And bid them bring the trumpets to the gate;
But fend me Flavius firft.

Fri. P. It shall be speeded well.

Enter VARRIUS.

[Exit Friar.

Duke. I thank thee, Varrius; thou haft made good

hafte :

Come, we will walk: There's other of our friends
Will greet us here anon, my gentle Varrius.

Street near the City Gate.

Enter ISABELLA and MARIANA.

Ifab. To fpeak fo indirectly, I am loth;
I would fay the truth; but to accufe him fo,
That is your part: yet I'm advis'd to do it;
He fays, to veil full purpofe 7.

Mari. Be rul'd by him.

[Exeunt.

Ijab. Befides, he tells me, that, if peradventure
He fpeak againft me on the adverfe fide,

I fhould not think it ftrange; for 'tis a phyfick,
That's bitter to fweet end.

Mari. I would, friar Peter

fab. O, peace; the friar is come.

Enter Friar PETER 8.

Fri. P. Come, I have found you out a stand most fit, Where you may have fuch vantage on the duke,

7 He fays, to veil full purpofe.] To vail full purpose, may, with very little force on the words, mean, to hide the whole extent of our defign, and therefore the reading may ftand; yet I cannot but think Mr. Theobald's alteration [t' availful purpose] either lucky or ingenious. JOHNS. If Dr. Johnfon's explanation be right, (as I think it is,) the word fhould be written-veil, as it is now printed in the text. MALONE. & Enter Friar PETER.] This play has two friars, either of whom might fingly have ferved. I fhould therefore imagine, that Friar Thomas, in the first act, might be changed, without any harm, to Friar Peter; for why fhould the Duke unneceffarily truft two in an affair which required only one. The name of Friar Thomas is never mentioned in the dialogue, and therefore feems arbitrarily placed at the head of the fcene. JOHNSON

He

He shall not pafs you: Twice have the trumpets founded; The generous and graveft citizens

Have hent the gates', and very near upon

The duke is ent❜ring; therefore hence, away. [Exeunt.

ACT V. SCENE L

A publick Place near the City Gate.

MARIANA (veil'd), ISABELLA, and PETER, at a diftance. Enter at oppofite Doors, Duke, VARRIUS, Lords; ANGELO, ESCALUS, LUCIO, Provost, Officers, and Citizens.

Duke. My very worthy coufin, fairly met :Our old and faithful friend, we are glad to fee you. Ang. and Efcal. Happy return be to your royal grace! Duke. Many and hearty thankings to you both. We have made inquiry of you; and we hear Such goodness of your juftice, that our foul Cannot but yield you forth to publick thanks, Fore-running more requital.

Ang. You make my bonds ftill greater.

Duke. O, your defert fpeaks loud; and I should wrong it, To lock it in the wards of covert bofom, When it deferves with characters of brass A forted refidence, 'gainst the tooth of time And razure of oblivion: Give me your hand, And let the subjects fee, to make them know That outward courtefies would fain proclaim

9 The generous &c.] i. e. the most noble, &c. Generous is here ufed in its Latin fenfe. "Virgo generofa et nobilis." Cicero. Shakfpeare ufes it again in Othello:

the generous iflanders "By you invited---."

STEEVENS.

1 Have hent the gates,] Have feized or taken poffeffion of the gates.

JOHNSON. Hent, henten, hende, (fays Junius, in his Etymologicon,) Chaucero eft, capere, affequi, prehendere, arripere, ab. A. S. hendan. MALONE.

Favours

Favours that keep within.-Come, Escalus;
You must walk by us on our other hand;—
And good fupporters are you.

PETER and ISABELLA come forward.

Fri. P. Now is your time; fpeak loud, and kneel before him.

Ifab. Juftice, O royal Duke! Vail your regard' Upon a wrong'd, I would fain have faid, a maid! Oworthy prince, dishonour not your eye

By throwing it on any other object,

Till you have heard me in my true complaint,

And given me juftice, juftice, justice, juftice!

Duke. Relate your wrongs: In what? By whom? Be brief:

Here is lord Angelo fhall give you justice;
Reveal yourself to him.

Ijab. O worthy duke,

You bid me feek redemption of the devil:

Hear me yourself; for that which I must speak

Muft either punish me, not being believ'd,

Or wring redress from you: hear me, O hear me, here.
Ang. My lord, her wits, I fear me, are not firm:
She hath been a fuitor to me for her brother,

Cut off by courfe of justice.

Ifab. By courfe of justice!

Ang. And fhe will speak moft bitterly, and ftrange.

