Chapter V: T. Sternberg

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SHAKSPEARE CORRESPONDENCE.

_Shakspearian Parallels._--Searching for Shakspearian parallels, I find the following, which may leave suggested to our bard his _Seven Ages_. The first is by Solon, extracted from Clemens Alexandrinus (_Stromat._ vi. p. 685., Paris, 1629), which differs from Philo Judæus (i. p. 25.), the only two authorities to whom we owe the preservation of this ode, as also from the text of the critic Brunck and the grammarian Dalzell. An imitation of the Greek metres is attempted in the paraphrased translation attached. The second is a sonnet from Tusser, who extends the period of life beyond seventy, the age of Solon and David in hotter climes, to eighty-four for hyperboreans, but assigns, with David, the imbecility belonging to such advanced years.

7. Παῖς μὲν ἄνηβος ἐὼν ἔτι νήπιος ἕρκος ὀδόντων
Φύσας, ἐκβάλλει πρῶτον ἐν ἕπτ' ἔτεσιν.

14. Τοὺς δ' ἑτέρους ὅτε δὴ τελέσει Θεὸς ἕπτ' ἐνιαυτοὺς,
Ἥβης ἐκφαίνει σπέρματα γεινομένης.

21. Τῇ τριτατῃ δὲ γένειον ἀεξομένων ἐπὶ γυίων
Λαχνοῦται, χροιῆς ἄνθος ἀμειβομένης.

28. Τῇ δὲ τετάρτῃ πᾶς τις ἐν ἑβδομάδι μέγ' ἄριστος
Ἰσχὺν, ἥντ' ἄνδρες σήματ' ἔχουσ' ἀρετῆς.

35. Πέμπτῃ δ' ὥριον ἄνδρα γάμου μεμνημένον εἶναι.
Καὶ παίδων ζητεῖν εἰς ὀπίσω γενεήν.

42. Τῇ δ' ἕκτῃ περιπάντα καταρτύεται γόος ἀνδρὸς,
Οὐδ' ἐσιδεῖν ἔθ' ὁμῶς ἔργα μάταια θέλει.

49. Ἑπτὰ δὲ νοῦν καὶ[1] γλώσσαν ἐν ἑβδομάσι μέγ' ἄριστος·

56. Οκτὼ δ' ἀμφοτέρων τέσσαρα καὶ δέκ' ἔτη,

63. Τῇ δ' ἐνάτῃ ἔτι μὲν δύναται, μετριώτερα δ' αὐτοῦ,
Πρὸς μεγάλην ἀρετὴν σῶμά τε καὶ δύναμις.

70. Τῇ δεκάτῃ δ' ὅτε δὴ τελέσῃ Θεὸς ἕπτ' ἐνιαυτοὺς,
Οὐκ ἂν ἄωρος ἐὼν μοῖραν ἔχοι θανάτου.

7. Youth immature, not a tooth in his jaws, while an infant he
slumbers
Growing, shows teeth i' th' first seven years of his life.

14. God, in the next seven years, to him grants ev'ry pow'r of
production;
Thus soon commands man, sacred, to look on the sex.

21. Thirdly, his beard, while it roughens his chin; and his limbs,
freely playing,
Grow lust'rously-bright, changing their flowery hue.

28. Fourth, in this sev'n-fold older, the _man_ very speedily
shoots forth,
Mighty in muscular limbs, proud of his vigour and strength.

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35. Fifth, in maturity, glowing in health, with his heart in the
right place,
Let him, wisdom-join'd, think upon children to come.

42. Sixth, let him carefully ponder on things of importance to
mankind;
Disdaining whate'er, formerly, foolish he sought.

49. Seventh, in mind or in tongue is he best, either one or the other:

56. Eighth, both join'd in excelling, for a term of fourteen.

63. Ninth, he declines in his powers of force, and the deeds of his
youthhood;
Shorn of the vigour of manhood, he awaits his recall.

70. God in the tenth of the seven, mature, all his functions
develop'd,
Consigns him, full ripe, darkly to sleep in the dust.

So far Solon. Tusser quaintly but wisely:

"Man's age divided here ye have,
By 'prenticeships, from birth to grave.

7. The first seven years bring up as a child,
14. The next to learning, for waxing too wild.
21. The next, keep under Sir Hobbard de Hoy;
28. The next, a man, no longer a boy.
35. The next, let Lusty lay wisely to wive;
42. The next, lay now, or else never to thrive.
49. The next, make sure for term of thy life;
56. The next, save somewhat for children and wife.
63. The next, be stayd, give over thy lust;
70. The next, think hourly, whither thou must.
77. The next, get chair and crutches to stay;
84. The next, to heaven God send us the way!

