Fit counsellor, and fervant for a prince,
Who by thy wisdom mak'ft a prince thy fervant,
What would't thou have me do?

Hel. To bear with patience fuch griefs,
As you yourself do lay upon yourself.

Per. Thou fpeak'ft like a phyfician, Helicanus; That minifter't a potion unto me,

That thou wouldst tremble to receive thyself.
Attend me then; I went to Antioch,

Whereas, thou know'ft', against the face of death,

I fought the purchase of a glorious beauty,
From whence an iffue I might propagate 2,
Are arms to princes, and bring joys to fubjects.
Her face was to mine eye beyond all wonder;

hearing their fecret faults!-To let is here, to hinder. So in Hamlet:

"By heaven I'll make a ghost of him that lets me.” Again, in Tancred and Gifmund,

1592:

"Nor bafe fufpect of aught to let his fuit." MALONE. Whereas, thou know'ft, ] Whereas has here the same

meaning as here. It is frequently thus ufed by our ancient writers. So Gower:

"This lorde whiche hath his love wonne,
"Is go to bed with his wife,

"Whereas thei lede a luftie life;

"And that was after somdele sene, &c."

Again, in King Henry VI. Part II. laft edition, Vol. VI. P. 304:

"Whereas the king and queen do mean to hawk."

See the note there. MALONE.

2 From whence an iffue

-] From whence I might propa

gate an iffue, that are arms, &c. MALONE.

From whence an issue I might propagate,

Are arms to princes, and bring joys to fubjects.]

I do not understand this paffage. A line feems wanting to com. plete the fenfe. It might be fupplied thus:

a glorious beauty,

(From whence an iffue I might propagate ;
For royal progeny are general bleffings,

Are arms to princes, and bring joys to fubjects.)
Her face, &c. STEEVENS.

The

The reft (hark in thine ear) as black as inceft;
Which by my knowledge found, the finful father,
Seem'd not to strike, but smooth: but thou know'ft
this,

'Tis time to fear, when tyrants feem to kifs.
Which fear fo grew in me, I hither fled,
Under the covering of a careful night,
Who feem'd my good protector: and being here,
Bethought me what was paft, what might fucceed;
I knew him tyrannous, and tyrants' fears
Decrease not, but grow fafter than the years:
And should he doubt it, (as no doubt he doth +),
That I fhould open to the liftening air,

How many worthy princes' bloods were shed,
To keep his bed of blacknefs unlaid ope,-
To lop that doubt, he'll fill this land with arms,
And make pretence of wrong that I have done him;
When all, for mine, if I may call't offence,

Muft feel war's blow, who fpares not innocence 5:

3 Seem'd not to firike, but fmooth: ] To Smooth here fignifies to flatter. So in King Lear, (first folio)

"Such fmiling rogues as these

Smooth every paffion

"That in the nature of their lords rebels." MALONE. And should be think, as no doubt be doth] Thus the folios and the modern editors. The first quarto reads,

And fhould he doo't, as no doubt he doth

from which the reading of the text has been formed. The repetition is much in our author's manner, and the following words "To lop that doubt”

render this emendation almost certain. MALONE.

And fhould be doo't, as no doubt he doth-]

Here is an apparent corruption. Ifhould not hesitate to read— doubt on't-or,-doubt it. To doubt is to remain in fufpence or uncertainty, Should he be in doubt that I fhall keep this fecret, (as there is no doubt but he is) why to "lop that doubt," i. e. to get rid of that painful uncertainty, he will strive to make me appear the aggreffor, by attacking me firit as the author of fome fuppofed injury to himself. STEEVENS.

5

-avbo fpares not innocence:] Thus the eldest quarto. All the other copies read corruptly

who fears not innocence. MALONE.

Which love to all (of which thyself art one,
Who now reprov'ft me for it)

Hel. Alas, fir!

Per. Drew fleep out of mine eyes, blood from my cheeks,

Mufings into my mind, with a thousand doubts
How I might stop this tempeft e'er it came ;
And finding little comfort to relieve them,
I thought it princely charity to grieve them".
Hel. Well, my lord, fince you have given me leave
to speak,

Freely will I fpeak. Antiochus you fear,
And justly too, I think, you fear the tyrant,
Who either by publick war, or private treason,
Will take away your life.

