be, Without a reason. Oed. Hark, the Thebans come! 35 Revenge] Revenge Qi-g, F, D. 44 retain'd] return'd Qi-5, F, D. 55 distraction] Qz-5, F, D; destraction Qi.

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Therefore retire: and, once more, if thou lov'st me, Let Phorbas be retain'd. Joe. You shall, while I Have life, be still obey'd: In vain you sooth me with your soft indearments, And set the fairest Countenance to view; Your gloomy eyes, my Lord, betray a deadness And inward languishing: that Oracle ro Eats like a subtil Worm it's venom'd way, Preys on your heart, and rots the noble Core, How-e're the beauteous out-side shews so lovely. Oed. O, thou wilt kill me with thy Love's excess! All, all is well; retire, the Thebans come. [Ex. Jocasta. Ghost. Oedipus! Oed. Ha! again that scream of woe! Thrice have I heard, thrice since the morning dawn'd It hollow'd loud, as if my Guardian Spirit Call'd from some vaulted Mansion, Oedipus! Or is it but the work of melancholly? so When the Sun sets, shadows, that shew'd at Noon But small, appear most long and terrible; So when we think Fate hovers o're our heads, Our apprehensions shoot beyond all bounds, Owls, Ravens, Crickets seem the watch of death, Nature's worst Vermine scare her God-like Sons. Ecchoes, the very leavings of a Voice, Grow babling Ghosts, and call us to our Graves: Each Mole-hill thought swells to a huge Olympus, While we fantastick dreamers heave and puff, 90 And sweat with an Immagination's weight; As if, like Atlas, with these mortal Shoulders We could sustain the burden of the World. [Creon comes forward. Cre. O, Sacred Sir, my Royal Lord Oed. What now? Thou seem'st affrighted at some dreadful action, 67 view;] ~, Qi~5, F, D.

78 Oedipus] Oedipus Qi-5, F, D.

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Thy breath comes short, thy darted eyes are fixt On me for aid, as if thou wert pursu'd: I sent thee to the Thebans, speak thy wonder; Fear not, this Palace is a Sanctuary, The King himself's thy Guard. Cre. For me, alas, 100 My life's not worth a thought, when weigh'd with yours! But fly, my Lord, fly as your life is sacred, Your Fate is precious to your faithful Creon, Who therefore, on his knees, thus prostrate begs You would remove from Thebes that Vows your ruine. When I but offer'd at your innocence, They gather'd Stones, and menac'd me with Death, And drove me through the Streets, with imprecations Against your sacred Person, and those Traytors Which justify'd your Guilt: which curs'd Tiresias no Told, as from Heav'n, was cause of their destruction. Oed. Rise, worthy Creon, haste and take our Guard, Rank 'em in equal part upon the Square, Then open every Gate of this our Palace, And let the Torrent in. Hark, it comes, [Shout. I hear 'em roar: begon, and break down all The dams that would oppose their furious passage. [Ex. Creon with Guards. Enter Adrastus, his Sword drawn. Adr. Your City Is all in Arms, all bent to your destruction: I heard but now, where I was close confin'd, 120 A Thundring shout, which made my Jaylors vanish, Cry, Fire the Palace; where's the cruel King? Yet, by th' Infernal Gods, those awful Pow'rs That have accus'd you, which these ears have heard, And these eyes seen, I must believe you guiltless; For, since I knew the Royal Oedipus, ia i Fire ... [to] ... King] in romans in Qi-;, F, D.

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I have observ'd in all his acts such truth And God-like clearness, that to the last gush Of bloud and Spirits, I'll defend his life, And here have Sworn to perish by his side. 130 Oed. Be witness, Gods, how near this touches me, [Embracing him. O what, what recompence can glory make? Adr. Defend your innocence, speak like your self, And awe the Rebels with your dauntless virtue. But, hark! the Storm comes nearer. Oed. Let it come. The force of Majesty is never known But in a general wrack: Then, then is seen The difference 'twixt a Threshold and a Throne. Enter Creon, Pyracmon, Alcander, Tiresias, Thebans. Ale. Where, where's this cruel King? Thebans, behold There stands your Plague, the ruine, desolation HO Of this unhappy speak; shall I kill him? Or shall he be cast out to Banishment? All Theb. To Banishment, away with him! Oed. Hence, you Barbarians, to your slavish distance; Fix to the Earth your sordid looks; for he Who stirs, dares more then mad-men, Fiends, or Furies: Who dares to face me, by the Gods, as well May brave the Majesty of Thundring Jove. Did I for this relieve you when besieg'd By this fierce Prince, when coop'd within your Walls, 150 And to the very brink of Fate reduc'd; When lean-jaw'd Famine made more havock of you Than does the Plague? But I rejoyce I know you, Know the base stuff that temper'd your vile Souls: The Gods be prais'd, I needed not your Empire, Born to a greater, nobler, of my own; Nor shall the Scepter of the Earth now win me 127 clearness,] ~; Qi~5, F, D.

142 him!] ~. Qi-5, F, D.

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To rule such Brutes, so barbarous a People. Adr. Methinks, my Lord, I see a sad repentance, A general consternation spread among 'em. wo Oed. My Reign is at an end; yet e're I finish I'll do a justice that becomes a Monarch, A Monarch, who, i'th' midst of Swords and Javelins, Dares act as on his Throne encompast round With Nation's for his Guard. A Icander, you Are nobly born, therefore shall lose your head. [Seizes him. Here, Hcemon, take him: but for this, and this, Let Cords dispatch 'em. Hence, away with 'em. [Ex. Hasmon with Alcander, frc. Tir. O sacred Prince, pardon distracted Thebes, Pardon her, if she acts by Heav'n's award; 170 If that th' Infernal Spirits have declar'd The depth of Fate, and if our Oracles May speak, O do not too severely deal, But let thy wretched Thebes at least complain: If thou art guilty, Heav'n will make it known; If innocent, then letTiresias dye. Oed. I take thee at thy word. Run, haste, and save Alcander: [Ex. Attendant. I swear the Prophet, or the King shall dye. Be witness, all you Thebans, of my Oath; And Phorbas be the Umpire. Tir. I submit. [Trumpets sound. iso Oed. What mean those Trumpets? Enter Haemon with Alcander, fac. Hcem. Country,

From your Native

165 head.] ~:Qi-5,F,D (Head F,D). 167-167+ s.d. 'em. / [Ex. Haemon with Alcander, 6-c.] 'em. Qi-5, F, D. 176+ s.d. [Ex. Attendant.] Lee, Works; omitted from Qi~5, F, D. 179 Phorbas] Qz-5, F, D; Phorbus Qi. 180 s.d.-i8o Enter ... Alcander, ire. / Hcem... . Country,] D; Hcem.... Country, / Enter . . . Alcander, frc. Qi-5, F.

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Great Sir, the fam'd /Egeon is arriv'd, That renown'd Favourite of the King your Father: He comes as an Ambassador from Corinth, And sues for Audience. Oed. Haste, Hcemon, fly, and tell him that I burn T' embrace him. Ham. The Queen, my Lord, at present holds him In private Conference; but behold her here. Enter Jocasta, Eurydice, be. Joe. Hail, happy Oedipus, happiest of Kings! Henceforth be blest, blest as thou canst desire, 190 Sleep without fears the blackest nights away; Let Furies haunt thy Palace, thou shall sleep Secure, thy slumbers shall be soft and gentle As Infants dreams. Oed. What does the Soul of all my joys intend? And whither would this rapture? Joe. O, I could rave, Pull down those lying Fanes, and burn that Vault, From whence resounded those false Oracles, That robb'd my Love of rest: if we must pray, Rear in the streets bright Altars to the Gods, 200 Let Virgins hands adorn the Sacrifice; And not a gray-beard forging Priest come near, To pry into the bowels of the Victim, And with his dotage mad the gaping World. But see, the Oracle that I will trust, True as the Gods, and affable as Men. Enter ./Egeon, Kneels. Oed. O, to my arms, welcome, my dear /Egeon; Ten thousand welcomes, O, my Foster-Father, 181 /Egeon] (33-5, F, D; Rgeon Qi-2. 187+ s.d. Eurydice] Qz-5, D; Euridice Qi, F. 188 Kings!] ~? Qi-4, D; ~; Q5, F. 206 /Egeon] (33-5, F, D; JEgeon Qi-2.

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Welcome as mercy to a Man condemn'd! Welcome to me, as, to a sinking Marriner, 210 The lucky plank that bears him to the shore! But speak, O tell me what so mighty joy Is this thou bring'st, which so transports Jocasta? Joe. Peace, peace, jEgeon; let Jocasta tell him! O that I could for ever Charm, as now, My dearest Oedipus. Thy Royal Father, Polybus, King of Corinth, is no more. Oed. Ha! can it be? /Egeon, answer me, And speak in short, what my Jocasta'?, transport May over-do. 220 &ge. Since in few words, my Royal Lord, you ask To know the truth; King Polybus is dead. Oed. O all you Pow'rs, is't possible? what, dead! But that the Tempest of my joy may rise By just degrees, and hit at last the Stars: Say, how, how dy'd he? Ha! by Sword, by Fire, Or Water? by Assassinates, or Poyson? speak: Or did he languish under some disease? ALge. Of no distemper, of no blast he dy'd, But fell like Autumn-Fruit that mellow'd long: 230 Ev'n wonder'd at, because he dropt no sooner. Fate seem'd to wind him up for fourscore years; Yet freshly ran he on ten Winters more: Till, like a Clock worn out with eating time, The Wheels of weary life at last stood still. Oed. O, let me press thee in my youthful arms, And smother thy old age in my embraces. Yes Thebans, yes Jocasta, yes Adrastus, Old Polybus, the King my Father's dead. 209 Welcome . . . me, as ... Marriner] Welcome . . . me, / A s ... Qi-5, F, D. 213 jEgeon] Q3-5, F, D; JEgeon Qi-2. 215 Oedipus.] ~: Qi-5, F, D. 217 /Egeon] Q3~5, F, D; JEgeon Qi—2. 2ao, 228 &ge.] Q3~5, F, D; fcge. Qi-2. 232 Y e t . . . on ten ... more] Q2~5, F, D; Yet... on / Ten ... more Qi.

Marriner

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Fires shall be kindled in the mid'st of Thebes; 240 I'th' midst of Tumults, Wars, and Pestilence, I will rejoice for Polybus his death. Know, be it known to the limits of the World; Yet farther, let it pass yon dazling roof, The mansion of the Gods, and strike 'em deaf With everlasting peals of Thundring joy. Tir. Fate! Nature! Fortune! what is all this world? Oed. Now, Dotard; now, thou blind old wizard Prophet, Where are your boding Ghosts, your Altars now? Your Birds of knowledge, that, in dusky Air, 250 Chatter Futurity? and where are now Your Oracles, that call'd me Parricide? Is he not dead? deep laid in's Monument? And was not I in Thebes when Fate attack'd him? Avant, begon, you Vizors of the Gods! Were I as other Sons, now I should weep; But, as I am, I've reason to rejoice: And will, tho' his cold shade should rise and blast me. O, for this death, let Waters break their bounds, Rocks, Valleys, Hills, with splitting lo's ring: 260 lo, Jocasta, lo pcean sing. Tir. Who would not now conclude a happy end? But all Fate's turns are swift and unexpected. /£ge. Your Royal Mother Merope, as if She had no Soul since you forsook the Land, Waves all the neighb'ring Princes that adore her. Oed. Waves all the Princes! poor heart! for what? O speak. JEge. She, tho' in full-blown flow'r of glorious beauty, Grows cold, ev'n in the Summer of her Age: And, for your sake, has sworn to dye unmarry'd. 270 Oed. How! for my sake, dye, and not marry! O, My fit returns. 248, 250, 251 now? . . . Futurity? . . . Parricide?] ~; . . . ~; . . . ~, Qi-5, F, D (now, Qj-5, F; Parricide? Qz-5, F, D). 260 paan] Qg-s; paean Qi-2, F, D. 267 /Ege.] Qs-5, F, D; /Ege. Qi-2. 268 Grows] Q2-5, F, D; Crow's Qi.

i86

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SEge. This Diamond, with a thousand kisses blest, With thousand sighs and wishes for your safety, She charg'd me give you, with the general homage Of our Corinthian Lords. Oed. There's Magick in it, take it from my sight; There's not a beam it darts, but carries Hell, Hot flashing lust, and Necromantick Incest: Take it from these sick eyes, Oh hide it from me. 280 No, my Jocasta, tho' Thebes cast me out, While Merope's alive, I'll ne're return! O, rather let me walk round the wide World A beggar, than accept a Diadem On such abhorr'd conditions. Joe. You make, my Lord, your own unhappiness, By these extravagant and needless fears. Oed. Needless! O, all you Gods! By Heav'n, I'd rather Embrue my arms up to my very shoulders In the dear entrails of the best of Fathers, 290 Than offer at the execrable act Of damn'd Incest: therefore no more of her. sEge. And why, O sacred Sir, if Subjects may Presume to look into their Monarch's breast, Why should the chast and spotless Merope Infuse such thoughts as I must blush to name? Oed. Because the God of Delphos did forewarn me, With Thundring Oracles. &ge. May I intreat to know 'em? Oed. Yes, my SEgeon; but the sad remembrance soo Quite blasts my Soul: see then the swelling Priest! Methinks I have his Image now in view; He mounts the Tripos in a minutes space, His clouded head knocks at the Temple roof, While from his mouth these dismal words are heard: 272 &ge.} Qs-g, F, D; JEge. Qi-2. 287 Heav'n,] ~A Qi-5, F, D. 291 damn'd] D; damned Qi~5, F. 292,298 /£ge.] Qg-5, F, D; fcge. Qi-2. 299 &geon] Q3~5, F,D; JEgeon Qi-2. 304 While . . . mouth these . . . heard] While . . . mouth / These . . . heard Qi-5, F, D.

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Fly, wretch, whom Fate has doom'd thy Fathers blood to spill, And with prepostrous Births, thy Mothers womb to fill. SEge. Is this the Cause Why you refuse the Diadem of Corinth? Oed. The Cause! why, is it not a monstrous one? 310 dLge. Great Sir, you may return; and tho' you should Enjoy the Queen (which all the Gods forbid) The Act would prove no incest. Oed. How, /Egeon? Tho' I enjoy'd my Mother, not incestuous! Thou rav'st, and so do I; and these all catch My madness; look, they're dead with deep distraction: Not Incest! what, not Incest with my Mother? sEge. My Lord, Queen Merope is not your Mother. Oed. Ha! did I hear thee right? not Merope My Mother! &ge. Nor was Polybus your Father. 320 Oed. Then all my days and nights must now be spent In curious search, to find out those dark Parents Who gave me to the World; speak then &geon, By all the God's Celestial and Infernal, By all the tyes of Nature, blood, and friendship, Conceal not from this rack'd despairing King A point or smallest grain of what thou know'st: Speak then, O answer to my doubts directly. If Royal Polybus was not my Father, Why was I call'd his Son? j£ge. He, from my Arms, 330 Receiv'd you as the fairest Gift of Nature. Not but you were adorn'd with all the Riches 305 Fly . . . [to] . .. spill] marked by inverted commas and in romans in Qi—5, F, D ("Fly Qi, Q5, F, D; "Fly Qz-4). 306 And . . . [to] . . . fill] marked by inverted commas and in romans in Qi-5, F, D ("And Qi, Q5, F, D; "And Qa-4). 307 /Ege.] Q3~5, F, D; &ge. Qi-2. 308 Corinth?] Qz-5, F, D; ~. Qi. 310 JEge\ Qs-5, F, D; Age. Qi-z. 312 JEgeon] Q3~5, F, D; ALgeon Qi-2. 317, 319 &ge.] Q3-5, F, D;A:ge. Qi-2. 322 7 Shadwell, Works: Thomas Shadwell, The Complete Works, ed. Montague Summers, 1927 Shakespeare: The Arden Edition of the Works of William Shakespeare, ed. Una Ellis-Fermor, Harold F. Brooks, et al., 1936— SLI: Studies in the Literary Imagination Sophocles: Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus, in Sophocles, ed. F. Storr, 1919

Abbreviated References

361

SP: Studies in Philology Spectator: The Spectator, ed. Donald F. Bond, Oxford, 1965 S-S: The Works of John Dryden, ed. Sir Walter Scott and George Saintsbury, Edinburgh, 1882-1893 Summers: Dry den's Dramatic Works, ed. Montague Summers, 1931 Tilley: M. P. Tilley, A Dictionary of the Proverbs in England in the Six-, teenth and Seventeenth Centuries, Ann Arbor, 1950 Topsell: Edward Topsell, The History of Four-footed Beasts and Serpents [with] T. Muffet, The Theatre of Insects, 1658 UTQ: University of Toronto Quarterly Van Lennep: The London Stage, 1660-1800, Part I: 1660-1700, ed. William Van Lennep, with Critical Introduction by Emmett L. Avery and Arthur H. Scouten, Carbondale, 111., 1965 Variorum: A New Variorum Edition of Shakespeare: Troilus and Cressida, ed. Harold N. Hillebrand and T. W. Baldwin, Philadelphia and London, 1953 Vieth: All for Love, ed. David M. Vieth, Lincoln, Neb., 1972 Ward, Letters: The Letters of John Dryden, ed. Charles E. Ward, Durham, N.C., 1942 Ward, Life: Charles E. Ward, The Life of John Dryden, Chapel Hill, N.C., 1961 Watson: John Dryden: Of Dramatic Poesy and Other Critical Essays, ed. George Watson, 1962 Works: Dryden's works in the present edition

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All for Love

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All for Love The earliest account of a performance of All for Love appears in a summary of a document published in The Theatrical Inquisitor and Monthly Mirror, July 1816, p. 25. This "pay sheet" for a performance on the night of 12 December 1677 shows that the total receipts came to £28 45. 6d. Since the receipts for the performance of Lee's Rival Queens, acted on 26 December 1677, amounted to £52 igs., it has been concluded that this was not the first performance of Dryden's tragedy.1 Sometime during the early days of December would seem to be a good guess for the play's opening. Herringman entered it in the Stationers' Register on 31 January 1678, and in the prologue Dryden speaks of his play in terms of the dried friuts available in winter. Some doubt about the authenticity of the pay sheet has been raised, but no one has questioned the general accuracy of the date.2 The premiere certainly took place when Dryden was already in dispute with the King's Company over a reduction of his dividends as shareholder, a reduction necessitated by the company's financial difficulties. Early the following year Dryden transferred his allegiance from the King's to the rival Duke's Company, and his erstwhile colleagues accordingly drew up a petition charging Dryden with ingratitude and pointing out that they had allowed him "a third day for his last new Play, call'd All for Love," to help offset his diminished income as shareholder.3 We know, then, that All for Love was performed at least three times, although an opening run of nine or ten days, we may infer from Downes, was needed to assure full theatrical success. As indicated, performance of All for Love took place at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, home theater for the King's Company, and featured the company's leading actors and actresses; Antony was played by Hart, whose particular popularity in the role of Alexander may also explain the larger house for The Rival Queens. Mohun acted the part of Ventidius, Clarke that of Dollabella, Goodman that of Alexas. Griffin acted Serapion, and Coysh played "Another Priest." Mrs. Boutell took the role of Cleopatra and Mrs. Corey that of Octavia. Herringman advertised the sale of the printed play in the London Gazette of 21-25 March 1678. All for Love was an artistic triumph and a moderately popular success.4 Although it was rarely acted in the nineteenth century, a number of mod1 Van Lennep, p. 265. Dryden received the profits for the third night, although the King's Company was in serious financial trouble. See Osborn, pp. 202-206. See also Appendix A, pp. 627-628, below. 2 Judith Milhous and Robert D. Hume, "Dating Play Premieres from Publication Data, 1660-1700," HLB, XXII (1974), 386. s Osborn, p. 204. For further discussion of the petition see headnote to Oedipus, pp. 441-4434 For some contemporary judgments, see Downes, pp. 46-47; and Robert Gould, The Play-House, A Satyr, reprinted in Montague Summers, The Restoration Theatre (1934), p. 307. Gould punctuates his approval of All for Love with the lines:

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ern revivals, one as recent as 1978, make it possible, allowing for long periods of desuetude, to speak of a continuous stage history. After the production at Drury Lane on 3 December 1718, when the play was elaborately staged and costumed, it achieved its highest popularity with some thirty-three performances in the following decade.5 The role of Cleopatra was taken by the best actresses of the eighteenth century: Mrs. Barry, Mrs. Oldfield, Peg Woffington, and Mrs. Siddons. Yet its success on the stage was probably surpassed by its critical acclaim. Addison listed it among the best native tragedies, and Steele quoted Dryden's rendering of Cleopatra on her barge as an example of great dramatic poetry.8 It was often singled out as the English tragedy that was most correct in its adherence to the unities while, at the same time, showing characters moved by their passions in a manner wholly natural. Although Samuel Johnson was fond of Dryden's rhymed heroic plays, he called upon "universal consent" in praising All for Love as the work of Dryden in which "he has admitted the fewest improprieties of style or character," high praise from a critic so concerned with the absurdities in most tragedies.7 Shortly after Dryden's death, in the prologue to a revival of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, produced in January 1701, Dryden's ghost appears alongside that of Shakespeare with Shakespeare delivering the compliments to Dryden's achievement in All for Love and criticizing the unappreciative audiences of Dryden's time: Whose stupid Souls thy Passion cannot move, Are deaf indeed to Nature and to Love. When thy Aegyptian weeps what Eyes are dry! Or who can live to see thy Roman dye.8 No one in the audience would have considered Shakespeare's failure to mention his own Antony and Cleopatra odd. If modern criticism has focused on a comparison between the two plays, often to the complete dismissal of Dryden's effort, the reason is not hard to discover. We think of Shakespeare's play as a work of such overwhelming tragic power, and of such brilliant poetic effect, that it seems sensible enough to conclude that DryHis All for Love, and most Correct of all, Of just and vast Applause can never fail, Neverl while condemning the smut in The Kind Keeper. 5 See Emmett L. Avery, ed., The London Stage (1960), II, ii, 517-518, 525, 536, 567> 571' 582' 6l6 > 6zl . 673, 692, 707, 741, 758, 763, 794, 808, 819, 841, 857, 862, 939, 1004, 1020. For a discussion of the 1718 production, see Thomas Davies, Dramatic Miscellanies (1785), II, 369-371. According to Colley Gibber, who played Alexas to Booth's Antony and Oldfield's Cleopatra, the production cost £600, an unheard-of sum at that time. See Gibber, II, 175. 6 See Spectator 40 (I, 170), 400 (III, 497). Steele wrote a prologue for a production of All for Love (The Theatre, 2 February 1720) in which he called Dryden "the great Master." See The Theatre, ed. John Loftis (1962), pp. 45-46 (no. X). 7 BH, I, 361. For Johnson's concern with the decorum of tragedy, see The Rambler, no. 125, in Works, ed. Walter Jackson Bate, Albrecht Strauss, et al. (1969), IV, 304-305. 8 George Granville, The Jew of Venice (1701), sig. A4.

