(But few now living can behold that goodness,)
A pattern to all princes living with her,
And all that shall succeed: Sheba was never
More covetous of wisdom, and fair virtue,
Than this pure foul shall be: all princely graces,
That mould up such a mighty piece as this is,
With all the virtues that attend the good,
Shall still be doubled on her: truth shall nurse her,
Holy and heavenly thoughts still counsel her:

She shall be lov'd, and fear'd: Her own shall bless

her;

Her foes shake like a field of beaten corn,
And hang their heads with forrow: Good grows

with her:

In her days, every man shall eat in safety
Under his own vine, what he plants; and fing
The merry songs of peace to all his neighbours:
God shall be truly known; and those about her
From her shall read the perfect ways of honour,

6

- every man shall eat in fafety

Under his own vine,] This part of the prophecy seems to have been burlesqued by Beaumont and Fletcher in The Beggar's Bush, where orator Higgin is making his congratulatory speech to the new king of the beggars :

"Each man shall eat his stolen eggs, and butter,
" In his own shade, or funshine," &c.

The original thought, however, is borrowed from the 4th chapter of the first book of Kings: "Every man dwelt safely under his vine." STEEVENS.

A fimilar expreffion is in Micah, iv. 4: "But they shall fit every man under his vine, and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid." REED.

From her shall read the perfect ways of honour,) The old copy reads-way. The flight emendation now made is fully justified by the subsequent line, and by the scriptural expreffion which our author probably had in his thoughts: "Her ways are ways of pleafantness, and all her paths are peace." MALONE.

:

:

And by those claim their greatness, not by blood.
[Nor shall this peace fleep with her: But as when

By those, in the last line, means by those ways, and proves that we must read ways, instead of way, in the line preceding. Shall read from her, means, shall learn from her. M. MASON.

8 [Nor shall this peace fleep with her: &c.] These lines, to the interruption by the king, seem to have been inserted at some revisal of the play, after the accession of King James. If the passage, included in crotchets, be left out, the speech of Cranmer proceeds in a regular tenour of prediction, and continuity of sentiments; but, by the interpofition of the new lines, he first celebrates Elizabeth's successor, and then wishes he did not know that the was to die; first rejoices at the consequence, and then laments the caufe. Our author was at once politick and idle; he refolved to flatter James, but neglected to reduce the whole speech to propriety; or perhaps intended that the lines inferted should be spoken in the action, and omitted in the publication, if any publication was ever in his thoughts. Mr. Theobald has made the same observation.

JOHNSON.

I agree entirely with Dr. Johnfon with respect to the time when these additional lines were inserted. See An Attempt to afcertain the Order of Shakspeare's Plays, Vol. I. I suspect they were added in 1613, after Shakspeare had quitted the stage, by that hand which tampered with the other parts of the play so much, as to have rendered the verfification of it of a different colour from all the other plays of Shakspeare. MALONE.

Such indeed were the sentiments of Mr. Roderick, though the examples adduced by him in fupport of them are, in my judgement, undecisive. See Canons of Criticism, edit. 1763, p. 263. But, were the fact as he has stated it, we know not how far our poet might have intentionally deviated from his usual practice of verfification.

If the reviver of this play (or tamperer with it, as he is styled by Mr. Malone,) had so much influence over its numbers as to have entirely changed their texture, he must be fuppofed to have new woven the substance of the whole piece; a fact almost incredible.

The lines under immediate confideration were very probably
furnished by Ben Jonfon; for

" When heaven shall call her from this cloud of darkness,"
(meaning the "dim spot" we live in,) is a seeming imitation of

!

The bird of wonder dies, the maiden phenix,

Her ashes new create another heir,

As great in admiration as herself;

So shall she leave her blessedness to one,

(When heaven shall call her from this cloud of

darkness,)

Who, from the sacred ashes of her honour,

Shall star-like rise, as great in fame as she was,
And so stand fix'd: Peace, plenty, love, truth, terror,
That were the fervants to this chofen infant,
Shall then be his, and like a vine grow to him;
Wherever the bright fun of heaven shall shine,
His honour and the greatness of his name
Shall be, and make new nations: He shall flourish,
And, like a mountain cedar, reach his branches
To all the plains about him: Our children's

children

Shall fee this, and bless heaven.

K. HEN.

Thou speakest wonders.]

CRAN. She shall be, to the happiness of England,

An aged princess; many days shall fee her,

the following passage in the 9th book of Lucan (a poet from whose

stores old Ben has often enriched himself):

quanta fub nocte jaceret

Noftra dies. STEEVENS.

9 His honour and the greatness of his name

Shall be, and make new nations :) On a picture of this contemptible king, which formerly belonged to the great Bacon, and is now in the poffeffion of Lord Grimston, he is sty styled imperii Atlantici conditor. The year before the revival of this play (1612) there was a lottery for the plantation of Virginia. These lines probably allude to the fettlement of that colony. MALONE.

2 She shall be, to the happiness of England,

An aged princess ;) The tranfition here from the complimentary address to King James the first is so abrupt, that it seems obvious to me, that compliment was inserted after the accession of that prince. If this play was wrote, as in my opinion it was, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, we may easily determine where :

1

And yet no day without a deed to crown it.
'Would I had known no more! but she must die,
She must, the faints must have her; yet a virgin,
A most unspotted lily shall she pass

To the ground, and all the world shall mourn her.

K. HEN. O lord archbishop,
Thou hast made me now a man; never, before
This happy child, did I get any thing:
This oracle of comfort has so pleas'd me,
That, when I am in heaven, I shall defire
To fee what this child does, and praise my Maker.-
I thank ye all, -To you, my good lord mayor,
And your good brethren, I am much beholden;
I have receiv'd much honour by your prefence,
And ye shall find me thankful. Lead the way,

lords;

Ye must all fee the queen, and she must thank ye,

Cranmer's eulogium of that princess concluded. I make no queftion but the poet refted here:

And by those claim their greatness, not by blood.

All that the bishop says after this, was an occafional homage paid
to her fucceffor, and evidently inserted after her demise. How
naturally, without this infertion, does the king's joy and fatisfactory
reflection upon the bishop's prophecy, come in!

King. Thou speakest wonders. O lord archbishop,
Thou'st made me now a man. Never, before
This happy child, did I get any thing: &c.

Whether the king would fo properly have made this inference, upon
hearing that a child of fo great hopes should die without issue, is
fubmitted to judgment. THEOBALD.

3 And your good brethren,] Old copy-you. But the aldermen were never called brethren to the king. The top of the nobility are but coufins and counsellors. Dr. Thirlby, therefore, rightly

advised:

And your good brethren,

i. e. the lord mayor's brethren, which is properly their style.

So, in King Henry V :

THEOBALD.

"The mayor and all his brethren in best fort."

MALONE.

She will be fick else. This day, no man think
He has business at his house; for all shall stay,
This little one shall make it holiday.

[Exeunt.

4 The play of Henry the Eighth is one of those, which still keeps poffefsion of the stage, by the splendour of its pageantry. The coronation, about forty years ago, drew the people together in multitudes for a great part of the winter. Yet pomp is not the only merit of this play. The meek forrows and virtuous distress of Katharine have furnished some scenes, which may be justly numbered among the greatest efforts of tragedy. But the genius of Shakspeare comes in and goes out with Katharine. Every other part may be easily conceived and easily written. JOHNSON.