Perfons Represented. DUKE of Milan, father to Silvia. Anthonio, father to Protheus. Speed, a clownish fervant to Valentine. Panthino*, fervant to Anthonio. Julia, a lady of Verona, beloved of Protheus. Silvia, the duke of Milan's daughter, beloved of Valentine. Lucetta, waiting-woman to Julia, Servants, musicians, SCENE, fometimes in Verona; fometimes in Milan; and on the frontiers of Mantua. *Panthino.] In the enumeration of characters in the old copy, this attendant on Anthonio is called Panthion, but in the play always Panthino. STEEVENS. C An open place in Verona. Enter Valentine and Protheus. VALENTINE. EASE to perfuade, my loving Protheus; 3 Home-keeping youth have ever homely wits: Wer't not, affection chains thy tender days To the sweet glances of thy honour'd love, I rather Some of the incidents in this play may be supposed to have been taken from The Arcadia, book 1. chap. 6. where Pyrocles confents to head the Helots. The love-adventure of Julia resembles that of Viola in Twelfth Night, and is indeed common to many of the ancient novels. STEEVENS. 2 It is obfervable (I know not for what caufe) that the ftile of this comedy is lefs figurative, and more natural and unaffected than the greater part of this author's, though fuppofed to be one of the first he wrote. POPE. It may very well be doubted, whether Shakespeare had any other hand in this play than the enlivening it with fome speeches and lines thrown in here and there, which are easily distinguished, as being of a different ftamp from the reft. HANMER, Te I rather would entreat thy company, Than To this obfervation of Mr. Pope, which is very juft, Mr. Theobald has added, that this is one of Shakespeare's wort plays, and is lefs corrupted than any other. Mr. Upton peremptorily determines, that if any proof can be drawn from manner and file, this play must be fent packing, and feek for its parent eljewhere. How otherwife, fays he, do painters diftinguish copies from originals, and have not authors their peculiar ftile and manner from which a true critic can form as unerring judgment as a painter? I am afraid this illuftration of a critic's fcience will not prove what is defired. A painter knows a copy from an original by rules fomewhat refembling thefe by which critics know a tranflation, which if it be literal, and literal it muft be to resemble the copy of a picture, will be easily diftinguished. Copies are known from originals, even when the painter copies his own picture; fo if an author fhould literally tranflate his work, he would lose the manner of an original. Mr. Upton confounds the copy of a picture with the imitation of a painter's manner. Copies are easily known, but good imitations are not detected with equal certainty, and are, by the best judges, often mistaken. Nor is it true that the writer has always peculiarities equally diftinguishable with thofe of the painter. The peculiar manner of each arifes from the defire, natural to every performer, of facilitating his fubfequent works by recurrence to his former ideas; this recurrence produces that repetition which is called habit. The painter, whofe work is partly intellectual and partly manual, has habits of the mind, the eye and the hand, the writer has only habits of the mind. Yet, fome painters have differed as much from themselves as from any other; and I have been told, that there is little refemblance between the firft works of Raphael and the laft. The fame variation may be expected in writers; and if it be true, as it feems, that they are lefs fubject to habit, the difference between their works may be yet greater. But by the internal marks of a compofition we may discover the author with probability, though feldom with certainty. When I read this play, I cannot but think that I find, both in the ferious and ludicrous fcenes, the language and fentiments of Shakespeare. It is not indeed one of his most powerful effufions, it has neither many diverfities of character, nor Atriking delineations of life, but it abounds in you beyond moft of his plays, and few have more lines or paffages, which, fingly confidered, are eminently beautiful. I am yet inclined to believe that it was not very fuccefsful, and fufpect that it has |