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den must have felt Shakespeare's artistic strength before narrowing his play's scope and reducing his protagonists to human size. As one critic has remarked, "It was written with the avowed purpose of rivalling Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra and the comparison invited at the time has gone on ever since."9 But as sensible as such a conclusion may seem, all the evidence is against it. There is no record of a Restoration stage performance of Antony and Cleopatra before Dryden wrote All for Love and none afterward until 3 January 1758, when Garrick and Edward Capell produced a version of Shakespeare's play at Drury Lane.10 Garrick was apparently an unimpressive Antony, and Shakespeare's play was acted only six times. All for Love continued to be the principal play on the theme of Antony's love for Cleopatra until 15 November 1813, when Charles Kemble attempted to combine Dryden and Shakespeare in an odd mixture.11 All for Love returned to the stage in 1818 at Bath, and not until 21 November 1833, when William Macready staged Antony and Cleopatra as a grand spectacle at Covent Garden, did Shakespeare's play begin to emerge from obscurity. But Macready still retained some passages from All for Love, and not before 1849 did Phelps present an unadulterated version of Antony and Cleopatra.12 Although it must be among the most popular of Shakespeare's tragedies with modern producers, actors, and audiences, Antony and Cleopatra achieved little success in the nineteenth century. Recording one lackluster production after another, one commentator referred to it as "that hopelessly impossible thing for the picture stage."13 As a spectacle it was surpassed by stage versions of the story like Victorien Sardou's six-act showpiece for Sarah Bernhardt with scenes of enchantment and storm.14 During 9 A. D. Hope, "All for Love, or Comedy as Tragedy," in The Cave and the Spring (1965), p. 146. See also F. R. Leavis, " 'Antony and Cleopatra' and 'All for Love': A Critical Exercise," Scrutiny, V (1936), 158-169. 10 See George Winchester Stone, Jr., "Garrick's Presentation of Antony and Cleopatra," RES, XIII (1937), 20-38; and G. W. Stone, Jr., and George M. Kahrl, David Garrick (1979), p. 177. 11 Kemble justified his revisions by Samuel Johnson's comments on the weak arrangement of the play. Noting that Antony and Cleopatra had not become a "stock Play" and that Dryden's play no longer suited "present taste," he argued for a combination of the two. See [Charles Kemble, ed.], Shakespeare's Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra; with Alterations, and with Additions from Dryden (1813), pp. i-iv. !2 See Button Cook, Nights at the Play (1883), I, 292; Odell, II, 66-70, 176-177, 275-276; and John Genest, Some Account of the English Stage (1832), VIII, 670. Although the Phelps version was "unadulterated," it was not complete, nor was the stage version of All for Love close to being complete. Cuts in Dryden's play vary from the clumsy versions published by Tonson in 1738 and by Longworths (New York) in 1811 to the intelligent cutting of the Theatre Royal version published by Strahan in 1776. 13 Odell, II, 176. Odell may have been right; the return of Antony and Cleopatra has come with the revival of the arena stage. 14 The "Argument" printed before Sardou's play in the American edition states that "exquisite as his [Shakespeare's] work is, it somehow fails in the dra-

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the eighteenth century its problem, of course, was that it violated the unities in an outrageous manner, moving from Alexandria to Rome and spanning years without apology. And the play was not helped by the fact that it had forty-seven scenes and an organization closer to a history play than to a tragedy. Reviewing the one revival of Antony and Cleopatra in the eighteenth century, Sir John Hill remarked: I cannot, however, but be of opinion that this piece is inferior to most of Shakespeare's productions, and that it even gives way to Dryden's All for Love, or the World well lost, which is founded on the same historical event. I do not mean by this to give the preference to Dryden as a greater dramatic poet in general than Shakespeare, but must own that his soft flowing numbers are more sympathetic to the tender passion which this story is so particularly animated with than the general language of Shakespeare's Antony.15 Hill knew that such an opinion, offered in 1759, might offend some "Garicians and Shakespearian-bigots," but he also was aware that the history of the two plays on the stage favored his judgment. In the seventeenth century the real rival of Dryden's version of the tragic love of his hero and heroine was not Shakespeare's play but Sir Charles Sedley's Antony and Cleopatra, produced at Dorset Garden on 12 February 1677. Sedley's play was popular during the Restoration and, in some ways, it represented an ideological viewpoint very different from Dryden's. Dryden's discussion of Shakespeare in his preface reveals a generous admiration for his predecessor's genius. His silence on Sedley's play is notable.16 The critical history of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra is somewhat different from its stage history, especially toward the end of the eighteenth century, when critics began to believe that Shakespeare was a transcendent genius whose artistry was trivialized by stage productions. Johnson not only praised Antony and Cleopatra for engaging the reader "from the ftrst act to the last" but argued that it drew its "power of delighting" from the very "frequent changes of the scene," changes that had worried earlier critics.17 Coleridge, praising it as "by far the most wonderful of his historical plays," considered it a rival of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies.18 If William Hazlitt would not concede it an equal place with Hamlet, Othello, matic intensity so sought after on our modern stage, which is nothing if not sensational, and does not give scope and verve enough to the talent of a great artist such as Sarah Bernhardt" (Victorien Sardou, Argument of the Play of Cleopatra [1891], p. 23). 15

Some Remarks upon the New-Revived Play of Antony and Cleopatra, in Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage, ed. Brian Vickers (1976), IV, 403. 16 See Andrew, pp. xvi-xix, for the arguments that Dryden was answering Sedley. For comment on the popularity of Sedley's play, see V. de Sola Pinto, ed., The Poetical and Dramatic Works of Sir Charles Sedley (1928), I, 190. 17 Works of Samuel Johnson, VIII, ed. Arthur Sherbo (1968), 873. 18 Coleridge, Essays and Lectures on Shakespeare, in Complete Works, ed. H. N. Coleridge et al. (1853), IV, 106.

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Macbeth, and Lear, he gave it an important position just below these tragedies.19 In the eighteenth century comparisons between All for Love and Antony and Cleopatra were not common. One critic, writing in 1747, assumed that Dryden must have "taken" his play from Shakespeare's, 20 but Malone was silent about the Shakespeare connection, instead associating All for Love with Sedley's Antony and Cleopatra.21 The comparison of the two plays really dates from Sir Walter Scott's edition of Dryden, published in 1808. Although Scott begins cautiously enough by referring to Dryden's effort at imitating Shakespeare and to the critical utility of drawing a "parallel" between the two plays, he implies that Dryden's version of the barge scene is a direct imitation of Shakespeare's passage and concludes that Dryden improved upon Shakespeare by correcting some of his "diffusiveness" and "hyperbole." Scott's preference for Dryden's poetry in this scene as well as for the general plan of All for Love yields, however, to an appreciation of Shakespeare's superior gift for creating character, and to his poetic genius. Scott, though taking note of some other plays on the subject of Antony and Cleopatra, confessed to having read only Sedley's work, of which he printed a sample to show the weakness of the dramatic verse.22 Scott, in any event, began the practice of considering Dryden's All for Love an imitation of Antony and Cleopatra, and subsequent commentators were not reluctant to expand on this approach. One argued that Dryden's play was actually closer to the ideals of French romance than to those of Shakespeare's play, but he could not resist presenting Dryden's protagonists as transformed from Shakespeare's model. Antony is no longer Shakespeare's "living breathing hero" and Cleopatra loses her "infinite variety."23 Another viewed Dryden's play as a "direct imitation" of Shakespeare's, and a third dismissed Dryden's mention of various sources as almost irrelevant: "While it is possible that before writing his Preface, he looked through the authors he names, with a view to seizing upon any fresh hints they might afford, it is none the less true that All for Love has but one source, and that source is Antony and Cleopatra."2* Even a critic who doubted whether it was possible to speak of Dryden's play as an adaptation of Shakespeare could not resist quoting the passage in which Dryden's Cleol» William Hazlitt, A View of the Stage, in Complete Works, ed. P. P. Howe (1930), V, 191. For a similar estimate see A. C. Bradley, Shakespearean Tragedy, 2d ed. (1926), pp. 3-4. 20 An Examen of the New Comedy, Call'd 'The Suspicious Husband'. With Some Observations Upon our Dramatick Poetry and Authors (1747), in Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage, III, 269-270. This writer complains that Dryden's play does not move the heart and, like the Romantic critics later, distinguishes between "the finish'd Performance of a great Poet" and "the hasty Production of a true Dramatick Genius." 21 Malone, I, i, 116. 2 2S-S, V, 307-313. 23 George R. Noyes, ed., Selected Dramas of John Dryden with The Rehearsal (1910), p. xlvii.

24 A. W. Verrall, Lectures on Dryden, ed. Margaret de G. Verrall (1914), p. 238; and William Strunk, ed., All for Love and The Spanish Friar (1911), p. xxi.

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patra speaks of herself as meant to be a loving wife, and sneering, "Thus, the Serpent of the Nile."25 The brilliance of Antony and Cleopatra makes a good touchstone for judging Dryden's success as a poet and dramatist, and the different decisions made by Shakespeare and Dryden may be used to comment on the variations between the ideals of Renaissance and Restoration art. But the assumption that Dryden relied solely on Antony and' Cleopatra as his source should be abandoned as unsound. The two reasons for what has become an obvious misunderstanding are the failure to consider what Dryden meant by the announcement on the title page, "Written in Imitation of Shakespeare's Stile," and a certain unwillingness to take into account the literature about Cleopatra, which went far beyond Shakespeare's play. The subject of innumerable paintings, poems, plays, and romances, Mark Antony and Cleopatra by 1677 belonged to the realm of a changing historical myth. Yet we have been assured that Dryden's decision to write a play on the same subject as Shakespeare's was a "curious fancy." 26 Although we know of Dryden's respect for some aspects of Shakespeare's tragedies, there is no reason to think that Dryden, if asked to contemplate Antony and Cleopatra as the subject for a work of art, would have immediately thought of Shakespeare's play. And there is no evidence that Dryden felt any particular admiration for Antony and Cleopatra among Shakespeare's tragedies. Indeed everything in his own play suggests that he considered the structure disastrous, and if there are some true echoes in the twenty-seven passages one editor thinks are taken from Antony and Cleopatra, many of the examples are highly questionable.27 Dryden's borrowings from As You Like It, on the other hand, are unquestionable, as is his debt to Samuel Daniel. Without ignoring Dryden's knowledge of and occasional borrowings from Shakespeare's play, we should attempt to determine what principles Dryden saw in Shakespeare which constituted a style he felt worthy of imitation. 25

Hazel ton Spencer, Shakespeare Improved (1927; repr. 1963), p. 216. 26 George Saintsbury, Dryden (1881), p. 59. Strunk, ed., All for Love, p. xix. Strunk's attempt to find parallels in Antony and Cleopatra is emulated with even greater enthusiasm by Arthur Sale in his edition of All for Love and by Kenneth Muir in "The Imagery of All for Love," Proceedings of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society, no. V (1940), 140-147. Muir argues that 10 percent of Dryden's images are borrowed from Shakespeare, but his first example is questionable: Crcsar slept in, and with a greedy hand Pluck'd the green fruit . . . (All for Love, II, i, 267-268) My Sallad dayes, When I was greene in judgement . . . (Antony and Cleopatra, I, v, 85-86) 27

Although it is true that both images contain the word "green," the meaning is very different. Dryden uses a sexual image that was common in Restoration comedies. Dryden may have recalled Shakespeare's image, or he may not. Again, in another way, Charmion's last words when asked about Cleopatra's death may seem irresistibly to recall the corresponding moment in Shakespeare. But the formula was part of the story as it descended from Plutarch (see V, i, 503-505, and note).

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S^V^^T)

The most obvious answer to the problem involves Dryden's conversion to blank verse. The difficulty is that it was also the verse of Fletcher, Daniel, and Jonson. Dryden's shift to blank verse, then, is not an adequate explanation; the answer lies mainly in Dryden's attitude toward language and imagery, a clue to which may be found in his Heads of an Answer to Rymer, the sketch of a critical response to Thomas Rymer's The Tragedies of the Last Age Consider'd, which he had read shortly after completing All for Love.28 Dryden never published his critical sketch, and by the time he discussed Shakespeare again in print he had moved almost entirely into Rymer's camp. Dryden had been extremely severe with Shakespeare, as with Jonson and Fletcher, in his postscript to The Conquest of Granada, but the postscript was dropped from editions published in Dryden's lifetime after i678.29 All for Love was written at a time when Dryden had not only renewed his admiration for Shakespeare but believed he had found the secret of Shakespeare's genius. In his discussion of language in Heads of an Answer, Dryden quotes Rapin to the effect that "the Discourses, when they are Natural and Passionate," are the true beauties of tragedy. After that he simply wrote, "So are Shakespear's."30 And the rendering of passion in Shakespeare is achieved through the ample use of metaphor and other figures. In the preface to Troilus and Cressida Dryden was to criticize Shakespeare for his excessive use of figurative language, but at this point in his career, following his concept of an ideal Shakespearean style, Dryden actually added metaphors to Shakespeare's speeches. One of the clearest examples of Dryden's borrowing from Antony and Cleopatra, Enobarbus' reluctant praise of Cleopatra, is an excellent illustration of what Dryden was attempting. Shakespeare rendered it (II, ii, 267-279): Eno, I saw her once Hop forty Paces through the publicke streete, And having lost her breath, she spoke, and panted,

That she did make defect, perfection, And breathlesse powre breath forth. Mece. Now Antony, must leave her utterly. Eno. Never he will not: Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale Her infinite variety: other women cloy The appetites they feede, but she makes hungry, Where most she satisfies. For vildest things Become themselves in her, that the holy Priests Blesse her, when she is Riggish. 28 In a letter composed about July 1677, Dryden refers to "my Tragedy, which will be acted at Michaelmasse, & is already written." He wrote to the Earl of Dorset a few months later of Rymer's Tragedies of the Last Age as "very learned, & the best piece of Criticism in English." See Ward, Letters, pp. 12-14.

29 See Works, XI, 433, 563. 30 ibid., XVII, 193.

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Dryden changes this speech into a statement that characterizes Cleopatra in a way not borne out by the knowledge we have of her in the play. While adding to our admiration of her beauty, the speech functions more directly as an insight into Ventidius, who delivers the parallel one in All for Love (IV, i, 232-243). Dryden's stress on Cleopatra's almost hypnotic powers is achieved by a piling up of allusions, hyperboles, personifications, and metaphors in a manner that has some affinities with Shakespeare's practice elsewhere. And since Dryden's method of revising Shakespeare's lines in The Tempest and in Troilus and Cressida involved a toning down of hyperboles and metaphors and deletions of excess verbiage, it should be apparent that All for Love presents a completely different approach.31 That approach may be associated with Dryden's temporary appreciation of Shakespeare's "Words" as well as "Thoughts" as opposed to the other important aspects of the Aristotelian categories used by contemporary French and English critics in their criticism: character, fable, and the "Order or Manner of its Contrivance" (structure).32 About two years later, in the preface to Troilus and Cressida, he was to condemn much of Shakespeare's excess imagery, drawing his most telling examples from Hamlet. He concluded that attack with the comment that if "Shakespear were stript of all the Bombast in his passions and dress'd in the most vulgar words, we should find the beauties of his thoughts remaining; if his embroideries were burnt down, there would still be silver at the bottom of the melting-pot." 3S Interestingly enough, Dryden uses "we" to refer to those who made the mistake of imitating Shakespeare's language rather than his substance. By 1679 the critical theory on which Dryden had built the language of All for Love probably seemed a mistake to him. Another aspect of Dryden's version of the Shakespearean style was the embedding of passages and echoes from a number of Shakespeare's plays throughout All for Love. The technique occasionally approaches pastiche. Several variations on Macbeth's "she should have died hereafter" are employed to evoke a sense of lost opportunities. For Antony's jealousy, pieces of Othello and The Winter's Tale are used; for Antony's adopting the role of Timon, a bit of Hamlet; for a description of Cleopatra's beauty, a hint of Romeo and Juliet. Some critics have treated such echoes as if they were allusions attempting to call up the original passages and their contexts, but that this was Dryden's real intent seems unlikely. He had simply arrived at the conclusion that Shakespeare's "magic" inhered in given phrases and speeches. If Dryden's Heads of an Answer to Rymer throws light on what he meant by his attempt to imitate Shakespeare's style, it also suggests some of Dryden's thinking on the subject of tragedy. Rymer maintained that the end of tragedy was to arouse pity and terror in the audience, following the judgment of Aristotle and his contemporary French interpreter, Rene' Rapin, but Dryden argued that other passions might be involved and that 31 For Dryden's prunings o£ Shakespeare's abundance, see below, pp. 510-518, and Works, X, 335-338. 32 Works, XVII, 190. 33 See above, 247:6-7.

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a tragedy might be based upon love and friendship. Dryden mentions Rapin as his source for the information that modern "French Tragedies now all run upon the Tendre,"34 and he argues from this that for a modern audience love is as proper a passion for tragedy as pity and terror were for the ancients. Dryden's main source here was probably SaintEvremond, who, in his comments on Racine's Alexandre le Grand, argued for love as a justifiable subject for contemporary tragedy.85 And since Dryden believed that as Fletcher surpassed Shakespeare in his treatment of love so the playwrights of the Restoration surpassed both, he had no hesitation in following his own interpretation of the relationship between Antony and Cleopatra. The notion that love is proper to tragedy must also have come to Dryden from his prior experience with heroic plays, which dramatize the life of Renaissance epic with its concern, among other things, for chivalric love.36 In Heads of an Answer Dryden instructs himself to "Prove ... that Love, being an Heroique Passion, is fit for Tragedy,"37 and his words echo his own formula in z Conquest of Granada (I, i, 145): "Love's a Heroique Passion."38 A second important critical attitude of Dryden's which may be drawn from his practice in All for Love and from his pronouncements in Heads of an Answer to Rymer concerns the matter of plot. Shakespeare's loose structure in Antony and Cleopatra provided little help for Dryden. What he had to say of the structure of Shakespeare's history plays in the preface to Troilus and Cressida—that they were "rather Chronicles represented, than Tragedies"—applied to Shakespeare's tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra as well. With his new interest in language and ideas he argues that plot is less important than Aristotle had suggested. In the sketch of his reply to Rymer he had defined tragedy as being more than an artistic construct for moving pity and terror. It was rather a work to "reform Manners by delightful Representation of Human Life in great Persons, by way o£ Dialogue."39 But if Dryden made a number of discoveries in writing All for Love, it might be argued that he made some mistakes as well.40 In the play, his emphasis on dialogue and discourse, for instance, suggests that some of his ideas went in the direction of a drama of pure argument and debate. Indeed, without Alexas and his intrigues, All for Love possesses some of the same static quality that makes Otway's Titus and Berenice so deadly. 34 Works, XVII, 190. 35 Saint-Evremond, A Discourse upon the Grand Alexander (1668), in Works (1700), I, 197. Ruth Wallerstein, in her essay "Dryden and the Analysis of Shakespeare's Techniques" (RES, XIX [1943], 169-183), was the first to suggest SaintEvremond as the source of Dryden's argument about love as a proper subject for tragedy. 36 See, e.g., the discussion in Works, XI, 417-418. 37 Works, XVII, 186. Wlbid., XI, no. 39 Ibid., XVII, 186. The phrasing associates tragedy with heroic play: see Dryden's dedication of The Conquest of Granada (Works, XI, 3:1-14). 40 For a discussion of the ways in which the imitation of Shakespeare's methods amounted to a fundamental reorientation in Dryden's dramatic methods, see Wallerstein, "Dryden and Shakespeare's Techniques," pp. 169-183.

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Commentary (T'VWt)

I£ Dryden did not really depend on Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra for either the substance or the structure of his play, what works, it might be asked, did influence him? Some recent articles have attempted to trace the theme of Antony and Cleopatra in English, French, and Italian drama, but the assumption of the writers of these studies has been that there was an unchanging continuity of ideas about Antony and Cleopatra in drama written in the Renaissance and in Dryden's day.41 Certainly some connection existed. The historical facts remained, but the tradition was a mixed and changing one. Some writers like Samuel Daniel, whose work Dryden certainly knew and used, condemned Cleopatra for her immoral life, but others showed her as an unfortunate victim o£ the fickleness of fortune.42 In many of these dramas Antony played a very minor role, or he was eliminated entirely. None was as expansive in time and space as Shakespeare's tragedy, though Thomas May's The Tragedie of Cleopatra Queen of Aegypt, first acted in 1626, covers almost the same time period. The Italian plays of Cesare de Cesari, Spinello, and Cinthio, and the French tragedies of Robert Garnier and Estienne Jodelle, concentrate mainly on Cleopatra's final hours. Others, like Caspar von Lohenstein's Cleopatra, with its choruses of the great rivers of the earth and of gods and goddesses, presented the illusion of a world tragedy while keeping within the time limits demanded by Renaissance interpreters of Aristotle. The changing tradition of Cleopatra and Antony in the Restoration is perhaps best illustrated in the painting of the period. In the Renaissance, Cleopatra was usually shown with the asp just before or just after her death. The most famous of these pictures was the one by Guido Reni which posed Cleopatra as a penitent Magdalene.43 Although this scene continued to be popular, by the time of the Restoration some of the most celebrated paintings of Antony and Cleopatra depicted the scene in which Cleopatra dissolved a pearl in a glass and drank it down before Antony as an extravagant gesture of conspicuous consumption. For the seventeenth century, this scene of Cleopatra's opulent banquet was symbolic of the wealth, luxury, and power of aristocracy and court.44 Portraits of women in the Restoration were often posed with the subject holding a pearl over a cup or a glass of wine. Benedetto Gennari, who was in London between 1674 and 1678, painted a number of portraits in this style, including that of Elizabeth Fel41 See J. Douglas Canfield, "The Jewel of Great Price: Mutability and Constancy in Dryden's All for Love," ELH, XLII (1975), 38-61.