Who loseth their youth shall rue it in age.
Who hateth the truth in sorrow shall rage."

T. J. BUCKTON.

Birmingham.

[Footnote 1: Read ἢ for καὶ.]

_"Contents dies"--Love's Labour's Lost, Act V. Sc. 2._ (Vol. viii., pp. 120. 169.).--I must be permitted, with all due courtesy, to correct MR. ARROWSMITH'S assertion respecting this phrase; because, from its dogmatic tone, it is calculated to mislead readers, and perhaps editors. He maintains that this is a good concord, and pronounces Johnson and Collier (myself, of course, included) to be "unacquainted with the usage of their own tongue, and the universal language of thought," for not discerning it.

Now it may, perhaps, surprise MR. ARROWSMITH to be told that he has proved nothing--that not a single one of his instances is relevant. In this passage the verb is _neuter_ or _active_; in all of his quotations it is the verb _substantive_ we meet. Surely one so well versed, as we must suppose him to be, in general grammar, requires not to be told that this verb takes the same case after as before it, and that the governing case often follows. Indeed, he has recognised this principle by giving "This is the contents thereof" as one of his instances of "contents" governing a singular verb. Let him then produce an _exact_ parallel to "contents dies," or even such a structure as this, "the contents _is_ lies and calumnies," and then we may hearken to him. Till that has been done, my interpretation is the only one that gives sense to the passage without altering the text.

An exact parallel to the sense in which I take "contents" is found in--

"But heaven hath a hand in these events,
To whose high will we bound our calmly _contents_."

_Rich. II._, Act V. Sc. 2.

In conclusion, I must add that I still regard this emendatory criticism as a "game," the Latin _ludus_, as it gives scope to sagacity and ingenuity, but can rarely hope to arrive at certainty; and it does not, like questions of ethics or politics, involve important interests, and should never excite our angry feelings. As to "cogging and falsification," which MR. A. joins with it, they can have no just reference to _me_, as I have never descended to the employment of such artifices.

THOS. KEIGHTLEY.

P. S.--I have just seen H. C. K.'s observation on "clamour your tongues" in the _Winter's Tale_, and it really seems strange that he should not have read, or should have forgotten my view of it in "N. & Q.," which is precisely similar to his own. As to suspecting him of pilfering from me, nothing is farther from my thoughts.

_Meaning of Delighted._--With reference to the word _delighted_ in Shakspeare, much discussed in "N. & Q.," may I remind you that we call that which carries (or is furnished, or provided with) wings, _winged_; that which carries wheels, _wheeled_; that which carries masts, _masted_; and so on. Why then should not a pre-Johnsonian writer call that which carries delight, _delighted_? It appears to me that this will sufficiently explain "delighted beauty;" and "the delighted spirit" I would account for in the same way: only remarking that in this case, the borne delights meant are delights to the bearer; in the other case, delights to all whom the bearer approaches.

J. W. F.

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Minor Notes.

_Gray--"The ploughman homeward plods."_--On looking over some MSS. which I had not seen for years, I met with one of which the following is a copy:

"A person had a paper folded with this line from Gray marked on
it--

'The ploughman homewards plods his weary way.'

A poetical friend, on looking at the quotation, thought it
might be expressed in various ways without destroying {242}
the rhyme, or altering the sense. In a short time he produced
the following eleven different readings. It is doubtful whether
another line can be found, the words of which admit of so many
transpositions, and still retain the original meaning:--

1. The weary ploughman plods his homeward way.
2. The weary ploughman homeward plods his way.
3. The ploughman, weary, plods his homeward way.
4. The ploughman weary homeward plods his way.
5. Weary the ploughman plods his homeward way.
6. Weary the ploughman homeward plods his way.
7. Homeward the ploughman plods his weary way.
8. Homeward the ploughman weary plods his way.
9. Homeward the weary ploughman plods his way.
10. The homeward ploughman weary plods his way.
11. The homeward ploughman plods his weary way."

I know not whether this has ever appeared in print. To me it is new, at least it was, as I now recollect, when I read it several years ago; but as the exercise is ingenious, I thought I would trespass on "N. & Q." with it, so that, if not heretofore printed or known, it might be made "a note of."

A HERMIT AT HAMPSTEAD.

_Poetical Tavern Signs._--Passing through Dudley the other day, I jotted down two signs worthy, I think, of a place in "N. & Q."

No. 1. rejoices in the cognomen of the "Lame Dog" with the following distich:

"Step in, my friend, and rest awhile,
And help the Lame Dog over the style."

