planetary confederate appears and rescues him. Viola, it will be remembered, has also an experience of the kind. It is difficult to imagine that anyone possessed of the most rudimentary acquaintance with the subject could fail to enjoy here the attractive combination of art and science. To suppose it the result of chance would surely involve an effort out of proportion to the necessities of the case. Happy-go-luckyism may be a genial guide at times, but sooner or later it sends its victim sprawling. It is easier to suppose that Shakespeare accepted the theory of Zodiacal Influence, and set himself to portray the various types accordingly; as Masson has said, whatever he can be found to have done there is considerable likelihood that he knew he was doing.
Nor, when treating the larger, does he neglect the smaller planets, We have in the 4th, Scene of Act I, the clown saying:—
“Now Mercury endow thee with leasing (lying).”
an instance as significant as that of the Mercury, badly aspected, in “Winter’s Tale”, our disreputable friend Autolycus;
“Who, being as I am, littered under Mercury, was
likewise a snapper up of ill-considered trifles,”
a subtle definition when the derivation of the word “consider” is borne in mind, There, of course, is no suggestion here of the Argonaut precursor of this Autolycus; but, if there were, it would only affect the range, not the relevance of the enquiry which naturally occurs as to the origin of the thievish god and his relationship with the planet that bears his name, This would leave untouched the question of how such words as consider, jovial, Saturnine, Martial, Mercurial, contemplate, desire, ill-starred, desideratum, lunatic, lunes, moon-struck, moony and others have found their way into Shakespeare’s plenteous vocabulary, or how the days of the week, Sun-day, Moon-day, Mar-di, Mercre-di, Thor or Jupiter's day, Freia or Venus’ day and Saturn or Satur’s day had their meaning for him if their astrological parentage be set aside. As for the Moon’s day, his references to it are too numerous for quotation, “Midsummer Night’s Dream” is extended over a period of four nights in order to satisfy the duke concerning it. The play opens with a statement of his views:—
| “ | Theseus. | Now, Fair Hippolyta our nuptial hour draws on apace. Four happy days bring in another moon. |