42 See Derek Hughes, "Art and Life in All for Love", SP, LXXX (Winter, 1983), 84-107. Hughes' article corrects Canfield's argument about a single tradition, demonstrating that Cleopatra was sometimes viewed as a genuine heroine, wise, virtuous, and brave; sometimes as a representative of uncontrolled lust; and sometimes as a mixture of vices and virtues. 43 See Jean Hagstrum, The Sister Arts (1958), p. 196. 44 For some examples of this theme, see the paintings of Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678), Nicholaus Knupfer (c.i6o3-c.i66o), Jacob Adriaensz (1608-1651), Jan Steen (1626-1679), Jan de Brey (1627-1697), and Guerard Hoet (1648-1733). Often the entire cycle of Cleopatra's life and death was depicted. The opulent frescoes of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770) represent the high point of this tradition. See Andor Pigler, Barockthemen (1974), II, 396-398.

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ton, the supposed mistress of the Duke of Monmouth.45 But the most famous portrait of a lady of the court of Charles II in the role of Cleopatra was that of the king's favorite mistress, the Duchess of Portsmouth, famous because it provoked a series of poems praising and attacking her. Cleopatra was sometimes used as a subject by painters trying to depict ideal beauty, and the compliment to Charles II's mistress was as direct as that in the medal struck for her in 1673 with its Cupid and the motto Amor vincit omnia. The verses, On the Dutchesse of Portsmouths Picture, are more specifically flattering: Hadst thou but liv'd in Cleopatras Age, When Beauty did the Earths great Lord ingage; Britain (not Egypt) had been glorious made Augustus then (like Julius) had Obeyd: A nobler Theam had been the Poets Boast, That all the world for Love had been well lost. These verses were sometimes ascribed to Dryden in the period,46 and the play on the full title of Dryden's tragedy would appear to suggest a definite connection. The usual position of this poem in manuscripts of the period which follow a roughly chronological order implies a date after Dryden's play,47 and the original painting under which it was supposed to have appeared has not been found.48 But what the poem and the suppositious painting clearly demonstrate is the Restoration's idealization of Cleopatra and of sensual love.49 It also hints at a possible connection between that idealization and the Duchess of Portsmouth, hints, too, at a parallel between Cleopatra loved by great leaders and Portsmouth loved by Charles II.50 45 The National Portrait Gallery in London has a typescript listing Gennari's portraits (which includes one of the Duchess of Portsmouth) made from the artist's own diary. The original of the diary is at Bologna's Biblioteca Comunale dell' Archiginnasio (MS b. 344). For a typical portrait of an unidentified gentlewoman of the time posing as Cleopatra, possibly painted by Gennari, see the illustration facing p. 23. The National Portrait Gallery had the subject of this painting identified as Catherine of Braganza and later as the Duchess of Portsmouth, whom it does resemble. Another possibility is the Duchess of Brouilly. 46 For example, in the version quoted above (Victoria and Albert Museum MS Dyce 43, p. 278). 47 See, e.g., British Library Harleian MS 6914, fol. 241% On the Duchess of Portsmouths picture by Dryden. 48 There is always the possibility that this poem, purportedly written under Portsmouth's picture, as well as some of the answers to it, belongs to the tradition of the "Instructions to a Painter," and that no actual paintings ever existed. But a poem on the paintings that the Duchess of Portsmouth and Nell Gwyn had made of themselves with naked breasts, as well as another poem— different from the one quoted above—entitled On the Dutchess of Portsmouth's Picture, September 1682, do appear to refer to specific paintings (State-Poems [1709], in Poems on Affairs of State [1710], p. 51). An engraving of the Duchess of Portsmouth by Peter Schenk in the British Museum Print Room (Portraits C. IX [sub. i] P. 3) includes a pyramid and a sphinx, but such iconographic symbols are too general to confirm an association with Cleopatra. 49 According to the Countess d'Aulnoy, Nell Gwyn occasionally indulged in some playful games in the manner of Cleopatra as well. See Memoirs of the Court of England in 1675, trans. Mrs. William Arthur (1913; zd impression 1927). PP- 3»4-3l650 There is a similar parallel in Sophonisba, which Lee dedicated to Portsmouth

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Commentary

In Charles Sedley's Antony and Cleopatra the principals are made attractive by their active courage. Antony fights for the return of the Roman Republic and the power of the senate, while Cleopatra actually appears in the field to help him fight. Even Cleopatra's suicide may be viewed as her defiance of Roman tyranny, and Antony's last words have similar import: Dearest Queen, Let my Life end before your Death begin. O Rome! thy freedom does with me expire, And thou art lost, obtaining thy desire.51 The audience of Sedley's play in 1677 might also have been aware of another Antony who was claiming to fight for the dying freedom of his country—Anthony Ashley Cooper, first Earl of Shaftesbury.52 In writing his tragedy, then, Dryden was confronted with a number of possibilities. He may have wanted to write a tragedy that would turn the story of Antony and Cleopatra in a way that was favorable to the court and would nullify some of the impact of Sedley's play. Certainly the performance of Sedley's play in February 1677 and Dryden's comment in a letter written at the end of the summer of 1677 on the completion of Alt for Love suggest the possibility of a considered response to Sedley's tragedy. If Marvell's account of the attitudes of the opponents of the court is accurate, many believed that Charles II had sold the country out to France. The mood of parliament favored a war against France, but there was fear that Charles would use the money raised for a war to undercut the power of parliament. The imprisonment of Buckingham, Shaftesbury, Wharton, and Salisbury in the Tower was viewed by Marvell as an act "without example" in English history and a blow against English liberty and the in 1676, comparing her favorably with Hannibal's mistress, Rosalinda. Early in the play Hannibal declares of Rosalinda (I, i, 104-105): Melting at Capua I in pleasures lay, And for a Mistriss gave the World away. See Lee, Works, I, 81, 87. si Sedley, Works (1928), I, 258 (V, ii, 50-53). Sedley's play is rich in such passages. After Octavian says he seeks power, Agrippa remarks, in a brief soliloquy (Works, I, 217 [III, i, 112-115]): Born under Kings our Fatherfs] freedom sought, And with their blood the Godlike treasure bought, We their vile issue in our chains delight, And born to freedom for our Tyrants fight. The notion that All /or Love was inspired by "Envy" of Sedley's success goes back to a poem by Laurence Eusden (Poetical Miscellanies, ed. Richard Steele [1714], p. 215): So Dryden sweetest sung, by Envy fir'd, Thirst of Revenge, where Phoebus fail'd, inspir'd. His Antony did Sydley's Muse o'ertake, And Absalom was writ for Zimri's sake. 52 For the political import of Sedley's play, see Andrew, p. xvi. See also H. Neville Davies, "Dryden's All for Love and Sedley's Antony and Cleopatra," MfrQ, CCXII (1967), 221-227; Peter Caracciolo, "Dryden and the Antony and Cleopatra of Sir Charles Sedley," English Studies (Anglo-American Supplement), L (1969), 1-lv; and K. E. Faas, "Some Notes on Dryden's All for Love," Anglia, LXXXVIII (1970), 341-346.

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freedom of speech within the House of Lords.53 In his sources, Dryden found various attitudes—the usual Roman condemnation of Cleopatra's court as representing Eastern luxury and decadence, Plutarch's view of Antony as a man ruled by lust to the extent that he had become childish, Daniel's view of Cleopatra as a vicious woman enslaved by a mixture of passion and self-love, and Shakespeare's odd combination of a turning point in history and a love based on a mixture of lust, playfulness, and transcendent passion.54 With his Plutarch before him to provide factual accuracy and some hints about character, Dryden chose a course different from any of these. By confining his work to a single day and location, he made All for Love into a play about the siege of a city, Alexandria. If one critic has seen in Dryden's play what he calls "terminal tragedy, the tragedy that focuses on the end of one period in history and the beginning of another," he was observing a phenomenon that was typical of the tragedies and heroic plays of the period and a form that Dryden had used before in, for instance, The Indian Emperour and The Conquest of Granada.55 Dryden's play begins with the terrifying portents that seem to suggest the end of Egyptian power and civilization; it ends, not with the entry of Octavius, but with Serapion's agreement with Charmion that if Cleopatra was to be the last of the Ptolemies, she ended her life well. Dryden might have written a play like Henry Nevil Payne's The Siege of Constantinople, acted in November 1674, with its Machiavellian politician modeled on Shaftesbury and with its aristocratic contempt for the people and for the politicians who tried to lead them against those meant to rule. Such a play might have cheered the court, but it would scarcely have changed anyone's mind.56

(TW^ Instead Dryden wrote a play about truly great lovers in adversity. Without any necessary parallel with Charles II's relationship with the Duchess of Portsmouth, he shows how sensual passion on the level of a monarch and his mistress might be viewed as an heroic emotion. At a time when the country was enraged by the exalted position of a courtesan in the court, 53 See An Account of the Growth of Popery and Arbitrary Government in England (1677), pp. 72-73. 54 Although he rejected their vision of Antony and Cleopatra, Dryden would have been particularly aware of the views of the Roman poets associated with Augustus—Virgil, Horace, and Propertius—all of whom took the official position that Cleopatra was a kind of sorceress representing alien ways threatening to the traditions of Rome. See Georg Moller, Seitrage lur Dramatischen CleopatraLiteratur (1907), pp. 8—11. 55 See R. J. Kaufman, ed., All for Love (1962), pp. xi-xvii. 56 Payne has those whom he sees undermining the defense of Constantinople in the manner of Shaftesbury put to death by the sultan after the fall of the city. See The Siege of Constantinople (1675), Act V. Mahomet learns that the riches of the city were "found prodigious," though the citizens denied their prince any aid. Synan draws the moral (p. 87 [V]): This is the way to govern: Severity, not Mercy, strengthens power.

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and a French and Catholic courtesan at that, Dryden surrounds such love with some magical virtues. Dryden's Antony and Cleopatra have done great things in their lives, but nothing greater than the degree to which they sacrifice everything for love. They have a choice: they can retain that love to the end, or they can sacrifice it for other things—for power, military glory, the chance of holding onto some position, the good of their children, or for self-preservation. Antony seems almost eager to end the continuing struggle involved in such choices when the opportunity comes with the false news of Cleopatra's death (V, i, 269-276). What is the nature of their love? Serapion's comment on the bodies of the lovers sitting together suggests a sexual rather than a spiritual love (V, i, 510-512): Th' impression of a smile left in her face, Shows she dy'd pleas'd with him for whom she liv'd, And went to charm him in another World. But it is a sensuality that takes on a kind of innocence and purity as the lovers speak of it. Although Roman law did not recognize Cleopatra as Antony's wife, they went through a form of marriage ceremony, and some playwrights simply treated her as Antony's wife.57 Some of that ambiguity is hinted at toward the end as Cleopatra abandons the concept of herself as Antony's mistress and announces her desire to be his true "Wife" (V, i, 416-418): my Nobler Fate Shall knit our Spousals with a tie too strong For Roman Laws to break. Dryden takes Plutarch's criticism of the childishness of the lovers and transforms it into innocence.58 Antony is an ideal friend and lover because he is a man of simple, honest affection, and while Alexas urges Cleopatra to use guile to retain Antony's affection, all that she really has to do to win back his love is show that she always loved him and never willingly betrayed him. Dryden's attempt to raise the passions of monarchs to a level above military glory or great acts of virtue did not go unobserved. John Dennis placed his objections to the pernicious moral of All /or Love in a political context. Quoting the last lines of the play, "No Lovers liv'd so great, or dy'd so well," he complained: Was ever any thing so pernicious, so immoral, so criminal, as the Design of that Play? . . . And this Encomium of the Conduct and the Death of Antony and Cleopatra, a Conduct so immoral, and a Self-murder so criminal, is, to give it more Force, put into the Mouth of the High-Priest of 57

For the flat acceptance of Cleopatra as Antony's wife, see, e.g., Jean de Mairet, Le Marc-Antoine, ou la CUopatre (1637), p. 78 (V, iv). The historical account by Paulus Orosius mentions Antony's divorce proceedings against Octavia and refers to Cleopatra as his "wife"; see Paulus Orosius, The Seven Books of History against the Pagans, trans. Roy J. Deferrari (1964), pp. 272-274. Langbaine, p. 153, mentions Orosius as one of Dryden's sources. 58 for Plutarch's contempt for Antony's indulgence in what the biographer considers childish games, see Plutarch, p. 763.

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Isis; tho' that Priest could not but know, that what he thus commended, would cause immediately the utter Destruction of his Country, and make it become a Conquer'd and a Roman Province. Certainly never could the Design of an Author square more exactly with the Design of White-Hall, at the time when it was written, which was by debauching the People absolutely to enslave them.59 Dennis viewed Dryden's tragedy as deliberately directed toward inculcating a message that combined libertinism and absolutism, as if Dryden were acting on the orders of the court of Charles II to turn the story of Antony and Cleopatra into a work that exalted the libertine manners of the monarch and placed his values and actions beyond the reach or ordinary political and moral judgments. Dennis was certainly correct in thinking that much literature of the 16705 revealed an unsympathetic treatment of monogamy and a distinct interest in various forms of sexual pleasure. Plays, poems, and pamphlets attacked the ignorance of the country compared with the liveliness of the town and the court, and manuals on love and seduction were commonplace at the time.60 The popularity of Nathaniel Lee's The Rival Queens, with its glorification of homosexual love and its half-sympathetic portrayal of polygamy, was surely no accident. Dryden remarked in his preface that the introduction of Octavia reduced some of the sympathy for Antony and Cleopatra by dividing the pity that should have been given entirely to the royal lovers, and perhaps by underscoring the idea that their love was "founded upon vice."61 But it is significant that Dryden speaks of this as a technical error and one not remarked by any critic. Small wonder! In the original cast Cleopatra was played by Mrs. Boutell, who was described by Curll as small and "Childish" in appearance. He added that "her Voice was weak, tho' very mellow; she generally acted the young Innocent Lady whom all the Heroes are mad in Love with." 62 On the other hand, Mrs. Corey, who played Octavia, was a large woman who specialized in playing shrewish wives. The Cleopatra who remarks in the fourth act (IV, i, 91-93), Nature meant me A Wife, a silly harmless houshold Dove, Fond without art, was merely announcing what the audience would have known from her appearance on the stage and her first speech.63 When, in one of the 59 See Critical Works, ed. Edward N. Hooker (1939-1943), II, 163. See Maximillian E. Novak, "Margery Pinchwife's 'London Disease,' " SLI, X (1977), 1-23. 61 See above, 10:27—11 :g. 62 [Thomas Betterton, pseud.], The History of the English Stage (1741), p. 21. Cf. Works, XI, 550-551. 63 J. Harold Wilson, All the King's Ladies (1958), pp. 132-133. Elsewhere Wilson suggests that the casting may have been caused by a shortage of good actresses. But if Dryden wanted Cleopatra played by an actress capable of conveying an image of evil seduction, Corey and Boutell could have simply reversed their parts. See Wilson, Mr. Goodman the Player (1964), p. 58. Significantly enough, in a 80

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great revivals of All for Love, in 1704, Mrs. Barry, with her reputation for sexual license both in the roles she played on the stage and in her private life, played Cleopatra, and Mrs. Bracegirdle, with her sweet, virginal style, played Octavia, the casting signaled a change in the morality of stage presentations.64 Whatever may be said for Dennis's moral condemnation of Dryden's tragedy, there is no evidence that, from his standpoint, he was misreading the play. The political statement that Dennis found in All for Love is amply present in the partisan dedication to Danby and in the preface. Between the time that Dryden wrote Lord Latimer requesting that he be allowed to dedicate his "already written" tragedy to the lord high treasurer in July 1677 and the publication of the work at the end of March 1678, Danby's fortunes had undergone some reversals.65 The opposition lords—Buckingham, Shaftesbury, Salisbury, and Wharton—had been sent to the Tower for pressing too hard the argument that the session of parliament was illegal. With his enemies confined, Danby was at the height of his power in June 1677 as he negotiated the marriage between William of Orange and Mary, daughter of the Duke of York. But the Duke of Buckingham was released on 22 June 1677 and began immediately to undermine Danby's prestige with the king. And at a time when Danby was staking all on an anti-French policy, he felt that Charles was undermining his efforts by a willingness to accept the bribes that Louis was offering. Shaftesbury was released from the Tower and took his seat in the House of Lords on 27 February 1678, adding to the turbulence created by his followers during the preceding months. French successes against Holland, coupled with a demand for war against France from the Commons, were a continual embarrassment. Although Danby was not asked for his resignation until 13 March 1679, anyone as aware of political processes as was Dryden might have foreseen the inevitable by the time All for Love was published.68 Some anticipation of an eventual change in Danby's fortunes may be found in the conclusion to the dedication in which Dryden points to the unhappiness of Danby in being subjected to continual requests from different individuals and groups and being forced thereby to move in directions he himself might not find desirable. Although Dryden stops short of wishing him a speedy retirement, his portrayal of the constant uneasiness of anyone in Danby's position is at least suggestive. But the bulk of the dedication is an attack on Shaftesbury and Buckingham and on those forces in the state which would create a new revolution under the guise of being "the Keepers of the Liberty of England." Dryden dismisses the claim that number of prompt copies of All for Love, as well as in those published versions that indicate passages excised in stage presentation, this speech and other speeches that present Cleopatra sympathetically were usually deleted. See, e.g., the Folger prompt copy (1811, p. 51) and All for Love (1776, p. 47). 64 It was the opening of the season which signaled the roles of William Congreve and John Vanbrugh as official overseers of the morality of the stage at the order of Queen Anne. See Maximillian E. Novak, William Congreve (1971), pp. S&--37-

65 See Ward, Letters, p. 12; Browning, Danby, I, 227-235. See Browning, Danby, I, 237-276; Haley, pp. 421-447.

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the opposition is simply interested in reforming the government and proclaims that the role of private men in relation to government is "Obedience." 87 Dryden carries his attack into the preface. After a brief discussion of his position as one of many writers after Shakespeare to have attempted a treatment of the subject of Antony and Cleopatra and an attack on French drama in general and Racine in particular, Dryden launches into a fierce denunciation of aristocratic poets whose pretensions to real art bear some resemblance to the assaults from the political opposition upon the established order of the monarchy. Although Dryden saves most of his resentment for the Earl of Rochester, some of his remarks seem to be intended for such friends of Rochester's as Sedley and Buckingham, and since Buckingham was one of the leaders of the political opposition, the analogy between those attempting to overthrow the order of true poets and those attacking the monarchy seems obvious.68 Dryden's theme is that "there are many witty men, but few Poets."69 Aiming at Rochester's An Allusion to Horace, the Tenth Satyr of the First Book, in which Rochester1 claimed the right to distinguish between Dryden at his best and dullest ("Five hundred verses every morning writ / Proves you no more a poet than a wit"),70 Dryden criticizes Rochester's coterie as a group of amateurs with the delusion that once seized Dionysius and Nero—the delusion that in addition to having wealth, position, and power they were also great artists. Dryden drops his attack at the end, but it is only to show his own confidence in the excellence of his play and to speak once more in those ambiguous terms of his imitation of Shakespeare's "Stile."71

The degree to which Dryden was indebted to a larger tradition than Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra has already been mentioned, but some of these influences ought to be considered more carefully. Dryden refers to Plutarch, Appian, and Dion Cassius as historical sources, and subsequent annotations draw upon these sources wherever relevant. Dryden also drew on his wide knowledge of Roman history, manners, and poetry. Horace, Virgil, and other Roman poets had inveighed against the oriental luxury symbolized by Cleopatra and the court of Alexandria. Dryden, however, stood firm against such pictures of Cleopatra as that of Horace in which admiration for her courage at the end was mixed with a distaste for her lack of feminine weakness.72 The major influence on 67

See above, 7:17, 32. For Dryden's references to Rochester and possible reflections on Sedley, see Vieth, pp. xxxi-xxxii; Andrew, p. xviii. For possible attacks on Buckingham, see notes below, pp. 402-410. 69 See above, 14:2. 70 See Rochester, Complete Poems, ed. David Vieth (1968), p. 125. « See above, 18:16. 72 For the suggestion of a degree of ambiguity in Horace's attitude toward Cleopatra, see Donald Pearce, "Horace and Cleopatra: Thoughts on the Entanglements of Art and History," Yale Review, ad ser., LI (1962), 236-253. 68

