Peace, Trojan; lay thy finger on thy lips !
The worthiness of praise diftains his worth,
If he, that's prais'd, himself bring the praise forth:
But what the repining enemy commends,

That breath Fame blows; that praise fole pure tran

fcends.

Aga. Sir, you of Troy, call you yourself Æneas ?
Æne. Ay, Greek, that is my name.
Aga. What's your affair, I pray you?

Æne. Sir, pardon; 'tis for Agamemnon's ears.
Aga. He hears nought privately that comes from

Troy.

Æne. Nor I from Troy come not to whisper him:

I bring a trumpet to awake his ear;
To fet his fense on the attentive bent,
And then to fpeak.

Aga. Speak frankly as the wind;
It is not Agamemnon's fleeping hour;
That thou shalt know, Trojan, he is awake,
He tells thee fo himself.

Ane. Trumpet, blow loud,
Send thy brass voice thro' all these lazy tents;-
And every Greek of mettle, let him know
What Troy means fairly, shall be spoke aloud.

[Trumpets found.

We have, great Agamemnon, here in Troy
A prince call'd Hector, Priam is his father;
Who in this dull and 4 long continu'd truce
Is 5 rusty grown; he bade me take a trumpet,
And to this purpose speak: kings, princes, lords!
If there be one amongst the fair'ft of Greece,
That holds his honour higher than his ease;
That feeks his praise more than he fears his peril;
That knows his valour, and knows not his fear;

*-long continu'd truce] Of this long trace there has been no notice taken; in this very act it is faid, that Ajax coped Hector yesterday in the battle. JOHNSON.

-rusty-] Quarto, resty. JOHNSON.

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That

That loves his mistress 6 more than in confession,
(With truant vows 7 to her own lips he loves)
And dare avow her beauty and her worth
In other arms than hers; -to him this challenge.
Hector, in view of Trojans and of Greeks,
Shall make it good, or do his best to do it;
He hath a lady, wifer, fairer, truer,
Than ever Greek did compass in his arms;
And will to-morrow with his trumpet call,
Midway between your tents and walls of Troy,
To roufe a Grecian that is true in love.
If any come, Hector shall honour him;
If none, he'll say in Troy, when he retires,
The Grecian dames are fun-burn'd, & and not worth
The splinter of a lance. Even so much.

Aga. This shall be told our lovers, lord Æneas.
If none of them have foul in such a kind,
We left them all at home: but we are foldiers;
And may that foldier a mere recreant prove,
That means not, hath not, or is not in love!
If then one is, or hath, or means to be,
That one meets Hector; if none else, I am he.

Nest. Tell him of Neftor; one, that was a man When Hector's grandfire fuckt: he is old now, But, if there be not in our Grecian hoft One noble man, that hath one spark of fire, To answer for his love, tell him from me, I'll hide my filver beard in a gold beaver, 9 And in my vantbrace put this wither'd brawn;

6

7

- more than in confession,] Confeffion, for profeffion.

WARBURTON.

to her own lips he loves,] That is, confeffion made with idle vows to the lips of her whom he loves. JOHNSON. 8 and not worth

The splinter of a lance.-) This is the language of ro-
Such a challenge would better have suited the mouth

mance.

of Amadis, than Hector or Æneas. STEEVENS.

9 And in my vantbrace-] An armour for the arm, avanthras.

POPE.

Milton uses the word in his Sampson Agonistes. STEEVENS.

And,

And, meeting him, will tell him, that my lady
Was fairer than his grandam, and as chafte
As may be in the world: his youth in flood,
I'll pawn this truth with my three drops of blood.
Æne. Now heavens forbid fuch scarcity of youth!
Ulyff. Amen.

Aga. Fair lord Æneas, let me touch your hand:
To our pavilion shall I lead you, Sir.
Achilles shall have word of this intent,

So shall each lord of Greece, from tent to tent:

Yourself shall feast with us before you go,

And find the welcome of a noble foe.

Manent Ulyffes and Hector.

Ulyff. Neftor

Neft. What says Ulysses ?

[Exeunt.

Ulyff. I have a young conception in my brain,

9 Be you my time to bring it to some shape.

Neft. What is't?

Ulyff. This 'tis :

Blunt wedges rive hard knots: the feeded pride,
That hath to its maturity blown up

In rank Achilles, muft or now be cropt,

Or, shedding, breed a nursery of like evil,
To over-bulk us all,

Nest. Well, and how?

Ulyff. This challenge that the gallant Hector sends,

However it is spread in general name,
Relates in purpose only to Achilles,

Nest. The purpose is perfpicuous even as substance,

Whose grossness little characters sum up:

And,

Be you my time, &c.] i. e. be you to my present purpose what time is in respect of all other schemes, viz, a ripener and bringer of them to maturity. STEEVENS.

I

-nursery-] Alluding to a plantation called a nursery.

JOHNSON.

2 The purpose is perfpicuous even as substance, Whose groffness little charaters fum up: That is, the purpose is as plain as body or substance; and though I have collected this purpose from many minute particulars, as a gross

C3

body

3 And, in the publication, make no strain, But that Achilles, were his brain as barren As banks of Libya-tho', Apollo knows, 'Tis dry enough--will with great fpeed of judgment, Ay, with celerity, find Hector's purpose Pointing on him.

Ulyff. And wake him to the answer, think you? Neft. Yes, 'tis most meet; whom may you elfe

oppofe,

That can from Hector bring his honour off,
If not Achilles? Though't be a sportful combat,
Yet in this trial much opinion dwells;
For here the Trojans taste our dear'st repute
With their fin'ft palate: and trust to me, Ulyffes,
Our imputation shall be oddly pois'd
In this wild action: for the fuccefs,
Although particular, shall give a + fcantling
Of good or bad unto the general;
And in fuch indexes, although 5 small pricks
To their fubfequent volumes, there is feen
The baby figure of the giant mass
Of things to come, at large. It is suppos'd,
He that meets Hector, iffues from our choice:
And choice, being mutual act of all our fouls,
Makes merit her election; and doth boil,
As 'twere, from forth us all, a man distill'd
Out of our virtues; who miscarrying,

What heart from hence receives the conquering part,
To steel a strong opinion to themselves!
• Which entertain'd, limbs are his instruments,
In no less working, than are swords and bows
Directive by the limbs.

Ulyff. Give pardon to my fpeech;
Therefore 'tis meet Achilles meet not Hector.
Let us, like merchants, shew our fouleft wares,
And think, perchance, they'll fell; if not,
The luftre of the better shall exceed,
By shewing the worst first. Do not then confent
That ever Hector and Achilles meet;
For both our honour and our shame, in this
Are dogg'd with two strange followers.

.

Neft. I fee them not with my old eyes; what are

they?

Ulyff. What glory our Achilles shares from Hector, Were he not proud, we all should 7 share with him: But he already is too infolent;

And we were better parch in Africk fun,
Than in the pride and falt scorn of his eyes,
Should he 'fcape Hector fair. If he were foil'd,
Why then we did our main opinion crufh
In taint of our best man. No, make a lottery;
And, by device, let blockish Ajax draw
The fort to fight with Hector: among ourselves,
Give him allowance as the worthier man,
For that will physick the great Myrmidon,
Who broils in loud applaufe; and make him fall
His crest, that prouder than blue Iris bends.
If the dull brainless Ajax come fafe off,
We'll dress him up in voices: if he fail,
Yet go we under our opinion still,

That we have better men. But, hit or mifs,

>

• Which entertain'd) These two lines are not in the