Therefore, my lord, go travel for a while,
Till that his rage and anger be forgot;

Or till the Deftinies do cut his thread of life:
Your rule direct to any; if to me,

Day ferves not light more faithful than I'll be.'
Per. I do not doubt thy faith;

But should he wrong my liberties in my abfence-
Hel. We'll mingle our bloods together in the earth,
From whence we had our being and our birth.

Per. Tyre, I now look from thee then, and to
Tharfus

Intend my travel, where I'll hear from thee;
And by whofe letters I'll difpofe myself.
The care I had and have of fubjects' good,
On thee I lay, whose wisdom's ftrength can bear it 7.
I'll

I thought it princely charity to grieve them,] That is, to la ment their fate. The eldest quarto reads to grieve for them-But a rhime feems to have been intended. The reading that I have chofen is that of the third quarto. MALONE,

7 — whofe wisdom's ftrength can bear it.] Pericles's transferring his authority to Helicanus during his abfence, naturally brings Meafure for Measure to our mind;

your

I'll take thy word for faith, not ask thine oath ;
Who fhuns not to break one, will fure crack both :
But in our orbs we'll live fo round and fafe 8,
That time of both this truth fhall ne'er convince",
Thou shew'dst a subject's shine ', I a true prince.
[Exeunt.

your own science

"Exceeds in that the lifts of all advice

"My ftrength can give you. Then no more remains
"But that your fufficiency as your worth is able,
"And let them work-The nature of our people
"Our city's inftitutions, and the terms

"For common juftice, you are as pregnant in

"As art and practice hath enriched any." MALONE.

8 But in our orbs we'll live fo round and fafe.] The first quarto reads-will live.-That of 1619-ave live.-The first may have been right. I fufpect, the preceding line has been lost.

But in our orbs, &c.]

MALONE.

in feipfo totus teres atque rotundus. Horace.

STEEVENS.

this truth fhall ne'er convince,] Overcome. Convaincre.

Fr. So in Macbeth:

66

This malady convinces

"The great afsay of art."

Again, in Gafcoigne's Complaint of Philomene, 1575; "His fancy's fume all reafon did convince."

MALONE.

-

Thou fhewd'f a fubject's fhine, I a true prince.] Shine is by our ancient writers frequently ufed as a fubftantive. So in Chloris, or the Complaint of the paffionate defpifed Shepheard, by W. Smith, 1596:

"Thou glorious funne from whence my leffer light
"The fubftance of his chrystal fhine doth borrow."

Again, in our author's Venus and Adonis, 1593:

Cynthia for fhame obfcures her filver shine.

This fentiment is not much unlike that of Falstaff." I fhall think the better of myself and thee, during my life; I for a valiant lion, and thou for a true prince." MALONE.

SCENE

Thal. So, this is Tyre, and this is the court. Here muft I kill king Pericles; and if I do it not, I am fure to be hang'd at home: 'tis dangerous.-Well, I perceive, he was a wife fellow, and had good difcretion, that being bid to ask what he would of the king, defired he might know none of his fecrets. Now do I fee he had fome reafon for it: for if a king bid a man be a villain, he is bound by the indenture of his oath to be one.

Hufh, here come the lords of Tyre.

Enter Helicanus, Efcanes, and other Lords of Tyre. Hel. You fhall not need, my fellow-peers of Tyre, Further to question me of your king's departure. His feal'd commiffion, left in truft with me, Doth speak fufficiently, he's gone to travel. Thal. How! the king gone!

[Afide.

Hel. If further yet you will be satisfied,
Why, as it were unlicens'd of your loves,
He would depart, I'll give fome light unto you.
Being at Antioch-

Thal. What from Antioch?

[Afide.

Hel. Royal Antiochus (on what caufe I know not) Took fome difpleasure at him, at least he judg'd fo: And doubting left he had err'd or finned,

To fhew his forrow, he would correct himself;
So puts himself unto the fhipman's toil,

With whom each minute threatens life or death.
Thal. Well, I perceive

I fhall not be hang'd now, although I would ';

2 although I would;] So Autolycus, in the Winter's Tale: "If I had a mind to be honeft, I fee Fortune would not fuffer me; The drops bounties into my mouth. MALONE.

But