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Dryden among the classical authors was Plutarch, from whom he took innumerable hints for characterization and for action. Dryden says nothing about French sources in treating the story of Antony and Cleopatra, and, as noted earlier, devotes a considerable part of the preface to criticizing the excessive nicety of French drama. Although his argument that the French would never allow a confrontation between Octavia and Cleopatra in their drama might have been true enough, Jean de Mairet did allow an interview between Antony and Octavia which had some dramatic power, and Estienne Jodelle had a ghost of Antony which was spectacular enough even for a Dryden about to embark on Oedipus.™ Dryden reserves most of his criticism for Racine's Phedre, produced on i January 1677, leveling the same criticism against Hippolytes that had been leveled by some critics against Racine's tragic figure, Bajazet: that despite the one being a Greek and the other a Turk, both seemed to have been educated at Versailles.74 Yet the parting of Antony, Dollabella, and Cleopatra at the end of Act IV of All for Love is too similar for coincidence to the end of Racine's Berenice or to Thomas Otway's version, Titus and Berenice, produced at the beginning of 1677.75 In all three plays the lovers, two men and one woman, seem to part forever, though in All for Love the separation, willed by Antony, with Cleopatra accepting her fate unwillingly, is not permanent. But like Racine's Antiochus, Antony's "friend" (as opposed to his "mistress") disappears from the play forever. Even Cleopatra's ability to enslave men by her beauty, the involuntary gazing of the crowd on the banks, and the effect of Cleopatra's "look so languishingly sweet," in Antony's description of Cleopatra on her barge at Cilicia, may owe something to the descriptions in a French work—La Calprenede's romance on the lives of Cleopatra's children, Cleopdtre—which Dryden had earlier quarried for The Conquest of Granada.''6 Thomas May's The Tragedie of Cleopatra Queen of Aegypt, acted in 1626 and published in 1639, may have given a few hints to Dryden for his account of the terrifying portents of doom at the beginning, and Dryden may have found the marginal references to Dion Cassius and Plutarch handy, but he would have found little else of use. May did not make his protagonists very attractive. Antony has promised to restore Rome's ancient liberties, but the senators wonder if that will actually be done.77 And his 7 3 See Mairet, Le Marc-Antoine, pp. 27-36 (II, iii); Jodelle, Cleopdtre Captive, ed. Lowell Ellis, University of Pennsylvania Publications in Romance Languages and Literature, extra ser., no. 9 (1946), 62-68 (I, i). 74 See Raymond Picard, La carriere de Jean Racine (1955), pp. 168-172. 7 5 See IV, i, 592-594, and note. For a discussion of All for Love as a Racinian tragedy, see Dorothy Burrows' unpublished dissertation, "The Relation of Dryden's Serious Plays and Dramatic Criticism to Contemporary French Literature" (University of Illinois, Urbana, 1933), pp. 249-258. 7 «See Hymen's Prceludia, trans. Robert Loveday (1668), I, 41. Cf. Works, XI, 414-415. The depiction of Cleopatra's barge was considered a famous set piece of description, and numerous writers drew variations of Plutarch's spectacular scene. See, e.g., Thomas May, The Tragedie of Cleopatra (1639), sig. B6« (I, i); and the comments of Isaac de Benserade in the preface (dedicated to Richelieu) to his Cttopdtra (1636), sig. a. 77 May, Tragedie of Cleopatra, sig. Biou (II, i). For some specific borrowings

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posturing in the role of Timon along with his desire to drown his depressed spirits in wine undercuts his pretensions to nobility. Cleopatra is shown as self-interested and as ready to try to attract Octavius if she can manage it. Her attempt to experiment on prisoners with her asps to see how the poison works, resulting in the death of one of them, hardly makes her more endearing to the audience. On the whole, May followed Plutarch's general condemnation of the luxury of the court of Alexandria and presented the lovers in a light far different from the one that Dryden intended. Dryden would have found Samuel Daniel's portrayal of Cleopatra equally unacceptable. Like many of the Cleopatra plays, Daniel's The Tragedie of Cleopatra begins after the death of Antony and shows Cleopatra's growing resolve to join her lover in death. Far from being the loving mistress of Dryden's play, Daniel's Cleopatra confesses that she had not "sincerely" loved Antony before his death, and the chorus of Egyptians accuse her of lust and sin. Through the afflicted Cleopatra, Daniel moralizes heavily as he has her cry out: My vagabond desires no limites found, For lust is endlesse, pleasure hath no bound.78 To the end Cleopatra is dominated by her egotism, and in her desire to "die free" she is willing to sacrifice "Blood, Children, Nature." But if Dryden would have rejected Daniel's dramatic vision, he found much to admire in Daniel's verse. He may even have felt that in borrowing from so accomplished a contemporary of Shakespeare's he was keeping within the idea of a Shakespearean style, although Daniel was a very different kind of poet.79 In any event, Dryden borrowed heavily from the best speech in Daniel's play, the death scene.80 In addition to Daniel's play, the character of Octavia as Daniel drew it in his poem, A Letter from Octavia to Marcus Antonius, should be given some consideration as an influence on Dryden. If Dryden read Daniel's tragedy in one of the collections of 1602 and 1623 he would unquestionably have examined the poem, which is also contained in these collections, just as he seemed to have looked at everything else he could find on the subject. The Octavia of plays like Samuel Brandon's The Tragicomcedi of the Vertuous Octavia (1598) or of Jean de Mairet's Le Marc-Antoine was an idealized figure. To the contrary, Daniel's Octavia is very much the jealous woman, who conceives of herself as writing to Cleopatra as well as to her husband, Antony, since she knows that Cleopatra will read the letter and mock her. Daniel's Octavia calls Cleopatra a "Queene of lust" from May, see H. Neville Davies, "Dryden's All for Love and Thomas May's The Tragedie of Cleopatra Queen of Aegypt," N&Q, CCX (1965), 139-144. 78 Daniel, III, 38 (I, i, 163-164). For a discussion of Dryden's borrowings, see Russell Leavenworth, Daniel's Cleopatra: A Critical Study, Salzburg Studies in English Literature, no. 3 (1974), 110-115. 79 For some discussion of the relative merit of Daniel's and Dryden's dramatic verse, see Bonamy Dobree, "Cleopatra, and 'That Criticall Warr,' " in Restoration Tragedy, i66o-irj2o (1929), pp. 66-90; and Muir, "Imagery of All for Love," pp. 144-147. 80 See V, i, 458-512, and note.

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and reminds Antony how badly he is treating his wife and children. And whereas many plays portray Cleopatra as Antony's wife, Daniel has Octavia stress the distinction between a "Concubine" and a "Wife"—one of the themes of Dryden's play. Even the hippopotamuses of Octavia's dreams may possibly anticipate the terrible portents described by Serapion at the beginning of All for Love.*1 Aside from such relatively substantial borrowings, Dryden took some general ideas and a few specific lines from other works besides Shakespeare's plays, including Fletcher's picture of the young Cleopatra in The False One.82 A few lines from Milton's Samson Agonistes seem to be echoed in All for Love, but more important is the similar structure of temptation which marks the two plays.83 Although there is some additional resemblance to the pictorial representation of choice in the frequently painted "Choice of Hercules" or "Hercules at the Crossroads,"8* Samson's choice is more problematic and therefore closer to that of Dryden's Antony. Samson would appear to have little to lose by making some accommodation with his condition. He chooses instead to become the instrument of God's wrath and justifies the errors of his life by a magnificent end. Dryden too gives his hero and heroine a transcendent end. The benediction pronounced by Serapion on the dead lovers as they sit together "in State" is clear in its appraisal: —Sleep, blest Pair, Secure from humane chance, long Ages out, While all the Storms of Fate fly o'er your Tomb; And Fame, to late Posterity, shall tell, No Lovers liv'd so great, or dy'd so well. By moving from the unreliability of life to the permanence of history, Antony and Cleopatra solidified their fame forever. The terrible storm at the beginning of the play which seemed to portend the end of Egypt's independence as a nation now is reduced to one of the many "Storms of Fate" that dominate the rise and fall of nations. And unlike the many writers who found in the lust and luxury of the lives of Antony and Cleopatra a strong moral lesson, Dryden, through Serapion, praises the pair for living magnificently, perhaps an echo of what Plutarch described as "an si Daniel, I, 121-138. In addition to taking some aspects of Fletcher's Photinus for his Alexas, Dryden may have drawn his assessment of Octavius' mercantile character from Cleopatra's contemptuous dismissal of Caesar: He is no soldier; All honourable soldiers are Love's servants: He is a merchant, a mere wandering merchant, Servile to gain; he trades for poor commodities, . . . . he is so base and covetous. He'll sell his sword for gold. See Fletcher and Massinger, The False One, ed. Morton Luce, in The Works of Beaumont and Fletcher, ed. A. H. Sullen (1912), IV, 60 (IV, i), 62 (IV, ii), and All for Love, III, i, 210-215. 83 For the echo of particular passages, see Morris Freedman, "All for Love and Samson Agonistes," NfrQ, CGI (1956), 514-517. 84 for a discussion of this theme, see Hagstrum, Sister Arts, pp. 190-197. 82

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Order betweene them, which they called Amimetobion (as much to say, No life comparable and matchable with it) one feasting each other by turnes, and in cost, exceeding all measure and reason."85 Although both Antony and Cleopatra believe that after their deaths they will find themselves in some Elysium where they will rule over all the great lovers of the world, Serapion considers this only as an incidental possibility. To him, their triumph consists in the way they passed their image down to history, Dryden's Antony has often been criticized as a slightly absurd figure, and All for Love as a play bordering on domestic comedy.88 Whereas Shakespeare shows Antony negotiating with the great leaders of the world, Dryden's Antony is locked in Alexandria with only one futile effort at action to demonstrate his ability as a military leader. And Antony goes out for his sally against the forces of Octavius87 longing to return to Cleopatra and their sexual pleasures (II, i, 460-462): how I long for nightl That both the sweets of mutual love may try, And once Triumph o're Cresar ere we dye. But there is no indication that we are to think that Antony has misplaced his values. He has been a great leader of men, and he has experienced one great love. When Ventidius tempts Antony to abandon Cleopatra in order to join twelve legions that will enable him to renew the fight, Antony agrees to accompany him only on the presumption that Cleopatra has betrayed him. When she demonstrates her affection for him, he dismisses the "Gu-gau World" as unimportant (II, i, 446). The next great temptation for Antony comes from Octavia and his children. Octavia shows her virtue as a Roman wife and offers him his freedom after her brother has withdrawn his troops. When she urges the children to kneel before him, Antony yields with a strange kind of passivity to the pleas of all around him (III, i, 361—363): Yen. Was ever sight so movingl Emperorl Dolla. Friend! Octav. Husband! Both Childr. Father! Ant. I am vanquish'd: take me, Octavia; take me, Children; share me all. (Embracing them.) Like many scenes in Antony and Cleopatra, this one has the quality of a tableau, but it is like one rendered by a genre painter illustrating domestic virtues rather than that of an heroic history painter. For this reason the scene is ambiguous rather than either sentimental or pathetic. It has some of the same effect as Coriolanus yielding to the entreaties of his 85 Plutarch, p. 763. 86 See particularly Hope, "All for Love, or Comedy as Tragedy," pp. 146-151, 158, 161-162. 8 ?To avoid confusion, wherever possible we use throughout the name "Octavius" to refer both to the person named in Dryden's play and to the historical Octavianus or Octavian.

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mother and refusing to conquer Rome, an act that Swift was to choose as one of the truly embarrassing moments in history.88 Shortly after Antony has surrendered to the entreaties of Octavia and his children, he realizes that to do so will destroy the one truly great thing left to him— his heroic and historical image as Rome's leader and Cleopatra's paramour. A number of critics have pointed to Dryden's mixed attitude toward heroism and the idea of the hero.89 In yielding to his sentimental affections Antony finds himself trapped in a domestic drama that will make him appear anything but heroic. If he accepts Octavia's offer he will hardly be in a position to leave her once Octavius has withdrawn his forces, and he will be anydiing but the "Emperor" that Ventidius has called him. When he contemplates his future with Octavia, he imagines that whenever they may quarrel she will threaten him with her brother's wrath if he does not behave himself. It is this kind of potential degradation that Antony fears as the husband of Octavia. No wonder, then, that he quickly abandons his resolution after he has made it. Antony lives in a kind of nostalgia, a continual reliving of past and glorious moments, because he is committed to heroic images of himself. Since those images necessarily include both Antony as the great leader and Antony as the lover of Cleopatra, a combination there is no possibility of retaining in the future, he is doomed from the beginning of the play.90 His last scene with Octavia, in which she emerges as something of a shrew, is also his last moment of humiliation. After she departs, Antony can concentrate on dying well. Antony's heroic posture is also undercut by a degree of self-pity. His image of himself as simple and honest is accurate enough—and present in Plutarch's drawing of his character91—but it is questionable from a dramatic standpoint whether Dryden should have had Antony characterize himself in this way. And Dryden's imagery in this passage is not his best (IV, i, 438-440): . . . I am made a shallow-forded Stream, Seen to the bottom: all my clearness scorn'd, And all my faults expos'd! On the other hand, the Antony who laments the failure of his "golden dream" of love and friendship (V, i, 205) reveals a childlike innocence that transcends any touch of egotism. And he joins Cleopatra in her view of their passion as comparable to the feelings of "harmless infants." Only when Antony is capable of seeing what Cleopatra meant to him—a realization that comes with the false news of her death—is he able to act. He dies with his "golden dream" a seeming reality, with Ventidius having sacrificed all for 88 Jonathan Swift, "Of Mean and Great Figures," in Prose Works, ed. Herbert Davis (1962), V, 86. For a similar judgment see Virgilio Malvezzi, Considerations upon the Lives of Alcibiades and Corialanus, trans. Robert Gentilis (1650), pp. 228-234. For Swift, Antony's flight at Actium was another moment of embarrassment. 89 See particularly Michael West, "Dryden and the Disintegration of Renaissance Heroic Ideals," Costerus, VII (1973), 193-222. Cf. Works, XI, 434-435. 90 For the tendency to nostalgia in Antony's thinking, see Derek Hughes, "The Significance of All for Love," ELH, XXXVII (1970), 540-563. 91 See Plutarch, p. 755.

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his friend, and with Cleopatra's promise that she will follow him in death. For all Shakespeare's brilliant poetic and dramatic power at the end of Antony and Cleopatra, something has to be said for Dryden's own force that comes through in Antony's last long speech before he kisses Cleopatra and dies (V, i, 389-393): Think we have had a clear and glorious day; And Heav'n did kindly to delay the storm Just till our close of ev'ning. Ten years love, And not a moment lost, but all improv'd To th' utmost joys: What Ages have we liv'd! He dies with an attitude resembling the libertine ideal that magnifies the quality of experience beyond the quantity of time lived in the routine of ordinary life.92 And for Antony and Cleopatra love amounted to a passion made transcendent by the greatness of empire and by the ultimate power of history to overcome time. Dryden achieves this effect partly through the rendering of story and character and partly through language and imagery. Some of the imagery that Dryden employs was part of the inheritance of the story itself. The images of flood and water accompanied the general idea of the power of the Tiber (Rome) replacing that of the Nile (Egypt); and the association of Cleopatra with a jewel that had been lost or disregarded came easily to dramatists who were familiar enough with the story of Cleopatra's dissolving the pearl in her drink.93 And since the defeat of Antony at Actium meant an end to the civil wars and, with the peace imposed by the future; Augustus, an end to the power of the senate and the institutions of the Roman Republic, the sense of an entire world at stake made imagery of the globe fairly common. None of this, however, explains the power achieved by Dryden in his rich use of such images. Admittedly, with the exception of Antony, All /or Love is not a play that excels in complex and ambiguous characterization.94 Dryden took Antony as he found him in history—a great leader whose passionate love undermined his strength as a commander and his cunning as a politician— and gave him some of the complexity and introspection he observed in a few of Shakespeare's characters, not so much in Shakespeare's Antony but rather in Hamlet and Jaques. That Antony is easily moved by the appeals made to him by those toward whom he feels a degree of love and affection 92 For the tendency of the age to exalt sexual pleasure into an ideal, see Antoine Adam, ed., Les Libertins aux XVII' siecle (1964), pp. 21-23, 58-60, 231— 235; and for the deliberate nature of Dryden's decision to favor passion over reason, see Bruce King, "Dryden's Intent in All for Love," CE, XXIV (1963), 267-271. 93 In Dryden's Poetry ([1967], pp. 41-42), Earl Miner stresses the tendency of the water imagery to reverse the idea of the creativity and fruitfulness of the Nile. For jewel imagery, see the articles by Canfield and by Hughes (nn. 41, 42 above). For another pattern of imagery—that involving maturity and growthsee Vieth, p. xxix. 9 * For a discussion of theories of character and characterization at the time, see George Dillon, "Complexity and Change of Character in Neo-Classical Criticism," JHI, XXXV (1974), 51-61.

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is an indication of where he must ultimately turn—to his greatest passion and to the historical importance of that passion. Compared with the rather broad psychological turns in the heroes of Dryden's heroic plays, the psychology underlying Antony's decisions are subtle indeed. There is less to say for Cleopatra. Having changed her from the person presented in some of his sources—Plutarch's debauched lover of oriental luxury, the subtle and endlessly engaging woman of Shakespeare, the fallen sinner of Daniel—to a virtuous and faithful wife-mistress, he took away much of her depth. She is filled with love for Antony and her role allows her some great moments, but Dryden created what is an excellent acting vehicle rather than a forceful character. Her encounter with Octavia, though effective theater, confirms this impression. Much the same is true of Ventidius and of Dollabella, Antony's matchless follower and his faithful friend. When Ventidius confesses his own attraction to Cleopatra (IV, i, 232-243), Dryden probably tried to incorporate some of the mixture of contempt and fascination with which Shakespeare's Enobarbus spoke of her, but with Ventidius the speech does not so much provide an enrichment of his character as it pays a compliment to Cleopatra. For the most part, Ventidius remains within the limits of the loyal old Roman soldier as a character type. He is introduced to us by Alexas as an embodiment of the "old true-stampt Roman" (I, i, 106), and so he remains throughout the play, a magnificent figure in spite of his simplicity, who comes alive through Dryden's ability to create an appropriate language for him. Just as Ventidius represents the side of Antony that is still the strong soldier, so Dollabella is like an extension of the Antony who is capable of such love for Cleopatra. No sooner has Dollabella convinced Antony to take back Octavia than in a speech beginning, "Men are but Children of a larger growth," he expresses his wish that he might be in Antony's place as the lover o£ Cleopatra (IV, i, 43-52). The relationship between Dollabella and Antony is intended to represent the element of friendship which Dryden considered worthy of being displayed in tragedy. Dollabella is capable of a profound view of life, but his emotions resemble those of the man of sensibility whom Otway was to portray so effectively and who was to be a major influence on future literature (IV, i, 12-17): Dolla. Nature has cast me in so soft a mould, That but to hear a story feign'd for pleasure Of some sad Lovers death, moistens my eyes, And robs me of my Manhood.—I should speak So faintly; with such fear to grieve her heart, She'd not believe it earnest. Although Dollabella is a far more complex figure than Ventidius, he still tends to fit the character type of the sympathetic friend.95 The ironic turn 95Vieth (pp. xxiv-xxv) sees an element of homosexuality in the relationship between Antony and Dollabella, and his comparison of that relationship with the clearly homoerotic tics between Alexander and Hephestion in Lee's The Rival Queens is suggestive. But such an interpretation is less important for throwing light on Dryden's tragedy than for pointing to certain historical problems about Dryden's milieu, about which we know very little.

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in the fourth act depends more on plot than on character, as Ventidius' attempt to suggest an affair between Dollabella and Cleopatra provokes Antony's jealousy to the extent that he dismisses Octavia instead of going off with her. That dismissal verges on the comic as Antony asks Ventidius why he let "this Fury" loose on him. Octavia picks up the word as she makes her farewell speech (IV, i, 414-415): Yes, I will go; but never to return. You shall no more be haunted with this Fury. At this point she lets down her guard for a moment and shows her resentment. In berating Cleopatra as an "abandon'd, faithless Prostitute" a few speeches earlier (IV, i, 389), she has already shown her blindness to Antony's feelings and has allowed herself to indulge in the traditionally narrow, moralistic Roman view of the Egyptian queen that failed to see her stature.96 Cleopatra is right in thinking her "dull." She holds on to her self-image as the guardian of Roman virtue in a traditional, heroic posture in which she can find comfort and behind which she can usually conceal her bitterness at being unable to hold on to Antony's affection. The heroic ideals to which she adheres will bring her some admirers throughout history, but her ideals are conventional compared with those of Antony and Cleopatra.97 And in Dryden's tragedy they barely screen one of the more common Restoration stage types—the termagant cast-off mistress. Alexas may be regarded as a character type created by his condition. As a eunuch he is powerless in his sexual life, and that impotence carries over into his relations with Cleopatra and everyone else.98 He acts out o£ envy and works his will through mischief and trickery. Hoping to survive the wreck that he sees Egypt to be, he does everything to stay afloat amid the stormy and troubled waters. He longs for a power he cannot have and cannot control (I, i, 71-75): Alex. Had I my wish, these Tyrants of all Nature Who Lord it o'er Mankind, should perish, perish, 96 If Cleopatra bears some resemblance to Portsmouth, contemporary audiences might have seen some echo of the queen, Catherine of Braganza, in Octavia. Although she was criticized for her love of dancing, few doubted Catherine's religious fervor or her virtue. Like Octavia, she was seen as the good but "dull" wife. Vieth rightly compares the interview between Octavia and Cleopatra with that between Statira and Roxana in Lee's The Rival Queens (III, i). Though Statira is far more violent than either Octavia or Cleopatra, the dramatic effect is similar. See Vieth, p. xxiv. 97 For a discussion of Octavia's Roman virtues, see Clarence Tracy, "The Tragedy of All for Love," UTQ, XLV (1976), 186-199; see also Miner, Dryden's Poetry, pp. 36-73, for a general discussion of character in terms of Roman virtue. 98 For a discussion of possible sources for Alexas, and of the opposition of Roman values to those of Egypt, see Howard Weinbrot, "Alexas in All for Love: His Genealogy and Function," SP, LXIV (1967), 625-639. Weinbrot rightly associates Alexas with Photinus, the eunuch and scheming villain of Corneille's La Mart de Pompee (1644), rendered into English by Katherine Philips as Pompey, A Tragedy (n.d. [1663]), of Fletcher and Massinger's The False One, and of Sedley's Antony and Cleopatra.