No. 2., with a spirited representation of a round of beef, invites her Majesty's subjects thus:

"If you are hungry, or adry,
Or your stomach out of order,
Their's sure relief at the 'Round of Beef,'
For both these two disorders."

R. C. WARDE.

Kidderminster.

_"Aquæ in Vinum conversæ. Vidit et erubuit lympha pudica Deum."_--The interesting note under this title (Vol. vi., p. 358.) refers to Campbell's _Poets_. The following is an extract from Campbell:

"Richard Crashaw there [Cambridge] published his Latin poems,
in one of which is the epigram from a Scripture passage:

"_Lympha_ pudica Deum vidit et _erubuit_.'"

Campbell's _Brit. Poets_, ed. 1841, p. 198.

In the _Poemata Anglorum Latina_ is the following epigram on our Saviour's first miracle at the marriage feast:

"Unde rubor vestris et non sua purpura lymphis,
Quæ rosa mirantes tam nova mutat aquas?
Numen (convivæ) præsens agnoscite numen--
Vidit et erubuit _nympha_ pudica Deum."

I presume this epigram is Crashaw's poem to which Campbell refers; but query. Until I saw the note in "N. & Q.," I supposed that the celebrated line--

"Lympha pudica Deum vidit et erubuit."

was the happy _ex tempore_ produce of Dryden's early genius, when a boy, at Westminster School. If the epigram which I have copied is the original, the last line is surely much improved by the (traditional) line which Campbell has recorded. Surely _lympha_ is preferable to _nympha_; and surely the order of the word erubuit ending the line is the best.

F. W. J.

_Spurious Edition of Baily's "Annuities"_ (Vol. iv., p. 19.).--In the place just referred to, I pointed out how to distinguish the spurious editions, among other marks, by the _title-page_. I looked at a copy on a stall a few days ago, and found that _the title-page has been changed_. Those who have reprinted it have chosen the old title-page, which stood in the work before two volumes were made of it.

A. DE MORGAN.

_"Illustrium Poetarum Flores."_--On leaving London I thought of bringing with me two or three pocket classics; unfortunately, in looking for them, I picked up _Illustrium Poetarum Flores per Octavianum Mirandulam olim Collecti_, &c., Londini, 1651, and brought that little book with me instead; and, upon looking into it, I find it the worst printed book I ever saw; and I send you this Note as to it, as a warning against so disgraceful a publication. Such a work, if well executed and properly printed, would be a very pleasant companion in a vacation ramble.

S. G. C.

_French Jeux d'Esprit._--In the spring of 1852, when Prince Louis Napoleon was doing all he could to secure the imperial crown, the following hexameter line was passed from mouth to mouth by the Legitimates. I am inclined to think that it never appeared in print:

"Napoleo cupit Imperium, indeque Gallia ridet."

Which translated _mot-à-mot_ gives a clever double sense:

"Napoléon désire l'empire, et la France _en rit_ [_Henri_]."

J. H. DE H.

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Queries.

SAMUEL WILSON.

I should be glad of any information respecting Samuel Wilson, Esq., of Hatton Garden, in the parish of St. Andrew, Holborn, whose will was proved October 24, 1769, and which I have read. He was the donor of the bequest, known as "Wilson's Charity," to the Corporation of the {243} City of London, for loans to poor tradesmen. I wish to ask,--

1. What is known of his origin, family, personal history, &c.?

2. What was his precise degree of relationship to the Halseys, whom he calls "cousins" in his will? Were they related to the family of that name at Great Gaddesden, Herts?

3. Did he publish any, and what, letters or books? for he leaves his MSS. of every kind to his friend Richard Glover, Esq. (the poet I presume), with full power to collect any letters or papers he may have already published, and also to arrange and publish any more which he may think intended or suitable for publication.

4. Is there any published sketch of his life? The only notice I have seen is the one of a few lines in the _Gentleman's Magazine_, just after his death.

In compliance with your excellent suggestion (Vol. vii., p. 2.), I send my address in a stamped envelope for any private communication which may not interest the general reader.

E. A. D.

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Minor Queries.

_The Rothwell Family._--When William Flower, Esq., Norroy, confirmed the ancient arms of this family to Stephen Rothwell, gent., of Ewerby, county of Lincoln, on the 1st April, 1585, and granted a crest (no such being found to his ancient arms), the said Stephen Rothwell was stated to be "ex sui cognominis familia antiqua in comitatu Lancastriæ oriundus." Can any of the readers of "N. & Q." give any information respecting the family from which he is stated to be descended?

GLAIUS.

_Definition of a Proverb._--Where can I find the source whence I. D'Israeli took his definition of a proverb, viz. "The wisdom of many and the wit of one?"