O F

VERONA.

ACT I. SCENE I,

An open place in Verona.

Enter VALENTINE and PROTEUS.

VAL. Cease to perfuade, my loving Proteus;
Home-keeping youth have ever homely wits:*
Wer't not, affection chains thy tender days
To the fweet glances of thy honour'd love,
I rather would entreat thy company,

3

To fee the wonders of the world abroad,
Than, living dully fluggardiz'd at home,
Wear out thy youth with fhapelels idleness.
But, fince thou lov'ft, love ftill, and thrive therein,
Even as I would, when I to love begin.

PRO. Wilt thou be gone? Sweet Valentine, adieu! Think on thy Proteus, when thou, haply, feeft Some rare note-worthy object in thy travel:

2 Home-keeping youth have ever homely wits:] Milton has the fame play on words, in his Mafque at Ludlow Cafile:

It is for homely features to keep home, "They had their names thence."

STEEVENS.

3 fhapeless idleness. ] The expreffion is Ene, as implying that idleness prevents the giving any form or character to the manWARBURTON.

ners.

Wifh me partaker in thy happiness,

When thou doft meet good hap; and, in thy danger,
If ever danger do environ thee,

Commend thy grievance to my holy prayers,
For I will be thy bead's-man, Valentine.

VAL. And on a love-book pray for my fuccefs. PRO. Upon fome book I love, I'll pray for thee. VAL. That's on fome fhallow ftory of deep love, How young Leander crofs'd the Hellefpont.

PRO. That's a deep ftory of a deeper love; For he was more than over fhoes in love.

VAL. 'Tis true; for you are over boots in love, And yet you never fwam the Hellefpont.

PRO. Over the boots? nay, give me not the boots.'

4 -Some shallow ftory of deep love,

How young Leander cross'd the Hellefpont.] The poem of Mufæus, entitled HERO AND LEANDER, is meant. Marlowe's tranflation of this piece was entered on the Stationers' books, Sept. 18, 1793, and the firft two Seftiads of it, with a small part of the third, (which was all that he had finished,) were printed, I imagine, in that, or the following year. See Blount's dedication to the edition of 1637, by which it appears that it was originally published in an imperfect state. It was extremely popular, and defervedly fo, many of Marlowe's lines being as fmooth as thofe of Dryden. Our author has quoted one of them in As you like it. He had probably read this poem recently before he wrote the prefent play; for he again alludes to it in the third act:

Why then a ladder, quaintly made of cords, "Would ferve to fcale another Hero's tower,

"So bold Leander would adventure it."

Since this note was written, I have feen the edition of Marlowe's Hero and Leander, printed in 1598. It contains the firft two Seftiads only. The remainder was added by Chapman. MALOne. nay, give me not the boots. ] A proverbial expreffion though now difufed, fignifying don't make a laughing stock of me; don't play with me. The French have a phrafe, Bailler foin en corne; which Cotgrave thus interprets, To give one the boots; to fell him a bargain. THEOBALD.

་

VAL. No, I'll not, for it boots thee not.

PRO.

VAL.

What?

To be

In love, where fcorn is bought with groans: coy

looks,

With heart-fore fighs; one fading moment's mirth,
With twenty watchful, weary, tedious nights:
If haply won, perhaps, a hapless gain;
If loft, why then a grievous labour won;
However, but a folly bought with wit,
Or elfe a wit by folly vanquished.

Perhaps this expreffion took its origin from a fport the countrypeople in Warwickshire ufe at their harveft-home, where one fits as judge to try mifdemeanors committed in harveft, and the punishment for the men is to be laid on a bench, and flapped on the breech with a pair of boots. This they call giving them the boots. I meet with the fame expreffion in the old comedy called Mother Bombie, by Lylly:

"What do you give me the boots?"

Again, in The Weakest goes to the Wall, a comedy, 1618:

66

Nor your fat bacon can carry it away, if you offer us the boots.

In

The boots, however, were an ancient engine of torture. MS. Harl. 6999-48, Mr. T. Randolph writes to lord Hunsdon, &c. and mentions, in the P. S. to his letter, that Geo. Flecke had yeflerday night the boots, and is faid to have confeffed that the E.. of Morton was privy to the poisoning the E. of Athol. 16 March, 1580 and in another letter, March 18, 1580, « — -that the laird of Whittingham had the boots, but without torment confefs'd," &c. STEEVENS.

The boot was an inftrument of torture ufed only in Scotland. Bishop Burnet in The hiftory of his own Times, Vol. I. p. 332, edit. 1754, mentions one Maccael, a preacher, who, being fufpe&ed of treasonable practices, underwent the punishment fo late as 1666: He was put to the torture, which, in Scotland, they call the boots; for they put a pair of iron boots clofe on the leg, and drive wedges between thefe and the leg. The common torture was only to drive thefe in the calf of the leg but I have been told they were fometimes driven upon the fhin bone." REED.

6 However, but a folly, &.) This love will end in a foolish action, to produce which you are long to fpend your wit, or it will end