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Each by the others Sword; but, since our will Is lamely follow'd by our pow'r, we must Depend on one; with him to rise or fall. Alexas acts as a critic of conventional heroism. For him Antony is a "thick-scull'd Hero," an "Instrument of death" (III, i, 378-379), and Alexas cannot understand why, with all his cunning, he has not been able to outwit Antony. He has managed to stave off the contempt of the ordinary whole man by his position, but now he sees both his status and his life threatened, and his anguish is very real (III, i, 387-391): Had Cleopatra follow'd my advice, Then he had been betray'd, who now forsakes. She dies for love; but she has known its joys: Gods, is this just, that I, who know no joys, Must die, because she loves? Serapion orders him seized at the end but not before he has brought about the deaths of Antony and Cleopatra through his treachery. It is curious that he is given the lines at the end which reaffirm Charmion's (V, i, 505506): "Tis true, / She has done well." But his approval of Cleopatra's way of avoiding the imperial triumph is undercut by Serapion's plan to give Alexas over to Octavius for the procession. This is what Rome would want anyway—a living example of Egyptian corruption and deceit.

In thinking about Dryden's accomplishment in All for Love, we should also consider the changes in his dramatic practice. All for Love is not a rhymed heroic play. Whatever the virtues of that genre, it tended to be formulaic. Dryden had carried his extraordinary heroes, heroines, and villains of both sexes into a world of superhuman energy in which his own abilities as a poet could find an outlet in depicting the extremes of emotion. Although the rants of Tyrannick Love made good material for parody in The Rehearsal, they nevertheless had considerable merit as poetry. But to experience almost the same effects in the work of lesser talents—in John Banks's The Rival Kings (1677) or Thomas D'Urfey's The Siege of Memphis (1676)—had to make Dryden and the Restoration audience somewhat uncomfortable." In All for Love Dryden abandoned such rants and, along with them, the concept of a type of dramatic art equivalent to the epic. Antony and Cleopatra move in a real world, and their heroic end is managed without posturing. Antony does not claim superhuman powers and Cleopatra does not try to reach the gloire of a Chimene or the glory of an Almahide. The comedy that critics have sometimes seen in All for Love is certainly present. The tragic and the comic mix in the world of the Restoration as well as in our own, and comedy is always likely to bring tragic action down to the level of absurdity. The historical Antony asked permission of Octavius to live privately in Athens with Cleopatra. Octavius might have been well 99 Cf. Tyrannick Love (Works, X, 146 [III, i]); Banks, The Rival Kings (1677), PP- 35-36 (!v- i): and D'Urfey, The Siege of Memphis (1676), p. 27 (II, iii).

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advised to have granted their wish as his best revenge. As Dryden recreates the story, Antony's return to Octavia would have had similar consequences. The heroic figures of Dryden's rhymed heroic plays stave off the threat of the absurd by heroic speeches and heroic deeds, but Dryden had learned some lessons about writing tragedy. There is evidence from the prefaces to All for Love, Oedipus, and Troilus and Cressida that, between his last rhymed heroic play, Aureng-Zebe, and All for Love, Dryden had spent considerable time in reading tragedies—Greek, French, and English— and in thinking about the nature of tragedy. He never did fill out the critical arguments sketched out in his proposed answer to Rymer, and the tragedies that followed All for Love were somewhat different. In stating at the end of his career, "I never writ anything for myself but Antony and Cleopatra," Dryden was speaking from the perspective of later life. The drama is a popular medium and Dryden could not have regretted the success of The Spanish Fryar, which he stated "was given to the people."100 But what Dryden seems to have been saying is that All for Love was the play in which he succeeded best in working out an ideal of tragedy. For all the criticism and for all the disparaging comparisons with Shakespeare's epic tragedy, All for Love stands as one of the triumphs of Restoration drama. Dryden's reading in Sophocles and Euripides had taught him that great tragedy rose out of a combination of artistic control and the rendering of human suffering in such a way as to move an audience. And his rediscovery of Shakespeare's genius led him to strive to imitate and excel Shakespeare at vivid metaphor and imagery. Dryden might have learned some of the same lessons from Aristotle, but in All for Love he discovered it, as an artist, writing for himself. TITLE PAGE

well Lost. "Lost in a good cause or for a good consideration" (OED). For the view that "well" could mean "in a manner, or to an extent, approaching dioroughness or completeness" (OED 12), see Carleton Tritt, "The Title of All for Love," ELN, X (1973), 273-275. But compare Shakespeare's Charmion: "It is well done" (Antony and Cleopatra, V, ii, 325) and Dryden's Serapion: "No Lovers liv'd so great, or dy'd so well" (V, i, 5'9)Epigraph. Facile . . . irridere. Dryden omitted two words. The full text of the quotation is: Facile est enim verbum aliquod ardens, ut ita dicam, notare idque restinctis iam animorum incendiis irridere (Cicero, Orator, viii, 27) (Loeb trans.: "It is easy, indeed, to criticize some flaming word, if I may use this expression, and to laugh at it when the passion of the moment has cooled"). Dryden appeals to the critic to take into account the total effect of the play upon the audience in examining what may, in separate passages, appear to be bombastic language. The epigraph, then, looks back to the stormy language of heroic plays (see Works, XI, 433-435; and The Authors Apology for Heroique Poetry; and Paetique Licence [1677]). Imitation of Shakespeare's Stile. See headnote, pp. 368-370. 100 A Parallel betwixt Painting and Poetry (1695), p. liv; Watson, II, 207.

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DEDICATION

P. 3 THOMAS Earl of Danby. Thomas Osborne (1631-1712), later Duke of Leeds, was, at this time, the most powerful political leader in Great Britain. Charles II had made him lord high treasurer on 19 June 1673, and his titles soon followed. He was made Baron Osborne of Kiverton and Viscount Latimer of Danby on 15 August 1673, and on 27 June 1674 he was made Earl of Danby. The most recent of his honors was that of Knight of the Garter, which was awarded him on 24 March 1677 (see Browning, Danby, I, 102, 111, 136, 244). Charles Ward maintains (Life, p. 120) that Dryden dedicated the play to Danby in order to get the lord high treasurer to pay his back salary of £100. Dryden found himself among other courtiers whose payments had been stopped by one of Danby's economy measures. In a letter to Danby's son, Viscount Latimer (see Ward, Letters, p. 12), Dryden refers to "that hunderd pounds, which is due on My Sallary from Christmasse to Midsummer, last," briefly reminds the young nobleman of his "fathers kindnesse," and then proceeds to request that he be allowed to dedicate All for Love to Danby. He mentions that the play "is already written." 3:9-12 Carmen . . . gerit. Dryden quotes the preface to Claudian's De Consulatu Stilichonis III (Loeb trans.: "He loves song whose exploits deserve the meed of song") and follows the quotation with a paraphrase of the line. 3:16-17 Subversion of Governments. A reference to the opponents of Danby headed by Shaftesbury in the House of Lords as well as by Henry Coventry in the Commons. During the winter of 1677 through to February 1678 Shaftesbury was in the Tower for having supported Buckingham's speech of 15 February 1677, which maintained that because parliament had not met once a year it was no longer valid under English law. Although Danby attempted to prevent his release, Shaftesbury was let go on 25 February 1678 after confessing to his mistakes. See English Historical Documents, 1660-1-^14, ed. Andrew Browning (1953), VIII, 154-158, and Haley, p. 440. On the basis of Dryden's comments on political events, Charles Ward speculated (Life, p. 123) that the dedicatory epistle was written during the months of February and March 1678, shortly before the play was advertised in the London Gazette of 21-25 March 1678. 3:17 discourage Poets and Historians. At this time, in fact, Settle, Shadwell, and even Otway may have been favored by the followers of Shaftesbury and Buckingham, but Dryden was to deny that the first two had any claims to being thought of as poets in the Second Part of Absalom and Achitophel (Works, II, 74-76). 3:22 Evidences. Documents, especially title deeds (OED). 4:1 Your Lordships Administration. Since June 1673, that is. 4:5-6 Incomes . . . exhausted. Danby's aim was to make Charles independent of parliamentary grants by reducing expenditure and persuading parliament to provide funds annually. In the end, on 18 June 1678, he failed to get the King £300,000 a year because the Commons saw that such a grant would leave them powerless, but at the height of his power, in the summer of 1677, he had substantial supplies from parliament, and

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he had made peace with those who had suffered during the stoppage on the Exchequer in 1672. 4:7-10 confusion of a Chaos . . . Create them. The cosmic image recalls, among other passages, the opening of Ovid's Metamorphoses (see Works, IV, 376-377), and anticipates the opening of Dryden's own Song for St. Cecilia's Day, 1687 (see Works, III, 201, 463-464). 4:10 Enemies. Danby was on good terms with Clifford, the former lord treasurer, and had not yet fallen out entirely with Buckingham, his former patron, but he did make an instant enemy of Sir Robert Howard. Danby successfully opposed Howard's efforts to hold on to the post of secretary to the Treasury. What also may be noteworthy is that Shaftesbury, who administered the oath of office to the new lord treasurer, made a speech warning that the talents that enable men to achieve high office are often different from those that are required to maintain themselves in power. Browning argues (Danby, I, 102, 109-110) that the real problem was not "Enemies" but the politics of Charles II. 4:12 your Ruine. Browning (Danby, I, 109) quotes Dryden on this point but notes that similar statements might be found elsewhere. 4:13 clogging of the Revenue. Only two-thirds of the supposed revenue came to the Treasury in the years preceding 1673 (see Browning, Danby, I, 107). 4:13 Confusion of Accounts. The methods of accounting were so cumbersome that the government found it difficult to present its case on financial matters or answer charges. But Dryden may be referring specifically to Sir Robert Howard, who as auditor of the receipts had mismanaged the accounts. See Browning, Danby, I, 108; McFadden, p. 138. 4:15-16 forestalling the Credit. The government's "Stop of the Exchequer" in January 1672 served to freeze funds for use in the upcoming war with Holland, but rather than solving anything by this measure, the government undermined its credit and became embroiled in a struggle with parliament. See Browning, Danby, I, 109. 4:16-19 your Friends . . . your Self. Writing to Sir Joseph Williamson on 23 June 1673, Henry Ball told what was apparently a well-known anecdote concerning the king's remark to Danby when he assumed his office, a warning "that he ought to take care of himselfe, for he had but two friends in England, which startled him, till his Majesty explained himselfe by saying he was one himselfe, and his owne meritts was the other." Since the context of Dryden's comments points to Danby as a representative of the king and his enemies as the king's enemies, Dryden may have had this or a similar report in mind. See Letters Addressed front: London to Sir Joseph Williamson, ed. W. D. Christie (1874), I, 64. 4:19-20 your Diligence, your Constancy, and your Prudence. From the beginning Danby reduced the expenditure on the Dutch war by diminishing the number of men under arms and by putting others in the pay of Louis XIV. Within three weeks he had saved £130,000. Aided by an expansion in the excise and by various economies, he succeeded in delaying the prospect of the king's complete dependence on parliament. See Browning, Danby, I, 114. 4:21 outward Motion. Dryden seems to be combining Cartesian doctrine

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with Stoicism, a not uncommon blend in the seventeenth century and one that Dryden, in advising his readers to use "prudence" to control their passions, encouraged. Descartes showed how subject the soul is to outside sensations which, in turn, beget passions and actions. Thus Danby is depicted as fortunate in having been spared the confusion that might have been generated by outside advice. Having only his "prudence" to rely upon, he was able to act correctly through his natural virtues. See Descartes, The Passions of the Soule (1650), sees. 23-27, 37-42, 212. The context is also Stoic (see Works, XV, 409-410). 4:26 a way to Glory. If Dryden was indeed writing this in the early months of 1678, he must have been aware that Danby was getting into trouble. A move to impeach him had failed in the spring of 1675, but at the end of 1677, with a parliament eager to go to war with France on the side of the Dutch and a monarch eager to make an arrangement with Louis XIV which would make him financially independent of parliament, Danby was beginning to flounder. By June 1677, Charles II was losing interest in Danby and associating once more with the Duke of Buckingham, Danby's former patron and now his bitterest enemy. Even without the coming disaster of the Popish Plot, Danby would have had difficulty in holding on. See Browning, Danby, I, 257-264. 4:30 Debts of the Exchequer. On 9 February 1677, Danby settled with the bankers who had been hurt by the closing of the Exchequer, allowing them 6 percent interest a year on their money. See Browning, Danby, I, 211. 5:10 Compassion to the Wanting. Closing the Exchequer was thought to have fallen most heavily on poor widows and orphans. John Evelyn wrote (Diary, III, 607) that it was "an action which not onely lost the hearts of his subjects, & ruined many Widdows &; Orphans whose stocks were lent him, but the reputation of his Exchequer for ever, it being before in such Credit, that his Majestic before this seizure, might have commanded halfe the wealth of the nation." 5:12 Animal Spirits. The animal spirits were conceived as a liquid substance in the blood which is distilled into a "subtle wind" in the brain and sent out from thence to activate the motions of the muscles. Dryden's friend, Dr. Charleton, follows Galen in comparing the nerves that carry the animal spirits to the reins of a coachman controlling and directing the body. See Charleton, Natural History of Nutrition, Life and Voluntary Motion (1659), pp. 190, 183; Descartes, Passions of the Soule, pp. 7 (art. 7), 8-11 (arts. 10-11); Stephen Blancard, A Physical Dictionary (1684), p. 266. 5:15-19 Rules . . . consists. Charles' major conflict with parliament up to this time over the limits of his prerogative came with the Declaration of Indulgence. Charles issued his declaration on 15 March 1672 and withdrew it one year later, on 8 March 1673. To the complaint of the House of Commons that they alone had power over penal laws (14 February 1673) Charles replied that he had the right to use his prerogative in ecclesiastical matters. He gave way when he needed the funds that parliament had refused to vote him. In this quarrel Danby had opposed the king and favored the Test Act that reversed the Declaration of Indulgence, but he

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had tried to moderate some of the harsher attitudes over this issue through his work in committees. See Ogg, I, 354, 365-368; Browning, Danby, I, 95-98; Marchamont Needham, A Second Pacquet of Advices and Animadversions Sent to the Men of Shaftsbury (1677), p. 54; English Historical Documents, 1660-1714, (1966), VIII, 180. In his reply to the Commons on 24 February 1673 Charles claimed that the Declaration of Indulgence respected the people's welfare and liberty (see Commons Journals, IX, 256). 5:23-24 Emanation. Because the king is God's deputy, the king's ministers might "seem" to be "produced by emanation from the Divine Essence" and therefore exhibit "moral and spiritual powers, virtues, qualities, emanating from or emitted by a source" (OED). 5:24 Establishment. A "settled condition of mind" (OED). 5:28 Arbitrary Power, and Lawless Anarchy. For a similar formulation but drawing upon the climate theory of government, see The Medall, 11. 248-251, in Works, II, 50. Dryden is referring not merely to the political situation of the time but to the terms in which it was formulated by Charles II in a speech of 15 February 1677 and amplified by Marchamont Needham in A Second Pacquet of Advices, pp. 18-19, 38, 56-63. Charles had spoken of "the delicate Medium" between the royal prerogative, the rights of parliament, and the "Liberty of the People," and Needham had attacked Shaftesbury for advocating "Anarchy" and a course of political action which might bring on arbitrary government. Dryden later associated Shaftesbury with "anarchy" in Absalom and Achitophel, 11. 171-172, and in The Medall, 11. 119-122; (Works, II, 10, 46). For the view that there was a real threat of absolutism, see Andrew Marvell, An Account of the Growth of Popery and Arbitrary Government in England (1677), pp. 60, 141. 5:29-30 Genius . . . the Limits. Dryden figures Danby as Terminus, the Roman deity and guardian of boundaries. 5:31 Representative of the Nation. Like many of his contemporaries, Danby in fact thought of parliament as a body of men with interests entirely separate from any power they derived from those they represented. This "authority" theory of representation may have found its earliest exponent in Thomas Hobbes. See Browning, Danby, I, 227; and Hannah Pitkin, The Concept of Representation (1972), pp. 20-21, 38, 113. 5:32 Prerogatives of the Crown. Charles believed that the prerogative had been threatened by the appeal of the Commons on 25 May 1677 in favor of aiding the United Provinces in their war with France. In his reply, three days later, Charles complained: I am confident it will appear in no age (when the sword was not drawn) that the prerogative of making peace and war hath been so dangerously invaded... . Should I suffer this fundamental power of making peace and war to be prescribed to me by Parliament, it is plain that no prince or state would any longer believe that the sovereignty of England rests in the Crown; nor could I think myself to signify any more to foreign princes than the empty sound of a king.

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See English Historical Documents, 1660-1714, VIII, 180. For MarvelFs comment on Charles's speech, see An Account of the Growth of Popery, p. 149. 6:4-7 Commonwealth . . . Republick. The two terms were used interchangeably and with equal vagueness. Caroline Robbins (ed., Two English Republican Tracts [1969], pp. 42, 52) notes that anyone opposed to monarchy might be labeled a "republican," and Dryden speaks of it as a form of government based on the rule by a body of men chosen in some way, but not necessarily through popular election. Both the Netherlands and Venice were considered republics even though Henry Neville, a "classical republican," as Robbins called him (p. 42), was to insist (Plato Redivivus [c. 1681], in Two English Republican Tracts, pp. 93, 105, 106) that Venice was an aristocracy and the Netherlands a series of cities ruled by aristocracies and joined into the States General. Sir William Temple wrote of the Netherlands (Observations upon the United Provinces of the Netherlands, [1673], pp. 129-130): "Thus this stomachful People, who could not endure the least exercise of Arbitrary Power or Impositions, or the sight of any Forreign Troops under the Spanish Government; Have been since inured to all of them, in the highest degree, under their own Popular Magistrates." And of Venice, Caesar de Saint-Real remarked (A Conspiracy of the Spaniards against the State of Venice [1675], p. 14): "The World never had Monarchy so absolute as is the Empire by which the Senate of Venice governs that Republick." But the mention of republicanism might very well have reminded Dryden's readers of the time when Shaftesbury was a close associate of republicans like Neville and Sir Arthur Haselrig in the days before the Restoration of Charles II. For the later charge that Shaftesbury wished to establish a Dutch commonwealth in England, see Works, XVIII, 478. 6:12 Executive Power . . . Law-makers. Although Dryden was setting forth a traditional view of the English government, he was also reflecting contemporary political controversies. See note to 5:32 above. 6:14 oppress'd by their Representatives. This kind of complaint was common from those who did not hold with writers like Bodin, Hobbes, Harrington, and Filmer that sovereignty must be single and indivisible. For example William Prynne, writing in 1659 (Re-Publicans, pp. 4, 16), accused those in power of trying to establish an absolute Parliament and the Supreme Authority of the Nation, without King or House of Lords, or the major part of their secluded Fellow-Commoners; to metamorphose our Old Kingdom into a new Infant Republick, Oligarchy under themselves alone, to disinherit all secluded Members, and other English Freemen of their hereditary Laws, Liberties, Franchises, and put them into a new Praemunire without any legal Indictment or Conviction, disabling them to sue in any Court, or enjoy, receive any offices or preferment whatsoever, unless they shall. . . engage to be true and faithful to them and their new-minted Republick, without a King or a House of Lords.

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For Prynne and those who thought as he did, England was a "mixed" government of "Absolute Monarchy, Aristocracy and Democracy" and rule by a legislature alone, "the worst of all Arbitrary Tyranies." 6:18 Situation of our Country. Dryden's discussion of the English temperament may owe something to Sir William Temple's analysis of the Dutch (Observations upon the United Provinces, pp. 145-188) in relation to their "Scituation" and "Disposition." 6:18-19 An Island . . . for Defence. Dryden had already sung England's mercantile destiny in Annus Mirabilis. He was to return to the theme at the end of his life in To My Honoufd Kinsman, 11. 131-132, 142-149. 6:28 our Neighbours. Spain was the best example for this period of a nation that was impoverished in spite of and perhaps because of an empire that extended around the world, but the more direct reference is to France, which was about to complete a victorious war against the Dutch, and to its monarch, Louis XIV, who was suspected of aiming at complete domination of Europe or "universal monarchy." English observers considered the French peasants bowed down by taxation, and the mere mention of France was likely to bring to mind the combination of popery and wooden shoes. Peter Heylin remarked of the tax collectors (A Survey of the Estate of France [1651], pp. 261-274): "For so miserably do they abuse the poor Peasant, that if he hath in all the world but eight Sols, it shall go hard, but he will extort from him five of them" (p. 271). Like Dryden, Heylin ascribes England's happiness to its "mixt manner of rule" (p. 248). 6:33 that Power. A reference to naval power, and since Danby had been treasurer of the navy, a compliment to the lord treasurer. The Commons were indeed willing to give enough money to build up the navy but never enough for any offensive war. See Ogg, I, 260, 286; II, 534-535, 550. 6:34 Felices . . . Angligenee. A variation on the well-known lines from Virgil's Georgics (II, 458-459) on the happy husbandmen, O fortunatos nimium, sua si bona norint, agricolas (Loeb trans.: "O happy husbandmen! too happy, should they come to know their blessings"), applied to Englishmen, and thus associating them (in Dryden's later translation of Georgics, II, 640-642) with The swain, who, free from business and debate Receives his easy food from Nature's hand, And just returns of cultivated land! Interestingly enough, Peter Heylin seemed to think in similar terms. In his study of France he commented on the miserable life of the peasants (Survey of France, p. 260) and concluded his book with a poem on his return to "happy England." 7:1-6 Malecontents . . . freer than he was. A reference to the opposition, and particularly to Shaftesbury. The comparison between Shaftesbury and Satan is not merely a reflection of Dryden's recent dramatization of Paradise Lost as The State of Innocence or a prediction of his characterization of Shaftesbury in Absalom and Achitophel. It repeats a comparison already established by Marchamont Needham at the start of A Pacquet of Advices and Animadversions (1676). Needham refers to Shaftesbury as "Mephistophiles, the Faery Fiend that haunts Both Houses," and he quotes

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Buckingham, Shaftesbury's ally, as having once called him a "Will-with-a Wisp, that uses to lead Men out of the way" (p. i). 7:10-11 the Moderation of our Church. The old Cavaliers in the Long Parliament were always moved by appeals to their love of the Church of England and dislike of the Dissenters. Danby had appealed to them in attempting to put through an oath that required swearing not to overthrow the status quo in Church and state. It was defeated by Shaftesbury's use of the Shirley-Fagg case which threw relations between the Commons and the House of Lords into chaos. Dryden's grouping of the political opposition with the religious Dissenters suggests the same combination of forces that brought about the troubles of Charles I and the Civil War. His argument was quoted by Timothy Puller a year later (The Moderation of the Church of England [1679], p. 379), and it may well have inspired the title of Puller's book as well as some of his discussion. See Browning, Danby, I, 146-150, and Antony Ashley Cooper [with John Locke], A Letter from a Person of Quality, to his Friend in the Country (1675), pp. 8-27. 7:16 Trustees. In his "Epistle to the Whigs" prefaced to The Medall, Dryden spoke in similar terms, reminding them, "You are not the Trustees of the publick Liberty" (Works, II, 39:31). 7:17 Keepers of the Liberty of England. Shaftesbury was reported to have said (A Letter from a Person of Quality, p. 27) that the Test would have removed "that great Liberty we enjoy as English Men." See also Shaftesbury and Buckingham, Two Speeches (Amsterdam [London?], 1675), p. 11, and Hester Chapman, Great Villiers (1949), pp. 220-222. 7:20-21 changd his Party. Shaftesbury was open to a charge of political opportunism. A royalist in the summer of 1643, he had switched to the side of parliament by March 1644. He served Cromwell between 1652 and 1654 but left and may have become a member of the "Commonwealthsmen" group. He played an active part with General Monck in bringing Charles back to England, but before that he had been associated with republicans like Sir Arthur Haselrig and Henry Neville. When he left the king's service in November 1673 after being chancellor and a member of the Cabal, he remarked that it was "only laying down my gown and putting on my Sword." See Haley, pp. 41, 48, 92, 108, 137, 343. See also The Medall, 11. 24-87, for Dryden's subsequent chronicle of Shaftesbury's "everchanging Will" (Works, II, 44-45). 7:25-26 trouble . . . Fishing. Dryden varies the familiar proverb, "It is good fishing in troubled waters" (Tilley, F334), which he later used in its familiar form (Second Part of Absalom and Achitophel, 11. 314-315; Works, II, 71). 7:28 Instrument. Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) was originally only a minor leader of the parliamentary opposition to Charles I. He rose from being a captain under Essex to general of the army. He ended the rule of the Long Parliament in 1652 and, after refusing the kingship, was installed as protector on 16 December 1653. Perhaps also a play upon "The Instrument of Government," the document of 16 December 1653 which established the form of the protectorate with Cromwell at its head. See Samuel Rawson Gardiner, The Constitutional Documents of the Puritan Revolution, 1625—1660 (1906), pp. 405-417.