Ijab. Moft ftrange, but yet moft truly, will I speak: That Angelo's foriworn; is it not strange?

That Angelo's a murtherer; is't not strange?

That Angelo is an adulterous thief,

An hypocrite, a virgin-violater;

Is it not ftrange, and ftrange?

Duke. Nay, it is ten times ftrange.

Ifab. It is not truer he is Angelo,

2-Vail your regard] That is, withdraw your thoughts from higher things, let your notice defcend upon a wronged woman.

lower. JOHNSON.

To vail, is to

This is one of the few expreffions which might have been borrowed from the old play of Promos and Caffandra, 1578:

66

vail thou thine ears." STEEVENS.

Than

Than this is all as true as it is ftrange:

Nay, it is ten times true; for truth is truth
To the end of reckoning 2.

Duke. Away with her :-Poor foul,
She fpeaks this in the infirmity of fenfe.

Ifab. O prince, I conjure thee, as thou believ'ft There is another comfort than this world,

That thou neglect me not, with that opinion

That I am touch'd with madness: make not impoffible
That which but seems unlike: 'tis not impoffible,
But one, the wicked'ft caitiff on the ground,
May feem as fhy, as grave, as juft, as abfolute 3,
As Angelo; even fo may Angelo,

In all his dreffings, characts, titles, forms,
Be an arch-villain: believe it, royal prince,
If he be lefs, he's nothing; but he's more,
Had I more name for badness.

Duke. By mine honefty,

If fhe be mad, (as I believe no other,)
Her madness hath the oddeft frame of sense,
Such a dependency of thing on thing,

As e'er I heard in madnefs ".

2- truth is truth

To the end of reckoning.] That is, truth has no gradations; nothing which admits of increafe can be fo much what it is, as truth is truth. There may be a ftrange thing, and a thing more ftrange; but if a propofition be true, there can be none more true. JOHNSON.

3-as fby, as grave, as juft, as abfolute,] As fhy; as referved, as abftracted as juft; as nice, as exact: as abfolute; as complete in all the round of duty. JOHNSON.

4 In all bis dreffings, &c.] In all his femblance of virtue, in all his habiliments of office. JOHNSON.

5 characts,] i. e. characters. See Dugdale Orig. Jurid. p. 81: "That he ufe, ne hide, no charme, ne carete." TYRWHITT. Chara& fignifies an infcription. The ftat. 1 Edw. VI. c. 2, directed the feals of office of every bifhop to have certain characts under the king's arms, for the knowlege of the diocefe." Characters are the letters in which an infcription is written. Charattery is the materials of which characters are compofed.

"Fairies ulc flowers for their chara&ery." M.W. of Windler. BLACKSTONE.

As e'er I beard in madness.] I fufpect Shakspeare wrote:

As ne'er I heard in madnefs. MALONE.

Lab.

Ifab. Gracious duke,

Harp not on that; nor do not banish reason
For inequality 7: but let your reafon serve

To make the truth appear, where it seems hid;
And hide the falfe, feems true .

8

Duke. Many that are not mad,

Have, fure, more lack of reason.-What would you fay?
Ifab. I am the fifter of one Claudio,
Condemn'd upon the act of fornication

To lofe his head; condemn'd by Angelo:
I, in probation of a fifterhood,

Was fent to by my brother: One Lucio
As then the meffenger;-

Lucio. That's I, an't like your grace:

I came to her from Claudio, and defir'd her
To try her gracious fortune with lord Angelo,
For her poor brother's pardon.

Ifab. That's he, indeed.

Duke. You were not bid to fpeak.

Lucio. No, my good lord;

Nor wish'd to hold my peace.

Duke. I wish you now then;

Pray you, take note of it: and when you have
A bufinefs for yourself, pray heaven, you then
Be perfect.

Lucio. I warrant your honour.

Duke. The warrant's for yourself; take heed to it.
Ijab. This gentleman told fomewhat of my tale.
Lucio. Right.

7 do not banifs reafon

For inequality] Let not the high quality of my adversary prejudice you against me. JOHNSON.

I imagine, the meaning rather is-Do not suppose I am mad, because I fpeak paffionately and unequally. MALONE.

And hide the falje, feems true.] And for ever bide, i. e. plunge into eternal darknefs, the falfe one, i. c. Angelo, who now feems honeft. Many other words would have exprefled our poet's meaning better than bide; but he feems to have chofen it merely for the fake of oppofition to the preceding line. Mr. Theobald unneceffarily reads-Not hide the falle, which has been followed by the fubfequent editors.

--

MALONE.

Duke.