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7:32-33 Obedience . . . Remonstrance of private Men. Thomas Hobbes (p. 113) advanced the most forceful arguments for obedience as the key to state power and against private objections to the actions of government. Hobbes's argument that the sovereign was always acting for the individual citizen and that therefore private objections were both acts of "injustice" and a violation of natural law (p. 86) was more complicated than but not very different from Marchamont Needham's contention (A Pacquet of Advices, p. 27) that the king was the source of all laws and that there could be no appeal by Englishmen to laws above the king: ". . . no Law can be supposed Prior to the Monarch, because they all flow1 from him, and cannot have being without him. Therefore that Mans Allegiance stands upon very slippery and uncertain Terms, who concludes the King and his Family, and their Rights, as meer Creatures of some particular Laws of the Countrey." 7:33 Discourses. Probably a reference to Two Seasonable Discourses Concerning this Present Parliament (Oxford, 1675). Haley (p. 403) maintains that this work was probably by Shaftesbury but that, even if Shaftesbury did not write it himself, it and a number of similar pamphlets "may be interpreted as the beginning of a deliberate propaganda campaign aimed especially at the people of London." 8:8 Father. Sir Edward Osborne (1596-1647) was a member of parliament in 1628 for East Retford and a friend of Wentworth who appointed him to the Council in the North. Recommended by Strafford to the parliament summoned in the autumn of 1640, he was rejected for that very reason. He fought for the king against Fairfax in Yorkshire and joined Newcastle in 1642. After the defeat at Marston Moor (1644) he retired from the conflict, but the County Committee nevertheless sequestered his property. He compounded for his estate in 1645 and took an oath not to bear arms against parliament. Reduced to a small income, he retired to Thorpes-Slavin where he died on 9 September 1647. See Browning, Danby, I, 16-17. 8:10 Institution. Training or education. Here, a particular reference to the upbringing in a family in which the royal cause was so highly esteemed. 8:17-18 your Lady. Lady Bridget Bertie (1639-1704) married Sir Thomas Osborne on i May 1653. The marriage was an excellent match for Sir Thomas, whose family, compared with the Berties, was of relatively recent origin and little influence. Although Dorothy Osborne insinuated that "nothing tempted my cousin Ofsborne] to marry his lady (soe much) as that shee was an earl's daughter," the marriage, according to his biographer, was a happy one. See Browning, Danby, I, 21, 557-558. 8:22 Earl of Lindsey. Robert Bertie, first Earl of Lindsey (1582-1642), was the grandfather of Sir Thomas's wife. Commander of the royal forces at Edgehill, he was mortally wounded on 23 October 1642. Before his death he exhorted leaders of the parliamentary forces to return to their allegiance to Charles I. Clarendon described him as "a person of great honour, singular courage, and of an excellent nature," making him part of the mythology of the Civil War (The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, ed. W. Dunn Macray [1888; repr. 1958], II, 365). Modern accounts have revealed that Lindsey quarreled with Prince Rupert before

398

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the battle and that his command was given to Lord Ruthven. See Esm£ Wingfield-Stratford, King Charles and King Pym (1949), pp. 318-329, and Samuel R. Gardiner, The History of the Great Civil War (1886), I, 50. 8:23 Heroique Poem. In the dedication of Aureng-Zebe (1676, sig. A4; S-S, V, 196), Dryden thanked Mulgrave for encouraging him to undertake such a project: "Your Lordship has been long acquainted with my design; the subject of which you know is great, the story English, and neither too far distant from the present Age, nor too near approaching it." The heroes of this epic were to be Charles II and his brother James, and Mulgrave apparently tried to get them to support the project. Like his proposal to Mulgrave, the seeming hint to Danby failed to secure the patronage Dryden needed. See Summers, IV, 84. For Dryden's lifetime pursuit of a patron to support his desire to write an epic poem, see H. T. Swedenberg, "Dryden's Obsessive Concern with the Heroic," SP, extra ser. 4 (1967), 12-26. 8:23-24 Proto-Martyr . . . Type. As St. Stephen was thought of as the first martyr of Christianity, so Dryden suggests that the Earl of Lindsey, killed in the first major battle of the Civil War, prefigured the death o£ Charles I, the "Royal Martyr." The degree to which Dryden actually believed in an entirely providential pattern of history in which every event had its relationship to an earlier happening, every antitype to an earlier type, has perhaps been exaggerated, but see Steven Zwicker, Dryden's Political Poetry (1972), esp. pp. 61-77. 9:2 private Gentleman. Although Dryden may be merely playing on the popular themes of retirement and the burdens of office, he may have been aware that Danby was likely to be retired from office sooner than he would have wished. The dominant mood of the parliament that met on 15 January 1678 was one of suspicion. With the taking of Ghent by the French on 22 February 1678, Danby's entire foreign policy was in ruins, and his influence with the king was declining. Of course Dryden could not foresee the events of the Popish Plot which forced Danby to accept a pardon from Charles II on 27 February 1679 and his resignation from the post of lord treasurer a little less than a month later. 9:16 continuance of your Protection. Perhaps a polite way of thanking Danby for having seen to it that he received the money owed him by the government. PREFACE

10:2-3 greatest Wits . . . after Shakespeare. Dryden seems to be using "after" in a chronological sense here rather than with any reference to direct imitations of Shakespeare's play, and since there was no publication of Antony and Cleopatra before the First Folio of 1623, Dryden would have been unlikely to have had a very accurate notion of when the play was first performed. Thus he may have thought that a number of works written before the now accepted date for the first performance of Shakespeare's play—sometime between late 1606 and early 1607—were written later. In addition to Antonie (1592), the Countess of Pembroke's translation of Robert Garnier's Marc Antoine, there were three English plays treating the deaths of Antony and Cleopatra: Samuel Daniel, The Tragedie of Cleopatra (1594, in Delia and Rosamond); Thomas May, The Tragedie

Notes to Pages 8-10

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of Cleopatra Queen of Aegypt (1639); and Sir Charles Sedley, Antony and Cleopatra (1677). Dryden may also have been influenced by poems like Daniel's A Letter from Octavia to Marcus Antonius and by works touching on other aspects of the lives of Antony and Cleopatra and their deaths. For a full discussion of Dryden's sources and the treatment of Cleopatra in the art of the time, see headnote (pp. 372-375). 10:4 Bowe of Ulysses. See Homer's Odyssey, Books XXI-XXII. Since all the suitors failed to bend Ulysses' bow, Dryden may be complimenting Shakespeare in much the same way as he had in his prologue to The Tempest (Works, X, 6:19-20): But Shakespear's Magick could not copy'd be, Within that Circle none durst walk but he. At the same time Dryden shifts the discussion from Shakespeare's accomplishment to the subject itself and the larger context of world literature. 10:7-8 excellency of the Moral. In making the moral the most important element in his discussion, Dryden may have been influenced by Le Bossu, whose Trait^ du poeme epique (1675) insisted that every complicated epic could be reduced to a simple moral, and by the moralism of Thomas Rymer, whose Tragedies of the Last Age formed part of Dryden's reading toward the end of the summer of 1677, apparently after he had finished All for Love. See headnote, p. 369. 10:11 character of perfect Virtue. Here, as in the following discussion, Dryden was influenced by Aristotle's Poetics (XIII, 5), where Aristotle advises on the ideal figure for tragedy (Art of Poetry, ed. Andr Head title LOVE] ~:

Di Sheet K (inner form) Uncorrected: Clark, Folger Corrected: Clark (*PR34i2.i7i7- cop. i) Sig. K 2

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Catchword omitted] I Sig. K 4 III, i, 14 Sword.[?]] ~: Sig. KSU III, i, 89 World; [?]] ~: Dedication: Yorkshire,] Qi (York- / shire), Qa (York-shire), Di-2 (Yorkshire); ~. Qg, F. Privy-Council] Qi (Privy- / Council), Qg, F, Di-2 (Privy-Council); Privy Council Q2. 3:1-9:22 italics and romans reversed in Qj, F, Di-z. 3:14 Commonwealth] Qi-3, Di-2 (Common/ wealth Q2; Commonwealth Q3, Di-2); Common-wealth F. 3:19 Kings] F, Di-2 (Kings); KINGS Qi~3 (KINGS Qs). 4:1 After-Ages] Qi-g, Di-2 (After-Ages Qg; After-ages Di-2); After Ages F. 4:1 .Lordships] Di-2 (Lord- / ship's); Lordships Qi-3, F (Lord- / ships Q3; Lordship's F). 4:2 Annals] Annals Qi-3, F, Di-2 (Annals Q3, F, Di-2). 4:3 Majesty] Di-2 (Majesty); MAJESTY Qi; MAJESTY Q2-3, F (MAJESTY Qg, F). 4:22 it] Qi, F, Di-2 (it F, Di-2); its Q2-3 (its Qg). 4:25 My Lord] Di-2 (my Lord); My Lord Qi-g, F (My Lord Qg, F). 4:30 Crown] Di-2 (Crown); Crown Qi-g, F (Crown Q3, F). 4:31 Private Persons] Di-2 (private Persons); Private Persons Qi-3, F (private Q2; private Persons Qg, F). 4:32 satisfaction; an] ~. An Qi-g, F, Di-2 (Satisfaction. An Q2; Satisfaction. An Q3, F, Di-2). 5:2 Laws,] ~; Qi-3, F, Di-2 (Laws Q3, F, Di-2). 5:29 Genius} Di-2 (Genius); Genius Qi~3, F (Genius Q3, F). 5:33 My Lord] Di-2 (my Lord); My Lord Qi-3, F (My Lord Q3, F). 5:33 Englishman] Di-2 (Englishman); Englishman Qi-3, F (Englishman Q3, F). 5:34 English] Di-2 (English); English Qi-3, F (English Qg, F). 6:2 Government; a] — A Qi-3, Di-2 (Government. A Qg, Di-2); ~: A F (Government: A). 6:4 Commonwealth] Qi-2, Di-2 (Commonwealth Di-2); Common-wealth Qg, F (Common-wealth). 6:6 Englishman] Di-2 (English- / man); Englishman Qi-g, F (Englishman Qg, F). 6:7 Republick] Republick Qi-g, F, Di-2 (Republick Qg, F, D). 6:17 others] Qi-2, Di-2 (others Di-2); other Q3, F (other). 6:21 Valour] Q2-g, F, Di-2 (Valour Qg, F, Di-2); Valonr Qi. 6:31 Land-War] Qi-g, F (Land-War Qg, F); Land War Di-2 (Land War). 7:1 amongst] Qi-g, Di-a (amongst Qg, Di-2); among F (among). 7:4 the] Qi-3, F (the Q3, F); his Di-2 (his). 7:17 England] Qi-2, Qg (corrected form), F, Di-2 (England Qg, F, Di-2); Englaud Qg (uncorrected form [England]). 7:28 Instrument.] Qi-2, Di-2 (Instrument Di-2); ~: Q3, F (Instrument). 7:34 are] Q2-g, F, Di-2 (are Q3, F, Di-2); ars Qi. 7:36 My Lord] Di-2 (my Lord); My Lord Qi-g, F (My Lord Qg, F). 8:4 Englishman] Di-2 (Englishman); Englishman Qi-g, F (Englishmen Q2; Englishman Q3, F). 8:13 Majesty] Di-2 (Majesty); MAJESTY Qi; Majesty Q2-g, F (Majesty Qg, F). 8:15 Sovereign] Di-2 (Sovereign); Sovereign Qi-3, F (Sovereign Q3, F). 8:16 Son] Di-2 (Son); Son Qi-3, F (Son Q3, F). 8:19 English] D1-2 (English); English Qi-3, F (English Qg, F). 8:25 My Lord] Di-2 (my Lord); My Lord Qi-g, F (My Lord Qg, F). 9:4 My Lord] Di-2 (my Lord); My Lord Qi-3, F (My Lord Qg, F).

576

Textual Notes

Preface: 10:1 Antony] Di-2; Anthony Qi-g, F. 10:5 Sutors] Qi-3, F (Suitors F); Shooters Di-2. 10:15 Antony] Di-2; Anthony Qi-3, F. 10:24 English] Di-2; English Qi-g, F. 10:25-26 Underplot] Qi-2, Di-a; Under plot Qg; Under-plot F. 11:1 Antony] Di-2; Anthony Qi-3, F. 11:4 Antony] Di-2; Anthony Qi-$, F. 11:21 newgain'd] Qi-2, F, Di-2; new gain'd Qg. 12:3 tronc] Qi-g, Di-2; trone F. 12:6 n'osons] Qi-2, Di-a; n'esons Qg, F. 12:6 pas] Qi, Di-z; par Q2-3, F. 12:10 I'en] Q2-3, F; le'n Qi, Di-2. 12:30 Stepmother] Qi-a; Step-mother Q3, F, Di-2. 12:33 Madmen] Qi-2, Di-2; Mad-men Q3, F (Mad- / men Q3). 13:12 French] Di-2; French Qi-g, F. 13:15 French] Di-a; French Qi-g, F. 13:19 one who] Qi, Di-2; who Q2-3, F. 13:23 where] Qi-a, F, Di-a; there Q313:36 is,] Qi-3, F, Di; ~ A Da. 14:2 Poets;] Qi-2, Di-2; ~, Q3, F. 14:5 not to] Qi, Qg, F, Di-2; not Q2. 14:14 Latine] Di-2 (Latin); Latine Qi-3, F (Latin F). 14:30-31 scribble, . . . wantonness] Di-2 (Wantonness); ~A . . . - — , Qi-3, F (Wantonness F). 15:21 stiffled] Qi; stifled Qa (corrected form), Qg, F, Di-2; stflied Q2 (uncorrected form). 15:34. 16:6 Mcecenas] Mecenas Qi, Q2 (uncorrected form); Meceenas Q2 (corrected form), Q3, F, Di-2. 16:7 persecuting Horace and Virgil,] Qi3, Di-2 (persecutiug Qg); procuring themselves Reputation F. 16:8 (for] Qi, Qa (corrected form), Qg, F, Di-2; )~ Q2 (uncorrected form). 16:9 degree] Qi, Qa (corrected form), Q%, F, Di-a; degre Q2 (uncorrected form). 16:10 farther] Qi-3, Di-2; further F. 16:17 than he] Qi-3, F, Di; than D2. 16:22 Latine] Di-2 (Latin); Latine Qi-3, F (Latin F). 16:26 amis.] ~: Qi-3, F, Di-2. 16:31 Turn] Qi, Qa (corrected form), Qg, F, Di-2; Tutu Qa (uncorrected form). 17:23 pigriSj] Qi-2, Di-2; ~ A Qg, F. 17:29 OKoerjtos,] F; ~- Qi, Di-a; — Qa-g. '7:3° &c] Qg, F, Di-a; ire Qi-2. 18:2 French] Di-a; French Qi-g, F. 18:9 Art of Poetry] Di-2; Art of Poetry Qi-3, F. 18:13 English] Di-a; English Qi-g, F. 18:15 Masterpiece] Qi-3 (Master- / piece Qa); Master-piece F, Di-a. ig:a Antony] Di-a; Anthony Qi-3, F. Prologue: PROLOGUE . . . [to] . . . Cleopatra] Qi-g, F; PROLOGUE Di-2. Antony] Anthony Qi-3, F; omitted from Di-2. 5 scent] Qi-a, Qg (corrected form), F, Di-a (Scent Di-a); sent Qg (uncorrected form). 6 y'have] Qi-g; y'ave F; you've Di-2. 7 Rhyme;] Q3, F; ~. Qi-2, Di-a. 10 Bully] Bully Qi~3, F, Di-a. 12 well-meaning] Qi-3, F, Di; well meaning D2. 13 kind:] ~. Qi~3, F, Di-2. 15 all the] Qi, F, Di-2; all thee Qa-g. 15 Tonyes] Tonyes Qi~3, F, Di-a (Tonies JDi-a). aa Hectors] Hectors Qi-3, F, Di-a. 26 would] Qa-3, F, Di-2; wonld Qi. 30 bite] Qi-3, F, Di; ~, D2. Dramatis Personae: Persons Represented] Qi-3, F (Persons Represented Q3; PERSONS REPRESENTED F); Dramatis Personae. / MEN Di-a. By] Qi-g; omitted from F, Di-2. Antony] Di-a; Anthony Qi-3, F (Anthony F). Hart] Qi-g, F, Di; Booth Da. Mohun] Qi-g, F, Di; Mills Da. Dollabella] Qi-a; Dolabella Q3, F, Di-2. Clarke] Qi-g, F, Di; Wilks D2. Goodman] Qi-g, F, Di; Gibber Da. Griffin] Qi-3, F, Di; Thurmond Da. Coysh] Qi-g, F, Di; Williams Da. Antony.] Anthony, Qi-g, F (Anthony. F); Anthony. / WOMEN. Di-a. &gypt]

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Q3, F, Di-2; Egypt Qi-2. Boutelt\ Qi-g, F, Di; Oldfield Da. Antony's] Di-a; Anthony's Qi-g, F. Corey] Qi-3, F, Di; Porter Da. Maids.] Qi-3, F, Di; Maids. Mrs. Garnet. / Mrs. Robins. Da. /4ntony's] Di-a; Anthony's Qi-g, F. ,4/exandna] Q3, F, Di-2 (ALEXANDRIA); Alexandria Qi-a. I, i

LOVE;] Qi-a; ~: Qj, F (corrected form), Di-2 (LOVE); ~A F (unconected form). ACT I. SCENE I. / Scene, the] Di-2 (SCENE, The); ACT. I. SCENE, Tfce Qi-3, F (ACTA Qg; ACT. F; SCENE, Qs; SCENEA F). s.d. Serapion] Qi-g, Di-2; Serapian F. g backward,] Di-a; ~A Qi-g; ~; F. n Phocce] Q3, F, Di-a; Phocce Qi-2. 20 Dome] Di-2; Dome Qi~3, F. 22 Ptolemies] Q3, F, Di-2; Ptolomies Qi-2. 25 start] Qi-3; starts F, Di-a. 28 ^Egypt is no more] italics and romans reversed in QI-J, F, Di-z (Egypt Qa). 32 Story,] Oj;, F, Di-2; ~? Qi-a. 34 train 'em] Qi~3, Di-2; train F. 40 should] Qa-3, F, Di-a; shonld Qi. 52 Mcecenas] Meccenas Qi-3, F; Meceenas Di-a. 55 Dollabella] Dolabella 0,1-3, F, Di-2. 59 beheld] 0,1-3, F, Di; held Da. 73 perish, perish] Qi (corrected form), Qa-g, F, Di-a; perish, here Qi (uncorrected form). 78 ruins;] Di-a (Ruins); ~, Qi-3, F (Ruins F). 88 o'rehear] Qi~2; o'er-hear Q3, F, Di-a. 101 Roman] Qa~3, F, Dia; Roman Qi. 101 Sword:] ~. Qi-3, F, Di-2. 106 Roman] Qa~3, F, Di-2; Roman Qi. 111, 114, 116 /. Gent.] Gent. Qi-3, F, Di-2. 122-123 Take ... [to] .. .care] inromansin Qi-j,F,Di-2 (Care F, Di-2). 134 s.d. Priests] Qa~3, F, Di-2 (Priest Q3, F); Priests Qi. 157 Heav'n] Di-a; Heaven Qi-3, F. 174 has quite] Qi, Di-2; has 0,2-3, F. 175 Roman] Q2-3, F, Di-2; Roman Qi. 180 Antony!] Qi~3, F, Di (Anthony QJJ, F); ~, Da. 184 being:] ~. Qi, Di-2 (Being Di-a); ~, Qa-3, F (Being). 192 thy] Qi-3, F, Di; the Da. 1Q7+ s.d. Enter second] Re-enter the Qi— 3, F, Di—2. 197+ s.d. Gentleman] Qi—2, Di-a; Gentlemen 0,3, F. 198 2] a Qi-3, F, Di-a. aoo /] i Qi-3, F, Di-a. aoo s.d. other.] Qi-3, F, Di; ~, Da. aoa drives: the rest] Qi-a, Di-a (The Di-2); drives: Q3, F. 204 sadness.] Qi, Di-a (Sadness Di-a); ~A Qa; ~? Qs; ~: F. an this?] Qi-a, Di-a; ~A Qs, F. 213 s.d. Aside QJJ, F, Di-a; aside Qi-a. 215-216 ruin. / Ant. having . . . down. Lye] Di-a (Ruin. / Ant. [Having . . . down.] Lye); ruin. / Ant. having . . . down. / Lye Qi-2 (Ruin Qa; "Ant. having . . . down." set as s.d. rather than as speech tag); Ruin. [Ant. having . . . down. / Lie Q3, F ("[Ant. having . . . down." set flush right as s.d.; Anth. F). 216 thou] Qi-3, F; the Di-2. 217 Mother Earth] Qi, D1-2; Motherearth Q2-3, F (Mother-Earth F). 220 thy] Qi-a, Di-2; the Ojj, F. 228 Give] Qi-3, Di-a; Ant. Give F. 234 Sylvan] Di-a; Sylvan Qi~3, F. 238 Misletoe] Misleto Qi-2; Misletoe 0,3, F; Misleto Di-a. 243 fellowCitizen.] Qi, Di-2 (Fellow-Citizen Di-2); ~-~, Qa-3, F (Fellow-Citizen Q3, F). a 44 it lulls] Qi-a, Di-a; lulls Q3, F. 249 you,] Qi, Q3, F, Di; ~. Q2, D2. 250 me?] Qi-3, Di-2; ~! F. 252 Heav'n] Di-a; Heaven Qi-3, F. 254 Y'are] Qi~3, F; You're Di-2. 254 god-like] Di-a; good-like Qi-3, F. 259 seen me] Qi-2, D1-2; seen Q3, F. 260

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Textual Notes

hast] Qi-2, Di-2; hast seen me, Qg, F. 263 this] Qi-g, F, Di; these Da. 263 year] Qi; years Q2-g, F, Di-2 (Years F, Di-2). 272 too. Believe] Qi-3, F, Eh; too, believe D2. 273 Emperor.] Qi~3, F, Di (Emperour Q3, F); ~, D2. 286 Antony,] Qi, Di-2; ~. Q2-3, F (Anthony Qs, F). 289 thee] Qi, Q3, F, Di-a; the Qa. 290 cam'st] Qi, Di-2; com'st Q2-3, F. 291 thee.] ~A Qi-3, F, Di-2. 291 Ventidius.] Q2-3, F, Di-2; ~, Qi. 298 purple] Qi-g, Di-2; purpl'd F. 308 gone,] Qi-2, Di-2; . 528 e're] Q2-4; er'e Qi; e'er Q5, F; ere D. 530 selfsame] Q5, F; self same Qi-4, D. 530 methought] O_2-5, F, D; me thought Qi. 532 bade] Qi-2, D; bad Qg-5, F. 532 be angry] Qi (corrected form), 0,2-5, F, D; beangry Qi (uncorrected form). 542 fortune, . . . seldom,] S-S; D; Daughers Qi. 197 Stay] stay Qi-5, F, D. 197 Jocasta,] Qi-5, D; ~! F. 198 me.] Qi-2, 0.3 (corrected form), 0.4-5, F, D; ~A Q3 (uncorrected form). 205 glories] 0.1-5, F (Glories 0.5, F); Glory D. 209 Gods!] Qi-4, D; ~: Q.5, F. 210 knees:] D (Knees); ~, Qi-5, F (Knees F). 210 forbear,] D; ~: 0.1-5, F. 211 revive.] ~, Qi-5, F, D. 214 blow] 0.1-4, D; below Q5, F. 216 my] 0,2-5, F, D; thy Qi. 225 softly] 0.2-5, F, D; foftly Qi. 225 slumber] Qi-2, D; slumbers 0,3-5, F. 225+ s.d. centered as in Q$, F ([The; degrees?, Q5); flush right in Qi-j, D ([The; degrees^ Qa-4). 232 The] 0,2-5, F, D; the Qi. 237 Jocasta, Oedipus.] Qi-5, D; ~! ~! F. 243 Tow'rs] Qi-4, D (Towr's QS); Towers Q5, F. 247 me.] ~: Qi-5, F, D. 264 I] Qi, Q3-5, F, D; / Qa. 265 cries:] 0,2-5, F, D (Cries F, D); ~,: Qi. 272, 277 I] Qi, Q3-5, F, D; / Q2. 277 wish'd, methought,] F; ~ A ~A Qi~5, D. 280 Heav'ns] Qi-2, Q4-5, F, D; Heavn's QJJ. 286 his thousand] 0.2-5, F, D; histhousand Qi. 289 me!] 0.1-4, D; ~? Qs, F. 290 Sword,] Qi, D; ~: Q2-5, F. 291+ s.d. Hasmon, Tiresias, Manto,] Hasmon, Qi-5, F, D. 292 Western-Tow'r] 0.1-4, D (VVestern-Tow'r Q2); Western Tow'r 0.5, F. 294 your] 0.1-3, Qs, F, D; you 0,4. 296 Slaves,] Qi-2, D; ~A Q3-5, F. 296 me! ] S-S; ~. 0,1-5, F, D. 304 striv'st] 0,2-5, 297 —'twas] S-S; A'twas Qi-5, F, D ('Twas D). F; strive'st Qi; strives! D. 307 th'] D; the Qi-5, F. 314 your] Qi-5, F; our D. 315 Lead,] 0.1-5, D; ~A F. 315 Manto,] D; ~A Qi-5, F. 315 to the] Qs, F, D; the Qi-4. 315 s.d. Tir.] Qi-5, F; Tir. and D. 317+ s.d. Pyracmon . . . party] Qi-5, D (Party Q2-5, D); ~, . . . ~, F (Party). 327 instant,] Qi, D; ~ A Q2-5, F. 342 disobeys.] ~: Qi-5, F, D. 344 thee] Qi-4, D; to thee Qs, F. 344 slake] Qi-5, F; slack D. 354 Gods,] Qi, D; ~! Q2-5, F. 356 will] Q2-5, F, D; wll Qi. 356 Is't] Q2-5, F, D; I'st Qi. 364 My Son] My Son Qi-5, F, D. 364-365 let . . . [to] . . . attends] in romans in

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599

Qi-5, F, D (Refuge D; forgot'st Q5, F; Misery F, D). 365 thee.] thee: QI-S, F, D. 367 I] Qi, Q3-5, F, D; 7 Q2. 371 Thy . . . scorn, my . . . remembrance] Thy . . . scorn, / My . . . remembrance Qi-5, F, D (Scorn Qs, F, D; Remembrance D). 375 me.] ~: Qi-5, F, D. 376 what-ever] Qi, D; what ever Qs-4; whatever Qs, F. 377 Hold,] Qi-4, D; ~ A Qs, F. 380 Therefore] Qa-5, F, D; Terefore Qi. 382 farewel;] Qi-2, D (farewell Qa); ~! Qs-5, F (farewell Q3~5). 383 eldestborn] Q1-2, D; eldest born Qj-5, F. 388 The] Qi-5, F; Th'D. 393 that] Qi, D; ~, Qa-5, F. 394 gone.] ~; Qi~5, F, D. 401+ s.d. Captain] F; Captain Qi-5, D. 412+ s.d. [Scene] A~ Qi~5> F, D. 413 yet] Qi, D; such Qa-s, F. 421 help!] S-S; ~: Qi-5, F, D. 422 Help,] Qs, F, D; ~ A Qi-4422 Oedipus!] ~; Qi-5, F, D. 422 Dyes!] S-S (dies); ~. Qi-5, F, D (dyes Q5; dies F, D). 426 Oedipus!] Qi, D; ~; Q2-5, F. 428 Road.] ~: Qi-5, F, D. 429-430 I'll . . . Flames! / And . .. sail] I'll. . . Flames! and . . . sail Qi~5, F, D. 438 now be] Qi-4, D; be now Q5, F. 450 Sir?] Q2-5, F; ~. Qi, D. 454 come.] ~; QI-S, F, D. 458 Thunder.] ~: Qi-5, F, D. 464 Tir.] Qi-3, F, D; Oed. Q4; Oed, Qs468 thus] Qi~3, D; that Q4~s, F. 470+ s.d. [Exeunt.] omitted from Qi-$, F, D. Epilogue: 4 Greece,] ~. Qi-5, F, D. 5 ev'n] Qi-4, D; even Q5, F. 7 th'] Qi-5, D; the F. 12 ground!] ~? Qi-5, F, D (Ground F, D). 21 teach,] F; ~ A Qi-,5, D. 24 theirs,] D; ~. Qi; ~; Q2-5, F. 34+ FINIS.] Qi-5 (FINIS Q4); omitted from F, D.

Troilus and Cressida The first edition of Troilus and Cressida was published in 1679, with varying imprints (Qi; Macd 84ai-ii).1 Collation of multiple copies of the first edition revealed other press variants in inner F and inner K. For many years, two additional seventeenth-century editions of the l In a note published in 1949 ("Variants in Early Editions of Dryden's Plays," HLB, III, 278-288), Fredson Bowers revealed that six versions of the imprint of the first edition were in existence (labeled by Bowers: Ti, Tza, Tab, Sia, Sib, Sa). He hypothesized the following order of impression: Ti, Sia, Sib, Taa, Tzb, 82. Shortly thereafter, Paul S. Dunkin ("The Dryden Troilus and Cressida Imprint: Another Theory," Studies in Bibliography, II [1949-50], 185—189) suggested two possible alternative hypotheses for the order of impression of the same imprint. Three of the states (Sia, T2a, 82) discussed by Bowers and Dunkin were represented in the copies examined for this edition. Approximately half of the twenty-six copies known to Bowers "contained a disjunct leaf of commendatory verse headed 'To Mr. Dryden on his Play, Called, / Truth Found too Late.' and signed 'R. Duke.' In its correct form this leaf has 57 lines of verse, with the catchword 'Envy' on its recto. In one copy observed, the Folger-Dobell of state Ti, only 54 lines appear and the catchword is incorrectly 'Shakespear' for the first line of the verso 'A dark and undigested heap it lay,'" (p. 283). Four of the copies examined for this edition contained the "correct form" of the leaf; the fifth (*PRj4i8.Ki.i679.cop. 2) lacked the pertinent leaf altogether. For a reprint of the text of this leaf, see Appendix D.

600

Textual Notes

play were thought to exist. One (Macd 84!}), with the title page dated 1679, was thought to have been printed "about 1692 in order to complete the sets of Dryden's Works in quarto then being made up" (Macdonald, p. 121); the other (Macd 840), as indicated by the date on its title page, was thought to have been published about three years later, in 1695. Fredson Bowers ("Variants in Early Editions of Dryden's Plays", p. 279) has, however, noted that, except for press variants on the title pages, the copies of the supposed second and third editions are identical (being, in other words, all copies of the second edition [Qa]). When setting the title page of the second edition, a compositor, following the wording of the title page of the first edition, indicated that the play had been "Written by JOHN DRYDEN, Servant to His Majesty" and that it had been reprinted for "Jacob Tonson . . . in Chancery-Lane near Fleet-street." After a number of sheets with those readings had been machined, someone at the printing house remembered that Dryden was no longer "Servant to His Majesty" and that Tonson was no longer located in Chancery Lane; he also noticed that the compositor had dated the edition erroneously. The press was then stopped and corrections were made: "Written by JOHN DRYDEN, Servant to His Majesty" was changed to "Written by Mr. DRYDEN", "in Chancery-Lane near Fleet-street" was altered to "near the Inner-TempleGate in Fleetstreet",z and "1695" was substituted for "1679". Just after the turn of the century, the play was reprinted in Dryden's Comedies, Tragedies, and Operas (1701), II, 199-256 (F; Macd io7ai-ii), with press variants in outer and inner li. In 1717 the play was again published in Congreve's collected edition of Dryden's Dramatick Works, V, [5]-i22 (D; Macd logai-ii [two issues, the differences not affecting this play]). Qa was printed from a copy of Qi with corrected inner F; F from a copy of Qa; and D from a copy of Qi with corrected inner F. Since Dryden seems not to have revised the text after the publication of Qi, a Clark copy of Qi (*PR34i8.Ki) has been chosen as the copy text. The following seventeenth-century and early eighteenth-century printed collections of songs have been examined for versions of "Can life be a blessing" (III, ii, 174-187): Choice Ayres and Songs (1681), III, 3 (fi; DfcM 55); The Compleat Courtier (1683), page 130 (d; Case 168); and A Collection of Songs . . . Compos'd by Mr. John Eccles (ca. 1704), page 137 (fa). The Fitzwilliam Museum (Cambridge) has a relevant manuscript (m) of the words and music of the song (Music MS.3O.G.2O). In addition to the copy of Qi chosen as the copy text, the following copies of the various editions have also been examined: Qi: Clark (*PR34io.Cg3; *PRg4i2.i679; *PR34i8.Ki.i679.cop.i; *PR34i8.Ki.1679.0^.2); Oj>: Clark (*PR34io.Cg4; *PR34io.Cg5a; *PR34i8.Ki.i6g2; 'PR34i8.Ki.i6g5), Fol2 In a paragraph on the career of Jacob Tonson, Macdonald had himself noted that by the "beginning of 1694, [Tonson] had moved to the Inner Temple Gate, Fleet St." (p. izon), but when describing the title pages of the supposed second and third editions, he failed to relate that change of address to the bibliographical evidence before him.

Troilus and Cressida

601

ger (Dagag), Harvard (£065.08474.679^); F: Clark (*fPRg4i2.i7oi.cop.i; *fPR34i2.i7oi.cop.2; *fPR34i2.17013); D: Clark (*PR34iz.1717.0^.1; *PR34i2.i7i7.cop.z; PR3412.17173); fi: Huntington (14173); £2: British Library (Ps.8o3O237.G3Oo); d: Bodleian (Malone 350). Press Variants by Form

Qi

Sheet A (outer form) Corrected (Sia): Clark (*PR34io.Cg3; *PR34i8.Ki.1679.0^.2) Corrected (Tza): Clark (*PR34i2.i67g; *PR34i8.Ki) Sig. Ai Title page Printed for Abel Swall at the Unicorn at the West- / end of S. Pauls, and Jacob Tonson at the Judges-Head in Chan- / eery lane near Fleet-street] Printed for Jacob Tonson at the Judges-Head in Chan- / eery-lane near Fleet-street, and Abel Swall, at the Unicorn / at the West-end of S. Pauls Corrected (Sz): Clark (*PR34i8.Ki.i67g.cop.i) Sig. Ai Title page Printed for Abel Swall, at the Unicorn at the West- / end of S. Pauls, and Jacob Tonson at the Judges-Head in Chan- / eery lane near Fleet-street Sheet F (inner form) Uncorrected: Clark (*PR34io.Cg3; *PR34i2.i67g; *PR34i8.Ki.i67g.cop. i; *PR34i8.Ki.i67g.cop.2) Corrected: Clark (*PR34i8.Ki) Sig. Fiv III, ii, zsgHect. I] I 244 plague you on dispair] plunge you in despair Sheet K (inner form) Uncorrected: Clark (*PR34i8.Ki.i67g.cop.i) Corrected: Clark (*PR34io.Cgg; *PR34i2.i67g; »PR34i8.Ki; *PR34i8. Ki.i67g.cop.2) Sig. K 4 Advertisement Pnuls] Pauls

Q»

Sheet A (outer form) Uncorrected: Clark (*PR34i8.Ki.i6g2), Folger, Harvard Corrected: Clark (*PR34io.Cg4; *PR34io.Cg5a; «PR34i8.Ki.i6g5) Sig. Ai Title page Written by JOHN DRYDEN, / Servant to His Majesty] Written by Mr. DRYDEN Title page Printed for Jacob Tonson at the Judges-Head, in / ChanceryLane near Fleet-street. 1679] Printed by /. Dawks, for Jacob Tonson at the Judges- / Head, near the Inner-Temple-Gate in Fleetstreet. i6g5

6o2

Textual Notes F

Sheet li (outer form) Uncorrected: Clark (*fPR34i2.i7oi.cop.i; *fPR34i2.i7oi.cop.2) Corrected: Clark (*fPRg4i2.17013) Sig. Ii4v V, i, 35 inward] ~; Sheet li (inner form) Uncorrected: Clark (*fPR34i2.i7oi.cop.2) Corrected: Clark (*fPR34i2.1701.cop.i; *fPRg4i2.17013) Sig. Ii2f Pagination 44] 244 Dedication: Caption: ROBERT,} D; ROBERTA Qi-2, F (Robert F). EARL] Qi-2, D (Earl D); E. F. Sunderland] Sunderland Qi-2, F, D (SUNDERLAND D). Privy Council] Qi-2 (Privy Qi); Privy-Council F, D (Privy-Council D). 219:2 much of] Qi-2, F; much D. 219:8 praise,] D (Praise); ~: Qi-2, F (Praise F). 219:22 ill-tim'd] F, D; ill tim'dQi-2. 219:23 arms end] Qi-2, F (Arms F); Arms-end D. 220:1 Encomiums] Encomiums Qi-2, F, D. 220:22 valuing] Q2, F, D; valluing Qi. 221:1 positiveness;] ~: Qi-2, F, D (Positiveness F, D). 221:4 Nation;] ~: Qi-2, F, D. 221:11 liv'd] Qi-2, F; live D. 221: 18 whither] D; whether Qi-2, F. 221:23 name,] F, D (Name); ~A Qi-2. 221:24 Epique] Epique Qi-2, F, D (Epick D). 221:28 But] Q2, F, D; Bnt Qi. 221:28 off,] F, D; ~A Qi-2. 222:1 people,] D (People); ~A Qi-2, F (People F). 222:2 peace;] D (Peace); ~: Qi-2, F (Peace F). 222:3 French] D; French Qi-2, F. 222:4 their] Qi-2, D; the F. 222:4 know,] F, D; -~A Qi-2. 222:6 Grammar . . . Dictionary] Grammar . . . Dictionary Qi-2, F, D. 222:13 Tongue] F, D; ~, Qi-2. 222:15 English] D; English Qi-2, F. 222:17 Greek] D; Greek Qi-2, F. 222:17 Latine] D (Latin); Latine Qi-2, F (Latin F). 222:17 German] D; German Qi-2, F. 222:17 the French] the French Qi-2, F; French D. 222:18 Italian] D; Italian Qi-2, F. 222:21 English] D; English Qi-2, F. 222:23 Grammar] F; Grammar Qi-2, D. 222:24 Anglicisme; and] ~. And Qi-2, F, D. 222:25-26 English . . . Latine] D (Latin); English . . . Latine Qi-2, F. 222:27 desirous,] F, D; ~A Qi-2. 223:1-2 Italians . . . French] F, D; Italians . . . French Qi-2. 223:3, 4, 5 English ... Italian ... English] F, D; English ... Italian . . . English Qi-2. 223:7 Dictionary] Dictionary Qi-2, F, D. 223:7, 8, 9 Goth . . . Vandall . . . Roman . . . Dutch] F, D (Vandal F, D); Goth . . . Vandall . . . Roman . . . Dutch Qi-2. 223:10 effeminate; all] ~. All Qi-2, F, D. 223:11 sounding] Q2, F, D; sonnding Qi. 223:11 language.] ~: Qi-2, F, D (Language F, D). 223:17 Conquest] F, D; conquest Qi-2. 223:17 his] Qi-2, D; this F. 223:24 English] D; English Qi-2, F. 223:24 learn?] ~. Qi-2, F, D. 224:11 fruit] Qi-2, F; Fault D. 224:13 English] D; English Qi-2, F. 224:13 Authours] Qa, F, D (Authors F, D); Anthours Qi. 224:23+ My Lord] F, D (LORD D); My Lord Qi-2. Preface: PREFACE to the Play] Qi-2, F (Preface to the PLAY F);

Troilus and Cressida

603

PREFACE D. 225:1-248:15 italics and romans reversed in F, D. 225:2 after Ages] Qi-2, F (after Ages F); After-Ages D. 225:7 loo often was] Qi-2, F (too often was F); was D (was). 225:13 of] Qz, F, D (of F, D); ef Qi. 225:17 The] Q2, F, D; The Qi. 225:26 later] Qi-2, F (later F); latter D (latter). 225:28 probability] Q2, F, D (probability F, D); prrbability Qi. 225:30 Latin] Latin Qi-2, F, D (Latin F, D). 225:30 English] F (English); English Qi-2, D (English D). 226:2 Cressida once] once Cressida Qi-2, F (once Cressida F); Cressida once D (Cressida once). 226:5 and] and Qi-2, F, D (and F, D). 226:8 uncorrect] Qi-2, F (uncorrect F); uncorrected D (uncorrected). 226:11 'em] Qi-2; them F, D (them). 226:12 latter] F, D (latter); later Qi-2. 226:21 unfinish'd;] ~: Qi-2, F, D (unfinish'd F, D). 226:25,27 'em . . . 'em] Qi-2, F ('em . . . 'em F); them . . . them D (them . . . them). 226:29 Grecian] F, D (Grecian); Grecian Qi-2. 226:33 English] D (English); English Qi-2, F (English F). 227:3 Trojans] F, D .(Trojans); Trojans Qi-2. 227:15 and] and Qi-2, F, D (and F, D). 227:19 which] Qi-2, D (which D); of which F (of which). 227:24 groundwork] Qi-2 (ground- / work); ground-work F, D (ground-work F; Ground-work D). 227:31 Poet,] D (Poet); ~A Qi-2, F (Poet F). 228:3 Euripides] Qi, D (Euripides D); Euripedes Q2, F (Euripedes F). 228:5 Grecians] F, D (Grecians); Grecians Qi-2. 228:21-32 quoted passage marked by inverted commas, rather than by reversal of font in Q_i-2, F, D (theft Qi-2, F [Theft F]; theft D [Theft]: emulation, D [Emulation]; emulation A Qi-2, F [emulation F]: honourable, Q2, F, D [honourable F, D]; honourable A Qi: when D [when]; When Qi-2, F [When F]: propose Qi, D [propose D]; purpose Q2, F [purpose F]). 228:27 PPOTOKTIV] D; jSpoTotat Qi; fiporolai Q2; /SpoToioi F. 229:7 Preface] Preface Qi-2, F, D (Preface F, D). 229:10 Fletcher,] D (Fletcher); ~ A Qi-2, F (Fletcher F). 229:11 those} Qi, D (those D); these Q2, F (these F). 229:20 impudence] Qi, D (Impudence D); impudent Q2, F (impudent F). 229:29 those] Qi, D (those D); these Q2, F (these F). 229:31 above nam'd] Qi-2, F (above nam'd F); ~-~ D (above-nam'd). 229:33 the Great] the Great Qi-2, F, D (the Great F, D). 230:7 Eurydice] D (Eurydice); Euridice Qi-2, F (Euridice F). 230:19 Greek] F, D (Greek); Greek Qi-2. 230:26 beginning,] D (Beginning); ~A Qi-2, F (beginning F). 231:1 and not] Qi, D (and not D); and Q2, F (and F). 231:2 grace Cup] Qi-2, F (grace Cup F); ~-~ D (Grace-Cup). 231:12 wonderfull] Q2, F, D (wonderful F, D); wonderfnll Qi. 231:21 us,] ~? Qi-2, F, D (us F, D). 232:28 particularly] Q2, F, D (particularly F, D); particularly Qi. 232:29 concernment} D (Concernment); —); ~. Q2, F (Gods F). 245:15-16 triffling] trifflng Qi; trifling Oj>, F, D (trifling F, D). 245:16 thoughts!] ~. Qi-2, F (Thoughts F); ~? D (Thoughts). 245:17 Wheel-wright] Qi, D (Wheel-wright); Wheel-right Q2, F (Wheel-right F). 245:18 Ragman] Qi-2, D (Ragman D); Rag-man F (Rag-man). 245:21 downhill] Qi; down hill Q2, F (down Hill F); down-hill D (Down-hill). 246:6 'em] Qi-2, F ('em F); them D (them). 246:7 justice] Q2, F, D (justice F; Justice D); justce Qi. 246:9 the Second] the Second Qi-2, F, D (the Second F, D). 246:10 Henry of] Qi-2, F (Henry of F); Henry D (Henry). 246:12 language.] Q2, F, D (Language F, D); ~, Qi. 246: 22 eyes] Q2, F, D (Eyes F, D); ~. Qi. 246:23 God save him] God save him Qi-2, F, D (God save him F, D). 247:2 'em] Qi-2, F ('em F); them D (them). 247:11 thought] Qi-2, D (Thought D); thoughts F (Thoughts). 248:3-4 Reflections on ... work Of Poetry] reflections on ... work of Poetry Qi-2, F, D (Reflections on F, D; work F; Work D; of Poetry F, D). 248:4 consider'd,] Q2, F, D (consider'd F, D); ~: Qi. 248:7 these] Qi-2, F (these F); those D (those). Prologue: The Prologue] Qi-2; PROLOGUE. F, D. i Shakespear] F, D; Shakespeare Qi-2. 3 Unnam'd] Qi-2, D; Unman'd F. 7 unpractis'd,] Qi, D; ~A O_2, F. 11 rely,] F, D; ~A Qi-2. 14 bold,] F, D; ~A Qi-2. 15 such,] F, D; ~A Qi-2. 21 Humour] Qi2, D (Humor Q2); --, F. 21 farce,] Qi-2, D (Farce D); ~; F (Farce). 21 love] Qi-2, D (Love D); ~, F (Love). 24 'Twou'd] F, D; 'T wou'd Qi-2. 25 disgrace,] D (Disgrace); ~ A Qi-2, F. 27 nauseates] F, D; nauseats Qi-2. 30,31,32 as in D; brace omitted from Qi-2, F. 39 forefathers] Qi-2, F (Forefathers F); Fore-fathers D. Dramatis Persona: Persons Represented.] F; 398 Livia, 433 Livy (Titus Livius), 419, 437, 524 Locke, John, 396 Lohenstein, Caspar von Cleopatra, 372 Lollius, 509, 530 Longinus, 506, 507, 530, 532, 533 On the Sublime, 529, 544-545, 547 Louis XIII, 525 Louis XIV, 378, 391, 392, 395, 402, 420, 421, 518, 524, 528, 542 Loveday, Robert, translator Hymen's Prceludia or Loves Masterpeice. Being That so much admired Romance, Intituled Cleopatra. See La Calprenede, Gautier de Lowde, James, 414 Lucan, 406 Pharsalia, 451, 471, 481, 482, 484, 485, 562 Lucian, 480 Dialogues of the Gods, 481 Lucretius De Rerum Natura, 410, 473, 475, 480, 543 Lucullus, 45in, 470 Luttrell, Narcissus Brief Historical Relation of State Affairs, A, 446 Lydgate, John, 510 Falls of Princes, 530 Lying Allowable with Papists to Deceive Protestants, 4g8n

Index M., W. Female Wits, The, 492 Macready, William, 365 Maecenas, Gaius Alnius, 406, 407, 414 Magalotti, Lorenzo Most Remarkable Passages of the Reign and Life of Lewis XIV, The, 421 Magnes, James, 441, 447-448 Mairet, Jean de Marc-Antoine, ou la Cleopdtre, Le, 376n, 380, 381, 401 Maitland, John, ist Duke of Lauderdale, 518 Maizeaux, Pierre Des, 5O2n, 529 Malvezzi, Virgilio Considerations upon the Lives of Alcibiades and Corialanus (trans. Robert Gentilis), 3&4n Manning, Francis To Mr Betterton, Acting Oedipus King of Thebes, 447 Marlowe, Christopher, 547 Marolles, Michel de, 410 Marvell, Andrew, 402, 463 Account of the Growth of Popery and Arbitrary Government, An, 374- 375- 393- 394- 44L 462 Mary, Princess, 378 Massinger, Philip. See Fletcher, John May, Thomas Tragedie of Cleopatra Queen of Aegypt, The, 372, 380-381, 398, 416, 428, 439 Mead, Richard Mechanical Account of Poisons, A, 418-419 Medbourne, Matthew, 444 Menage, Gilles Observations sur la Langue Francoise, 525 Metamorphoses d'Ovide, Les, 426 Middleton, Thomas, and William Rowley Faire Quarrell, A, 557 Milton, John Paradise Lost, 395, 426, 439, 480, 485, 495. 562 Samson Agonistes, 382, 419, 476 Mohun, Michael, 363, 440, 531, 532 Moliere, Jean Baptiste Poquelin Femmes savantes, Les, 526 Monck, George. See Albemarle Monmouth, James Scott, Duke of, 373 Mons, battle of, 443, 473

647

Montagu, Ralph Montague, ist Duke of, 528 Montaigne, Michel de "De la Praesumption," 401 "Of the incommoditie of greatnesse," 4°5 More, Henry Immortality of the Soul, The, 543 Morery, Lewis Great Historical, Geographical and Poetical Dictionary, The, 433 Muffet, Thomas Theatre of Insects, The, 559 Mulgrave, John Sheffield, 3d Earl of, 398, 406

Essay upon Satyr, An, 403, 406 Munckerus, Thomas, editor Mythographi Latini, 485, 495 Muralt, Beat Louis de Letters Describing the Character and Customs of the English and French Nations, 495 Mythographi Latini. See Munckerus, Thomas Narrative of the Popes Late Fire-Works in England, A, 4ggn Needham, Marchamont Honesty's Beit Policy; Or, Penitence the Sum of Prudence, 462, 463 Pacquet of Advices and Animadversions, Sent from London to the Men of Shaftsbury, A, 395-396, 397- 462

Second Pacquet of Advices and Animadversions, A, 393, 463 Nero, 379, 405, 406 Neville, Henry, 396 Plato Redivivus, 394 New Canting Dictionary, A, 437 Newcastle, William Cavendish, Duke of. 397 Nicole, Claude, 410 Nocturnal Revels: or, a General History of Dreams, 562 Nokes, James, 444 North, Thomas, 400, 421, 428 Gates, Titus, 444, 46111, 551, 560, 565 Octavia, 414, 424, 428—430 Octavius (C. Julius Caesar Octavianus). See Augustus Oldfield, Anne, 364

648

Index

Oldham, John Satire, in imitation of the Third of Juvenal, A, 443 On the Dutchesse of Portsmouth's Picture, 373 On the Dutchesse of Portsmouth's Picture, September 1682, 37311 Orosius, Paulus Seven Books of History against the Pagans, The, 37611 Orrery, Roger Boyle, ist Earl of, 403 Mustapha, 534 Osborne, Dorothy, 397 Osborne, Sir Edward, 397 Osborne, Sir Thomas, 397 Otway, Thomas, 386, 390, 402, 407 History and Fall of Caius Marius, The, 500 Poet's Complaint of his Muse, The, 565 Titus and Berenice, 371, 380, 435, 446 Venice Preserv'd, 445, 493, 556 Ovid, 451, 493 Fasti, 483 Heroides, 433 Metamorphoses, 391, 436, 482, 483, 510- 545-546. 564 Parisien, Pierre Du-Ryer, 546 Park, Robert Defensive War by Sea, 431 Paske, Thomas Copy of a Letter Sent to an Honourable Lord, The, 496 Pausanius, 453, 458n, 45gn, 483, 486 Payne, Henry Nevil Siege of Constantinople, The, 375 Pellison-Fontanier, Paul History of the French Academy, The, 525. 526 Pembroke, Mary Herbert, Countess of Antonie, 398 Pembroke, Philip Herbert, 7th Earl of, 564 Pepys, Samuel, 534 Diary, 471 Percival, Thomas, 444, 550 Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca), 527 Phaedrus. See Babrius Phelps, Samuel, 365 Philips, Katherine Pompey, A Tragedy, s^n Philostratus Life of Apollonius of Tyana, The, 529

Philoxenus, 405 Piso, Caius Calpurnius, 406 Plague of 1665, the, 462, 473-475. 555 Plato, 405 Laws, 473 Republic, 529 Pliny, 486 Natural History, 423, 426, 430 Plutarch, 368n, 375, 379-382, 386, 400, 418 Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, 376, 383, 384, 413-416, 418, 419, 421-432, 434-437. 439. 47°. 538- 541. 558' 562 Moralia, 422, 528 Poem to the Charming Fair One, A, 557 Poems on Affairs of State, 373 Polybius Histories, 417 Pope, Alexander, 547 Epistle to Augustus, 404 Translation of Statius, Thebaid, 46411 Pope-burning processions, 443, 496 Popish Plot, 392, 398, 441, 461, 462, 497-499. 5 lg . 524. 55'. 557. 565 Portsmouth, Louise Renee de Keroualle, Duchess of, 373, 375-376, 387^ 502n, 518, 524, 557 Powell, George, 446 Propertius, 37sn, 427 Elegies, 430 Prynne, William Re-Publicans, 394-395 Ptolemy XII, 423 Ptolemy XIV, 414 Puller, Timothy Moderation of the Church of England, The, 396 Purcell, Henry, 484 Puttenham, George Arte of English Poesie, 547 Quincy, John, 474 Quintilian Institutio Oratorio, 529 Racine, Jean, 371, 379, 503, 506 Alexandre le Grand, 371 Bajazet, 380, 402, 5O4n, 505, 548 Berenice, 380, 435, 446 Iphigenie, 501, 504 Phedre, 380, 402, 430, 501, 542

Index Radcliffe, Alexander News from Hell, 491 Raphael, 437 Rapin, Rene, 369-371, 503, 504, 508, 534 Comparison between Demosthenes and Cicero, A, 535 Comparison of Plato and Aristotle, The, 535 Observations on the Poems of Homer and Virgil, 535 Reflections on Aristotle's Treatise of Poesie, 410, 411, 505, 506, 529, 535, 536- 539> 545. 548 Reflections upon the Eloquence of These Times, 535 Reflexions sur la Poetique d'Aristote, 528, 545 Whole Critical Works, The, 50511, 528 Ravenscroft, Edward, 402 Titus Andronicus, 500 Reni, Guido, 372, 437 Richelieu, Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal-Due de, 38on, 502, 525 Riverius, Lazarus Practice of Physick, The, 421, 423 Robertelli, Francis, 529 Rochester, John Wilmot, 2d Earl of, 402-405, 407, 410, 551, 565 Allusion to Horace, An, 379, 403, 407, 408, 409 Valentinian (after Fletcher), 403 Rou, Jean, 5o6n Rowe, Nicholas, 552 Rowley, William. See Middleton, Thomas Royal Society of London, the, 502-503, 526, 528 Rupert, Prince, 397 Ruthven, Patrick, Earl of Forth and Brentford, 398 Rymer, Thomas, 370, 371, 389, 400, 403, 501, 507, 508, 528, 529, 533, 535; Dryden's debate with, 441, 465469, 472, 473, 504, 505, 522, 528 Edgar, 403 Reflections on Aristotle's Treatise of Poesie. See Rapin, Reni Short View of Tragedy, A, 446n; dedication of, 468 Tragedies of the Last Age, The, 369, 399, 401, 402, 410, 440, 441, 465-

649 467, 470, 471, 485, 505, 531-532, 535-537. 539-545. 547

Saint-Evremond, Charles de Marguetel de Saint-Denis de, 501-502^ 536 Discourse upon the Grand Alexander, A, 371, 548 Sainte-Maure, Benoit de, 509 Roman de Troie, 530 Saint-Real, Caesar Vichard, Abb£ de Conspiracy of the Spaniards against the State of Venice, A, 394 Salisbury, James Cecil, 3d Earl of, 374, 378, 462 Sandford, Samuel, 445, 446 Sandys, George Ovid's Metamorphosis Englished, 482, 483, 564 Savile, Henry, 404 Scaliger, Julius Caesar Poetics, 533 Scotus, John Duns, 435 Scriptores historiae Augustae, 406 Scroope, Sir Carr In Defence of Satire, 407 Sedley, Sir Charles, 379, 402, 403, 499, 565 Antony and Cleopatra, 366, 367, 374, 387". 398-399. 403. 4i'• 425. 446 Selden, John, 525 Senault, Jean Francois Natural History of the Passions, 439 Seneca, Lucius Annaeus, the Elder Suasoriae, 419 Seneca, 5O4n, 536 Epistulae Morales, 406 Medea, 494 Phaedra, 402 Oedipus, 435, 450-457, 459-460, 463464, 469, 471, 473-477, 481-490, 492-494. 562 Thebais, 452, 493 Tragedies (trans. Edward Sherbourne), 498-499 Troades, 498 Servius In Vergilii Carmina Commentarii, 482 Settle, Elkanah, 390, 547, 562, 565 Empress of Morocco, The, 494 Notes and Observations on the Empress of Morocco Revised, 407

650

Index

518, 519-520, 530, 531, 550-564 passim Twelfth Night, 556 Winter's Tale, The, 370, 480 Sheppard, Samuel, 411 499 Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, Sherbourne, Edward, translator Tragedies (Seneca), 498-499 ist Earl of, 374, 375, 378, 391, 393Troades, 498 397. 498- 502, 5'9. 522. 524. 55L 564; opposition to Danby, 390; Shirley, James, 538 Siddons, Sara, 364 represented in Oedipus, 462-463 Sidney, Algernon, 524 Letter from a Person of Quality, to his Friend in the Country, A, 396 Sidney, Sir Philip Apologie for Poetry, An, 527 Two Seasonable Discourses Concerning this Present Parliament, 397 Smith, William, 445, 446, 500, 550 Sophocles, 389, 400, 504n, 528; life of, Two Speeches, 396 470 Shakespeare, William, 389, 411, 420, Antigone, 452, 458-460, 542 454- 469, 5°'. 528, 538, 545. 549! Restoration adaptations of, 500 Oedipus at Colonus, 450-452, 460, 481 Alls Well That Ends Well, 489 Oedipus Tyrannus, 400, 411, 450Antony and Cleopatra, 364-369, 371, 461, 463-464, 466, 469-479, 481, 485, 486-490, 492-494, 496, 539 372, 375- 379. 3g2, 383. 385. 386, 389, 398, 411, 413, 414, 416, 418, Sorbiere, Samuel, 402 421, 426—429, 432, 436-440, 481; Relation d'un Voyage en Angleterre, comparison of, with All for Love, 527 Voyage to England, A, 527-528 364-368 As You Like It, 368, 385, 417, 418, Spectator, The, 447, 489, 495. See also Addison and Steele 489 Speght, Thomas, 530 Coriolanus, 383, 530 Hamlet, 366, 370, 385, 428, 444, 445, Spenser, Edmund Faerie Queene, The, 413, 485 464, 486, 507-508, 5im, 547. 548 i Henry If, 406, 417, 506 Spinello, Luca, 372 Henry V, 406, 418 Sprat, Thomas, 402, 528 Plague of Athens, The, 473, 474 Henry VI, 500 I Henry VI, 416 Stanley, Thomas 3 Henry VI, 476 History of the Chaldaick Philosophy, The, 433 Julius Caesar, 416, 427, 445, 464, 476, History of Philosophy, The, 543 5°4. 53L 537. 548 King Lear, 367, 500 Stapylton, Sir Robert Macbeth, 367, 370, 464, 479, 482, 548 Slighted Maid, The, 534 Measure for Measure, 464, 480 State-Poems, 373 Merchant of Venice, The, 364, 435 Statius Merry Wives of Windsor, The, 538 Thebaid, 426, 451, 452, 459, 479, 481Midsummer Night's Dream, A, 416 485. 495 Much Ado About Nothing, 433 Steele, Richard Othello, 366, 370, 432, 433, 537 Poetical Miscellanies (ed.), 37411 Richard II, 431, 435-437, 488, 507, Theatre, The, 3&4n 508, 548 Spectator, The, 364 Richard III, 419, 445, 461, 463, 464, Steen, Jan, 372n 476, 481, 490, 492 Steevens, George, 561 Romeo and Juliet, 370, 428, 500, 531 Stephanus, Henricus, 470 Tempest, The, 419, 506, 510, 530 Sternhold, Thomas, 409 Timon of Athens, 500 Strabo, 412, 413, 416, 419, 433, 435, Titus Andronicus, 500 545. 5g2 Troilus and Cressida, 417, 468, 498, Strafford, Thomas Wentworth, ist Earl 499. 503. 5°4. 5o6, 5°8, 5°9. 5 IO ~ of, 397 Shaclwell, Thomas, 390, 407, 410, 565 Psyche, 493 Timon of Athens, 448, 500 True Widow, A, 448; dedication of,

Index Strahan, William, 36511 Suetonius, 428 Lives of the Twelve Caesars, 405, 419422, 424, 426, 427, 470 Life of Lucan, 406 Sunderland, Robert Spencer, ad Earl of, 502, 503, 506, 522-525, 528; dedication of Troilus and Cressida to, 498, 501-502, 505 Swalle, Abel, 497 Swift, Jonathan "Of Mean and Great Figures," 384 Tacitus Annals, 406 De Oratibus, 523 Talbot, Sir William, 443n Tasso, 451 Gerusalemme Liberata, 478, 481 Tate, Nahum King Lear, 445, 446, 500 Temple, Sir William, 523 Observations upon the United Provinces of the Netherlands, 394, 395, 527-528 Test Act, the, 392 Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 363; King's Company in, 441; performance of Lee's Mithridates in, 442, 448 Theatrical Inquisitor and Monthly Mirror, The, 363 Theobald, Thomas Oedipus, King of Thebes, 472 Thucydides, 473 Tibullus, Albius Elegies, 431 Tiepolo, Giovanni Battista, 372n Titian, 437 Tonson, Jacob, 448, 497 Topsell, Edward History of Four-footed Beasts and Serpents, The, 413, 422, 423, 431, 43s- 559. 563 Tourneur, Cyril Revenger's Tragedy, The, 464-465 Trevisani, Francesco, 437 Tryal of Edward Coleman, The, 4g8n Tuke, Sir Samuel, 526 Adventures of Five Hours, The, 534 Underbill, Cave, 444, 550 Ussher, James Annals of the World, The, 411-412

651

Valentine and Orson, 418 Vanbrugh, Sir John, 378n Vaugelas, Claude Favre, Seigneur de Observations de L'Academic Francoise sur les Remarques, 526, 527 Remarques sur la Langue Francoise, 5°3. 525-527 Velleius Paterculus, 414, 424, 425 Ventidius, Publius, 416, 419 Vialart, Charles History of the Government of France, The, 502n Villars, Nicolas de Montfaucon, Abbe de Comle de Gabalis, Le, 543 Vincent, Thomas God's Terrible Voice in the City, 475- 476 Virgil, 375. 379. 4°6. 4°7. 412, 427, 431, 45L493. 5°5n. 536 Aeneid, 408, 409, 435, 438, 469, 477, 482, 483, 485, 491, 495, 510, 541, 553. 558- 563 Eclogues, 524 Georgia, 395, 406, 477, 524 Visits from the Shades, 492 Vitruvius Pollio, Marcus, 415 Voltaire, Francoise Marie Arouet, 458, 461, 469, 471 Age of Lewis XIV, The, 421 Waller, Edmund, 526 Waller, Sir William Tragical History of Jetzer, The, 4Q8n Wallis, John, 527 Grammatica Lingua Anglicance, 528 Warburton, William, 561 Warton, Joseph, 464n Watson, David, 523 Webster, John Duchess of Malft, The, 445 Wharton, Philip, 4th Baron, 374, 378, 462 Wilkins, John Essay towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language, An, 529 William of Orange, 378, 473 Williams, David, 444n, 550 Williams, Joseph, 444n, 550 Williamson, Sir Joseph, 391 Woffington, Peg, 363 Woollen Act, The, 443, 473 Wyche, Sir Peter, 503, 526 Wycherley, William, 410